For once it is satisfying that someone has jumped the gun on Rick's plan, especially since that person is Rick himself. Overtaken by fury and provided with an irresistible opportunity to get Negan alone, he chases him off on wheel and foot into a building that is so dilapidated that it appears abandoned before the turn -- a new and fascinating set choice for the show. While Negan and Rick grapple in this haunted house of an almost forgotten past, leaders like Maggie and Georgie suss out plans for a more developed and interconnected future. Is Rick making a necessary correction to past injustices or indulging in his grief by focusing on the past, and is Maggie's choice to trust a stranger and begin focusing on the future wise or foolish at a time like this? What does this episode of contrasts tell us about emotional healing and leadership?
This Is Where You Die
As satisfying as it is to see Rick subjugate Negan, I don't believe his vendetta of impulsive rage is meant to be glorified here. Again the plan has been foiled, and Rick is running on pure adrenaline and unprocessed grief: a combination that could be perfectly deadly for both of them. When Rick runs after him, Rick isn't thinking about the years ahead or even the near future. Right now, all that exists in Rick is killing Negan. While this emotional response is natural, is Rick not completely negating Carl's dying wish?
The structure that Rick lures Negan ever deeper into might have been abandoned before the apocalypse, and if so, it could be a symbol of the things built and rebuilt in this world. Its state of decay and architectural style could suggest this. If this is true, what is the significance of this set choice? When they enter, Negan and Rick are entering their pasts. This is not a safe place. With many rooms and collapsing floors, they wander around as they attempt to find each other and communicate. The cinematic, highly contrasted lighting enhances the drama and disorientation of the scene. They are both literally and figuratively lost as things around them crumble. Negan has become so powerless that he was willing to call this whole war off, and Rick is so blinded by emotions that he ignores this offer completely. Both men are desperate and bent on destruction. Maggie and her new friends, however, are already prepared not just to rebuild, but to revolutionize, which is something Carl was ready for as well.