Hostiles and Calamities

"Hostiles and Calamities" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the ninety-fourth episode of the series overall. It premiered on February 26, 2017, at 9/8c on AMC, and on February 27, 2017, at 9pm on Fox.

Plot
An Alexandrian discovers that he must navigate the mysterious, confusing and horrifying world within the Saviors' Sanctuary.

Synopsis
At the Sanctuary, a group of Saviors discovers Fat Joey’s body in the bike lot where Daryl killed him. Dwight forces his way to the front of the crowd and immediately notices a missing motorcycle. He panics and runs through the halls of the Sanctuary, until he arrives at Daryl’s empty cell. It’s moments after his escape.

Dwight grabs his walkie from his apartment and spots Daryl’s prison clothes on the floor. He finds the note that Daryl received from his liberator and studies it: “Go now.”

Negan returns to the compound with his new prisoner, Eugene, who shakes with terror as Laura, a female Savior, walks him deep into the bowels of the Sanctuary. She stops their march and opens a door. Eugene is surprised to see she’s taken him to a private apartment, meant for him. As he explores his new digs, Laura reveals that Daryl has escaped. She asks Eugene if he has any leads to his whereabouts; Eugene tells her that he doesn’t and assures her, with sincerity, that he’d tell her if he did. Eugene continues inspecting his new commodities; he is delighted to find the fridge stocked with food and to learn that Laura can get him a meal of his choosing: he first asks for lobster, much to Laura's incredulity, then asks for canned pasta in tomato sauce. He’s disappointed to learn that they’re out of pickles.

Dwight sits in his room, examining the handwriting on the scrap of paper, “Go now.” Saviors barge in and start to beat him savagely as Negan watches from the doorway.

Dwight sits in Daryl’s dark cell, terrified. Negan informs him that Sherry ran away and wonders if she helped Daryl escape. Dwight defends Sherry. Negan continues hypothesizing and questions whether Dwight changed his stripes and helped Daryl himself; he then orders Dwight to find Sherry and bring her back.

In the infirmary, Dr. Carson stitches Dwight’s wounds and remarks that Sherry was soft and probably helped Daryl escape.

In a flash-forward, Dwight looks at a photo of himself and Sherry in happier times.

Back in the present, Dwight retrieves his backpack from his apartment. He grabs a carton of cigarettes from a hiding spot. Inside the carton is a cigarette stained with Sherry’s lipstick.

Dwight leaves the compound on a motorcycle.

Laura shows Eugene around the factory floor and explains the Saviors’ point system, which he’s exempt from; he can take whatever he wants. She gifts him a jar of pickles.

Outside, by the Sanctuary fence-line, Negan orders that Simon go lead a search party to Alexandria to search for Daryl. Eugene is brought before him and is given an intimidating introduction. When asked for his name, Eugene responds with “Eugene.” Negan then prompts the Saviors for their names and they respond in unison: “Negan.” Negan terrifies Eugene by showing him the damage done to Lucille by his home made bullet. Negan grills Eugene about his credentials, asking if he is a "smarty pants". Scared, Eugene falls back on an old lie that he told Abraham and claims he has multiple PhDs and was part of the Human Genome Project. Negan asks Eugene for advice on how to prevent his fence-line walkers from deteriorating. Eugene impresses Negan with his proposed solution: covering them in a shell of liquefied metal that will make the walkers indestructible once it dries. As a reward for his ingenuity, Negan offers to send several of his wives to Eugene’s apartment. He also nicknames him "Dr Smarty Pants."

Eugene plays video games while three of Negan’s wives watch. Tanya and Frankie sit next to him, while Amber sits away from the group, drinking. During conversation, Tanya jokingly asks if Eugene knows how to make a bomb. Eugene lists the ingredients he would need to make one.

Eugene walks outside with Amber, Tanya and Frankie. He mixes ingredients and ignites a balloon filled with hydrogen. The wives clap giddily.

Dwight rides his motorcycle through a dead suburb; he parks in front of an abandoned house and enters. He looks for Sherry in their old home, where they agreed to rendezvous if they ever got separated. He gazes at the photo of himself and Sherry in happier times. He finds a farewell note from Sherry, along with her wedding rings. She admits to freeing Daryl and apologizes for forcing Dwight into Negan’s world. Dwight is shaken with emotion; he places the rings in his cigarette carton.

