“I want to believe there’s hope,†says the narrator, presumably Judith, in the episode’s opening sequence. “That together there’s hope. Isn’t there?†As Carol later tells Maggie, the Commonwealth had to separate them before they could control them. Now, the surviving members of the Coalition are reunited — at least some of them, anyway — and it’s time to take down the Milton regime. After a whole bunch of kidnappings and the delightful demise of both Sebastian and Hornsby, all attention turns to rescuing the captured “Exiles,†as they are now known. There’s a new Commonwealth henchman to hate on, code words to decipher, a train to hijack, and plenty of reminders that family ties are stronger than zip ties (especially those cheap ones Maggie wiggles out of pretty easily).
The action swings between the small band of heroes who manage to escape from the Commonwealth’s clutches — Maggie, Rosita, and Gabe, plus Daryl and Carol, who’ve been searching for them — and the captured. Somehow, Mags, Rosita, and Gabe all manage to avoid major injuries and detection when they successfully flee from the transport caravan. For both mothers, losing their children is what stings the most: Rosita expresses her frustration through anger (to which her baby daddy helpfully shares his mantra that sounds lifted from the mud flaps on a Ford F-150: “Quit bitchin’ and move forwardâ€). Maggie, however, is haunted by visions of Hershel being whisked away, and eventually, overcome with guilt, she breaks down in front of a sympathetic Carol. Pam’s biggest tactical error might be separating these mamas from their cubs.
Daryl is a surrogate parent these days, too, so between saving Judith and his unrealized feelings for Connie, he’s also got plenty to fight for. The train station is in their sights when, lo and behold, a Jeep rolls up with Connie in tow. Putting an “exile†on a cargo train is against protocol, they learn via a stolen walkie, but Connie is “designation two†— a label that’s so significant, the trooper who hears it responds with an “Oh shit!†Daryl is ready to swoop in, but Carol convinces him that discretion is the better part of valor. Her words carry extra weight in light of what happened back in that cave, when Carol dropped dynamite that triggered a collapse and trapped Connie inside. (That debacle feels like something from the distant past, but it was only in season ten — eons ago for us viewers, not all that long in TWD time.) So Daryl resists taking action that might jeopardize their chances of both saving Connie and finding everyone.
After an overwrought scene in which Maggie sits in the middle of the road, cradling a zombie child as it growls and snaps at her — we get it, Maggie, you miss your son — the Darol duo, Mags, Rosita, and Gabe reunite. The plan they cook up to derail the train is simple, yet effective: sabotage the track switch, force the choo choo to stop, then take the conductor hostage and sever radio contact. A gunfight ensues, but even better, there’s a sweet motorcycle chase. Of course, that dude has no chance on a bike against the Steve McQueen of the apocalypse, and Daryl takes him out by sliding under a fallen tree and sending his bike flying into the fleeing trooper.
Amidst all the mayhem — and a dying trooper who gets both last rites and a mercy knifing from Gabe — they learn that the exiles are punished with hard labor. As for “designation two,†it’s rumored to be code for someone who’s taken far away, never to be seen again. There’s also a map in the engine room, says the conductor, but before he can be of much use, the guy rams what looks like a giant screwdriver through his neck; for added gory flair, he collapses face-first and the steel bursts out the back of his neck. Happy Halloween!
What the conductor feared most was torture (of himself and his family) at the hands of the Nameless Man, or the Warden, as he’s known. He’s replaced Hornsby at the top of Milton’s henchman-org chart, and he’s been tasked with introducing the exiles to “the first day of a new beginningâ€: manual labor at a Commonwealth prison camp. The Warden separates the captives into two groups — and in the process, splits up Annie and Negan — and tells them they won’t need names anymore. Neegs, Zeke, and Kelly are just pack mules now, clearing out debris and eating gruel. They quickly learn not to test the Warden’s rules. Zeke stops Kelly from following three exiles who try to sprint for the tree line; seconds later, they’re gunned down (and then gunned down again when they return as zombies). Negan finds himself on the wrong end of a FAFO situation when he inquires about his wife and gets a baton backhand to the jaw.
All this maneuvering and misery sets up two big plans for the near future. After apparently not talking in years, Neegs approaches Zeke in such a disarming way that the former king can’t help but listen, despite still clearly despising Negan for his many past sins (some of which Zeke takes a moment to recall, including torture, NXIVM-style mistreatment of women, etc.). Negan insists their only chance to overthrow the Warden and his goons is hope — whatever the hell that means — and he’s going to give Zeke an opportunity to make that happen, even if the personal consequences are dire. Zeke doesn’t fully trust him, for good reason, but Negan’s determination to save his wife and unborn child is convincing.
Then there’s Maggie’s crew. Rosita uses her trooper training to hop on the walkie and pose as a lost soldier who needs directions. Thanks to an unusually helpful Commonwealth cop — pretty sure that voice belongs to TWD superfan Yvette Nicole Brown — they realize that Colony 22, where the exiles are being held, is in fact Alexandria. Dun dun DUN! Flickering campfire light adds a glow of intensity on their faces as Maggie promises that they’re going to take back their kids and their home.