The Walking Dead review: Episode 1114, “The Rotten Core”

The final season of The Walking Dead continues its winning streak with “The Rotten Core,” which shows us a tough day for everyone in the Commonwealth military. Sebastian (Teo Rapp-Olsson) makes Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) travel through a swarm of walkers to earn him some pocket money. Meanwhile, the rest of our group have their first battle against the Commonwealth inside Riverbend.

Let’s dive into it! Here’s your SPOILER warning.

Daryl and Rosita

Let’s begin inside the Commonwealth, where Daryl and Rosita are still adjusting to their roles in the military. They are chosen to assist Sebastian — Pamela Milton’s son — on a perilous task that helps nobody but himself. The task? To coat themselves in zombie guts and walk through a horde to a house where they will find a safe filled with money. It’s essentially a heist. Because in the Commonwealth, cash is once again valuable. I’m surprised that they use the same currency from before the apocalypse instead of creating their own money.

Before Daryl suits up, we get a cute scene between him and Carol (Melissa McBride). The two of them catch up after being apart for some time doing their jobs, and decide to go for dinner in the evening. “It’s a date,” Daryl says. I’m sure fans will be enthused by this brief interaction, given how much is made of their relationship.

Naturally, both Daryl and Rosita are unwilling to undergo such a dangerous quest for a needless cause. But who would go against the son of the governor? In fact, Sebastian basically forces them to do it by threatening to hurt Coco and Judith. As expected, Daryl instantly turns against him for this. Someone who threatens kids is not a good person.

The idea of covering themselves in guts to hide from walkers is nothing new; it’s a classic Walking Dead survival technique. The more interesting thing about this mission is what happens inside the house. In the safe room, they meet April (Wynn Everett), who has locked herself in. It turns out that she is another person Sebastian has forced to get him money.

I must admit, I was disappointed with how the writers handled April; she dies almost instantly after Rosita triggers the house alarm and causes zombies to flood in. As always, there’s some great walker-killing action.

Just as the horde becomes too much for Daryl and Rosita, Mercer (Michael James Shaw) and Carol enter out of nowhere and take out the remaining zombies. Carol suspected that they would be in trouble since Daryl didn’t turn up for their dinner date.

The mission is pretty much a success. They give the money to Sebastian and he’s happy. But not everyone gets out alive. Mercer ends up killing two of Sebastian’s guards after learning of the sheer number of people they’ve sent out to collect money and who lost their lives. This once again proves how dangerous Mercer is. There are no second chances.

I also noticed that Mercer refers to the dead as walkers, the same name our group has always used. This is pretty interesting, considering that the zombies are referred to in so many ways: biters, roamers, empties, etc.

Riverbend

The plotline in Riverbend continues right where it left off from the previous episode, “Warlords,” which saw Aaron and Gabriel turn against the Commonwealth after they begin killing innocent people. Now, the Commonwealth soldiers are prepared to destroy the building and everyone in it until they locate their stolen weapons. But with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) now coming to its defense, will they succeed?

As battle rages, we see more of the brutal side of the Commonwealth. The battle itself passes by pretty fast. I would’ve liked to see a little more fighting, although I suppose what it lacks in action it more than makes up for in great character moments.

My favorite scene of the episode is when Negan meets Hershel. I liked how Hershel almost instantly knows that Negan killed his father, Glenn, despite not being told. Hershel even points a gun at Negan, ready to kill him. The whole scene is super intense. It’s almost like killing Glenn has finally hit home for Negan. Seeing the pain he’s put Hershel through at such a young age, he appears to regret his past actions. He even cries. I can’t remember a time we’ve ever seen Negan so weak emotionally. I look forward to seeing how their relationship develops. Of course, Maggie and Negan are going to have a spinoff together, so perhaps that’s when Hershel will get some sort of revenge.

Eventually, Aaron kills Carlson (Jason Butler Harner) with the help of Maggie and Elijah. Carlson falls to his death, ironically being killed by the zombified versions of the people he previously murdered.

We also learn that Negan has found a new wife, Annie (Medina Senghore), and has a baby on the way. I feel like this plot point has kinda gone under the radar, but could be huge going forward.

Leah

The big reveal at the end of the episode is that Leah (Lynn Collins) returns to the action. We learn that the Riverbend community was actually innocent after all; it was Leah who stole their weapons. What is her motivation behind this? Will she team up with the rest of our group? I’m sure these questions will be answered very soon.

Verdict

“The Rotten Core” puts the spotlight on some characters who have had very little screentime in recent episodes. I really loved seeing the interaction between Hershel and Negan. Their meeting was something that fans have been desperate to see and it didn’t disappoint.

My biggest problem has nothing to do with the episodes themselves. What we’re seeing onscreen is terrific, but as many fans have pointed out, the way AMC is marketing The Walking Dead universe is doing a lot of damage. For instance, earlier this month they announced Isle of the Dead, which follows Negan and Maggie. So when Hershel pulls a gun on Negan, viewers don’t really fear for his life. Daryl and Carol have the same plot armor.

Those criticisms aside, however, this was yet another strong entry in what’s shaping up to be a fantastic season.

Grade: B

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