11x12 - The Lucky Ones

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "The Walking Dead"...

They're here to help.

We need to get a meeting on the books

about Alexandria.

I have a pitch.

[Chuckling] I'm sure you do.

Does Ezekiel know how
bad his chances are?

He knows the odds aren't good.

There's likely no chance
he'll get the surgery

unless by some miracle
he moves up the line.

There was never any Stephanie.

Who is she?!

Eugene?

It's me.

I'm the one you were
talking to on the radio.

Max: 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.

♪

[Chuckles]

Eugene: I have the most vivid
memory of an ice-cream shop

with the most marvelous batch
of black raspberry ice cream.

The Inside Scoop.

I used to go there all the time.

Hell, we might've been
there on the same day.

Well, knowin' this,

there's a critical
question needs answerin'.

What's that?

Cake cone or waffle?

[Laughs]

That's how we started talking,

and we talked about everything.

Everything and nothing.

I just can't help but believe

that this is a celestially ordained

meet-and-greet.

No bean-spillage here, either.

But, Eugene, my people
are uber cautious.

And if we're close...

I never thought about
leaving this place before.

Well, I-I did,

but I never let myself
believe it was possible.

Truth is, Stephanie,

I'd just very much like to meet you.

But then my brother got involved,

and he was not happy.

God damn it.

It's not what you think.

Oh, yeah?

Wanna know what I did today?

I investigated a massive
communications breach.

Apparently, someone on an
unauthorized radio station

has been talking to a rogue community

outside of our walls.

Well, then.

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.

What could I say?

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.

I knew I'd crossed a line.

And with Hornsby on the prowl,

getting out to see you was impossible.

And then you turn up
with some other girl

calling herself Stephanie.

Using my words...

my voice.

♪

Excuse me.

That wouldn't happen to be
Rocky Road there, would it?

♪

♪

You seemed so happy...

So, I kept my head down.

I didn't know what else to do.

♪

- Thank you, Max.
- Mm.

Can I get you anything else?

Ice cream? Tea?

A day without my son acting
like a little assh*le?

[Chuckles]

I'll get you that ice cream.

Oh, and, Max?

Have the bank cut off
Sebastian's line of credit.

Maybe that'll whip him into shape.

- [Knock on door]
- I've got news.

Then Hornsby came to see Pamela...

and he was buzzing
about you and Alexandria.

- I never...
- Eugene: What's he planning?

♪

I don't know.

He's ambitious.

Could mean anything.

Could mean nothing... just the rebuild.

♪

The big guy in the
orange armor who hates me.

That's your brother?

Yes, but, Eugene...

And you...

You're Stephanie?

No. I'm Max.

There is no Stephanie.

Well, it was my mother's name, really...

- I-I-I'm sorry.
- So...

I'm sorry.

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

Pamela: This is a long
way from home, Lance.

It is.

But these communities are perfect

for what we're envisioning.

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.

I don't think it's quite that dramatic.

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.

Give it a chance, Pamela.

I really think you might be surprised.

♪

♪

[Whispering] Let's wrap it up, okay?

They're coming.

[Horse whinnies]

Hey. [Speaks indistinctly]

Hey, cover that window.

♪

[Indistinct conversations in distance]

♪

♪

Aaron: Hello there.

Welcome.

Aaron. Pamela Milton.

A pleasure.

Uh, care for the grand tour?

I would expect nothing less.

- [Chuckling] Okay.
- [Chuckles]

Uh, Alexandria

was a self-sustaining
ecological community.

We have water, solar panels,
and, uh, a crop system.

Who is the engineer?

I don't recall anyone from intake.

Uh, no one, actually.

We got the plans from the
leader of an allied community.

Maggie Rhee.

Uh, some of our people
studied the blueprints,

and we built it.

Fascinating.

Mercer: How do you keep
a place like this safe

with it being so isolated?

Wasn't easy.

Fought a lot of fights.

You were one of the leaders here?

Yeah, yeah, I guess you could say that.

We all were.

What'd you do before all this?

Doesn't matter.

Least, not to us, anyway.

♪

Pamela: Mm.

She looks just how I remember her.

What, you knew her?

Oh, we used to cross paths quite a bit

in philanthropy circles back in the day.

But I had no interest
in politics at the time.

She, however, was born to run things.

What was she like as a leader?

She brought us in.

We'd never met anybody like that before.

You admire her.

Yeah. Very much so.

I mean, she built all this for us.

