‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Trust’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 1115 of ‘The Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Each and every one of us… harbor a dream or a long-term goal that is so complex and so important to us, that it will take years for us to accomplish it. In fact, it is so engrossing and so engaging, that there are times where we will lose sight of the endgame and understandably so. After all, the universe is chaos, and it loves to throw all kinds of curveballs our way. The kind that will force our goals to outright go the wayside while we deal with whatever surprises have dropped into our lap, and in some cases the chaos is so severe, one might step away from the journey they started so long ago. But thankfully… the vast majority of us, eventually get back on track when this happens.
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Because while the universe likes to make a mess of things, it also believes in balance and tends to throw reminders our way as to what we want to accomplish. The kind that refocuses us and nudge us back on our path and well, this particular twist is top of mind of today, because it served as the central theme of this week’s episode of The Walking Dead. For if you take a moment and think about it, the good people of the Alexandria Alliance… have in fact, lost their way a little bit when it comes to their overreaching goal of making the world a better place in the wake of the death of death. Because the world has thrown them a great deal of curveballs. For the Whisperers made life difficult and devastating for these good people and the need to survive, has split them, and aligned them with interesting forces. 

But ‘Trust’ is a story that truly nudged everyone back toward their goals of building a better world and it accomplished that by way of three key storylines. The first involved our good friend King Ezekiel. For now, that he was granted a second chance at life through improved health, he took a page from the Book of Carol and realized that the world needed more good deeds in this moment, and that helping others was the easiest way to engender hope and that motivated him… to enlist medical help for his new low cost/no cost clinic. In an effort to give others the belief that tomorrow would be better and that they had little to worry about anymore, and seeing this place work in person, definitely reminded Carol of what this group is fighting for and that they should stop at nothing to make people feel safe and happy in every way imaginable.

Yet what’s truly amazing about this episode, is that it also managed to refocus a character, that didn’t know of anyone in the alliance a mere six months ago. For Mercer also learned this lesson, courtesy of his sister Max. For once she found out what was going on behind the scenes, she brought it to her brother’s attention since he was the face of heroism in the Commonwealth and a person that everyone admired. But his aloof response to the reality of this place, and of course his actions last week, prompted Max to call him to the carpet over his apathy and challenge him as to what he wanted to accomplish with his role and his standing and well, her words and the gentle care of Princess… helped Mercer begin to realize that he lost sight of why he took this job, and the time has come to refocus. 

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But of course, the storyline that truly stole the show in this episode, was the one involving the fallout of what happened at the apartment complex. For Lance Hornsby got involved personally with the investigation and of course, brought Daryl in on the matter and well, it did not take long for Lance to fully understand that Gabriel and Aaron were involved in an outright uprising against the Commonwealth’s forces and come hell or high heaven, he was going to get them to either admit to it or find evidence of it and what better way to do that… than by visiting the Hilltop. After all, Maggie and her people were broken and starving and Lance though he could use that to his advantage and that led to some stunning moments.
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The kind that saw Hornsby try and go the extra mile to embarrass and intimidate Maggie… by using his knowledge of cars to prove her truck (and Maggie) was involved in the wholesale slaughter of his shadow team. But thankfully his gambit failed, and he instead opted to cross an even bigger line. Specifically, by trying to muscle young Hershel Rhee into speaking out against his mother. A move that led to guns being drawn and Hornsby getting a taste of what might happen if he ever crossed that line again. But what matters more here, is that Daryl, and Maggie, and Gabriel, and Aaron… finally came to fully understand the truth about the Commonwealth and that they do not have good interests at heart and judging from the conversation that everyone but Maggie had by the fireside… they’re aware that they’ve lost focus of what matters most and need to be ready to fight for their better tomorrow and a better one for others. 

Which is an epiphany that could not have come at a better moment. Because unfortunately for everyone, Lance Hornsby has opted to make a deal with a devil we know. Because it turns out… that Leah was in the woods surrounding Hilltop as well, and she was of course… preparing her new weapons for deployment for whatever personal war she had in mind and rather than punish her for stealing Commonwealth property, Lance saw an opportunity to use Leah to his advantage. In that, she could handle some dirty work for him without anyone being the wiser. Which would allow for him to come out smelling like a rose and well… let’s be honest, we all know he’s going to use her to deal with Daryl and his friends and that is why it is critical this group has opened their eyes to the evil of the Commonwealth… so they can see this surprise deception coming from a mile away.

If anything, this was just a wonderful episode when all is said and done. Simply because… this was in many ways, a back-to-basics approach for the series. One that made it clear that our heroes are going to resume their quest for being forces for good and that’s a wonderful thing. Since it will lock the final leg of the journey on a path that addresses the big question hanging over this series, in that… is humanity worth saving? And it will be fascinating to see how this quest to be better will enhance the end of the series. But before we get to that point, we have one more episode in Part 2 of the final season to partake in and if the ending of this tale is any indication of what’s to come, our heroes are going to be in for quite the fight… as they deal with Leah and her vast reservoir of madness… one more time.  

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