The Walking Dead “Knots Untie” was written by the team of Matthew Negrete and Channing Powell and was directed by Michael E Satrazemis. This is another tightly crafted episode with some really interesting developments and some disturbing foreshadowing. The episode gives us some insight into Abraham and Michael Cudlitz gives a great performance. However, the episode really features Lauren Cohen who has done wonderful work all season but truly shines in this episode as Maggie really comes into her own as a leader.
The episode begins by taking us back in time a little bit. Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Abraham are returning from patrol. They have an easy camaraderie as Abraham tells her a funny story about a camel eating his keys when he was in the army. The two clearly enjoy each other’s company, but we learn in the next scene that Abraham is enjoying having his cake and eating it too – he’s still living and sleeping with Rosita (Christian Serratos). Clearly, Sasha isn’t interested in simply being Abraham’s friend. When he says see you tomorrow, she tells him she’s asked for a different assignment. He’ll be patrolling with Eugene (Josh McDermitt) who wants to do more. Abraham looks disappointed and a bit surprised but doesn’t try to change her mind.
Does Rosita suspect that something is up? Possibly. She’s made a necklace for Abraham. It’s full of symbolism that it’s made from the glass from the broken taillight on the tanker truck. And of course, it was during the run that brought the tanker back that Abraham declared to Sasha that he wanted to get to know her better. Something he clearly ‘put the brakes on’ when they got back to Alexandria.
Maggie is working in the garden when Glenn (Steven Yeun) joins her. She’s concerned about increasing the yield. I had to wonder why she was working so late – but it seems that it may have been pre-dawn rather than very late. The two see Denise (Merritt Wever) grab Abraham who is walking by and the two dash downstairs at the prison brownstone.
We finally get back to where we left off last week as Jesus (Tom Payne) is looking at a painting – of a playing card – the Queen of Spades. Is this card symbolic of Maggie? Spades are usually the death suit, so is she the Queen of death? As he sits on the stairs, Carl (Chandler Riggs) draws a gun on him and demands to know what he’s doing in his house. He introduces himself as Jesus – there’s no disingenuousness this week about ‘people call me Jesus.’ He tells Carl that he’s waiting for Carl’s mom and dad to get dressed. Carl looks thoughtful but doesn’t react otherwise.
When Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) come out of the bedroom together, it’s hilarious as Rick looks embarrassed to see Carl. Once again there’s a role reversal as the parent acts like the guilty teenager. Carl is clearly processing what he knows has happened, but he doesn’t seem particularly surprised or angry. As Rick and Michonne come out, Daryl (Norman Reedus), Glenn, and Abraham come up the stairs, capturing Jesus between the two groups.
Jesus has made good use of his freedom. He knows that they have a well-stocked arsenal but are low and food. He also knows there are 54 of them. Jesus also says that he appreciates the cooking and compliments to the chef. Daryl immediately jumps in to say she’s not there – Daryl, no doubt, jumping to protect Carol (Melissa McBride) yet again. Jesus also concedes that they got off to a bad start.
It turns out that Jesus is an advance scout for his own community. He also stresses that they are all on the same side – the side of the living. He admits that he stole the truck from Rick and Daryl because his community needed the stuff and that he thought the two of them were trouble. He admits that he was wrong about them. Glenn wants to know if they have food, and Jesus says they grow, raise livestock, and scavenge. Rick wants to know how they know Jesus is telling the truth, so he invites them to come back with him. Maggie asks if they’re already trading with other groups, and Jesus tells them that their world is about to get a whole lot bigger.
As the group gets ready to leave, Denise brings Daryl a homemade oatcake to eat on the road. He declines at first, saying he’ll pick something up along the way. Denise asks, “Rabies?” It’s clear he’s going to settle for roadkill! Daryl asks if “this” is because of him trying to get her the pop. Denise says “yeah. And you remind me of someone I used to know.” Now that’s a story I am very eager to hear! Who does Daryl remind her of? I loved Reedus’ face here – he’s still so shocked at people accepting him and seeing the good in him, let alone actively seeking friendship.
Carl asks Rick if he’s sure and Rick admits that he’s not – he’s not sure if it’s safe or if it will amount to anything, but he also says, “It could be the start of everything.” Rick then tries to explain about Michonne, telling Carl he was going to tell him. Lincoln is great in this scene – and throughout the episode. We get to see him embarrassed, clearly in love, and the psycho we all know and love.
