The Walking Dead Recap, season 9, episode 7: "Stradivarius"

From beginning to end, it was a strange episode. The intro was short and frantic; the last moments, exceptionally quiet and anticlimact. Yes, we had a good time at Camp Dixon, finally visited Hilltop and met Bernie, a beloved friend of the Randos, who became a fashion nightmare. But the story has barely budged and we are still in the dark as far as the talking dead who have harassed Rosita (and do-who-knows-what with Eugene). In short, most of the time, there is filling before the mid-season finale.

But let's start with Rosita, who deliriously after escaping the marauders and leaving Gimpy alone in a barn. (That sounds very safe and sure, I'm sure he's fine.) What's even more interesting than Rosita's situation is how she was discovered – by Jesus and Aaron after finishing up being wrong, or as they call it, "Training." The relations between Hilltop and A-town are not only icy, they are hostile to the limit; J and A need to sneak up to find themselves in the woods, fight and serve a tea on life at their outposts. This decision that Zeke is planning is apparently a big deal, and Jesus confirms that Michonne does not want to participate. After Rick's death, what happened so deeply to polarize the two communities?

Maggie is a person we can not ask because she took him to Hershel and went out to find Georgie. Where are they exactly? Who are they working with? Who did Siddiq promise not to tell Michonne about Maggie's departure? No idea. What we do know is that Hilltop is booming: start the song "April Skies" by Jesus and Mary Chain (with lyrics on the nose such as "the world collapses" and "life is When we zoom in on a potter, a guy on an apartment bike producing electricity, ethanol or something like that, Enid as a separate health care professional whole, Tara as head with paperwork and all the material, and a big ass farm. Jesus also won an uncontested election as Hilltop leader and he is super pumped about that. So it's not surprising that he prefers to fight zombies than to stay home when you hear the detailed list of problems that require his attention: Maggie's wife strives to expand her crop field; Enid wants more space for "medicinal herbs" (let's be realistic – you know that Jesus has a potted culture somewhere); Alden wants to send a team for scrap; and there is a noise complaint from the trailer 7 because Tara gave a kazoo to a child. The latter should be a reason for banishment.

Luke is an ardent fan of kazoo, who collects musical instruments since at least as far north as Philly. The Randos do not do much except to continue the debate about sticking to Michonne's rules or to divide, mumble conspiracy, and then remember that they can use sign language so that no one know that they mumble conspiracy. They also continue to talk about Bernie and, aside from his cashmere shirt, we do not understand why they are so obsessed with this guy. Even if I'm going to give this to Bernie, he knows how to make an entrance, even in death. There is not much zombie chaos in this episode, but Yumiko marks the day's slaughter with only one arrow coming out of a groan. Perhaps to return the favor, Michonne delivers a murder of mercy very human when Bernie comes a-chompin.

Our favorite swordsman also does not have much impact, except to indulge in his feelings about the Randos and, in case of overreaction, cut Luke's rare violin in two. (Although for Michonne's defense, why was he so curious not to just tell him that he was holding a stringed instrument, not a grenade?) Worse than the destruction of a rare historical artifact, Luke's speech about how art is why humans have lived neanderthals and why they will need a Gibson Flying V to rebuild humanity or something like that. To be fair, his argument is valid: the culture of humanity must be preserved in order to be able to enjoy it once survival is no longer the most important task of every day.

Camp Dixon is even more entertaining, where Daryl leads a life of loneliness. How is it in landfills? His helicopter is under a tarpaulin. But to make sure you do not feel too bad, Daryl has a dog that likes to eat away at the body parts like a good boy – and his name, hilarious, is Dog. Maybe Daryl is so scared of intimacy, so marked by loss, that he can not even give his hairy friend a proper name (like Harley or Jack Daniels or Dirtball). Speaking of scars, we see that he wears on the back the same X-shaped mark that Michonne wears, as well as several others, including a long face figure. It's another mystery that has not been solved, but we learn that Daryl initially came here in search of Rick and never came back.

We also learn that Carol did not come here for a loot reminder or a snakemeat meat recipe; she wants Daryl to move to Hilltop and serve as a director of Zeke's idealistic yang in Henry's life. It is not Carol's call that softens her old friend, but Henry's; he does not want to be more babysat than Daryl wants to do the sitting, but it is Carol who helps himself, that the two help each other (will shine the contemplative gaze of Daryl). She could not smile more widely when Daryl dusted off his motorcycle and said he was on board.

It seems that everyone's plans change by the end. Michonne agrees to stay with the Rando caravan when she learns that Rosita is injured and at Hilltop. Jesus casts his list of things to do on Tara and declares that he will seek Eugene with Aaron. And Daryl is eager to join them and get back into action. Henry is on the ground, but it probably suits him very well because he crushes difficult on Enid. She is now a trap, given her apocalyptic status of Florence Nightingale, but she is also far too old for you, kid. Stay away from this Oceanside brat, however. (And speaking of where are they?)

So we watch Eugene's search troop flee to an unknown threat and … well, that's it. (Cue the sad trombone.) Connie feels like she's playing a key role in what's going to happen; while one sense is removed, others intensify, and it looks like it has some sort of zombie radar. But there are more questions than answers and we hope that the next chapter will be more satisfying than this one.