Promises Broken (The Walking Dead)

"Promises Broken"
The Walking Dead episode
Fr. Gabriel hides in the woods while scouting Meridian.
Episode no.	Season 11 Episode 7
Directed by	Sharat Raju
Written by	Julia Ruchman
Original air date	October 3, 2021 (2021-10-03)
Running time	44 minutes
Episode chronology
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The Walking Dead (season 11)
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"Promises Broken" is the seventh episode of the eleventh season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. The 160th episode of the series overall, the episode was directed by Sharat Raju and written by Julia Ruchman. "Promises Broken" was released on the streaming platform AMC+ on September 26, 2021, before airing on AMC on October 3, 2021.^[1]

In the episode, Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari) come up with a plan to infiltrate Meridian and take it back from the Reapers; Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Leah (Lynn Collins) come across another survivor on a scouting mission; and Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Ezekiel (Khary Payton), and Princess (Paola Lázaro) work for their freedom while Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) tries to get a meeting with the leader of the Commonwealth. The episode was received positively by critics.

Plot[]

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Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari) are on the run from the Reapers, they try to think of a way to get inside Meridian while Negan insists that the mission isn't worth it and that they should go home. Maggie pressures the group to move forward, and Gabriel refuses to go home having failed their mission. Negan promises to stay on the condition that he and Maggie would be even from then on, and Maggie reluctantly agrees. Maggie hits on the idea of gathering a horde of walkers to attack Meridian with, and Negan teaches the group how to blend in with the walkers with face masks and control herds, remembering his time as a Whisperer, though Maggie initially has trouble. During a talk, Negan refuses to apologize for killing Glenn and says he only regrets not having killed Rick's entire group when he had the chance. Maggie is aghast, but Negan insists the only way he can convince her to trust him is if he is wholly honest with her, advising Maggie to not hesitate to wipe out all of the Reapers. Later, Maggie admits to Elijah that Negan is useful, but doesn't know if she can keep her promise. Later, after gathering a large horde, Maggie and Elijah see that the latter's sister has died and reanimated as a member of their horde.

Two Reapers return to Meridian and inform Pope (Ritchie Coster) that they couldn't find Maggie's group. Pope screams at his subordinates for failing to find the supposedly dozens-strong group at Maggie's command until Leah (Lynn Collins) puts herself between him and the others to take the blame. Pope angrily orders Leah and Daryl (Norman Reedus) to go scout again. While walking alone, Daryl begins asking Leah about the Reapers' history; Leah says they took Meridian, justifying it since they needed a place to stay, and that they are only hunting Maggie so she doesn't try to take revenge. Leah confides in Daryl that she sees Pope as a father figure and that his recent behavior is unusual, but Daryl is privately unconvinced. The two come across a lone survivor, who promises that he's alone and is looking for supplies for his sick wife. Leah asks Pope what to do with him over the radio, and Pope orders them to kill him and his family. The survivor leads Leah and Daryl to his hideout, where his sick wife and son are. Leah tells the man to leave with his son and never return, and he obliges as Daryl kills his wife out of mercy. Leah tells Daryl she will tell Pope he killed the family to improve his standing. Daryl tries to tell Leah something, but they are ordered to immediately return to Meridian.

At the Commonwealth, Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Ezekiel (Khary Payton), and Princess (Paola Lázaro) clear walkers out of abandoned buildings with Stephanie as punishment for using the radio without authorization. Stephanie promises that their labor will lead to their freedom. Ezekiel, suffering from thyroid cancer, struggles to kill the walkers on his own and Princess pressures him to go to the hospital, which he agrees to. When he returns a few days later, they are given a new assignment to clear walkers along a perimeter. Meanwhile, Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) attempts to schedule a meeting with Pamela Milton, the leader of the Commonwealth, but is unable to do so as quickly as she likes due to the Commonwealth's bureaucracy. Her brother Tomi begs Yumiko to keep the knowledge that he was a surgeon quiet since he is happy in his new job as a baker, but he is suddenly seized by Commonwealth forces. Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) insists to Yumiko she must take to her duties as legal counsel for Governor Pamela Milton's cabinet if her friends are to be freed from community service, and implies she will one day be tasked with providing him a legal favor.

Eugene and Stephanie find Sebastian Milton and his girlfriend Kayla under attack by walkers, however when they save their lives, Sebastian is ungrateful and accuses them of ruining his date. Eugene argues with Sebastian as a walker approaches and nearly bites Kayla; Stephanie kills it, splattering blood on Kayla. The argument escalates and Eugene punches Sebastian for his lack of gratitude. Mercer (Michael James Shaw) and Lance arrive on the scene and quickly take Eugene into custody after Sebastian accuses Eugene of attacking him and Eugene confesses to punching him, not having known he was the son of Pamela. Eugene is thrown in prison, where Lance orders him to give up Alexandria's location or he will stay in jail.

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

The episode received positive reviews. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, "Promises Broken" has a score of 92%, with an average score of 7.1 across 12 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "This installment of The Walking Dead doesn't contain a whole lot of chomp, but it effectively entwines disparate plot threads in a way that promises a big payoff soon enough."^[2]

Ron Hogan for Den of Geek gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars, writing that: "It feels dismissive to call 'Promises Broken' a table-setting episode, but that’s what it is."^[3] Hogan praised the chemistry between Reedus and Collins, but felt that the episode was mostly setup for future episodes, and the episode by itself is only mediocre.^[3] Erik Kain for Forbes called the episode "much more grounded" than the previous episode.^[4]

Ratings[]

The episode was seen by 1.89 million viewers in the United States on its original air date.^[5] It marked an increase in ratings from the previous episode, which had 1.78 million viewers.^[6]

References[]

External links[]

• "Promises Broken" at AMC
• "Promises Broken" at IMDb