The Walking Dead s11e12 Episode Script

Previously on "The Walking Dead" They're here to help.
We need to get a meeting on the books about Alexandria.
I have a pitch.
I'm sure you do.
Does Ezekiel know how bad his chances are? He knows the odds aren't good.
There's likely no chance he'll get the surgery unless by some miracle he moves up the line.
There was never any Stephanie.
Who is she?! Eugene? It's me.
I'm the one you were talking to on the radio.
It was just dumb luck, honestly.
I found the radio parts in a dumpster behind the municipal building.
They'd never be left there for security reasons, so someone clearly thought it was trash.
But it wasn't trash.
It just needed some love.
I have the most vivid memory of an ice-cream shop with the most marvelous batch of black raspberry ice cream.
The Inside Scoop.
I used to go there all the time.
Hell, we might've been there on the same day.
Well, knowin' this, there's a critical question needs answerin'.
What's that? Cake cone or waffle? That's how we started talking, and we talked about everything.
Everything and nothing.
I just can't help but believe that this is a celestially ordained meet-and-greet.
No bean-spillage here, either.
But, Eugene, my people are uber cautious.
And if we're close I never thought about leaving this place before.
Well, I-I did, but I never let myself believe it was possible.
Truth is, Stephanie, I'd just very much like to meet you.
But then my brother got involved, and he was not happy.
God damn it.
It's not what you think.
Oh, yeah? Wanna know what I did today? I investigated a massive communications breach.
Apparently, someone on an unauthorized radio station has been talking to a rogue community outside of our walls.
Well, then.
Hornsby's all over it.
Tell me it wasn't you.
Please tell me that you were not about to sneak out to meet some stranger at a rail yard.
What could I say? Max, it's dangerous.
For everyone at the Commonwealth, but especially for me and you.
I gotta go.
You better pray Hornsby doesn't realize that was your voice.
I knew I'd crossed a line.
And with Hornsby on the prowl, getting out to see you was impossible.
And then you turn up with some other girl calling herself Stephanie.
Using my words my voice.
Excuse me.
That wouldn't happen to be Rocky Road there, would it? You seemed so happy So, I kept my head down.
I didn't know what else to do.
- Thank you, Max.
- Mm.
Can I get you anything else? Ice cream? Tea? A day without my son acting like a little asshole? I'll get you that ice cream.
Oh, and, Max? Have the bank cut off Sebastian's line of credit.
Maybe that'll whip him into shape.
I've got news.
Then Hornsby came to see Pamela and he was buzzing about you and Alexandria.
- I never - What's he planning? I don't know.
He's ambitious.
Could mean anything.
Could mean nothing just the rebuild.
The big guy in the orange armor who hates me.
That's your brother? Yes, but, Eugene And you You're Stephanie? No.
I'm Max.
There is no Stephanie.
Well, it was my mother's name, really - I-I-I'm sorry.
- So I'm sorry.
This is a long way from home, Lance.
It is.
But these communities are perfect for what we're envisioning.
What you're envisioning.
I'm not convinced we need to stretch our resources like this.
Grow your empire further than your power can extend and lose your empire.
I don't think it's quite that dramatic.
Well, how's this for dramatic? If this doesn't go well, we're out.
These people are free to stay with us permanently or they can go home and finish their own repairs.
There's enough to do at home without having to worry about a couple of small communities in another state.
Give it a chance, Pamela.
I really think you might be surprised.
Let's wrap it up, okay? They're coming.
Hey.
Hey, cover that window.
Hello there.
Welcome.
Aaron.
Pamela Milton.
A pleasure.
Uh, care for the grand tour? I would expect nothing less.
Okay.
Uh, Alexandria was a self-sustaining ecological community.
We have water, solar panels, and, uh, a crop system.
Who is the engineer? I don't recall anyone from intake.
Uh, no one, actually.
We got the plans from the leader of an allied community.
Maggie Rhee.
