The Walking Dead: World Beyond “Death and the Dead” was written by the team of Erin Martin and Sam Reynolds and was directed by Loren Yaconelli. We get our first major death when we lose Percy (Ted Sutherland) – which was inevitable as soon as he and Iris (Aliyah Royale) had plans for the future. I really was expecting a bit more of a bloodbath to be honest. Huck (Annette Mahendru) is finally forced to reveal her true alliances, and Mahendru delivers a really terrific performance. The ending is ambiguous as to the fate of Dennis (Maximilian Osinski), but of course, he and Huck had also committed the cardinal sin of the TWD universe: making plans for the future…
This episode at least had a fair bit of action as we begin with the scientists blowing up the soldiers in the tunnels by attaching bombs to the walkers with trackers. I liked that they managed to fake the CRM out by not actually going into the tunnels themselves.
Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) wonders where they got the explosives. Huck’s cover starts to crack here. She suggests that they’re scientists, so they could have made them. Leo (Joe Holt) contacts Jadis with demands. They’re prepared to escalate. Jadis tells him that they’ve crossed a line. Joe tells her that they are done with the CRM and are leaving – and that they have Mason (Will Meyers). Hope (Alexa Mansour) has to persuade Mason to talk to prove he’s there. Leo demands two trucks. Jadis asks if all the scientists are on board with the plan – there’s no safety outside their walls. Huck actually defends them, saying that they still want to save the future, just not be destroying their own homes.
Silas (Hal Cumpston) and Elton (Nicolas Cantu) try to look after Dennis. Elton actually removes the bullet. Silas feels badly that Dennis was hurt trying to help him and offers to get Huck on the walkie. Dennis apologizes to Silas for what Huck did. Silas has certainly bonded with Dennis, who insists he’ll be fine and that they should leave to meet up with the others.
Felix (Nico Tortorella) and Newton (Robert Palmer Watkins) have a pissing contest as Felix takes possession of the trucks, each saying they will shoot the other next time they see them. Leo and the scientists leave in the trucks, while Felix, Hope, Iris, Mason, and Percy all stay back – to blow up the gas… Mason asks Hope to consider that the research facility is as good as it gets and could be her last chance at a future.
Meanwhile, they’ve been filling the culling facility with walkers, and Silas and Elton lead them to the research facility with Elton throwing fire crackers out of the jeep that Silas is driving slowly. The Silas/Elton adventure in this episode is my favorite part! Silas wants to make a detour to the research facility to get antibiotics for Dennis. Elton is totally on board because so much hasn’t worked out, but this is going to. I thought for sure that Elton was dead! TWD universe rule – don’t be the moral compass, don’t make plans, and never assume things will be ok!
Silas runs into Webb (Jesse Gallegos) who is now a Cadet and is about to shoot Silas when Elton knocks him out. It’s also hilarious when Elton criticizes the poor signage in the facility! They get into the medical room and hear Webb being killed by walkers on the other side – with the delightful puddle of blood slowly appearing under the door to confirm it. It looks like they are trapped with no way to get through the herd of walkers now invading the facility, but they brilliantly get inside the welded globe – nice placement of that last episode!!! – and roll their way out – delightfully crushing walkers as they go! I particularly liked all the skin and goo hanging off it when it came gently to a halt and they got out!
We get a nice final scene between Iris and Percy. Frankly, I think the writers lost the thread on both these characters, and neither felt like the characters we met last season – and not that they’ve grown into something new either. Regardless, Percy invites Iris to take his Uncle’s place in trying to live a life that makes a shitty world a little less shitty. He suggests that he’s always wanted to see the Getty Museum. I wonder how that might have worked out – I mean, we know what happened in Los Angeles after all.
Meanwhile, Felix and Hope go to blow up the gas and encounter semi-thawed walkers. Their heads are frozen, meaning their heads have to explode to really kill them. Hope ends up having to pop Lyla’s (Natalie Gold) head. The gas is gone when they get there. Iris insists that it has to be there and wants to look, but Felix insists that there’s no time. Iris is furious that he’s willing to just forget about Portland. Iris wants to blame Mason, and Percy has to pull her off him. Mason clearly has no clue about what’s going on.
Jadis has figured out that some of them are still there. Huck is going to suit up to hold the line against the incoming herd, but Jadis won’t let her leave – she very clearly suspects her.
When Felix and the others come out, Jadis and Huck are there with a bunch of soldiers. She talks to Felix on a dedicated frequency and suggests they see who blinks first. Everyone has their gun on someone! Jadis explains that two years ago, the CRM determined that there weren’t enough resources to keep the alliance going and that Portland, Omaha, and the Campus Colony were all drains that would lead to ruin of everyone. She describes it as a mercy killing – killing them quickly rather than letting everyone starve. The CRM makes the hard choices so no on else has to.
As Jadis talks – and distracts them – Huck sees a sharpshooter take up position, and walkers come up behind Felix and the others. Felix takes his gun off Mason to shoot the walkers, Mason head butts Iris and takes off, Huck kills the sharpshooter and another soldier and aims her gun at Jadis. Percy is killed going after Mason. Iris is devastated – and this is Royale’s best scene in a while. Hope pulls a gun on Mason and is going to shoot him, but Iris stops her, knowing what that would do to Hope. Felix picks the sisters up, leaving Huck and Mason. Jadis goes to save Mason from the walkers, and Huck takes a jeep and leaves.
We see Jadis taking a call from the Major General. She tells him that Portland is critical and nothing will stop the plan going forward. She promises to retrieve the scientists and fix the situation. She promises that she won’t let him down.
Felix, Hope, and Iris stop to contact Leo. He’s not at the rendez vous yet because they had a flat tire caused by spikes in the road. He’s sent the other truck ahead – which means he’s likely about to die. Felix goes to help Joe and sends Hope and Iris to meet the others.
Hope and Iris run into Elton and Silas. Elton immediately hugs Hope, so he’s likely forgiven her for his mother. Hope is devastated that the CRM has won, and there’s nothing they can do about the gas which is on the way to Portland. They have a group hug.
Huck has gone to Dennis at the culling facility. The two kiss, but then Huck is outside crying – is Dennis dead? However, the episode ends on a hopeful note as Huck discovers all the gas is stored at the culling facility! They can still blow it up and save Portland.
So we finally get some answers. Still seems totally lame to me… Now that we are ready for the final episode, who will make it out alive. If you are watching on AMC+, you already know. For those of us watching on plain old AMC, what do you think? Who is going to make it out alive? Where do we go from here? Anyone else still hoping for an Andrew Lincoln appearance as Rick? Will Jadis finally die? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
