The Walking Dead S11 E7: "Promises Broken" Review

 The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 7: "Promises Broken" Review

[WARNING: Major spoilers for The Walking Dead seasons 1-10, spoilers for season 11.]

The seventh episode of The Walking Dead's first third of its supersized final season managed to encompass everything both good and bad about the series since the start of this latest season. It managed to somehow strike a perfect balance between some of the best scenes the show's had all season, and some of its most contrived plots reliant on convenience for convenience's sake. I don't even know whether or not to call this a "good" or "bad" episode because of just how balanced everything was. But, for the sake of not wanting to leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth about the series after this post, let's start with the bad and work our way up to the good.

The worst--though in terms of quality "mediocre" would be the best descriptor--plot of "Promises Broken" involved Eugene and the rest of the arrested survivors clearing out walkers from houses near the Commonwealth. For the most part, their presence in the episode acts as an influencer for Yumiko--who we'll get to later--to start investigating the mysteries surrounding the Commonwealth. Though, as a standalone subplot, this felt more like a contrived way to get everyone where they belong on the large chessboard currently being set up. Eugene's role in the episode is to act as the subtle liaison between the Commonwealth and their inevitable interactions with the rest of Alexandria. It's a welcome surprise, to have the story moving in a forward direction after a single action by Eugene near the end of the episode. However, the way it was presented could have been better. To talk about that, though, I'm going to have to break my unspoken "no spoilers" rule for a little bit. You can scroll past the next couple of paragraphs if you're itching to find out what transpires in your own.

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Near the end of the episode, Eugene and his soft love interest, Stephanie, are on assignment to clear walkers near the perimeter of the Commonwealth. This is where they discover a young couple, enjoying a picnic, though being approached from behind by a walker. Eugene, as an act of due diligence, kills the walker. However, this sparks ire from the couple, who blame Eugene and Stephanie for ruining their time out. It's clear not just by their tone but even by the way they hold themselves these two hold some level of power in the Commonwealth. They may even be considered a "rich" class, especially given Stephanie's apologetic reaction--made even more apologetic after she dispatches a second walker, splattering the stuck-up girl's shirt. Eugene, for all his smarts, is unable to perceive just how bad an idea it would be for a prisoner to do something that may lead to further punishment. Nonetheless, he punches the boy. The boy who, as we learn in Yumiko's side of the story a little later on, is the son of Pamela Milton, the as-yet-unseen leader of the Commonwealth.

Eugene is taken to a jail cell, still caked in walker blood from his time served, and is given an ultimatum by Commonwealth spokesman Lance Hornsby: The only way Eugene gets out of this is if he confesses to who he wanted to contact over the radio. Eugene decides that the only way he and his friends escape is if he confesses; so he does. It's implied here that he's told Lance everything about Alexandria.

This in itself is fine. It's pretty obvious that the second part of the season will be focusing on weaving together the stories being told on the Alexandria and Commonwealth sides of things. In fact, something like this was expected, and probably should have happened a little sooner. As far the way it was developed, though, it left a little to be desired. The twist that this kid was Pamela's--a character we have yet to see--feels like it will have serious consequences no matter what. But it also doesn't resonate as much as if we'd been able to see Pamela ourselves and know who she is. It creates a good sense of dread for sure, but I still feel like it could have been done in a way that didn't feel so cookie-cutter in its presentation. It was unexpected, but for some reason left a dry taste on my tongue. I guess we'll have to wait and see how well things go for the rest of the season, but for now I wasn't super impressed.

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On the flip side of this we have Yumiko attempting to uncover more of the Commonwealth's mysteries while trying to get her friends out of their punishments. Much of her time onscreen focuses on failed attempts at seeing Pamela Milton--the yet-to-be-seen leader of the Commonwealth--and asking her about the community as well as seeking redemption for her friends. Along the way, she tries to convince her brother, Tomi, that he could do so much more for the Commonwealth as a doctor instead of as a baker. This, however, prompts him to warn her not to inform anyone at the Commonwealth that he was a doctor before the fall of civilization.

