The Walking Dead S11 E12: "The Lucky Ones" Review

 The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 12: "The Lucky Ones" Review

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

With the previous episode of The Walking Dead giving us a little more insight as to what may be going on within darker confines of the Commonwealth, I was anticipating another episode that would elaborate on what had been established. What I didn't expect, however, was a mixed bag episode that both indicated what the conflict for Part 2 would be moving forward while also raising a lot of questions regarding the show's inner logistics. While this episode did excite me for what was to come, a lot of it felt like filler that could have been established within half an episode. Regardless, while I'm a bit iffy on the presentation, I am interested to see where the story is going and how it's going to differ from the comics--which is already evident given what's been happening.

The major plot of this episode sees leader of the Commonwealth Pamela Milton--accompanied by her right-hand man Lance Hornsby--visiting the original communities many of our heroes stem from, mainly Alexandria, Oceanside, and a newly-rebuilt Hilltop. Pamela's goal is to see just how worth helping these communities are, while Hornsby hopes that taking her to see how viable their involvement could be will bolster his position of power within the Commonwealth. While it doesn't happen until later in the episode, I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that Maggie's distrust of the Commonwealth and her reestablished leadership role at Hilltop are the major focus of this episode. So too is Lance and his willingness to try and contribute to her community, despite her attempts at keeping her people safe without Commonwealth assistance.

I think that, while this plot is important for the episode and establishes a few necessary pieces of information to keep in mind as the season continues, there is still an absence in terms of the presentation within the episode. Keep in mind that the Commonwealth has apparently been interacting with and bringing people from these three communities within their walls for months at this point. Yet only now does their leader begin to visit in order to see just how useful helping the communities would be--despite already having used many resources to do so for a long period of time. While I understand the episode was necessary to relay Pamela's thoughts about contributing to these communities while also underscoring Lance's inner conflict as to how he wants to gain power within the Commonwealth, it feels strange to have the episode placed here in the timeline. It feels more like an event that should have happened sooner and could have eased the audience into the idea of characters leaving Alexandria and Hilltop for the Commonwealth better. It's an understandable episode to have, I'm just not so sure it was placed in the right point on the timeline.

Another troublesome question this episode raises has to do with Hilltop, reflecting a common trend in this season of the crew behind the show forgetting pre-established ideas. In the case of writers forgetting about Alden's baby that is now mysteriously floating in the aether, an excuse can be made. It happened in Season 10 right before the pandemic, so that little factoid being forgotten about is--while not excusable--partially understandable. What boggled my mind this episode, however, was no mention of a plot that was already established earlier in this very season. In Season 11 Part 1, an entire sub-plot focused on how a rogue group of Whisperers were using Hilltop as a new home base. It was indicated in that episode that Hilltop now belonged to this small group of Whisperers. In this episode, though--the first time we've seen Hilltop since Part 1--the Whisperer group is nowhere to be seen. No characters mention their stay at Hilltop and no one seemed all that bothered that they had seemingly disappeared from the plot. It seems like such a strange thing to forget about given how much focus they were given during the episode they showed up in, leading me to believe that their presence back then really was nothing but filler.

This episode, while reflecting some of elements of a filler episode where nothing happens, still at least delivered on a few notable plot points. Though much of this happened at the start of the episode, wherein Eugene, heartbroken over the loss of his fake Stephanie, learns that the real Stephanie--whose name is Max--houses genuine feelings for him. Eugene, however, doesn't know entirely how to take this or her explanation as to how and why he ended up being tricked by a fake Stephanie when he entered the Commonwealth. While there is a bit of melodrama to his reaction, it's also understandable given what he's been going through since then. I think it will be interesting to see how Eugene and Max's relationship builds in future episodes as he becomes more acclimated to her presence and starts to see what the bigger threat to the Commonwealth truly is.

That threat, it seems, will come in the form of Lance Hornsby. A lot of small occurrences in this episode--none worth mentioning, even in spoilers to be honest--indicate that Lance will be taking on the role of Season 11's final antagonist. And, honestly, I really like this idea. It's a deviation from the source material that I didn't see coming, but it's also something that I feel gives the Commonwealth storyline a breath of fresh air. The woman in charge of the community, Pamela, truly does give off the notion that she wants the community to be a perfect place for survivors despite the imperfections associated with the system they're using. Lance, however, sees the Commonwealth--and Alexandria's inclusion in particular--as a way to enact some level of a power grab. It's a little unclear just what his motivations are, but given how buddy-buddy he tries to be with Maggie during this episode, it appears as though his major plan is to at least garner some power beyond the Commonwealth. I think this makes for an interesting villain, as it doesn't paint the Commonwealth themselves as antagonists, just certain parties within their larger faction.

I do still wonder where they'll be taking this, though, as it seems Lance already has a rather large influence over the Commonwealth. He's the welcoming face new residents see when they're allowed inside. He's showcased himself to be a worthy enough ally to Pamela that she's willing to let him show her around new communities, even when she herself is ill-inclined to take a look. How much power does Lance want, and given the level of status Pamela's family has been revealed to have within the Commonwealth, how does he plan on taking it? While I am definitely interested to see where they'll be taking this storyline, I do hope that the end result isn't as disappointing as I'm fearing it may be.

However, I don't want to knock the episode or the future of the show just yet. This episode was a pretty good step in the right direction, even if the presentation herein wasn't as exciting and gripping as I would have liked. But I am interested to see where the plot is heading next and to learn just how much of a formidable opponent Lance will become in future episodes. While I am trepidatious, I am still very much looking forward to the rest of The Walking Dead's final season (Part 2) and to see how the show manages to wrap up this middling chapter of its last stretch.

***

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