The Walking Dead: Knots Untie (6x11)

Okay so this episode was awesome. I'm so pumped about the rest of this season.

Cons:

There were a lot of different characters who got a chance to shine a bit in this episode, and for the most part I liked all of the intricate working being done... with one exception. I don't really care all that much about Abraham. Basically, in this episode he seems torn between his longstanding relationship with Rosita and a new interest in Sasha. He sees Glenn and Maggie preparing to start a family, and he sees Michonne and Rick begin their own relationship, and he wonders whether he should think about settling down, despite the inherent dangers of their world. Abraham has never been interesting to me, so when I saw that there was going to be a focus on him, I was not too thrilled. But I thought maybe they would do something interesting or unique with his character, so I kept an open mind. But... yeah. Not so much. The struggle between settling down and accepting happiness vs. keeping on high alert for more danger is a struggle that we've already watched Rick go through over this past season. This watered down version, where Abraham wonders if he should give love a chance, was a tad contrived. Not to mention that his interest in Sasha seems totally unreturned, so it's a moot point. And what did Rosita do wrong here? Why is Abraham even wavering in the first place?

Pros:

The episode starts with Jesus coming to talk to Rick in his house. I adored the way that Carl held a gun on Jesus, and then Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn all come running with their own weapons, ready to kill this intruder before he can hurt Rick and Michonne. This theme of teamwork mixed with violence carries through the rest of the episode.

The beginning of the episode had a couple of really cute and awkward moments that I want to mention before getting into the meat of things. First of all, Denise and Daryl. Denise gives Daryl food that she made as a thank you for Daryl trying to bring her supplies. These two have the most awkward exchanges. I love how Denise, who's socially awkward, is trying to bridge the gap, and then there's Daryl who just seems genuinely perplexed that anybody would try to be nice to him. More Daryl and Denise scenes, please!

The other perfectly awkward moment was when Rick tells Carl that he was going to tell him about Michonne, but that it just happened. Like, just happened. Guess what, son? Your dad got some last night! I don't know why, but the whole thing just made me laugh. Still, we also got to see that Carl isn't a little kid any more, by any stretch of the imagination. He wants his dad to be happy, and he loves Michonne as well.

The main story was absolutely awesome. Basically, it can be boiled down to a few short sentences: Jesus takes a core group of our heroes to Hilltop, the community he is from. We learn that there's a whole network of trading going on between such communities. The leader of Hilltop, Gregory, doesn't want to deal with Rick and his men, since he doesn't think they have anything to offer. We then learn that Negan is extorting Hilltop for a large sum of their supplies. Rick and the others agree to take Negan and his men out in exchange for supplies from Hilltop.

Through this basic plot, we got a lot of really cool character development and intriguing new information.

First of all, you've got Gregory, the leader of Hilltop. The minute this guy opens his mouth, you have to hate him. It's so satisfying to watch him go from a smug little asshole to having to accept help from Rick and the crew. I think Gregory is going to be a fun character to explore, because he's not pure evil or anything. He's just... slimy.

Maggie gets MVP of the night. Basically, Gregory demeans and insults her, pretending to forget her name and basically telling her that she could be a real asset to Hilltop because of her good looks. He tells her that Hilltop doesn't need anything from Alexandria, while Alexandria is in desperate need of food, so their situations are unbalanced. By the end of the episode, Maggie is the one to make the offer to Gregory. Rick and the others will kill Negan, but Alexandria gets half of Hilltop's supplies. She even demands a huge portion of it upfront. Go Maggie! She's a brutal negotiator, and she made sure that Gregory understood that he couldn't walk all over them just because he had something they wanted.

The gentler side of Maggie comes in when we see her and Glenn at the end, viewing their new baby on an ultrasound. One of Jesus' friends is a doctor, turns out. He hooks them up with some prenatal vitamins as a thank you for Glenn saving his life earlier. (On the way to Hilltop, Jesus and the others see a car wreck from Hilltop and they get everybody out of a nearby house safely).

We also got to see some cute Rick and Michonne moments, although they were in there sparingly. They hold hands while driving towards Hilltop, which is just precious. I'm so glad we're avoiding the whole protective man suddenly worrying about his woman thing. In fact, the crew that goes with Jesus includes Daryl, Abraham, and then our two favorite couples: Rick and Michonne, and Maggie and Glenn. There's no bullshit about protecting the poor delicate pregnant Maggie, either. In fact, she's the one left to guard Jesus when the others go in search of his friends during the first half of the episode. Rick tells her to shoot Jesus if he whistles, and Maggie, no mercy in her eyes, promises to do just that.

The real kicker of this episode is the scene where three of Hilltop's people come back from a rendezvous with Negan and inform Gregory that Negan is making steeper demands. He has kidnapped one of their men and will only give him back if Gregory himself is killed. Rick and the others jump in and save Gregory from his own man, who was desperate to save his brother by killing Gregory. I loved the part where Rick, pinned down by the would-be murderer, cuts open his neck and gets covered in his blood. It's appropriately gruesome, but Rick just hops up, his face and shirt covered in blood, looks around at the shellshocked Hilltop residents, and says "what?"

Basically, Rick and the others are embracing who they are - they're hardcore killing machines. That's the asset they bring to the table. They need food, and the Hilltop folks have got it. What have they got? They are brilliant fighters. I loved Daryl's moment of negotiation as well. He asks Jesus if Hilltop will hook them up if they kill Negan. "We want food, medicine, and one of them cows." Oh, Daryl. Cutting straight through the bullshit and getting to the point. That's why we love you.

As we go forward into next week, it's kind of chilling to realize that Rick and the gang are planning a pre-emptive attack on a group that's done very little to them personally. They've sort of just set a precedent here. If Hilltop is set up as the main provider of food, maybe Alexandria will be employed in this larger network as mercenaries. Their first assignment is one of coldblooded mass murder. And where will they draw the line? Let's say they're successful in taking out Negan's men right away (doubtful, given the buildup). But just say. Would Hilltop and the other communities begin using Rick and his crew as their personal clean-up squad for anybody who did something they didn't approve of? The ramifications are sure to be numerous!

9/10