The Walking Dead, Season 7, Episode 5: Go Getters
Yep, we're just jumping around locales. From the execution site to the Kingdom to the Sanctuary to Alexandria and now to Hilltop, which was a location that was quickly introduced last season and then more or less ignored. And that's where Maggie and Sasha end up in. Apparently Maggie's baby is fine despite suffering from a placental abruption (and... there is no way in hell that her baby is fine and she'll just need to be observed until the birth).
The big conflict here is that the not-good-with-names jackass leader of Hilltop, Gregory, wants Sasha and Maggie the fuck out of Hilltop, and while he's being a huge dick about it he actually has a point -- he is thinking about Hilltop, after all. But Paul (a.k.a. Jesus, who I'm still not calling that) is their friend, and is basically the likable spokesperson that vouches for Maggie and Sasha. It's a decent enough conflict, especially when the Saviours show up and start their bullying racket -- the fact that Hilltop was left with fancy furniture before probably means that Negan's mattress-burning and sofa-stealing spree in Alexandria is an exception to humiliate and knock down our heroes an extra peg.
The rest of the episode is just a weird rehashing of a similar plot point that was repeated ad nauseam in seasons five and six -- other survivors that aren't our main characters suck at surviving, and when the Saviours sent in a locked car with blaring music into the middle of Hilltop (complete with a custom fuck you hood ornament) and brings in a swarm of zombies as their punishment, of course it's Maggie and Sasha and Paul that end up being badasses, with Maggie commandeering a tractor and crushing both car and zombie swarm under her wheels.
The episode would be relatively boring if not for Gregory, though, who delivers an amazingly weaselly performance as Hilltop's resident jackass leader who's much happier than Rick to bow down to the saviours and give them whatever they want. Simon, the dude with the cool mustache (who you may recognize as "Negan's right-hand-man that is not Dwight" from season six's finale) is a reasonably hammy jackass who continues pulling off the "I am Negan" thing. Simon also plays off Gregory very well, and Simon's overt attempts at trying to mimic Negan's own swagger from last episode is definitely well done. While Gregory's actions might have some sense -- Hilltop isn't well-equipped with fighters, after all -- it's one thing to kneel and give all the things Simon wants, it's another to actively want to rat out the Alexandrians he's hiding in the closet. That punch from Maggie was well-deserved.
Though on the other hand, it is a bit weird that Rick's basically doing the same thing that Gregory does in the previous episode, kowtowing to Negan, giving Negan guns that he had no idea that the Alexandrians owned, and stuff like that, but Rick's portrayed in a still heroic light while everyone here thinks that Gregory is a huge dick. Even Gregory handing over Maggie and Sasha, as dickish as that move was, was reasonably justifiable similarly to how Rick was ready to chop of his son's arm for the good of the many. Granted, two lives (three counting the unborn baby with an abrupted placenta that somehow stopped bleeding) is a lot more to give than one arm, but still. Though honestly, I'm not rooting for Rick at all at this point, and hoping that the other characters (like Maggie, Sasha and Paul here) will take charge instead. Oh, and Sasha and Paul basically join Rosita and Eugene in the various conspirators that's gunning for Negan's head actively.
Oh, we have a weird B-plot about Carl and Enid. I thought the bit where they had roller skates was absolutely adorable and fun, but their conversation about how Carl locked Enid in a closet in the penultimate climax (a silly moment I legitimately forgot happened and didn't mention in my review of that episode) and they share a couple of heart-to-heart talks about how Carl saw people's head bashed in, Enid goes to pay respects via balloons to Glenn's grave, and Enid, Maggie and Sasha have a heartwarming bit (that pocketwatch sure gets handed around a lot, huh?) but ultimately the episode really could've benefited better from being shoretened as well.
Oh, and while Carl tells Enid that he's going to head home, he isn't. Apparently he and Paul find themselves sneaking on board the same Saviour truck, ready to attempt and put a bullet into Negan's head. Doubtful that either of them is going to actually do anything, but it's certainly great that they're actually trying to do something instead of just joining Rick in his self-pity. Carl as this vendetta-driven one-eyed assassin is actually far more interesting than the kid has been in all the previous seasons, that's for sure. Overall, while not very strong, episode five was still relatively watchable due to some really strong performances by the main actors involved, in particular guest actors Xander Berkeley (Gregory) and Steven Ogg (Simon), both of whom are simply fantastic.
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