The Walking Dead season finale recap: Wrath

The season finale of The Walking Dead has arrived and All Out War will come to an end. Who lives and who dies? Here’s your recap of “Wrath.”

Rick starts out talking about how he remembered the past. We see young Rick in his uniform and an even younger Carl walking along. Then we see Walkers. We see Alden.

Rick goes to the crib and tucks in Gracie, then he sees himself in the mirror. Siddiq come in with a bottle for her because he saw that she was a wake. Rick asks how “it” happened, referring to Carl’s accident.

Flashing back to the walk along the road, we see Alden walking ahead of the Walker herd following them. Siddiq says that he watched his mother die shortly before. She believed that the souls are trapped in the monsters. Carl wanted to help him get back to their community while helping to honor his mother’s spirit. He also wanted to provide proof that he could be trusted. Siddiq says that the whole situation was dangerous and he should have considered that, but there isn’t much left of the people they lose. Rick is clearly moved. He thanks Siddiq and then leaves.

Henry tells Carol that they’re going to beat the Saviors. He promises that if she returns to the Kingdom he won’t run away again.

Jerry finds Ezekiel and asks how he is. Ezekiel says this could be their last day, which Jerry doesn’t accept. “We’re not losing shit,” Jerry says. They bump fists and smile.

Daryl, Rosita and Michonne talk the plan with Rick, Carol and Rick. Maggie says she locked Gregory inside, but they still don’t know for sure if Dwight is setting them up.

Morgan walks around, looking like he can hear something. Carol goes up to him and he runs off. He’s about to kill the Saviors who joined them, but he ends up tackling Henry and holding him on the ground. Everyone sees him. He thought they were leaving. Alden tells Maggie they’re clearing the Walkers to get ready to leave, but she says they aren’t part of the group.

Rick thinks that Morgan should stay behind, but Morgan says he has to be part of it. He says that he and Rick are worse than they were before. Rick gave his word and lied back at the bar. He says Rick knew it was wrong to do, but they both lost everything. Rick says they haven’t lost everything, but Morgan wants to finish it.

The group moves out for the first wave of the attack, with Rick and Michonne holding hands.

Eugene and Gabriel move among the Saviors. Gabriel looks much healthier these days. Eugene sees Dwight in the same outfit Daryl wore. Negan tells him he has no respect anymore. He tells Laura to load him up. Negan turns to Eugene and Eugene gives him a status report on the bullets. He offers a tester to Negan, with a hay-stuffed shirt with Rick’s name on it as a target. Regina filled Eugene in on the plan, and he wants to go along. Negan wonders if this is a good idea, but Eugene says he needs to see it. Negan gives orders to some of his other people, then he tells Gabriel to tag along because he wants to confess some stuff.

As they drive along we hear Negan talking while we see Rick’s people getting ready to sabotage them. Negan reveals that they are going to be killed, too, but he sacrificed them because they were Simon’s people. Negan knows that Rick will try to scout ahead, and that’s where the real trap will be. Negan has a map planted on them with the “real” information, but that won’t be real at all.

Morgan kills a man who says he gives up, and then Jared appears and tells him that what he did was messed up. He says that Morgan can’t die, but he should try it. Jared says he can’t kill everyone just to avoid seeing his people die. Jesus walks up and snaps him out of it.

Ezekiel finds the fake map and they decide to go to the new location to avoid the trap.

Gabriel says his confession is that he wants to kill them all, which he doesn’t understand. Negan says it was never about wanting to kill them all. Gabriel opens the door and bails out of the moving car.

Gabriel runs off into the bushes while Eugene and Negan stop and come after him. He still can’t see very well, but he is able to fight off a Walker. Laura pulls the Walker off of him and Eugene puts a gun to his head and tells him to stop. He asks where his faith goes when he needs it. Negan calls dibs on him and pokes him in the stomach with Lucille. Negan says that Gabriel didn’t want to die a fruitless death but you don’t always have that option.

Jesus tells Morgan that killing to protect people from being killed is a conundrum, but it can be done. He proposes that Morgan uses the pointy bloody part of the stick for the dead and the rounded part for the living. Carol says she likes Jesus.

They look down over the hill and realize they have a long way to go because there is a massive herd there.

Negan’s truck’s approach the Hilltop and Tara helps everyone into the tunnels.

Rick hears the Saviors’ whistles. They’re in the middle of a field and Negan’s voice rings out over a loudspeaker. It looks like they’re surrounded. Negan says he ambushed Rick’s ambush with a bigger ambush. Negan says Eugene made this day possible, but Dwight tried to help and was caught. His punishment will be to live with watching Rick die. Gabriel has to die, too. Negan congratulates Rick and then nods at Eugene. He counts down, but when he gets to one all of the Saviors are attacked, or so it seems, as they were hit by their own guns. The guns were sabotaged. Negan gets shot in the hand as a result of the backfiring gun. Negan yells at Eugene, but Gabriel punches Negan. Dwight starts fighting, as does Gabriel.

