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The Walking Dead Season 11 Ep. 20 Review: Yumiko Changes The Game

Heading into this weekend's episode of AMC's The Walking Dead, Pamela (Laila Robins) is looking to have Eugene (Josh McDermitt) pay the price for Sebastian's (Teo Rapp-Olsson) death with his own life as her sense of "justice"… and to send a message to the Commonwealth. From what we've seen so far, it looks like Pamela's going to have Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) prosecute Eugene on behalf of the Commonwealth. At least, Yumiko will if she wants to protect her brother, Tomi (Ian Anthony Dale). But that's not all, because S11E20 "What's Been Lost" (directed masterfully by Aisha Tyler from an amazing script from Erik Mountain) also finds Carol (Melissa McBride) & Daryl (Norman Reedus) having escaped Pamela's "black hood" black ops plan, essentially "disappearing " our heroes from the Commonwealth. And now Carol and Daryl are looking to Lance (Josh Hamilton) to be the key to finding their friends. Here's a look at why this episode makes it four-for-four when it comes to episode excellence, with Matsuura & McDermitt making the episode their own. But we would be remiss not to give Hamilton his due, as Lance takes Rick Grimes' concerns about our heroes' future and (attempts) to twist it to his own needs. So with that, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before we do a real-time deep dive into the next chapter.

The Walking Dead S11E20 "What's Been Lost" Thoughts & Observations

Yup, we were right. They do kick off the episode with this nostalgic tearjerker focusing on Carol & Daryl's backstory:

And then we cut to the present, with a reminder of just how great Carol and Ezekiel (Khary Payton) would be as a couple, like a serious, serious power couple.

First, props for the "now he's there, now he's gone" move as a way of quickly shifting the episode into overdrive, with Carol fans already getting just a small taste of what they've been waiting for.

You're damn right Carol & Daryl are back together! And I love the way the episode introduced Daryl in a "Meanwhile, as Daryl is fighting for his life…" way. So far, this episode has let up or skipped a beat- a lot of intense visuals & quiet moments early on.

Of course, Pamela is keeping the Commonwealth's contributors happy, and that line about Sebastian always being with her has extra layers of creepy to it.

Damn! Yumiko with the bitch-slap and demand for answers! LOL "Right now, I'm the biggest threat you have," said Yumiko to Pamela, with a fire that you could warm your hands to from your screen.

Serious props to how Matsuura silently reacted to Pamela threatening her friend and her brother, as if she was looking around for the best escape route after she killed Pamela. Excellent work.

I love the trust between Carol and Daryl and how easily they understand each other's perspectives when discussing the Mercer (Michael James Shaw)/Lance situation as to who would be better to look for.

I'm a big fan of the exchange between Yumiko and Tomi, with the latter making a very sound, reasoned & realistic argument as to why Yumiko needs to prosecute Eugene- a small sacrifice for the greater good. Wow, how many times have we seen that, and how well that goes over the seasons?

Please give us more and more of Lauren Ridloff in "Badass Connie" mode. Of course she stabbed to dude in the leg and got away. That's how she rolls… but, dammit, they got Kelly (Angel Theory).

LOL Yeah, Connie's got too much to lose and a great lead on a wounded Commonwealth dude so she is definitely not asking permission to follow through on her plan (sorry, Yumiko).

Goddamn, that Yumiko/Connie hug after Connie signed to Yumiko that she trusted her was a heart-crusher.

So far, this episode is going to remind people to be pissed that Carol and Daryl won't both be in the spinoff together.

I loved how they used Carol and Daryl's expressions to convey how horrific Lance's cell looked before we even get to see it. And damn, does it look bad…

This scene might be one of the more brutal ones to hit our screens, understandable for its brutality:

Dammit, Lance always has a card to play & an extra life to pull out of his ass. Grrr…

That moment Pamela goes from planning to move forward with a big PR press conference to learning that "Walker Sebastian" was put down and that Lance had escaped. And while I don't like to root for Lance, it was a major Mafia "pimp move" bashing in Sebastian's head to eliminate any chance at an open-casket funeral (and bonus points for leaving the "calling card").

When Carol looks at Lance, knowing that she has to trust him even though she would rather shoot him in the face, is a look that never gets old.

McDermitt also gets serious points for this episode as the personification of hope in the face of overwhelming odds, still keeping the faith that this isn't the end by keeping his faith in his friends… his family.

Does Lance really think he can win over Carol by comparing her & Daryl to his situation with Pamela? Wow. Though now, it sounds like he thinks Carol's a sympathetic ear for him to whine to about his problems.

And this is why Lanc is such a "big bad" because he's found a way to twist Rick's questioning what their long-term plans were in the apocalypse to try to get Carol to question their actions. Bastard.

Now, this? This is some creepy s**t…

So the Commonwealth gets the drop on Carol and Lance… damn, and they were ready to assassinate them and claim they put up a fight. Thankfully, Daryl shows up to return Carol's favor from earlier.

Dammit! Connie got caught! Oh, and on a side note? Pamela should be very careful with these up-close-and-personal passive-aggressive threats to Yumiko. I could imagine one of them not ending too well… at least for Pamela. And I love how Yumiko "multi-tasks" walking to the stage to give a speech while listening in on a walkie-talkie to see how her friends were doing.

OH S**T!!!!!! Now that was a surprise! Yumiko for the defense! Now that's one way to shake up a press conference! LOL

Soooo… the Commonwealth has a working train system as part of their "manifest destiny" plan, huh?

The future isn't about you, Lance… as I have a feeling you're about to learn. Even in the end, Lance is some delusional soul with no sense of self, willing to be whoever someone he's trying to impress wants him to be.

Soooo… do we think Carol and Daryl were really giving Lance a second chance or that they knew Lance would make a go for the gun so that they would have an excuse. We're leaning hard on the latter…

And our final scenes focus on where Ezekiel and the others have been taken, and needless to say, it falls in line with the late Lance's comments about how the Commonwealth has been expanding its horizons.

And that's it for this week! Check out Bleeding Cool this week as we preview AMC's The Walking Dead S11E21 "Outpost 22" (directed by Tawnia McKiernan and written by Jim Barnes).

The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 20 "What's Been Lost"

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Review by Ray Flook

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8.5/10

Heading into this weekend's episode of AMC's The Walking Dead, Pamela (Laila Robins) is looking to have Eugene (Josh McDermitt) pay the price for Sebastian's (Teo Rapp-Olsson) death with his own life as her sense of "justice"... and to send a message to the Commonwealth. From what we've seen so far, it looks like Pamela's going to have Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) prosecute Eugene on behalf of the Commonwealth. At least, Yumiko will if she wants to protect her brother, Tomi (Ian Anthony Dale). But that's not all, because S11E20 "What's Been Lost" (directed masterfully by Aisha Tyler from an amazing script from Erik Mountain) also finds Carol (Melissa McBride) & Daryl (Norman Reedus) having escaped Pamela's "black hood" black ops plan, essentially "disappearing " our heroes from the Commonwealth. And now Carol and Daryl are looking to Lance (Josh Hamilton) to be the key to finding their friends. Here's a look at why this episode makes it four-for-four when it comes to episode excellence, with Matsuura & McDermitt making the episode their own. But we would be remiss not to give Hamilton his due, as Lance takes Rick Grimes' concerns about our heroes' future and (attempts) to twist it to his own needs.

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