The absence of dialogue in the scenes before the opening credits of this week's episode, “The Other Side,” makes Maggie (Lauren Cohan) seem nearly iconic: a legend in the making, as she teaches knife-throwing and does that benevolent-leader thing of acknowledging people by placing a reassuring hand on their shoulder. It's good to see her, since she's been absent from the last few episodes, and particularly gratifying to see her looking good, almost as happy and loose as Rick and Michonne did during their extended supply run in “Say Yes.”
Under Maggie's steady hand, the Hilltop has been tricked out with new (at least to us) features that should come in handy in the coming fight again Negan and the Saviors. There's the escape hatch she had dug under the woodpile, through which Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) scoot off to the Sanctuary. The root cellar also has a secret space, which allows Maggie and Daryl (Norman Reedus) to hide during a surprise visit from the Saviors, and Maggie's cool head and sharp instincts about when to fight and when to hold your fire restrain Daryl from making a fatally rash move when a Savior comes down to scope out the cellar. But after the Saviors' visit, the Hilltop is newly vulnerable, too, and the loss of their doctor seems particularly ominous in light of Maggie's pregnancy.
Sasha's quiet heroism comes into sharper focus in “The Other Side,” as her scenes, which are intercut with Maggie's in the opening sequence, become the dominant narrative of the episode. Convinced that Maggie no longer needs her protection, Sasha leaves Maggie in the care of the rest of her new posse, Enid (Katelyn Nacon) and Jesus (Tom Payne). She heads off to do something only she can do: stop Rosita from sacrificing herself in a suicidal attack on Negan, because Sasha doesn't think the group can afford to lose someone who can defuse bombs and hot-wire cars. Read the rest on The House Next Door
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