The Walking Dead – Trust review S11 E15

April 4, 2022April 4, 2022 Jeffrey Lyles 0 Comments Cassidy McClincy, Christian Serratos, Jason Butler Harner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Medina Senghore, Melissa McBride, Michael James Shaw, Norman Reedus, Seth Gilliam, Teo Rapp-Olsson, The Walking Dead

Trust paid off that big cliffhanger from the Part 2 of the three act season finale, set in motion some key elements and introduced another power couple.

It was a productive episode even if it wasn’t as fun as the past two weeks.

Daryl keeps getting preferential Stormtrooper treatment as he’s allowed to constantly walk around without his armor on. This doesn’t seem like good strategy either.

Lance Hornsby is still very vexed about the whereabouts of his weapons cache. With his crack CIA agent still getting nibbled on by walkers it would seem like an appropriate time to cut his losses over a few guns. It’s not like the Commonwealth is frequently going to war with communities.

Nope, Lance is convinced Aaron and Gabriel know something and he’s questioning them right at the apartment rooftop Toby was kicking residents off before karma ate his face.

Lance has some information he’s keeping close to the vest and seeing what else he can get. It’s a bold strategy that probably needed a Plan B.

Unsure of their loyalty now after sending them on a mission destined to make them doubt the Commonwealth, Lance makes Aaron and Gabriel deal with a walker pack. Daryl helps, but it’s showing where his loyalties truly lie.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to Lance since he essentially pulled the Commonwealth’s curtain back on Aaron and Gabriel while Daryl has rolled tight with them for years.

Lance and his crew head to Hilltop, with the thought they might have some answers. This felt annoyingly like those tiresome Savior check-ins full of tension resulting in nothing. Especially since Maggie and her crew didn’t steal the guns.

But Lance doesn’t have reason to trust them after all when he casually chats up Herschel and gives him the hat he found left behind at the apartment. Maybe he didn’t need a Plan B…

Maggie really needs to reconsider Herschel’s guardian. Last week he snuck away to follow her. This week he’s on his own when Lance and the Commonwealth come through. Course this one is on Maggie. Why would she let her son out of her sight with a possible incursion at the gates?

Lance calms the standoff down although even innocent, Maggie and her crew come off super sketchy. Still, unless they willingly come on board there’s still no upside to invading Hilltop for Hornsby. What’s he get from winning? A broken down outpost that’s in shambles before another battle?

Back at Commonwealth, Mercer and Princess are hooking up and trying to determine if this is just a physical thing or more. This season has been good character evolution for Princess and Mercer has been an excellent new addition to the series.

Eugene brings Connie and Kelly over so they can hear Rosita explain what happened with the house. Seeing April get killed for nothing has deeply affected Rosita. Sure enough April’s name is on the list given to Connie a few episodes back.

The four of them can only do so much so Eugene appeals to Max for help. In turn, she asks Mercer to help lead the charge against the ills of the commonwealth.

And here’s where Mercer seems like the voice of reason. Sure, he could take out Sebastian and Lance, but it wouldn’t be worth it what it would cost the commonwealth. Max leaves him with a parting thought that he can be so much more than just a soldier.

This is clearly sticking with him as he apologizes to Princess and opens up about the house incident. Princess and Mercer are two examples of good characters that needed more time. Walking Dead doesn’t so much need spin-offs featuring characters who’ve been around since the beginning, but stronger focus on the newer characters.

Case in point, Ezekiel wants Tomi’s help with a friend. This feels like a weird retread of the Carol/Tomi storyline. They get detained by some stormtroopers for stealing some medical supplies, but Carol bails them out.

It’s odd that Carol has the level of power already that she could accomplish what a doctor couldn’t in talking himself out of trouble, but ok…Carol has first season superpowers like Daryl that circumvent status.

Ezekiel hasn’t been sitting around pining after Carol. He’s set up a undercover hospital for those at the back of the line in Commonwealth’s priority list with the help of another doctor. This actually is a nice switch for what seemed to be a been there/done that subplot with Carol. Although this does make that possible reunion more meaningful now.

Lance and a few of his men leave the campsite and find Leah’s tent. It’s a trap!!! Sorry. Lance makes a pitch for Leah with a new job offer that clearly involves killing Maggie. He might want to ask for references from Leah’s Reaver co-workers. Ohhhh right. That just got awkward.

Carol special get out of jail free card powers and the not at all fun throwback to a Savior inspection, the penultimate chapter of Part 2 is setting up for a strong break point.