If you’re looking for a foreshadowing of things to come on this week’s episode of The Walking Dead, you won’t do better than the moment where Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) reads aloud to his daughter from The Wizard of Oz — specifically, from the part where Dorothy Gale falls asleep on her bed despite the presence of a raging tornado just outside. Is a storm coming for our survivors, one that’ll shatter their hard-won peace? Signs point to yes, and not just because this installment is titled “Warning Signs.” Here’s everything that went down in the land of reanimated corpses this week.
Plans for the Future
Rick and Michonne (Danai Gurira) started out the episode in a good place, with a romantic moment that turned into a “family fun day” of picnicking and hide-and-seek games. (Did anyone else pick up on a “let’s get pregnant” vibe in that bedroom scene? Because OMG.) But just as Rick’s read-aloud from The Wizard of Oz was getting interesting, a messenger came running with some bad news.
Remember that jerk Savior from last week, who was jumped by unseen assassins right before the credits rolled? He was murdered by someone in the bridge-building camp. Suspicions immediately fell on a couple key suspects: Daryl (Norman Reedus) has always openly loathed the Saviors, and Jadis/Anne (Pollyanna Macintosh) has good reasons for wanting revenge – and, just being honest her – seems like the kind who might kill people for fun.
Rick arrived at the camp in time to keep violence from breaking out as the Saviors demanded weapons to protect themselves, but it was a close call.
The ABCs
A lesson from the zombie apocalypse: You can take the girl out of the garbage dump full of secrets, but you can’t take the secret garbage out of the girl. After being accused of murder, Jadis retreated back to her old stomping grounds, where it turned out she’d stashed a walkie talkie. A voice on the other end asked her if she had “an A or a B,” but the bizarre conversation was interrupted by Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), who had followed her. Jadis offered him a chance to leave and start over wherever the walkie-talkie (and recurring mystery helicopter) came from, but he declined, saying he had to tell Rick.
“And all this time, I thought you were a B,” she replied, and bashed him in the head before he could ask any more questions.
Something Fishy
Finally, the ongoing mystery of the missing, murdered Saviors came to a head when Arat (Elizabeth Ludlow) became the latest to disappear. With Maggie (Lauren Cohan) in tow, Daryl slipped through the woods and discovered the culprits: the women of Oceanside, who’d been discreetly kidnapping and killing everyone who originally helped Negan wipe out their community. Cyndie (Sydney Park) told Maggie that they’d been inspired by the Hilltop’s execution of Gregory to pursue justice on their own terms. She revealed that Arat had mercilessly killed Cyndie’s 11-year-old brother. So, was Maggie about to deny Cyndie her revenge? No way. Arat died on her knees in the background as Maggie and Daryl walked away — with a plan.
“We gave Rick’s way a chance,” Maggie said. “It’s time to see Negan.”
The Walking Dead airs on AMC Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
