"Outpost 22" is the twenty-first episode of the eleventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the one-hundred and seventy-fourth episode of the series overall. It premiered on October 30, 2022. It was written by Jim Barnes and directed by Tawnia McKiernan.

Plot

Separated from their children, Maggie, Gabriel, and Rosita track a military convoy to a mysterious destination. Ezekiel, Kelly, Negan, and Annie find themselves at a work site. Daryl and Carol follow a train that has taken Connie aboard.

Synopsis

In the back of one of the Commonwealth transport trucks, Maggie wakes up and shakes off her hood, finding Gabriel and Rosita with her and their guard asleep. Maggie remembers being forcefully separated from Hershel when the Commonwealth soldiers had abducted them. Maggie manages to break free of her zip ties and quietly wakes up Gabriel. Unscrewing a piece of metal from the wall, Maggie cuts Gabriel loose who frees Rosita. Rosita and Gabriel jump from the back of the moving truck, but the guard wakes up before Maggie can escape as well and the two struggle over his gun. The gun goes off in the fight, accidentally killing the truck's driver. Finally, Maggie throws the soldier from the back of the truck just before it crashes into a tree. Climbing out, Maggie finds the passenger dead, having been flung from the truck and into the tree by the impact. Maggie attempts to take the driver's gun, but she is forced to flee into the woods as the rest of the Commonwealth convoy approaches.

The next morning, as Gabriel and Rosita lie unconscious in the road, their former guard, now a walker, approaches Rosita who wakes up just in time. Gabriel draws the walker's attention towards him and yanks his helmet off, giving Rosita the chance to grab the soldier's machete and impale him in the head with it, putting him down. The two quickly begin scavenging the body for his weapons and radio while Gabriel notices that Rosita was injured in the fall from the truck, although she brushes off his concerns. Over the soldier's radio, a soldier from Outpost 41 reports that there's no sign of the dead soldier or the escapees. Another soldier reports in that he has found a set of boot tracks that might be from the dead soldier. Rosita says "fuck" under her breath. Realizing the danger, the two take off down the road before the Commonwealth forces can find them.

On the Commonwealth bus, Ezekiel wakes up and removes his hood, groaning in pain as someone bangs on the side of the bus. The other prisoners, amongst them Negan, Annie, Kelly and Theresa, follow suit. Ezekiel makes sure that everyone is alright, and Kelly confirms that she's unharmed. Annie notices that one of the trucks is missing and Negan notices that there's no sign of Gabriel, Maggie or Rosita either. Kelly reports that the soldiers are unloading a bunch of stuff off of the trucks, but she can't see the kids. Annie tells the other two that she was in and out of consciousness and that they had stopped for a few minutes during which time there had been a crash. Annie guesses that it was their missing friends which Negan admits fits, stating that they likely bailed, but stops himself from bringing up the worst-case scenario.

The Warden boards the bus and greets the prisoners, telling them that today is the first day of a new beginning. The world works when everyone knows their place and the prisoners' place is at the bottom. All of the resources that the Commonwealth uses to bring the old world back into the new and sustain it all starts at places like this. The Warden suggests that they should take comfort in knowing that good people will benefit from their labor there which the Warden calls their redemption and salvation. The Warden promises that everyone's children are safe and being tended to and that they will get to see them again if they play by the rules. However, they need to work as one to be able to do that and the Warden announces that nobody has a name anymore as they have no need for them. The Warden won't tell them his name and they are forbidden to address each other by their own names.

The Warden directs several prisoners to exit at the rear, including Annie. After sharing a look, Negan allows his wife to leave, but he promises to get his family out of this situation. As Annie exits, the Warden explains that the selected prisoners are being transported to another site while the rest of them will work at their current location until the railroad tracks are clear. The Warden orders everyone to follow him out of the bus, but Negan hesitates, worried about his wife's safety as the selected prisoners are driven off in another direction. The Warden promises that, while the work is hard, they will be protected by the Commonwealth. The Warden suggests that although they have been "delivered from the paradise of the Commonwealth, take solace in knowing that it's better being here than it is being out there, in the wastelands." The prisoners are set to work on clearing boxcar wreckage from the area.

