Michonne is out walking along the road by the remains of the burnt mattresses. She’s following a trail of liquid, whistling as she goes – ‘The Farmer in the Dell’. A walker shambles behind her, then another joins along, the three of them walk in a configuration reminiscent of when she had her ‘pets’. She drops her pack to the ground and then kills both walkers, decapitating one of them. She places her katana carefully down on top of her bag and hauls the decapitated walker away from the bag, the camera focusing on the walkie talkie. Looks like she doesn’t want to talk to anyone.
Rick wakes up at 5:30 in the morning. Aaron gets up behind him. They slide open the back door of the truck where they were sleeping, and look out at something that captures their interest, although we can’t see what it is.
Two Saviors are sitting in the back of their own truck. They’re watching something in the mirror. Oh, it’s the same truck with Carl and Jesus in the back. The Saviors didn’t see either of them in the back.
Jesus cuts open a box, and looks out the back of the truck – they pass a statue of Jesus – no, not that Jesus, the real Jesus. Jesus pours out more alcohol from the bottle of scotch. Ah, so this is what Michonne is probably following.
Jesus wants them to jump out, and so Jesus does jump, thinking Carl will follow, but Carl just waves at Jesus – and stays on board the truck. The truck passes many walkers along the way. Carl helps himself to an automatic rifle. The truck stops and we hear Negan speaking to some of his minions, even though we don’t see him yet.
One fo the minions jumps in the back of the truck, picks up the box containing the bottles of scotch, which splits (thanks to Jesus). The bottles drop out and break – so no scotch for them! Ha! Carl opens fire on the minions once they discover him. Carl stands on the edge of the truck, gun aimed at the milling Saviors, and asks to have Negan. No one else needs to die, says Carl.
Negan sees Carl and tells Carl he’s adorable and that he scares the shit out of him. Daryl looks on. Dwight gets the upper hand with Carl and is about to kill him, but Negan stops him. Negan offers Carl a hand up, and offers to show Carl around. The camera pans back as we see Negan’s army of impaled guardwalkers.
We also see the Savior’s factory in full for the first time as the camera pans away from it. Negan says ‘come on kid, I’ll show you around.’ Then he comments that Carl is giving him the same stink eye as Rick except it’s only half as good because Carl only has one eye. He then makes fun of Daryl too. Carl finally takes Negan’s hand and gets up. Negan laments that he won’t have time to screw any of his wives today, well, maybe one. I guess that last comment was for Dwight’s benefit.
Carl asks what Negan is going to do to him. Negan says no, you’re a badass, don’t shatter my image of you. And also, screw you. He takes Carl into a warehouse.
Negan addresses the assembled people on their knees. Negan says the Saviors have gone out into the world and fought the dead and returned. He then tells the group that everyone gets vegetables tonight for dinner, no points needed.
Eugene and Rosita are walking along the walls in Alexandria. Eugene is going on about something in geek-speak, and Rosita has no idea what Eugene is talking about (neither do we). He finally says that he’s got stuff for Negan. She tells Eugene she’s not doing anything for Negan. Spencer tells Rosita that they need to produce for Negan. It’s like taxes. So death and taxes are still a thing post zombie-apocalypse? Anyway, Spencer tells Rosita that she’s pissed at him, but it’s not his fault, it’s Rick’s fault. They argue about whether Spencer would be better than Rick, but Rosita isn’t having any of it.
Negan takes Carl to a roomful of women, all wearing ‘little black dresses’. The women are all his ‘wives’. He tells Carl he can look and to make himself comfortable. Negan pulls Sherry aside and pours her a drink – looks like scotch. He wants to know what happened with Amber and Mark. She says ‘none of your business’. He says he heard that Mark skipped out to be with Amber and he wants to know if it’s true. He says there are rules and that they matter. Sherry said that Amber made a mistake and to go easy on her. Negan asks if he’s ever hit Sherry and she says ‘no, but I know you. There’s worse’. Negan gives her a sly laugh and says ‘to be continued.’
He takes his beer and goes back to Carl and puts the beer in Carl’s hand. He walks up to a blond woman, Amber. Negan tells her that he doesn’t want anyone here who doesn’t want to be here. And she says she can’t cheat on him. He threatens to put her and Mark and her mom on the same job. She’s terrified of this. She says she loves Negan, and he says ‘of course you do’. He doesn’t know why she’s crying. Maybe because she’s terrified, Negan! Carl looks on. Negan kisses Amber on the forehead.
