Bonds

"Bonds" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the one-hundred and thirty-seventh episode of the series overall. It premiered on November 10, 2019. It was written by Kevin Deiboldt and directed by Dan Liu.

Plot
Carol and Daryl go on a mission together while Siddiq struggles to solve a mystery.

Synopsis
Carol wakes up, makes herself coffee, gets dressed, and heads out. Daryl spots her and catches up, inquiring where she is going. Carol claims she wants to do another sweep looking for Negan, and Daryl offers to tag along. She reluctantly accepts. While traveling, the two discuss the possibility of Negan crossing the border and joining the Whisperers. Carol stops short of a clearing near the Whisperer border and pulls out a pair of binoculars. When Daryl presses her for the real reason they came there, Carol reveals that she wants to find Alpha's horde and destroy it.

Back at Alexandria, Dante jokingly flirts with Cheryl, who is feeling sick. Siddiq comes to say hi and asks Dante if everything is alright at the clinic. Dante reveals that more people have come down with the stomach bug, but isn't concerned.

Carol tells Daryl that she's been tracking walker movements along the border, and that they all arrive to the area where they're currently at. She wants to observe the clearing for Whisperer activity, and see where they're taking the walkers. Daryl cautions that they won't be able to follow them without starting a war, but Carol claims they will only watch them and report to the Alexandria council before doing anything. Daryl then asks why she lied to him about their mission earlier, but Carol tells him she didn't want him to worry about her after she pulled a gun on Alpha, and apologizes. She asks Daryl if he will stick around, and he confirms, claiming that she will need him to track.

Negan, meanwhile, is being escorted through the woods by Beta and a few other Whisperers while blindfolded. He compliments their lifestyle and claims he wants to join them, until Beta puts his knives to Negan's throat. He complains that Negan is too loud and thinks that he should just slit his throat and be done with it. Negan apologizes and introduces himself, revealing to Beta that he has spent the last 8 years imprisoned by the Whisperers' enemy, and offers to tell them everything he knows if they accept him. Beta relents, but gags Negan before proceeding further.

At the Hilltop, Eugene sets up the upgraded radio transmitter while Nabila brings him supplies. He offers her a chance to assist him, but she politely declines. He then tests it out, and comes into contact with Rosita. She is happy to hear from him, and the two share a friendly chat, before being interrupted by a radio malfunction. Rosita offers to call Eugene later, and he happily accepts.

Daryl and Carol pass the time by throwing acorns at a can. Daryl hits it, but Carol says he has to knock it over. Carol then asks about Connie, but Daryl claims there is nothing going on between them. Carol asks why not, and encourages him to peruse a relationship, telling him that he can't hide out with his dog forever. The two share a meal before spotting a group of walkers roaming around in circles, quickly concluding there is a Whisperer among them.

At the Whisperers' camp, Alpha and Beta discuss what to do with Negan. Beta doesn't trust him, and asserts that the stranger should be killed. Alpha, however, tells Beta to test him. If Negan is worthy, then she will hear him out, but will kill him otherwise. Beta disagrees, and thinks Negan should be killed immediately. Alpha notes that Beta has been questioning her rather often lately, and asks if he is finally challenging her. Beta kneels in submission, and vows that he will never challenge her. Observing this, Negan grins. Beta then takes Negan with him so he can prove himself. Negan asks about Alpha, but Beta warns him to respect her.

Siddiq checks up on Rosita, and finds her still sick and lying on the couch. Despite her protests, he takes her to the infirmary. Eugene, meanwhile, is attempting to contact Rosita via radio. Disappointed that he received no reply, he starts to flip through channels randomly in search of anyone listening.

Daryl and Carol are still observing the growing Whisperer herd. Carol points out that it will be tougher to track them at night. Daryl deduces that she wants to cross the border, and she confirms, if that's what it takes to destroy the horde. Daryl asks if she's sure she doesn't just want to take another shot at Alpha, but Carol claims the horde is their shot. She asks if he is changing his mind, but he denies this, and tells her they need to be smart during the mission, since they will endanger everyone if they mess up. When Carol excuses herself to go to the bathroom, Daryl searches her bag, but doesn't find anything of note. Upon returning, Carol asks if he found what he was looking for. Daryl asks if she brought a gun like last time, but she denies this. They then head off to track the herd.

Outside the Whisperers' camp, Beta orders Negan to dig a hole. This is one of several chores Negan is forced to do, which include skinning walkers, carrying their corpses, and assisting in a boar hunt by stabbing the animal to death once it's injured with a bow and arrow.

Siddiq and Rosita arrive to the infirmary, only to find it overflowing with patients. Siddiq yells at Dante for not telling him sooner about the bug spreading, and orders him to prepare some herbal medications.

Before crossing the border, Daryl tells Carol not to leave tracks or kill walkers, since the Whisperers will know they were there if they do. He also tells her that if things go wrong, they will head back immediately, to which she agrees.

Negan goes to eat his share of the hunted boar, but Beta bars him from doing so, telling him that only those that have earned the right to walk among them may eat. When Negan complains, Beta violently tosses him to the ground. Negan begrudgingly accepts the status quo, and sits down with a Whisperer, who offers him a piece of pork, much to Beta's dismay.

Eugene is still searching through the channels for people, when he suddenly gets a reply from an unknown woman, much to his shock.

