Maggie Rhee is a woman of many talents, and The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 12 had them all on display.
Maggie spent years away from her friends and the communities they’ve called home for years, and a part of her thinks the best foot forward is to restore the Hilltop to its former glory.
In theory, it’s a tough task, especially when you consider that the Kingdom has already fallen, and Alexandria wasn’t far from it when Eugene, Lance, and the Commonwealth soldiers showed up.
The truth is, all of these characters have been too trusting of the Commonwealth, and it’s becoming clear that there’s more going on behind the scenes than our heroes are privy to.
Lance is an intriguing figure in the narrative. We know he’s been scheming every step of the way and is desperate for any semblance of power he can get.
He likes to manipulate people into doing his bidding, and while it seems to be working on Aaron, it’s not working with Maggie and Pamela.
The dynamic between Pamela and Lance is fraught because everything Pamela does is for the good of the Commonwealth, but she’s starting to wisen up to the fact that Lance cares more about the power and influence he has.
He knows his name doesn’t mean that much at the Commonwealth, not when he has someone as prestigious as Pamela Milton above him, so working on these smaller communities to make outer communities is the best way for him to secure what he wants.
It was just dumb luck, honestly. I found the radio parts in a dumpster behind the municipal building. They’d never be left there for security reasons, so someone clearly thought it was trash. But it wasn’t trash. It just needed some love.
Max
Josh Hamilton plays the nuances of Lance to perfection. The highlight was when Pamela told him that he’s always been ambitious, but the focus should be on the good of the Commonwealth.
If you watch The Walking Dead online, you know Lance’s manipulation knows no bounds. He’s playing everyone against each other, and the sooner everyone realizes it, the better.
Maggie refusing to join the Commonwealth made for a satisfying turn of events in an otherwise middle-of-the-road installment.
The desperate mission to repair her fallen community only grew more desperate by the day, but we need to remember Maggie grew up on a farm.
That big city life Lance dangled in front of her eyes like a carrot didn’t resonate with her. She knew he was throwing out all these buzzwords, like college for Hershel, taking a boat up the shore to another location, and such.
The pitch was good, but Maggie has dealt with enough communities during her time on the road to understanding that you don’t get anything for free in life, not even in the apocalypse.
Diane cutting her losses with Maggie was a significant turning point, but her people were tired of having their work rendered useless by a wave of walkers.
Diane has primarily been kept on the periphery but has been fiercely loyal to the heroes for so long that it was about time she considered something for the good of herself than others.
Mercer: Apparently, someone on an unauthorized radio station has been talking to a rogue community outside of our walls. Hornsby’s all over it. Tell me it wasn’t you. Please tell me that you were not about to sneak out to meet some stranger at a rail yard.
Max: What could I say?
Mercer: Max, it’s dangerous. For everyone at the Commonwealth, but especially for me and you. I gotta go. You better pray Hornsby doesn’t realize that was your voice.
We already know that a few months on from “The Lucky Ones,” Lance and Daryl lead a group of soldiers to the Hilltop, telling them to open fire.
Maggie made an enemy out of Lance by not agreeing to his terms, and she’s deemed a roadblock in his plan for world domination.
He has the resources to make her life hell, and I suspect Negan will return to help Maggie fight back against the Commonwealth.
Maggie and Negan have been confirmed to headline Isle of the Dead, a new spinoff, so there has to be resolve between them in the final episodes of the series.
After all the excitement of The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 11, the Eugene and Stephanie drama fell flat. I don’t buy Max’s explanation in finding the electrical components and miraculously building a radio.
Pamela: This is a long way from home, Lance.
Lance: It is. But these communities are perfect for what we’re envisioning.
Pamela: What you’re envisioning. I’m not convinced we need to stretch our resources like this. Grow your empire further than your power can extend and lose your empire.
Lance: I don’t think it’s quite that dramatic.
Pamela: Well, how’s this for dramatic? If this doesn’t go well, we’re out. These people are free to stay with us permanently or they can go home and finish their own repairs. There’s enough to do at home without having to worry about a couple of small communities in another state.
Lance: Give it a chance, Pamela. I really think you might be surprised.
She’s too deeply aligned with Pamela for me to believe her story, and the fact that the latest round of flashbacks were from her perspective makes me think there’s more to this story than meets the eye.
Eugene may have been hook, line, and sinkered all over again, but who can blame him? He thought he met the woman of his dreams, only for her to be revealed as a spy and then for someone else to pop up as the real deal.
The only positive from the Eugene/Stephanie saga of this installment was in how it put Eugene in a reflective mood. It’s hard to believe how much he’s grown over the years on the show.
Hopefully, this storyline is put on the back seat for a while, and maybe, just maybe, Eugene will do something to help Maggie.
Ezekiel getting moved up the list for surgery was not a surprise. When Carol puts her mind to something, she gets results.
There was no way Ezekiel would allow it to go ahead without considering the ramifications on the people further down the list.
He was earmarked for death, only to be given a reprieve when he least expected it. Even though Carol and Ezekiel are no longer an item, Carol couldn’t allow him to die without her trying to save him first.
Pamela: It was a worthy effort, Lance.
Lance: It’s not over. It doesn’t have to be.
Pamela: It’s time to go home.
Lance: We still have Alexandria. I just need time to get the other two.
Pamela: It was a bold move, trying to bring three new communities into the fold. I get why something like that would be appealing to you. Someone needs to run them, right?
Lance: That selection would be at your discretion, obviously.
Pamela: Obviously. I’m gonna pretend that you were doing this for the good of the Commonwealth rather than for yourself.
Lance: I was doing this for you.
Pamela: You’ve been ambitious our whole lives, Lance. Ambition is notoriously hard to reel in. So… if you want to try and make it work, fine. But if your job at home starts to suffer, there will be consequences. The Commonwealth always comes first.
“The Lucky Ones” was the slowest installment in a while, but it was somewhat necessary to prepare the storylines for the final 12 episodes.
What are your thoughts on Lance being put on blast by Pamela?
Do you think Maggie made the right call?
What are your thoughts on Pamela knowing Deanna?
Hit the comments.
The Walking Dead continues Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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