Carl keeps an utterly straight face as Rick stammers his way through – this is different. He’s clearly toying with his father and suddenly breaks into a smile, admitting that it’s cool. However, he surprises Rick more by telling him that he’s not going with them. Carl says someone has to stay behind to protect Alexandria, but more tellingly, he says “a kid with a messed up face probably wouldn’t make the best first impression anyway.” Rick looks concerned. This is really the first indication that we’ve had that Carl is, in fact, struggling with what happened to him.
In the RV, Glenn is sitting with his hand on Maggie’s tummy. Abraham is watching and asks if he can ask a question. Daryl isn’t the only one to come up with quaint turns of phrases and metaphors. Abraham asks “When you were pouring the Bisquick, were you trying to make pancakes?” Glenn is puzzled at first, but then realizes that Abraham is asking whether they got pregnant on purpose of whether it was an accident. Glenn explains that he and Maggie are building something. It goes unspoken, but he means a future. Abraham is completely nonplused. He tells Glenn, “For the record? If I see rain coming, I’m wearing galoshes.” Abraham’s point is that the world is too unstable to bring a baby into it. It’s important to remember that Abraham did have kids and lost them.
There’s a terrific shot of Rick driving and reaching over to take Michonne’s hand. The two share a smile. Both Jesus and Glenn clearly see it. For Jesus, it’s further confirmation that these are good, caring people. It’s interesting that Glenn seems completely nonplused.
The group comes upon a crash – and it’s a total special effects extravaganza! Loved the walkers hanging off and trapped under the car. So gruesome! Jesus recognizes it as one of theirs. He’s concerned and admits that they don’t have a lot of fighters in their group. He asks for a gun, and without a beat Daryl tells him no. Daryl tracks them to a building. Rick handcuffs Jesus and leaves Maggie to guard him. They are still suspicious that this could be another trap – firecrackers on a trashcan.
It’s interesting to see how they team up to look for the Hilltoppers. Rick and Michonne clear together and find two. Glenn and Daryl clear together, and it’s particularly interesting that Daryl basically pushes Glenn to safety before dispatching the walker himself. The do find one guy, but he won’t leave without his injured friend.
Abe is clearing alone and almost kills Freddie (Brett Gentile), thinking he’s a walker. Later in the RV, Freddie relates that when he thought he was about to die, he actually saw his wife who had died early on. Abe overhears them. Interestingly, later in the episode when Andy (Jeremy Palko) almost chokes him to death, Abe hears a voice – it’s hard to tell, but it seems to be Sasha’s voice. Daryl saves him, but Abe remains on the ground for a long time.
Eventually, Daryl asks him if he’s good and Abrahams says he’s better than alright. When he stands up, Rosita’s necklace stays behind, the chain broken. Again, the symbolism is pretty clear. Abraham is taking the brakes off and his link to Rosita is broken. It also seems clear that Glenn and Maggie have given him hope for a future and so have Rick and Michonne.
It turns out that guy that Glenn saved is a doctor. Not only is Harlan (R Keith Harris) a doctor, he’s an obstetrician! He is perfectly easy and reasonable to deal with and promises Glenn and Maggie that he owes them a favor. He’s clearly pleased for them on learning that Maggie is pregnant.
Rick manages to get the RV stuck in a gigantic pothole, so the group approaches the Hilltop on foot. It is surrounded by a huge wooden palisade. They are challenged by two guards – who only have spears. Jesus steps up and manages to diffuse the situation. He tells Rick that they ran out of ammo months ago. He also tells Rick, “I like you people. I trust you. Trust us.” I found it somewhat remarkable that Rick clearly does trust Jesus. He signals the group to go in – after Jesus promises they can keep their guns.
There are cows, chickens, gardens, and trailers for housing. In the center of it all is Barrington House – established in the 1930s as a living history museum when it was donated to the state. People went there, assuming that if it existed before the modern world, it could continue to exist once the modern world was destroyed.
It really is a museum and is a complete juxtaposition inside to the somewhat rough way most of the people seem to be living. Jesus tells them that most of the rooms have been converted to bedrooms to accommodate everyone. They plan to build more and are expecting babies to be born!
Gregory (Xander Berkeley) comes out of his office to greet them. Berkeley is terrific, and it’s clear from the outset that Gregory is a dick. He insists that they get cleaned up before he’ll talk to them, and it’s clear that he has nothing but disdain for Rick. I loved Rick telling Maggie that she should talk to him – mainly because he shouldn’t. He knows that his first reaction would be to punch Gregory in his smug face! But more importantly, he’s seeing Maggie as the true leader of Alexandria.