Something worth fighting for.

But it fell.

Yeah, but we always
brought it right back.

It fell more than once?

- [Radio chatter]
- Yeah.

Mercer: We've got a breach.

Stay here, ma'am.

I got it.

[Walker growling]

sh*t.

How did you lose Deanna?

She was bitten.

Did she turn?

We had to put her down. Yes.

♪

[Growling stops]

I think I've seen enough here.

♪

[Monitor beeping]

Tomi: Morning, Ezekiel. Jerry.

And a good morning to you, too, sir.

Mm. Okay, let's get into it.

So nothing but water morning of.

No food. No solids.

We need you on an empty stomach.

Sorry?

Doc, we're just here
for a routine check-up.

Theo: I was told this
is pre-op blood work.

To make sure he's stable
enough for the surgery.

Surgery?

To take out this tumor.

Did no one tell you?

Whoa.

I thought I was still on the list.

Well, now you're at
the top of that list.

Theo: You're lucky.

Some people wait years.

Jerry: What about his bill?

He's paid up.

Well, however it came
to pass, I'm thrilled.

We're going to take good
care of you, Ezekiel.

Rest up.

See you Friday at nine.

[Woman coughing in distance]

[Laughs]

This is so frickin' awesome!

[Laughs, claps hands]

Wha... What is it?

How did this happen?

Oh, come on, boss, this is good news.

Maybe it's a coincidence.
Maybe it's a clerical error.

Maybe it's divine intervention.

Either way, don't you think
you deserve a little luck?

♪

♪

[Seagulls cawing]

♪

Hornsby: Pamela.

♪

Pamela.

Rachel's ready for you.

♪

[Chuckles]

You're blessed to have
this at your door step.

We know.

I heard how Oceanside came to be.

About your battles with the
Saviors and the Whisperers.

Says a lot about strength
of your community.

I'm excited to have you as
partners of the Commonwealth.

Aaron mentioned there
was a trade provision

that you'd like worked
into our agreement.

[Chuckles] Something wrong?

We spoke to Maggie Rhee.
The leader of Hilltop.

She told us she's not
partnered with you all.

We offered Hilltop the same agreement

as with Alexandria, but Maggie declined.

Alexandria's gone its own way before.

But Hilltop and Maggie have
always been there for us.

We renewed our mutual protection pact,

and I'm gonna honor it.

If Maggie decides to partner with you,

we will, too, out of respect for her.

Otherwise, Oceanside's a "no."

♪

Question... what was the
point of bringing you along

if you can't give me any helpful intel

in advance of sh*t
blowing up in our faces?

Your people have been
fixing up Alexandria.

It's not my fault the walker got in.

You should've known
about Rachel and Hilltop.

Because I'm a mind-reader?

How do you think this little
detour looks to Pamela?

It looks like we're not prepared.

It looks like you're not prepared.

Lance, you know Pamela, alright?

I don't.

You didn't anticipate this?

It's not my problem.

Stop acting like
Alexandria means more to you

than it does to me.

Right now, you and I
want the same thing.

Which means you and I are
in the same sinking boat.

Is Maggie gonna make
this difficult for us?

Huh. Fabulous.

So you know?

This is all or nothing for Pamela.

So if Maggie says no
and Oceanside walks,

Alexandria is cut off.

♪

Then we'll figure it out.

Sure.

'Cause it was going so
well before we stepped in.

[Tires screech]

♪

[Walkers growling]

♪

♪

♪

[Walkers growling]

[Horse neighs]

♪

[Grunting]

♪

Daryl: You alright?

[Grunts]

♪

At ease.

♪

You must be Maggie.

♪

♪

I already ate.

Thanks.

I'll just leave it right here.

There you go.

It's good to see you guys.

Maggie...

Why do you trust these people?

Daryl: Who says we do?

When do I ever?

Fair enough.

It's good to see Alexandria
getting cleaned up, though.

Least their word meant something.

Yeah, there's like ,
people living there.

At least . seem like
decent enough folks.

And it's not forever.

You sure you don't want to come with us?

You don't have to do this alone.

Hey, sorry to interrupt.

The forward unit picked up a swarm.

We have some extra r*fles with us.

So while they're handling that,

Governor Milton proposed
that we all go hunting,

if you're up for that?

♪

♪

♪

We'll scare all the food away
stomping around like this.

I'll go with Maggie,
and you boys pair off.

Don't need a minder this time, General.

We'll be fine.

♪

How did things get so bad?

Maggie: How do they ever?

I've met so many communities,

and I still can't figure
out what makes some lucky

and able to fight off the world

while others can't.

I don't believe in luck.

That's interesting.

I'm sensing more of an opinion.

I mean, luck is about opportunity.

I don't know anybody who's
had more opportunity than you.

Well, since we're being honest...

Cards on the table, Maggie.

I didn't want to come on this tour.

♪

I have thousands of people under my care

and that responsibility
keeps me up at night.

That's the price of leadership.

Everything costs something.

For me, it's sleep.

You know what I think
about at : A.M.?

Hm?

Who can we trust?

How do we stay safe?

Your communities are
small by our standards.

I wasn't sure the risk
of going back and forth

would be worth it.

Then why are you here?

The right allies make us stronger.

This world belongs to us, not the dead.

Meeting all of you,
hearing all your stories,

has confirmed what I've always believed.

There is a natural order
to things that has vanished,

and that order needs to be restored.

It provides a future for our kids.

million little city-states
fighting each other

for power and resources

is never going to be able to
provide that kind of stability.

I'm offering you the same thing

your mutual protection
pact with Oceanside did.

Someone who has your back.

♪

[Sizzling]

♪

[Knock on door]

[Knock on door]

Ah! Mm.

[Knock on door]

Yeah.

[Sighs]

- Hey.
- Hey.

Hey. Hey.

I just thought I'd
see how you were doing.

Um, cooking, actually.

- Uh...
- [Clears throat]

...you hungry?

Nabila and Jerry left me a buffet.

- Okay.
- It's, um, crispy.

Yeah. Why not?

Here.

[Sighs]

Jerry said you had a check-up today...

Anything come up?

It's a funny thing.

- What?
- Tomi said I was scheduled for surgery.

They bumped me up in the line.

[Sighs]

That's good.

That's great. That's great.

- Right?
- Wait.

Did you...?

What did you do?

I didn't...

[Sighs]

My debt was wiped out.

Hornsby owed me a favor.

♪

It's cheating!

Why would you do that?

Because I don't want you to die.

Carol.

Those lines are a lie.

You think Pamela
Milton would think twice

before doing the same
thing for her shitty son?

Have you been inside
that hospital, Carol?

'Cause if you had been,
you'd see all those people,

suffering,

same as me.

Waiting for treatment.

Same as me.

You're supposed to just die
because the system is broken?

Lesser men have been given
more and done nothing with it.

You are not a lesser man.

[Sighs]

I think that's called an autocracy.

[Chuckling] No, it's not.

Liberties haven't gone anywhere.

You're the leader at Hilltop.

You make the decisions.

You consider yourself an autocrat?

I-I lead the way I was
taught by Deanna and Georgie.

The communities that we built are fair.

The Commonwealth is fair.

Yeah, but you drive a nicer car

and live in a nicer
house than everybody else.

I have more responsibilities
than the average worker.

A leader has to give her
people something to look up to.

Alright, well, I want people
to look up to what I've done

and what I do, not what
I have that they don't.

[Walker growling]

Behind you.

You want it or shall I?

Well, I was thinking about
going after the one behind you.

[Walkers growling]

[Growling stops]

♪

♪

♪

Hey.

♪

[Coco cooing]

Hey, come on, now.

♪

You okay?

I'm great. How are you?

You got a great poker face.

Thank you.

How's the new job going?

Oh, you know.

It's a lot.

Do you regret coming here?

Do you?

♪

So you like it here?

We all get to be together.

Everyone's safe.

So it works for now.

♪

Going with the flow.

Didn't think I'd end up basically a cop,

but I'm pretty good at it, so...

Pretty damn good at
everything you do, Rosita.

♪

Thanks, Eugene.

I do miss home, though.

Yeah.

I miss going outside the walls.

I miss the freedom that we used to have.

♪

But it'll come.

When Alexandria's fixed back up,

then... then people have choices
and that's good, you know?

♪

You're excited about the future.

Yeah, I guess I am.

♪

Eugene, what is it? Spill.

♪

I was thinking about when we first met

and how I was lying to you.

About who I was.

About Washington, D.C.

And...

That was a long time ago, Eugene.

And we found our home.

So going with the flow works, right?

♪

Eugene, what is it? Get it out.

You'll feel better.

♪

Stephanie...

♪

Isn't missing.

♪

I saw her.

She just...

