No!
..That set everything in motion.
For a long time, I thought her way was the only way.
It was survival, walking with the dead.
But I woke up, and I saw a different way of life --
one filled with love and hope, civilization.
Brace!
It's what we thought to protect,
whatever the cost.
Rggh, augh!
Right or wrong, Carol's plan worked.
Negan infiltrated The Whisperers,
gained my mother's trust, and killed their Alpha.
But a new leader rose,
and the fight continued...
...it took all of us.
Old friends returned and made us stronger.
Argh!
United, we sacrificed everything for a brighter tomorrow...
and we won.
Now, we're on the verge of something else.
Man: Hands in the air, now!
A bigger world
filled with endless possibilities and uncertainty.
This is your last chance!
Judith: I could have gotten that walker.
You are your mother's daughter.
My dad's, too.
What'd you tell RJ?
Well. I took him to the roof.
The sky was full of stars,
and I told him right now,
Mom's looking at the very same stars as us.
I said the same to Hershel.
Even thought it myself about all of you.
'Cause it's true.
She's out there.
Under the same sky.
She is.
This should do it.
Man: Push off.Yeah? On three.
One, two, three.
Hey, Maggie.
I didn't escape,
if that's what you're thinking.
Well, shit.
Hi. Hey.
Gabriel and Rosita just left with the first group.
Did Oceanside give an answer?
Yes,and they'll take some.
Luke's gathering up about a dozen of them.
We can take the rest.
Hi.
Hey. Man: Maggie.
Who's that?
These are my people.
Is everybody okay?
Hershel's fine.
Don't worry.
Everyone else?
Holding tight at the rendezvous.
Let's bring them back.
Come on. I want you to meet my friends.
Carol, Daryl -- Elijah and Cole.
Hershel and I were living with their people
until recently.
We lost the village.
And nowwe need to live with you.
I thought I'd take them to Hilltop.
What is it?
Carol: Maggie.
Negan was with the Whisperers.
That night.
I wanted you to hear it from me, because --
It was you?
You let him out?
Alpha needed to die,
and Negan was our best chance.
We were gonna lose everything.
Negan's a reason we didn't.
So, what now?
What?
Everyone's just supposed to go to...what was it?
Alexandria. Right.
So, we all go to Alexandria
and live next door to the guy who torched this place?
Same guy who killed her husband --
is that right?
We're still figurin' things out.
Thanks for telling me.
We need to get to Hershel and the others.
You didn't have to do that.
I did. I owe her that much.
I'll go with her, try to smooth things over.
She's never gonna come around on him, you know.
Have you?
It's good to see her, though.
Yeah.
Daryl!
Hold on!
You're gonna pick up Maggie's people, right?
Yeah.
I wanna come with you.
You're gonna cover some new ground where we could...
you know, keep an eye out, for Connie.
Come on.
Hey.
The town marked the shelter at about 10 miles east.
Too far out of the way.
We might not hit anything else before dark.
Let's keep going.
About a half hour left, boss.
If we're lucky.
We can go a little longer.
No, we can't.
It's getting dark.
We shouldn't be out here.
Okay.
Kelly: Okay?
Okay what?
You mean stay here?
We should go up in the woods,
find higher ground.
I think we'll all sleep better
in some shelter.
Alright.
Okay. So, all we have to do
is clear this whole parking lot full of sickos
and hole up for the night?
No sweat.
Aah!
Cole: Maggie, you okay?
Maggie: Just a cut, but I could use a little help!
Alright, so, maybe a little sweat.
It's all clear.
Cole's on watch.
Okay. Good.
Hey, I'm glad you're here.
When your letters stopped, I thought,
I don't know, maybe you were gone.
I wasn't close to the drop for a long time.
But when I was...
Well, when I was, I just didn't stop.
What happened out there?
Well...
you know, Georgie had all these good ideas.
With things going so well at Hilltop,
the idea of doing that for others felt good.
So, we'd find groups and do what we could.
But it'd always go sideways.
She still out there? Georgie?
I don't know.
We were in this little place near Knoxville
a couple summers ago.
I had this group.
We taught them to reroute water, build a forge.
She heard about this city out west,
so she and the twins went out there to check it out,
and I stayed back with Hershel.
And not long after, the place fell and we ran,
and I haven't seen her since.
What happened to your group?
Their village?
Not now.
Alright.
It's actually good to say some of it out loud.
I just can't say all of it, you know?
I know.
I almost came home after Knoxville.
Maybe I should've.
Why didn't you?
We, uh...
...took a detour.
My nana had this place by the ocean.
After Bethie died,
Glenn and I talked about going there.
Not forever, just for a little while.
We never did.
But I thought Hershel could.
He loved it.
Waves twice his size knocking him to the ground.
He just bounced right back up, laughing.
We watched the sunrise,
watched the water crashing against the rocks.
