'The Walking Dead' Season 8, Episode 9 'Honor' Recap: Farewells and Rescue Missions [SPOILERS]

In a heartwrenching return this week, “The Walking Dead” Season 8, episode 9 places “Honor” as the cherry on top. It’s hard to move on from tonight’s events, especially with all the moral standards that were broken and rebuilt. It also has a question of whether or not we’ll finally see Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) depart the show, and tonight’s episode answers that albeit giving us a glimpse into the future—something close to what the comic book material has in its current series.
“Honor” starts off with a montage of how the episode ends and where the season might go after the “All Out War” storyline. We see a red-eyed Rick (Andrew Lincoln) glancing around wearily, the same shot of him when season 8 premiered with “Mercy.” We then get another glimpse of Old Man Rick walking around with Judith now grown up. A vibrant Alexandria is seen, with everyone working together like another day on the farm. The scene then cuts to the present day, where Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick buries a body. Michonne breaks down in tears.

We see a flashback to when Carl decided to help Siddiq (Avi Nash), and how he got bit after fending off the walker. It turns out that after saving Siddiq, Carl went on as if it was just an average day. He ushered Siddiq into the bunker, changed his clothes so his wound can’t be seen, and went about his day. He wrote letters to everyone, babysat Judith, and made the most out of his last day alive.
Meanwhile, Morgan (Lennie James) scopes through the Sanctuary. A group of Saviors aims at the Walkers scattered in the courtyard and fires. They’re building a blockade against the other surrounding Walkers so some of their troops can go outside to wipe them all out. As Morgan sees this, he orders his team to fall back because the Saviors have also discovered them. Morgan runs and lures a group of Walkers to his pursuers. In the forest, Morgan sees and follows Gavin (Jayson Warner Smith) leading his group to attack the Kingdom.

Operation: Save King Ezekiel

On the night after Gavin’s siege of the Kingdom, Carol (Melissa McBride) led the dwellers out in the fields. She intends to go back to save King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), and so Henry (Macsen Lintz) asks if he can come along (primarily because he wants to avenge his brother Benjamin’s (Logan Miller) death). Carol orders Henry to stay, and she leaves the group for the Kingdom.
In the Kingdom, Gavin organizes a pillaging party to take everything from the place. He tells Ezekiel that Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is going to kill him no matter what. Unafraid, Ezekiel looks on, like he knows something is going to happen. Meanwhile, Morgan steps down from a pickup truck and slowly makes his way inside. He sees an unknown person running as well, who turns out to be Carol. They then team up to clean out Gavin’s men and save Ezekiel. One by one, the men fall at their hands, and Carol gapes in shock as she sees Morgan’s ruthless desire to kill them all. Back in the yard, Ezekiel tells Gavin that it’s not too late to turn back from his ways, to which Gavin scoffs.

“You are the author of this night, Gavin,” Ezekiel says. “It’s close shall be fashioned by your start.” That’s when Gavin feels something is wrong. He radios in his men, but no one answers. Shots ring out, and Gavin shrinks in terror. Something is wrong. He orders his men to get Ezekiel in the theater. Morgan and Carol then creep up to where Gavin’s group left.
Gavin secures Ezekiel in the theater with his men. There’s a foreboding sense of danger, and Ezekiel knows that they are going to lose. As the men position themselves around the area, a small explosion rocks the place. Gavin and his men proceed to shoot at the entrance, but no one comes out. Just as they thought it was clear, Morgan and Carol emerge from the stage, killing Gavin’s men as they have their back turned.

Gunfire ensues, leaving Ezekiel taking cover as Gavin lost his gun when he got shot in his leg. A large man tackles Morgan down, but he kills the man by pulling out his guts, shocking everyone, including Ezekiel. Gavin makes a beeline for the exit as soon as Ezekiel tells Morgan that they should leave. However, Morgan believes that the saviors have to die—he needs to kill them all.
Gavin runs, and Morgan hunts him down. He hides behind a wall, but Morgan sees him and pulls him out from the back. The one thing that’s keeping Morgan from killing Gavin is his conscience, though. Although he realizes the need to kill all of Negan’s men, his former way of life still tries to get the better of him. Carol and Ezekiel try to talk him out of it, but to their shock, a stick plunges through Gavin’s neck from behind. His body falls, and Henry surprisingly turns up.

