(Spoiler alert: Do not keep reading if you have not seen the midseason finale of “The Walking Dead”)
In the midseason finale of “The Walking Dead,” Negan finally exacts his revenge on Alexandria for Carl’s (Chandler Riggs) failed ambush in last week’s episode.
We open with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) settling into her new leadership role at Hilltop Colony, while Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) settles in the suburban life in Alexandria, treating himself to a shave and a hot meal. At the Saviors’ Sanctuary, Daryl (Norman Reedus) makes his move after receiving the note telling him to escape.
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) decide to cross the walker-filled lake in a bullet ridden boat, using two broken pieces of wood as oars.
Carol (Melissa McBride) is living peacefully at her home near The Kingdom. Morgan (Lennie James) stops by with some fresh fruit for her, but Richard (Karl Makinen), Ezekiel’s right hand man, interrupts their visit.
Rick and Aaron make their way to the houseboat in the lake, but not before Aaron is nearly killed by the walkers in the water. They find a large cache of guns and start loading things up, while a mysterious figure watches from the opposite shore.
At Hilltop, Enid (Katelyn Nacon) realizes that Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) is lying to Maggie about Jesus’ whereabouts, and deduces that she is working on a plan to kill Negan. Enid is upset–not that Sasha lied, but that she was not included in the planning.
Richard sits down with Carol and Morgan and tells them how Ezekiel came to strike his deal with the Saviors. Richard believes it is only a matter of time before the Saviors attack The Kingdom, and he needs their help to convince Ezekiel to strike first.
Carol refuses, saying all she wanted is to be left alone. Morgan likewise says he will not participate, as he will not lead people from The Kingdom to their deaths. Back at the Sanctuary, Daryl has stolen some clothes and is slowly making his way outside.
Daryl finally reaches the motorcycles kept at the back of the Sanctuary. Before he can escape, he is discovered by a lone Savior. The man pleads for Daryl to let him go, as he is just trying to get by. Instead, Daryl beats him to death with a steel bar, just as Jesus (Tom Payne) finds him.
Spencer (Austin Nichols), thinking he has impressed the Saviors with the supplies he scavenged, approaches Negan with a bottle of liquor, looking to make a deal.
Michonne is still holding the Savior woman hostage that she captured in the last episode. But when she sees the sheer size of the Savior encampment, she realizes the scope of the fight they are in for, kills the woman, and drives the car into the woods.
Spencer and Negan play a game of pool, during which Spencer tries to convince Negan to kill Rick and let Spencer take control of Alexandria. Meanwhile, Rick and Aaron get back with the supplies they found, but when the Saviors find a derogatory note left by the original owner, the Saviors beat Aaron in retaliation.
Negan isn’t convinced by Spencer’s plan to replace Rick, saying that Spencer is simply a coward who wants Negan to do his dirty work. He ends their game by slicing Spencer open with a knife, spilling his guts in the street. Rosita (Christian Serratos), having observed all of this, suddenly pulls out a gun and fires her the bullet she had Eugene (Josh McDermitt) made for her.
Somehow, Negan manages to block the bullet using Lucille. He has one of his people hold Rosita down and demands to know where she got the bullet. She says she made it herself and Negan knows she is lying. So, he orders an Alexandria citizen to be killed at random, with Olivia (Ann Mahoney) meeting her end courtesy of a Savior bullet.
Eugene tearfully confesses that he made the bullet to keep someone else from dying. Negan decides to take Eugene back to the Sanctuary to use his bullet-making skills, and then departs.
Michonne returns and finds Rick in the makeshift cell Morgan constructed. She said they have always been fighters and that they must fight now to survive. Rick kisses her, and they travel to Hilltop and consult with Maggie to prepare for war against Negan and his Saviors.
As the episode ends, we see the same mysterious figure that observed Rick and Aaron spying on Alexandria.