Jesus tells the gang about the Hilltop Colony and hopes to establish diplomatic bonds between the communities for trading (he noticed that Alexandria runs low on food, but has a lot of armory). A group heads off with him to check it out. The group includes Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Abraham. On their way, they notice an overturned car at a gas station or something. Jesus says the car belongs to his community and he wants to check for survivors ("we don't have many fighters"). The others suspect that it might be a trap, check inside the station anyway and pick up 4 people alive and (more or less) well after killing some walkers. One of the saved guys, named Harlan, mentions later in the caravan that he's a doctor, specifically a gynecologist after he learns that Maggie is pregnant. Glenn doesn't seem very happy that the guy is possibly about to see his wife's vag.
They arrive at the Hilltop and the saved people help to establish some trust and get them in (the guards only have spears anyway, no guns, or more specifically no bullets left). They bring the gang to their leader Gregory, who immediately turns out to be an arrogant asshole who tells the group condescendingly to clean themselves up before they talk. Rick is already sick of him and tells Maggie to take care of the diplomacy. Maggie attempts to make a deal, trading food for armory and medicine, but Gregory isn't having any of it, is condescending again (he repeatedly calls her Natalie), demands that they work for the food and no deal is made.
Later, another Hilltop group returns from a trip, obviously decimated. Gregory wonders where the rest is and one of them, named Ethan, answers that they were killed by Negan and that he was ordered by the Saviors to send a message to his fellow hilltop folks, so that Negan leaves his brother Craig alive, who was captured. He proceeds to stab Gregory, which is the message. A fight ensues, Rick kills Ethan, Abraham is almost choked to death, everybody calms down again and Gregory is wounded but alive. Jesus explains that the Saviors are a group of violent marauders who regularly demand resources for the community's safety. Daryl mentions that they killed a bunch of the Saviors quite easily, proclaims that Negan is a bluffer and that they will take care of him. Later, Maggie has another talk with the recovering Gregory and turns the tables on him. She professes that her group knows how to deal with guys like the Saviors. She offers to save the captured guy and get rid of the Saviors, but demands half of the Hilltop's resources as a one-off. Gregory has no other choice than to agree.
There's a subplot involving Abraham throughout the episode where he apparently still struggles with his adrenaline addiction/PTSD/whatever and wonders if it's possible for him to settle down and have a family. He asks Glenn and Maggie, if they think it'll work out with the child (the answer is yes). Also, he obviously wonders which woman is the ideal partner to settle down. The episode begins with him and Sasha returning from patrolling, he's flirting with her, but she tells him that she changed her shift and Eugene will now be his partner. Later he's in bed with Rosita but thinks about Sasha. At the end of the episode, after he was almost choked to death, he apparently comes to the conclusion that settling down and raising a family in this world isn't an option for him.
The episode ends with another demand from Maggie. She demands an ultrasound (they have the devices at Hilltop) and the group looks at the pictures of the unborn child emotionally while driving back to Alexandria.
Almost no goodies for Richonners after last episode. Rick and Carl have a quick talk about it and Carl's cool with it. Rick and Michonne briefly hold hands while driving. No sightings of Carol, Morgan, Tara, Eugene, Gabriel or the Alexandrians. Denise has a brief scene with Daryl where she gives him a self-made cake as traveling fare (Daryl: "I hope it tastes better than it looks. It looks like shit.").
They arrive at the Hilltop and the saved people help to establish some trust and get them in (the guards only have spears anyway, no guns, or more specifically no bullets left). They bring the gang to their leader Gregory, who immediately turns out to be an arrogant asshole who tells the group condescendingly to clean themselves up before they talk. Rick is already sick of him and tells Maggie to take care of the diplomacy. Maggie attempts to make a deal, trading food for armory and medicine, but Gregory isn't having any of it, is condescending again (he repeatedly calls her Natalie), demands that they work for the food and no deal is made.
Later, another Hilltop group returns from a trip, obviously decimated. Gregory wonders where the rest is and one of them, named Ethan, answers that they were killed by Negan and that he was ordered by the Saviors to send a message to his fellow hilltop folks, so that Negan leaves his brother Craig alive, who was captured. He proceeds to stab Gregory, which is the message. A fight ensues, Rick kills Ethan, Abraham is almost choked to death, everybody calms down again and Gregory is wounded but alive. Jesus explains that the Saviors are a group of violent marauders who regularly demand resources for the community's safety. Daryl mentions that they killed a bunch of the Saviors quite easily, proclaims that Negan is a bluffer and that they will take care of him. Later, Maggie has another talk with the recovering Gregory and turns the tables on him. She professes that her group knows how to deal with guys like the Saviors. She offers to save the captured guy and get rid of the Saviors, but demands half of the Hilltop's resources as a one-off. Gregory has no other choice than to agree.
There's a subplot involving Abraham throughout the episode where he apparently still struggles with his adrenaline addiction/PTSD/whatever and wonders if it's possible for him to settle down and have a family. He asks Glenn and Maggie, if they think it'll work out with the child (the answer is yes). Also, he obviously wonders which woman is the ideal partner to settle down. The episode begins with him and Sasha returning from patrolling, he's flirting with her, but she tells him that she changed her shift and Eugene will now be his partner. Later he's in bed with Rosita but thinks about Sasha. At the end of the episode, after he was almost choked to death, he apparently comes to the conclusion that settling down and raising a family in this world isn't an option for him.
The episode ends with another demand from Maggie. She demands an ultrasound (they have the devices at Hilltop) and the group looks at the pictures of the unborn child emotionally while driving back to Alexandria.
Almost no goodies for Richonners after last episode. Rick and Carl have a quick talk about it and Carl's cool with it. Rick and Michonne briefly hold hands while driving. No sightings of Carol, Morgan, Tara, Eugene, Gabriel or the Alexandrians. Denise has a brief scene with Daryl where she gives him a self-made cake as traveling fare (Daryl: "I hope it tastes better than it looks. It looks like shit.").
