The Walking Dead S7E15 "Something They Need" 3/26/17

Barnacle-zombies are my new favorite zombies!

So Tara told Rick about the Oceanside women and their armory of guns.  And Rick, who is almost as much of a bully as Negan, truth be told, puts together a plan wherein the Alexandrians raid Oceanside, hopefully not killing too many of its denizens, and take their guns.  Seriously, Rick: that is totally Negan's M.O. ... and you're supposed to be the good guy here.

Hilltop.  Maggie is teaching the Hilltoppers to garden and Gregory is envious of the rapport she has with the hoi polloi.  When she goes outside the walls to dig up a wild blueberry bush to transplant back inside, he follows.

Oceanside.  The Alexandrians get into position, with Michonne and a sniper rifle up a tree, and Jesus and Daryl setting up lines of explosives.  Tara infiltrates the camp and finds Natania (the older woman leader of Oceanside).

Sanctuary.  (Is the Saviors' place called "Sanctuary"? I think it is but I don't know for sure and can't be bothered to look it up.)  Sasha has been captured and stuck in one of the cells.  One of the Saviors, David, lets himself into her cells.  She's tied up and he menaces her, tearing her shirt, touching her chest.  But when he stands up to unzip his pants, Negan is there.  Rape is definitely against the rules and in short order Negan has run a big hunting knife through David's neck.  When David is dead, Negan unties Sasha and starts his hard-sell, starting to work on her to get her to come over to his side.  My christ he likes to hear himself talk.  He's impressed with her balls-out bravery, raiding the Sanctuary on her own.  When he leaves, he leaves the knife and dead David behind, telling her that she can (1) kill herself with it before David reanimates, (2) sit there and wait for zombie David to eat her face off or (3) put David down before he can hurt her.  Her choice - he leaves it up to her, locking the cell door behind him.  Later that day, before David has reanimated - and the rules of this universe are inconsistent because it seems like people reanimate into zombies at different rates, depending on what's convenient for the plot - Eugene brings Sasha a lantern, some water and some blankets.  He tells her he thinks she should join with Negan, with him.  He feels safe with the Saviors and he is such a coward that that's all that is most important to him.  Eugene leaves just as dead David starts to twitch.  Sasha sits there in the corner of her cell, clutching the knife, staring at the not-so-dead-anymore guy.

Hilltop.  Outside the walls at Hilltop, Gregory and Maggie talk, trying to figure out a way to deal with each other - except that Gregory is really a weasel and is considering killing her with his knife when a couple of walkers approach.  Gregory has never actually killed one himself and he tries to be brave; he is too cowardly, though, and Maggie gets up to take it out herself.  Another walker shows up while she is thus occupied and Gregory tussles with it.  It almost bites him before Maggie can put down her own zombie and then kill the one attacking him.  Afterwards, Gregory retches, either from fear or from the yucky zombie splatter smeared across his face.  He goes to his office, starts drinking and pulls out a map.  Looks like he's on the verge of asking Savior Simon for help.  Such a weasel.

Oceanside.  Tara tries to convince Natania (and also granddaughter Cindy, the one who saved Tara's life before) to join with the Alexandrians and fight against the Saviors.  Or at the very least to give up their guns without a fight.  Natania is all NO FUCKING WAY.  Tara runs out of time to negotiate and outside explosions start going off.  The Oceansiders panic and are easily corralled by the Alexandrians.  In the confusion, Natania gets the drop on Tara and walks out to Rick with a gun to Tara's head.  The Alexandrians argue to convince the Oceansiders to join them in the fight against the Saviors and some of the Oceansiders consider it, including Cindy.  Natania is all NO FUCKING WAY.  The debate - if you can call it a debate when people are waving guns around - gets interrupted when a small herd of barnacle zombies make their way into the camp from the beach.  The Alexandrians and the Oceansiders work well together, systematically putting the zombies down.  Cindy ends up saving Tara's life again.  When the skirmish is over, more of the Oceansiders are interested in joining the fight against the Saviors, having seen the ruthless efficiency with which the Alexandrians put down the zombies.  But Natania is all NO FUCKING WAY and she tells Rick to "take your damn guns and go!"  So they do.

Sanctuary.  As we all suspected, Sasha kills zombie David before he can chew on her.  Negan is quite pleased and leans on her a little harder, telling her she should really join up, and she can help him figure out a way to put Rick down for good.  Sasha's all, shit.  Later, Eugene stops by to see her.  He can hear her crying through the cell door.  She begs him to get her something - a gun, a knife, some glass - she can't face being used by Negan to hurt her friends and she needs him to help her kill herself.  Eugene looks troubled, saying he'll consider it.  The camera cuts to an inside the cell shot and Sasha is of course playing him.  She wants the gun/knife/glass to try for Negan again.  Eugene comes back.  He's thought about what Sasha asked for and even though he hopes she will reconsider, he thinks she sounds like she's made up her mind.  So he's brought her something, which he slides under the door.  It's one of those poison pills that he made and he tells her it will do the trick in about thirty minutes.  Sasha stares at the pill in disbelief.  WTF is she supposed to do with that?

Alexandria.  When the raiding party gets home, Rosita is there to open the gate for them.  Everyone is like ???!?!!!? but she just says "There's someone here."  That someone is, of course, Dwight, who has been locked in a cell.  Daryl almost rips his head off, snarling, feral, while everyone holds him off.  Rosita: "He wants to help us!"  Dwight concurs and Rick, seeming more Negan-like than ever, pulls his gun and aims it at Dwight's head: "Okay.  Get on your knees."

Previously on The Walking Dead / next time on The Walking Dead