Previously on Dead City...
Manhattan can once again inspire and spread hope,
which is why we've been going from town to town
drafting soldiers for an exploratory mission,
as is the federation's right by treaty.
She thinks she's coming to Manhattan and she's not!
You're not my mother!
Ginny can go, but I can't?
I'm only going because I have to.
There is to be an exploratory mission
followed by a massive land invasion.
So, we must be ready with an army of our own.
Shit. Scared me .
I was told to do maid service, but uh...
clearly the room's still occupied.
You know, when I was a kid,
my dad forced me to learn the violin.
And I started taking lessons.
Fought it the whole way.
My teacher thought I might find some inspiration
in Vivaldi.
Not for me. Too, uh, light.
My mom suggested Mozart.
Too dry.
Dad was a big Brahms guy.
But I'm not even gonna play you Brahms
because Brahms is the absolute fucking worst.
And then...
I found Bach.
Bach...
was full.
It was layered.
And exciting.
So even when my dad was being a tyrannical fucking asshole,
I always had Bach.
If I could just focus on Bach,
then maybe I could get through another shitty lesson.
Constable Hook will take us into the Hudson,
then we'll dock at Pier 25.
Governor's Island can serve as cover
in the event of an engagement.
Engagement?
This is an exploratory mission.
Sure. But you never know, right?
Back to your unit, Soldier.
I got it.
A ferry?
The Croat is gonna see us coming from miles away.
- How could you not-- - Hey, hey.
Sure, look, a ferry's not discreet,
but that's why the bay was chosen.
No way he can see us from here.
And with the element of surprise, we'll be able to--
He already knows that you're coming thanks to you.
You told him who you were, right?
Where you came from?
He's probably been prepping for an invasion
since the second that you escaped.
He's smart and paranoid.
He may not know how or when, but trust me,
he knows that you're coming.
If I'm gonna convince Governor Byrd
to change things up at the 11th hour,
you're gonna need to give me more than a hunch.
Hey.
Lucille must be thirsty, no?
We just received the signal.
We can presume their ship is being loaded and fueled
as we speak,
but they will never reach the island
now that the others are with us.
One.
Just the one group.
We're still waiting on Christos and Bruegel.
Well, yes, but their services are not yet being required.
My Burazi have been preparing for this very circumstance
for some time now. You'll be quite pleased, Dama.
This is a gift I received from Bruegel
after your church service.
Are you familiar with it?
No.
Saturn devouring his son.
As Roman myth goes, the titan Saturn
feared a prophecy that he would be overthrown
by one of his offspring.
So he decided to eat his children one by one
as they were born.
But the sixth child, Jupiter, tricked his father
into eating a stone in his place.
Other painters of his time, the academies,
they shied away from...
ugliness and brutality.
But not Goya.
He was the father of modernism, a revolutionary.
Right.
So what do you think of the plan?
What do you think?
Or are you too distracted,
all aflutter at the thought of your family's arrival?
Look, I think it's a solid plan.
I do. It'll knock out the ship.
But it certainly isn't a death blow.
Like you said though, just the first wave.
So we just crank it up.
We give 'em a Fourth of July, laser light-style spectacular.
And not just for the ship, but their people back home.
And also the folks that are on our side.
You know, these gangs are having trouble making up their minds?
Now, Jesus Christ, let's just erase
any lingering doubts, shall we?
Negan is right.
The two of us,
we will work together
to come up with a more
spectacular element to our defense.
You holding up okay?
Look...
Things may have come out wrong before, back home.
That's on me.
But it's just us here now.
And we've only got each other,
so if you need anything,
I'm here.
I got it.
Mom?
Hershel...
what are you doing here?
Krista let me take a horse, and I tracked you.
I was just sitting there after you left,
thinking about where you were headed
and what could happen to you.
I mean, they basically kidnapped you.
What did you do when I was kidnapped?
You didn't just sit around. No fucking way.
So...
Okay...
- I'm sorry. - It's okay.
We'll keep you hidden tonight, but you are heading back
first thing in the morning.
What is all this?
A signal.
To the Croat?
Then we gotta go. We gotta get outta here.
We gotta get Ginny.
I mean, if he knows they're coming, there's no way we can--
Hey there, you two.
You were spotted fleeing the camp, deserting,
- which is why-- - I wasn't fleeing, I was--
Which is why-- Which is why, Soldier,
you were being followed in the first place.
