TV Review: The Walking Dead: Season 8 – Episode 15: “Worth” (2018)

THE WALKING DEAD
SEASON EIGHT

Episode 15: “Worth”

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
APRIL 12, 2018

Eugene (Josh McDermitt) is busy making bullets for the Saviors. While Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), who is still sick, deliberately and openly tries to sabotage the bullets. Instead of ordering him killed, however, Eugene shoves Gabriel to the side. After some weird tirade about soup, Eugene ends up in the cross-hairs of Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Rosita (Christian Serratos). Eugene tries to talk to them but they both end up telling him that his life is meaningless and Rosita spells out that they plan to bury him very deep, only keeping him alive because he knows how to make bullets. This sends Eugene vomiting on Rosita to make a get away and hiding in a pile of ash to escape.

Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is back and Dwight (Austin Amelio) is the first one to talk to him. Negan holds a meeting with Dwight and the other lieutenants, including Simon (Steven Ogg). Simon gets called out about killing the Scavengers and although it looks like Negan will use Lucille to kill him, he instead forgives him and lays out a plan to surround the Hilltop in distinct locations, picking them off one by one. Dwight copies this plan to send to Rick (Andrew Lincoln). Simon comes to Dwight’s room and says he still wants to overthrow Negan and that he and the rest of his cohorts will be meeting later that evening to finish the job. The meeting occurs with Simon laying out his intentions, with Dwight and Gregory (Xander Berkeley) in attendance but Negan reveals himself, having heard the whole plan.

Negan has his men kill the traitors and offers Simon one last chance to “beat the man.” They have a brawl in front of the entire Sanctuary, during which Dwight sends Gregory off with the map of Negan’s plan. Negan ends up choking Simon to death. Negan tells Dwight he is his new right-hand man, only to find out that Laura (Lindsley Register) has returned and was the person Negan picked up the previous night, having told Negan about Dwight’s betrayal of the Saviors during a firefight against Rick. Negan reveals that his plan was bogus and Dwight did exactly what he wanted him to do by delivering the map to Rick, which is in fact a trap. Negan decides not to kill Dwight, believing there is still some use to him. By this time, Gregory has already delivered the map and message to Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and she gives it Rick, asking what they should do. Eugene, who is now back at the bullet outpost, is informed that Negan is back and that he requires an order of bullets by the morning, in order to fulfill his trap of on the Hilltop.

During all this, Aaron (Ross Marquand) reveals that he is still outside Oceanside, trying to persuade them to join the fight. But without food or water, he can barely defend himself. He fights off walkers in the rain, even after losing his knife, and the women of Oceanside appear to check on him to make sure he’s not dead. He then gives a rallying speech about joining the fight so that they can truly live in freedom, before passing out again.

At the end of the episode, Michonne (Danai Gurira) shows up outside the Sanctuary and uses her walkie talkie to speak to Negan, who is standing next to a fence with a zombified Simon attached to it. Michonne reveals that she is there to read Negan the letter than Carl (Chandler Riggs) had written for him before his death. In the letter, Carl urges Negan to find a peaceful resolution with Rick. Negan refuses and says he will kill them all before smashing his walkie talkie with his foot.

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NOTABLE DEATHS

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