Uh, some of our people studied the blueprints, and we built it.
Fascinating.
How do you keep a place like this safe with it being so isolated? Wasn't easy.
Fought a lot of fights.
You were one of the leaders here? Yeah, yeah, I guess you could say that.
We all were.
What'd you do before all this? Doesn't matter.
Least, not to us, anyway.
Mm.
She looks just how I remember her.
What, you knew her? Oh, we used to cross paths quite a bit in philanthropy circles back in the day.
But I had no interest in politics at the time.
She, however, was born to run things.
What was she like as a leader? She brought us in.
We'd never met anybody like that before.
You admire her.
Yeah.
Very much so.
I mean, she built all this for us.
Something worth fighting for.
But it fell.
Yeah, but we always brought it right back.
It fell more than once? Yeah.
We've got a breach.
Stay here, ma'am.
I got it.
Shit.
How did you lose Deanna? She was bitten.
Did she turn? We had to put her down.
Yes.
I think I've seen enough here.
Morning, Ezekiel.
Jerry.
And a good morning to you, too, sir.
Mm.
Okay, let's get into it.
So nothing but water morning of.
No food.
No solids.
We need you on an empty stomach.
Sorry? Doc, we're just here for a routine check-up.
I was told this is pre-op blood work.
To make sure he's stable enough for the surgery.
Surgery? To take out this tumor.
Did no one tell you? Whoa.
I thought I was still on the list.
Well, now you're at the top of that list.
You're lucky.
Some people wait years.
What about his bill? He's paid up.
Well, however it came to pass, I'm thrilled.
We're going to take good care of you, Ezekiel.
Rest up.
See you Friday at nine.
This is so frickin' awesome! Wha What is it? How did this happen? Oh, come on, boss, this is good news.
Maybe it's a coincidence.
Maybe it's a clerical error.
Maybe it's divine intervention.
Either way, don't you think you deserve a little luck? Pamela.
Pamela.
Rachel's ready for you.
You're blessed to have this at your door step.
We know.
I heard how Oceanside came to be.
About your battles with the Saviors and the Whisperers.
Says a lot about strength of your community.
I'm excited to have you as partners of the Commonwealth.
Aaron mentioned there was a trade provision that you'd like worked into our agreement.
Something wrong? We spoke to Maggie Rhee.
The leader of Hilltop.
She told us she's not partnered with you all.
We offered Hilltop the same agreement as with Alexandria, but Maggie declined.
Alexandria's gone its own way before.
But Hilltop and Maggie have always been there for us.
We renewed our mutual protection pact, and I'm gonna honor it.
If Maggie decides to partner with you, we will, too, out of respect for her.
Otherwise, Oceanside's a "no.
" Question what was the point of bringing you along if you can't give me any helpful intel in advance of shit blowing up in our faces? Your people have been fixing up Alexandria.
It's not my fault the walker got in.
You should've known about Rachel and Hilltop.
Because I'm a mind-reader? How do you think this little detour looks to Pamela? It looks like we're not prepared.
It looks like you're not prepared.
Lance, you know Pamela, alright? I don't.
You didn't anticipate this? It's not my problem.
Stop acting like Alexandria means more to you than it does to me.
Right now, you and I want the same thing.
Which means you and I are in the same sinking boat.
Is Maggie gonna make this difficult for us? Huh.
Fabulous.
So you know? This is all or nothing for Pamela.
So if Maggie says no and Oceanside walks, Alexandria is cut off.
Then we'll figure it out.
Sure.
'Cause it was going so well before we stepped in.
You alright? At ease.
You must be Maggie.
I already ate.
Thanks.
I'll just leave it right here.
There you go.
It's good to see you guys.
Maggie Why do you trust these people? Who says we do? When do I ever? Fair enough.
It's good to see Alexandria getting cleaned up, though.
Least their word meant something.
Yeah, there's like 50,000 people living there.
At least 49.
