For this installment, the writers go back to the source material and deliver what is, essentially, a straight-up adaptation.  They do switch one major detail in terms of precisely who dies before the credits roll, but otherwise, this has all of the main elements of the confrontation with Dwight that occurs as a prelude to the impending appearance of Negan.

              

 

This episode is soaked in the inevitable.  They can feel the shadow of the other shoe about to drop.  Anyone paying attention to the usual pattern could tell that Eugene and Denise were in the narrative crosshairs, and which one has been getting so much attention lately?  And so instead of Abraham (as it was in the comics), Denise is felled by an arrow through the skull.  Visually, it was exactly as it was depicted in the source material, so that was impressive in its own right.

 

Eugene, instead, was given the benefit of much needed growth.  There are few way to demonstrate one’s increased courage than to chomp down on someone’s junk in the middle of a gunfight, and not letting go until absolutely necessary.  It’s actually rather daunting to think that he got enough between his teeth to not only cause agony, but hang on despite everything Dwight did to get him to let go.  That’s dedication to survival right there.  And let’s not overlook the fact that he’s thinking ahead to the ammunition shortage problem, and has already been working towards a solution.

 

 

With so much foreshadowing of a major demise in the season finale, a few characters are putting themselves in the narrative crosshairs (apart from the most obvious candidate from the original).  In this episode alone, we get three candidates.  Abraham is the first, given that he has been a bit of a jerk this season, and this episode comes in the wake of Rosita putting him in his place and Eugene making it fairly clear that he doesn’t need a bodyguard anymore.  Since he was also supposed to die at this point in the original timeline of the source material, it might also work to have his demise merely delayed rather than avoided.

 

Daryl is often cited as a potential victim for Negan, since he would be a rather high-profile loss to Team Grimes and he has been slowly but surely losing everyone that matters to him over the course of the past few seasons.  The last one standing is Carol, and she just decided to leave Alexandria.  He’s also the one that Dwight has encountered time and again, so one would think that he would have Negan’s special attention should they cross paths.  Of course, this would also be one sure way to lose a big chunk of the audience, to say the least.

 

The third and final candidate is Carol herself, since her decision to leave Alexandria is tied directly to her sudden need to avoid killing on behalf of those she loves.  This is not a move likely to make her fanbase particularly happy, as her change of heart hasn’t exactly been handled well, but it does mean that Carol is a character in search of redemption.  And redemption for a high body count often comes at the price of one’s life.  It wouldn’t be shocking, though one might consider that if Negan eliminates a member of Team Grimes in the same manner as in the source material, having Carol killed in that way would be questionable on a number of levels.  (Just think of Carol’s personal history and try not to vomit at the notion.)

 

It’s rather telling that there are a number of fans that would happily see the first option be the eventuality, as Abe is far from sympathetic at this stage of the game.  But that could very well be the point.  A number of characters are being staged for a potential endgame, which makes it hard to fathom that they would still go with the original story’s version of events.  That said, presenting several other options could be a convenient smokescreen.