Yahoo News Walking Dead s8, ep 5: 10 HUGE questions and theories
Admit it, you never thought you'd see the day when The Walking Dead's Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) would bare his soul and open up about his tragic twist. And especially not to Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam).
The two men being trapped together surprisingly brought out the softer side of Negan, but with All Out War still raging, what might be the consequences of his confession?
This, and more questions arising from 'The Big Scary U', are explored below.
1. Has Gabriel been bitten?
Eugene (Josh McDermitt) finds a captive Gabriel weak and feverish when he pays his cell a visit. Is Gabriel dying? Has he been bitten? And if so, when?
Which brings us onto our next question...
2. Is Gabriel on a suicide mission?
Throughout 'The Big Scary U', Gabe reiterates his fear of a "fruitless death" – he's not scared to die, just scared of dying for no good reason.
As Negan points out, saving the life of a "dickhead" like Gregory (Xander Berkeley) hardly cuts it as a meaningful end. And in fact, it appears that Gabriel has something more worthwhile in mind.
"That's why I'm here," he tells Eugene. "Carson is Maggie's doctor… we have to get him out of here…"
It appears that Gabriel's plan all along has been to gain entry to the Saviours' compound so he can bust out Emmett Carson (Tim Parati), Hilltop's one-time doctor who was forcibly recruited by Negan.
Is Gabriel doing this to redeem himself, having left his congregation to die all that time ago? Or did he get bit (off-screen) some time in the past and decide to reunite Maggie and Carson as his final act?
3. Who was Negan before the apocalypse?
We learn more about Negan in 'The Big Scary U' than in all of his previous appearances combined. Before the end of the world, he worked with kids ("Little assholes become great big ones, so you show 'em the way.") and he was married to the only woman he's ever really loved.
Negan's a widower and confesses what he considers to be a moment of weakness to Gabriel: "I couldn't put her down. That is how I was weak."
These references to the character's late wife, and his life before the apocalypse, are mostly drawn from a special run of the Walking Dead comic, 'Here's Negan'. For more insights into his tragic backstory, including how his wife met her end, go here.
4. Is Eugene back on the side of good?
Eugene has been "utterly completely stone-cold Negan" ever since season 7's 'Hostiles and Calamities', but this latest episode suggests he's not quite the loyal lapdog he pretends to be.
A bag of guns stolen from the Saviours' armoury is marked by a dab of blood, matching the nasty blister on Eugene's thumb. Dwight (Austin Amelio) seems to notice, too – will he and Eugene realise that they're both secretly working against Negan?
5. Who was in that helicopter?
Sulking after his scuffle with Daryl (more of which below), a solo Rick spots a helicopter in the sky above. Do the Saviours have access to a chopper, or does it belong to another, as-yet-unseen party? Is there still some sort of military presence in operation?
The implications of this moment could be huge. Or the helicopter might not be as significant as all that. But certainly, Rick gazing up at the craft plays like a big moment. Intriguing.
6. Is Daryl going to turn on Rick?
Having taken out a Saviour transport with their superheroics last week, Rick and Daryl recover a pack of explosives. Daryl wants to use the bombs to strike at the Sanctuary, allowing floods of zombies to swarm in, but Rick reminds him that a) this is in no way part of their plan, and b) innocents working for Negan under duress could get hurt.
The two disagree so strongly that they end up scrapping like a pair of frustrated schoolboys ("Choke-hold's illegal, asshole!"), until Rick detonates the explosives and wins the argument by default.
Is this a sign that Daryl is going to protest Rick's leadership as the war continues? Norman Reedus has warned of Daryl going "rogue" this season, which we hope amounts to more than just this one rather random dispute.
7. Why do Rick and Daryl give up on the Kingdom?
When Rick asks the dying transport driver if he's "the only one" who survived the chaos at the Saviour stronghold, he replies, "Me, the King, the axe man [Jerry] and this short-haired psycho lady [Carol]."
But shortly afterward, Daryl insists that there "ain't no Kingdom no more" and Rick appears to agree. Why? They know Ezekiel is still alive, right?
Unless the implication was supposed to be that Ezekiel's forces have been wiped out? But we only saw around 20-30 soldiers gunned down. Was that supposed to represent the Kingdom's entire army? Because the implication prior to this was the Kingdom was a much larger community than Alexandria, housing at least 50 people.
Whatever the explanation, it's an odd moment.
8. Why do the Saviours assume Negan's dead?
"We have to assume Negan's dead," says Regina (one of Negan's top lieutenants, FYI, despite not having appeared on the show prior to season 8 opener 'Mercy').
But why? He's not been gone that long and is a proven hard-nut, who must have survived similarly perilous situations in the past. Show a little faith, Regina!
We're going to be generous and assume that Regina's a bit of a hothead who doesn't spend a lot of time considering her words or actions – see also her shooting of one of the workers, an act frowned upon by the very-much-alive Negan when he returns.
9. What's with the Gregory / pancakes obsession?
First we hear tell of Gregory stealing a little girl's pancakes in 'Monsters' and now we're treated to an (otherwise rather pointless) scene in which Simon (Steven Ogg) brings the former Hilltop leader a hot breakfast.
Still, at least Xander Berkeley's now got some eggs to go with his ham.
10. Has Negan got a promising career as a rapper?
"I wear a leather jacket, I have Lucille, and my nut-sack is made of steel!"
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