The Walking Dead 1004 recap: Silence the Whisperers

There’s chaos at the Hilltop. Alden tells everyone to stay back because the structures won’t be able to support the weight of rescuers and Earl agrees. They need to get the horses, and then get to the infirmary. Connie thinks that the tree falling is suspicious, and Luke asks if she thinks it’s the Whisperers. Earl doesn’t hold back – he knows it was them because they’re already at war.

Unfortunately, with so many injured there’s no time to debate who brought the tree down. Yumiko calmly gives out orders when Jerry realizes that Ezekiel seems to be overwhelmed. The King looks around at the chaos as Alden hears the walkers outside the walls.

Aaron is teaching a group of Alexandria youth how to fight. He reminds them that the Whisperers killed their friends, further stoking the spirit of revenge. Lydia passes by and one of the boys puts a burlap sack over his head and asks if her mom would take him in after kicking her daughter out. Lydia stares at him and Aaron calls them back to the lesson without reprimand.

Michonne rides her horse alongside the wagon. Judith is riding along with several Alexandrians, with Eugene in the back. Judith knows her mom is worried, but Michonne says she’s focusing. Judith says she saw Carol’s bandages and knows there were shots fired. Michonne tells her that Carol shot at them and she’s trying to figure out their tactics. Judith offers to be a fresh set of eyes on the problem, and Michonne explains that Alpha told them that if they crossed the borders then she would release her army of walkers. But she didn’t, she only took more land. Judith guesses that the rules have changed. Michonne tells her that you can’t really negotiate with a bully.

Some bullies, she says, you can live with (like Negan?) while others (like Alpha?) you can’t. No matter what, though, you can’t take them at their word. Only judge them by their actions. Judith reminds her mom of when RJ is running around and they let him wear himself out before bed. Maybe, she says, the Whisperers are trying to wear them all down. Michonne is impressed, and Judith says that RJ finally came in handy for something.

Michonne spots something and stops the caravan. It’s Ezekiel on a horse. She sends the group along and goes after him herself. Soon his horse comes running past her and she finds him at the edge of a cliff. She tells him to step back, and that she’s not going anywhere. His face is full of exhaustion and fear and sadness. Eventually he pulls back and she hugs him, and after he recovers he kisses her.

She kisses him back at first before pulling away. He apologizes.

Lydia is finding worms while sitting under laundry that’s drying on the clotheslines. Negan walks up, noting that this is her third visit. She tells him that Gage and his friends have been teasing her again and Negan shakes his head, clearly not amused by this news. Evidently she has been seeking out his advice, but now she’s tired of trying to ignore them as he probably suggested. He doesn’t think she should be running and hiding from them, but she reminds him that “kill them with kindness” was his original advice. He knows they’re trying to get a reaction from her and he tells her not to give it to them. Daryl rushes in and tells her to leave, then he gives Negan a warning that she will never fit in while she hangs out with him.

Daryl catches up to her after she leaves and Lydia tells him that Negan is someone she can talk to, but Daryl doesn’t want her near him. She stops and looks up. Someone has painted “Silence the Whisperers” on the door.