WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 19, “One More,” which aired Sunday on AMC.
So far, Season 10C of The Walking Dead has given us character-focused episodes. While the premiere episode of the extended season showcased Maggie’s return, last week followed Daryl and Carol. Episode 19, “One More,” picks up with Gabriel and Aaron. Armed with a map created by Maggie, the duo have been on the road for weeks, searching for much-needed supplies to bring back to Alexandria.
The episode kicks off with a bloodbath as Gabriel and Aaron slaughter a group of walkers in an otherwise idyllic field. After, they discover the remains of a burnt house that Maggie labeled “Unsearched Structures” on the map. From the state of the building, Gabriel quickly concludes there aren’t any supplies left. However, the entangled corpses of what appears to be a family — two adults and a child — draped in wildflowers catch Aaron’s eye. The torched house is reminiscent of the barn destroyed down by the Reapers in Episode 17, but there is currently no evidence to support their involvement.
Continuing their journey, the duo comes across a walker melted to a tree. The discovery prompts Gabriel to toss a kitchen timer into the field and lure other undead out of the tall grass. Aaron and Gabriel continue following Maggie’s map. After stopping to search some abandoned cars, Gabriel declares they only have “two more” places left to search. This brings them to an old convenience store. Upon climbing to the store’s roof, Gabriel finds another group of dead people that serve as an unpleasant reminder of Alexandria’s fate if he fails to return with supplies.
Although Aaron wants to head back because he misses his daughter, Gabriel insists they check the last location. While en route, Gabriel falls headfirst into a puddle of mud after a submerged walker snags his ankle. Aaron kills the walker and helps Gabriel to his feet, but it’s too late — Maggie’s map is destroyed. Without the guidance of a map, the two agree to retrace their tracks, which leads them to a previously unexplored warehouse.
While searching the warehouse, Gabriel spots a stack of bibles. Simultaneously, Aaron follows a banging sound coming from behind a closed door. Upon opening it, he is unexpectedly attacked by a boar, causing him to let out a bloodcurdling scream that sends Gabriel running and, later, into a fit of laughter. That night, they take shelter in the warehouse and turn the boar into bacon. As an added treat, Gabriel pours them each a glass of rare whiskey that he brags easily costs over 2,000 dollars. Although Gabriel wants them to savor the flavor of the whiskey, Aaron convinces him to pour more in atonement for their “rough day.”
The scene transitions. Now, the whiskey is half gone, and the men are gambling, using old bottle caps in place of chips. Aaron starts a conversation with Gabriel by asking, “What does God think of you drinking and gambling right now,” to which Gabriel replies in a slurred voice, “He’s probably okay with it.” The question encourages Gabriel to recount his priest mentor, who taught him that “real ministry isn’t speaking from a pulpit, it’s talking to people one on one.”
Aaron confides in Gabriel that he felt good when the group focused on helping people and bringing them back to Alexandria. Gabriel is less optimistic, stating that things won’t return to the way they were, a sentiment that echos Carol’s thoughts on the matter in Episode 18. Aaron fights him on it, but Gabriel says, “Evil people aren’t the exception to the rule. They are the rule.” This blunt statement ends their conversation, and the scene cuts to Gabriel and Aaron passed out drunk.
Gabriel awakens the next morning, hungover and alone, realizing Aaron never made it back from his bathroom run. While searching for his friend, he finds a stranger in the warehouse, who asks him what they were cooking last night and if he can have a bite. Over a plate of food, the man accuses Gabriel of breaking into his place, killing his boar and drinking his whiskey. Gabriel ensures him they meant no harm, but the man reveals Aaron’s metal weaponized arm and calls his bluff.
Things escalate quickly. The man removes a gun and shoots through a window into a room where Aaron is tied up. Gabriel, mistakenly assuming the stranger is a believer in God, tries appealing to the man’s faith, but he informs Gabriel he just uses the bibles for toilet paper. The man goes on to quote Gabriel, saying, “Evil people aren’t the exception to the rule.” As Gabriel realizes he must have been spying on them, the man retrieves Aaron — now tied to a chair — and sits him across from Gabriel.
The man removes a gun, loads it with a single bullet and places it in the center of the table. At gunpoint, the man explains Gabriel and Aaron have to play Russian roulette to decide which of them gets to return home to their daughters. The twist is the men can choose to aim the gun at themselves or each other. In a tense scene, Gabriel and Aaron take turns playing, both choosing to hold the gun to their own heads.
Gabriel and Aaron tell the man they are family, and they will never turn on each other. Unconvinced, the man recalls when his brother stole food from him, and he had to “take care of it.” Gabriel insists they are different, but his words seem lost on the man as he raises his gun to Aaron and yells at him to pull the trigger. Just as Aaron’s about to, the man screams to stop. With a change of heart, the man cuts Aaron free. He introduces himself as Mays right before Gabriel clunks him over the head with Aaron’s weaponized arm, killing him.
Gabriel assures Aaron that they are still good, to which Aaron questions, “Are we?” Nonetheless, Gabriel demands they couldn’t take Mays with them because he had killed his own brother and his family. Before the duo set off, they discover Mays’ hiding spot in the warehouse’s upper half. To their shock, they find Mays’ brother chained up, muttering, “My family. He made me play.” Gabriel frees the brother, but he snatches Gabriel’s gun and takes his own life, falling next to the remains of his dead family.
The episode concludes by focusing on old photos of Mays and his brother smiling. It’s a chilling reminder of how the apocalypse can change people. Although Gabriel and Aaron may have grown closer while on their mission, they were also faced with the harsh reality that people can’t be trusted in The Walking Dead. Perhaps proving Gabriel was right when he said, “Evil is the rule.”
The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton and Cooper Andrews. The series airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and is available to stream early on AMC+.
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