With the Whisperer War over and the Saviors quelled the Safezone and the Hilltop can begin to rebuild their communities. Due to the events that have occurred Rick is faced with the new challenge of balancing the loss of his wife. Dwight and several other community members begin to question Rick’s leadership. As this is occurring, Maggie is also making a choice as she orders Dante to follow Negan and accepts supplies from William to rebuild the Kingdom. While Rick and Maggie address issues within their communities Michonne is leading a group to Ohio to act as a liaison for the 4 communities. On this journey they witness how the world has changed since they arrived at the Safezone.
The Good:
It is clear that new threats have developed, primarily for Rick as Dwight is questioning his judgment. Given the nature of how Dwight questioned him, Rick has Jesus keep an eye on him for a few days. This confirms that Rick views Dwight as a threat to his leadership in the community due to the recent events that have occurred between them during the Whisperer War. Furthermore, Dwight makes it clear that he followed Negan because it was absolutely necessary for survival and Rick, currently, is no different than Negan. Given that Rick has become like Negan, Dwight feels it is time for a new leader who is different than Negan. As Rick is addressing the threat of Dwight we begin to see Maggie regain leadership of her community as they set out to rebuild the Hilltop. She immediately orders Dante to follow Negan to document his whereabouts after he has left the Safezone. This is to ensure the Hilltop’s safety as Maggie still views Negan as a threat as he killed her husband over 2 years ago. While Dante is gone, William pulls up next to Maggie and offers her supplies that were intended for the Kingdom’s expansion. Maggie immediately realizes that these supplies are necessary to ensure that the residents and the Hilltop are properly restored and safe, thus she chooses to accept them. Finally, for the first time in over 2 years we begin to see the dangers of the world outside of the 4 communities as Michonne leads a group to an Ohio based community. On this journey Michonne and her group are attacked by several walkers that nearly bite them thus showing that despite the technological advances that humanity has made the danger with the walkers has remained the same. Furthermore, on this journey they come across an abandon Pittsburgh that features no people are walkers, which shows how the world has changed as walkers and herds use to occupy large cities. Without walkers in large cities it leads to the question where they have they migrated to and how that affects the 4 communities and the Ohio communities.
The Bad:
Siddiq, while settling down for the night in Pittsburgh, reveals to Eugene that Rosita loved him, implying that they were involved with each other. This does not flow as several events have distanced Eugene from her death. Furthermore, Rosita’s death has already led to a significant amount of character development for Eugene, as he has become a more influential character in the Safezone. Siddiq provides no additional character development for Eugene, rather it hurts his character and all the work that has gone into developing him.
The Verdict:
If you have been reading The Walking Dead for several arcs, you understand that there are action issues and set up issues; this is the latter of the two. While it is a set up issue it continues to create the stage for Rick’s showdown with Dwight and others in his community, Maggie regaining her leadership as she begins to make decisions, and the journey and drama that Michonne’s group is going through as they get closer to Ohio. Issue 170 does the job it is suppose to do for The Walking Dead comic.
