The Walking Dead season 8 episode 12 review: The Key

As Rick and Negan battle it out, Simon takes his chance to lead. At The Hilltop, Maggie meets with a mysterious new character who offers to help, not hurt.

Warning: Spoilers below.

We finally got our Rick and Negan face-off, made all the more epic with a bat that was on fire (sorry, Lucille). As the two top dogs on The Walking Dead fought in a walker-filled building, we saw Simon step up his game and Maggie meet with a very odd new character.

The buildup has been strong for Rick and Negan to seek each other out and ultimately, take the other out. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, which made for a chaotic battle between the two.

Before we get to the battle, it’s important to note Rick finally made it to the Hilltop and met up with an old pal, Daryl. Its hard to think of a time when these two were in better spirits, as their last few times together haven’t been very pleasant (finding out Carl was dying, fighting each other instead of the Saviors).

Daryl and Rick discuss when they look around, it’s like a list of who is dead and who has survived at this point. Depressing, much?

Rick isn’t giving up on the Saviors, saying he’s going to move in on them again. He refuses Daryl’s offer to help, saying he’d rather split up to cover more ground. In reality, this looks like his plan to get to Negan as soon as possible without any distractions.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

At the Sanctuary, the Saviors are dipping weapons in walker guts and blood. Negan and Dwight have a chat, and so far it seems Dwight’s in the clear. Negan could very well suspect something though, waiting for Dwight to slip up.

Simon, unenthusiastic about the plan, tells Dwight to roll with him on their way to the Hilltop to test the new weaponry out. While it seems Simon and Negan could both be trying to out Dwight, its more obvious that Simon is looking for anyone at all to vent to.

As the Saviors head out, Rick is watching carefully and seems to have a plan in place — maybe he was going to honk his car horn and distract them, maybe he was going to put the car in drive and have it crash into the caravan. Instead, he spots Negan driving solo and his need for revenge takes over.

Rick successfully diverts Negan from the group, causing a car crash that leads them to both run into an abandoned building. This leaves Simon to manage the Saviors, a role he seems all too ready to tackle.

Simon continues to vent to Dwight about Negan’s plans and here, Dwight has to be super careful. He artfully expresses interest and the idea he’s mulling things over. He can’t be too quick to accept Simon’s plan, but this is also a surprising opportunity.

The two ultimately find Negan and Rick’s crashed cars and tinker with the idea of finding out what happened to their boss or going back to the group. Decision? Dwight tosses a cig on spilled gasoline, and quite literally lets it all burn. When the two return to the rest of the Saviors, Simon basically takes over. He admits that Negan could still be alive, but in his absence they are going to completely wipe out Rick and his little friends. Dwight watches in horror as we all do, seeing a second Negan in the making and worse, he doesn’t want to save anyone or anything.

Inside that abandoned building, Rick and Negan give us the battle we’ve waited for. Now, we already know it’s not going to end in anyone actually getting killed — that has to be for a finale at least. But we did see Negan lose his mind when he loses Lucille, and become even more enraged when Rick gets a hold of her and sets the poor girl — er, bat — on fire.

This was a special moment for Negan’s character, as we’ve rarely seen him have to get physical with anyone. He’s always surrounded by his crew or able to escape. In this situation, he’s trapped and without his trusty weapon, which seems to also be his security bat/blanket.

Negan diverts to classic tactics of whistling and taunting Rick, but Rick won’t fall for it. He lashes back, calling Negan out for killing Jadis’ community and basically being a dictator. Negan, somehow, always has had a sense he is a Savior. Here, he learns he’s been betrayed by Simon and possibly isn’t as great a guy as he’s made himself up to be.

They end up crashing into a room filled with walkers, which came close to both of them being bit. But no, Negan escapes and Rick is left to be angry another day.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Then again, in the final moments of the episode, Negan is seen at gunpoint, passenger to a pretty angry Jadis. Thank you, TWD, for giving us a juicy story preview for next week.

Now, while all the big, bad boys are fighting and arguing and finding ways to basically destroy the world — the women of TWD come across an opportunity to do good.

At Hilltop, Maggie spots a crate that may have a message waiting. Rosita retrieves said message, reading it out to Maggie, Michonne and Enid. It’s an offer to meet and trade, and be given “a key to your future.”

Maggie initially is against the idea. She’s jaded from all the times loved ones have fallen for traps and been hurt when trying to do good — ahem, Carl.

Michonne is the only one who is hopeful, saying she’ll go by herself if she has to. The rest of the women opt to go also instead of Michonne investigating alone. This ends up giving us one of the absolute strangest — but positive — meet-ups on TWD.

Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

The women meet Georgie, a quirky yet wise woman dressed in a pantsuit who asks to trade knowledge in exchange for food and music. Alongside her are two even odder protectors, Hilda and Midge. When asked why anyone would do this, Georgie says she simply wants to trade and build trust.

Say what? Fair trade? Trust? What is this nonsense in the world of TWD?

Maggie, skeptical, takes Georgie and her crew to Hilltop to investigate further. Enid urges to take away all they have; Michonne argues they still should help people.

What we see next is an example that good things can still happen on this show. Maggie gives music to Georgie, to which she responds with even more food, saying she can tell the community needs it. She then gives “knowledge” by providing a book on medieval successes (windmills, agriculture, livestock, all the good stuff).

Perhaps Carl’s dream for his family and friends could come true after all. Perhaps.

Undead Afterthoughts

Can we just have more women making decisions on this show? Seriously?
Did anyone else think Georgie is either a female Eugene, playing everyone? Also she’s easily a cross of Meryl Streep and Mrs. Doubtfire — just saying.
Jadis, you the real MVP for snagging Negan, having him at gunpoint, and driving off to do who know’s what.
R.I.P. Lucille!

The Walking Dead returns next Sunday with “Do Not Send Us Astray” at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

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