THE WALKING DEAD turns to Sasha, Rosita, and Maggie for another great episode on “The Other Side.” When it comes to available story weapons, The Walking Dead has a ridiculous arsenal. This week, fans are treated to an adventure drama that centers on Maggie gaining momentum as the leader of Hilltop, while Sasha and Rosita move forward with their Negan assassination mission.
We haven’t seen Maggie much lately, so they show a little back story. The baby is well, Maggie teaches Hilltop people how to throw knives and Sasha shows them how to fight. Meanwhile, Sasha also makes a map of the savior compound based on stories from Carl and Jesus. Gregory feels like his control is slipping away, there’s no telling what this coward might do under pressure. Daryl is also hiding at Hilltop now, but he avoids contact with Maggie, even at night when she brings him food. These are short, quiet scenes, but full of emotion and drama. Daryl carries the guilt of Glenn’s murder, Maggie weighs the gravity of the living and their contribution to the future. This is when Rosita arrives and asks Sasha to help her take down Negan.
Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene; Katelyn Nacon as Enid; Tom Payne as Paul ‘Jesus’ Rovia – The Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Rosita has been fighting her own demons for several episodes and “The Other Side” supplies us with her pre-Rick resume. Most importantly, the outbreak killed most and slowly wears down the rest, except Rosita. The longer it goes the stronger she gets. Sasha is also grieving the loss of Ford but she’s kept busy looking after Maggie. She isn’t quite as internal or caught up in herself as Rosita, but her pain is just as deep. Sasha agrees to team with Rosita and kill Negan as soon as possible. Sasha would like more time to plan, but she knows Rosita won’t wait. Jesus and Enid both want Sasha to tell Maggie their plans, but she isn’t up to it. Enid is on her way to tell Maggie when the alarm bell rings, saviors roll in unannounced.
Sasha shows Rosita a secret tunnel to safety, but they must leave immediately. Maggie doesn’t have enough time to escape, she hides in a cellar storage room with Daryl. Some unnamed savior-hench wanders down there looking for them and gets within an inch of Daryl killing him, but Maggie stops him. It wouldn’t of helped. Daryl apologizes to Maggie for getting Glenn killed. Maggie says she doesn’t hold him responsible for Glenn’s death, and if Glenn were alive, he’d want Daryl get on with life. This is real a hero-leader arc for Maggie. She sees Daryl as an important resource for her child’s future. Who else would fight harder to protect a child than the man who feels responsible for the father’s death? At the same time, she’s training an army to protect their community.
Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Katelyn Nacon as Enid – The Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Simon, the lead savior baddie, tells Gregory he’s been sent to pick up Dr. Carson and move him to sanctuary permanently. Dr. Carson doesn’t want to go, he knows Maggie and the others need him, but Negan killed his brother and needs a replacement. Gregory puts up a minor protest, but it doesn’t help. Simon tells Gregory how to get a hold of him if he needs help with angry residents. Is it too much to ask for Gregory to make one selfless act?
Rosita and Sasha formulate a plan as they head to sanctuary. Rosita isn’t very warm at first, she gets colder when she sees Sasha wearing a necklace she made for Ford. It isn’t until they get into position in a building adjacent to sanctuary that Rosita stops giving Sasha attitude. Sasha has been asking where Rosita learned how to hotwire cars, disarm bombs, ties knots, and all of her other survival skills. Rosita says she didn’t have any real skills but she kept hooking up with guys who wanted to protect her. She’d learn their skills, surpass their proficiency, and move on. Rosita has been getting smarter, stronger, and deadlier since the outbreak and Sasha recognizes this.
Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa – The Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Sasha spots Eugene ordering people around the perimeter fence but she doesn’t see Negan until Simon arrives with Dr. Carson. Negan comes out, but either Eugene, Dr. Carson, or someone else is always standing in front of him. Sasha doesn’t have a clear shot. Rosita goes ahead with Plan B; infiltrate sanctuary, get close to Negan and kill him that way. First, they try to get Eugene to help them and give him a chance to escape, but he doesn’t want to go. He runs back into the building. Sasha cuts her way inside the fence first, but she puts a lock around it keeping Rosita out. She tells Rosita it isn’t her time then fires her way into sanctuary guns blazing. We don’t know if they kill her, she doesn’t have many bullets when she arrives, but it’s possible she picks a few weapons off her victims as she goes.
We also don’t see if Rosita escapes, but a man with a crossbow does step from the shadows as Sasha ends as many saviors as she can. There are only two episodes left and this is a great way to kick off season seven’s final act. Negan is dealing with rebels, Maggie is rising to the top of the pyramid and everyone else has fight fever.
Season 7, Episode 14 (S07E14)
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9PM on AMC
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Eric lives in a world where the television is great, the smiles are warm, the pizza is hot, the puppies are playful, and the zombies are slow and meander while he reloads.
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Eric Rodriguez | Contributor
