Welcome back, walker fanatics, to the return episode of AMC’s hit drama series, The Walking Dead. I’m sure as all fans were watching this episode, the show doesn’t feel the same without its guardian angel and season one survivor, Carl Grimes.

The episode starts off with the name Michonne bolded on the screen, and we get a close-up shot of Michonne and Rick finishing up the grave for Carl. Rick puts his gun on the cross of the grave and takes a knee for his fallen son. We are know shown scenes of Michonne in awe of the after effect of Alexandria, and fights off an army of the undead trying to get in through the main entrance. Michonne finds the handprints Carl and Judith made with paint on the doorstep of their house and sheds tears. Michonne and Rick pack up their stuff, and are ready to leave Alexandria… forever!

They take a couple of fire extinguishers and put out a fire on a deck, but that only attracted the walkers. The couple fights off the walkers, but they are shortly outnumbered by the undead, and it’s time to retreat. Rick asks what’s on Michonne’s mind as they were driving, she wanted to pull over and read what wrote Carl wrote to them. Rick refused, and Michonne grew in shock because Carl also wrote to Negan! Rick disregarded that last message because his mind is focused on going to see Jadus and get back some supplies and recruit people into their army. Once they reached the Scavenger’s compound, Rick and Michonne are greeted with a pile of garbage falling on top of them, and a trap of walkers coming after them!

More bold letters pop on the screen, but this time it’s Negan’s name is shown and the scene cuts to him talking on a walkie-talkie explaining to his fellow comrades that Hilltop is covered with roads and wants his men to go and investigate. Simon walks in and Negan is surprised with Alexandria having an escape plan, and asked how the Hilltop went-it went as expected. Negan is concerned with the fact he hasn’t heard back from Gavin, but Simon thinks he’s okay-well, he’s a dead man now Simon. Simon asks for what’s next for him, Negan responds with letting him know to let these “garbage people” (The Scavengers) know who’s in charge and that their deal still stands because no one double crosses Negan! Simon thinks that they should cut their ties with the garbage people because no one seems to understand the Saviors’ message, not Alexandria, not Hilltop, and not the Kingdom, so why bother and just find other communities to save. Negan is holding his sanity right now because saving people is how they role, and it’s a hard job; killing them all is just the easy way out for Negan. The door knocks and Negan let the Saviors in. What the Saviors brought is a coffin with a walker inside delivered by the Hilltop with the note “We have 38 more, stand down!” Negan is heavily displeased, as Simon opens the coffin, the walker emerges, but Negan uses a nail gun to put the walker down! Simon notices right away that the walker was Dean, and assumes the other 38 that are at the Hilltop were from the satellite post. Simon gets frustrated and says he’ll kill every last one of those farmers, but Negan yells at him saying he’ll do what he is told to do!

Enid, in bold pops on the screen next, and shows her and Aaron get pushed into an R.V. and handcuffed by the all-girl group we saw Tara with last season. The girls decide to let Sydney be the judge, jury, and executioner, but someone suggests they should just kill them. The girls walk out and leave them in the R.V. Aaron comforts Enid, but she says she’s not concerned with that. The girls walk back in and unhandcuff them, and one soldier says to take them to the beach, but Aaron and Enid’s help change their minds saying if they die, people will come looking for them and they will kill them all. Sydney’s grandmother made that same mistake, but Enid doesn’t want that to happen to her. Sydney made the final decision in letting them live. The girls escorted Aaron and Enid out of their base and told them not to return. Enid gets face to face with Sydney and demands for her to stop killing strangers and they know who’s good and who’s bad. Aaron is willing to get this group to join the fight, but Enid is trying to talk him out of it. Aaron claims he’s done it before and he will do it again, but he needs Maggie to find out what he’s doing, but he doesn’t want her to come. Enid and Aaron embrace in a hug afterward promising each other that they’ll be okay.