Abraham takes a moment to ask Daryl how long Rick and Michonne have been an item. Daryl – ever discreet – virtually ignores the question. Abraham asks Daryl if he’s ever thought of settling down. Daryl responds with, “Do you think she’ll settle?” I was puzzled at first, but he is clearly asking Abraham if he actually thinks Michonne will settle down because she’s in a relationship with Rick. It’s clear throughout the episode, that Michonne and Rick are good together because they are equal. Abraham looks at his necklace and looks thoughtful. Has he settled? Has Rosita settled? Is he thinking that Sasha, much like Michonne, is too strong to ever be subservient to him. Not the way I would have characterized Rosita, but it’s an interesting exchange.
Maggie meets with Gregory and he’s a dick right from the get go, calling her Natalie as if it’s beneath him to even get her name right. She doesn’t let him get away with it, however. I loved how she tried to negotiate with him, but of course, she only knew part of the story. He tells her that he’d been to Barrington House once “before” and had admired the painting over the fireplace. He tell her that he loved the painting and never imagined that it would be his. It’s like it was waiting for him the whole time. It speaks volumes about him that he would claim something like the painting as his very own – what did he do to earn it or deserve it? And what intrinsic value does it even have in the world as it stands? It’s also clear that he’s willing to claim other things for himself – he looks at Maggie in exactly the same way as the painting.
When he goes to sit down, he invites her to sit beside him. She declines and sits across from him. Cohen is wonderful in this scene. She barely keeps the utter abhorrence from her face and forces a small smile. She asks how they’ve survived. Gregory avoids all her questions, saying he doesn’t get hung up on the details! And of course, it’s the details that the leader of a community should be hung up on. He then goes on to try to pump Maggie for as much detail on Alexandria as he can – but she’s not playing his games.
Finally, he lets the façade fall away a bit. He tells her that he knows they don’t have shit. He’s a nice guy but can’t give things away for free. He offers to let them work for a share and adds “you’d be a welcome addition. A smart, beautiful woman. I’d make it worth your while…” and at that point Maggie shuts him down. She’s already mentioned her husband! She tells him to stop coming on to her. She knows they have no ammo and are low on meds. She tries to tell him that their communities can help each other.
They end the exchange on either side of Gregory’s desk. He stands over her as she leans across the desk. He basically dismisses her, but she tries one more time to convince him to make a fair trade, to let them help each other. He finishes the conversation by saying they’re doing fine – “Are you?”
In the next scene, Jesus is once again trying to play peace maker. He tells them that they want to generate trade, but ammo isn’t something they are in desperate need of because the walls hold. He tells them Gregory only wants the best deal. Daryl breaks in to say that they want things too. Rick is losing patience. He says they came a long way to get some food – and one way or another they are going to get it. People have got to stop pissing Rick off! Jesus gets it though and asks Rick for a couple of days to talk Gregory around. Rick looks to Michonne who nods and indicates they can wait.
They are interrupted by the return of Ethan (Justin Kucsulain), Andy, and Crystal (Kimberly Leemans). Gregory leads everyone outside and wants to know where Marsha and Tim are. Ethan tells him that they’re dead and that Negan is holding Craig – Ethan’s brother – hostage. He wants to know if the shipment was light – Gregory denies it. Ethan says he has a message from Negan and tries to kill Gregory, only managing to stab him in the stomach.
All Hell breaks loose as Rick takes out Ethan and Andy jumps Rick. Abraham takes down Andy until Andy gets the upper hand. Daryl gets Andy off Abraham, but Rick is distracted in his fight with Ethan and Ethan holds a knife to Rick’s throat. Michonne tells Ethan to drop the knife and while he’s distracted, Rick doesn’t hesitate to simply slit his throat, becoming soaked in blood in the process.
Rick is a gory mess when he stands up. The Hilltop people are clearly not used to having to fight like this to survive and are all stunned. Rick just looks at them and says, “What?” Crystal punches Rick – was Ethan her brother? Lover? Husband? But Michonne is right there to lay Crystal out for touching her man! Things are escalating badly, when Jesus once again jumps in to play peacemaker.
We get another shot of Jesus in cross mode – hands extended to both groups. He says that while Ethan was their friend, he was also a coward who started the confrontation. Once again, Rick acquiesces to Jesus and asks what he can do. Jesus asks him to put the gun away. He also finally admits that things aren’t as simple as they seem, and asks for some time.
The group re-convenes in Gregory’s office. Rick wants to know who Negan is, and Jesus finally tells them. Negan is the head of the Saviors. He showed up early on and made demands and threats. He beat one of their people to death – Rory who was only 16. Jesus says that Negan said “we needed to know right off the bat” – for comic fans the choice of words – “bat” – is likely a big piece of foreshadowing as Negan’s favorite weapon is an actual bat he’s named Lucille.
