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The Walking Dead Season 11 Ep. 18: Commonwealth's King Joffrey Problem

Heading into this week's episode of AMC's The Walking Dead, things are at a deadly standoff as Daryl (Norman Reedus), and our heroes get the jump on Lance (Josh Hamilton). But even with a knife to his throat, Lance has enough Commonwealth soldiers to create a very tense and potentially bloody situation. But into the mess wades Carol (Melissa McBride) & Pamela (Laila Robins) with a plan that will clean the slate for our survivors. But that plan would result in Sebastian's (Teo Rapp-Olsson) actions being blamed on Lance and Sebastian walking free. To say that doesn't sit well with some would be an understatement, but that's just one of the main plotlines in play in S11E18 "A New Deal" (directed by Jeffrey F. January, with a story by Corey Reed and a teleplay by Reed & Kevin Deiboldt). Before you jump into our rundown of the episode in real-time to explain why the long-running series keeps getting better and better, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer. See you on the other side…

The Walking Dead Season 11 Ep. 18 Thoughts & Observations

Thankfully, the fine folks over at AMC made the wise decision to release the opening minutes, which do a nice job of setting up where the next level of conflict will be coming from. I'm appreciating how the show has been using its "fucks" this season, and it was nice to see Daryl get to inflict at least a little justice on Lance (much like Andrew Lincoln's Rick got with Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan). But while some will see the exchange between Carol and Daryl being a sign that he trusts her, I read it as him thinking she's gong back to being Season 10 Carol… and he's not happy:

I'm all in on how the show's using footage from previous seasons to demonstrate how it's all connected and how characters have changed over the seasons. That said, Reedus looked like a hairy fetus in the beginning compared to how he looks today.

So Carol explains the deal. In return for them backing the lie that Lance was behind everything (including what Sebastian did), Pamela will give them what they need to build back up Alexandria, Hilltop & Oceanside for those who choose to go back. Negan's not too thrilled, and Annie (Medina Senghore) says she needs to check with her people. Maggie and Daryl back the idea… but you can see in their silent glance that they know another shoe is going to drop. Plus, wouldn't Daryl be feeding into the governmental corruption that led to things falling apart in the first place? Let's not forget that mural Daryl spent time studying back toward the beginning of this season. That had an impact on him.

"You're an angry, delusional little boy, Lance." Pamela to Lance, which would've hurt more if he didn't make the point that he has some power to leverage, too. He may not have been a real player in the past, but Lance definitely sees himself as one now.

Okay, this whole "deal thing" is breaking my heart when it comes to Max (Margot Bingham) and Eugene (Josh McDermitt). And I feel for Max and her position because she put her neck on the line, and now folks are leaving & things don't look to be getting any better. Maybe that's why Daryl doesn't want to leave. Maybe he's done with going from place to place and just surviving, never willing to fight to make community work until Alexandria.

Oh yeah, it's safe to say Max ain't quite done with Sebastian… good.

"You take happiness wherever you can get it,": Carol said to Lydia (Cassady McClincy) in a beautifully sweet moment as they both remembered Henry.

Holy Crap! That moment when Daryl went to give Rick's gun to Judith (Cailey Fleming) was a heart-crusher. And yet, I can respect her reasons for not taking it. And how much did Judith remind Daryl of Rick when she was serving as Daryl's conscience about not abandoning the people of the Commonwealth when they need their help the most.

In the following clip, King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) explains to Carol why he won't be taking the option to leave the Commonwealth. And yes, it's a big, steel-toed-boot-kick to the feels that will leave you not only understanding why but rooting for him every step of the way.

"You were born to lead this place," said Pamela to Sebastian. Yup, even after all he's done. So yeah, the Commonwealth definitely has a lot of rot going on at the top. And it looks like Max has had enough…

So complications with their pregnancy are forcing Negan and Annie to have a tough discussion about leaving. Annie can't see staying in a place responsible for the deaths of so many of their people. Understandably, Negan's thinking of them and the possibility of starting a new life as parents, and if that means staying? Well…

Negan & Annie kissing? Awwwwww!

I loved that conversation Daryl & Carol had about parenting, especially Carol advising Daryl to be the parent he knows to be and don't look to Rick as someone he needs to emulate. Essentially, be his own person.

"I'm fairly familiar with guilt's burden," said Eugene to Max, a line with a ton of painful memories attached to it.

