WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 12, “The Lucky One,” which aired Sunday on AMC.
Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, “Rogue Element,” saw Eugene desperately putting the pieces together behind “Stephanie’s” sudden disappearance and, in the process, discovering a great conspiracy involving a rogue government — hence the episode title. This week’s episode, “The Lucky One,” switches gears, primarily focusing on Josh Hamilton’s Lance Hornsby and his eager attempt to bring Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside into the Commonwealth’s fold.
Given the communities’ — particularly Alexandria and Hilltop — ramshackle conditions after the war with Alpha and the Whisperers, it seems like a solid idea on the surface. Long-time Walking Dead fans want nothing more than for the protagonists to (finally) find success and happiness. However, as last week’s episode revealed, Lance is at the center of the Commonwealth’s rogue government, and his intentions with the communities are anything but pure.
While some survivors like Aaron are desperate to see their community rebuilt and the people safe, others are more resistant. Lauren Cohan’s Maggie remains the major roadblock in Lance’s dream of what sounds a lot like world domination. Without Maggie’s corporation, Oceanside also refuses to align with the Commonwealth based on their Mutual Protection Pact with Hilltop. Aaron is an easy sell for Alexandria and even agrees to accompany Lance and Pamela Milton to Hilltop.
However, Pamela and her small army of Commonwealth soldiers run into Maggie outside Hilltop’s gates fighting off a group of walkers. It’s the first sign of many that things are far from fine at Hilltop. When reuniting with Aaron and Daryl, Maggie is quick to question, “Why do you trust these people?” to which Daryl responds, “Who says that we do?” Daryl’s snarky remark spotlights the fact that the protagonists who have already aligned with the Commonwealth have done so out of desperation and exhaustion. And it’s these very things that Lance thinks he can exploit in Maggie.
Back at the Hilltop, Lance offers Maggie’s people extra supplies while the soldiers start repairing some parts of the community. Later, he tries tantalizing her with fantasies of her son Hershel going to concerts, doctor’s appointments and even college. With the help of the Commonwealth’s 50,000 people and by acquiring new communities, Lance believes he can create a “better world.” While Maggie initially seems swayed, seeing the Commonwealth’s militarized soldiers and strict hierarchy discourages her. She denies Lance and Pamela’s offer based on the belief that with their help comes a great cost.
From what The Walking Dead has revealed about the Commonwealth so far, that cost seems to be freedom and equality. However, as to who Season 11’s true villain is, it still remains somewhat blurry. While Lance’s creepy sentiment to Aaron about “remaking the world” at the episode’s conclusion suggests he will be the main antagonist, Pamela’s morals still remain unclear.
Earlier in the episode, she goes off with Maggie on a hunt. There, the two seem to generate an inkling of respect between them after protecting each other from a stray walker duo. Pamela also seems to care enough about her people to lose sleep over their safety, or so she says. While she suggests having powerful allies is important to her, she expressed hesitation when touring Alexandria, especially after seeing a walker breach the perimeter. She also seemed concerned when learning of Deanna’s fate (Remember Deanna? RIP) — perhaps because they knew each other personally or because she fears the same will happen to her if she gets involved with Alexandria.
That said, when Lance tells her Maggie denied the offer, Pamela isn’t overly bothered. On the other hand, Lance remains hellbent on acquiring all three communities. This prompts Pamela to call him out for attempting a power grab and wanting to run one of them himself, saying, “I’m going to pretend you were doing this for the good of the Commonwealth instead of for yourself.” Lance claims he is doing all this for her, and Pamela gives him the go-ahead to “try” and make it work. However, if he neglects his job back home, there will be consequences, with Pamela reminding him that “the Commonwealth always comes first.”
While all this is going on, Eugene reconnects with Max, aka the real “Stephanie” from the radio. She explains to him how her brother Mercer and the Commonwealth found out about their conversations while Eugene attempts to apologize with sincerity and, of course, raspberry ice cream. While Eugene’s love life was looking pretty dismal, his conversation with Max ends on a relatively high note as they carry over their chemistry from the radio into real-life — sort of like Walking Dead‘s versions of Love Is Blind.
Ezekiel also makes some progress with his illness. He is happy to discover he was moved to the top of the surgery list, and his debts were cleared. However, when Carol arrives at his apartment to inquiry about his doctor’s appointment, it doesn’t take long for him to put two and two together. Carol then admits Lance owed her a favor. Ezekiel’s hopefulness immediately turns to anger and guilt. He accuses Carol of cheating, but Carol reasons that it isn’t bad to take advantage of loopholes in a broken system.
While Ezekiel ultimately appears to go through with the surgery, the moment serves as yet another example of the Commonwealth’s corruption. Although The Walking Dead‘s protagonists have faced all manner of hardships and villains, this beast is nothing like they’ve encountered before. The Commonwealth represents a pre-apocalypse world, and the survivors are quickly realizing that not everything in the old world was as great or simple as they remembered.
To see Lance’s clear descent into villainy, new episodes of The Walking Dead air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and are available to stream early on AMC+
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