SQUAWKING DEAD: [Episode 184] Season 11, Episode 14 of The Walking Dead, "The Rotten Core"

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The Rotten Core isn't just about the rot inside #TheCommonwealth (namely, and for the sake of brevity, #LanceHornsby), but the surprisingly emotional exploration of what it must've been like for #MaggieRhee & #Negan to live inside their grief for so long: how it manifests, (re)visiting specific scenes from this perspective.

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David Cameo:
Rachael Burt:

🎖SURVIVORS TIER MEMBERS:

Jasmine:
Bridget:

INITIAL THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS

The Rotten Core is also the name of The Walking Dead comic book's 31st volume.
Story-wise, the comic volume would start around the time of TWD 11x12 The Lucky Ones.
Rachael: Loving savage Aaron, but still isn't on board with his parenting!
Did Aaron have to kill Toby Carlson?
What is The Commonwealth armor made out of (that don't produce bullet holes when Carlson was hit, center mass)?
Bridget: Felt that this episode didn't hold up to the previous episode, Warlords: it was a little too slow for her.
Jasmine: Liked the scenes with Hershel Rhee & Negan, but not a fan of Negan's nuptials with Annie, citing a callback to another (possibly?) ill-fated romance between Daryl Dixon & Leah Shaw (TWD 11x18 Find Me).
Was the Negan & Annie dynamic too much for fans to accept/handle in one episode?
Does the Isle of the Dead spin-off series (with Negan & Maggie Rhee) signal Annie's death sentence?
If the foretold clash between Lance Hornsby & Maggie occurs next episode, what does TWD 11x16 look like?
Is a revolution within the walls of The Commonwealth around the corner?
Are the writers trying to lure the fans into a false sense of security based on what the know from the graphic novels?

THE LAYERING OF LANCE HORSNBY

The Lance we experience on the TV series is a far different (and more interesting) character from his comic book counterpart!
Sherrandy's take: Lance seems less like Saul Goodman (Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul) and more like Petyr Baelish (Game of Thrones)
Lance lets slip to Carol Peletier things only work if people play their part (rather than do their part).
Is there a connection between he and Primrose (the post-credits scene during the season finale to The Walking Dead: World Beyond)?
Bridget mentions The Walking Dead's companion graphic novel The Alien which portrays the brother of Rick Grimes, Jeffrey Grimes, surviving the zombie apocalypse in Spain.
Dave recommends watching The Night Eats World, a zombie film that takes place in France (in English) on Amazon Prime.
Do we even have enough information to produce theories on Primrose?

THE LIST

Who are the names on the list slipped under Connie & Kelly's door in TWD 11x11 Rogue Element?
Who gave them the list?
April Martens is one of those names and might be the April we meet in this episode.
What was the intention of giving Connie this list and what role will having it ultimately play?
Could Lance have given them the list to stir the pot?
Do the events of this episode end up ruling out Mercer as a possibility?
What about Shira or Roman Calhoun?
Could Lance could be attempting to indict Pamela Milton by way of shining a light on Sebastian Milton’s crimes?
Could Lance and Pamela be related (cousins)?
Could Lance have sent out Carlson to get rid of a future threat?
Might Lance have been attempting to rope-in Carol much in the way he did Carlson?
In our coverage of Fear The Walking Dead 6x04 The Key, we discovered that the color green represents poison or rot: Lance has a bright green apple paperweight on the desk in his office.
According to Semiotics & stuff (blog), the green apple represents the mind, red apples represent the heart.
Is Lance (what he previously describes to Carol in Rogue Element as) a true believer? Does Lance feel he is doing the right thing?
How similar is Lance to The Governor (Phillip Blake)?
Aliza’s comparison of Lance and Simon (of The Saviors) is starting to seem more accurate.
Why does Lance need Carol, really?
Could Carol have become a villain had she joined the wrong people?
Was Lance genuinely upset that Sebastian put Daryl and Rosita Espinosa in harm's way?
Do both Lance & Sebastian consider people like Daryl, Rosita, and Toby Carlson as expendable losses?
What if Lance is just setting up our survivors as scapegoats or a common enemy of the people of The Commonwealth?
It seems like Mercer been on the edge for a while: Is this a turning point for him?

MERCER TAKES A STAND

How satisfying was it to see Mercer take out his own men?
Does Lance have a higher ranking position than Mercer?
Isn't General Mercer just under Pamela?
Tyler Davis is on the list given to Connie and Sebastian was the one to apprehend him.
Does rank and file even matter of Sebastian can do as he pleases?
With Castle & Alves taken out by Mercer, will Daryl & Rosita take over as Sebastian's goon-squad?
Could Mercer's extrajudicial execution of Castle & Alves have consequences?

GOODBYE TOBY

What does Toby Carlson realize at this moment?
Could it be that Toby realized Lance might've been sending him to slaughter?
Just like the Stanley Milgram experiment, how often do we all cater to authority?
Is it possible that Mercer, himself, might've done horrific things, similar to Toby Carlson, under orders?
Considering our lack of notes, was as straight-forward an episode as it seemed?

THE BAD MAN

Will Hershel tell Maggie what happened between he and Negan?
Rachael wants to know why Maggie didn't immediately hug Hershel. Dave explains why Maggie might've made the right call.
Will Hershel, Annie, and Annie's (unborn) child be a part of the Maggie/Negan spin-off series Isle of the Dead?
Could all the TWDU spin-offs be an homage to Robert Kirkman scheduling comic book release dates and creating cover art for fictitious issues (then stopping at issue 193)? In other words, are they are a red-herring/non-existent?
Does Negan feel intense remorse over killing Glenn Rhee?
Had he known Glenn was about to become a father, would Negan have killed someone else during the line-up (TWD 6x16/7x01)?
Can Negan be truly redeemed? Does he even want to be?
Maggie's feelings toward Negan remind us of Alicia Clark's & Charlie's interactions in FearTWD 4x10 Close Your Eyes.

GUT UP OR SHUT UP

Do Daryl & Rosita see themselves in April?
Why did they even take this job?
The way Mercer, April, Daryl, and Rosita exit the panic room feels like a callback to Jessie Anderson's and Sam Anderson’s deaths in TWD 6x09 No Way Out.
What happens to orphans in the Commonwealth? Is there an adoption agency?
Are there incentives for taking in orphans?
Behavioral statistics with Dave on procreation rates among the upper and lower class (and why only the upper class can afford to adopt)

#TEAMLEAH

On whose side will Leah Shaw end up?
What are Leah’s aims?
What is the likelihood that she returned to her cabin and found Daryl's note/map to find him?
Will we ever find out why did Pope "marked" Maggie?
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Is Leah channeling her inner clear Morgan Jones?
Is Leah operating alone or has she teamed-up with others?
Jasmine dares to ask: What if Leah killed Connie or Carol?
Where are Virgil, Cyndie, and Luke?
Caryl and Donnie and Darleah! Oh my!