9 seem like decent enough folks.
And it's not forever.
You sure you don't want to come with us? You don't have to do this alone.
Hey, sorry to interrupt.
The forward unit picked up a swarm.
We have some extra rifles with us.
So while they're handling that, Governor Milton proposed that we all go hunting, if you're up for that? We'll scare all the food away stomping around like this.
I'll go with Maggie, and you boys pair off.
Don't need a minder this time, General.
We'll be fine.
How did things get so bad? How do they ever? I've met so many communities, and I still can't figure out what makes some lucky and able to fight off the world while others can't.
I don't believe in luck.
That's interesting.
I'm sensing more of an opinion.
I mean, luck is about opportunity.
I don't know anybody who's had more opportunity than you.
Well, since we're being honest Cards on the table, Maggie.
I didn't want to come on this tour.
I have thousands of people under my care and that responsibility keeps me up at night.
That's the price of leadership.
Everything costs something.
For me, it's sleep.
You know what I think about at 3:00 A.
M.
? Hm? Who can we trust? How do we stay safe? Your communities are small by our standards.
I wasn't sure the risk of going back and forth would be worth it.
Then why are you here? The right allies make us stronger.
This world belongs to us, not the dead.
Meeting all of you, hearing all your stories, has confirmed what I've always believed.
There is a natural order to things that has vanished, and that order needs to be restored.
It provides a future for our kids.
15 million little city-states fighting each other for power and resources is never going to be able to provide that kind of stability.
I'm offering you the same thing your mutual protection pact with Oceanside did.
Someone who has your back.
Ah! Mm.
Yeah.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
I just thought I'd see how you were doing.
Um, cooking, actually.
Uh you hungry? Nabila and Jerry left me a buffet.
- Okay.
- It's, um, crispy.
Yeah.
Why not? Here.
Jerry said you had a check-up today Anything come up? It's a funny thing.
- What? - Tomi said I was scheduled for surgery.
They bumped me up in the line.
That's good.
That's great.
That's great.
- Right? - Wait.
Did you? What did you do? I didn't My debt was wiped out.
Hornsby owed me a favor.
It's cheating! Why would you do that? Because I don't want you to die.
Carol.
Those lines are a lie.
You think Pamela Milton would think twice before doing the same thing for her shitty son? Have you been inside that hospital, Carol? 'Cause if you had been, you'd see all those people, suffering, same as me.
Waiting for treatment.
Same as me.
You're supposed to just die because the system is broken? Lesser men have been given more and done nothing with it.
You are not a lesser man.
I think that's called an autocracy.
No, it's not.
Liberties haven't gone anywhere.
You're the leader at Hilltop.
You make the decisions.
You consider yourself an autocrat? I-I lead the way I was taught by Deanna and Georgie.
The communities that we built are fair.
The Commonwealth is fair.
Yeah, but you drive a nicer car and live in a nicer house than everybody else.
I have more responsibilities than the average worker.
A leader has to give her people something to look up to.
Alright, well, I want people to look up to what I've done and what I do, not what I have that they don't.
Behind you.
You want it or shall I? Well, I was thinking about going after the one behind you.
Hey.
Hey, come on, now.
You okay? I'm great.
How are you? You got a great poker face.
Thank you.
How's the new job going? Oh, you know.
It's a lot.
Do you regret coming here? Do you? So you like it here? We all get to be together.
Everyone's safe.
So it works for now.
Going with the flow.
Didn't think I'd end up basically a cop, but I'm pretty good at it, so Pretty damn good at everything you do, Rosita.
Thanks, Eugene.
I do miss home, though.
Yeah.
I miss going outside the walls.
I miss the freedom that we used to have.
But it'll come.
When Alexandria's fixed back up, then then people have choices and that's good, you know? You're excited about the future.
Yeah, I guess I am.
Eugene, what is it? Spill.
I was thinking about when we first met and how I was lying to you.
About who I was.
