'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'Do Not Send Us Astray'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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Of the many, many reasons that I thoroughly enjoy The Walking Dead, one that always stands out in my mind is the sheer fact that this show is fully capable of telling several complete stories over the course of an hour, and that’s no small feat. It takes serious work to not only make sure that one story takes us on a proper journey, but to do that with several takes some serious skill, something the Writer’s Room of this series is up to and happy to accomplish, and wouldn’t you  know it, last night’s episode, ‘Do Not Send Us Astray’, fell into this category by giving us multiple plotlines that offered up something for everyone.
 
For those who were hoping for epic action, well the show delivered on that front by giving us the showdown between the Saviors and Hilltop that we were promised last week and well, that was a terrifying, yet satisfying battle to say the least. Because the audience was well aware of the fact that the Saviors were ready and willing to use their new biological weapons in combat against this community, allowing for all of us to feel a sense of dread when those weapons were deployed before providing us with a with a sense of brief joy.
 
Because a battle that could have lasted the entire hour and turned into a siege ended up being a quick and powerful sequence, wherein Simon and his boys were driven off into the night by the good people of Hilltop and I thought it was a wonderful stroke of genius to not drag this out any longer than necessary and by defeating the Saviors so quickly, the story was able to dive into other territory, like taking a few moments to examine exactly how this thirst for revenge that so many of our heroes are trying to quench, is starting to break them down. 
 
Look at Maggie for example, who despite experiencing praise for a fair chunk of this episode, felt nothing but guilt since so many people died thanks to the message she sent to Negan and that’s really the first time in a long time that the show has taken the time to remind its audience and its characters that there is a cause and effect for everything we do in life, and sadly, that was merely the beginning of the sorrow in this tale, since Negan’s grand idea to use the blood of the living dead as a weapon, worked like a charm.  

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​For the in the middle of the night, those infected by the blood of the dead quickly passed away and turned and the resulting attack by these flesh hungry fiends cost more people at the Hilltop their lives and well, I think we will all be hard pressed to forget the look upon Maggie’s face as she surveyed the new graves made at Hilltop, filled with more innocent lives, and one has to wonder as to whether or not she’s having some second thoughts now when it comes to this conflict and the group’s actions, and if she is, she wouldn’t be the only one.
 
If anything, the doubt that ran through her mind served as the bridge for the third journey and theme that was explored in this episode, forgiveness, and really, a fair majority of that came by way of Tara who finally was able to speak to that little incident in the woods with Dwight, and how she has flat out let go of her anger and her hatred for his actions because he did her and the group a solid. And despite Daryl’s anger and ire over her decision, she’s in the right because Dwight has atoned for his sins and while there is cause for concern over Tara’s health and whether or not she may turn from taking a hit in the battle, I get the funny feeling what she was hit with was safe…another gift from Dwight no doubt.
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In fact, her change in heart matters plenty in this particular tale, because it’s obvious the theme of being better, of working toward a better tomorrow and a better world will continue to be hammered home until the season finale and while I normally don’t enjoy seeing a message be pushed like that in storytelling, it makes sense here. Because all of these people are angry over what’s happened and quite frankly, that anger and their pain is blinding them to the fact that things can be better. After all, Alden and a few of his Saviors buddies more or less denounced that way of life to stand with Hilltop, a sign of positivity to say the least and if they don’t understand the danger of letting revenge take over, they soon will.
 
Because I am thoroughly convinced that Henry’s actions in this tale, wherein his desire to kill allowed for the Saviors and Gregory to escape, will be quite the eye opener for the Allies when they figure out he’s the one who opened the pen, since it will show them just what they are teaching a future generation and that quite frankly should give them pause. In the end however, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I love that it took us through and addressed a wealth of storylines and concepts that have been needing some attention, and with only three episodes left to go in season eight, I hope to see more of this in the weeks to come so that the season finale can deal with the most important parts when it comes to this harrowing story; the end of the war, and whether or not these two groups can let go of their hate to make the world the wonderful place that mankind has always dreamed of. Until next time.   

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