‘The Walking Dead’ Season 10, Episode 6 ‘Bonds’ Review: Sickness, Stakeouts, and Assimilation

Alright, alright. Things are finally starting to clear out for me on tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead.

Last week was an intense character buildup for Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) that left his fate with Beta (Ryan Hurst) in limbo. Tonight, what Negan does is something that’s ripped straight from the pages of The Walking Dead #154—he’s finally joining the Whisperers (or so we think). This is what I like about TWD’s pound-for-pound season. We’re always handed over something steaming hot, and we just can’t take our eyes off of it. And just when you thought they’ve simmered down on the Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) banter, this week’s episode delivers a stellar chapter between the two best friends.

In “Bonds,” Carol and Daryl go on a risky mission beyond the Whisperer border. After all, the bitch Alpha (Samantha Morton) needs to die so Carol lays the foundations for it. Beyond the border, Negan’s “fight” with Beta in the final moments of last week’s episode results in an underwhelming capture. As Beta brings Negan to Alpha, the B-leader of the Whisperers subjects him to various tests to prove if Negan is worth his salt. Meanwhile, the mysterious stomach bug in Alexandria spreads like a new virus string. Could this be Gamma’s doing? And at the Hilltop, Eugene (Josh McDermitt) meets a new friend on the radio.

You might want to close this if you don’t want spoilers. But if you’re up for it, here’s everything that went down on tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead.

So, Was ‘Operation: Whisperer Infiltration’ A Success?

It’s funny how Carol took some time to recuperate from her wounds post-hallucination. But now that she’s well-rested, there’s only one thing in her mind: “that bitch needs to die.” She heads out for reconnaissance in the woods near Head Spike Hill with Daryl in tow. “Bonds” is where we see how deep these two’s friendship goes. Carol knows Daryl too well and vice-versa. Daryl is aware of Carol’s thirst for retribution against Alpha and Carol knows that he is there to keep her in check. It’s basically the perfect post-apocalyptic partnership.

Jace Downs/AMC

As Carol surveys the area, Daryl asks her, “what are you really planning to do here?” Of course, Carol has always been strategic in everything she does. She knew that Daryl was going to follow her and that he’s going to suspect that she brought the gun with her. Carol reveals that she wants to disperse the horde that the Whisperers are accumulating. But fuck it, we’re already here so let’s do it. Throughout the day, the pair engage in friendly banter. Carol even teases Daryl about Connie (Lauren Ridloff). See, it’s obviously going to happen soon as we’ve got Carol’s blessing now (sorry, #Caryl shippers, it’s probably not going to happen between them)!

That night, the two cross Alpha’s borders to get closer to the horde. Carol accidentally tips the Walkers of her location, causing the herd to disperse with the Whisperers in tow. Daryl almost got caught if not for him covering himself in Walker guts. In the end, we find out about Carol’s endgame. She didn’t want to disperse the Walkers. All she needed was a Whisperer prisoner, much to Daryl’s annoyance.

Negan Might Just Be the Star Player at the Whisperer Camp!

It’s sucks that we didn’t get to see Negan bash the brains out of Beta tonight. Instead, what we got was an entertaining plot of Negan flexing his dick and balls to everyone at the Whisperer camp. Beta brings Negan to Alpha and says that he shouldn’t be trusted. But you know Alpha, that might be the case for her second-in-command but never for her. She tells Beta to test him. What’s obvious here, though, is that Beta is threatened by Negan just like how Gamma (Thora Birch) did. And man did Beta test the daylights out of Negan!

Jace Downs/AMC

In a funny montage that resembles the training scene of Karate Kid, Beta has Negan perform various Whisperer tasks like skinning a Walker, digging a hole, hunting a pig, digging a hole, and digging a hole. Oh, and did we mention Negan digging a hole too (something he had to do for them to cook the pig)? Now, with Negan being the eager “joiner” that he is, Beta isn’t impressed. No matter how much Negan spews out random loudmouth bullshit, he isn’t having it. But the Whisperers—that’s something else entirely. They see Negan’s goofy and obnoxious vibe as a shining ray of light in the midst of their serious nature. Think of it as humans meeting a friendly alien. This fact is made even more interesting when one Whisperer hands Negan a piece of pig meat when Beta forbade him to partake in the meal that Negan helped prepare.

Negan’s real goal here, though, is to have a face-to-face opportunity with Alpha. During another test, Beta leaves Negan alone with a small Walker herd and assumes that he won’t be able to survive that attack. But when Beta delivers the news to Alpha, Negan arrives—bloody bat-like stick in hand—and kneels before the leader of the Whisperers. “I’m all in,” Negan pledges. “Whatever you want, whatever I’ve got, it’s yours.” At that moment, Negan knew he had them.

I’m assuming Alpha appreciated this gesture. Instead of slitting Negan’s throat, she seemed to affirm him by shushing him. But this I know after reading a few of the Whisperer issues in the Walking Dead comics—Alpha is fucked.

In Sickness and In Friendship

Siddiq’s (Avi Nash) PTSD is taking a huge toll on him. Partner that with a very bad case of the stomach bug infecting a lot of Alexandria’s residents and you’ve got yourself a clusterfuck. Sure, Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas) was of big help, but Siddiq managing his panic attacks and the welfare of the residents is a bit too much. With Rosita (Christian Serratos) sick as well, he can only do so much. But I can’t help but notice that this stomach bug is of Gamma’s doing. Last week, Aaron saw her spilling Walker guts on the river that most probably leads to Alexandria’s water supply. I’m 100% sure that this is what’s causing the epidemic, and god knows how this would turn out. What if these people die en masse? There’s surely going to be a major Walker mania within the walls of Alexandria. But what’s really strange is the fact that Aaron never brought it up yet. He knows that Gamma was fucking up their water system, why didn’t he say anything to the council right away?

Jace Downs/AMC

Meanwhile, Eugene’s healing from the pain of being friendzoned by Rosita is working out well for him. He strengthened the radio system at Hilltop and expanded its range using parts from the crashed space satellite. Rosita dropped in for a call but wasn’t strong enough to call him again because of the stomach bug. As Eugene surfed through different channels, a woman’s voice suddenly comes on and they develop a quick friendship. It’s nice to see Eugene finding signs of life outside the walls of their respective communities. We don’t know where this woman is or which group she belongs to (Helicopter people, maybe?) but it’s a good indication that there’s a vast, unexplored world out there.

‘The Walking Dead: Bonds’ Overall Verdict

“Bonds” packs a lot of fun sequences and awesome character arcs that this season is expertly doing every week. Of course, tonight’s star is Negan’s stellar attitude that draws conscious energy from the comic book version. Morgan is excellent at the role, and I can definitely see him becoming one of the show’s top dogs regardless of allegiance. Dialogue is spectacular as always, with director Dan Liu doing a great job of steering the episode on the right path. It’s a super-sized episode that builds up more to the overall story of Season 10.

But if you ask me, I can’t wait for Negan to bring Alpha’s head on a spike.

The Walking Dead continues Sunday, November 17th, with “Open Your Eyes” at 9/8c on AMC.