So Eugene and Max are looking to Lance to help bring Pamela down? Hmmm… interesting.

"You'll both have to live with it. Unless you're willing to burn the whole thing down," Lance said to Eugene and Max (who he knew was there even though she was standing off to the side). Interesting warning he gave them about taking on the Miltons…

I always questioned Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) as a couple, but that scene where she reminds him what he brought the people of the Commonwealth, and he follows it up with the "cotton candy" joke/truth? It all made sense, and I wish we had more time for us to be treated to more of this.

So are Bald Guy & Fake Stephanie putting Lance's failsafe plan into place? Because we now have a bunch of fresh, active walkers about to start turning Founder's Day into a nightmare.

Can we give tons of credit to how incredibly smooth Reedus is when it comes to working with young actors? Because it is on display in that scene with Judith where they clear the air. And speaking of Judith… Fleming is hitting us with a range in these scenes that some actors three times her age still can't achieve

That speech that Rapp-Olsson gives where Sebastian tells Max that the Commonwealth was built on "buying into bullshit" may be harsh… but is he wrong? Oh, and that was definitely Rapp-Olsson's defining scene in an impressive run of episodes.

Unfortunately, a character's epiphany is usually followed by…

Uh-oh… did Max record something in place of "Old Man Milton's" speech?

On so many levels, I love that professional wrestling not only survived the zombie apocalypse but is thriving again. And if there's one thing the writers just love, it's long stretches of time when everyone's smiling and having a good time.

Sarcasm.

So I think we can all tell by the look on Daryl's face that all he's seeing right now is a metaphor for rulers & gladiators, right? Again, go back to the beginning of Season 11 and that subway mural where the figures wearing the crowns were eventually turned on, and societal structures failed because of it. I knew there was a reason they spent so much time on having Daryl be alone to process it all.

Mercer (Michael James Shaw) hears "combatants" and give us this look like, "If I wasn't on duty and in this armor…"

Yup, Sebastian is a Grade-A sociopath… and that's why I could see him eventually ruling the Commonwealth in a  King Joffrey/Game of Thrones-type deal. And if you haven't watched GOT? Trust us… that's not a good thing.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh S*************t!!!! Yup, Max recorded Sebastian's little tirade for all of the Commonwealth to hear, including that part about Pamela hand-picking the "lottery" winner. And now, Sebastian's in hot pursuit of Max while everything goes to crap within the Commonwealth.

"My job is to protect the Commonwealth, ma'am": Mercer to Pamela, finding a way to make "ma'am" sound like "f**k you."

Whoah! Fat-moving walkers! I repeat! Fast-moving walkers!

Yup, when Judith asked Daryl for the gun because people needed help? And then they both squared up before taking down some walkers ("We do this together, alright?")? Yup, got teary-eyed…

Okay, what's more fitting? That Eugene saved Max from that walker by pushing it onto Sebastian, or the townspeople standing & watching as Sebastian begs for help before being eaten? Tough call…

So The Walking Dead just took care of its "King Joffrey" problem…

We left the episode feeling sad about what Judith taking the gun meant, reflecting back on what she told Daryl earlier.

And with that? We will see you next week as Pamela goes looking for a scapegoat… and that scapegoat is named Eugene. Meanwhile, Aaron (Ross Marquand) starts having "that" conversation about walkers who can climb and open doors. That might be why the episode is titled "Variant." Keep checking with Bleeding Cool throughout the week for previews, and we'll see you next week!

The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 18 "A New Deal"

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Review by Ray Flook

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9/10

Heading into this week's episode of AMC's The Walking Dead, things are at a deadly standoff as Daryl (Norman Reedus), and our heroes get the jump on Lance (Josh Hamilton). But even with a knife to his throat, Lance has enough Commonwealth soldiers to create a very tense and potentially bloody situation. But into the mess wades Carol (Melissa McBride) & Pamela (Laila Robins) with a plan that will clean the slate for our survivors. But that plan would result in Sebastian's (Teo Rapp-Olsson) actions being blamed on Lance and Sebastian walking free. To say that doesn't sit well with some would be an understatement, but that's just one of the main plotlines in play in S11E18 "A New Deal" (directed by Jeffrey F. January, with a story by Corey Reed and a teleplay by Reed & Kevin Deiboldt). Before you jump into our rundown of the episode in real-time to explain why the long-running series keeps getting better and better, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!"

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