The Walking Dead 612: Not Tomorrow Yet [recap and poll]

How would YOU rate the latest episode of The Walking Dead? Read below to see a recap of episode 612, take our poll and then leave us your comments about the episode. Your thoughts could end up in a fan reaction article later this week!

There’s a lot of anxiety among Walking Dead fans right now. We know that big and terrible things are coming, we just don’t know exactly when they’re coming, or what exactly is coming. We just know from the teasers that the actors do give us, we’re going to be emotional.

Last week, Maggie made the deal between Alexandria and Hilltop that Rick’s crew would take out Negan and the Saviors in exchange for half of Hilltop’s supplies – since they were giving half of their supplies to Negan, anyway. Rick was confident that they could do it, and convinced the others that it was the only way to stop the Saviors from finding and attacking Alexandria.

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This week’s episode starts off with cheery music behind a Carol montage. We haven’t seen much of her lately, so here’s what she’s apparently been up to. First, we see her taking various things off the shelves in the supply pantry. Then she’s in the woods gathering what appear to be nuts and takes out a walker, getting blood all over her nice clean shirt.

So after a shower, into a walk in closet she goes, settling on another conservative outfit. Now clean and dressed, she’s in the kitchen, baking. She sets some now cooled cookies into a plastic container and sets out down the street. She seems to be handing out cookies to everyone she sees.

After many other stops, she delivers cookies to Tobin, who tries to decline them. Carol insists that she has plenty, so he finally takes them. He observes that they’re pink, which she attributes to the beets in the recipe. He’s hesitant to try them, but she playfully calls him a jerk and tells him to just try it, so he does. He likes them, and they seem to have a moment… UGH. (I admit that I do not support this moment)

Just then, they hear Sasha yell, “They’re back!” and the RV pulls down the street. Rick tells Aaron and Sasha to get Olivia so that she can inventory what they’ve brought back – it’s all those supplies from Hilltop. Michonne gets out and says that they have enough food for a month. Rick needs everyone to be in the church in an hour. Carol walks up and asks Rick what’s going on, and he tells her they’re going to have to fight. He looks distressed as he pulls the RV towards the pantry.

Morgan walks up behind Carol, saying it has been weeks since they talked. He asks why she didn’t tell Rick (meaning, about the Wolf), or why Tara, Rosita and Eugene didn’t. She says that she’d told them to keep quiet about it. She wants to move on. Morgan tells her that she doesn’t have to carry what he did, that it makes it like she did it too. Carol disagrees strongly with this. She tells him to go, and he walks away.

As Carol walks away, we see a shot of the graveyard that now stands where she had just been standing. Sam’s grave is in the front, with a cookie laying on the mound of dirt below his name.

The Alexandrians have gathered in the church. Rick is telling them what happened at Hilltop, and explaining the deal they made. Morgan looks less than enthusiastic. Rick asks if anyone objects and everyone looks back at Morgan, who asks if he’s sure that they can do it. When Rick says yes, Morgan says they need to give the Saviors a choice, talk to them first.

Morgan, you just don’t understand this zombie apocalypse world, do you? My friends from the South have taught me the expression, “Bless his heart,” which I believe applies here.

Rick says no, they have to come for the Saviors before the Saviors come for them. Rick asks if anyone else wants to talk to the Saviors, but no one does. Aaron stands up and says that he won’t let what happened in Alexandria happen again.

Rick says it looks like it’s settled. “We kill them all,” he says Before he walks out, he says that everyone has to accept this – which is obviously directed at Morgan. No one likes this plan, but no one else seems to object.

That night, Carol is in bed but not sleeping. She sits up and takes out a journal, where she’s making a list of some sort, words and numbers.

Maggie and Glenn are in the kitchen, talking about her keeping watch on the perimeter. She says that since she made the deal, she has to come along.

Carol’s walking down the dark street, smoking. She sees Tobin sitting on his front step, and he asks if she has another cigarette. She jokingly says she doesn’t have one for him, but then sits down next to him and gives him her cigarette. Apparently neither of them can sleep. (For the record, I also do not support this moment)

Tobin’s not going on the raid tomorrow, but he’s worried because Carol is going. He says that she can do things that terrify him because she’s a mom. She was a mom, she corrects him, but he insists on the present tense, saying that she’s a mom to most of the people in Alexandria.

She asks if she’s a mom to him too, and he says that no, she’s something else to him. And then she leans over and kisses him, and I resist the urge to throw my TV (which is mounted on the wall) out the window. Really, Carol? Really? Never when Daryl said anything nice to you, but now?

