Recap: The Walking Dead, Season 6, Episode 15: “East”

Damn, Walking Dead fans. Shit's getting real, huh. 
Cassidy Frazee and Rachel Tsoumbakos from Snarking Dead are back to recap season 6, episode 15 for you. One more episode to go!

Episode 15 (titled “East”) of AMC’s The Walking Dead is basically the set up for the season 6 finale. While there was plenty of scary moments, it was really just a means to an end. Here’s what happened:

• Other than being a bridging episode to get the characters in place for Negan’s big arrival, this episode is basically about the fallout as a result of Carol’s (Melissa McBride) faltering belief in herself and Daryl’s (Norman Reedus) guilt over Denise’s death.
• Another thing to note in episode 15 of The Walking Dead, is the amount of flesh on offer. Between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira), and Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan), there is a LOT of near nudity. And it worries me, especially the time spent lingering on Glenn and Maggie, because, well… Negan and the whole thing that just might go down in the season 6 finale ofThe Walking Dead.

CF:  The whole time Maggie and Glenn were showering I’m thinking, “Foreshadowing:  Foreshadowing, bitches!”  The Walking Dead has been beating the Foreshadowing Horse so much it turned Walker just so they could ram that bo through its brain and beat it some more.  We GET it, AMC:  This isn’t a relationship that’s gonna last.
RT: It’s almost like AMC are using a baseball bat covered in barbed wire to bludgeon us with their foreshadowing. How original…
CF:  Could we get Negan to say, “Foreshadowing is HUNGRY!”?

• As a result of Carol leaving a note behind for Tobin (Jason Douglas), it becomes apparent to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) pretty quickly that Carol is missing. At the same time Rick and Morgan (Lennie James) are heading out to find Carol, another group has gone out looking for Daryl. Which means that a lot of the main characters who are good at defending Alexandria are not there to defend Alexandria.

CF:  I had to laugh at your comment about Rick realizing Carol is missing ’cause, you know, that’s some great deducing there, Sheriff Grimes.  And yes:  the “Carol Has Left the Compound” thing is a huge McGuffin to pull all the good people out of the ASZ.

• Carol is leaving and manages to come across another of Negan’s groups. Seriously, why have they not run into these guys before considering they seem to be on every single road used in the second half of season 6? When her crying story doesn’t work this time around, she manages to take out five guys. Well, sort of. And she still hasn’t managed to use her stabby rosary to kill anyone yet, so I guess it will be an important implement in the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead. While Carol does manage to kill several of Negan’s group outright, however, a couple of guys are left alive, making it a bit more complicated than first expected. Basically, there is one problematic guy that may or may not have shot Carol.

CF:  Seriously, how did she get a machine pistol up her sleeve?  Again, this was another of those moments when you’re like, “Okay, so she’s gonna try and cry her way out of this fix, but since that won’t work, she’s gonna have to kill the fuck out of these dudes.  But how?  RRRRWWWWWIIIIIIPPPPPPPP!  Oh, the old ‘Machine Pistol Up the Sleeve’ trick!”  And at this point, if the Saviors KNOW about Alexandria, what they hell are they waiting for?  Why not go there?  Particularly since they seem like crazy ninjas.
RT: Sewing a gun into your jacket, Carol. That’s not very soccer mum. And if Morgan is really getting in her head and messing with her conscience, would she really be doing that?
CF:  Cry softly but carry a goddamn machinegun into your jacket.
RT:  Absolutely agree about invading Alexandria. It’s almost like AMC are trying to drag this all out for some reason…

• So while Carol is singlehandedly bringing down Negan’s latest group of arseholes, Daryl is trudging through the forest trying to find Dwight (Austin Amelio) and finish the job he should have back before Denise died. In the process, Rosita (Christian Serratos) sea saws between whether her, Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Michonne should even be following him. As a result, they split up; Daryl and Rosita, and Glenn and Michonne. The later almost immediately get themselves taken hostage by Dwight.

CF:  *Sigh*  Never stop to monologue!  And when Glenn says, “It’s worst,” fuck, man:  FORESHADOWING!  Glenn is the King of Foreshadowing.  At least they didn’t drag that one out.

• In between all this excitement, Maggie and Enid (Katelyn Nacon) have struck up a friendship that ends in Maggie getting a haircut and a possible miscarriage. My guess is that if Maggie loses the baby, Glenn will survive Negan’s wrath.

CF:  I hate to burst your bubble, but when a female character on a show like this miscarries that means her whole life is about to go STRAIGHT TO HELL!  “Oh, I’m sorry, Maggie.  But at least you and Glenn can try for another.”  Then in walks Rick.  “Ummm, about that–”  No, sorry:  this is likely the Kiss of Death for Glenn.  After this all Maggie will have is her surrogate daughter, Enid.  I do hope I’m wrong, but with the way this season has gone, I’m thinking not.
RT: Crap 

• While searching for Carol, Morgan is also trying desperately to convince Rick about letting the living live using a religious-like fervor. If it weren’t the zombie apocalypse, I would swear Morgan was a born-againer. But he’s not and in the process of trying to convert Rick, they come across what looks like a Carol walker. It’s not, but my heart stops for just a moment anyway. Then they come across a living human, he doesn’t give them any information and manages to escape even though Rick tries to pop him off. As a result, Morgan sends Rick home and promises to find Carol alone. Because, you know, Carol is like the conversion mother-lode when it comes to convincing people humans are people too.

