Episode 9 was one of the best in the season, episode 10 was a let down, while episode 11 picked up steam. So if you want to go with the “every other” theory, episode 12 should be another let down but I don’t believe that is going to happen. We are finally going to get the reason why Maggie, Aaron, and Lydia didn’t go to the Commonwealth with the rest of the group. I know that people have to stay behind to rebuild their communities but this episode is definitely going to set the stage for the 6 month time skip that we got at the end of episode 9. Daryl and Maggie aren’t going to talk about what happened at the Meridian in episode 9 but there will still be some hard feelings towards one another. However, I do believe that we will get a heart strung reunion between the two main characters. Daryl is going to tell them that he is going to stay at the Commonwealth for Judith’s and RJ’s sake but will be back eventually. Episode 12 is titled “The Lucky Ones”. I either believe that this will come into play by Daryl telling Maggie that they were lucky to find the Commonwealth, since they are helping them rebuild Alexandra or Maggie is going to say they are the lucky ones since they escaped the Meridian and have survived all the way to this point. “The Lucky Ones” synopsis is Aaron and Maggie meet Governor Pamela Milton as she tours Alexandria, Oceanside and Hilltop. Ezekiel finds himself lucky during a routine checkup. Eugene processes Max's story.
Pamela Arrives at Alexandra
Pamela has her doubts that the Alexandra people will keep their end of the bargain and be useful members of the Commonwealth society. Even though most of our survivors have jobs, there has been major problems while they have been there. Connie and Kelly have been pushing the Commonwealth to get the real story of what happens there, Eugene and Princess have been in and out of jail ever since they got there, and I don’t believe that Mercer truly trusts Daryl yet. Mercer tells Daryl “they are always watching” so I believe that he is going to hear a conversation between Daryl and Maggie about what the Commonwealth is truly like and if Daryl really trusts them so far. You know Daryl, he will do anything he needs to do to survive and seems like he’s been apart of every major group we have gotten to this point in the show (if you exclude the Terminus people). I believe that either Pamela is going to see that Alexandra and/or Hilltop is either too destroyed for them to fix or its not worth their deal to fix them both, since the Commonwealth is going to provide too many resources to help them back on their feet. Pamela is going to ask Lance to try to make a new deal with Aaron and/or Maggie, just like he did with the farmers last episode. I think that Aaron will have no choice and ending up taking whatever deal Lance has to offer, while Maggie will decline the offer and rebuild Hilltop by herself. This is also why I believe that the 6 month time skip scene will happen because Daryl is going to go back there to try to convince her to help the Commonwealth or to question her about someone sneaking into the Commonwealth from Hilltop (Negan perhaps?); with the fact they still have to talk about what went down at the Meridian eventually too.
Ezekiel’s Checkup
I believe it is time for Ezekiel to finally schedule his cancer treatment with the Commonwealth. This is the good news that I think he is going to get. After Carol’s mission with Lance and her helping Lance arrest the opium farmer and giving Pamela that wine, I think that Ezekiel moved up the list. This is going to set up the surgery by Yumiko’s brother, Tomi. I believe it will go as smoothly as possible, but you never know with The Walking Dead… However, I still believe that Ezekiel will beat the cancer, get the treatments needed, and survive all the way to the end of the show. I also wonder if Carol will ever tell Ezekiel that she was the one that helped him move up the list or if he will figure it out on his own.
Eugene & “Max”
This is going to be a minor storyline in the episode and will bleed into next episode. I think that Eugene is going to realize that “Max” is truly the real Stephanie and they will get to know each other. I still believe that Eugene isn’t done with the fake Stephanie. I think he is going to tell the real Stephanie about what Lance did and the possible Civil war between Lance and Pamela and Stephanie is going to help out to make sure that Lance does not win. However, I do believe that there is a strong chance that Shira is going to die by episode 16 by Eugene or Lance, just for the fact that Shira stabbed Eugene in the back or Lance believes that she failed the Commonwealth, since his secret is out. I also believe that Rosita will help in Eugene’s plan and it will also lead into Mercer helping eventually, since Rosita works for Lance and he is the head of the Commonwealth soldiers.