The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 18 Review: A New Deal
Paul Dailly
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Was that an episode of This Is Us disguised as The Walking Dead?
Despite some big swings in the storytelling department, The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 18 paid tribute to the past as our survivors questioned what comes next. It was one of the most emotional installments yet.
The series finally embraces the fact that the end is nigh, and most of the characters are accounted for. What more could we want?
Pamela is a tough nut to crack, but now, we're in the know about how she was forced to run the community because of her family ties.
It's not easy to tell someone to fulfill a legacy, especially if they don't want to, and it was hard not to feel sorry for Sebastian.
If you watch The Walking Dead online, you know he's wicked as hell, but he's also a product of the corruption behind the scene of this community that resonates with the survivors' wants to return to civilization.
Belonging to a community is crucial to keeping people thinking they're working towards something, but now that everyone knows just how corrupt the Commonwealth is, the gloves are off.
Daryl: You choosing this piece of shit?
Mercer: If I was, you'd already be down.
Daryl: Do what you fսcking gotta do.
Max has been a thrilling addition to the cast because she is so devoted to transparency.
Working for Pamela, she's seen just how far Pamela will go to be in control of the narrative, so she would've been unable to forgive herself had she allowed Sebastian to brush his misdeeds under the rug.
Granted, I didn't expect her to go all Emily Thorne and red sharpie him on Founder's Day, but it was a satisfying way for her to take control of the narrative.
Sebastian had to die at some point, but I didn't expect it to be as brutal as him exposing the lies of the rich and it being used against him.
Aaron: So the slate's just wiped clean?
Carol: Debt, deaths on both sides. We get supplies, water, weapons. Pamela provides everything that we need to finish rebuilding. Free and clear.
As is the case with villains exposed on this show, Sebastian saw red, which highlighted his urgency to kill Max.
I wish the zombies made for a bigger spectacle because we're supposed to believe this community has thousands of people, but we only ever see that location on the smallest possible scale.
This would have been the perfect episode to crank up the budget and give the fans a true portrayal of what the characters are willing to give up.
Thank god Eugene was on hand to save Max, but both of their actions will come back to bite them in a big way on The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 19.
Lance: You mind shifting me over a few feet? Think I'm stuck on an anthill here.
Mercer: Get used to it.
Lance: Wow. I always thought we got along so well.
Mercer: How many of my men have you gotten killed?
Lance: Oh, Mercer. I thought you realized by now... They're not your men.
Pamela will be out for blood now that everyone knows the truth, and she'll blame those two.
Everyone could see that Sebastian went after Max, so she's smart enough to put two and two together that our star-crossed lovers were behind this plot.
I don't think Max and Euegene figured Sebastian would die because they had no idea Lance's spies were plotting some drama behind the scenes.
Knowing Max, she will feel somewhat responsible for the death, but I hope she understands that the end justified the means here.
If she and Eugene didn't strike now, then when would they have been able to again?
Pamela: You'll be transported back to the Commonwealth and put on trial.
Lance: Look, Pamela, it's just the two of us. Drop the act.
Pamela: No act, Lance. You've gone too far.
Lance: Seriously? You never seemed to have a problem with how I got the job done before.
Pamela: We're not talking about the past. Only now. And you've made quite a mess of "now." Hold on... You might survive this, if you play things right. But your life at the Commonwealth is over.
Lance: Over? After... After all the years, after all that I've done in service of you...
Pamela: Oh, please. You've served yourself above everything and anyone else. Always trying so hard to prove the world wrong. You refuse to see it.
Lance: But I've made something of myself.
Pamela: You're an angry, delusional little boy, Lance. Trying to win a game, but too foolish to realize that you've never actually been a player in it.
Lance: You still need me. If something happens to me... certain alliances the Commonwealth has... certain stabilizing factors... are likely to become a problem. Whatever game you're playing, Pamela... I'm very much in it.
Lance is an intriguing villain because, even though he was locked up, he was still managing to get things done.
It would have had much more emotional weight if one of our longer-serving characters was a part of the horde at the end of the episode.
That would have been a great way to show that the stakes are higher than ever here.
Lance's warning to Pamela about ostracizing him is intriguing because he mentioned alliances to other places.
Could the Commonwealth be linked to the CRM or any of the other communities we've met on the show?
Honestly, we need to get some connective tissue here to make all of the spinoffs worthwhile.
My theory is that Pamela will join forces with Lance because now they both have mutual enemies.
It's a shame that Carol, Daryl, Maggie, and everyone else had a sense of hope at the beginning of the episode because Pamela is not going to follow through on any of her deals after Sebastian's death.
Lance Hornsby abused his position and caused untold suffering for others. But thanks in part to the assistance of friends and allies... Along with our dedicated armed forces, he was unable to escape. And I promise you all... Justice will be served.
Pamela
Daryl's struggle with parenting Judith was a nice way to show that Rick and Michonne's departures left everyone in a difficult situation.
Daryl went from only having to care about himself to looking after children, so it's understandable he would have some difficulty about whether he was being the best parent.
Carol being along for support and telling him that Rick is no longer there was an excellent way for Carol to tell her friend that he has to do what he thinks is right.
Judith's struggle with leaving the Commonwealth tugged on the heartstrings because it's probably the closest that she'll ever come to being part of a community.
But leaving there is the best course of action because there's no telling what could happen next.
There is so much deeply rooted corruption that it isn't worth spending time there any longer.
There has to be a sea change to allow everyone to move on from this.
Ezekiel's admission that he wouldn't leave wasn't a surprise. He's been in his element working with the animals, and after spending so long on the road after losing the Kingdom, he needed somewhere to belong.
The beautiful aspect of this is that he has the option of staying instead of being forced out ... for now.
The show has always been about survival, and truthfully, it lost that at some points. Ezekiel is choosing the best survival route for himself, which is great.
It's hard to tell what comes next, but there's great uncertainty because everyone is going in very different directions.
"A New Deal" was a solid episode that propelled the series toward its endgame.
What did you think of Sebastian's death?
Do you think Pamela will now side with Lance and blame everyone else?
What's your take on Carol, Daryl, Ezekiel, and everyone else making decisions about the future?
Hit the comments.
The Walking Dead continues Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
