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"Acts of God" is the sixteenth episode and second-part finale of the eleventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the one-hundred and sixty-ninth episode of the series overall. It premiered on April 10, 2022. It was written by Nicole Mirante-Matthews and directed by Catriona McKenzie.[1][2]

Plot[]

Maggie prepares to defend Hilltop and the people of Riverbend against Hornsby. Meanwhile, Hornsby hires Leah to kill her.

Synopsis[]

An angry Lance Hornsby is shown walking away from Hilltop and stepping in the blood of someone's corpse. He looks up and sees a swarm of locusts above.

19 hours before this, Maggie, Hershel, Elijah, and Marco are leaving Hilltop to go to a former Whisperer hideout where the Riverbend residents are staying. Hershel is reluctant to leave, but Maggie assures it's only temporary. Meanwhile, Hornsby, with his troopers, flips his father's lucky coin. He asks trooper Romano to call it and he calls tails. Hornsby splits the soldiers up into two groups. Romano asks if he's going to give 'the assignment,' to which Hornsby says he'll know soon enough.

Back at the Commonwealth, Max is reading a book, thinking Eugene is still asleep. He wishes her a good morning, which startles her. Eugene compliments her, saying she's the most remarkable human he's ever met, and they proceed to kiss. Max starts to get ready for work. Eugene notices Max is having reservations about his request, though she states she will do it, although she's afraid of what happens after.

Daryl, Gabriel, and Aaron are part of Romano's group, who are scouting a large house. Daryl kills a walker as Romano gets attacked by another one. Romano struggles with the walker, whom he has punched through the torso and into the wall. Daryl feigns not noticing, keeping his walker pinned to the wall with his bayonet. After Romano breaks free and kills it, he is radioed by Hornsby regarding their status. Romano replies that they have cleared their second location and will be heading towards the final spot. Daryl, Gabriel, and Aaron secretly discuss a plan for making a break from the group of troopers.

Maggie, Hershel, Elijah, and Marco approach the hideout. Elijah and Marco notice a swarm of locusts, the latter stating it's getting close. Maggie promises Hershel that taking him to the hideout is the right choice for right now since it will keep him safe. They meet up with Lydia, who takes them there.

Meanwhile, Hornsby is with the second group of soldiers, including the newly recruited Leah who he has hired to kill Maggie. She gears up for the mission and ignores Hornsby's attempts at conversation. Leah looks up to see the same swarm of locusts and chuckles. Hornsby tells her that he needs to see Maggie dead and hands her a radio. Leah takes the soldiers to hunt her down as Hornsby watches from behind.

Maggie's group arrives at the hideout. Lydia gives the secret knock, but has trouble with the door. Marco gestures to Elijah to help her, knowing his feelings for her. The two get the door open, revealing all the residents in the hideout, including Negan and Annie. Maggie, Negan, and Annie have a chat, with Maggie wanting Negan and Annie to watch over Hershel. However, Negan wants to join the fight to protect Annie. Maggie refuses and wants them to stay with Hershel and the others and keep them safe. Negan states that Hershel doesn't trust him, but Maggie says that she is starting to, seeing how he saved Hershel at Riverbend. Negan declares that Maggie has "big balls" and he will look out for her boy. The three look up, watching the locust swarm, with Negan declaring it is a sign from God.

Hornsby radios Romano's group and gives them coded orders to execute Daryl, Gabriel, and Aaron. Daryl leads the way to a junkyard, where the soldiers begin to circle around the three of them. They realize it is an ambush and nod at each other. Daryl fires the first shot and a battle ensues, with Gabriel and Aaron being wounded. Daryl manages to sneak up on Romano and knock him down. He takes his gun and throws it to Aaron, who gets a kill. Gabriel sneaks up on an approaching soldier and manages to get his gun too. The three manage to take out the rest of the soldiers as walkers approach. Romano, who had his face bashed by Daryl, attempts to crawl away. However, Daryl grabs him from behind and interrogates him on Hornsby's location. He initially refuses, but he's horrified when he sees walkers approach and is given the choice between a quick death or a cruel death being devoured. Romano gives in and tells Daryl he's about 10 miles out, before Daryl shoots him in the head. Hornsby tries to radio Romano, but Daryl answers instead and tells him he isn't here anymore. A horrified Hornsby tells the soldiers to move.

Pamela is reciting a speech she's going to give at an upcoming dinner. She notices that Max looks troubled and asks if everything is okay. Max assures her that she is fine, but Pamela tries to get her to open up more. Max tells her that the Founders Day budget has a surplus and that she'd like to start a scholarship fund for less fortunate families, to see if Pamela is truly a good person. However, Pamela turns down the idea, saying it will be reinvested into the event. Pamela leaves for the dinner, with Max saying she'll follow shortly. However, she stays back to search for evidence against the Miltons to take them down.

At Hilltop, Maggie, Elijah, Lydia, and Marco gear up for battle and set up a bunch of explosives in the main building. Max, still in Pamela's office, finds some incriminating files. Just then, a drunken Sebastian enters and asks where his mother is, saying he's trying to reach her but is getting no response. He is angered by his mom not taking the time to talk to him. He then says Max never stops working and accidentally knocks down the file folder from Max's hands. The two grab for it at the same time as Sebastian stares intensely at her for a few seconds, as if suspecting her. However, he eventually lets go and leaves, much to Max's relief.