♪

Broke up with me.

She broke up with me.

Eugene, I'm so sorry.

[Crying]

♪

♪

[Sniffles]

She wasn't who I thought she was.

Screw her.

You can do so much better.

And you're gonna find your person.

She's out there. I promise.

♪

[Indistinct conversations]

♪

♪

Dianne: Hey.

They meant everything they said.

All the Troopers that came back with us,

they're working on re-enforcing
the water tower right now.

You went hunting with them?

Yeah. It's not much, but it's...

More than we've had in weeks.

Yeah, we'll get dinner started.

Alright. Thanks.

Is everyone okay?

Yeah, yeah.

Everyone seems relieved.

Hoping this means we can
actually get some sleep tonight.

Daryl.

- Hi.
- Hey.

Was wondering when you'd come back.

- Hey.
- How you holding up?

Uh, it's okay.

- We're doing our best.
- Yeah?

Just feel like maybe some things
just can't be fixed, you know?

Just feels kind of pointless sometimes.

- I hear you.
- How do you know when?

When what?

Just when it's time to walk away?

Is that what you wanna do?

Hey, Maggie, is it okay if
we hand out some supplies?

We have more than enough.

Food, fuel.

Sure. Thank you.

Great. We're on it.

Uh, you two. Come with me.

♪

Hey, Daryl, look what I got.

Oh, my God.

Hey, we're gonna pass out some food.

- You wanna help us?
- Yeah.

[Grunts] You take the big one.

Hey, give this to Elijah.

Okay.

Mercer: Must be hard to be a kid out here.

He grew up on the road.

He's a different kind of kid.

Your friend. She like
torturing herself out here?

♪

This place used to be really special.

Different.

It's going through hard times now,

but it'll be back up and running.

Just watch.

I guess not all places
are as lucky as Alexandria.

Not all places are as
lucky as Commonwealth.

♪

Are you coming around?

[Scoffs]

I wouldn't go that far,

but you guys, uh, have
done good stuff for us,

so, I don't know, I'll give you that.

Commonwealth ain't perfect, bro.

What, you think?

Just don't get too comfortable.

The only reason you're out of your armor

is because someone thought
it'd be good for appearances.

You got your role to
play, and I got mine.

♪

We'll be in here when you wake up.

Pizza, ice cream. The works.

No.

No pineapple.

I'm serious, Jerry.

Pineapple on pizza makes no sense.

Pizza?

You're not eating anything but
Jell-O for a while, hotshot.

♪

[Indistinct conversations in distance]

♪

Nervous twitch?

[Chuckles] Lucky coin.

I had a lucky rabbit's foot once.

My dog brought it home with
the rabbit still attached to it.

My old man gave this to me.

When I was a kid, I
thought it was made of gold.

Turns out, it's just gold-plated.

Inside's same as a lowly nickel.

♪

Have you decided yet?

♪

[Sighs]

What do you get out of all this?

♪

Come on, Maggie.

Let's not pretend the obvious
isn't staring us in the face.

You're in over your head.

You don't know me very well.

I know you're smart
enough to know a good offer

when you hear it.

♪

And I'm smart enough to know
I've just pissed you off.

♪

You haven't answered my question.

[Chuckles]

Alright. I'll bite.

The first time I went to Alexandria,

I could see it.

The potential.

Maggie, do you really
believe that Hilltop,

as it currently stands,

is the best you'll ever have?

Or Alexandria?

Or even Oceanside?

Look around.

We can have so much more.

Imagine being able to pick Hershel up

from a concert at the Commonwealth,

take him to a doctor's
appointment in Alexandria,

then jump on a boat at Oceanside,

traveling up the coast.

[Sighs]

And what's up that coast?

Another port town?

Another school?

How about a university?

Have you ever imagined being
able to drop your son off

for his freshman year of college?

Tried to build it.

Of course you did.

Because you and I see
things the same way.

Imagine the world you want to build.

♪

Hold it in your mind.

Now picture the power of
, Commonwealth workers

helping you make that vision a reality.

Think what you could accomplish then.

♪

Man: Swarm incoming!

[Indistinct shouting]

♪

[g*nf*re]

♪

This way.

♪

[Walkers growling]

♪

♪

[Walkers growling]

♪

♪

[Grunts]

[Walkers growling]

♪

Fire!

♪

♪

[Flies buzzing]

Imagine not having to deal with this

every time that alarm goes off.

Yeah, we could keep building.

