‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9, Episode 6 ‘Who Are You Now?’ Recap: New Faces, New Troubles

The Walking Dead isn’t so bad without Rick Grimes after all.

Six years after his disappearance, we pick up from where we lost our fearless sheriff leader in “Who Are You Now.” Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming) seems to have inherited her father’s (not to mention Carl’s) noble intentions of helping people. Remember the small group she saved last week? They’re finally introduced to Alexandria, but not with a little bit of hostility from the still-grieving Michonne (Danai Gurira). Meanwhile, Carol (Melissa McBride), in her Legolas-like new hairdo, is as badass as ever. She’s now the mom to an all-grown-up Henry (played by another Lintz sibling, Matt), and seems to have dialed down her sassy tendencies—until ex-Saviors come to hurt her son. But probably the best part of tonight’s episode? The Whisperers. And they’re coming in with all the noise they can muster.

Here’s what went down on Season 9, Episode 6 of The Walking Dead.

Michonne Misses Rick So Much That She Has a Toy Cowboy to Prove It

“Who Are You Now” opens with Michonne’s monologue, six years after Rick’s “death.” When you lose someone and not know whether they’re alive or dead, that could take a toll on you. But Michonne is strong enough only to allow herself to have imaginary conversations with Rick in her head. We also see what’s become of Daryl (Norman Reedus) after we last saw him weeping when Rick blew off the bridge. He’s a nomad, cut-off from the communities and living life like a hermit. Michonne, on the other hand, remains hopeful despite her loss—she even has a toy cowboy to serve as a reminder of Rick.

Gene Page/AMC

Meanwhile, in the woods, we see Rosita (Christian Serratos), Eugene (Josh McDermitt), and Aaron (Ross Marquand) frantically looking for Judith. That’s when the little girl introduces Magna (Nadia Hilker), Connie (Lauren Ridloff), Kelly (Angel Theory), Luke (Dan Fogler), and an injured Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura). A group of Walkers also pile in, but Eugene—who’s just undergone massive character development—puts his game face on and attacks them. Rosita and Aaron were hesitant in bringing the new people with them, but Judith threatens to stay with them if they don’t go. Now that’s some manipulative Grimes shit right there.

A Not-So-Warm Welcome

The new group is taken to a larger Alexandria, and I can’t help but marvel at how the place has grown since Deanna and her husband first built it. The Alexandrian’s greet the newcomers with subtle hostility, but the arrival of Michonne made things even colder. She didn’t like the idea of having new faces with them, especially with who they lost. But Judith was enough to convince her mother to take them in. Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), who’s now the head councilman of Alexandria, calls for a vote the next day. It’s entirely odd at how this system was easily established in six years. But given the vast resources available to them courtesy of Georgie, it was a thing that was bound to develop.

Gene Page/AMC

The next day, the Alexandria council puts the Magna and her crew to the stand to decide their stay. That’s when Aaron and Gabriel conducts a background interview with them. Luke used to be a music teacher. Connie was a headstrong journalist who was able to expose sleazy dealings by politicians back in the old world. Kelly was a regular high school kid, and Magna was a truckstop waitress. Not bad, right? They seem like good people. However, Michonne sees beyond what they’re trying to give off.

A skeptic Michonne tells Magna to show her left hand. There’s a prison tattoo on it, and it immediately makes all of them judge her negatively (the audacity of these people!). Aaron told Michonne that they surrendered their weapons freely, but Michonne was able to have Magna surrender a hidden knife on her belt, proving her point. Michonne walks out and seconds whatever the council will decide.

Negan Gets Schooled By Judith

This is the part where we see a possibility of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) rising to be a key part of Alexandria. We’re not sure if he’s reformed after being in that cell of nearly eight years since the premiere. Last week, we saw a downtrodden and weak Negan. Now, it seems like he’s fully recovered from his Lucille obsession.

Gene Page/AMC

Judith is doing her homework—something about the velocity of airplanes. Negan, who seems to echo what I felt that time, didn’t see the point in having to solve math problems that didn’t apply in the zombie world. And so he asks for Judith to give him something that applies to the present. Judith tells him about the newcomers and how Michonne wanted to boot them out. Negan then told Judith about him as a boy, when he used to bring home stray dogs. His mom didn’t like it, especially until he brought the last draw. It acted tame, but ultimately killed the other dogs and almost bit his mom’s ear off. This taught Negan never to bring dogs home anymore. But Judith, with all the sass that the Grimes bloodline could ever give her, says, “Yeah, and look how great everything turned out for you.”

What’s Up With Magna’s Crew?