Later, we see Ezekiel, Carol, Morgan, and Henry assessing the damage they’ve done. They still couldn’t shake off their surprise at Henry’s action (especially Carol, who’s hugely disturbed by what Henry did), but Ezekiel assures the boy that “all will be resolved” and hugs him.

Carl bids farewell

Carl shows Rick and Michonne his walker bite. Rick and his entire group take refuge in the bunker, following Negan’s attack. Alexandria is burning, but its inhabitants are safe underneath. Carl is growing weaker by the minute but manages to introduce Siddiq to Rick. He tells them how his bite happened out of natural causes, and not by Negan’s men. He also reminds Rick of the guy he tried to scare off at the gas station, and that it was Siddiq after all.

Siddiq offers pain meds to Rick. He also learns that Siddiq was a doctor and asks Carl if that was his reason for saving him. Apparently, Carl just wanted to help Siddiq and didn’t know that he was a doctor. Rick takes the meds and waits for Carl to feel comfortable. Siddiq proceeds to tell them about his parents and how Carl saved him. Explosions rock the bunker, and Michonne forces Dwight (Austin Amelio) to make the Saviors stop their attack. But there’s nothing any of them could do but to wait it out. Rosita (Christian Serratos) suggests going to the Hilltop, but Dwight knows it’s dangerous. He recommends staying in the bunker until the Saviors leave. Daryl agrees to Rosita’s plan but also agrees with Dwight’s suggestion to wait it out. For Daryl, they’re all going to the Hilltop—and that includes Dwight as well.
As soon as they hear the Saviors leave, Daryl leads the remaining Alexandrians to the Hilltop. However, Carl needed to say farewell to them first. He delivers a tearful goodbye to his friends and family and even gives Judith his police hat. It’s one of “The Walking Dead’s” most heartbreaking scenes, and one can’t help but look back where Carl has been. He even tells Michonne that she is his only best friend, to which Michonne responds by saying Carl is hers—more like a son than a best friend.
We then see another glimpse into the future, where Old Man Rick leads a slightly older Judith through the newly-rebuilt Alexandria. They approach Eugene (Josh McDermitt), who’s busy harvesting apples and gives one to Judith. It then cuts to a shot of Rick and Michonne burying a body.

As soon as everyone leaves for the Hilltop, Rick tells Michonne that he’s staying with Carl. Michonne does the same, and they wait it out. Siddiq also says his farewell to Carl and promises to honor his memory by telling his friends and family that Carl’s act of saving Siddiq won’t for nothing. After a few moments, Rick decides to get Carl out of the bunker. Rick and Michonne help him out, and they end up in a destroyed house within the compound. Carl once again says his goodbyes, and it’s revealed that the Old Man Rick visions are from Carl. It’s how he envisions the future after the war. Carl describes it all to Rick, who in turn promises to make it real when Carl is gone. Carl then takes out his pistol and tells Rick and Michonne that he knows it’s too painful for them to kill him. He would do them the honor. Carl, Rick, and Michonne then exchange their final “I love you’s.”

The episode ends with Rick and Michonne outside the house, crying as soon as they hear the gunshot. It was Carl who they were burying after all in the opening montage. Another Old Man Rick vision is shown, with Judith approaching a man who’s busy tending plants. The man stands up, and it turns out to be Negan, who’s extremely happy to see Judith.
Finally, a red-eyed Rick is shown sitting by a tree and looking worn-out after a battle.

‘The Walking Dead: Honor’ Overall Verdict

“The Walking Dead’s” Season 8b return was a well-hyped and well-marketed episode. However, nothing could prepare me for the intense amount of despair and heartbreak in a TWD episode like “Honor.” It’s a known fact that this season’s herd will be thinned down, and seeing how Carl is now out of the picture, it’s interesting to see how Rick will rise from this loss. Overall, the pace is well-balanced this time, so kudos to Greg Nicotero for directing a well-made comeback episode for the series. As for how this affects the entire season, it looks like we’re getting closer to how the “All-Out War” storyline ends in the comic book source.
“The Walking Dead” continues next Sunday, March 4th, with “The Lost and the Plunderers” at 9/8c on AMC.