Meanwhile, Abraham is packing and Rosita walks into their bedroom, asking why he’s already packing. Abraham says it’s not for the run, he’s just leaving. She asks why, and he says it’s how he wants it. She refuses to let him leave without telling her why. He says that when they’d met, he thought she was the last woman on Earth, but… that she’s not. (Abraham, you need to work on your delivery, because that was kinda harsh)

He walks out, leaving her crying. Suddenly Eugene is standing in the doorway, asking if she wants a cookie. She slams the door in his face. (Eugene, it was a nice sentiment, but your timing sucks!)

Meanwhile, Rick asks Andy to describe the Saviors’ compound and is drawing out a sketch. Michonne and Glenn ask questions as well. We only hear their voices and just see their drawing of the compound, from above, which is a cool shot.

Denise is standing in a kitchen with Tara, who’s washing dishes. Denise asks if Tara’s worried, but she says no. Tara is flustered, however, and turns and tells Denise that she loves her, and just wanted to say it before she left. Tara says that she doesn’t have to say it back. Denise tells her that she’ll say it when she comes back, since Denise isn’t going.

Tara says that she and Heath are still going on a two week run after the attack on the Saviors and asks if Denise wants to come along, but Denise can’t leave, since she’s the only doctor. She tells Tara that she wants to, though, and they kiss.

Andy, Maggie, Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Daryl and Jesus are still working on the plan, using all the information they have and making educated guesses about the rest. Daryl says they’ve done more with less. Andy thinks there’s only one way in. Rick says they’re going to walk right in because they’re going to give them Gregory’s head. (There is no discussion of Gregory’s feelings about this)

Next we see the RV, followed by several trucks, stop along a 2 lane road and honk their horns. Everyone gets out and looks around. They’re going to split up and “peel off every quarter mile,” then meet up in a few hours. It’s not clear what they’re doing.

Gabriel assures Rick that he’s not going anywhere, in case Rick was wondering. Rick asks Gabriel why he’s still wearing the priest’s outfit, and Gabriel says he’s still who he was… and jokes that he’s harder to see in the dark that way. You’ve come a long way, Gabriel.

Rosita tells Carol that she’d almost told everyone at the meeting about Morgan. Carol reminds her that they’re not telling, not seeing a problem with Morgan objecting. Rosita insists that Morgan doesn’t know that he’s talking about, but finally says that she’s not telling anyone and walks away.

Glenn and Heath kill several walkers in the woods. They inspect them, and Glenn says that maybe, if they trim the hair and the beard and if it’s dark, they’ll work. We’re still not sure what they’re trying to do. Heath says that he’s been lucky not to have to kill people before. Glenn says he’s been lucky, too, and that he’s nervous. They start working on the walkers.

Back at the trucks, Rick is going over the plan for when they get to the Saviors’ complex, saying that they’ll take a look around and see how it looks, and how many people there are. If it looks good, they’ll go in a few hours before dawn when the guards are tired. If they don’t like what they see, they’ll go home and make a new plan. They know that they need to keep Jesus in the shadows, because the Saviors know him. They plan to leave at midnight.

Carol goes to Rick privately and asks him why Maggie’s there. Rick says she’s guarding the perimeter, that it was her choice to be there. Carol wants to stay with her. Rick insists that they need as many people inside to get to the armory as they can get, but Carol is adamant that Maggie shouldn’t be out there alone. She’s upset that Maggie is there in the first place. Rick concedes.

After Glenn finishes, they have three choices for which walker head looks most like Gregory. They pick their best one and when Jesus says that Gregory’s head is a different shape, Rick starts punching it violently to hide the difference. When he stops, Andy stares at Rick for a second and then tells him, “The Saviors, they’re scary, but they got nothin’ on you.”

It’s dark when a single truck pulls up to an empty parking lot in front of a building with red lights on top, which immediately go on. This is the entrance to the Saviors’ compound. Someone yells “Announce yourself, a**hole!” Andy identifies himself, and says that “It’s done.” He’s ordered out of the car, and he obeys. He’s told to bring the head forward to the two men holding guns, so he does, removing it from the bag it had been in.

The men study it carefully, then throw it to the side. One man says he’ll go get Craig and the two of them will go home, and that Hilltop will bring them more stuff next week.

As soon as the first man goes inside, Daryl has the second man from behind and is slitting his throat, quickly stabbing him in the head as well. The rest of the group quickly converges on the front door, running full speed from the shadows. For a second, all I could think was that it looked like the Alexandrians had turned into a ninja squad – it may have been my favorite part of the episode.

They move the dead guard from in front of the door and hide again before the other guard comes back out with Craig, then the second guard is quickly stabbed in the stomach from behind when he emerges. They stab him in the head as well. Several of the Alexandrians run across the parking lot with the Craig, who’s injured, while the rest go inside, guns drawn.

