The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 7 recap: Promises Broken

Negan teaches Maggie a new way to infiltrate the enemy as Daryl tries to see if the Leah he knew is still there, and of course, Eugene winds up in trouble yet again at The Commonwealth. The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 7, “Promises Broken,” covers a lot of ground, leaving fans with a lot to look forward to in the upcoming midseason finale.

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 7 – Old Habits

Maggie’s group now consists of Negan, Father Gabriel and Elijah. Negan still insists they return home, but Maggie and the rest disagree.

With his hands tied, Negan resorts to probably his last option at this point. He and Maggie make a deal that he will stay and help her as long as he can return home without having to watch his back.

Maggie reluctantly agrees. Whether she will keep her promise, in the end, remains to be seen; however she no longer has the excuse that she doesn’t need him.

Not when he teaches her how to be a walker. Yes, The Whisperers were good for something, and now the group will be able to lead a massive horde of walkers right to The Reapers. An honestly brilliant idea! In the meantime, Father Gabriel is scouting The Reapers and comes across a priest who completely lost his marbles.

He hesitates from killing him, even when Maggie asked him to kill any Reaper he sees if possible. Perhaps he knows this priest from before the apocalypse?

Let’s just hope Father Gabriel’s actions to spare him don’t come back to bite him. Since Negan and Maggie can’t have a single episode without butting heads, this time, it was with a slightly less hostile approach.

As Maggie points fingers at Negan for his past actions, he calmly reminds her how the people she killed had families of their own as well. He adds that he understands her role as a leader and that when bad things happen, people look to them to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

He also confesses that if he could do it all over again, he would have killed them all. But Maggie’s constant bitterness doesn’t have time to dwell on that reveal as the group needs to start gathering walkers where sadly Elijah discovers his sister amongst them.

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 7 – There is Still Hope for Leah

Daryl and Dog notice a Reaper locking up what seems to be The Reaper’s supply of ammunition. Daryl offers him a smoke while thinking about how this can help him out later.

Pope is growing angry that his people cannot find a trace of Maggie. He orders Leah and Daryl to go out and search.

While searching, Leah basically admits to Daryl that they found Maggie’s community, took it and killed everyone in it because they needed it to survive. Daryl is a little taken aback by Leah’s cruelty.

They find a house, and then a man begging for his life. He says he has a sick wife and child to protect and care for.

Unsure what to do, Leah radios Pope who tells her to kill them anyway. When Daryl and Leah enter the home, they find the wife had been bitten.

Leah orders the husband and son to leave and fails to kill the mother even when she asks them to help her. Daryl does it instead and asks Leah what to tell Pope.

She tells Daryl it will make him look good if he says he killed them. Seeing that there is still a part of the Leah he knew and had a relationship with, he begins to confess the lie he had been keeping when the two are ordered to return.

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 7 – What is going on in The Commonwealth

Oh, where do we begin with the drama that continues to unfold at The Commonwealth? Eugene, Stephanie, The Princess and Ezekiel are stuck getting rid of walkers from buildings that The Commonwealth will use when expanding their borders.

When Ezekiel starts suffering from his thyroid cancer (that he blames on dust), he is convinced to go to the hospital. However, it is obvious that the group wants to know how much longer they’ll need to be doing such exhausting work.

Ezekiel returns with Mr. Hornsby, claiming he feels better, however his jovial personality seems a little off… When Mr. Hornsby suggests they work at different locations, Ezekiel seems more than eager to agree.

Trouble is as Eugene and Stephanie approach their next working location, they spot a young couple kissing as walkers close in. They waste no time saving the couple however, the young man, dressed for an expensive outing on a boat or at a golf course, is far from thankful.

As he and Eugene bicker Stephanie kills a walker heading for the young woman. She screams at the sight of blood ruining her outfit.

Eugene takes the opportunity to punch the young man in the face. Mercer and soldiers arrive at the scene as Eugene is once again arrested.

Mr. Hornsby meets with him in his cell and promises that if Eugene gives up the community he is from, they’ll let them go. Eugene seems ready to do so, but what angle is Mr. Hornsby playing here?

He, like most in power at The Commonwealth, refuses to provide any straight answers to questions. Earlier in the episode, Yumiko’s brother Tomi is arrested, and Mr. Hornsby refuses to say why and agrees to help if she can do him a favor later on.

It’s important to add that Tomi never told The Commonwealth he was a surgeon and doesn’t want them to know. Yumiko intends to meet with Ms. Milton and almost does.

She cancels due to her son being attacked…

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 7 has a nice change of pace without losing momentum.

So what did we learn? For starters, whether you love him or hate him, the group needs Negan. He has proven himself to be a valuable resource repeatedly.

Let’s hope Maggie will keep her promise, unlike Carol… Let’s also hope Negan’s brutal honesty will also spare him later on.

Leah is probably not the cold-hearted killer she is presenting herself to be. Daryl never saw this side of her when they were together, and to be honest, I still don’t buy it myself.

However, is Leah’s goodwill with Pope running out? It seems the more she steps in to spare her friends from his wrath, the angrier he gets at her.

Since Daryl never had the chance to tell Leah the truth, this will likely all blow up in his face later on. That may also ruin any chance he could have at saving her from The Reapers.

The Commonwealth seems to have this habit of gaslighting Eugene and the group, punishing them for breaking laws and rules when they were never told any of them! They can’t read minds, and they never received a cohesive rule book as far as we know.

Will Eugene give up Alexandria or provide another location to throw them off. He could easily mention The Hilltop, soldiers arrive to find it empty of survivors and refuse to bother them about their community again.

But there is probably more at play here. Probably.

What did you think of The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 7? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 8 airs on October 10, 2021.