AMC’s The Walking Dead
11×22: “Faith”
Directed by Rose Troche
Written by Nicole Mirante-Matthews & Magali Lozano

* For a recap & review of 11×21, click here.
* For a recap & review of 11×23, click here.

“The world is dark & broken,
but we‘re not.”

We see clips of Negan at the beginning, from his darkest, most brutal days, to his most personally painful moments. Now we’re back with the gang on labour detail at the outpost labour camp. Everybody’s being worked to the bone, rounding up various materials and working on various things in the woods. Negan and the others are all working together to figure out the number of guards on duty and where they’re located. Ezekiel’s working with Negan reluctantly for the better of their entire group. Negan notices Annie and talks with a guard, trying to take some extra shifts so his pregnant wife can have a break. He winds up getting pistol whipped again and beat on. Annie rushes in to help but she’s manhandled by  guard. From the distance, Carol and Daryl are watching, biding their time.

On the road, Elijah, Lydia, Aaron, and Jerry make their way cautiously. They start to hear likely human sounds in the woods nearby. So Aaron and Jerry move in for a closer look, readying their weapons. Then they run into none other than Luke and Jules. Bad news, too: Oceanside is “gone,” taken over by the Commonwealth. Plus, Commonwealth soldiers are searching for Luke and Jules. Oh, man.
Speaking of the Commonwealth, Pamela’s giving testimony to the court about Sebastian’s death. She yells emotionally at Eugene before the judge quiets things down. Eugene worries the judge is too tough, however, Yumiko is confident that they really need to win over the people most of all. Yumiko cross examines Pamela, asking about the lottery’s purpose. She wonders if it’s a lie, as Sebastian said himself. But Pamela denies the voice on the tape was Sebastian, claiming it was altered. Nobody really believes it. Though ole Pam doubles down, continuing to blame Eugene.
Ezekiel’s trying to bring more people into the ranks of his and Negan’s rebellion. A lot of folks don’t think it’s worth it, especially after seeing a guy like Negan continually get his ass beat. But Ezekiel pushes, attempting to urge others they have to fight back. Soon, soldiers come for Negan, and though he refuses to go with them he’s just hauled away. That, again, puts a damper on rebellion for a lot of the labour camp prisoners. Moments later, Negan is being questioned about the map he was drawing related to the guards. He obviously denies being involved. He plays dumb. But he’s being forced to spy on the others. If not, Annie may be in trouble. Shit. Negan at least gets to go see Annie, albeit under supervision of a guard. She’s getting some rest in bed. Is Negan going to do what’s best for everyone? Or will he only concern himself with whatever’s best for him, Annie, and their unborn child? Hmm…

On the road, Jerry and the crew are caught off guard when soldiers are heard coming down the road. Lydia has a quick idea, looking at a corpse on the roadside and the horde of walkers shambling towards them. She uses her Whisperer expertise to help herself and the rest of the gang hide from the soldiers. Back at the Commonwealth, Eugene is worried the worst is going to occur, that he’ll be proclaimed guilty and sentenced to death. Yumiko suggests to Max that they should appeal to her brother, but Max knows Mercer won’t go against Pamela. Still, anything’s worth a shot, and Yumiko is willing to fight for Eugene, in any way possible. So Yumiko goes to see Mercer in his office. She confronts him with the reality that Eugene will die, not to mention her other friends sent to the labour camp. She pushes Mercer to testify against Pamela, but he thinks it “won‘t change a thing.” She thinks people will listen if he speaks “truth to power.”

Daryl and Connie go in the “shit tunnel” together down below ground, fighting through sewage, overgrowth, and zombies. They’re such a cute pair. Connie is an underrated character on The Walking Dead. She’s bad as hell. At the same time, Maggie and Carol are inside Alexandria/Outpost 22, sneaking their way into one of the houses where the guards are stationed. The two women hide away inside. Maggie tells Carol that, for Hershel’s sake, she wants to “do better . . . to be better.” She even wonders if bringing her son into the world was the right thing. But Carol comforts her, saying that isn’t true. She sees children as a form of hope in their horrific new world. A little later, the two women rescue Hershel, who’s being held by the guards.
In court, Eugene decides he wants to address the court himself. He believes he’s been “living on borrowed time” for the past ten years. He speaks of how his friends have changed him, as well as carried him; plus, they’ve helped so many others. Eugene talks about being courageous enough to do what’s right. He admits to making bad mistakes, placing “value on order and safety above all other things.” But he’s also done good things to make up for the bad things. He says that, sometimes, it only takes a single person to change the world, then he’s finished. Then Yumiko brings their case to a close. Afterwards, the Commonwealth judge charges Eugene with first-degree murder and sentences him to death within the hour.

At the labour camp, soldiers burst in on everyone during the middle of the night. They take Ezekiel and the others away, bringing everyone out to the windmill. Everyone’s lined up as the warden arrives, speaking of a traitor. The warden brings Negan out. Seems that Negan has admitted to being a leader of their hopeful rebellion. The warden wants the co-conspirators to give themselves up; only Negan is slated for punishment. Then the soldiers put Negan on his knees, just like Negan did so many people years ago. Just as they’re about to pull the trigger, the warden says there are “no martyrs here.” The warden pulls Annie out in front of the crowd now.
Negan begs the soldiers not to shoot, pleading for the warden to honour their deal. And that’s when Ezekiel walks out in front of the guns, standing between the soldiers and the couple. More start to join him, as Princess and the rest stand with their King. The warden orders the soldiers to shoot everybody. Ezekiel tries to appeal to the soldiers one more time; one soldier puts his weapon down, only to pull it on the warden, which starts a standoff. Daryl returns just in time to stab the warden and stop everything. Rosita rushes in to question the warden about her daughter’s whereabouts. He only responds: “You will lose everything.” For that, he’s eaten by a walker while he’s still alive. Nasty!
When Eugene is led to what he believes is his execution, he’s met with Mercer and some other soldiers. What does Mercer have to say? “Time to fuck shit up.” Oooh, baby! Things are heating up heading into the last episodes. There will be some wild stuff go down, you can be sure.