About Washington, D.
C.
And That was a long time ago, Eugene.
And we found our home.
So going with the flow works, right? Eugene, what is it? Get it out.
You'll feel better.
Stephanie Isn't missing.
I saw her.
She just Broke up with me.
She broke up with me.
Eugene, I'm so sorry.
She wasn't who I thought she was.
Screw her.
You can do so much better.
And you're gonna find your person.
She's out there.
I promise.
Hey.
They meant everything they said.
All the Troopers that came back with us, they're working on re-enforcing the water tower right now.
You went hunting with them? Yeah.
It's not much, but it's More than we've had in weeks.
Yeah, we'll get dinner started.
Alright.
Thanks.
Is everyone okay? Yeah, yeah.
Everyone seems relieved.
Hoping this means we can actually get some sleep tonight.
Daryl.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Was wondering when you'd come back.
- Hey.
- How you holding up? Uh, it's okay.
- We're doing our best.
- Yeah? Just feel like maybe some things just can't be fixed, you know? Just feels kind of pointless sometimes.
- I hear you.
- How do you know when? When what? Just when it's time to walk away? Is that what you wanna do? Hey, Maggie, is it okay if we hand out some supplies? We have more than enough.
Food, fuel.
Sure.
Thank you.
Great.
We're on it.
Uh, you two.
Come with me.
Hey, Daryl, look what I got.
Oh, my God.
Hey, we're gonna pass out some food.
- You wanna help us? - Yeah.
You take the big one.
Hey, give this to Elijah.
Okay.
Must be hard to be a kid out here.
He grew up on the road.
He's a different kind of kid.
Your friend.
She like torturing herself out here? This place used to be really special.
Different.
It's going through hard times now, but it'll be back up and running.
Just watch.
I guess not all places are as lucky as Alexandria.
Not all places are as lucky as Commonwealth.
Are you coming around? I wouldn't go that far, but you guys, uh, have done good stuff for us, so, I don't know, I'll give you that.
Commonwealth ain't perfect, bro.
What, you think? Just don't get too comfortable.
The only reason you're out of your armor is because someone thought it'd be good for appearances.
You got your role to play, and I got mine.
We'll be in here when you wake up.
Pizza, ice cream.
The works.
No.
No pineapple.
I'm serious, Jerry.
Pineapple on pizza makes no sense.
Pizza? You're not eating anything but Jell-O for a while, hotshot.
Nervous twitch? Lucky coin.
I had a lucky rabbit's foot once.
My dog brought it home with the rabbit still attached to it.
My old man gave this to me.
When I was a kid, I thought it was made of gold.
Turns out, it's just gold-plated.
Inside's same as a lowly nickel.
Have you decided yet? What do you get out of all this? Come on, Maggie.
Let's not pretend the obvious isn't staring us in the face.
You're in over your head.
You don't know me very well.
I know you're smart enough to know a good offer when you hear it.
And I'm smart enough to know I've just pissed you off.
You haven't answered my question.
Alright.
I'll bite.
The first time I went to Alexandria, I could see it.
The potential.
Maggie, do you really believe that Hilltop, as it currently stands, is the best you'll ever have? Or Alexandria? Or even Oceanside? Look around.
We can have so much more.
Imagine being able to pick Hershel up from a concert at the Commonwealth, take him to a doctor's appointment in Alexandria, then jump on a boat at Oceanside, traveling up the coast.
And what's up that coast? Another port town? Another school? How about a university? Have you ever imagined being able to drop your son off for his freshman year of college? Tried to build it.
Of course you did.
Because you and I see things the same way.
Imagine the world you want to build.
Hold it in your mind.
Now picture the power of 50,000 Commonwealth workers helping you make that vision a reality.
Think what you could accomplish then.
Swarm incoming! This way.
Fire! Imagine not having to deal with this every time that alarm goes off.
Yeah, we could keep building.
No more starts and stops.
