The Walking Dead Recap: “New Best Friends”

The Walking Dead makes yet another slow move towards Negan’s (and The Saviors’) inevitable demise. The episode, titled “New Best Friends” aired while we were on break and it’s time it got a review. This episode follows Rick Grimes, Tara Chambler. Rosita Espinosa, Aaron and Michonne, who, as we saw last week in “Rock In the Road”, we’re caught by a mysterious group who seemed to have Father Gabriel Stokes. The episode also follows Daryl Dixon in the Kingdom, as well as King Ezekiel (for a little bit), Richard, and Carol Peletier’s return and a tearful reunion with Daryl.

The episode stars:
• Andrew Lincoln as the main protagonist and leader of Alexandria, Rick Grimes.
• Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, son if Rick Grimes and one of those who is very resistant to The Savior’s rule
• Danai Gurira as Michonne, the love interest of Rick and the “silent-strong” type. She has been very resistant to The Savior’s rule.
• Lauren Cohen as Maggie Greene-Rhee, the recently widowed woman who seems to be taking the lead of Hilltop. Maggie was married to fan favorite Glenn Rhee before his brutal death.
• Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, the escapee of The Sanctuary and a former prisoner at the Sanctuary.
• Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, the battered woman who has turned into a cold stone shell. Now she is in hiding and struggling with her morals.
• Khary Payton as Ezekiel, the “king” of a society called The Kingdom.
• Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes, the former priest who has seemingly gone insane.
• Ross Marquand as Aaron, an Alexandrian who is against The Saviors.
• Christian Soratos as Rosita Espinosa, the former girlfriend of the now deceased Abraham Ford and a major resistor of The Savior’s rule.
• Lennie James as Morgan Jones, the preacher of all life being precious and the man who saved Carol.
• Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler. Tara has played a minor role due to her pregnancy in real life.

So what exactly happened in The Walking Dead season seven, episode ten “New Best Friends”?

Father Gabriel, Jadus, Rick and company

Last we knew, Father Gabriel stole all of the food from Alexandria’s food pantry. After some digging by Rick, Aaron, Michonne, Rosita, and Tara, Rick finds a message, it says “BOAT”. Rick travels back with these four to the location we last saw in the mid season finale, “Hearts Still Beating”. This location? A cabin in the woods where Rick and Aaron crossed a walker infested lake to get to the supplies on the other side. Upon arriving back there, the five are held at gunpoint by a punch of random people, to which Rick simply smiles at.

What happened now?

Rick negotiates with the leader of this group, Jadus. Jadus claims that her and her group own the lives of these five and Father Gabriel, Rick disagrees with her. Saying the Saviors own their lives, and that Jadus should know that they have nothing to buy their lives back with. Jadus tests Rick, sending the spiked walker we have seen in several promos for this season’s second half, the spiked walker is named Winslow. Rick has to navigate through a pile of trash and inevitably kill Winslow. He does, but not before his hand gets stabbed and his leg is injured as well. Jadus pulls Rick up afterwards, the two arrive at a deal. Jadus and her group agree to help Rick take down The Saviors in exchange for supplies.

The Kingdom: Daryl, Carol, Richard. Three trapped and lost people

Daryl Dixon, went from the big bad of Rick’s group to rock bottom for getting his buddy Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) killed by Negan, to rotting in a jail cell in Negan’s compound, to escaping and having nowhere to go but the confines of The Kingdom.

As of the last episode, “Rock in the Road”, Ezekiel rejected the offer to fight against The Saviors, but offered Daryl asylum at The Kingdom, saying Negan’s people do not come inside of the Kingdom.

Carol Peletier- the former shell of a woman who lost it all and had the morality to kill anything that got in her way, now she has hit rock bottom, not wanting to kill anymore.

As of “The Well”, Carol has been in hiding, with Morgan protecting her from being found (“Rock in the Road”)

Richard- A top man, or so it seems, of the king, Richard desperately wants to fight Negan and The Saviors, but to what length? We will start with that right now.

Richard attends a meeting of some Saviors and Ezekiel’s men, it’s a trade off of good to The Saviors. Once again, Richard has problems with a Savior named Jared. Jared insists Richard turn over his gun. Richard doesn’t want to, but Ezekiel insists that Richard comply, which he reluctantly does. Morgan loses his staff, the one that Eastman gave him, after helping Richard.

Later in, Richard gives Daryl a crossbow and starts practicing with a bow and arrow himself. The two men later go out, Richard planning to kill some Saviors and then he plans to leave a trail for them to find Carol. After Richard slips up and makes a wrong comment, Daryl backs out and attacks Richard for threatening Carol. Daryl then sets out to find Carol, which he does. After an emotional reunion, Daryl is about to tell Carol about what happened to Glenn Rhee and Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz), but after seeing how emotional she got and understanding why Morgan had protected her now, he doesn’t tell her and lies to her, saying everything is fine. Is that a mistake? It might be… only time will tell us for sure.