Daryl and Carol observe the Whisperer herd from some shrubbery. Daryl signals Carol to retreat, but she ignores him. She then accidentally steps on a branch, which alerts the walkers and the Whisperer corralling them to their location.

Both Eugene and the woman express joy and disbelief at having finally made contact with someone. For introduction, Eugene asks about the woman's location, how many people she has, how long they've been out there, and if they should continue saying "over". The woman says that they don't have to keep saying "over", but doesn't feel comfortable sharing the other information just yet. She then suggests they talk about their lives before the apocalypse, to which she agrees. They both reveal where they're from, while Eugene also reveals that he visited the woman's home town in his adolescence.

Daryl gets into a struggle with a walker, but manages to snap it's neck. He then disembowels it and smears its guts over himself, camouflaging himself from the rest of the herd. He then hears a Whisperer say "over here".

Siddiq comforts Cheryl and apologizes to Dante for yelling at him, which the latter understands. He then checks up on Rosita and holds Coco. He begins to drift off to sleep, when he has another PTSD flashback. When he wakes up, he is standing at the bottom of the windmill, still holding Coco.

Negan is walking with Beta and the other Whisperers in a herd. When Negan attempts to make friendly conversation with Beta, the latter stops and tells him that he will never be one of them, since he is too loud, too weak, and too full of ego. Negan tells him that he is here for Alpha and not him, and that he isn't going anywhere. Beta agrees, and proceeds to kill a fellow Whisperer, leaving no one to keep the walkers away from Negan. Negan is quickly surrounded.

Daryl meets up with Carol and discovers that she has taken a Whisperer hostage. Carol claims that she didn't have a choice, as the Whisperer spotted her, and suggests interrogating him. Daryl asks if she planned this, but Carol denies the accusation. When she pulls the Whisperer up, Daryl notices that he is ziptied, and wonders where Carol got the zipties since they weren't in her bag. Carol supposes Daryl missed them.

After talking all night with the woman, Eugene inquires about discussing more important questions regarding their respective communities, but the woman still isn't comfortable sharing this information. Eugene then suggests he reveals information first, since he feels that she is a good person, despite her warnings that she could be a threat to him, too. He introduces himself as "Eugene Hermann Porter", and proposes they continue their conversations. The woman agrees, but tells him to keep them a secret for now. She says that she wants to trust him, but warns that if she hears anyone else, he won't hear from her again.

Beta arrives back at camp to tell Alpha that Negan didn't make it, but their conversation is cut short by Negan himself, who is revealed to have survived. Negan introduces himself to Alpha and offers his services.

Co-Stars

 * Rebecca Koon as Cheryl

Uncredited

 * Seven as Dog
 * Marvin Lee as Kyle
 * Unknown as Socorro Espinosa
 * Mario Williams as Alexandria Resident
 * Jon Arthur as Alexandria Resident
 * Chris Hodge as Alexandria Resident
 * Tonya Lee as Alexandria Resident
 * Chuck Hollywood as Alexandria Resident
 * Laura L. Anderson Weber as Alexandria Resident
 * Dani Lyman as Alexandria Resident
 * Shellane Demarest as Alexandria Resident
 * Jack Orrell as Alexandria Resident
 * Bruce Greene as Highwayman

Deaths

 * 1 unnamed Whisperer
 * 1 boar

Trivia

 * First appearance of Cheryl.
 * This episode was made available for streaming to subscribers of AMC Premiere on November 8, 2019.
 * Eugene reveals his middle name to be "Hermann" to the radio woman.
 * Daryl uses the walker guts trick to avoid detection when surrounded by a herd.
 * The bug that Rosita caught is revealed to be spreading, as there are more than a dozen sick Alexandrians now, lending further credence to the theory that the infection is a result of the Whisperers contaminating Alexandria's water supply.
 * Siddiq's PTSD appears to be getting worse, as he is shown to blacking out during his episodes and waking up in completely different locations.
 * Carol captures a Whisperer that she plans on interrogating.
 * Negan attempts to prove himself to the Whisperers in order to join them. While Beta does his best to hinder him, even attempting to get him killed, Negan survives and seemingly impresses Alpha.
 * This episode marks the first time in The Walking Dead that two characters classified as major recurring primary antagonists have interacted with each other; Negan and "Alpha".
 * The method the Whisperers and Negan used to cook the boar is called “pachamanca”, a method used in Peru that dates back to the Inca Empire. “Pacha” means “Earth” and “mania” means “pot”.

Comic Parallels

 * Eugene making contact with the radio woman is adapted from Issue 151.
 * Eugene and the radio woman agreeing to keep their conversations a secret is adapted from Issue 152.
 * Negan wanting to join the Whisperers is adapted from Issue 154.
 * Beta telling Negan he is too loud is adapted from Issue 154.
 * Beta saying that he finds Alpha attractive is adapted from similar scenes in Issue 155, where he flirts with her.
 * Beta kneeling to Alpha after being asked if he is finally challenging her is adapted from Issue 156.
 * Negan doing various chores around the Whisperer camp to prove himself is adapted from Issue 156.
 * Beta carrying two walker corpses is a nod to a similar scene in Issue 156, where Negan does the same thing.
 * Negan being attacked by walkers and surviving while attempting to prove himself is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 156.
 * Negan kneeling to Alpha is adapted from Issue 156.