Negan goes back to Sherry. He tells her that he wasn’t hard on Amber. Negan says that he knows that Sherry likes him in spite of his hardness, and begins to kiss her. Dwight brings in Daryl, but Negan continues kissing Sherry, again probably for Dwight’s benefit. Then Negan takes some of the food that ‘Daryl the butler’ has on a plate.
Daryl asks Negan how he got Carl here. Negan shuts him down and tells Daryl not to make him put the toothpick through Carl’s only eye. Daryl says nothing more. Then he has Carl follow him. Sherry looks at Daryl until Dwight pulls Daryl away. Sherry drinks the drink Negan poured for her. All of it.
Elsewhere, Rick and Aaron look at the sign on the fence. It says ‘Keep going. Only thing here 4 you is TROUBLE’. Well, alrighty then!
Meanwhile, Spencer is driving a car and Gabriel is in the passenger seat. They discuss actions and deeds. Spencer says he hates Rick. He shouldn’t be in charge. Spencer says his mom was in Congress and brought out the good in people. Gabriel says Rick brought out the good in him. Rick’s inspiring.
Spencer blames Rick for his family’s deaths. Gabriel says maybe others are alive today who would be dead without Rick. Gabriel sees a future, but Spencer doesn’t. Spencer thinks a good thing might be if Rick doesn’t make it back. Gabriel tells Spencer to stop the car. It looks like Spencer just crossed a line.
Gabriel says that what you’re saying doesn’t make you a sinner, but it does make you a ‘tremendous shit. At least for now. It doesn’t have to be terminal.’ He smiles the whole time and then gets out of the car to walk back to Alexandria alone.
Spencer also gets out of the car and watches as Gabriel walks away. Spencer runs off into the woods, and we hear a walker growling. He looks up to see a walker up in the tree.
Negan takes Carl into a lavishly decorated bedroom. He tells Carl to sit. And lets get started. He wants to get to know Carl better. He tells Carl he’s smart. He’d expect Carl to be moping around, but Carl goes on a mission to kill Negan. And Negan isn’t going to let this slide.
Negan wants to see Carl’s eye. He says Carl’s face is like a birthday present, and he wants to see what he’s getting. Carl says no. Negan isn’t having it, he wants to see – now. This is Carl’s punishment for killing two of his men. He tells Carl to move his hair out of his face – and he tells Carl his face is really gross, but he wants to touch it. He can see the socket. Carl starts to cry a little, and Negan (faux) softens a bit. He says it’s easy to forget that Carl is just a kid. He didn’t mean to hurt Carl’s feelings.
One of Negan’s minions knocks on the door, and brings Lucille to him. Negan left it outside. Negan opines that a kid pointing an automatic rifle at him rattled him a little. Negan tells Carl that he shouldn’t cover up his eye, no one’s going to mess with him looking like that. He might not score much with the ladies though.
The guy who brings Lucille to Negan (Fat Joseph) cowers as he brings Lucille to him. Negan tells him to go, and Fat Joseph scuttles out.
Negan tells Carl to ‘sing me a song’. Carl is incredulous and can’t think of any. Negan says bullshit! What’d your mom sing to you, what did your dad listen to on the radio. Carl sings ‘You Are My Sunshine’. Negan swings Lucille rather ominously as Carl sings. Carl looks scared and Negan says not to let him distract him.
Negan says Lucille likes being sung to, about as much as she likes bashing in brains. Negan asks about Carl’s mom and surmises that she’s dead. Carl said he shot her. Negan says ‘damn, no wonder you’re a little serial killer.’ He says ‘get up it should be ready’.
Another assembly in the warehouse. Everyone is on their knees. Negan and Carl are on the catwalk looking down. Negan says what’s going to happen is hard to watch but he can’t let it slide. They have to have rules. He says that we are the Saviors, and we bring civilization back to the world. And they need rules for that to work. No cutting corners or it won’t work. If that happens, then they get the iron. He tells people to get to their feet – well, everyone except for the guy strapped in the chair – who is probably Mark. And who probably won’t be happy in a short bit.
Dwight heats up an iron and Negan puts on a protective glove. Negan apologizes to Mark and says ‘it is what it is’. Amber and Sherry look on, as does Carl and Daryl. Mark screams as Negan applies the iron to Mark’s face, ripping away the skin. Finally Mark passes out from the pain. Negan hands the iron back to Dwight. Negan tells Daryl to clean up the mess that Mark made. Then Negan calls for the doctor to take care of Mark.
