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"Look at the Flowers" is the fourteenth episode of the tenth season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the one-hundred and forty-fifth episode of the series overall. It premiered on March 29, 2020. It was written by Channing Powell and directed by Daisy Mayer.

Plot[]

Heroes and villains reckon with the aftermath of the Hilltop fire. Meanwhile, Eugene takes a group on a journey to meet Stephanie, with the hopes of befriending another civilization.

Synopsis[]

In a flashback, Negan sits in his cell awaiting his sentence, having previously killed Margo, when Carol comes down to visit him. Surprised, Negan says that he thought Gabriel would be the one to give him his last rites. Carol asks if Negan wants forgiveness, but the latter denies this, joking about wanting a T-bone steak, some beer, and Rocky Road ice cream. Carol then offers a way for Negan to keep his life. Intrigued, Negan says that he wasn't aware Carol had a say on the Council, but the latter claims to be acting on her own. Negan, however, replies that he gathered that much, but doesn't understand why Carol would be talking to him instead of finding a way to kill Alpha, but Carol reveals that she is doing just that by talking to Negan. Impressed, Negan points out that Carol already missed her shot, and asks what happens if he fails as well, noting that it would endanger the life for every man, woman, and child in Alexandria, which he doesn't approve of. Carol simply replies that killing Alpha would help every man, woman, and child in Alexandria. Negan then asks what's in it for him, to which Carol notes that Negan has been politely receiving his punishment hoping the Alexandrians would one day forget what he did, but she claims that they won't, unless Negan does something to make them forget. If he kills Alpha, Carol vows to make sure the people remember him for that act instead of his crimes. Clearly interested, Negan asks for Carol's word, which she gives, provided Negan completes his mission quickly.

In present day, Carol places Alpha's reanimated head on one of the pikes marking the Whisperer border. Negan asks if this is what she wanted, to which Carol nods in approval. Negan then invites Carol to go back to Alexandria so she can tell everyone of what he did, but the latter angrily asks why it took him so long to kill Alpha. Offended at the question, Negan says that he wanted to escape with his head still attached, and points out that "shit like that takes time". Carol reminds him that their deal stipulated Negan had to kill Alpha quickly, but Negan still claims he held up his end of the deal, and now requires Carol to hold up hers. Carol then says that she is not going back to Alexandria yet. Frustrated, Negan points out that he will be killed on the spot if he goes back to Alexandria on his own, but Carol just suggests that he wait. When Negan asks how long, Carol tells him he is a free man now, and he can make his own choices. She says that she needs to be alone, and "shit like that takes time". She proceeds to walk away.

Elsewhere, Jerry and the other Hilltop survivors welcome Magna back. Eugene inspects Rosita's wounds and offers to fetch Alex, but Rosita thinks someone else can do that, and encourages Eugene to tell the others about Stephanie and his meeting. When he does so, the others bombard Eugene with questions, clearly uncomfortable about Eugene communicating with an outsider. Ezekiel jumps in and vouches for Eugene's instincts, inviting the others to at least hear him out. Continuing, Eugene delivers an emotional speech where he explains that he moved to Hilltop for a fresh start. Although he struggled for a while, his hard work paid off when he befriended Stephanie. While he acknowledges believing in future friends might be foolish, he exclaims that, after everything they've lost, he is willing to be the fool, and simply asks for others not to deride him, as he believes this potential alliance is worth the risk. Ezekiel nods in approval.

Outside, Yumiko finds Magna sitting on the porch, and offers Magna her horse, thinking that Magna would like to join Eugene on his adventure. To her surprise, however, Magna declines her offer, explaining that she likes being with the other survivors and that a routine has had a positive effect on her. She encourages Yumiko to go instead. While the latter is reluctant at first, she accepts when Magna tells her there is nothing for her to fix. Jerry, meanwhile, catches Ezekiel readying his horse, and tries to talk him out of it. Ezekiel asks if this is because he is sick, but Jerry replies that it's only because he will miss Ezekiel. Jerry, however, accepts that he can't stop a man from being foolish, to which Ezekiel replies "Or a man willing to believe in future friends". Jerry questions if this is Ezekiel's sole motivation, but the latter claims that it is enough for now. Ezekiel tells him that the Kingdom needs Jerry, and charges his former bodyguard with carrying on their legacy. Jerry accepts this, and nearly calls his former leader "boss", but stops himself and calls him Ezekiel instead. The two hug each other goodbye.

