‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9, Episode 3 ‘Warning Signs’ Recap: Rebellion

The Walking Dead might be getting back up on its feet, but the communities—Alexandria, Hilltop, Sanctuary, and Oceanside—aren’t up for it yet. This week’s episode, titled “Warning Signs” gives us the answer to last week’s cliffhanger albeit providing more questions along the way. We’re not exactly sure how things will fall into place seeing how this is Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) third-to-the-last outing as the leader of the zombie apocalypse. What we do know, is that the peace and order that Rick wants to achieve is only temporary. Things will go south pretty soon.

“Warning Signs” picks up from Justin’s (Zach McGowan) disappearance after Rick exiled him. The Saviors grow concerned over this, and a mini-riot erupts, prompting a civil war between the communities. Meanwhile, as Rick and the leaders try to find out who’s kidnapping the Saviors, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) act upon something that could change the leadership landscape.

Rick’s Day Off

“Warning Sings” opens with Walkers milling around an abandoned building, eating a corpse. As they pass, the body reanimates and is revealed to be Justin. He’s got a puncture in his chest, and he passes by a wall that reads “FINAL WARNING.”

That morning, Rick prepares for another day. He checks up on Judith and Michonne (Danai Gurira) and has a moment of happiness. He’s contended with how things are now. He goes to the garden, picks up a fresh tomato and places it on Carl’s grave. Rick returns to the bedroom as Michonne tells him about Judith’s cough. Rick then decides to take a day off, take Judith to Siddiq (Avi Nash) and have quality family time with them. Rick thanks Michonne for everything and tells her about “another way to build the future.” Wink wink. Michonne gets what Rick wants to do, and they start to kiss.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Meanwhile, Maggie and Kal (James Chen) ride a carriage full of food to the bridge campsite. Along the way, a group of Saviors—Jed (Rhys Coiro), Arat (Elizabeth Ludlow), DJ (Matt Mangum), Regina (Traci Dinwiddie), and Laura (Lindsey Register)—block the road. Jed tries to intimidate Maggie as he asks about the missing Justin. He then takes a fresh tomato from the carriage as Laura tells him to knock it off. The Saviors leave, and Maggie marches on. Suddenly, a walker appears—and it’s Justin.

Rick enjoys fun family time with Michonne and Judith like it’s not even the zombie apocalypse. They play hide and seek with the kid, go on a picnic, and read her a story. But it’s all cut short when they get the news of Justin as a Walker and that someone killed him before he reanimated.

Investigation

Justin’s discovery as a Walker upsets the Saviors working at the bridge. A small riot ensues, with Jed fuelling the Saviors’ anger. They want guns to protect themselves. Alden (Callan McAuliffe) and Carol (Melissa McBride) try to neutralize the situation, but Jed wouldn’t budge. He punches Alden and throws a rage fit. The two communities appear to be ready to fight each other, and the Alexandria and Kingdom groups aim their guns at the Saviors. Even Daryl joins in. As DJ blames Daryl for Justin’s possible death, he picks up an ax to attack him. Luckily, Rick arrives to break them all up.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

As soon as things cool down, Rick investigates. He asks Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) where Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) was the night he told Justin to leave. Gabriel lies and says that she was with him doing the watch. Rick then tells Gabriel to keep an eye on Anne. Even though she didn’t do it, most of the Saviors think that she did. Later, Gabriel goes to Anne to tell her about him lying to Rick. Anne is hiding something, and Gabriel can feel it.

Rick then goes to Daryl to ask him about Justin. Of course, Rick knows that he didn’t do it, but most of the Saviors know about Daryl’s spat with Justin. His wound has that of an arrow’s. Daryl, however, says that if he wanted to kill Justin, he would’ve done where everyone can see it. Rick tells Daryl that bringing all of them together is the way to go in this world ruled by the dead. Daryl struggles about that fact. For him, it’s unfair for the Saviors to get this kind of future when all their friends—Glenn, Abraham, and Sasha—didn’t because of them. Rick then admits that he always feels revenge boiling inside him, even making him want to kill Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) from where he’s currently imprisoned. Despite this, Rick asks Daryl to try and see the silver lining. “It’ll be one of the best decisions you ever make,” Rick says. “Like not killing a guy who left your brother on a rooftop to die.”

