'The Walking Dead' Season 8, Episode 13 'Do Not Send Us Astray' Recap: The Saviors Hit Back [SPOILERS]

There’s no hold barred following tonight’s episode of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” As we near the show’s Season 8 finale, “Do Not Send Us Astray” thins the herd out even more, despite the victories that the Hilltop amasses after an attack. It’s still frustrating that we’re only getting the much-needed action that we lost since the first few episodes of the season, but tonight just makes it even more exciting as the “All Out War” wages on—even without Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) himself.
Tonight, we pick up right after we left off during last week’s episode, “The Key.” Simon (Steven Ogg) and Dwight (Austin Amelio) lead the Saviors to the Hilltop. The original plan was to slash and burn, infecting the inhabitants and letting them turn later on. But since Negan is a no-show following his brawl with Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Simon decided to change the terms—exterminate the Hilltop completely. As the nighttime battle rages on, the fallout trickles until the next day where Maggie (Lauren Cohan) laments the cost of the war that the widow herself has brought upon her people.

The Looming Threat

“Do Not Send Us Astray” opens with Morgan (Lennie James) on scout duty. However, he’s taunted by the memory (or ghost?) of Gavin (Jayson Warner Smith). Morgan then hears the signal, and he proceeds to alert the others by honking his horn. The rest of the scouts follow suit, prompting those in the Hilltop to prepare for the attack.

In the Hilltop, Henry (Macsen Lintz) tries to ask King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) for a gun, but Carol (Melissa McBride) shuts him down, saying Henry will die if he goes outside to help fight the Saviors. Meanwhile, Siddiq (Avi Nash) helps out the head physician, albeit ending up doing scut work. Siddiq then assures her that despite his lack of medical experience, everything he went through before joining the Hilltop was all about doing something he never did before—just the kind of attitude she’s after. With that, the physician tells him to suit up.
Nightfall arrives, and Maggie prepares her people for the attack. Simon’s convoy finally arrives, but his truck pops a tire due to the traps spread out along the path. Simon’s group stops just as he gets a radio-in from Maggie, asking to talk to Negan. Since their leader isn’t around, Simon assumed the leadership and tried to bargain with Maggie. She then offers Simon to give up some of the Saviors in their custody if they leave right away. However, Simon doesn’t seem to care about Maggie’s prisoners, even when he heard Alden (Callan McAuliffe) reason out of the fight.

Simon stresses his new plan, to which Dwight is a bit iffy. If Negan turns out to be alive, he might rain down rage upon Simon since this isn’t Negan’s original directive. But Simon would rather beg for forgiveness than worry about future problems. Simon gets in his truck just as Daryl (Norman Reedus) arrives guns blazing in his motorcycle. Daryl proceeds to enter the gates, to which Simon follows while in his car. As they advance, a school bus prevents their entrance, with Simon and his men ramming onto the side of the vehicle. As if on cue, Maggie calls for the attack and the war begins.

The Attack

Bullets rain on the Saviors, but it doesn’t stop them from entering the Hilltop to wreak havoc. One Savior slices Tobin (Jason Douglas) stomach with a walker blood-drenched machete. More Saviors and Hilltop dwellers die as the night drones on with the sound of guns. Simon and Dwight see Tara (Alanna Masterson) holding down her fort. Simon asks Dwight if he wants to take her out, to which he refuses. As they creep towards Tara, Daryl sees them and screams for Dwight. Surprised, Dwight shoots Tara in the shoulder with the crossbow he stole from Daryl in the previous season. Daryl fires at them, but the two escape.
As the fight continues, Maggie orders her people to fall back, while they smoke out all the light sources in the Hilltop, rendering the Saviors wading in the dark. For a moment, all is calm, and Simon has his men create a perimeter. He moves closer to the Mansion with his men, but they are surprised with a light burst from the barricade of trucks, and the gunfire starts once again. The Saviors run for cover as more of their men die. Rick and the other Hilltop scouts arrive, surrounding the escaping Saviors and killing them in an instant. Rick uses his ax to fight them all off as he runs out of ammo. He sees a person hunched over, but it turns out to be Siddiq tending Tobin’s wounds.
Rick and Maggie then chase the remaining Saviors away. As soon as they leave, Maggie asks Rick if he saw Negan, and Rick tells her about his failed brawl and attempts to kill.

The Fallout and the Second Onslaught

The next day, the Hilltop tends to their battle wounds. Maggie tells Enid (Katelyn Nacon) that they still have enough ammo and men to hold up against another attack. Daryl asks Tara if she’s okay, which is odd since she was hit a bit brutally, but her arm appears to have just been grazed. Despite Dwight’s assault, Tara still believes that he’s with them. Meanwhile, Rick removes the boards of Judith’s room as Michonne (Danai Gurira) helps him at it. Outside, Maggie looks forlorn as the Hilltop grave grows bigger, with more casualties than before. Alden, on the other hand, is glad that his co-Saviors are dead, seeing how Simon doesn’t want anything to do with them anymore. Diane (Kerry Cahill) affirms Maggie’s strong leadership. Maggie, on the other hand, really wanted Negan to die that night. She Glenn’s grave to be the last thing that Negan saw before he dies.
As the other unharmed Hilltop dwellers mend their comrades’ wounds, Carol takes care of Tobin. They talk about their hindered romance, and it was something that Carol didn’t want to take further, especially with the Saviors gaining the upper hand that time. Meanwhile, Henry sneaks towards a bag of rifles and takes one. Later, Siddiq tends to Rick’s wounds, but Rick walks out as soon as Siddiq mentions something about a death ritual. The weight of Carl’s death still lingers, and Siddiq is a living testament to that loss.

That night, the Hilltop dwellers tuck themselves in for the day. But as Tobin tries his best to recover, he dies, turning to a Walker an hour later. He reanimates and eats the person next to his bed as he leaves for more meds. The head physician comes to check on them but sees the blood all over the floor. Tobin also incapacitates and eats her. As they all turn, the Walkers head towards the Mansion where all the Hilltop people are asleep. One of the soldiers who was sleeping also wake up reanimated. He falls down the stairs and feasts on the sleeping people.
Meanwhile, Henry goes to the prison cage where the Savior captives are held. Henry asks Gregory if he knows which among them killed his brother, unlocking the cage in the process. Alden tries to neutralize things, but it goes haywire when one of the captives turn and eats someone. The entire Hilltop is thrown into chaos as screams ring out from within the Mansion. In a panic, Henry tries to point the rifle at the prisoners, but Jared (Joshua Mikel)—the one Savior who killed his brother—pins Henry down to take the gun. The remaining prisoners take Jared’s lead and escape, including Gregory.
Maggie and the rest of her people subdue some of the Walkers, but many of the Hilltop dwellers died. In the end, they find out that Negan infected the swords and machetes with Walker blood so they could turn eventually. Rick and Daryl bring the news to Tara, Enid, and Rosita (Christian Serratos). Meanwhile, Siddiq races to kill a couple of Walkers loitering around the place. Alden steps in to help him just as Maggie, Diane, Jesus and the other Hilltop men arrive to help them. Alden tells Maggie about the escape and how Henry unlocked the gate as well as the remaining prisoners who are trying to close the gate. When asked why Alden didn’t leave with the escapees, he says, “it doesn’t make us worth much to your people, but if there were a reason I’d stay, I’ll stay.” Maggie considers this and finally accepts Alden as part of her people.

The following morning, Carol and Morgan desperately look for Henry. Enid informs them about what he did, and it infuriates Carol. They run off to look for the boy outside the Hilltop. As Morgan follows, he is again haunted by Gavin’s ghost. The episode then ends with Maggie once again looking at the graveyard—angered and saddened by the cost of the war they’re entangled in.

‘The Walking Dead: Do Not Send Us Astray” Overall Verdict

It’s been too long since we saw this intense amount of action in an episode of “The Walking Dead.” Directed by Jeffrey F. January, “Do Not Send Us Astray” is the perfect episode to raise the stakes and set up the bar that would drive Maggie, Rick, and everyone else to go all out against Negan and the Saviors. It’s a great episode that brings back the essence of the Walkers in the show, as the previous events have all but featured them in passing. This episode is where we actually see them become the threat once again, and I couldn’t help but remember how scared I felt in the first three seasons of the show. This is peak Walking Dead once again. Seriously, just bring the zombies back, and all would be fine.
“The Walking Dead” continues next Sunday, April 1st, with “Still Gotta Mean Something” at 9/8c on AMC.