The Walking Dead: Ep. 715 Something They Need
As the season counts down to the finale there are a lot of dangling plot threads still blowing in the wind on The Walking Dead. While most of the episodes have been focused on one narrative, Something They Need is like a narrative buffet with multiple storylines in motion all at once.
Tara’s trip to Paradise Island comes full circle as she leads Rick and the others to the band of women that found her washed up on the sand several episodes ago. As the group make their way to the community, a tanker that has run ashore sends Jack Sparrow-esque walkers into their midst.
Meanwhile on the Hilltop, Maggie continues to assume the mantle of leader much to Gregory’s chagrin. Wanting the mantle but not sure how to assert himself, Gregory has been a bumbling mess even before Maggie showed up. An unfortunate brush with a walker exposes Gregory and lays to rest any doubt, to himself and his followers, whether ceding leadership to Maggie was the right choice.
Sasha’s had some time to cool her heels in Negan’s lockup after her botched assassination last episode. Her time in captivity introduces her to Dave, a true scumbag and one of Negan’s crew. As Dave attempts to sexually assault her she’s saved by an unlikely figure and given an interesting offer.
Trying to raise an army is a daunting task and with no draft in place bringing soldiers into the fold requires negotiation. Tara tries her hand at recruiting and runs into a wall of resistance when she confronts Cyndie and Tanya at Oceanside. An interesting parallel begins to take shape as Rick and his team round up the women to take their guns. The forced exchange isn’t that much different from the ones we’ve seen several times between the Saviors and members of the Kingdom. The only difference is the fact that the good guys are doing the seizing, although to the women of Oceanside Rick’s crew and the Saviors may as well be two sides of the same coin.
This brings up an interesting dynamic that will be explored in next week’s finale and beyond. What will it take to bring down someone like Negan? How high will the cost be? The old adage of fighting fire with fire is what got our gang into Negan’s bad books at the end of last season. Will becoming Negan, or a version of him, be required to finally put him down?
