‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘Not Tomorrow Yet’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It has often been said that mankind is but a meal or two away from devolving into pure savagery and well… that’s a saying that has yet to prove itself to be true in the industrialized world. Simply because, we eat well in such nations, and in America… we have a tendency to waste food with impunity. Leaving all of us to wonder… if people in the United States would indeed abandon their civility and become something far darker if food was scarce in nature. In fact, it fascinates us enough, that an episode of The Walking Dead took the time to explore this idea in a powerful manner. For ‘Not Tomorrow Yet’ saw the good people of Alexandria face quite the worrisome truth. In that, without regular partnerships with the Hilltop… food would quickly run out.
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A reality that Rick Grimes expressed to everyone at a town hall once he and the team returned from the Hilltop, and he put that truth out to the people… to sell them on hell of a plan. One where a large contingent would travel with Jesus and Craig to the headquarters of the Saviors. Wherein they would rescue the Hilltop’s captured citizen and deal with the Saviors and Negan. Which meant another brutal fight awaited a community trying to recover from a prior and costly one, all in the name of a deal that would keep them fed regularly, and that… brought up some interesting debates within the community. For Morgan saw this as supremely problematic, and indicative of a collapse of who they were and what they stood for, and he wasn’t the only one that had concerns. 

For Carol quietly struggled with the fact that more killing was going to have to take place, since so much blood had been spilled in the past few months, and the lives she’d taken were beginning to haunt her. And others also pondered upon the reality that they were going to fight in the name of a warm meal. But despite all those reservations, the plans moved ahead. With Rick putting together a comprehensive and powerful plan. One that would lull the Saviors into a sense of comfort, by providing them with a walker skull that look liked Gregory’s head. Keeping them happy enough to hand over the hostage, and that would allow Team Alexandria to take them by surprise so they could end this fight before it ever began, and wouldn’t you know it? That first part of that plan went off without a hitch.

Because the Saviors took the bait, and that allowed for Rick’s team to head inside and take part in some ugly, ugly acts. The kind that involved killing people they’d never met in the depth of the night while they slept. But sadly, there was mention that the plan wasn’t flawless and well, an errant Savior who felt the need to rise in the middle of the night, brought forth an intense firefight. And while our heroes won the day, they still suffered some unique losses. For shortly after they secured the compound, they came to learn that two of their own were captured by some outlying Saviors that weren’t in bed that night, giving rise to a cliffhanger. But what matters more, is that this episode gave us some fascinating insight as to whether or not that old saying could have merit.

As it turns out, it might. Since the good people of Alexandria, who really have done their best to be the better people in dark and ugly situations… let the prospect of hunger push them into a dark place. Where they were willing to be warriors and take lives at the prospect of a hot meal. All because they involved themselves in a matter they could have avoided dealing with. Which would turn out to be a decision that would bring them great heartbreak and even darker times, but also… there would eventually be bright spots again. But in there and the now, this episode deserves our awe for offering up such a powerful and dark journey, one that isn’t done just yet. Courtesy of the living nightmare that Carol and Maggie are about to deal with. Until next time.

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