Back at Hilltop, Leah's group of soldiers enter the building, searching for Maggie's group. However, three of Leah's men set off a booby trap, causing an explosion that kills all the soldiers inside. Maggie, Elijah, Lydia, and Marco watch from outside. They realize Hornsby wasn't with them and they plan to follow the soldiers' tracks back to Hornsby's camp to take him out once and for all. When they all stand up, Marco is suddenly shot in the head by Leah, who emerges from the building, having survived the explosion. The three of them run as Leah follows. Eventually, Hornsby's group arrives at Hilltop to see the aftermath. The scene at the very start of the episode is shown, with the corpse Hornsby was standing near being revealed to be Marco. Hornsby angrily radios Leah, saying she got his men killed. An unrepentant Leah simply tells him that she drew them out and that she's doing this her way. Hornsby angrily states that Leah's way got his men killed, but Leah calls it collateral damage and discards her radio. A Commonwealth soldier states they will find Maggie's group and an unhinged Hornsby tells him they'd better.

Daryl, Gabriel, and Aaron are walking through the woods when they notice some traps. Gabriel finds an object that belongs to Leah and Daryl realizes she is back. The three of them decide to split up to cover more ground. Meanwhile, Maggie, Elijah, and Lydia are taking out walkers. Maggie tells the two of them to get back to the hideout while she leads Leah away.

At the Commonwealth, Connie, Kelly, Magna, Eugene, and Max are in a room reviewing the files Max retrieved. They try to figure out what is truly going on behind the scenes and plan to have Connie write an article exposing the Miltons. Connie plans on writing about Sebastian's heist and pin it on Pamela. Someone knocks at the door; everyone scrambles to hide the papers, but Magna stops them and reveals it's Ezekiel, who she invited to help. The all look at each other and agree that they have to do this for the good of everyone.

In the woods, Maggie is walking alone as she goes to kill a walker as quietly as possible. She looks around and suddenly spots Leah nearby. They engage in a gun fight and Maggie gets a hit on her leg. Maggie approaches quietly, but Leah surprises her and knocks her out. Leah takes Maggie back to her old cabin, where she ties her up to a chair. Maggie wakes up and it is now morning. Leah sits in front of her, pointing a gun at her. Maggie tries to stall for time as she tries to untie herself, so she tells Leah she understands what she is going through. Maggie tells her that killing her won't make her feel better, but Leah says she is wrong. She is going to kill everyone she loves, while keeping her alive to witness it. In the woods, Hornsby's group are looking for Leah and Maggie. Hornsby finds a bloody cloth on a tree and they keep moving forward. Maggie continues to distract Leah. She finally gets free and kicks Leah's gun out of her hand. The two women engage in a brutal fight, with Maggie grabbing one of Leah's knives to attack her. She manages to cut her abdomen, but eventually Leah manages to get the upper hand. Leah pins Maggie to the floor and beats her. She then takes a knife and tries to stab her in the chest. Just before Leah can kill her, someone shoots Leah from behind, killing her. It is revealed to be Daryl, who is relatively unemotional about having to kill his former lover. Daryl looks out the window and sees that Hornsby's group have found them. He aims at Hornsby through the glass and shoots, prompting the soldiers to fire. Daryl and Maggie flee the scene. The bullet had only grazed Hornsby's cheek. He angrily enters the cabin to see a dead Leah. He declares that now they will take it all.

Maggie and Daryl reunite with Aaron and Gabriel as they walk through the woods, looking around for any danger. At the hideout, Negan helps Hershel climb, but he angrily shoves him away and goes to Annie. In the office, Max puts back the files she took to avoid any suspicion. She sits down at her desk just as Pamela angrily enters and places down a newspaper with an article headlined "Pamela Milton is lying to you." Hornsby's soldiers take over Alexandria and Hilltop, putting banners to signify their territory. At Oceanside, they take all of the residents captive. Hornsby watches as all the residents are lined up. He smiles as he flips his coin to decide the fate of the Oceansiders.

Other Cast[]

Co-Stars[]

Uncredited[]

Deaths[]

Trivia[]

  • Last appearance of Phillips.
  • Last appearance of McHugh.
  • Last appearance of Romano.
  • Last appearance of Sorensen.
  • Last appearance of Marco. (Alive)
  • Last appearance of Leah Shaw. (Alive)
    • With Leah's death, all of the Reapers are now dead.
  • Last appearance of Oceanside.
  • Last appearance of Rachel Ward.
    • As of this episode, Lydia is now the only named teenager who is confirmed to still be alive.
  • The title of the episode, "Acts of God", refers to the swarm of locusts seen throughout the episode.
  • This episode was made available for streaming to subscribers of AMC Premiere on April 3, 2022.
  • The original plot summary for the episode was as follows: In the very last mid-season finale for The Walking Dead, our heroes are trapped in situations beyond their control. Everyone they've worked so hard to protect is at risk as danger baits them at every turn. All is at stake. Now, they must decide who and what are worth saving. Each decision comes with its own deadly ramifications. Meanwhile, Eugene and Max's relationship deepens, but so does the trouble that is brewing inside the Commonwealth.[2]
  • Gustavo Gomez (Marco) celebrated his birthday during the filming of this episode.[3]

Comic Parallels[]

  • Leah's death is somewhat similar to Dwight's death in Issue 186. Both of them are shot in the head by someone that they (at some point) trusted above others (Daryl for Leah, Rick for Dwight) and were shot in a way in which they never saw their killers (Leah through the back of the head, Dwight through the side).

Episode Highlights[]

References[]

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