It was darker thantheGame of ThronesBattle of Winterfell.
Can we chalk it up tomotion smoothing?
The space is a poetic setting to unpack Carols state of mind.
Norman Reedus on ‘The Walking Dead’.Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
(Even though poetic may be givingThe Walking Deada bit too much credit.)
Carols reality is warped.
Grief and trauma have muddied her judgment and made her deaf to Daryls guidance.
She turned herself into an enemy of the group.
She whispers her criticisms to Carol, mimicking how the Whisperers themselves sowed discord and paranoia.
She says at the time, A little.
The tension is real.
But everyone makes it to safety.
They are eventually attacked by Whisperers, confirming that there are indeed multiple entrances.
Jerry even spots directional arrows the Whisperers presumably carved into the stone.
The deeper they travel into the cave, the closer the corners become.
They weave down a maze of tunnels that lead to a thin path theyre forced to squeeze through.
That then leads to an even tighter crawl space.
Jerry hears walkers crawling after them, so they all race out.
When everyone is finally out, they realize they are at the very top of the cave.
Meanwhile, at the Whisperer camp, Alpha wrangles together Beta and Gamma.
She tasks Gamma with informing the border patrols that theyve failed their leader and to increase their efforts.
At first, she doesnt believe him and shoves him into their designated latrine.
As a thank you, Alpha leads Negan away from the camp.
At first, it feels like an execution.
Hes forced to walk a few paces in front of her, eyes front.
Then she commands him to take off his clothes and things get weird.
For a crass man, she rewards him with something equally crass: sex.
She wants to keep her zombie mask on, too, which Negan is oddly into because of course.
Back in the cave, the group finds an old closed-off mine entrance.
Theyve almost dug through to the other side when Daryl realizes Carol isnt there.
Daryl arrives in time to help her back up, and at this point the mine is now collapsing.
Kelly and Aaron are the first through and there are Whisperers running towards them on the offense.
When the mine does collapse, so does Carols mental state.
Everyone except for Magna and Connie made it out.
He, meanwhile, will stay back to find another entrance to the cave.
