The final season of "The Walking Dead" is officially two-thirds of the way over, but
how are things looking for the survivors as we head into Part 3?
And what's with those locusts?
Episode 16, "Acts of God," offered a glimpse of the upcoming clash between the domineering
Commonwealth and the scrappy communities in its orbit.
The biblical theme of the episode further plays into Season 11 Part 2's overarching
themes of luck and fate.
As everyone struggles to figure out what's next, a slowly growing swarm of locusts descends
around them.
"If that ain't a sign from the man upstairs."
Later, former Reaper-slash-religious fanatic Leah Shaw chuckles in disbelief as she looks
up at the locusts.
Father Gabriel is, curiously, the only religious character not to comment on the ominous appearance
of the locusts.
Their presence references the biblical tale of the 10 Plagues of Egypt, in which God inflicts
various disasters on Egypt to free the enslaved Israelites.
Still, it's unlikely that Part 3 of Season 11 will continue down this path, with water
turning to blood and characters breaking out with boils.
Are the locust swarms a harbinger of impending devastation or just an eerie coincidence?
"The Walking Dead" fans were surprised by Daryl's conformity to the Commonwealth's rigid
social structures when he joined their army.
Even Norman Reedus admitted that he was skeptical of his character's arc, but he promised that
it would make sense in the end.
With just eight episodes remaining, Daryl is finally back with his old allies.
Realizing that he's on the outs with Lance after cosigning Aaron and Gabriel's lie in
Episode 15, the group plots to break away before it's too late.
While searching a junkyard for survivors, the trio launches an attack against the group
of soldiers they're working alongside.
Bullets and broken glass fly around them until only Daryl, Aaron, Gabriel, and a badly injured
Romano are left.
Daryl forces the Commonwealth soldier to give up Lance's location before killing him.
Romano also reveals that Lance ordered the soldiers to "clear the field," meaning they
only leave allies behind.
They realize that Maggie is in danger and head out to find her, but not before radioing
Lance to inform him that his men are dead.
Their shaky alliance is severed, and Daryl has earned a place on Lance's increasingly
long list of enemies.
When it was announced that Maggie and Negan were getting a spin-off series, fans couldn't
wrap their heads around how or why the longtime rivals would embark on an adventure together.
Maggie is slowly learning that the man who savagely murdered her husband years ago has
indeed changed.
In "Acts of God," survivors of Hilltop and Riverbend hide out in a Whisperer wormhole
while Maggie, Lydia, Elija, and Marco go after Lance.
Before their mission, though, they bring Hershel to the hideout, and Maggie and Negan share
an unexpectedly tender moment.
Maggie swallows her pride and admits to beginning to trust him, and he promises to protect her
family and praises her bravery.
In the "Episode Insider," showrunner Angela Kang explained that Annie's presence helped
Maggie make peace with her complicated feelings toward Negan, saying,
"She has not forgiven him, and I don't think she's ever going to forget, but there is something
different about the idea of saying 'but I can trust you as an ally.'"
In "Acts of God," Maggie's relationship with Leah takes a deadly turn.
After Lance's soldiers track the last-standing Reaper down, he hires her to assassinate Maggie.
"You get the scalp of the woman who killed your family and I finally get to do my job
without interference."
Leah remains tight-lipped as she gears up.
She heads out with a group of Commonwealth soldiers and quickly deviates from Lance's
plan upon arrival at Hilltop.
She uses his men as collateral damage to lure Maggie out of hiding, then hunts her down.
They skulk through the dark forest, their footsteps concealed by the buzzing of the
locusts.
Leah manages to knock Maggie unconscious and drags her back to the cabin she previously
shared with Daryl, not knowing that he's tracking her.
Maggie wakes up tied to a chair and staring down her captor's gun.
Leah then reveals that she intends to kill everyone Maggie loves before killing her.
This speech gives Maggie time to break free from her restraints, and a life-or-death fight
ensues.
As they throw each other around the room and exchange blows, neither notices Daryl's arrival.
Leah gains the upper hand and pummels Maggie, but before she can fatally stab her, a still-unseen
Daryl shoots her.
Lance and his soldiers, who also arrived undetected, move in only to realize that their assassin
is dead, and their enemies have evaded them yet again.
Max Mercer may hold a prestigious government job, but she's never been one to follow the
rules.
Her brother Michael covered for her when he discovered that she was using a radio to contact
Eugene, but she's taken her rebellion against the Commonwealth to a higher level.
Now, not even General Mercer can protect her.
When Eugene informs Max that things within the Commonwealth are worse than she thought,
she hesitantly agrees to contribute to his friends' ongoing investigation.
Max pushes past her fear when she learns that Pamela's son, Sebastian, has been forcing
vulnerable citizens to steal money for him.
While Max is anxiously flipping through Pamela's file cabinet, Sebastian arrives and is frazzled
about his mother avoiding him.
His frustration initially overshadows Max's snooping, but he notices her odd behavior
and tries to take the file from her under the guise of saying she works too much off-the-clock.
He sees that she's reading about the Commonwealth's resettlement plans, including a list of names
and coordinates of the people he sent on these missions.
She leaves with the file intact, but her cover as an anonymous source gets blown.
Connie, an experienced political reporter, is stifled by the Commonwealth's PR-only approach
to journalism.
With the help of her sister, Kelly, she launches an independent investigation into the disappearance
of Tyler Davis.
They hit dead ends until Rosita and Eugene tell them about Sebastian's money heists.
Then, Max delivers the resettlement file, and Connie's exposé begins to take form.
She insists that it's too soon to run with the story about Tyler, April, and countless
others disappearing.
However, they have more than enough to publish a story about Sebastian's antics.
Kelly points out that this alone will convince people to begin questioning everything, and
cast doubt on Pamela's leadership.
"Acts of God" ends with Pamela storming into her office and slamming a newspaper onto Max's
desk.
It's unclear whether or not Pamela knows that Max is involved with the article, but now,
the ball is rolling, and she's helpless to stop it.
While things are falling apart back at the Commonwealth, Lance struggles to keep his
off-the-record business ventures under wraps.
Between the bloodbath at Riverbend, being betrayed by Daryl, and the failed assassination
attempt on Maggie, the smarmy leader has lost control.
His only option to return to the Commonwealth and proceed as usual is to eliminate anyone
and everyone who witnessed what happened.
"Now we take it all."
At the end of the episode, we learn that this means assuming control over every surrounding
community.
Commonwealth soldiers have moved in on the newly-renovated Alexandria and the ashy remains
of Hilltop.
Then, they aggressively round up the people of Oceanside as Lance walks toward them with
a smirk.
He flips a coin, and the episode ends before their fate is revealed.
Things aren't looking great for the survivors as we head into Part 3.
Maggie's group, the people from Riverbend, and anyone who wasn't at Alexandria during
the takeover is now without a home base.
Commonwealth banners hang over the walls as a declaration of ownership and a warning to
the now-stranded survivors.
With limited resources, powerful enemies, and nowhere to call home, it's hard to imagine
how they will recover from this.
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