It was so peaceful.
Hardly any walkers.
And then one night, we stayed up really late
and told him stories about his family.
Beth and Shawn and...
his granddaddy.
He asked how his daddy died.
I knew he would.
I knew it was coming.
I told him that a bad man killed him.
He wanted to know
if that man got what he deserved.
He wanted to know if that man was dead.
Truth is, I left home
because I couldn't have Negan
taking up any more space in my head...
and then I realized
I didn't want to bring Hershel back to that.
Then the next morning, we met...
this whole community of people
who needed us as much as we needed them.
And it felt like it was meant to be.
But that's over, too.
You could come on home.
It's not decided with Negan.
Not yet.
And what Carol did, she --
What she felt she had to.
Mm.
God knows what I would have done if I was there.
I'm next door if you need me, alright?
Time to go.
Damn.
I actually got some shut eye in that rust coffin.
Hey, isn't your friend supposed to be on watch?
You left your post.
Kelly: Sorry, I just...
You can't go running off by yourself like that.
Her sister's missing.
He just lost his, too.
We have to go.
I just had to check.
Maggie: Kelly's sister -- she still out there?
I don't know.
I hope so.
Thing is, I went looking for her so many times.
But people are just gone, you know?
Even if you find 'em,
doesn't mean you get 'em back.
Maybe it's best if she don't know.
No, she should.
My dad used to say,
"A wound can't heal 'til it hits air."
You know that ain't true, right?
Medicine wise.
He always made it sound like it was.
Yeah.
We're almost there.
Can't wait for you to meet Hershel.
Hey.
No.
Shit.
It's them.
They found us.
Hershel?
No!
They must've followed us, Maggie.
We were so damn careful.
I don't know how, but...
it's them.
They're out here.We don't know that.
Two of our people are dead, Maggie.
Where the hell's everyone else?
Fire's out.
Why haven't they come back?
It's the Reapers.
What's a Reaper?
The people who attacked our home.
Elijah: Came outta nowhere.
Wiped out anything in their way.
They're here -- Enough.
We need to get our heads on straight.
Find our people.
Find my son.
They're scattered.
Definitely running.
All headed north.
These... These people...
if it's them...
We'll find them.
All of them.
Any more kids in your group?
That's him.
Come on.
Stay quiet and alert.
If anything's out there that isn't our people,
we kill it.
Trail splits.
Hershel?
I lost him.
Someone could have picked him up, though.
What now?
We split up the group.
No way.
My people are out there.
Splitting up is the fastest way to find them.
And what if something finds us?
Stay alive.
Daryl and I cross. Keep heading north.
We'll catch up with you.
Something's out there.
We gotta move.
Hey.
You okay?
Can you, uh...
Yeah.
This is a lot.
But you're not alone.
You and me.
Okay?
Maggie's counting on us.
Come on.
Don't move.
Maggie: Daryl. Daryl.
Everyone stand down.
Daryl, she's one of ours.
Come on. Let's go.
Thank God.
Sorry.
What happened?
Everything was fine,
and then the whole place was suddenly on fire.
You see who did it?No.
We just ran.
Jen and Billy -- they didn't make it out.
And something in the woods took out Matty,
but we didn't get a clear look.
We know who did it.
Goddamn Reapers.
They're in these woods hunting us one by one.
Where's Hershel?Kim had him.
He's out here, somewhere.
It's been hours.
You're the first people we've seen.
It's a trap.
They're trying to flush us out,
pick us off one by one.
Yeah.
Oh, shit.
Maya, get down!
I think she saw Hershel.
That's what she's trying to tell me.
We got to get to 'em first.
We should --
There's only one shooter.
Three shots. One at a time. He had to reload.
Yeah.
I'll go around and flank him. No.
Just keep his attention here.
Come on.
Daryl, wait.
Who are you?
Who are you?!
You're one of them, right?
You attacked our home.
Killed my friends, our family.
Why'd you do this?
We did nothing to you.
Who are you?
Who are you?!
What do you call yourselves?!
I know it's just you out here,
so you can answer my questions or die.
It's your choice.
Why'd you do it?
Pope marked you.
Get down!
Hey, Mom.
I know you helped Elijah.
Thank you.
He's been through a lot.
It's okay.
We all have.
Who's older?
You or your sister?
Connie is.
I came as a...
surprise for our parents.
By that point, they were too tired.
Connie always kept an eye on me.
Even once she had her own life...
...she shared it with me.
Tried to take care of me.
You had a sister, too, right?
You're the oldest?
How'd you know?
I can just tell sometimes.
You seem like you've been in charge of people
your whole life.
You protect them.
Just like my sister.
I hope I get to meet her someday.
You will.
You alright?
Yeah.
It's real quiet out there.
For now.
Hey, that guy knew he was a dead man.