The Search

Rick has Maggie, Daryl, Cyndie (Sydney Park), Rosita (Christian Serratos), Carol, Beatrice (Briana Venskus), and Arat (Elizabeth Ludlow) patrol the woods to look for whoever is lurking around kidnapping Saviors. Maggie and Cyndie comb through the forest and sees a house that previously belonged to the Oceanside, Cyndie’s community. They see a group of Walkers that were attracted by the sound of a roof shingle banging in the wind. The two try to take them out, but Cydnie almost gets bitten because she couldn’t fight off the Walker with her injured hand. Daryl, Rick, Rosita, and Carol arrive to help them kill all the other Walkers.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Rick then tries to ask Bea and Arat about their status but gets no answer. As they get to their location, they see Beatrice sprawled on the ground. She wakes up and tells them how she was knocked out by someone and took Arat with them.

Rick’s search party meets back at the bridge campsite tent. They haven’t told the rest of the Saviors yet, so they have until morning to look for Arat. Jerry (Cooper Andrews) then asks them what they’d do to the perp once they find him. Is it going to be a Gregory or Negan situation? Cyndie says that they’ll get what they deserve, whoever they are. Rick then tells them to pair up to look for Arat.

Rick and Carol search for Arat in the woods. He also tells Carol about his desire to kill Negan, but one thing holds him back, and that’s the thought of everyone they lost along the way. “It’s our dead,” says Rick. “Every life counts now.” As they look around, Jed and DJ ambush Carol and holds her by the knife. Rick tries to talk him out of it, but Jed demands to have guns, and they’d go their way. Carol, however, has a small knife hidden in her hand. As Jed softens, she stabs him in the chest, and Rick tells DJ to stand down. When Jed asks why Carol didn’t kill him, she echoes Rick’s words, “every life counts.”

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Meanwhile, Maggie and Daryl are on a different part of the woods to look for Arat. They talk about Rick’s way of rebuilding the future, suggesting that they both don’t agree with it. Maggie, though, thinks its best for Hershel when he grows up. Then, they find a Walker crawling to a corpse and kill it. Daryl then sees a spear lodged on its back and immediately figures out who took Arat.

Maggie and Daryl arrive at the building where Justin reanimated and see the Oceansiders, led by Cyndie, on the brink of executing Arat. They also find the ethanol containers that Maggie needed from the Saviors. Beatrice tells them that Justin killed her husband. Cyndie also reveals that the building used to be their home until the Saviors took over. Arat was the one who mercilessly murdered Cyndie’s brother, and they all want to exact revenge on them. It was Maggie who encouraged them to do that after she hung Gregory. Cyndie then forces Arat to tell them what she said when she killed Cyndie’s brother. Maggie forces her to say it, so Arat says “no exceptions.” Maggie and Daryl then walk away as Cyndie executes Arat.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Elsewhere, Anne returns to the dumpsite and retrieves a walkie that she hid. She radios in and tells him her old name, Jadis. It turns out to be the man who owns (or pilots) the helicopter that she saw last night. The man asks if Jadis has an “A” or a “B.” Jadis refuses to answer and asks if he was the one who took the Saviors. “No pickups. But the deal still stands,” the man replies. “Will you have an A or a B?” Jadis answers neither and asks what would it take to get them back. The man tells her to bring an “A” tomorrow.

Gabriel appears and is shocked at what he just heard. Jadis admits that she used to trade people for supplies, but she did not kill Justin. She also reveals her frustration about being the one blame whenever something goes wrong at Alexandria. She then asks Gabriel to come away with her to another place better than Rick’s communities and tells him to keep this a secret. But Gabriel remains loyal to Rick. “All this time, I thought you were a B,” Jadis says as she knocks Gabriel out.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

The episode ends with Rick watching the Saviors leave the campsite the next day. Meanwhile, Maggie and Daryl walk down the road with the ethanol. Daryl asks about their plan (possibly to overthrow Rick or some shit that would change how Rick does his thing). “We gave Rick’s way a chance,” Maggie says. “Now, it’s time to see Negan.”

‘The Walking Dead: Warning Signs’ Overall Verdict

Something is brewing, and it ain’t good. Again, I love the way The Walking Dead is going back to its roots, but I also don’t like the subtle feeling of something bad about to happen—especially to Rick. But it is his last few episodes, with two more coming before he finally exits, but there’s this feeling about the show taking a turn for the worst once he does. Then again, this is The Walking Dead, and anything can happen.

“Warning Signs” is full of exposition and masterfully sets up the coming conflict. It also gives us a shocking answer to the “A” and “B” things that we’ve been hearing since Jadis and the dump people were introduced in Season 7. The “A” callback though, goes as far as Season 5, back when Terminus kidnapped Rick and his crew to eat them. could this be a continuation of that narrative? Will there be a new villain introduced aside from the Whisperers? Fuck this, but I’m all sold for what’s to come. Come at me.

The Walking Dead continues next Sunday, October 28th, with “The Obliged” at 9/8c on AMC. Watch the preview below: