The Walking Dead 1012 recap: Walk With Us

The battle for Hilltop rages on in this week’s episode of The Walking Dead. Find out what happens in this recap of “Walk With Us.”

The Walking Dead 1012 begins where episode 1011 left off. The Hilltop is under siege and Carol is on the battlement defending the walls. Daryl is using his mace to kill fire walkers while everyone tries to keep the walkers from pushing through the burning walls.

Earl and Alden use their catapults to fling metal at the walkers while Yumiko launches an assault.

Soon the onslaught slows as the walkers start piling up and slowing down.

Lydia is fighting when Mary finds her and cautions her against going outside the walls. She knows what Alpha wants, Mary says, but Lydia tells her that she will never join her mother.

Ezekiel has the children with him but he suddenly realizes that Judith is missing. Next we see Judith battling walkers, but when she kills a Whisperer she freezes. She has never killed another person before. Earl runs up and grabs her, taking her to safety.

Carol continues her fight. Eugene looks up to see the house burning and he runs off to save his radio equipment, much to Rosita’s dismay. Jerry and the others manage to stop the walkers temporarily but they keep coming. Soon it becomes clear that they need to get out of there because there are just too many of them.

Yumiko is about to shoot when she sees Magna walking with the dead. She’s alive but she looks like she has been through a lot.

Carol looks around and sees the walkers as they destroy the Hilltop. The house is on fire and everything is in ruins.

Cue the credits, here we go!

Negan, with a new Lucille, surveys the battlegrounds. There is a man dying (wearing Hilltop armor) and Negan dispatches him with a blow to the head. Alpha sees him and reminds him that he’s supposed to kill them through the heart so that they can come back. “My bad,” is his deadpan response. She tells him that they lost a lot of Guardians and they need to replenish. He thinks they should savor the victory, but she won’t rest until she has everything she wants.

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Negan quickly realizes that she’s talking about Lydia, but Beta says that Lydia is not Negan’s concern and he pledges to bring Lydia home to her mother. He blocks Negan from following Alpha, and Negan says he’s at Beta’s service, calling him “Frowny McTwoknives.” Beta says they need to gather walkers, which Negan does not like. “Such a dick,” he mutters.

In the woods, Negan follows a walker but cannot for the life of him make him follow along. “Screw this,” he says, smashing his head in. He notices more walkers in the distance, but then he spots a wounded figure running away. He follows.

Aaron is dragging an injured Luke when he runs into Negan. Aaron’s instant reaction is to kill Negan, who begs him to listen to his explanation. Aaron’s only regret is not killing him sooner. As walkers approach, Aaron is forced to choose between defending Luke and killing Negan. Negan takes advantage of the situation and continues on his way.

When he catches up to Lydia, she smiles when she sees him, but as soon as she spots the skin mask in his hand she starts to run. He grabs her and says that she’s done.

Alden and Kelly walk along with a fussy Adam and Mary, who follows behind them. They’re on the way to the rendezvous. She teases him about his baby voice, but he refuses to allow her a chance to help calm Adam. Finally she tells him how to soothe her nephew but it doesn’t work, so he hands him over. Mary smiles at the baby, who immediately calms down.

Later, Mary holds her nephew while they take a break. Alden watches for a while, and then he asks about her sister’s name. She says it was Frances, and she says that Adam meant everything to her. She admits she would do things differently if she could.

Suddenly Mary hears a bird and she looks around. She tells them to move because the Whisperers are coming. With Adam crying, they run to find a safe spot. They find an abandoned van in the woods and hurry to get inside. Kelly and Alden get in and Mary hands him the baby, then she closes the door, shaking her head at Alden. She screams and tries to distract them, leading them away from the van. He pounds his fist in frustration knowing he can’t help her.

Mary fights off the walkers, laughing when she kills them all. She takes a break, looking up at the sky. When she turns, Beta shoves a knife into her stomach. She tries to fight him off, and he tells her that she will walk with them. “Never!” she screams, tearing at his mask. He cuts her open, killing her, then he drags her to a tree and waits for her to reanimate. While he retrieves his mask, another Whisperer walks up and recognizes him. He thought his voice was familiar. Beta tells him to be quiet, and when he doesn’t obey he kills him.

Soon Mary starts to twitch. He watches as she comes back to life, getting to her feet. She staggers toward him, but then she is shot through the head with an arrow.

Alden and Kelly are there. Alden is the one who shot Gamma. Beta turns and runs away.

Carol fills her canteen. Eugene is working on the bits of the radio he was able to drag into the woods. She looks on at Yumiko and Magna. Magna is telling Yumiko how she made it out. There were walkers and Whisperers, and suddenly they were separated. She had been with Connie and then they lost each other. When Carol turns away, Yumiko accuses her of leaving, noting that Magna needs rest. She thinks Carol is leaving her behind again. Yumiko thinks Carol should apologize, but Carol doesn’t think that’s what Magna wants. She slugs Carol.