No more starts and stops.

I know there's a lot to consider,

but, I mean, look around.

We need this.

I know.

Mercer: Formation!

Let's go!

♪

Dixon. Fall in.

Daryl: Hold up.

♪

Hey.

Remember, they're always watching.

Got me?

Daryl: Yeah. Yeah, I got it.

Mercer: Left face.

Forward march.

♪

♪

♪

Never a dull moment here, is there?

Mm, we try.

Everyone okay?

Yeah, no injuries, all limbs intact.

I'd call that a good day.

But the Hilltop's gonna
pass on your offer.

Can I ask why?

'Cause, like you said,
everything costs something.

♪

♪

[Knock on door]

No, please don't shut the door.

♪

Found some raspberry goodness
of the Inside Scoop variety.

It's not exactly black raspberry, but...

♪

Please, it's very cold.

♪

♪

Um, I'm so sorry, Max.

For my ungentleman-like behavior.

For running away.

For not listening.

I was bruised and confused.

You were pretty damn rude.

I was.

Indeed.

I let Hornsby get inside my head,

and it was an infiltration
of the most epic proportions.

He is a snake.

More like a worm.

I let an imposter into my heart

and my home.

I let her read my manuscript.

Manuscript?

I...

I'm writing a novel.

Was a sepulcher involved?

Obviously.

[Sighs]

Did it take place in
the Carpathian Mountains?

Carpathian Mountains, yes.

You let her read it?

I thought she was you.

I know, but, Eugene...

how?

After all that time we spent together,

everything we told each other,

how could you not know it wasn't me?

I do... I don't know.

I guess I figured out a long time ago

that I'm not like most folks.

I got used to rejection PDQ.

Didn't even realize it was
rejection some of the times,

but, well, suffice it to say,
it happened a fair amount.

So there was a part of
me that always wondered

if our connection was all in my head.

But when I got here, and she didn't...

♪

Push me away...

I just so badly wanted this to be real.

And subtle cues escape me sometimes.

Anyway, I never meant to hurt you, Max.

But my intent does not excuse my impact.

How can I make this up to you?

Will you allow me to try?

♪

I don't know.

♪

♪

Can I read your novel?

♪

Well, as ill fortune would have it,

you came upon me whilst I was
burning the only physical copy.

However, I have committed
much of the text to memory.

What was the concept?

A gumshoe by the name of Steph Portman

is caught up in a rollicking
international caper,

trying to avert nuclear disaster

and navigate the intricacies

of the legal bureaucracies back at home.

You didn't make the
District Attorney corrupt,

- did you?
- Certainly not.

[Both chuckle]

That would've surprised exactly no one.

[Chuckles]

I did, however, give him
an unsavory twin brother.

Mm. Evil twin. Nice.

Yeah, I thought so.

You should, um, make
the twin a scientist.

Ramp up the stakes
on the nuclear thr*at.

That is exactly what I did.

[Both chuckle]

♪

Hm.

What?

♪

Just... felt like old times.

♪

Here. I got something for ya.

It's from Judith.

She said in case you're making
Hershel eat more horse meat.

Oh, God.

It was good to see you.

Yeah.

Be careful.

If you need me, you
know where to find me.

Same for you.

Dianne?

I'm leaving, Maggie.

Some of the others are coming with me,

and you should, too.

You need to be careful who you trust.

You know that better than anybody.

You also have to know
when to ask for help.

It's harder than it has ever been,

and it doesn't have to be.

I respect the hell outta you,

but I can't do this anymore.

♪

I'm sorry.

♪

♪

♪

It was a worthy effort, Lance.

It's not over.

It doesn't have to be.

It's time to go home.

We still have Alexandria.

I just need time to get the other two.

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?

That selection would
be at your discretion,

obviously.

Obviously.

I'm gonna pretend that
you were doing this

for the good of the Commonwealth
rather than for yourself.

I was doing this for you.

♪

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.

♪

♪

[g*nshots]

♪

[Walkers growling]

♪

♪

Lance.

Lance, you okay?

"A" plus.

[Growling]

♪

What'd she say about Alexandria?

We good?

[Growling continues]

Everything's fine.

Pamela's on board.

In fact, we're gonna
bring even more people in.

Get ready, Aaron.

We are going to remake the world.

[Growling stops]

♪

There's a group on the Western border.

We want to make first
contact and offer them help.

Gabriel: What do you
know about these people?