CF:  There was a point in Morgan’s confession about the Wolf where I seriously thought Rick was going to blow Morgan away.  Andrew Lincoln had this look on his face like, “Am I really fucking hearing this?  I’ve killed a lot of assholes for far less.”  The last couple of episodes Rick has been portrayed, at least to me, like he’s reacting to everything without actually having a plan beyond “Kill Them All”, and he’s teetering on the edge of completely losing his shit.  The thing is Morgan hasn’t seen that much of Crazy Rick, so he knows the dude is losing it, which means he really doesn’t want him along on the Carol Hunt. After his first meeting with Negan I wonder if we’re gonna get All Crazy Rick All the Time?
RT: I absolutely thought the same thing about Rick killing Morgan. It was a very slippery conversation to be having with someone like Rick. It was very wise to send him home. That’s probably why Morgan didn’t want Rick ot come looking for him if he didn’t return with Carol.

• So while the audience doesn’t know if Carol is injured, Rick and Morgan think she is and the audience is left wondering if the last remaining guy from Negan’s group is leading them down a garden path to a bed of flowers. Or maybe Carol really is injured. But having the gunshot occur off-screen is a common theme for episode 15 of The Walking Dead…

CF:  “Look at the flowers, Rick.  Look at the flowers.”  Also, I didn’t get why there was a Savior at the barn.  Because Morgan needed a place to stop and pretty much say his goodbyes to Rick?
RT: Yes. Goodbyes seemed like the only reason. However, I was intrigued by the comment about the fresh walkers. Are AMC going somewhere with that or not?
CF:  I’m wondering if The Saviors have found that little hideout The Wolves had and the Walkers got out?

• Because Dwight is just using Glenn and Michonne as bait to draw Daryl in. Which, of course, works like a treat and Glenn doesn’t have a chance to warn Daryl before Dwight blows Daryl’s head off.
• Say what? Just what the actual FUCK AMC? I have rewound and rewatched this scene over and over. The gunshot appears to be off, although the blood does seem to originate from Daryl and not Dwight as it would if someone had snuck up and shot Dwight instead. There is also the words uttered as the screen goes black; “You’ll be alright.” Seriously, is that Dwight or Daryl uttering them? Why have you done this AMC? WHY?! Although, to be honest, I think Daryl could be dead, even if it does look like Daryl was shot a bit too low for a killshot. Which means Negan will have to bash someone else’s head in with a bat in episode 16.

CF:  I always have on Closed Captions when there’s a possibility I’ll recap a show–or offer my insights like here–and when the screen faded to black the CC said:  Dwight:  “He’ll be all right.”  So it was Dwight who spoke.  Also, in an interview with Entertainment Weeklythat came out less than twelve hours ago ago Norman says, “That’s Daryl’s blood.”  I don’t believe Daryl was shot in the head, but if he was, it was a hell of a grazing wound.
RT: Yay for CC!  Funny how AMC are immediately confirming Daryl is alive. Seems their little Glenn trick bit them on the arse enough that they are a bit scared of cliffhangers now.
So what did you think of episode 15 of AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 6? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!
CF:  Let’s get this out of the way now:  There have been a lot of rumors over the last year that Norman Reedus was preparing to leave the show, and the end of Season 6 would see his last appearance.  Now we’re hearing rumors that Melissa McBride is leaving the show, and the way things were left, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lennie James leave as well.  This episode set up a number of departures, and there is another rumor that Morgan does find Carol, but she’s not in great shape when she does, and that she may be on the verge of dying.  So does Morgan put her down and then ride off into the sunset because he can’t kill?  We’ll see.
It would seem that Negan is gonna pull out the four members of Team Rick that his group of stealthy ninjas captured and make examples of at least one of the (Looking at you, Glenn) and maybe another, because if we want to see just how crazy Negan is, beating two people to death is the way to go.  With as much blood at Daryl sprayed, however, it wouldn’t seem that crazy for Negan to kill him as he’s probably going to die anyone, and a good club to the head would keep him from turning.  Hell, Rick might do that himself–in fact, I’d say if Daryl dies, it’s probably going to be due to Rick putting him down the way Daryl put down Dale.
RT: I really believe AMC are going to bloodbath the HELL out of the season 6 finale. They need to, way too many people have survived this season, even before you start to calculate in all the new characters from Hilltop and Negan’s group. If Carol, Glenn and Daryl were to die, it would not even be overkill at this stage. Morgan could certainly go as well. And that’s before they even start on all the red shirts.
CF:  I would not be surprised to see Daryl die where Dwight shot him, and for Carol to die out in the woods and get put down by Morgan.  As for Morgan?  Hard to say.  He may just go into hermit mode and hide out.
This season has been stretched out to hell and gone, and as we sort of PMed before you headed off to bed, Rachel, this whole “Lat’s Save Negan For Last” ploy is almost like someone (we know who) has gone to great lengths to troll the audience.  I really can’t wait for next Sunday to get here, only because the fan boards are going to be a never-ending cascade of “Who Makes a Meal For Lucile?” postings and I just want to watch someWalking Dead and move on to Fear.
And one last thing:  when did The Saviors become a clan of fucking ninjas?  Again, if they can just have a half-dozen people pop up on anyone at any time, why haven’t they just waltzed into the ASZ in the middle of the night and slit everyone’s throats?  They know the location, and if they are so stealthy in the daytime they can pretty much sneak up on Daryl three times, getting into Alexandria should be a breeze.  I guess the Idiot Ball isn’t reserved simply for the characters--
RT: I completely agree about the Saviors. They are like that annoying baddie that just keep popping up in video games, no matter how often you kill them…
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[Photo Credits: AMC]

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