Maggie makes her way through the woods, looking around for her missing friends, and encounters a child walker, reminding her of Hershel's abduction and their separation. Maggie grabs a rock to put the walker down, but can't bring herself to do it as memories of losing Hershel flash through her mind. Dropping the rock, Maggie walks away, and the walker follows her.

Rosita and Gabriel reach the road and Rosita begins following the tracks of the Commonwealth convoy. Gabriel calls for her to hold up, and asks what their plan is. Rosita intends to follow the convoy wherever it goes, but Gabriel points out the foolishness of that plan as there are only just two of them. However, Gabriel doesn't have a better idea and Rosita suggests splitting up in order to cover more ground, but Gabriel refuses to leave her. Two walkers emerge from the woods and Gabriel quickly puts one down, but Rosita suddenly collapses in pain when the other walker attacks her. Gabriel saves her, and Rosita reveals that her arm is dislocated, and that she needs Gabriel's help to pop it back into place. Gabriel fixes Rosita's arm, but she insists on pressing on rather than resting, blaming herself for Coco being taken. Gabriel tells Rosita not to torture herself and reminds Rosita of her own words when Gabriel beats himself up: "quit bitching and move forward." As Rosita finally calms down, the two are surprised to hear a train whistle in the distance as there are no trains anymore.

On a hillside, Daryl and Carol observe several Commonwealth soldiers at a siding by the Commonwealth Train Depot that Lance Hornsby had led them to. The train arrives, carrying two Commonwealth jeeps and motorcycles and Carol asks if they can follow it without being seen. Daryl thinks that if they hang back far enough, they'll be fine before a jeep arrives carrying a captive Connie. Seeing one of the soldiers talk into a radio, Carol turns on their own stolen radio and they overhear the soldier report that he has to put an exile on the train despite it being a cargo transport and thus against regulations. Another man responds that it has been cleared from on high as Connie is going to be Designation 2 rather than a worker. The soldier is ordered to get her there safely, but the reaction of both men to the news makes it clear that Connie being Designation 2 isn't a good thing. Carol wonders what Designation 2 is while Daryl knows that they can't go get Connie as the soldiers will radio ahead and warn everybody. They need to find the kids first, but Daryl is clearly troubled by his inability to help Connie. Carol reassures her friend that they will follow the train to the others and bust them out all at once. Daryl watches the train leave with a conflicted look on his face.

Daryl and Carol follow the train in their stolen jeep, but they have trouble keeping up with its course. Carol has Daryl race ahead of it and they stop at a junction that the train is eventually going to hit where Carol suggests that they just sit tight until it does. However, Daryl doesn't think that he can do that and gets back in the jeep. Carol stops him from leaving, knowing that seeing Connie being taken aboard the train reminded them both of losing Connie in Alpha's Cave. Carol reminds Daryl that Kelly had told them that "we can't save them if we're dead" when they thought that they had lost Connie. Carol is willing to follow Daryl's lead on this, but she worries that if they go it alone, they might just be making the same mistakes again. Daryl reluctantly concedes that Carol is right, and she takes his hand in comfort.

Walking along the tracks, Maggie follows the sound of the train whistle, but she is forced to quickly hide in a ditch as a motorcycle approaches at a railroad crossing. Trooper Nelson stops and reports in that the crossing is clear and that he's moving on to the next area for their sweep. The man on the other end orders Nelson to give it another sweep before moving on as they need to find the missing prisoners. The child walker approaches as Maggie grabs a loose railroad spike from the dirt and Nelson prepares to shoot the boy. Taking advantage of his distraction, Maggie stabs Nelson in the right armpit, knocks his helmet off and pistol whips Nelson unconscious with his own gun. The walker grabs Maggie from behind, but she overpowers and restrains the boy after a brief struggle. Grabbing the railroad spike, Maggie tearfully comforts the boy before stabbing him in the head, putting him down. Reminded of losing Hershel once again, Maggie cries as she holds the child walker's body. Daryl and Carol drive up, surprised by the scene that they've found.