He was just messing with you.
Maybe.
We'll stay here a few more days.
Sweep the grounds, make sure he was alone.
Nothing follows us back to Alexandria.
We'll take the long way back.
Cover our tracks.
Does this mean you're coming home?
These people deserve one.
So does Hershel.
I'll deal with Negan if I have to.
Right now, the only thing that matters is Alexandria.
Alright.
Man: Come on! Hey!
What the hell happened?
Whisperers left a parting gift.
Yeah.
It is.
So, this is home sweet home?
Yeah.
It is.
So, this episode is called "Home Sweet Home"
because, in a lot of ways,
this episode is about our people wanting to go home
after the war with the Whisperers,
and Maggie coming home,
only to find that home has been destroyed
and what happens next.
"Home" has taken on such a complex meaning,
especially since Maggie now has to live
possibly next door to Negan, her mortal enemy.
So there's a lot of emotional territory
that's being explored in this episode.
Hey, Maggie.
At the start of this episode, Maggie and Negan
set eyes on each other for the first time in many years.
This is a charged moment for both of them.
And from Maggie's side, what we wanted to play
was that in some ways, you know,
she's really surprised by this,
but she's trying not to let him rattle her too much.
The interesting thing is, we had dialogue for her,
and in the editing process, we wound up stripping it out,
because her reactions were so strong
in these awkward silences, there's a lot going on
in that moment between the two of them.
Negan was with the Whisperers
that night.
I wanted you to hear it from me
because -- It was you?
You let him out?
The scene between Maggie and Carol at the Hilltop
is one that I really love.
I think both of these actors are so strong.
Alpha needed to die.
And Negan was our best chance.
We wanted to show, like, a scene of how friendship means
that sometimes you have to tell people
things that they don't want to hear
and that you don't want to say.
This is clearly a painful revelation for Maggie,
but the two of them are able
to have a civil conversation about it,
kind of work through their emotions,
and then keep moving on.
Thanks for telling me.
We need to get to Hershel and the others.
We knew that for Maggie's big episode back,
we obviously saw her in episode 16.
However, we didn't really get to know
much about what she's been up to,
who is this masked man that she showed up with.
That friendship between Maggie and Daryl
is also a really deep one,
and one that has lasted many years.
Maggie can be kind of vulnerable with him
in a way that she maybe is not ready to be with everybody yet.
It's actually good to say some of it out loud.
I just can't say all of it, you know?
I know.
I really wanted people to feel
just that friendship between them again.
I find the way that they react to each other so moving.
Daryl says very little in the scene,
in the way of dialogue.
But there is so much going on, on his face.
I'll be next door if you need me, alright?
He's just there for her, in a really gentle way,
not pushing her too hard, because she's not ready.
But just being a rock
in the way that Daryl knows how to be.
I think, in the time of COVID and all the restrictions,
the amount of action that we can do in an episode
is a little different than usual.
What we went for, which is just --
it's more of this kind of creepy, tense sneaking action.
Anything that's just a couple of people
is easier at this point
than anything that involves multiple people.
And anything you have action, there are so many people
that are involved in making it come to life on set.
Man: 3...2...1...go!
Aah! Aah! Aah! Aah!
So, you've got, you know, stunts coordinators.
You also have people on the effects side,
looking at what needs to be enhanced.
There's a lot of safety protocols
that come with that on top of the COVID stuff.
I think that people really have a spirit
of wanting to make everything exciting and great anyway.
So these kinds of sequences
are ones that everybody really comes together on
and works really hard on together.
Hey, Mom.
After all the tension in the woods,
we definitely wanted to reveal Hershel
to be sweet and a little funny.
We want to show that the young Hershel
is a little bit like his mom and a little bit like his dad.
I'm a "glass half full" kind of guy.
And I think that there were ways that Glenn could find
the brighter sides of life sometimes
that I think were really important for the survivors.
It wouldn't hurt you to think things through
a little more carefully next time, would it?
sorry.
Got a cool car.
Kang: And so we thought it was really fun
to kind of introduce him in a situation
where, like, "Oh, like, this kid has survival skills."
He clearly, like, somehow got up a tree,
managed to stay away from the bad guys,
and yet he's a rascal.
When Maggie strolls on home, I think, for Negan,
there's a lot of things running through his head.
He has gone through this whole journey over years.
He's tried to convince them, "I've paid my debt to society."
And he realizes that when Maggie is now here,
that completely changes the calculus,
because, of course, people love Maggie
a lot more than they love him.
And if Maggie's not happy that he's there,
what's that gonna mean for Negan's future.
So I think, in Negan's mind, he's just trying to figure out,
like, "Was that all for nothing?
What comes next? What do I have to do?
How do I deal with her, knowing that she hates me?"
So I think that's a big part
of kind of the emotional underpinnings
of the story, going forward.