At the pike border, Beta and two other Whisperers discover Alpha's reanimated head. One of the Whisperers, Rufus, deduces that Negan killed her, and notes that this makes Beta the "Alpha" now. Enraged by his remark, Beta claims that Alpha can still hear him, before commanding Rufus to take off his mask. When the latter does so, Beta asks if Rufus can hear Alpha and what she is saying to him. When the unfortunate Whisperer fails to answer, Beta shoves him closer to Alpha. He continues doing so until Alpha bites Rufus, as the other Whisperer flees in terror. After finally relenting, Beta takes Alpha's head off the pike and takes her with him.

Meanwhile, Negan goes to the cabin where he imprisoned Lydia earlier so he could free her. Upon entering, however, he finds her missing and is greeted with a punch to the face from Daryl, who holds Negan at crossbow-point. Daryl interrogates Negan about Alpha's location, but when the latter reveals that he killed Alpha, Daryl doesn't believe him. As proof, Negan presents Alpha's mask, but Daryl isn't convinced. Negan claims that the only reason he joined the Whisperers was so he could kill Alpha, and rhetorically asks Daryl why he thinks his "girlfriend" let Negan out of his cell. Carol, meanwhile, is walking through the woods when she hears a ghostly voice whisper to her. Although Carol doesn't see anyone at first, this voice soon manifests into Alpha.

Elsewhere, Beta and Rufus are walking to an undisclosed location. Reeling from his infection, Rufus coughs, which attracts a nearby walker. Beta stands between Rufus and the walker in an attempt to shield his companion, but when the walker shows no signs of turning away, Rufus gets nervous and prepares to kill the undead assailant. Before he can, however, he is stabbed in the back by Beta, who then lets Rufus be devoured. Listening to what "Alpha" is telling him, Beta ventures inside a hotel. Upon entering, he finds a bar with a couple of dead survivors, musical instruments, and a note on the table saying "These 2 eyes see 1 truth". Upon further inspection, he sees his face on a poster promoting "Half Moon", the country singer. Confronted by his past identity, Beta is horrified, and takes out his frustrations on a nearby guitar, smashing it.

Meanwhile, Carol continues her trek as Alpha's ghost taunts her, telling her that she is lost like her "boy", whom she sent away. As a result, Alpha claims, Henry died alone and afraid, just like Sophia. When Carol turns to confront her, Alpha vanishes, only to reappear right in front of her. Alpha warns her that Carol can't kill her unless she kills herself. She goes on to say that she respects Carol for what she did as, even though Negan was the one that slit her throat, it was effectively Carol who ended her life, "like a true "Alpha"". When Carol tells her to stop, Alpha surmises that Carol feels guilty and regrets what she did as people were hurt because of her vengeful motives, even though she can't take it back and her friends won't accept what she's done. Alpha suggests they might if Carol says she's sorry, but proceeds to taunt her by mimicking Lizzie's last words. Alpha then points out Carol tried being on her own before, but "they" have always pulled her back. She repeatedly invites Carol to admit what she truly wants. At this point, Carol is attacked by a walker, but manages to kill it. Upset, she tells Alpha that she wants to be alone, but Alpha doesn't think this is what she truly wants.

As their expedition travels down the road, Eugene wonders if Stephanie's group has candy, reminiscing about his mother, who used to buy him chocolate bunnies on Easter. Yumiko hopes that Eugene didn't take them on a journey so they can find chocolate bunnies, but the latter claims their journey is for the future hope of mankind, although candy would be nice. Eugene notes Ezekiel is in a foul mood, so offers to cheer him up, but the latter declines. The trio stumble upon a couple of caged walkers. Yumiko wonders if the Whisperers did this, but Eugene points out it's not their modus operandi. Yumiko suggests they take a few moments to investigate, in case the walkers are a warning. Ezekiel rides out into a clearing, where he dismounts to put down three walkers. He quickly tires out after killing the first two, however, and barely manages to kill the third one. He takes a moment to rest, before Yumiko calls him back.

Meanwhile Daryl escorts a tied up Negan through the woods. Negan says that he understands that Daryl is upset because Carol didn't let him in on the plan. Daryl, however, suggests that he might be angry because of Hilltop, as he claims Negan's actions almost cost the lives of a number of children. Before Negan can reply, Daryl tells him to keep walking.

