“Rosita didn’t come here to train people. You’re both going after Negan,” says Jesus (Tom Payne) who’s just caught Sasha taking bullets. “I’m not going to change my mind,” replies Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) as she’s getting ready to leave with Rosita to try to assassinate Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in episode 14 of season seven of AMC’s horror/drama series, The Walking Dead.
As the episode begins, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) is leading the group at the Hilltop in training to get ready to battle Negan while Enid (Katelyn Nacon) stays close by her side. Maggie also has a sonogram to check on her baby, which goes well, and she tends to Glenn’s gravesite. Later, Jesus and Maggie take part in a heart-to-heart and he reveals that before she and Sasha came to stay at the Hilltop, he never really felt connected to anyone whether it be friends, neighbors, or a boyfriend. (That’s right, one of the reveals in this episode is that Jesus is gay.) Maggie tells him he should still try for a relationship, even if it doesn’t last. (Sasha is secretly listening in on their conversation.)
Sasha sneaks in and takes a few bullets from the book where Jesus had previously hidden them, but she gets caught by Jesus and Enid. Jesus doesn’t want her to go on a suicide mission with Rosita, saying that Maggie and the Hilltop need her. But Sasha says that Rosita (Christian Serratos) will go with or without her so she might as well go too. Jesus offers to go as well with Enid agreeing to back them up, but Sasha reminds them Maggie will need both of them to get the Hilltop ready for whatever happens afterward. She tells them not to tell Maggie yet, that she’s still getting ready and Jesus nods in agreement as he leaves.
Once alone with Enid, Sasha tells her to stay close to Maggie and keep her safe. “She’s the future of this place,” says Sasha, adding that Enid is also the future of the Hilltop. Enid leaves but warns Sasha she’s giving her 10 minutes and then she’ll tell Maggie about her and Rosita. As Enid leaves, Sasha smiles.
Sasha is finishing up getting ready to leave when a Hilltop lookout starts ringing the bell, yelling, “The Saviors are coming!” Rosita and Sasha make a quick escape through a small tunnel Sasha dug earlier when Maggie had suggested they needed to have a quick escape out just in case. Enid immediately hides Maggie and Daryl (Norman Reedus) in the fruit cellar and, in a very suspenseful scene, makes it just in time as the Saviors arrive in their trucks.
Out on the road, Rosita and Sasha look for cars to hotwire to make it to the Saviors’ base quicker, with Sasha trying to make small talk to get to know Rosita better by asking who taught her to hotwire a car. Rosita isn’t having any of it, telling Sasha that she’s not interested in playing “get to know you” and to either talk about their mission or nothing at all. This leads to them disagreeing on how to kill Negan, with Sasha wanting to shoot him from one of the abandoned buildings next to the Sanctuary and Rosita wanting to go in and get close to kill him.
Back at the Hilltop, Enid attempts to distract a Savior thug from going into the fruit cellar by running up to him and dropping a basket of fruit as an offering to the Saviors. He tells her to pick it up and notices her knife, demanding she hand it over which she does, reluctantly. He tells her to take the fruit over to the truck as he opens the door to the fruit cellar and steps inside.
Simon (Steven Ogg) visits Gregory (Xander Berkeley) and informs him this should be a short visit in that they don’t need to chat this time; they just need a particular someone from the Hilltop to move to where Negan resides. Turns out it’s Doctor Carson – Maggie’s doctor. Carson asks why Negan needs two doctors when Simon tells him he’s moving on up, and Simon agrees Carson is right. Negan doesn’t need two doctors and Carson realizes that his brother is dead. Realizing he has to leave with the Saviors, Carson tells Gregory to find someone to watch over his current patients. Simon assures Gregory they aren’t leaving him empty-handed and shows him a crate of aspirin they brought for the Hilltop, and Gregory asks to talk to him alone for a minute.
Gregory tells Simon he has proven he can keep the peace and made sure the Hilltop is productive for the Saviors but if his people lose faith in him someone might get a crazy idea of taking over and might not want to honor the deal between the Hilltop and the Saviors. Simon wants to know who he’s talking about, but Gregory is saying it’s just a possibility. Simon tells him not to worry and if he fears that might happen to come to see him. He assures Gregory he’ll put his name on a list at the Sanctuary so he’ll be able to get in and they’ll talk over his concerns.
Back in the fruit cellar, the Savior thug is looking around for supplies and doesn’t see Maggie and Daryl hiding in behind shelves and baskets. As the Savior is about to leave, Daryl starts to move silently forward to kill him but Maggie stops him by gently grabbing his arm and pulling him back. After the Savior leaves and they know they are in the clear, Maggie tells Daryl he hasn’t looked her in the eyes once since he came to the Hilltop. She asks Daryl to please look her in the eyes as she talks to him. He slowly does and holding back tears with a quiver in his voice, Daryl finally voices to Maggie what he believes is the long overdue apology, referring to what happened the night Glenn was brutally murdered by Negan.
