If the previous episode was all about complacency, then this installment was a multitude of reactions to that false sense of security.  Abraham is feeling like the other shoe is about to drop, and he’s perfectly justified in feeling that way.  Isn’t that what the past has taught them all to expect?  Meanwhile, the rest of Team Grimes is falling into the trap of complacency: that cocky arrogance that comes with thinking you can work out any problems that present themselves.  It’s clearly not going to end well.

              

 

I’ll skip right to the end and how aggressively Rick, Daryl, and Maggie reacted to the idea that Hilltop wouldn’t negotiate and the Saviors were part of the problem.  I have to applaud Maggie, and there is more than a little character evolution taking place.  She’s turning into a leader herself, and that may be important to consider as events continue to unfold.

 

But it’s really Rick and Daryl willingness to take on the Saviors without much consideration of the potential threat they present that should be setting off the alarm bells.  They literally just found out that Alexandria has been hidden away from a substantial collection of communities, of which Hilltop is only one, that have been living under the heel of Negan and the Saviors.  Granted, Hilltop doesn’t have much in the way of ammunition or manpower at this point, but if the Saviors have taken this much control of the situation, wouldn’t it be prudent to consider how and why?

 

 

The evidence of Negan’s power base is all over the scene where Ethan stabbed Gregory.  And Hilltop eventually explains that Negan’s way of saying “Hello and let’s be friends” was to kill a member of the community and then make harsh demands.  Sending a message to Gregory was getting one of Gregory’s own people to stab him.  It’s not exactly a sign that the Saviors are pushovers, but somehow, Team Grimes ignores everything they here and signs up to wipe out the Saviors.

 

And they do it in such a fashion that, if Jesus wasn’t around to smooth things over, would give Hilltop (and anyone they communicate with) the impression that Alexandria and Rick Grimes are little better.  It’s great to see Maggie rip into Gregory after the man suggested what kind of “services” she could perform in trader for food and other supplies, but it still could be perceived that they are just the newest bunch of bullies on the block.  Time will tell if that’s the perception as the crisis deepens. 

 

And it’s going to deepen.  As if there wasn’t enough foreshadowing that Team Grimes is just a wee bit overconfident, Abraham is looking around at how everyone is acting like the future is some certain thing and shaking his head (while using some of the best euphemisms ever).  Pointedly, he asks Glenn if having a baby with Maggie was a good idea when there’s no certainty that both will survive.  It’s like the writers are trying to give us a complex about Glenn’s survival this season.

 

Which is perhaps why this episode’s close adherence to the events from the source material chill a lot of viewers to the bone.  There’s room to maneuver, to be sure, and just because the same showdown is all too likely to happen doesn’t mean that the same characters will be in the line of fire.  But everything is setting up the same way, and that means a lot of heartbreak is on the horizon.  The world just got a whole lot bigger, but it’s going to take a bit of time for Team Grimes to realize the threat have, too.