Sumith Prasad
The twelfth episode of AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘The Walking Dead’ season 11 centers around Pamela and Lance’s visits to the nearby communities. They arrive at Alexandria to inspect the renovations and go to Oceanside and Hilltop for discussing the prospects of a partnership. After collecting food supplies for Alexandrians, Maggie is in Hilltop with Elijah, Lydia, and Dianne. Pamela’s visit forces Maggie to decide the fate of Hilltop with severe consequences. Intrigued by the significant developments concerning the fate of the survivor communities, we have taken a magnified look at the episode’s ending. Here are our thoughts! SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 12 Recap
The twelfth episode of the eleventh season, titled ‘The Lucky Ones,’ begins with Max explaining what happened regarding Stephanie to Eugene. Max makes it clear that it was her who talked to him over the radio and not the Stephanie he met in the Commonwealth. She reveals that she had to stop communicating with him when her brother Mercer found out about the communication breach, only to get shocked to see Eugene with a different Stephanie. In distress, he sits by a lake and expresses his sadness to Rosita. Meanwhile, Ezekiel comes to know that he can undergo surgery soon.
Lance leads Pamela to visit Alexandria. She gets impressed by the establishment but safety concerns arise when a walker breaches the wall. After Alexandria, Pamela and Lance go to Oceanside and talk to Rachel regarding Oceanside’s partnership with the Commonwealth. Rachel informs Pamela that her community will accept the partnership only if Maggie’s Hilltop does the same.
To convince Maggie, Lance and Pamela go to Hilltop and encounters her midway. Pamela becomes captivated to see Maggie’s leadership and explains her offer for Hilltop to join the Commonwealth. Maggie expresses her happiness to see Daryl and Aaron and she ponders over Pamela’s offer.
Back in the Commonwealth, Carol visits Ezekiel, who informs her about the surgery. Carol becomes ecstatic, only for Ezekiel to realize that she is behind his sudden selection for the surgery. He becomes morally conflicted about his selection but Carol convinces Ezekiel to undergo it. A swarm of walkers arrives at Hilltop, who gets killed by the Commonwealth army in no time.
The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 12 Ending: Why Does Maggie Pass On Pamela’s Offer? What are Lance’s Ambitions?
Like Alexandria, Hilltop is suffering from the lack of necessities that include food and shelter. When the Commonwealth approaches, extending their resources in return for a partnership, Dianne and the others try to make Maggie realize how much Hilltop needs such assistance. However, Maggie is aware that the Commonwealth is a double-edged sword. Maggie is worried whether accepting Pamela’s partnership will pave the way for her autonomous reign, restricting the independence and sovereignty of Hilltop and the members of the community. The last thing Maggie wants to see is Pamela using the lives of her compatriots according to the latter’s wish.
The ways and appearance of Pamela make it clear that she is not one among the people she represents. Her demeanor displays that she considers herself as a superior being to her citizens. Maggie, who lives along with her community members without the superiority of a leader, realizes that she doesn’t want to give away her community for Pamela to rule. Maggie is wise and experienced enough to understand that “partnership” is just a polite way for Pamela and the Commonwealth to hijack Hilltop. Even though the scarcity of food and shelter is a concern, Maggie doesn’t want to pawn Hilltop’s freedom for the luxuries Pamela offers.
Influencing Maggie to accept Pamela’s offer is indispensable for Lance’s ambitions. Although Pamela is the governor, Lance is the ambitious one between the two. His yearning for power leads him to Alexandria, Oceanside, and Hilltop. He knows that if he can manage to add the three communities to the umbrella of the Commonwealth, Pamela cannot ignore his significance in the civilization. If he succeeds in doing so, Pamela may be forced to consider Lance as the governor of the external communities.
Authority over Alexandria, Oceanside, and Hilltop may turn out to be a significant force independently for Lance to threaten Pamela’s power. Even though Lance’s ulterior motives aren’t revealed yet, there is a possibility that Lance is trying to dethrone Pamela using the authority of the other three communities to establish himself as the sole tyrant of the survivors. Maggie’s rejection challenges Lance’s ambitions, especially since he will fail to convince Oceanside as well. In the upcoming episodes, we may see Lance trying his best to change Maggie’s mind to move his pawns in a hidden battle with Pamela for unchallenged power.
Do Eugene and Max Get Together?
Upon realizing that Max is the real Stephanie, Eugene becomes conflicted. He fails to perceive whether he loved Max, who talked to him over the radio as Stephanie, or Shira, who shared her life with him in the Commonwealth upon deceiving him as Stephanie. After thinking considerably, Eugene goes to meet Max to request a second chance at his attachment with her. However, Max initially expresses her doubts about the second chance and questions Eugene about how he failed to understand the differences between her and Shira.
A helpless Eugene can only inform Max that he was lured into Shira’s acceptance after several rejections. In his heart, Eugene knows that the foundation of his love for Shira was built through his conversations with Max. After mourning the betrayal, Eugene returns to his senses and realizes that the feelings he had for Stephanie do belong to Max. Although Max rushes to dismiss him initially, she is ready to give Eugene a chance. She talks to him about his novel and reminisces about the adorable connection they cherished through their conversations over the radio.
Max’s heartening interaction with Eugene indicates that she will consider giving Eugene a second chance. Even if a relationship is off the table currently, Eugene’s request and Max’s positive reaction display that there is a stage for them to get together in the future, especially once they start to spend time together as they did through the radio.
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