Jesus tells them that Negan gets half of everything they have or produce and in exchange, the Saviors don’t attack or kill them. Rick wants to know how many people Negan has. The biggest group Jesus has seen was 20. Daryl is floored: “Hold up. The show up, kill a kid, and you give them half of everything? These dicks just have a good story. The Boogeyman, he ain’t shit!”
I loved how they were all immediately on the same page. Abraham tells Jesus that a month ago, the took out a bunch of Negan’s men – leaving them in “pieces and puddles.” Gotta love Abraham’s turns of phrase! Daryl offers that they’ll do it. If they take out Negan and his men and get Craig back they “want food, medicine and one of those cows!” I loved that he wanted a cow! Rick chimes in: “Confrontations never been something we’ve had trouble with.” Understatement much Rick? Jesus says he’ll take the offer to Gregory.
Rick tells the group, “They have food, we don’t. We don’t have enough of anything. Except us. What we can do. This is it. The trade.” Maggie points out that it’s going to cost them something. Again, this could be more foreshadowing, but it’s also the law of averages that they will lose someone in this fight. But more than that, turning themselves into mercenaries and killing people for pay, that in itself brings with it a moral cost.
Gregory asks to talk to Maggie. Rick tells her that Deanna was right about her. He has total faith in her ability to negotiate. Jesus takes her to Gregory, and as he leads her away, he apologizes in advance that Gregory can be a real dick – as if she didn’t figure that out for herself the first time she met with him!
Not surprisingly, Gregory is being a baby about his injuries. He tries to play hardball, saying that he’s not even sure it’s worth it to get Craig back. Maggie brings up Hershel, telling Gregory that Hershel used to say that forgiveness takes more strength than anger. And to be clear, she’s the one choosing to forgive him. She offers to save Craig and take care of Negan permanently in exchange for supplies. There’s an interesting juxtaposition of paintings. In their first meeting they were discussing a classic “hero” portrait of the conquering man on his trusty war horse – an image laden with testosterone. In this scene the classic oil is of a woman – and nicely reflects Maggie taking control. I love the attention to detail on this show!
Gregory tries to paint it as a win for himself, saying the conversation is funny to him because that is exactly what he proposed before – that they work for their share. He tells her that he had leverage and he used it! Maggie agrees. “Yes. You have food and we’re willing to work for it.” In a really nicely parallel to the scene in the office, Maggie and Gregory once again face off. This time she’s at the foot of his bed, leaning toward him and he is essentially lying at her feet.
She’s done playing with him. She tells him “half.” When he asks for clarification, she explains, “Half of what you have. I saw what happened out there. Negan is taking half and will keep going. Without fighters and ammo, you’d be a dead man. So half of everything you have RIGHT NOW, or the deal’s off. You see? I have leverage.”
Jesus helps them load the RV, marveling that even Negan didn’t get so much up front! Rick asks Andy to come with them because he’s been taking supplies to Negan since the beginning and has the best information about Negan and his camp. Jesus also offers to come because Rick is talking about righting the world – and they still have his knives!
There’s a nice moment between Michonne and Rick just before they get in the RV. He asks her if she’s up for this. Michonne looks worried and admits it’s going to be a fight. Rick tells her that they’ll win. They have to. She agrees that they’ll win. There’s a nice long shot of Rick touching Michonne reassuringly as she gets in and then him walking beside the RV. He stops and hangs his head, gathering his strength. It’s clearly still not the world he wants to live in or the path he wants to take, but it’s still necessary. It’s a nice piece of physical acting.
Maggie’s final demand is an ultrasound, and she and Glenn get to see their baby for the first time. More foreshadowing? As they episode ends, they pass the picture around the RV. Michonne takes it and grins. Is she too thinking there might be a baby in her future? But then her face sobers, no doubt she is remembering the child she had and lost. She passes the picture to Daryl, who has a small smile, before looking worried as he looks at them. We know he loves Judith, but he’s clearly worried about the toll on the parents.
Finally, Abraham takes the picture and looks at it. He looks at Glenn and smiles. He finally gets it. Glenn looks at him and nods, acknowledging that Abraham has undergone a change of heart.
This was another great episode. So many wonderfully shot sequences! It was a pleasure to watch Lauren Cohen really bring Maggie into her own. I liked the journey that Abraham found himself on that paralleled the movement towards a world of potential hope, a world with a future. This is still balanced by the seeming never-ending violence that Rick seems to be trapped in. What did you think of the episode? Is the group doing the right thing? Is it worth it to try to take on Negan? It seems inevitable that they will have to confront Negan whether they take the fight to him or not. Favorite scene? Line? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