We have a scene dedicated to Simon now, a Savior asks for a plan, and they walk into the Scavenger’s compound. They are armed and ready for a fight, but Simon asks for them to lower their weapons, all he wants is an apology for the act of violence against them. Jadus responds with no deal with Rick, and they brought him to the Saviors. Simon yells out, “BULLS**T” but says they don’t need to worry because they have a break due to Negan having a big heart in asking for them to comply with their deal and all will be forgiven-no punishment. Simon claims they are in need of ammunition, and as good friends, he thinks he will a nice of good will. Jadus complies and the Saviors take all of their guns. Simon is not yet feeling the remorse of an apology, Jadus claims there is remorse. Simon draws out his weapon and shoots a Scavenger is a chest! Jadus says it again, Simon shoots another Scavenger! Simon asks her to say it again, but this time Jadus punches Simon across the face, emotionally saying there is remorse! Simon thinks she doesn’t mean it, and orders the Saviors to light it up, meaning kill them all! Jadus has a broken look on her face, while Simon has a sinister joker like look on his face! Simon returns home with all of their guns, and Negan is there to greet him, as he’s worried about Gavin. Negan sent out a group on the Kingdom to investigate, but Simon replies with everything will be aye okay, but if it’s not, then they’ll send another message! Negan asks how it went, Simon replies with business as usual, simple message, and there was remorse. A Savior confronts Negan saying Rick is on the other line of the walkie-talkie, and Simon has the look of fear on his face.

We have the perspective of Jadus now, but first, the viewers are shown how Rick and Michonne escaped the walker trap the Scavengers laid out for them. The couple fights off the undead and proceeds to climb up a pile of garbage where they are greeted by a depressed and stripped down Jadus. They ask what happened here, and she responds with the Saviors. (So the undead army at the Scavengers home base was the rest of the scavengers minus Jadus and the trap was unintended). Rick asks how do they get out, and Jadus says the way they came from. Jadus says this was their world, but Rick says all of this mess was all because of her! Rick takes a car door and says he’s going to escape and gives one to Michonne, Jadus wants to help, but only to get out, but Rick says she’s no use anyway. Rick and Michonne use the car doors as shields and are able to escape. Jadus, on the other hand, wants to escape too, but Rick shoots his gun in the air making all of the walkers attracted to her leaving her to die! Jadus hits a huge pole on the ground several of times to get attention to the walkers and is ready to die. Jadus sets up a trap for the undead and leads them to a garbage crusher, and what rolls out is a pile of undead guts- she’s officially broken!

In the final scene, we the audience get to see the perspective of Rick who explains himself to Michonne about how he just wanted Jadus gone from his life, not dead. Rick pulls over to catch a break, and importantly, reads what Carl had to say to Negan in the letter he wrote. Rick takes out the walkie-talkie and demands to speak to Negan. Negan responds asking for his location, but instead letting him know Carl’s dead and that he wrote letters, one of them is for him. Rick summarizes what he wrote to Negan and asks for him to stop the madness, and for peace, but Rick claims it’s too late. Rick claims he’s going to kill Negan. Negan asks how he died, and if it was the Saviors. An emotional Rick responds with he was trying to help someone out, and he got bit! Negan is starting to get emotional too now, and he apologizes, and he had big plans for Carl in him being the future. Negan asks him to stop because he’s putting the blame on Rick for his death because he couldn’t hold it together, and he wasn’t there to save Carl from doing something stupid. Negan asks who’s next, Rick immediately responds with him being the next one, but Negan denies it and says someone else will be because the Saviors are here to save people. He killed Glenn and Abraham because he wanted to save them, but Rick let his emotions get the best of him, he failed as a leader, and a father, so he suggests for Rick to give up!

This episode surprisingly is an excellent one, even without Carl in it. This season so far is living up to its expectations, which makes me and the audience very pleased. With very good character development and returns, this is one of the better episodes of season eight! Back to the rating scale—leaning towards Daryl Dixon—the best episode thus far—Glenn Rhee, one of the best of the batch, Rick Grimes, a rather average episode, Gregory, the Hilltop leader, which was lacking quality, and Spencer and Aidan Monroe, the absolute worst of the batch. Season eight episode ten earns a very high Glenn Rhee rating, in other words its great!