At the junction, Maggie tells Carol that the soldiers had just ripped Hershel away from her and she wasn't strong enough to stop them. Carol hands Maggie a canteen and Maggie states that she hates not knowing which is worse. Maggie breaks down crying, but Carol reassures her friend that this is not on Maggie, and she is just one person, but Maggie continues to blame herself. Hugging Maggie, Carol tells her that she barely saw Daryl or anyone else when she got her new job at the Commonwealth. They were just doing their own thing and the Commonwealth is like the old world. Back then, they never would've spoken to each other, but they were all forced to become family after the fall which is a good thing and a gift that's held even in the Commonwealth. Carol points out that Pamela's forces had to come at them while they were separated, meaning that they scare the shit out of Pamela. Pamela failed, they are not alone anymore, and they are going to make it right. Rosita and Gabriel join the two women, explaining that they'd heard a train and followed it.

Inside, Daryl lowers Nelson to the ground against a wall and checks his wound. Recognizing that it's mortal, Daryl tells Nelson that he's running out of time, and he asks the other man to do something good with the time that he has left and tell him where the train is going and what Designation 2 means as one of Daryl's friends was put on it with that designation. Coughing up blood and in pain, Nelson doesn't respond to Daryl's questions. Daryl tells Nelson that he was like him once: he joined the force because his family needed money which Daryl guesses is Nelson's motivation as well. Turning violent when Nelson continues to remain silent, Daryl yells that the Commonwealth has taken his kids from him and he wants them back, going so far as to kick the dying man. Entering, Carol tells Daryl that the train is going to be here soon, and Daryl suggests that they can hurry, drawing his knife and he offers Nelson the choice of dying quick or screaming.

Gabriel recognizes Nelson as a man from his church who was there every Sunday at the back pew closest to the door. Nelson would always come a little late and leave a little early, and it had seemed like Nelson had wanted to talk about something. Nelson asks if God forgives people like him, but Gabriel doesn't know, although he wishes that he did. Nelson admits that he's torn up all of the time with guilt and shame. Gabriel states that it's because Nelson's a coward, but that's alright as he's trying not to be. Gabriel knows that fear can drive people to do things that bring shame, but it can also push them into the light. Nelson is trying to do the right thing now which God sees and so does everyone else. Nelson tearfully wishes that he'd talked to Gabriel sooner which Gabriel wishes too. Nelson coughs up blood and Daryl nods to Gabriel who tells Nelson that "people remember the last thing that you do. The end of each story is very important. How do you want yours to end?" Nelson finally reveals that the Commonwealth punishes exiles by making them do hard labor and their friends are on railway duty. However, Nelson doesn't know where as he was only called out when they escaped, and they have to follow the train to find their friends. Addressing Daryl, Nelson states that he's only heard rumors about Designation 2 with the rumors stating that the Designation 2s are taken far away and they are never seen again. Daryl leaves and Gabriel agrees to pray with Nelson while he goes. Carol leaves at Gabriel's request and he sits down and prays with the dying man.

A few minutes later, Gabriel emerges carrying a bloody knife, having stabbed Nelson in the head to keep him from reanimating after he died. Daryl tells his friends that Connie's gone if the train pulls in, but Rosita worries that if the train sees them coming, they're going to radio ahead and the best way for them to get the kids is for the Commonwealth to not know they're coming. Daryl refuses to just leave Connie on the train and Carol tells him that she has an idea about how to do both.

At the work camp, Kelly approaches Ezekiel as they work on clearing the tracks and tells him that there's only three guards and they should run and make a break for the trees. However, Ezekiel orders her not to do anything and to stop talking and keep working. Negan approaches one of the soldiers and asks about his wife, but the soldier whacks him in the face with a nightstick. The soldier tells Negan that the prisoners only stop to eat and sleep which Negan acknowledges. Two Commonwealth residents and an Alexandria resident make a run for the trees, but Ezekiel stops Kelly from going after them. The soldiers open fire, killing the three prisoners, and the soldier that assaulted Negan orders everyone else back to work.

The train arrives at the junction where Trooper 192 emerges and puts down a walker before trying to move the junction switch which is stuck. Wilson attempts to let Outpost 22 know that they have a stuck junction switch and that it will take a few minutes to dislodge it, but he receives no response as Trooper 192 puts down another walker that emerges from the woods. Entering the cab, Maggie orders Wilson to put down the radio at gunpoint. Daryl and Carol sneak along the side of the train, putting down an approaching walker before ducking as an annoyed Jones asks his fellow soldier how hard it can be and Trooper 192 challenges him to come over so he can show Jones. Spotting a herd emerging from the woods and coming down the tracks, Jones orders Trooper 301 and Trooper 263 to cover the woods and the flank respectively.