The Hilltop people run behind the settlement. Tara says she’ll stay behind, and Alden volunteers to help with the other Saviors.

Eugene is about to be killed when Rosita shoots them and gives him a nod.

Jesus stops Morgan from killing more people, and then he and Morgan clean up the mess together.

Tara and her team watch as the women of Oceanside attack the Saviors outside of the Hilltop, with Cyndie and Aaron in the lead.

Laura gives up, along with the other Saviors. They kneel and toss their weapons down. Rick chases Negan to the stained glass we saw in the premiere. They’re about to fight.

Rick knocks Lucille away from Negan and they fall to the ground. Negan eventually gets back up and grabs the bat. He confesses that the game at the start of season 7 was a game. He should have killed Rick all along but didn’t want to kill Carl’s dad. That would have prevented Carl’s death. Rick says they could have a future. He asks for ten seconds for Carl to explain how they can have their future. Rick says they don’t have to fight anymore. Negan says Carl was wrong. Both men are moved to tears, but Rick cuts Negan across the throat. Negan says Carl didn’t mean a damn thing. Rick looks at him and thinks back to that moment walking with Carl. the knife falls from his hands and everyone is watching him. The Saviors have their hands up.

Rick calls to Siddiq and tells him to save him. Maggie screams for Rick to let him die, but Michonne holds her back. She screams and everyone watches. Rick shakes his head. Rick says that what they lost has to mean something. He tells the Saviors to put their hands down. They will all go home, and the way Negan does things is over. They will live in peace and fairness. They will find common ground. The herd in the distance is their death unless they fight together. There has to be something left.

Rosita looks at Eugene and asks about their guns. He sabotaged their guns, thanks to Gabriel’s lesson and Rosita’s request help. Rosita punches him for puking on her. “Fair play,” he says.

Morgan strips off his armor and gives it to Carol. He wants Henry to have it. He tells her he will be ok.

Rick stands in the same place as the season premiere and whispers that his mercy will prevail over his wrath. He breaks down into tears as the sun sets.

Daryl watches as Dwight walks by. Alden approaches Maggie and says his guys are heading back to the Sanctuary. He says he was never meant to be there. He says he was reading Georgie’s book and he can build those things. He knows she gave him a second chance, so he wants to stay. She smiles and says ok.

Tara and Rosita deliver supplies to the Sanctuary. They meet with Negan’s wives, who greet them and are happy that people came to help them rebuild.

Daryl and Dwight go to the middle of the woods. Dwight says he knows why they’re there. He knows what he did to Denise…Daryl…everyone else. He knows he has to pay. He’s ready. He got to watch them take out Negan and that was all he wanted. Dwight falls to his knees and apologizes to Daryl. Daryl tells him to shut up. He gives him the keys to the truck and tells him to leave, or he’ll kill him. He tells Dwight to go make it right, and find Sherry.

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Jadis is reading a book when there’s a knock at the door. It’s Morgan. She lets him into the Heap. Morgan says that Rick invited her back to the community. He’s trying to build something and needs everyone. Morgan knows she doesn’t want to be alone, because everything is about people. She asks his name. He gives it. She says her name is Anne. She will get her things. He says he needs to stay. He can’t be around anyone right now.

Dwight pulls up at a little house and takes a breath. Inside he finds a note. “Honeymoon” is written on it, with the infinity symbol.

Ezekiel, Jerry, Henry and Carol return to the Kingdom.

Maggie tells Jesus he was right about saving the Savior prisoners, and Rick was right not to kill them, too. They have a lot to do, to build everything up so they can thrive. They need to defend themselves. She says Rick and Michonne were wrong to do what they did. She tells Jesus they will wait, and then they will show him. Daryl steps out of the shadows and agrees with them.

Negan is in bed. Rick says this isn’t about who he killed but how he made people live. Michonne agrees, and says this isn’t a discussion. Siddiq is there but Rick says they can open his stitches for a while. Rick says Carl had a vision, and Negan will be an example. They will make him rot in a cell as the example of their new civilization. He will be alive, to show how things are changed. “Maybe you’re good for something,” Michonne says.

Gabriel returns to the burned out church. He’s in his priest uniform. He knees to pray. He thanks the Lord. He says he understands. He now understands that he has been given so much. Now he can see again.

We see young Carl and Rick again. Rick reads a letter to his son. He says Carl made him remember the time they were walking. He knew who he was for the first time. Carl was bringing him there to the New World. Carl made that New World real. He knows. He remembers.

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