I know there's a lot to consider, but, I mean, look around.
We need this.
I know.
Formation! Let's go! Dixon.
Fall in.
Hold up.
Hey.
Remember, they're always watching.
Got me? Yeah.
Yeah, I got it.
Left face.
Forward march.
Never a dull moment here, is there? Mm, we try.
Everyone okay? Yeah, no injuries, all limbs intact.
I'd call that a good day.
But the Hilltop's gonna pass on your offer.
Can I ask why? 'Cause, like you said, everything costs something.
No, please don't shut the door.
Found some raspberry goodness of the Inside Scoop variety.
It's not exactly black raspberry, but Please, it's very cold.
Um, I'm so sorry, Max.
For my ungentleman-like behavior.
For running away.
For not listening.
I was bruised and confused.
You were pretty damn rude.
I was.
Indeed.
I let Hornsby get inside my head, and it was an infiltration of the most epic proportions.
He is a snake.
More like a worm.
I let an imposter into my heart and my home.
I let her read my manuscript.
Manuscript? I I'm writing a novel.
Was a sepulcher involved? Obviously.
Did it take place in the Carpathian Mountains? Carpathian Mountains, yes.
You let her read it? I thought she was you.
I know, but, Eugene how? After all that time we spent together, everything we told each other, how could you not know it wasn't me? I do I don't know.
I guess I figured out a long time ago that I'm not like most folks.
I got used to rejection PDQ.
Didn't even realize it was rejection some of the times, but, well, suffice it to say, it happened a fair amount.
So there was a part of me that always wondered if our connection was all in my head.
But when I got here, and she didn't Push me away I just so badly wanted this to be real.
And subtle cues escape me sometimes.
Anyway, I never meant to hurt you, Max.
But my intent does not excuse my impact.
How can I make this up to you? Will you allow me to try? I don't know.
Can I read your novel? Well, as ill fortune would have it, you came upon me whilst I was burning the only physical copy.
However, I have committed much of the text to memory.
What was the concept? A gumshoe by the name of Steph Portman is caught up in a rollicking international caper, trying to avert nuclear disaster and navigate the intricacies of the legal bureaucracies back at home.
You didn't make the District Attorney corrupt, - did you? - Certainly not.
That would've surprised exactly no one.
I did, however, give him an unsavory twin brother.
Mm.
Evil twin.
Nice.
Yeah, I thought so.
You should, um, make the twin a scientist.
Ramp up the stakes on the nuclear threat.
That is exactly what I did.
Hm.
What? Just felt like old times.
Here.
I got something for ya.
It's from Judith.
She said in case you're making Hershel eat more horse meat.
Oh, God.
It was good to see you.
Yeah.
Be careful.
If you need me, you know where to find me.
Same for you.
Dianne? I'm leaving, Maggie.
Some of the others are coming with me, and you should, too.
You need to be careful who you trust.
You know that better than anybody.
You also have to know when to ask for help.
It's harder than it has ever been, and it doesn't have to be.
I respect the hell outta you, but I can't do this anymore.
I'm sorry.
It was a worthy effort, Lance.
It's not over.
It doesn't have to be.
It's time to go home.
We still have Alexandria.
I just need time to get the other two.
It was a bold move, trying to bring three new communities into the fold.
I get why something like that would be appealing to you.
Someone needs to run them, right? That selection would be at your discretion, obviously.
Obviously.
I'm gonna pretend that you were doing this for the good of the Commonwealth rather than for yourself.
I was doing this for you.
You've been ambitious our whole lives, Lance.
Ambition is notoriously hard to reel in.
So if you want to try and make it work, fine.
But if your job at home starts to suffer, there will be consequences.
The Commonwealth always comes first.
Lance.
Lance, you okay? "A" plus.
What'd she say about Alexandria? We good? Everything's fine.
Pamela's on board.
In fact, we're gonna bring even more people in.
Get ready, Aaron.
We are going to remake the world.