They spread out and look around. Rick goes into one of the bedrooms and stabs the occupant in the head in his sleep. Next it’s Glenn and Heath’s turn in another room, and they are not liking it. It’s the first time for either of them to kill a living person. Glenn stabs the first occupant of the room as he sleeps, and is in obvious emotional pain because of it. Heath tries to kill the second man but can’t do it, so Glenn does it for him.

“We kill them all.”

Before they leave the room, they find a board on the wall with many Polaroid pictures of different horribly disfigured bodies who looks like their heads exploded.

Outside, Tara, Gabriel, Jesus and Andy wait with Craig in one of the trucks. Tara asks Gabriel if he’s still a priest. He says that Rick and Carl taught him about guns and weapons and how to contribute, but that he’s still a priest.

Tara tells Gabriel she lied to her girlfriend because she’d caught her thinking about something that she’d wanted to cover it up. Gabriel asks her what she was covering up, which Tara says was that she’d done something like this before and didn’t like it. Jesus and Gabriel both ask if Tara loves her girlfriend, and Tara says she does. Jesus tells her that that means she knows what she’s fighting for.

Inside, Abraham and Sasha are clearing a hallway, one door at a time. They find one that’s locked, and think it could be the armory. He gives her a large knife to pick the lock, when Abraham is suddenly attacked by a man who had crept out of a door behind him. Sasha stabs the man several times but the man falls against the wall and pulls the fire alarm that’s just above his hand. So much for the element of surprise.

Outside, Maggie and Carol hear the alarm blaring. Carol tells Maggie to stay there as she starts walking toward the compound, but Maggie follows her, refusing to stay by the car. (It never worked with Carl, and it certainly wasn’t going to work with Maggie, but it was a nice thought.) As they argue, a walker comes up behind them, which Carol takes care of. She tells Maggie that she’s staying there, and the look on her face says it’s final.

Jesus and Tara get out of their truck, hearing the alarm sounding. Tara says they need to get the others back to Hilltop. Jesus is surprised, saying that her people could be in trouble. Gabriel gets out too, staying with them. Jesus tells Andy to drive the others back to Hilltop, and the truck takes off. Jesus covers his face and insists that the Saviors aren’t going to see him, but Tara is worried.

Inside, Rick is now firing up a stairwell toward the second floor, where more men are appearing as they hear the commotion. When there’s no one left alive up there, he, Michonne and Daryl rush on, running down a hall. Aaron leaves the cover of a corner and makes it into a room, closing the door behind him and listens to footsteps running down the hall outside.

Suddenly he’s attacked from behind (that’s why we clear the rooms first, Aaron!) by a much larger man. Aaron manages to stab him. As he opens the door to leave the room, he comes face to face with another Savior, who is pointing a gun at him. Luckily, Rosita shoots that man from the side.

Daryl, Rick and Michonne are still moving, taking cover against walls and covering each other as they go.

Outside, two men run out the front door and Tara shoots them from across the parking lot.

All of the Alexandrians are now engaged in battle, wherever they are. Heath and Glenn narrowly make it through a door, and find themselves surrounded by weapons. The armory! There’s Saviors on the other side of the door and they just shoot right through it, unloading their weapons and hoping against hope that it will be enough.

When they stop firing, there’s suddenly silence. They creep forward and open the door to see only bodies on the ground and blood everywhere. One of them moves, and suddenly Jesus shoots him, having appeared almost out of nowhere.

Gabriel is outside, walking towards a man lying on the ground but alive, holding a gun. Gabriel has his gun pointed at the man and tells him to drop his gun. The man tells him that they (the Alexandrians) are all dead, that “blood’s coming,” before Gabriel shoots him.

The sky is now light. The Alexandrians make it outside to a grassy area inside the compound with a gate at one end. Glenn asks Heath if he wants to come back to Alexandria for a few days before the run he and Tara are going on. Heath declines. Tara hugs Glenn before she and Heath leave.

Back in Alexandria, Morgan looks like he’s welding something. Knowing his state of mind at the moment, the rest of the group is probably not going to like this project.

Heath and Tara take off, and the others watch them go.

Rick asks Michonne what’s wrong, and she says that she just wanted to know which one of them was Negan. Just then, a man on a motorcycle comes rumbling toward them. Rosita shoots him and he falls off his bike. Daryl then tackles him, punching him in the face, and the others run over.

Next: The Walking Dead: Stuff and Things

Rick sticks his gun in the man’s face, but suddenly he hears a woman’s voice over a radio telling him, by name, to lower his gun. The voice tells all of them to lower their weapons. Rick picks up the radio and says he wants to talk. The voice says that they have Carol and Maggie, and that that’s something they may want to chat about.

So much for things going according to the plan.

A lot happened in this episode! So what did YOU think? Click on our poll and leave your comments – they may end up in an article later this week! To read a review of this article by Undead Walking editor, Adam Carlson, click here.