Even the ever-steely Carol is given the chance to be more emotional and vulnerable than usual in this episode, with a lot of great emotional, physical acting from Melissa McBride. The Reapers are given the space to show us what they're made of, hinting at the terror and conflict to come. They wander off together, their relationship as tense as ever. It really drives home how she resists any sort of humanity or possible redemption in him. She says Negan is heartless, and the same person she left behind, even if he’s lying to himself about changing. This leads neatly into the final scene, where Maggie is forced to leave Alden in an abandoned church while she and Negan continue to Arbor Hill’s supply cache. Letting one die to save the others is a decision that needs to be made sometimes – especially in this show. Through her tears, the allegory seems obvious. As their food supply is decimated, Carol takes a horse away, lays it down, calms it and slits its throat as its life gradually fades. Of course, this is The Walking Dead, so happiness comes with a sacrifice. The morale is, for now, lifted in Alexandria. There’s real tenderness in these scenes, with the soft sun setting behind the galloping horses. The Western aesthetics have always been there in this show, but made more explicit here, and it’s emotionally poignant as they comfort and listen to each other. The whole vibe of their excursion is more like a western, with corralling and ranching of livestock as they open up to each other. Carol goes out to hunt down their escaped horses, helped by Magna, Kelly, and Rosita. The greater focus, though, is the women of Alexandria. It’s humbling to see a more mundane atmosphere in the middle of all this intensity. It's the perspective of people who have only known the post-apocalypse, and it's a nice change of pace to see them questioning their elders and the world they’ve grown up in. They talk about why the adults tell them what they do, act the way they do and bring up the strange food they have had to eat. We see a few scenes with the kids of Alexandria, including Judith and Hershel, who are playing games and eating together. There’s a sense of desperation as the recovery starts. The walls are erected, debris is cleared, and patrols continue. Back in Alexandria proper, we start to see more of the town and the repairs taking place after the Whisperers invaded.
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