A closeup of Rick’s face kicks off AMC’s The Walking Dead season eight episode two. Rick’s close-up is followed by one of Daryl’s face, blending into Ezekiel, Carol, Jesus, Tara, Morgan, and Aaron. On the other side of the battle, weapons are being readied as members of the Saviors prepare to take on what they assume is a small group of rebels. Mara, the group’s leader, calls over the walkie to those on patrol but only Todd responds. She orders them to lock the stairwell just as the combined Alexandria, Hilltop, and Kingdom group arrive in armored vehicles spraying bullets everywhere.
On another battlefront, walkers move slowly in between two fences, forming a zombie moat. Tara (Alanna Masterson), Jesus (Tom Payne), Morgan (Lennie James), and Dianne (Kerry Cahill) prepare to take down the guards, but they know the guards can’t see them first and fire their guns or they’ll never make it in. Morgan’s ready to do this, declaring he doesn’t need help because he doesn’t die.
Back with Ezekiel’s group, the grenade has knocked his people (including Carol) down as walkers approach. Ezekiel (Khary Payton) gets to his feet, drawing his sword as dozens of walkers appear. The remainder of the group work on taking out as many as possible, some using guns, others knives and axes. The Savior who launched the grenade vanished and they need to find him before he can tell the others they’re there. Ezekiel tells Carol (Melissa McBride) to trust him, believing they will find the guy. He instructs his men on what to do next which includes the release of Shiva to find the missing Savior. Ezekiel is more certain than ever they’ll be victorious.
Back at the gunfight, our heroes seem to be getting the upper hand.
Elsewhere, Daryl (Norman Reedus), Rick (Andrew Lincoln), and a few other men enter the complex, taking out two guards. Their mission: find the guns.
Once more to the gunfight and the Saviors are pinned down, but now it appears neither side has an advantage in the gun battle.
Back with Morgan, he’s distracting all the walkers as two guards approach. Dianne takes them out with arrows before they can get off a shot.
Tara, Jesus, Morgan, and Dianne enter the complex and kill a couple of Saviors. They signal for more men to follow once the coast is clear. Everyone moves as quickly and quietly as possible. (The guards and first few Saviors were shot with silencers.)
Rick uses a map provided by Dwight as he and Daryl figure out the weapons must be upstairs.
The shoot-out continues and a few Saviors are killed. Mara thinks the Alexandrians, Hilltoppers, and Kingdom team are too chicken to take them out so she orders her group to try and push them back. However, our heroes know they have to keep the Saviors pinned down and keep firing.
Morgan, Jesus, and Tara give the signal to start the attack inside the compound. They take out Saviors and advance throughout the building. Unfortunately, Morgan and two of the men are outnumbered and get shot.
Daryl and Rick make it to the top floor and still haven’t found the guns. They can’t let the guns make it to the Sanctuary or they’ll lose this battle. Daryl and Rick opt to split up to continue their search.
Tara and Jesus team up and find a Savior who’s pissed his pants. His name is Dean, but Tara doesn’t care that he has his hands up. Jesus stops her from shooting him since he’s surrendered. Tara then joins with Dianne’s nearby group that’s just steps away, and she learns Morgan’s group is missing. Dianne and her team take on a group of Saviors who are firing on them, sending Tara back to help Jesus.
At this point, Tara’s more than ready to kill Dean. He swears he’s not one of them and he’s just a worker. Jesus says they’re not going to shoot someone with their hands up, and then Tara finds Maggie’s prenatal vitamins. Jesus tries to remind Tara it’s not about revenge, and then Dean suddenly disarms Jesus and takes him hostage.
Dean puts a gun to Jesus’ head, joking how hard it is to piss yourself on purpose. He’s a total assh*le and squishes Maggie’s vitamins, just because he can. Dean’s decided his only way out is to take Tara and Jesus with him as hostages. Tara’s having none of this and is ready to shoot, refusing to put down her gun. Dean says they can work this out, turning into a wimp once again. Jesus is able to disarm him and drops Dean to the floor. Jesus doesn’t pull the trigger and instead knocks Dean out and ties him up. Tara’s furious Dean gets to live when Abraham, Glenn, and Denise died.
Diane calls for Jesus and Tara, letting them know the Saviors are falling back. Jesus indicates he knows another way out of the building.
Morgan’s on the floor with the two other men, but he’s not dead. The others are, but Morgan stands, unhurt, ready to get back into the fight.
The gunfight continues and lots of bullets are exchanged. The plan crystallizes as enough Saviors have died to make it unnecessary for the Alexandrians to move in. They just need to be patient and wait for the dead Saviors to turn.
Ezekiel and his group search the forest for the grenade-throwing Savior. They’re heading toward the Saviors’ compound and Carol’s worried the man made it back which would mean the Saviors will be ready for them. Carol’s amazed Ezekiel can still smile, and he says it’s both his lot in life and his way to feel this way. “Fake it till you make it, baby,” says Ezekiel softly. He tells Carols he smiles because he will not fantasize about failures on this day.
They spot some blood and learn the Savior has been hit. That means he’s probably moving slowly.
Daryl bangs open a door and then quietly closes it. He moves slowly through a bunch of cubicles until he reaches a closet with food and empty handcuffs. Rick’s also moving slowly throughout the top floor, assault weapon with a silencer ready to shoot if necessary.
Unfortunately, Rick doesn’t have a chance to fire when he’s attacked by a Savior. It’s a vicious hand-to-hand fight and Rick finally gets the man in a chokehold. The Savior chokes out that there aren’t any guns, but Rick doesn’t let go. He finally throws him through a piece of metal on the wall, impaling him.
Morgan stalks through the building shooting anyone in his path. He remembers a talk with Rick in which they discussed how to handle their enemies.
Outside the complex, Jesus, Tara, Dianne, and a large group prepare to take on more Saviors. They aren’t going to fire unless fired on, and at first, just one Savior opens the door and drops his weapon when they command him to. Others come out from hiding behind him. They don’t drop their weapons immediately and Tara is ready to shoot, once again against Jesus’ wishes. They finally do drop their weapons and step forward, surrendering.
Morgan continues his way through the building, shooting everyone. He’s like the Terminator on steroids. He finally makes his way outside and sees his people holding guns on the newly disarmed Saviors. He remembers Rick saying they can’t leave the Saviors alive and is about to take out one when Jesus tells him to lower his weapon. Morgan wants to kill them, but Jesus says they surrendered. Morgan wonders what it is they do if they don’t kill the Saviors.
Rick grabs the keys from the impaled Savior and finds a room decorated like a nursery with a baby in a cradle. Her name is Gracie and she slept through the fight. Rick is devastated by this discovery and is overcome with emotions. He looks at himself, now covered with blood, in a mirror and shakes his head.
Carol and Ezekiel’s group continue their hunt in the woods, spotting more blood on leaves. They move carefully through the forest until Ezekiel spots the wounded Savior up ahead. Carol’s about to shoot but Shiva does the job of killing the Savior. The rest of Ezekiel’s group also arrive to form a large party.
The gun battle is turning against the Alexandrians and Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson) is shot, even though Aaron (Ross Marquand) did everything possible to get to him.
Ezekiel pets Shiva as he addresses the group. He’s sure about their victory, even though the walkie-talkie indicates the Saviors know they’re coming. He will not retreat, raising his sword and laughing. Carol smiles.
Rick makes his way through the rooms again and while he’s looking at a photo, a man approaches and tells him to put his gun down. It’s Morales (from season one) and Rick remembers him from Atlanta. Morales continues to hold Rick at gunpoint and says he’s called the Saviors back and they’re on their way.
The episode ends with more close-ups of Daryl, Aaron, Morgan, Jesus, Tara, Ezekiel, and Carol, followed by a last scene of a bloodied Rick. The sound of a gun cocking ends the episode.
More on The Walking Dead:
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 1
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 3
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 4
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 5
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 6
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 7
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 8
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 9
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 10
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 11
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 12
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 13
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 14
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 15
– Recap of The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 16
