Comic book recap: The Walking Dead issue 169 ‘Lines We Cross’
By Adam Carlson
What happened in issue 169 of The Walking Dead comic book series titled ‘Lines We Cross’? Get the full rundown of events from the July 2017 issue!
Issue 169 of The Walking Dead titled ‘Lines We Cross’ was released on July 5, 2017. Here is a complete rundown of events from the comic, so it is highly advised not to continue reading unless you want to know what happened.
***WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW FOR ISSUE 169***
The issue open with Carl kneeling at Andrea’s grave. Lydia comes up and kneels beside him, putting her arm around her. Carl opens up about killing Ben, and how much the idea of even doing so upset Andrea even though Ben wasn’t safe to be around. He told Lydia that he admitted it to Andrea later, and she cried a lot…but also said that she loved Carl.
Andrea’s gave marker is shown with her name as ‘Andrea Grimes’ written on it.
Inside Alexandria, people are hard at work cleaning up the community. People with shovels are hard and work but stop for a moment when they see Rick. Rick tells them to not mind him and keep up the great work.
Maggie approaches him and says that they need to talk. Rick knows what it is about and they go to his house to discuss it. Showing extreme discomforting in letting Negan handle the situation with the people of The Sanctuary, Maggie reveals that she didn’t sleep at all last night.
Rick says he understands her feelings and he would feel the same way if Negan had killed Andrea. Maggie, more forcefully now, asks why he is free. He says he has killed many husbands and wives in the zombie apocalypse and he’s struggling to see the difference between Negan’s leadership and his.
Clearly upset, Maggie exclaims that Rick and Negan are not even comparable. Raising his arms, Rick says that he doesn’t expect her to agree and that he won’t be staying in Alexandria, which didn’t appease Maggie too much.
Back on the radio, Eugene is chatting with Stephanie. She says she missed him while things went dark, but she also talked to someone else on the radio. Surprised, Eugene asks who it was, and she relies with the name she wrote down: Siddiq.
Eugene says Siddiq must have hidden in his house while the walls of Alexandria were breached. Just then, there is a knock at the door. Eugene says some quick goodbyes to Stephanie before going to greet his visitor.
Opening the door, Siddiq is standing there with Rick. Rick says to tell him about the radio. After explaining the situation, Rick is shocked he kept it from him and wants to talk to her. Eugene says that’s not possible, as she will only speak with him.
Getting back on the radio, Eugene explains that their leader now knows about Stephanie and wants to talk to her. Once again, she says she will speak only with Eugene, as she only trusts him. Eugene says to trust Rick like she trusts him, and then Rick gets on the microphone.
He says he is the leader of this community as well as a group of communities keeping more than 100 people safe. He says they have had their homes decimated and need some help, and if they are a big community, they can help.
Stephanie says she doesn’t know how they could help because of the distance. Rick replies by saying they could establish safe travel routes for trade like they did with the communities they now inhabit.
Rick says he understand that trust is the issue. He knows she has been talking to Eugene for weeks and hasn’t been trying to pull information out of him, so he doesn’t believe they have violent intentions toward Alexandria and want a friendly relationship between the communities.
Proposing a meeting place as not to give away their location, Rick says they can get together somewhere and talk in person and send only a small team and if they don’t like what they see, they are free to leave. Stephanie believes she can sell that idea to her leader and asks to give her a day to make it work.
Walking in Alexandria, Eugene says he trusts her, but not as much as Rick is willing to extend. He explains that risks need to be taken sometimes and that the reward of help far outweighs the risk. Eugene says he needs to be on that team, since Stephanie trusts him. Rick complies.
Hard at work, Dwight is cleaning up Alexandria. Rick asks him if he has seen Jesus, but he hasn’t. With a snarky reply, he tells Rick to keep being a ‘busy bee’ and take credit for holding the community together. Rick says they need to talk soon, and Dwight says he’d like that.
Maggie and the people from The Hilltop are packing up donated items given by Alexandrians. She tells Carl that they will need to start rebuilding soon and these supplies will help them through that process.
Carl says The Hilltop is his home, and he will help rebuild it. Maggie says nobody expects him to come back right now after what happened with Andrea and that Rick could probably use him in Alexandria for the time being. In reply, Carl says Rick doesn’t need him there and he will understand why he is going…and that he needs to live his life somewhere other than Alexandria.
Jesus is sitting at the table with Rick when he is propositioned to help lead the group to meet up with the people from Ohio. Jesus says a trip like that could take weeks and declines the offer. He says he has too much to stay home and not risk on a trip like that. Next, Rick says he will ask Aaron, which Jesus explains is no good either because of their relationship. Offering congratulations, Rick says he will find someone else.
The time has come for Rick to meet with Dwight. Right out of the gate, Rick says he needs him on his team to meet up with the people from Ohio. Dwight shuts it down right away, saying no. He goes on to say that he should run things in Alexandria and Rick’s time is up.
Shocked, Rick takes a step back. He says that he didn’t want to be a leader, but now he wants total control. He wonders about the change of heart, to which Dwight replies that Rick was the cause of the hatred between the groups and that his actions have pulled the communities apart and killed the woman he loved.
Stating that it was self-defense, Rick attempts to reason with Dwight. Unsure of whether to believe him or not, Dwight goes off saying that Rick escalated a situation with The Saviors only to be diffused by Negan, a man nobody can trust. Dwight says he is having this face-to-face discussion when he could be doing it with a gun to Rick’s head, but he wants to be reasonable.
Rick says the conversation is over and leaves. Frustrated with no response, Dwight yells out to him. Turning around, Rick says that he’s got The Hilltop in ashes, Alexandria reeling, and just lost Andrea. Right now, he doesn’t have time for this discussion.
Finally, Rick threatens Dwight. He says he will be watching him closely and if he brings the topic up one more time he will take out his rage on him because another death is no big deal.
Later, Michonne approaches Rick at Andrea’s grave. She offers her services for the Ohio trip, but Rick declines. She says The Kingdom will assist The Hilltop in the rebuild, which frees her up for the trek.
Michonne doesn’t take no for an answer. She says she will take Magna and Yumiko with her plus Siddiq. Rick finally agrees since she’s set on going and they wish each other well before Carl joins Rick at the grave.
Carl tells his dad he wants to help in Alexandria. He says it’s too sad here with the losses he’s experienced that The Hilltop is his home. Rick says he understands and is proud that he wants to live his life and not dwell in the past as the two share a hug.
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In the pantry, Negan is taking some supplies as Dwight watches. Negan is discussing his love for pork and beans, which does not amuse Dwight in the slightest.
Negan says he will probably go near where he buried his girl before leaving and not getting a lot of farewell gestures from the people of Alexandria. While closing the gate, he is stopped by the people from The Hilltop, who are ready to return home.
Beside the group headed to The Hilltop is the survivors headed to Ohio. Maggie tells them to be careful, but Michonne says there is nothing out there that can top what they’ve already seen…to which Maggie says they had better knock on wood and rub a rabbit’s foot.
Before leaving, Maggie asks Dante to follow Negan and see where he goes, calling him a monster as the issue comes to a close.
Next: Issue 170 cover analysis
Issue 170 of The Walking Dead is titled ‘On The Road’ and will be released on August 2, 2017. It will likely continue the story of the survivors headed to Ohio to meet up with Stephanie and the mystery survivors from the radio calls.