| “ | Please. The Commonwealth is built on buying into bullshit. The desperate need to believe that the ol' American dream is still real. You know, "Anything is possible!" "We... We could rise above our station!" It's a friggin' joke. The reality is that the poor stay poor so that the rich can do whatever the hell we want. The game is rigged. There are no bootstraps to pull up. Christ, my mom hand-picks the lottery winners. And none of it matters. And nothing will ever change. But those people that you think want "honesty"? Yeah, they're just too stupid to see it.
―Sebastian's honest thoughts on the Commonwealth, secretly recorded by Max and played publicly by Eugene, that lead to the riots which result in the massacre.[src]
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The Founder's Day Massacre was a major event that took place during the eleventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead.
History[]
As the fair is ending, some cleaning crew members are finishing up and enter a gated-off area. One of them comments about how they set the whole thing up and take it all down each year without being able to see the event. Another cleaner jokes that it won't matter when he hears his lottery number called, as he promises to forget all about his colleagues. They laugh as Shira and Calhoun enter. The cleaning crew asks if they can help them, and without saying a word, Shira and Calhoun take out their silenced guns and kill all the cleaning crew members. They walk away with no one noticing what they did.
Max is in her office as she listens to Sebastian practice his speech. He complains some more to Pamela who answers that it'll be great. She hands Max some papers before going up to get changed. Seeing that she is alone with Sebastian, she gets an idea. She places down a tape recorder and plays it without Sebastian knowing. She pours some drinks and offers Sebastian one, which he accepts. Max asks if he's really going to do it and he answers he doesn't have much of a choice. Sebastian then goes on to say it was actually his brother that was supposed to be the next leader, but since he's gone, Sebastian has to be the one now. Max suggests that Sebastian could be more than that, but Sebastian just accuses Max of being his mother's lackey who is getting him to do whatever Pamela wants. Max reminds Sebastian that she doesn't just work for Pamela, but she's a citizen too. Max suggests that, rather than leadership being telling people Pamela's words, some truth might be the way to go which people respects. Sebastian gives Max his deeply cynical and entitled view of life in the Commonwealth which Max notes sounds like he believes it. However, Max suggests that Sebastian might just be choosing to be a spoiled asshole because "if everyone else expects it, who's left to disappoint." Max leaves and Sebastian appears to consider her words.
Daryl finds Judith in the church and goes to talk with her. She tells him she wasn't trying to worry him. Daryl understands that she just wanted to be alone and that he also had a spot where he went to be by himself, a river behind his house where he would stay and wait until his abusive father went to sleep. She says that sometimes being alone is good, with Daryl adding it gives you time to think. Daryl apologizes for scolding Judith earlier and says he doesn't know what he's doing but is trying is best, wishing things were the way she wanted to be. He says he'll hold on to the gun for a while and asks if they're good. Judith says they are, before the two get up to go say goodbye to their friends.
Pamela steps onto the stage and hands the mic to Sebastian to give his speech. There is a smattering of applause and many citizens visibly aren't expecting much. Sebastian steps forward and initially begins by reading off his script before suddenly stopping and starting to speak from, apparently, the heart. Sebastian acknowledges that he knows that the people don't like or trust him, and he probably deserves that, and it will take a very long road for Sebastian to earn their trust and live up to his legacy. Lacking the words to describe how much the Commonwealth means to him, Sebastian invites the Commonwealth to join him in listening to the wise words of President Milton, the founder of the Commonwealth. However, on Max's signal, Eugene instead plays on a loop Max's recording of Sebastian's cynical and entitled view of the Commonwealth and its people and his disgust for the poor. Sebastian completely loses it and runs off the stage after Max who runs away. The crowd turns on the Miltons and begin throwing things and trying to get onto the stage. The Commonwealth soldiers hold soldiers back, even having to resort to physical violence. Mercer tries to deescalate the situation and makes sure no one fires their weapon. Sebastian barges through the crowd going after Max as the chaos ensues.
Hornsby hears all the commotion from his cell when hears a whistle. He goes to the window and sees Shira and Calhoun signal to him that they got the job done. Hornsby nods in approval before grabbing his candy apple and taking a bite.
The angry crowd continues to be difficult. As Max is running away, she then sees the previously killed cleaning crew members now reanimated, causing panic amongst the citizens as they flee the scene. Sebastian continues to chase after Max. The walkers lunge at and bite many civilians along the way. Mercer radios all units to the square and order six soldiers to come with him. Pamela protests that Mercer is supposed to protect her, but he answers that he's supposed to protect the Commonwealth. Ezekiel, Carol, and Nabila flee the scene with the children. More civilians get killed by the walkers as Judith and Daryl try to escape. However, Daryl loses Judith in the crowd and calls out for her. Judith watches in horror as she sees one walker eating a body before approaching her. However, Daryl shoots him with Rick's revolver. Judith asks for the gun, saying the civilians need their help. Daryl complies, drawing his knives, and tells her they work together. Mercer walks through the crowd and kills the walkers, with Daryl and Judith doing the same.
Meanwhile, Sebastian finally catches Max and says she is nothing. He notices a walker approaching, pushes Max into it, and watches sadistically as she struggles with it. Eugene sees this and runs over to save Max, pushing the walker off her and into Sebastian. Sebastian falls to the ground with the walker on top of him, and frantically pleads for help. A crowd surrounds him as he continues to beg for his life. However, in a mix of fear and anger, nobody moves and everyone merely watches him struggle. Sebastian pushes the walker off and tries to escape, but it grabs him from behind. It bites him on the neck twice, with blood spewing out of Sebastian's mouth. Judith puts the walker down by shooting it in the head, as Sebastian chokes on his own blood before dying. Judith watches sadly next to Daryl as Sebastian's speech continues to play in the background on a loop.
Casualties[]
- Sebastian Milton (Alive)
- CW Cleaning Crew #1
- CW Cleaning Crew #2
- At least 14 unnamed Commonwealth residents
Result[]
- Eugene Porter and Max Mercer are hunted by the Commonwealth following the events of the massacre.
- Roman Calhoun is murdered after the massacre for his role, and Shira disappears.
Trivia[]
- This event features the first time Judith uses the Colt Python since shooting Beta in "Stalker".