At the abandoned hotel, Beta inspects a recording of one of his concerts. After some pondering, he puts it inside the record player. The music attracts the nearby walkers. Carol, meanwhile, arrives at a fishing shack, as Alpha questions if Carol's plan is to sail away downriver. Alpha insults her by claiming Ed was right about her, calling Carol a "brainless clam". She reminds Carol that there was no peace for her on the ocean, as she never stopped thinking about Alpha, and even wrote a letter to Maggie about her. Carol tries to ignore her as she struggles to free the kayak from the rafters, but when Alpha insults her once more, the roof collapses, trapping Carol underneath. Alpha then dubs Carol a "stupid cooze".

Meanwhile, Negan and Daryl have finally arrived to the pike border, only to find Alpha's head missing. Negan suggests they wait for Carol, but Daryl points his crossbow at Negan, ready to execute him. Negan claims that he would never hurt Lydia, and the only reason he kidnapped her in the first place was to keep her safe and lure Alpha away so he could kill her. When Daryl sarcastically says Negan took his "sweet-ass time", the latter is annoyed, and explains that it took so long because he needed to earn Alpha's trust, because he wasn't on "some half-cocked suicide mission", but Daryl retorts that it was because Negan liked it. Before anything can happen, the pair are confronted by three Whisperers, one of which holds Daryl at gunpoint with Alpha's shotgun. As Daryl surrenders, the shotgun-wielding Whisperer notes that Alpha is dead because of Negan, so he and the other Whisperers pledge allegiance to him and kneel before him as the "new Alpha", much to Negan's amusement.

From the hotel balcony, Beta observes the herd that has now gathered because of his music. He tearfully rips off the part of his mask that Mary had damaged earlier. Meanwhile, Negan apologizes to Daryl, clarifying that he is just savoring the moment and taking his "sweet-ass time". Before they continue, Negan addresses the other Whisperers and asks why one of them, who is not the Alpha, is holding a shotgun instead of Negan, to which the said Whisperer quickly hands Negan the weapon. Negan jokes about the shotgun being like a baby that can kill people by spitting bullets at them, before ordering Daryl to kneel before the "Alpha". When Daryl complies, Negan admits that Daryl was right, as he did "like it" and, in fact, likes it a lot. As Negan holds Daryl at gunpoint, the latter coldly says that Negan should probably shoot him. Negan jokingly tells Daryl not to threaten him with a good time, before turning the gun on the Whisperer that handed it to him in the first place. Negan shoots the Whisperer in the head, and kills the other two as well. Witnessing this, Daryl simply tells Negan to untie him, while dubbing the latter an "asshole".

Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Eugene camp out under an overpass, when Ezekiel's horse suddenly collapses. Ezekiel rushes over to see what's wrong, and discovers a bite wound that his horse had sustained while Ezekiel was fighting walkers earlier. Ezekiel mournfully comforts it, before putting the unfortunate animal down. Devastated, Ezekiel says that he shouldn't have come, but Yumiko tells him it was just an accident. Ezekiel requests his companions leave him behind if he falls, but Yumiko refuses. Ezekiel states that his horse wasn't strong enough to make the journey, and he might not be either. He claims to be okay with that, but is not okay with putting them at risk. When Yumiko asks if he wants to turn back because of what might happen, Ezekiel replies that it's for the best. Yumiko exclaims that they don't know what lies ahead. She reminisces about all the plans she had, but in the end, no one really cared, so she is here now to find out what's possible, what none of them could predict or imagine. She tells Ezekiel that they need a man who built a Kingdom in the apocalypse.

As morning comes, Carol is still struggling to escape the debris she is trapped under, as a lone walker crawls towards the shack. Alpha taunts Carol about her impending doom, and insists that Carol always knew how this would end. Alpha gloats that no one is coming to save Carol, including Ezekiel and especially Daryl after what she did to Connie. Alpha further taunts Carol with all the people she lost, including Sophia, Lizzie, Mika, Henry, and Ezekiel, and claims that, should Carol go back, Daryl could be next. Carol denies she would ever let that happen, but Alpha says that her track record does not inspire confidence. As the walker comes closer and closer to squeezing through the planks it got stuck on, Alpha encourages Carol to "do what she knows she has to", and uses the fact that Carol chose Alpha as her inner voice as proof, since she gets the job done. As Carol continues to deny she wants to die, Alpha tells her to "look at the flowers, like you're supposed to". Just as the walker breaks through, Carol manages to free herself and kill it. Collapsing on the ground from exhaustion, Carol tells Alpha "it's never too late", which causes her hallucination to finally disappear. Meanwhile, Eugene, Yumiko, and Ezekiel arrive to the outskirts of an abandoned city.

