I believe this is one of the best episodes of the season and it is not close. We got some more story with Negan and Maggie (which is the best storyline in these 8 episodes), the Commonwealth, and Daryl and Leah. I originally thought that episode’s 7 title, “Promises Broken” would involve Daryl breaking the promise to Leah on where he came from but it was from Negan and Maggie. Negan made Maggie promise to not kill Negan when all this is all over and he will stay by her side until the whole Reapers storyline is over. We overhear Maggie talking with Elijah that Maggie might not keep the promise, so we will have to see what Negan and Maggie does in episode 8. I will keep this opening synopsis short and sweet. I give this episode a 8 out of 10 because it set up episode 8 beautifully.
Maggie and Negan are back at it again pulling our heart strings of season 7 and 8. We have to look at it from the Saviors perspective on Rick’s group killing the people at the outpost in season 6. Many people had families and friends and they killed them in cold blood. That is how Gracie got to Alexandra, when Rick killed her real father in cold blood. Maggie and Negan want complete honesty with each other to make their “relationship” to work. This is why Negan tells Maggie, “I should have killed all of you when I had the chance.” After the serious talk between them, they get back to the mission, to infiltrate the Meridian. They are going to do this by using the Whisperer “trick”. Since Negan was with them in season 10, they round up a few walkers and get to work to learn how to walk with the walkers. Negan skins some walkers and gives a mask to Maggie and Elijah. They successfully learn and grab a bunch of walkers on the way to the Meridian for the final showdown with Pope and the Reapers. I assume Gabriel got a mask and was taught too but we didn’t see him in the hoard. While Maggie was getting taught, Gabriel was spying on a Reaper, but Gabriel did not tell Maggie he saw anyone. They are all ready for the battle in episode 8.
A lot of the Commonwealth storyline in episode 7 is mostly self explanatory, expect for one part. Eugene, Princess, Stephanie, and Ezekiel have to pay back their debt from using the radio by clearing out walkers in abandoned buildings that the Commonwealth are going to use in the future. While they are doing this Ezekiel is visibly hurt from his cancer but gets help from their doctor, later in the episode. However, things go south when Ezekiel and Princess split up from Eugene and Stephanie. They see a random couple kissing nearby with walkers starting to surround them and goes and saves them. The boy was upset because they had “security” for things like this but Eugene just wanted a thank you for his contribution. Things got out of hand quickly and the two starts to fight. Come to find out, the boy is Pamela Milton’s son. Eugene gets thrown in jail again for assaulting the boy. The only way for him to get out of jail is if Eugene tells them where Alexandra is. He is reluctant at first but at the end, Eugene tells them to wait. I assume he is going to tell them in episode 9 because they aren’t shown in the trailer in episode 8, unless they do it on the final scene in episode 8. An important thing to note, while the group is dealing with this mess, Yumiko is trying to get a job as a lawyer and a meeting with Pamela Milton. She gets the meeting cancelled but I think she will get the job. Her brother does get captured by the Commonwealth police, which is an important thing to monitor in episodes down the road.
The stuff with Daryl and Leah was minor in this episode. Keep this in the back of your mind that Daryl knows where the Reapers keep their food and supplies, and know who has the key. This could be important for episode 8. Leah and Daryl was sent out by Pope after the other Reapers couldn’t find Maggie’s group. Leah yelled at Pope, which could be interesting for episode 8, with the conflict between them. Leah and Daryl find a family while they are out and Daryl killed the mother because she was really sick. Leah was going to do it but Daryl saw her visibly upset before doing it, so he stepped in and did it. After this happens, I think Daryl was going to come clean about everything to Leah but before he the chance, Pope signaled them to come back to the Meridian. Daryl is going to be a difficult situation next episode, choosing between Leah and Maggie.