That night, Magna’s group blames her for making the council vote against them staying in Alexandria. Luke also notices that she stole Yumiko’s necklace that could be used as a knife. Magna, however, wanted to take the community for themselves. But Luke and Connie know that the people of Alexandria are good. Magna hands over the knife to Luke and turns in for the night—or so we thought.

Magna snuck out of the house with a personal vendetta against Michonne. She’s ready for the kill until she sees Michonne with another kid named RJ—the fruit of her union with Rick. This changed her mind, the thought of killing a kid somehow living a bad taste in her mouth. So she knocks on Michonne’s door and surrenders the knife. When Magna left, Michonne turns to see Judith watching the exchange. Judith wanted to make an appeal for Magna and her crew, saying that it’s what Rick would have wanted. Judith couldn’t understand why Michonne wouldn’t go by what Rick would have done had he been there. Judith also reveals a heartbreaking fact—she’s slowly forgetting what Rick’s and Carl’s voice sound like.

The next day, Aaron and Gabriel prepare to see Magna’s group off. But Michonne has a change of heart and offers to take them to Hilltop, whose leader might allow them to stay.

Mama Carol Teaches Us Why One Shouldn’t Fuck With Her Son

The Kingdom is flourishing, despite being incommunicado with Alexandria and the Hilltop since Rick left. We also see a grown-up Henry, who’s now calling Carol and Ezekiel his mom and dad. When the water pipes explode, Carol and Jerry (Cooper Andrews) rush to find Henry patching it up. Ezekiel arrives at the scene and gets a plea from Henry that it’s not enough to patch things up with tape and plastic. They need more efficient equipment. It seems as if Henry is referring to himself, who’s now big enough to handle things like this. Henry wanted to train with Earl at the Hilltop, but Ezekiel wouldn’t have it because he wants him safely locked inside the Kingdom. But Carol thinks it’s better for Henry to go out and explore his potential, and the possibility of him coming home as an engineer.

Gene Page/AMC

So Carol finally brings Henry to the Hilltop, despite Ezekiel’s worries. But just when we thought that we’d seen the last of the bad bunch of the Saviors, they strike back, with Henry and Carol as their victims. Led by Jed (Rhys Coiro), they demand everything that Henry and Carol brought with them, even her engagement ring. Carol caves and gives Jed what they have. This is where I thought, “what in the fuck happened to the ruthless Carol?” Boy, I was wrong.

That night, Henry expresses his disbelief at how Carol gave up so easily, giving her the cold shoulder. To prove to her son that she doesn’t forget, she snuck into where the Saviors were sleeping and burned them alive. Seeing how they got their stuff back, Henry apologizes for what he said to Carol. Along the way, Henry notices that they’re making a detour. A man came walking in front of them—Daryl. “Need a ride, stranger?” Carol asks.

The Whisperers Are Here!

Elsewhere in the episode, a surprise comes to hit us with surprise. Of course, we know that The Whisperers was bound to appear soon, but that’s not what made me scream WTF on this episode. We find out that Gabriel, after losing his love, Anne/Jadis, is now romantically involved with Rosita. Nope, that’s not an error. It is Rosita.

Gabriel and Rosita believe that there are more people out there who might need their help (I’m getting serious Morgan FearTWD vibes here with the radios). They knew that Michonne won’t sign off on this, so Rosita conducts a covert operation with Eugene. They need to install a radio signal amplifier so they could reach out to more people with radios.

Gene Page/AMC

On their way to install the thing, they come across a Walker herd path. Lucky for them, it’s in the opposite direction of where they need to install the amplifier. As Eugene and Rosita struggle to get the amplifier working, Eugene notices the herd coming. He finishes up but falls and injures his knee. They make a run for it and tries to lose the Walkers in the woods. Eugene wanted to sacrifice himself and prepares to confess his love to her, but Rosita has none of it and pulls him into a ravine, covering themselves in the muck. As they wait it out, one of the passing Walkers speaks up, loud enough for us to understand the words, “where are they? They must be close… Don’t let them get away.”

‘The Walking Dead: Who Are You Now?’ Overall Verdict

Last week, I was trying to imagine the world of The Walking Dead without Rick Grimes. I couldn’t see it until tonight. Although he proved to be the show’s main driver, I can see how Dead can move forward with different people holding the reins. “Who Are You Now” comes packed with callbacks and minor details that serve as a launchpad for larger narratives, but it never failed to bank on the hype of last week’s farewell. With one episode before the midseason finale, it looks like we’re still going to see the new world that Rick and Carl envisioned after all. The Whisperers are here, and they’re coming fast.

The Walking Dead continues next Sunday, November 18th, with “Stradivarius” at 9/8c on AMC. Watch the preview below: