Well, you have to hand it to Hornsby (pun intended) — just when it seems like he’s out of options, the nattily dressed deviant improbably and rather impossibly pulls a rabbit out of his bespoke hat. It seemed like the Commonwealth saga was winding down rather quickly, with Carol’s scheme to trade one D-bag for another playing out to perfection. But nothing is ever simple these days. Some of Carol’s pals don’t want to condemn the people of the Commonwealth to life under the thumb of the Miltons. Others just don’t want to leave. Hornsby was imprisoned, but not, as Pam thought, out of the game. And of all the players, it’s Max who most consequentially flips the script.
This chapter is also, at its core, about parents and children. At first, Daryl is in full berserker mode — when Pam and Carol urge him to let Hornsby go, he can’t help resist getting one last, very painful lick in. But when Carol explains the terms of her deal with the Miltons, Daryl shifts into protective dad mode. Little Judith doesn’t want her father’s legendary pistol, and doesn’t think they should abandon the Commonwealth. Daryl snaps at her for back-talking, but later apologizes; when he finds her hiding out in Gabe’s church, he says he understands needing some time alone to think. He seeks Carol’s advice — though I’d argue her track record suggests she’s not the best resource for parenting—and even apologizes to Judith for his shortcomings in filling the big shoes of Rick and Michonne. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” he says. “I’m trying really hard.”
Compared to Pam Milton, though, Daryl looks like Parent of the Year. She’s all too eager to frame Hornsby for her son’s sins, but there’s no time for teachable moments or sending the ne’er-do-well to Hilltop for leadership training or just tossing his ass in jail. Founder’s Day is here, and Pam’s image rehab plan involves more spin than a Tilt-A-Whirl. Rather than keep Sebastian out of the spotlight, she wants him front and center, delivering a speech. When Sebastian whines and protests, Pam proves she values legacy over character, insisting he was “born to lead this place.”
Upon hearing this, Max looks like she’s going to barf. How desperate is she to bring an end to the Milton regime? She enlists Eugene to go strike a deal with the devil himself, and Hornsby gets a candied apple and a laugh out of their jailhouse visit. He’s convinced Max and her beau are no match for Pam, warning that their only real option is to “burn the whole thing down.”
While Max and Hornsby set their own plans into motion, the survivors are still divided on what to do with their newfound freedom. Aaron takes new couple Lydia and Elijah — Lydjah? Elidia? — to Oceanside while Maggie prepares to return to A-town. Zeke can’t walk away from his petting zoo, and really, who can blame him? Judith comes around on the idea of leaving, and Daryl cuts her loose to go enjoy a round of “Let Freedom Ring Toss” at the Founder’s Day carnival. It’s a tougher choice for Negan and Annie, who has some pregnancy complications that need monitoring — if they stay put for the health care, they’re siding with the people who murdered most of their group.
Fittingly, for a place where so much is fake, the main event at the Founder’s Day celebration is a pro wrestling match. (Also appropriate is that Sebastian absolutely loves this shit.) Captain Commonwealth is victorious, much to the crowd’s delight, but this caped bozo is useless when two plots collide and all hell breaks loose. Earlier, a group of friendly janitorial types were gunned down in cold blood by Fake Max and her bald henchman — apparently, Hornsby somehow sent them orders to go make a few walkers that would run (or rather, amble slowly) through the festivities. Not only was Pam wrong about her son’s potential to lead, she also greatly underestimated Hornsby’s potential as a threat.
But Max plays an equally big hand of her own. After secretly recording Sebastian talking smack about everything — the people of the Commonwealth, his mom’s bogus lottery, the American Dream — she gives the tape to Eugene, who broadcasts his diatribe for all to hear. The townspeople are outraged by his contempt for them, but the revelation that the lottery is rigged is what really lights the powder keg.
As a riot begins to erupt, the zombie janitors appear to turn civil unrest into a massacre. Pam shows her true character again by giving Mercer a hard time about leaving her side to help the Commonwealthers, who are quickly being devoured by slow walkers. Daryl finds his groove as a parent by giving Judith her dad’s massive firearm while firmly insisting that they stick together — now this is some quality daddy-daughter bonding. You’d think a child firing into a crowd of people would be a very bad idea, but the kid’s a crack shot, just like her real pappy and her adoptive one.
The highlight comes as Sebastian calls Max a “stupid bitch” and throws her into the clutches of a zombie — only to have Eugene tackle said zombie and send it right back at Sebastian. As the true bitchboi he is, Sebastian flails and wails and begs for help. Max and Eugene take one look at his predicament and split; likewise, none of the many nearby townspeople lend a hand as the walker takes a couple juicy bites from Sebastian’s neck. It’s Judith who finally puts the thing down with a close-range headshot, but not before Sebastian suffers a pitiful, gurgling — and let’s be honest, delightful — death.
Sebastian’s words about how the Commonwealth is built on “buying into bullshit” and how “the poor stay poor so that the rich can do whatever they want” linger as Judith and Daryl watch him die and the screen goes black. It’s likely that Hornsby’s co-conspirators freed him during the chaos, and surely, he has more surprises in store. But his stock isn’t any higher than Pam Milton’s right now. Who will lead the Commonwealth? And with it teetering on the edge of collapse, can the survivors really afford to walk away now? There’s also the matter of the approaching zombie herd. And from a more meta perspective, the episode’s intro, which appears to be a regular thing for these final episodes. Like the fate of the Commonwealth, the meaning of those narrated flashbacks are still a mystery.