Daryl and Carol crawl under the train as Jones jumps off the side, puts down a walker and goes to join Trooper 192 at the junction switch. In the woods, Trooper 301 finishes clearing the woods of walkers and calls in that the woods are cleared and she's heading back. Rosita and Gabriel ambush the soldier, disarming and killing her quietly so as not to draw notice from the other soldiers. Jones attempts to move the junction switch without success, and takes a closer look, realizing that someone had purposefully jammed it.

Alarmed, Jones orders everyone to get back there now, but Daryl opens fire before anyone can respond, killing Trooper 263. As Daryl and Carol take cover on the train, Jones and Trooper 192 each come down one side of the train, engaging in a gunfight with Daryl and Carol. Maggie emerges from the train cab and shoots Trooper 192 dead from behind. Daryl proceeds down the side, only to have Jones emerge with Connie as a hostage. Jones forces Daryl to disarm himself and, after Daryl admits that they had disabled the train's long-range antenna, Jones demands to know exactly what they did to it. While the soldier is distracted by Daryl, Connie breaks free and Jones takes off running through the train, chased by Daryl after he makes sure that Connie's alright. Jones takes one of the motorcycles being transported on the train and flees while Carol helps Connie to her feet. Leaving his friends to deal with the approaching herd, Daryl takes the other motorcycle and chases after Jones who crashes his motorcycle after going off-road with it in an attempt to avoid Daryl. Sliding his motorcycle under a fallen tree, Daryl hits Jones, sending him to the ground and knocking the man's helmet off. Daryl stabs Jones in the head, killing him.

Carol, Maggie, Gabriel and Rosita lead Wilson into the building where he refuses to help, stating that he's dead if he helps them. Wilson is shocked to see Nelson's dead body and Maggie warns the man that he's dead if he doesn't help them. Wilson explains that his family lives at a nearby outpost and if the Warden finds out that he helped them, Wilson will end up just like their friends. Rosita explains that the Commonwealth took their children and asks about the family that Wilson had mentioned before suggesting that Nelson had a family too. After a moment, Wilson tells them that there's a map in the train's engine room. Maggie and Carol take Wilson to get the map. Daryl returns and reunites with Connie, admitting in sign language that he was afraid that he wasn't going to see her again. Connie reassures Daryl that she's not going anywhere, causing Daryl to chuckle.

Suddenly, Daryl and Connie hear the sound of Wilson shouting at Maggie and Carol and rush over to see him holding a tool to his own throat while the two women try to talk him down. Wilson is terrified that the Warden will kill his wife and two sons if he helps them. Carol offers that if Wilson helps them, they will injure him, nothing serious, just enough to make it look like the engineer had barely gotten away from them and Wilson can tell the Warden that he escaped. However, Wilson believes that the Warden will know that he lied, torture him once he does and then kill Wilson's family. Despite Carol's efforts to talk him down, Wilson drives the tool through his neck, killing himself in order to spare his family from the Warden's vengeance.

At the work camp, Ezekiel collects two bowls of slop and brings one to Kelly who is too depressed to eat after witnessing the prisoners die trying to escape. Negan secretly approaches Ezekiel who is pissed, having purposefully stayed away from Negan for years. Negan tells him that Ezekiel needs to shelve that shit, but Ezekiel lists Negan's crimes of melting people's faces with irons, coercing women into marrying him and slaughtering his people which Ezekiel hasn't forgotten and neither has anyone else. Negan admits that he hasn't forgotten either and that he probably deserves to be in a place like this for the things that he's done, and it fits him. However, it doesn't fit Ezekiel, the others, or Negan's wife and baby that is on the way.