Negan says ‘let Mark’s face be a daily reminder that rules matter’. Negan then goes to Carl and whispers ‘you probably think I’m a lunatic. Come on, let’s go figure out what to do with you.’
Spencer goes to lasso the walker in the tree. Spencer manages to liberate the cross bow and almost manages to get hit by the falling walker – who kind of falls apart as he falls. Spencer finds a pocketknife on him, and also a note.
Eugene and Rosita go into the foundry so that Eugene can make bullets. It’s the same foundry that Eugene and Abraham found, and Eugene doesn’t want to be there. Rosita reminds him that he said he’d make her a bullet, but Eugene really doesn’t want to. They discuss. He says the Saviors have the numbers, they don’t. Rosita won’t be talked out of it. She says they owe this to Abraham. She berates Eugene, insults him, and tells him he’s useless, so make a bullet already.
Sherry and Dwight meet in the stairwell again. They stand side by side and she gives him a cigarette and lights it for him. Dwight tells her not to beat herself up. Dwight tells her she had to sell out Mark and Amber, but she says that’s not what happened. He asks her if that’s how she sleeps at night. She asks him the same question. He says he doesn’t, he watches TV all night. And you know what, he probably does.
She tells him they should go, someone might see them. He says they’re not doing anything, and she agrees and leaves him alone in the stairwell.
Carl asks Negan if he can cover his face now and Negan says no, because he likes looking at his disgusting face. Carl wants to know why Negan hasn’t killed him, or Rick, or Daryl. Negan says Daryl will be a good soldier, Rick is already producing, and as for Carl, ‘we shall see’.
Negan says to Carl, we can’t let you go – should he iron his face, chop off his arm, what should we do?
Carl threatens him, and Negan is so impressed. Carl just doesn’t back down no matter what, and for Negan it’s like the excitement of a new toy.
Outside, Jesus is on top of Negan and Carl’s truck. Negan calls for Daryl, and says he’s taking Carl home. Daryl mouths off and Negan tells Dwight to give Daryl a time out. When we see the top of the truck, Jesus is no longer there.
Daryl is back in his dark cell. A note is slipped to him under the door. It says ‘go now’ and there is a key attached. Is it for real or just another test?
A group of dead walkers are lying in the road. A car pulls up, it’s a redheaded woman who we haven’t seen before, and the dead walkers look like a road block across the whole road. We then see a knife appear at the side of the woman’s head. It’s Michonne, pointing her katana at the woman. She tells the woman to take her to Negan. The woman looks resigned and annoyed. Michonne has her gun now, and aims it at the woman’s head. Michonne tells the woman to start up the car and let’s go. The woman tries to fake Michonne out by starting and stopping the car very fast, but Michonne is on to her and keeps the upper hand. Michonne wants to go now.
Negan knocks on the door and we see Olivia. Negan whistles and wants to know where Rick is. Olivia says he’s out scavenging for Negan. Olivia is afraid and says Rick went out pretty far and might not be back today. Negan makes fun of her weight, and Olivia cries. Negan says ‘excuse me’ and asks Olivia what her name is again. He apologizes for being rude. He wants to screw Olivia and she slaps him across the face. !!!!!!! And then he says he is 50% more into her now. He tells Olivia to make them some lemonade and to take her time and make it good. She scurries off.
Negan wants Carl to take him on a grand tour of Alexandria. Montage time and it’s boring. Then Negan meets Judith. Not boring. He picks her up and smiles at her.
Aaron and Rick stealthily walk up to another sign. It’s lengthy. The note says if they made it this far then the guy who wrote it is probably dead. The truck behind them is abandoned, as is the house. There is a shallow lake, and it’s filled with walkers. Nice. I guess they’re also guardwalkers of a sort.
Back at the foundry, Rosita has her bullet. She thanks Eugene, and she tells him she’s sorry for what she said. Eugene doesn’t believe her. He wants silence now. They begin to walk back, and Spencer pulls up – in a different car? Spencer got canned foods, medicine, and other good stuff. Oh, they’re back at Alexandria now and they see that the Saviors are there. I wonder if some footage was cut out because the continuity seemed a little off. But maybe it’s just me. And we’ll see if Rosita is able to kill Negan. Her chances are exactly zero.
Inside Carl’s house, Negan goes into a room and sees Judith. He’s entranced by her.
Negan, Carl, and Judith are sitting on the porch. Negan is holding Judith. He says to Judith that maybe he should bury her in a flower bed and move to the ‘burbs, as he kisses her forehead.