There's a group on the Western border.
We want to make first contact and offer them help.
What do you know about these people? Someone we know must have sent him.
I ask for a hundred troops, there's no way Milton doesn't notice.
I need a surgical solution.
And you You're Stephanie? No.
I'm Max.
There is no Stephanie.
So, something interesting about this episode, as you may or may not have noticed, is that we start the whole thing with this montage telling the story from Max's point of view.
And we realize that underneath everything, there was this kind of other story that was burning.
It's not what you think.
Oh, yeah? One of the things, creatively, that we did, and it's subtle, is that we're not reusing footage, and so we wanted to let Max have her version of the story, too, so this is her experience of what that moment was like.
Excuse me.
That wouldn't happen to be Rocky Road there, would it? We actually linger, like, in a different expression on her when she and Eugene meet eyes, before she has to go away, because we just felt like, this is a subjective montage and so she's having a slightly different experience of the same scene, and so we wanted to show it from her perspective as she's telling the story.
I was told this is pre-op blood work? Make sure he's stable enough for the surgery.
Surgery? To take out this tumor.
Did no one tell you? Whoa.
For Ezekiel, he really wants to live, and he feels like he has more to give, that he wants to be with his friends and loved ones, but he's also resigned to the fact that maybe he's not going to make it.
And I think Ezekiel had gotten to a place where he's a little bit at peace with the idea that he might not have much time left, and so he is shocked by the fact that he's offered this surgery.
Did you What did you do? I didn't My debt was wiped out.
Hornsby owed me a favor.
He's a very moral person, and the idea of cheating for anything is just, like, horrific to him.
He has such empathy, even for these people that he doen't know.
I think it really speaks to who Ezekiel is and was as a leader.
Lesser men have been given more and done nothing with it.
You are not a lesser man.
And I think Carol's point of view is like, everybody's cheating the system, but it's like, if you get this surgery, maybe you can do something about it.
Even if she doesn't say it in so many words, that's what she truly, truly believes.
She knows that, and she's right.
You alright? It was really important for us that when Pamela first meets Maggie, that she doesn't meet Maggie kind of completely down and out, which is kind of where she's at.
You must be Maggie.
For Pamela, she's impressed by Maggie.
She's impressed by the fact that other communities consider her a leader.
She's impressed by what she saw at Alexandria, knowing that a leader of another community, Maggie, helped with the plans for what Alexandria became, and what she sees in Maggie is, like, here's somebody who has street smarts and is tough and knows her way around a weapon, and she has a kind of respect for that.
For Maggie, she's just in it wih her people, and I think that's also one of the contrasts that you see right off the bat.
Maggie is dressed really kind of the same as the people that are part of her little community, and she's doing the same stuff, whereas Pamela's kind of in a special vehicle with special protection that is different than the others.
She's wearing a special outfit.
And all of those are meant to be hints at the things that bother Maggie about the system, because she just doesn't agree with it.
Fire! She's looking at this military and just realizing, like, "Wow, they just mowed down a whole lot of Walkers," and that bothers her, because she knows that if they ever came to a point of disagreement, what's to stop them from just mowing them down, too? And so I think, for Maggie, it's a matter of principle.
The Hilltop's gonna pass on your offer.
Could I ask why? 'Cause like you said, everything costs something.
That's one of tougher decisions that she makes, because her community is really in dire straits, and by virtue of the fact that she makes a different decision than Alexandria made, she loses some of her people.
I'm leaving, Maggie.
Some of the others are coming with me, and you should, too.
There's a cost to Maggie's decision.
For us, when we're writing the show, we're always trying to look at, when somebody chooses something, what are they saying "yes" to? 'Cause it's very rare in life that you say "yes" to something or choose something and that there isn't a potential downside.
You know, it's going to be even harder for her and her child, and she knows that's not an easy decision, but she feels like it's the right decision for her.
Get ready, Aaron.
We're going to remake the world.