Maggie tells Daryl that what happened was not his fault and that he is “one of the good things in this world.” She reveals that’s what Glenn thought of him and that Glenn would know because he was one of the good things, too. They hug and Maggie tells Daryl she needs him if they’re going to win. “Help me win,” she says and he nods in agreement.
Back on the road to the Sanctuary, Rosita and Sasha are able to distract a few walkers by setting one junk car on fire and are able to hotwire another. Once in the Sanctuary, they set up in a nearby building that has a great view of the courtyard. As they wait for the right moment when Negan steps outside so Sasha can shoot him with the sniper rifle, Sasha asks Rosita to teach her how to make some of the rope knots she’s working on to pass the time. Rosita agrees and it’s not long before she starts to tell Sasha about the guys in her life who taught her different things, like hotwiring a car and making knots, after the world fell. Rosita reveals she’d learn what she could from them and then bounce and that the sex was just for fun. Sasha asks if that was how it was with Abraham and Rosita says no. With Abraham, he only wanted her with him because she knew how to handle herself and contributed to the group. She confesses it bothers her that she’ll never be able to tell Abraham she’s happy he was finally able to move on and be happy. She also admits she doesn’t hate Sasha. The two ladies enjoy a brief and emotional cry, telling each other that no matter how their mission plays out they have each other’s backs.
Rosita and Sasha check the courtyard again looking for Negan and see Simon and his group returning with Dr. Carson. They also see Eugene (Josh McDermitt) giving orders, which Rosita assumes is some sort of angle he’s playing. They watch as Negan comes outside to greet the doctor. Sasha tries to get a clear shot but finds it impossible with all the other Saviors, Eugene, and Dr. Carson around Negan. They hear Eugene over the walkie-talkie instructing the Saviors to strengthen the security around the fences, and Rosita says it’s time for them to go in.
Back at the Hilltop, Gregory sends for Jesus and tells him he’s been slacking off on his scavenging duties and that he wants to move Maggie and some others out of his trailer claiming it’s a fire hazard. Jesus tells him he must really be worried if he wants to split them up, and Gregory warns Jesus he shouldn’t talk to him like that or he might need to find a new friend to look out for. Jesus asks if he just threatened him and Gregory tells him he’s dismissed.
Later that night, Eugene is with a few fence guards when they’re shot dead. A shocked Eugene freezes and then sees Sasha and Rosita run up to the fence. They say they’re breaking him out and he replies, “No, I’m not going with you!” An extremely upset and terrified Eugene runs back inside the compound. Sasha tells Rosita to stand watch for any other Saviors as she goes through the fence and then she quickly relocks it, locking Rosita out. “It’s not your time,” says Sasha to a surprised and upset Rosita. “They need you,” finishes Sasha with a smile on her face as she turns and runs into the compound in search of Negan. Rosita hits the fence, crying, “No!” But when she hears shots and sees Saviors coming out to see what’s going on, she runs back into the darkness. After running a short distance, Rosita stops and cries. Her tears stop when she sees a figure in the dark watching her.
The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 14 Review:
Suspenseful and full of heartbreaking moments, episode 14 titled “The Other Side” shows the two women who loved Abraham – Rosita and Sasha – coming to terms with his loss and strengthening their relationship with each other. It also found Gregory yet again sacrificing the greater good of the Hilltop to try to better his own relationship with the Saviors, and Daryl finally apologizing to Maggie who never once actually blamed him for Glenn’s death.
There were so many standout performances in this episode. First up, Christian Serratos as Rosita shines as she finally opens up to Sasha about her past and what Abraham really meant to her. The scene where she reveals that what haunts her is the fact she can never tell Abraham she was happy he found happiness even if it was without her is powerful and moving. Sonequa Martin-Green gives a more subtle but effective performance as Sasha who it turns out is more at peace and ready to sacrifice herself to kill Negan than even Rosita is. Her last scene where she locks Rosita out and tells her the group needs her, said with a small smile on her face, is both surprising and touching.
Lauren Cohan shows once again what a terrific actress she is in her scene with Norman Reedus as she tells her self-loathing friend that her husband’s death was never his fault and that she needs him if they’re going to win the war against the Saviors. (As they hugged, this critic wondered if this is the beginning of Daryl and Maggie becoming closer and possibly altering their relationship down the road.)
With Sasha now in the Saviors compound and Rosita being watched by a figure in the dark who, let’s be honest, is likely Dwight, it will be interesting to see if either one survives their suicide mission.
GRADE: B