♪

Someone we know must have sent him.

Lance: I ask for a hundred troops,

there's no way Milton doesn't notice.

I need a surgical solution.

♪

♪

And you...

You're Stephanie?

No.

I'm Max.

There is no Stephanie.

So, something interesting
about this episode,

as you may or may not have noticed,

is that we start the whole
thing with this montage

telling the story from
Max's point of view.

And we realize that
underneath everything,

there was this kind of
other story that was burning.

♪

It's not what you think.

Oh, yeah?

One of the things, creatively,
that we did, and it's subtle,

is that we're not reusing footage,

and so we wanted to let Max have
her version of the story, too,

so this is her experience
of what that moment was like.

Excuse me.

That wouldn't happen to be
Rocky Road there, would it?

We actually linger, like, in
a different expression on her

when she and Eugene meet eyes,
before she has to go away,

because we just felt like,
this is a subjective montage

and so she's having a
slightly different experience

of the same scene, and
so we wanted to show it

from her perspective as
she's telling the story.

I was told this is pre-op blood work?

Make sure he's stable
enough for the surgery.

Surgery?

To take out this tumor.

Did no one tell you?

Whoa.

For Ezekiel, he really wants to live,

and he feels like he has more to give,

that he wants to be with
his friends and loved ones,

but he's also resigned to the fact

that maybe he's not going to make it.

And I think Ezekiel
had gotten to a place

where he's a little bit
at peace with the idea

that he might not have much time left,

and so he is shocked by the fact that

he's offered this surgery.

Did you...

What did you do?

I didn't...

[Sighs]

My debt was wiped out.

Hornsby owed me a favor.

He's a very moral person,

and the idea of cheating
for anything is just, like,

horrific to him.

He has such empathy,

even for these people
that he doen't know.

I think it really
speaks to who Ezekiel is

and was as a leader.

Lesser men have been given more

and done nothing with it.

You are not a lesser man.

And I think Carol's
point of view is like,

everybody's cheating the system,

but it's like, if you get this surgery,

maybe you can do something about it.

Even if she doesn't
say it in so many words,

that's what she truly, truly believes.

She knows that, and she's right.

[Grunts]

[Walker growling]

[Grunts]

- You alright?
- [Grunts]

It was really important for us

that when Pamela first meets Maggie,

that she doesn't meet Maggie
kind of completely down and out,

which is kind of where she's at.

You must be Maggie.

For Pamela, she's impressed by Maggie.

She's impressed by the
fact that other communities

consider her a leader.

She's impressed by what
she saw at Alexandria,

knowing that a leader of
another community, Maggie,

helped with the plans for
what Alexandria became,

and what she sees in Maggie is, like,

here's somebody who has
street smarts and is tough

and knows her way around a w*apon,

and she has a kind of respect for that.

[g*nsh*t echoing]

[Birds chirping]

For Maggie, she's just
in it wih her people,

and I think that's also one
of the contrasts that you see

right off the bat.

Maggie is dressed
really kind of the same

as the people that are part
of her little community,

and she's doing the same stuff,

whereas Pamela's kind
of in a special vehicle

with special protection that
is different than the others.

She's wearing a special outfit.

And all of those are meant to be hints

at the things that bother
Maggie about the system,

because she just doesn't agree with it.

[Walker growling]

[Stabbing]

Fire!

[g*nshots]

She's looking at this m*llitary
and just realizing, like,

"Wow, they just mowed down
a whole lot of Walkers,"

and that bothers her,
because she knows that

if they ever came to a
point of disagreement,

what's to stop them from
just mowing them down, too?

And so I think, for Maggie,
it's a matter of principle.

The Hilltop's gonna pass on your offer.

Could I ask why?

'Cause like you said,

everything costs something.

That's one of tougher
decisions that she makes,

because her community is
really in dire straits,

and by virtue of the fact that
she makes a different decision

than Alexandria made, she
loses some of her people.

I'm leaving, Maggie.

Some of the others are coming with me,

and you should, too.

There's a cost to Maggie's decision.

For us, when we're writing the show,

we're always trying to look at,
when somebody chooses something,

what are they saying "yes" to?

'Cause it's very rare in life

that you say "yes" to
something or choose something

and that there isn't
a potential downside.

You know, it's going to be even
harder for her and her child,

and she knows that's
not an easy decision,

but she feels like it's
the right decision for her.

Get ready, Aaron.

We're going to remake the world.

[Growling]

♪