Magna tells Yumiko that she didn’t ask her to do that. She says she can’t keep going through this with her. She says Yumiko was right to kick her out, noting that now she won’t keep getting her pillow stolen. The two women shake hands and laugh together.

Carol finds a tree to sit on. A walker starts to move under the leaves, grabbing at her knees. She swats it away in annoyance before finally killing it. Eugene comes over to check on her after getting hit in the face so hard. Carol asks if he knows what it’s like to upset everyone to get what you want, only to have nothing to show for it. He does get it. He sits beside her and tells her about Stephanie without actually telling her about her. He can’t be at the meeting now, but he knows it’s not often you meet someone like that. She tells him to go to her, knowing he’s talking about a girl. He tells her he hopes she finally gets what she’s after.

Once he’s gone, she finds Lydia’s weapon on the ground and looks around.

Daryl leads a group of Rosita, Jerry, Nabila, Scott, Diane and other survivors. Rosita asks about the kids, and Daryl says they should be at the rendezvous. When they arrive, he finds that the place is empty. They look around, growing anxious when the kids aren’t there. Nabila is in shock at the thought of losing her kids. Jerry vows to find them.

Judith asks Earl if they’re going to be ok. She wonders about Ezekiel, who got lost in the smoke. Earl tells Judith not to worry. Ezekiel is the bravest man he knows. He praises the kids for their bravery, offering them water and telling them how proud their parents will be. Gracie asks if they will be there soon. He steps into the next room, telling them to be quiet.

When he turns around, we can see that he doesn’t look good. In fact, he’s on death’s door. A stain on his shirt hints at the problem: He was bitten. He hammers a stake through a table and prepares to kill himself so he doesn’t hurt the kids. Judith walks in and sees what he’s doing. She sees the bite and tells him that he lied to them. He admits he did it to protect him. She tells him not to do this, and she offers to stay with him so he isn’t alone. He says he has his son and Tammy with him, and Alden will care for Adam. He praises Judith’s strength and bravery through it all. He wants her to keep the kids safe for him. He sends her away, warning her not to come close. She grabs his finger, then she walks away.

At Hilltop, Daryl’s group finds Ezekiel buried under part of the wall. He’s in shock but he knows Earl has the children.

Back in the cabin, Earl prepares to meet his maker. He’s dying quickly and his vision is going, but he manages to slam his head against the stake.

While the children are sleeping, Judith goes in and sees Earl’s dead body. She gets close enough to see that he missed the mark. He wakes up as a walker and tries to grab her.

Daryl, Ezekiel and Jerry arrive as the kids go running outside. Jerry’s kids run to him as RJ goes to Daryl. He looks for Judith and finds her sitting beside Earl’s dead body with her sword. He puts the scene together and goes to her, taking the sword and sitting beside her. He pulls her close and holds her.

Negan approaches Alpha and tells her that he found the “thing” she has been looking for.

Lydia wakes up in a cabin. She’s tied to a chair.

Alpha and Negan walk through the woods. She sees a walker and calls it beautiful. Negan says that he only sees a dead body, but she says he will see the way in time. He wonders if she wants him out there preaching her gospel, but she wants him to become her lion. He remarks that the lioness takes her mother’s place.

He tells Alpha the story of his wife Lucille, who lost her battle to pancreatic cancer. The chemo beat her up, and he says she was never more beautiful when she was frail and bald. Alpha tells him that death set her free. He didn’t feel anything when she was gone. He was empty. That’s his strength, he says. He’s dead to the world, but he says she’s pretending that she doesn’t feel anything. He doesn’t believe that she is going to kill her own daughter, but Alpha says it’s Lydia’s destiny. She says the disease killed Lucille because that’s what nature wanted. Alpha says Lydia was made to be free in this world.

Lydia continues to struggle, trying to free herself.

Negan asks Alpha if she still loves her daughter. The cabin is in the distance. She says she has to kill her because she loves her.

Lydia manages to get free.

Negan kisses Alpha, who thanks him.

Lydia goes to the door.

Alpha is at the door.

Lydia opens the door and sees an empty field.

Alpha opens the door and sees that the cabin is empty.

They were in different cabins.

Negan swings and cuts Alpha’s throat. She is shocked, but he kisses her again and lowers her to the ground as she dies.

Later, with blood dripping from the bag, Negan tosses Alpha’s undead head across the ground to Carol’s feet. She looks at him and tells him it took him long enough.

The Walking Dead continues next Sunday at 9pm on AMC.