Season 11, Episode 15
- Lance investigates the trail of the slaughter at the complex while Eugene and the others investigate the mysterious list Connie received.
- Ascended Extra: Downplayed. Theresa, the woman who Ezekiel has Tomi operate on, is actually a veteran member of the Kingdom, hence why Ezekiel is determined to get her surgery; she’s been an extra for years on the show, and gets to provide a plot point in this episode, even if she doesn’t get any real lines or presence otherwise.
- Back-Alley Doctor: Ezekiel has set up a secret clinic hidden in the zoo, for people who can't afford legal treatment from the Commonwealth healthcare system.
- Badass Boast: Along with Daryl’s Precision F-Strike, there’s this gem from Maggie:
- Maggie: Plenty others have made the mistake of threatening my family. Most of them are dead.
- Bad Liar:
- Aaron and Gabriel rather transparently assure Lance their story is true.
- Mercer quickly proves he indeed is keeping something bottled up when Princess asks about it.
- Carol quickly loses her composure when Ezekiel asks her what’s stressing her out.
- Behind the Black: Leah suddenly appears out of nowhere when she should’ve been perfectly visible to Lance before she revealed herself, even with the cover of darkness.
- Call-Back:
- We return to the ending of “No Other Way”, now with proper context.
- Connie and Kelly bring up the list of names they covertly received from an unknown party in “New Haunts”.
- Continuity Nod: Hershel spends a moment alone at Glenn’s grave.
- Dissonant Serenity: Lance creepily watches Aaron, Gabriel, and Daryl take out a small swarm of walkers.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Tomi is shown getting drunk due to his grief from losing a patient.
- Facial Horror: Carlson’s head was chewed up to the point you can see his exposed eye socket.
- Ms. Fanservice: And Mr. Fanservice; Princess and Mercer are both easy on the eyes, and we see the former in lingerie and the latter without a shirt. We see the latter working out for quite some time as well.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mercer was deeply shaken by killing two soldiers and covering it up, and the fact he’s willing to do it again if needed.
- Mythology Gag: Princess and Mercer’s conversation post-sex is taken almost straight from the comics.
- Once More, with Clarity: Daryl’s dramatic confrontation with Maggie at Hilltop’s gates in “No Other Way” is provided with new context.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Professional bullshitter Carol noticeably rambles and stumbles over her words when trying to give an alibi to Ezekiel, showing how she’s genuinely stressed over her situation.
- Point of No Return: Max insists that there is no “back to normal” for the Commonwealth due to the conspiracy she and her allies have uncovered.
- Precision F-Strike: Daryl gets the first uncensored “f bomb” of the series when he threatens Lance.Daryl: You tore this place upside down and found nothing. So unless you wanna die for nothing, tell ‘em to drop their guns before something really fucking bad happens.
- Red Herring: The ending of “No Other Way” implied Daryl and Maggie were now enemies, but this episode’s new context clarified that is not the case.
- Relationship Upgrade:
- Princess and Mercer have begun sleeping together.
- Eugene and Max seem to be together in secret, and at the end of the episode they share what’s implied to be their first kiss.
- Ship Sinking: Crossed with Ship Tease. Carol tells Ezekiel they won’t get back together, but Ezekiel makes it clear he’s not convinced they won’t reconnect eventually, and Carol herself is far from stern when telling him anyway.
- Shout-Out: Ezekiel says not all trouble is bad trouble, alluding to legendary civil rights hero John Lewis’s “good trouble” quote.
- Spotting the Thread: Lance doesn’t buy Aaron and Gabriel’s story that the complex group spared only the two of them, and pieces together that they must be lying to protect people they know with said group.
- Submissive Badass: Mercer believes he’s just a soldier who must put up with the Commonwealth’s corruption to keep their society running, and refuses to believe he could implement any real change.
- Underestimating Badassery: Or rather the inverse of this trope. Lance doesn’t find it likely that the complex group wiped out a bunch of Commonwealth troopers, but as we’ve seen, said troopers have been quick to succumb to hostile survivors from different groups as well as walkers.
- Villain Team-Up: Lance goes to Leah to offer her a job.
- You Are Not Alone:
- Princess assures Mercer of this, helping him open up to her and get things off his chest.
- Eugene swears to Max that he will stay by her side no matter what.
