Howdy! Glad to have you here for another recap of The Walking Dead. Before going on, perhaps check out my last recap so you can get your bearings.

This week, Alexandria has a guest in a Whisperer prisoner that Carol captured. Meanwhile, Siddiq is still tending to all the sick residents.

“That’s not your call. None of this is.” 

Siddiq is sitting in one of his patient’s rooms, still remembering that night all those years ago with the Whisperers. His patient begins to shiver and he feeds her water; she’s been infected with the walker guts-infested water courtesy of Gamma. He visits his other patients but he’s helpless. There’s nothing he can do and the people are getting worse.

He’s writing down something in his notebook when he begins to drowse off. He wakes up to two arms emerging from the couch, grabbing his chest and covering his mouth as he screams in horror.

Meanwhile, Carol and Daryl arrive at Negan’s old cell and evict Lydia so they can lock up Carol’s newly-captured Whisperer from the end of the last episode. Gabriel confronts Carol, saying that she put the entire community at risk and that he must be treated by Siddiq before any questioning can happen, despite Carol’s firm protests. Gabriel brings up Michonne, which is what cinches his argument; Carol tells Lydia that she can stay at her place.

“I hate them, but I know them too.” 

Carol brings Lydia the staff she used to train with, and asks if Lydia has any information on the prisoner they brought in. She does indeed known him, and that he’s one of the Whisperers that watch the horde which means he’s extra loyal to Alpha. Lydia laments that she wishes she left with Henry when she had the chance. She brings up her mom and how she twists people to her will, how she makes people believe what they don’t want to believe. With that in mind, she suggests showing the prisoner Alexandria and how it’s been able to survive all this time would be a testament to how wrong Alpha is.

Siddiq, his fellow doctor Dante, and Gabriel enter the prisoner’s cell and check his injuries. The prisoner looks at Siddiq and tells him he recognises him. Gabriel and Dante ask Siddiq to go outside, and he flashes back some more to Alpha’s show of authority.

“I’m an only child.” 

Aaron and Gamma are hanging out at the border. Aaron saw her sneaking around a couple of episodes ago, and Alpha told Gamma to humour him so they can find out more about Alexandria. I’m not sure if Aaron has some sort of ulterior motive, but he’s revealing a fair amount of detail to such a threat as Gamma. He mentions they have enough people and resources to bake fresh bread every single day, and that he has a daughter.

Carol enters the prisoner’s cell with a covered tray. She brings a seat up right in front of him, and tells him that they’re going to get started. She removes the cloth and the tray contains bread and a multitude of jams. She asks him what he wants, and he incredulously asks for all of it. She does so, and he has this face of bliss and wonder as he holds the bread and bites down. He munches it all in a few quick bites, but then spits it in Carol’s face.

“Eugene is a bona fide shitologist.” 

Siddiq is checking up on Rosita, who looks terrible but still seems to be in high spirits compared to a lot of the other patients we’ve seen. She says she’s thinking of Eugene, of how she scheduled a time to talk with him over the radio but didn’t make it because of her sickness. They talk about how impossible it is that they have a kid together. Siddiq jokes about making a move on her and Rosita jokes that Gabriel wouldn’t mind. They seem to have a tender moment but she begins coughing and he enters doctor mode.

Carol is questioning the prisoner but he isn’t budging an inch. She applies pressure to his wound which causes some screaming, but he still isn’t willing to talk. She puts her wedding ring on and throws in some punches, but he goes on a long diatribe of how loyal he is to Alpha, of how she saved him and of how much she loves him. She loves the Whisperers so much that she even sacrificed her own daughter for them, he says. Carol and Daryl look at each other with these enormous lightbulbs floating above their heads. Daryl chases Carol outside and urges her not to bring Lydia into this. She’s been through enough. Carol isn’t having any of it though, and wants Lydia to make the decision herself.

“Don’t be seduced.” 

Siddiq is checking on the patient from earlier again, Sheryl. She implores him to get some rest, which he hasn’t done for a while on account of everyone being sick. It looks to me that the real reason he isn’t sleeping is because he doesn’t want to dream of Alpha.

Aaron and Gamma continue their conversation. Aaron shows her the drawing Aaron’s daughter made him, which she looks at in appreciation. She begins to open up about her childhood but she stops herself. Aaron says he knows she’s here to scour for any intel she can find, but he isn’t doing the same although he obviously should be. She abruptly walks away while whispering the Whisperer creed to herself.

Back in his cell, the prisoner is doing the same thing but he’s in a cold sweet. Dante, Siddiq, and Gabriel rush in and try to help him. The prisoner vomits blood on Dante and then quickly dies. Siddiq checks Dante’s medical bag and finds hemlock, a herb that killed the prisoner. Siddiq questions Dante aggressively about this, and a flustered Dante admits that it was Siddiq to packed his medical bag for the day.

In the woods, Gamma is looking at the drawing she took from Aaron when she’s assaulted by a walker. She’s in a frenzy and is lucky enough to kill it using some thick branch extending from a nearby tree. She turns around to find that Alpha has been watching her, and asks her what she learned from Aaron, “the man with the metal arm.” Gamma reports that Aaron has a daughter, and she lies and says that’s all she has learned. Alpha proceeds to whip Gamma’s wrists with a thin twig, assuring her that Aaron is lying to her and wants to slaughter all of her people.

“Go home.” 

Siddiq goes to check on Sheryl but finds that she isn’t there, that her sheets are gone, and that her room is empty. He finds Dante about to dig a grave, but leaves him.

He begins to have another panic attack, and to help stop it he jumps in the water supply. Rosita jumps in to save him. She sits him down and wants him to spill on everything that he’s been going through for the last few weeks. He finally confesses that he feels like he never left that barn where Alpha massacred and beheaded all his friends in front of him. He still smells the blood. He hates himself for standing there and not doing anything, which Rosita immediately puts down because he couldn’t do anything about it.

She begins to cheer him up and he tries to figure out how she and everyone else is sick in the first place. There isn’t a common denominator, he says. Everybody eats different food and such, but it finally hits him. It’s the water.

“They could be watching.” 

Aaron meets up with Gamma at the usual spot, but she’s a lot more aggressive than before because of Alpha’s brainwashing. He says she can keep the drawing, but she refuses and drops it to the ground. It’s on the Whisperer side of the border, so Aaron picks it up and she grabs him, putting a knife to his throat. He’s about to go for his own knife but Carol and Lydia show up, weapons drawn. Gamma sees that Lydia is alive and well and refuses to believe it, and runs away.

Lydia feels betrayed that the only reason Carol brought her out here was to use her. Lydia runs away, and Aaron stops Carol before she can cross the border.

“Close your eyes.” 

Siddiq’s in his room when Dante enters. Siddiq wants to be alone but Dante’s as insistent as he always is. He says that Alexandria is like a village, and everybody pulls their own weight. When one person isn’t feeling well, then it’s up to everybody else to help that one person. Dante then clicks his tongue.

Siddiq flashes back to that night, where a Whisperer was holding his head in place so he could watch Alpha kill all his friends. He clicks his tongue in Siddiq’s ear.

Dante is a Whisperer. Siddiq reaches for his weapon but Dante throws him to the ground. He’s emotional about it, begging Siddiq to close his eyes and stop resisting while choking him. Siddiq goes limp, and Dante lets go.

The End 

So, uh, that was an ending I didn’t expect. It remains to be seen if Siddiq is actually dead, but I have to say that I did not see this coming in any way.

Catch me here next week for my recap of the next episode, “The World Before.”