After spending countless episodes plumbing the weird, smelly, laconic dynamics of the Scavengers (also known by fans as “The Garbage Pail Kids”) The Walking Dead finally brought its trashiest arc to a close during the Sunday, March 4, episode.
While Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) tried to cope with their grief and guilt in the aftermath of Carl’s death, Negan’s people set out to exact a punishment on Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) and her LARPing crew of dumpster divers. And despite strict orders from Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to kill just one of the trash heap gang, things got a little out of hand when Jadis wouldn’t apologize using the complete sentences and subject-verb agreement the Saviors prefer.
By the time Rick and Michonne showed up at the dump to have a talk of their own with the traitorous group, every last member of the community had died and come back zombified — except Jadis, who survived to trade in her black trenchcoat and boots for a silky white negligee. Despite Carl’s dying wish for mercy and peace across the board, Rick was too angry to help Jadis escape, leaving her to fend for herself amid the piles of garbage she loved … and eventually, to use the trash compactor to grind her undead friends into human hamburger.
Will Jadis Survive?
Last we saw her, Jadis was wandering the dump splattered in human remains like a walking Pollock painting, an ironic little touch after her “we were the paint” speech earlier in the episode. While the garbage pail gang is dead, we probably haven’t seen the last of its weird lady leader with the Bettie Page bangs.
In the meantime, Rick used a stolen walkie-talkie to dial up Negan and deliver the sad news about Carl. While Negan was genuinely bummed out by teen’s death, he still wasted no time trying to leverage Rick’s grief against him. “You failed as a leader. You failed as a father. Give up, because you have already lost,” he told him.
Will Rick give up or find a peaceful resolution? Will he drag out this game of walkie trash-talking all the way to the end of the season?
The Walking Dead airs on AMC Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.