Reluctantly, Ezekiel asks where the soldiers took Annie, but Negan doesn't know although he needs to find Annie like he promised to do. Negan is coming to Ezekiel as a soon-to-be father and as a man who has led people. Negan and Ezekiel have got to put their troubles with each other aside and work together for everyone's sakes. Ezekiel asks what Negan has in mind and Negan tells him that he knows the Warden's playbook of using fear as a weapon, causing Ezekiel to ask if Negan wants to scare people into an uprising. Negan points out that that only works if you're the one holding the gun and fear won't work. However, hope will which is Ezekiel's thing rather than Negan's. Looking at Kelly, Ezekiel sadly states that this place thrives on separating people, and it is already breaking them down. They have to unite people, but they need a spark that reaches into their hearts and wakes them up and Ezekiel doesn't know how to do that here when they can barely even talk to each other. "I can get you your spark," promises Negan. "But when I do... you need to know that I doubt that I'll be getting out of here with you." Ezekiel is confused by this statement, but they are ordered to get back to work before Negan can explain himself. Ezekiel agrees that he's with Negan for now as they return to work.

Connie asks Daryl if they don't know which way to go which he confirms. Connie knows that Kelly is at Outpost 22 and scared and Connie can't lose her. Daryl promises Connie that they will find Kelly and Rosita suggests getting the train's long-range radio working again. Agreeing with the plan, the group heads back to the train to get the radio working again.

At night, the Warden orders everyone to pack it in and load up. As the prisoners begin to board the transports, the prisoners that were killed earlier reanimate and are quickly put down by a soldier.

Posing as Trooper 301, Rosita radios in to Outpost 22, claiming that the train was overtaken and she's lost in the woods with the group still looking for her and she needs to get back to the site. Finally, a friendly soldier responds and Rosita identifies her location as Junction 7, stating that she's the last one left. The woman begins giving Rosita direction from Junction 7 to Outpost 22.

The Commonwealth convoy arrives at Outpost 22, leaving Ezekiel, Negan and Kelly shocked as they recognize it.

The soldier informs Rosita that they don't have any spare units to send out her way for a pickup as they have a convoy coming in for colonial processing on Pamela's orders. "Word is that most of the processes used to live here before the Commonwealth claimed the territory and turned it into an outpost, back when it was still called Alexandria." The soldier tells Rosita that the Warden will debrief her when she arrives and to shoot to kill if she has to engage any hostiles. The group is stunned by the revelation that Outpost 22 is actually Alexandria and Daryl informs Connie of this development. "Milton has underestimated us since day one. We are gonna get our kids, take back our home, and make it right. And Pamela is never gonna see it coming," Maggie declares to her friends who are filled with new determination.

Other Cast

Special Appearance

• Yvette Nicole Brown as Commonwealth Soldier (Voice Only)

Co-Stars

• Kien Michael Spiller as Hershel Rhee
• Vincent Van Hinte as Trooper Jones
• Keller Fornes as Tower Trooper
• Jonathan Bergman as Child Walker
• Barrett Doyle as Trooper 192
• Morgan Davis as Trooper 263
• K.D. O'Hair as Trooper 301
• Kirk Riley as Watch Trooper

Uncredited

Deaths

• Child Walker (Alive, Confirmed Fate; Zombified)
• Nelson
• Trooper 301 (Off-Screen)
• Trooper 263
• Trooper 192
• Jones
• Wilson
• 3 unnamed Commonwealth soldiers (1 Alive and Zombified)
• 2 unnamed Commonwealth residents (Alive and Zombified)
• 1 unnamed Alexandria resident (Alive and Zombified)

Trivia

• First appearance of The Warden.
• Only appearance of Jones.
• Only appearance of Nelson.
• Only appearance of Wilson.
• Last appearance of Neil. (Flashback)
• The title of the episode, "Outpost 22", refers to the destination of the Coalition captives which is revealed to be Alexandria which has been renamed Outpost 22 by the Commonwealth after their takeover.
• This episode was made available for streaming to subscribers of AMC Premiere on October 23, 2022.
• Daryl is now fluent in sign language and able to act as Connie's interpreter in the absence of Kelly.
• This episode contains several references to past events.
  • Gabriel tells Nelson that "fear can make us do things that bring shame," likely referring to Gabriel locking his congregation out of his church and possibly his early actions in Alexandria.
  • Ezekiel refers to several of Negan's previous actions such as melting people's faces with irons, forcing women to marry him and slaughtering Ezekiel's people in "Monsters" and "Some Guy".
  • Maggie's closing speech is similar to the one that Rick gave at the end of "A".
• This episode features the first on-screen interaction between Negan and Ezekiel. Ezekiel reveals that he has purposefully avoided Negan for years due to his lingering anger over Negan's actions.

Comic Parallels

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Episode Highlights

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