As Negan and Daryl wait for Carol to return, Negan says that he doesn't believe Carol is coming back. Negan goes on to say that, when he claimed he "liked it", he wasn't lying, but Daryl says that he knows. Negan explains that he lost everything after he was imprisoned, and his incarceration had been hard on him, so he admits that, when Alpha took him in, it was nice to feel like he was respected and mattered again. Negan, however, claims that Alpha took it too far, since "you don't kill people that don't deserve it and you never kill kids". Daryl sarcastically asks if that is supposed to make him like Negan, but the latter denies this, although he jokingly asks if his winning personality will be enough. Fed up with waiting, Daryl finally decides to head back for Alexandria with Negan. Carol does eventually return to Alexandria, and Daryl welcomes her at the gate, although the two don't say a word to each other.

As they ride through the empty city, Yumiko wonders how improbable it is that the city is so deserted. They start seeing walkers in various outfits tied to furniture and vehicles, in a way that makes it seem like the walkers are doing everyday activities they might have been doing before the outbreak. When Ezekiel sees a walker handcuffed to a steering wheel in a vehicle, and a police officer walker chained to the hood of said vehicle, he starts laughing hysterically. When the trio enter an alley, they are suddenly confronted by a flamboyantly dressed, machine gun-wielding survivor, who enthusiastically greets them.

Back at the hotel, Beta unfolds and reads the "These 2 eyes see 1 truth" note again. He then takes Alpha's head out of the sack and thanks her, saying that he "finally sees now". With that, he finally puts Alpha down. With the amassed walkers still trying to get inside, Beta opens the door and enters the herd. Having repaired his mask once more with a piece of Alpha's face, Beta leads the herd forward.

Other Cast[]

Co-Stars[]

Uncredited[]

Deaths[]

Trivia[]

  • First appearance of Juanita Sanchez.
  • First (and last) appearance of Rufus.
  • The title of the episode, "Look at the Flowers", is a callback to Carol's last words to Lizzie Samuels before shooting her in "The Grove".
    • As this is the fourteenth episode of Season 10, Carol also states this in the fourteenth episode of Season 4.
    • It is also a reference to Alpha telling Carol to "just look at the flowers, like you're supposed to" while urging Carol to allow a walker to kill her.
    • Alpha's line "I'm sorry you're mad at me. Please don't be mad at me. I'm sorry!" is a reference to Lizzie's last words before Carol killed her.
    • The gun that Carol had tried to kill Alpha with in "Ghosts", a .38 Colt Detective Special, is the same gun that Carol had killed Lizzie with.
  • This episode marks Christian Serratos' 75th appearance on the TV Series.
  • Following her character's departure in the previous episode, Danai Gurira (Michonne Grimes) has been removed from the opening credits.
  • This episode was made available for streaming to subscribers of AMC Premiere on March 27, 2020.
  • It is revealed that Carol and Negan's deal was that he would bring Carol Alpha's severed head and she would help him make a new life amongst the communities.
  • Carol places Alpha's severed head on a pike at the border like she did to the pike victims in "The Calm Before".
  • A poster at the abandoned Grand Hotel identifies Beta as a famous musician going by the stage name "Half Moon", who appears to have had a history with the hotel.
    • According to the poster, Half Moon was called both "the most prolific recording artist of our lifetime" and a "true American genius".
  • Jerry calls Ezekiel by name for once which clearly shocks him.
  • This episode marks the first time walkers caused the death of an animal, namely Ezekiel's horse, via infection rather than devouring them.
  • The Talking Dead for the episode, again done through video conferencing, covered both "Look at the Flowers" and "Walk With Us" which had no Talking Dead due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comic Parallels[]

  • Beta discovering Alpha's reanimated head is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 157, where he discovers her headless body instead.
  • Rufus declaring Beta the new Alpha and Beta punishing him for it is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 157, where a Whisperer asks if Beta is Alpha now, which Beta vocally denies.
  • Three Whisperers kneeling to Negan as the new Alpha is a nod to a scene in Issue 157, where some Whisperers wonder why Negan isn't around to claim his title after they discover Alpha's body.
  • Eugene leading an expedition to meet Stephanie is adapted from Issue 170.
  • Eugene's group meeting Princess is adapted from Issue 171.

Episode Highlights[]

TBA

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