Tanya and Frankie visit Eugene, seeking his help; they explain that Amber wants to commit suicide and ask if he can make some pills for her. Eugene reluctantly agrees.

Eugene uses his position of power to cut in line in the marketplace and orders cold capsules. He also takes an unusual looking toy which he seems to like which he calls a "grimbly gunk". He goes back to his apartment and makes the pills.

Dr. Carson treats Dwight’s wounds. Dwight tells him that he found Sherry caught up in walker trouble and killed her.

Laura escorts Eugene to the factory floor, where a crowd has gathered around the furnace. Negan enters and points Lucille directly at Eugene. “You are gonna wanna pay close attention to this,” he says.

Negan turns and whacks Lucille against Dr. Carson’s shoulder. Negan accuses Dr. Carson of helping Daryl escape in order to impress Sherry. He shows Dr. Carson a note from Sherry, which Dwight clipped from her farewell letter and planted in Dr. Carson’s desk. “Goodbye. -- Honey,” it reads. Dr. Carson accuses Dwight of lying, but he quickly folds and falsely confesses when Negan threatens him with the iron.

Negan stares intently at Eugene before he grabs Dr. Carson and throws him face-first into the furnace. Negan puts his arm around Dwight, saying “Good thing we have a spare Dr. Carson.”

Frankie and Tanya visit Eugene in his apartment. He correctly guesses that the pills are for Negan, not Amber, and refuses to hand them over. Tanya calls him a coward and they leave.

Negan pays Eugene a visit. He tells Eugene that he doesn’t make his invitation lightly and explains that he doesn’t need to be scared anymore. Negan asks Eugene “Who are –” but before he finishes the question, Eugene seemingly betrays his former friends by responding "I'm Negan"

Eugene, dressed in a dressing gown and eating pickles, oversees workers at the Sanctuary fence-line as they execute his plan to fortify the walkers with molten metal. Dwight joins Eugene on the upper stairway. Dwight asks him if he’s on board; Eugene assures him that he is. After trying to apologise for biting his groin there is a name exchange, Eugene ends his introduction with, “We are Negan.” To this, Dwight reluctantly replies "...yeah."

Co-Stars

 * Lindsley Register as Laura
 * Mike Seal as Gary
 * Martinez as David
 * Tim Parati as Emmett Carson
 * Autumn Dial as Amber
 * Chloe Aktas as Tanya
 * Elyse Nicole DuFour as Frankie
 * Gina Stewart as Vendor
 * Tyshon Freeman as Worker

Uncredited

 * Christine Evangelista as Sherry (Voice Only)
 * Unknown as Keno
 * Josh Turner as TKO
 * Skylar Felton as Jackson Wallace
 * Dan Scott as Dan

Deaths

 * Emmett Carson

Trivia

 * First appearance of Dan.
 * Last appearance of Joseph (Corpse).
 * Last appearance of Emmett Carson.
 * This episode is 68 minutes long, according to AMC's schedule. The airtime, however, lasted 69 minutes.
 * The title of this episode comes from Eugene explaining that pouring molten metal on the heads of the defense walkers outside the Sanctuary would protect them against head trauma from "hostiles and calamities".
 * This is the ninth extended episode this season, and the fifteenth extended episode overall.
 * This episode takes place between the events of "Hearts Still Beating" and "Rock in the Road".
 * This is the 15th episode that does not feature Rick.
 * This episode reveals that Sherry was the one who freed Daryl in "Hearts Still Beating".
 * Eugene's lie about being apart of the Human Genome Project and knowing T. Brooks Ellis from "No Sanctuary" and "Self Help" is used again in this episode.
 * The song that is played during Eugene making the toxic pills is called Everything Right is Wrong Again by They Might Be Giants.
 * This is the first episode of the show to not feature a single zombie death.
 * According to Talking Dead, the TV screen in the scenes where Eugene plays video games is pre-recored. Josh McDermitt only needed to move his hand to sync with what was on the screen.
 * Eugene told Frankie: "Pump your brakes, Red". He said the exact same words to Abraham in "Twice As Far".

Goofs/Errors

 * In "Hearts Still Beating", Fat Joey's corpse could be seen facing the motorbikes. But in this episode, he seems to be facing in the opposite direction, with no motorbikes nowhere to be seen.