This plotline, while a smaller sub-plot of Eugene and the gang's story, does a really good job at reflecting how Yumiko, an outsider, can view the Commonwealth in a multitude of ways. She wants what's best for her brother, hence why she implores him to try and raise his social status in the community. At the same time, though, she realizes just how much power those above have over those below, making her question just how much she can trust this community. However, by telling her brother to climb the social ladder of a world she really hasn't been in for very long, Yumiko feels a little double-sided. I'm not sure if this is to establish her wanting to trust the Commonwealth but mistrusting them all the same, or to if it's just an error on the writer's part. Either way, it doesn't feel like someone who mistrusts the Commonwealth would also want her brother--someone she seems to care for deeply--to climb its rungs. It was entertaining enough, but it leaves me wondering just how much Yumiko's motivation this episode was contrived for the plot.

Though credit where it's due, Tomi is a very relatable character. I think some of the things he tells Yumiko about just wanting to be happy not only clarified who he was, but also indicated how one can still find light in the darkness of an undead world.

Speaking of light, this episode also saw a short side-quest involving Daryl and Leah. Pope, angry that the Reapers were unable to find Maggie's group in the neighborhood Daryl led them to last episode, orders the duo to scout again, this time on the outskirts of what is presumed to be land Pope had claimed around Meridian. Along the way, Daryl and Leah find a survivor who says his family is hurt. While Pope orders the two of them to follow him to where his family is and kill them all, both Leah and Daryl have their reservations about this. It was an interesting, short little piece, with Leah and Daryl both coming to the realization that not everything Pope says should be taken as gospel. At the same time, it plays on the theme of family associated with the Reapers, as our duo wrestles with the idea of having to take a helpless man's family away from him when they too understand what it means to protect one another. This was a very short, to-the-point segment of the episode, but one that feels like it (hopefully) will be important as the season continues.

Finally, we have what I felt was the best part of this episode: Negan and Maggie bonding in the woods while rallying up walkers to attack Meridian. More specifically, the two of them are rounding up walkers while dressed in Whisperer garb, with Negan assisting Maggie as she gets the hang of it. Their planned attack on Meridian will only work if they can get enough walkers to break through the gates, which is why they have to make sure the plan works perfectly. But what's also perfect about this episode is how many of Negan and Maggie's interactions throughout stick with the audience. At first, everything is going well. Negan and Maggie appear to be on the same page about things. Negan is even assisting Maggie outright, helping her when her Whisperer mask starts to slip down her face. It's almost as if the two of them may come to an understanding of one another sometime soon. But things start to change when the two of them sit on a pair of logs and have the best conversation of the entire season thus far. And for that, I'll have to tell you what happens.

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While talking to one another, the topic of Negan having killed Glenn comes up. At one point, Maggie is prompted to ask Negan, if he could go back in time, would he do things differently. Negan agrees that yes, he would not have killed Abraham and Glenn if he had the chance. Instead, he would have killed Rick and every single other person in their group. Maggie is shocked by this, asking why Negan would say something like that to her. Glenn was her late husband, so it's understandable why his seemingly-redeemed murderer would admit to killing him again if he had the chance. Negan says that, if they can't be honest with one another, then they can't trust one another. That the reason he would have killed everyone was so he could protect the Saviors. This conversation isn't Negan trying to admit that he hasn't changed; it's his way of telling Maggie that, to protect her own family, she shouldn't hesitate to kill every single Reaper in Meridian.

This is not only the best moment of the episode, but probably the best moment all season. While it's a clarifying moment that didn't really need much shine to it--we all know at this point Maggie would stop at nothing to avenge all the people the Reapers took from her--it was so well-delivered that it almost didn't matter. We got insight into a realistic philosophy from Negan, while Maggie's more hopeful, introspective insight into this world of the dead is quashed by it. Negan is being a realist when he says he would have killed everyone because, at that moment in time, the Saviors were his dysfunctional family. Nothing mattered to him outside of keeping his people safe and under his command, so it would make sense for him to want to make sure outside forces couldn't take that power away from him. Framing it as a familial idea for Maggie can be helpful for her, as Negan seeks to show her what she has to do in order to win. It's a great scene, a reminder that Negan is one of the best characters on the show--and perhaps the most honest.

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Overall, this episode of The Walking Dead had its ups and downs, highlighting both strong and inconsistent characters, intense and dumbed-down writing, and generic and uplifting points in the plot throughout. It's a masterclass in everything the show is doing good right now, as well as everything it's doing poorly. I think when it comes to the rest of this season, we're bound to see very similar ups and downs occur. I would be remiss to say it's to be expected, because at one point it very much wasn't. But perhaps that's just the name of the game when it comes to how we should expect The Walking Dead to play out up until its inevitable demise.

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