Clearly your son was waiting to help you--
Governor Byrd, I...
She was only following orders. I asked her to look for proof
that the Croat knows we're coming.
Does he?
We found a smoke signal.
That's how he communicates across the Hudson.
She's right. I can vouch for that.
And if he knows we're coming, he'll be ready.
We need to postpone.
Send a small group in a canoe, a raft, something--
And leave our entire army behind? You can't be serious.
We've been planning for months.
Now is the time to strike.
What's your take, Colonel?
The Croat might know we're coming,
but not tonight.
If we leave right away, we regain the element of surprise.
Okay. We deploy immediately.
Find General Houseman.
Why the hell did you bring me here
if you're not gonna listen to a damn thing that I say?
Me and my son and anybody else here who has got their head
on straight are going home now.
The law against draft evasion also applies to desertion.
That is what you're fixed on right now,
- hanging me from a tree? - No, not just you.
You and the 20 soldiers you stood in for
starting with that one right there.
Insubordination is also a crime.
- Secure her in the shaft alley. - Don't fucking touch me!
- Get your hands off of him! - Put him in there, too.
Don't touch him!
He wasn't even supposed to be here!
I don't see how detaining the boy is gonna solve anything.
It's not a matter of opinion, Colonel.
It's about the law.
Negan...
You must be excited, no?
The bastards who tried to execute you
will now be facing their own execution
at your hands.
Come on, Negan.
Why so glum?
In the old days, back at the Sanctuary,
you used to relish the chance to take down anyone who crossed us.
Only days after I arrived, there was a group of-of-
of savages. They attacked our home.
Took us by surprise.
Demanding we hand over all provisions.
Naturally, we expected Negan to fight back, but...
to our astonishment,
he meekly surrendered.
As a show of respect,
Negan wanted to honor the savages with a sort of...
gozba.
Feast.
A lavish feast.
We would provide all the food, all the drink.
Serve them. We were utterly dismayed.
Where had our fearless leader gone?
Then...
Come on. You tell it.
You tell it better. Come on.
A meal like this, you have never seen.
Bigger than before times.
I'm talking 10 Las Vegas buffets lined up in a row.
And then there was the main course, the meat.
Venison, the finest that the forests of Virginia could offer.
But see our guests, they didn't get that meat.
No, see at the last second,
I had my butchers switch it out
for walker meat.
If only you could have seen them,
throwing their guts up all night.
Let's just say by dawn,
the Sanctuary's walker moat had grown considerably.
Main point is you, you protected us.
You gave our enemies exactly what they deserved.
I know that you wanted to help, but,
this is why I came here.
This is exactly the reason I wanted to come by myself.
I mean, Jesus Christ, Hershel.
Hershel?
Give us a minute.
I'm sorry. I don't agree with this at all.
- Okay, then let us out. - You heard what Major Narvaez--
What, she doesn't answer to you? I thought that you're a colonel.
You punched her.
Then at least get them to turn the boat around
and save the 50 innocent lives that are heading straight
- into an ambush. - Look, maybe you're right.
Maybe the Croat tries something, but New Babylon will fight back.
We're bigger, better equipped, better organized.
You are wrong. You have got this blind spot.
All of you.
You can't see it, but you're so obsessed
with getting back what you lost that you overlook anything
- that gets in your way. - That's not true.
You underestimate me, fine.
But do not underestimate the Croat.
You know what he's capable of.
Let us go. Let us all go.
I'm sorry.
No.
Hey. Hey!
Can you believe it?
We are traveling to the city the same way that
hundreds of thousands of laborers did every single day.
Did you know this very ferry was--
God...
Get ready. Keep it tight.
My God.
Ironic to think the natural resource
pulling them to the island
will be the agent of their demise.
The mechanism is beautiful in its simplicity.
I had originally been contemplating a more
elaborate strategy, but then an old mnemonic from my childhood
floated into my mind,
something my secondary school chemistry teacher
would recite for us.
Forgive me for the bastardized translation.
It won't sound nearly as poetic as the original.
Sodium and water, what a fierce little pairing.
Strongly exothermic, they come together in a flaring.
Electrons transfer in the water,
releasing heat and light.
Hydrogen and sodium hydroxide, what a sight.
Gaseous byproducts emitted in a plume.
So be careful while you work,
or else you'll end up with a...
boom.
What the hell was that?
The buoys, they're bombs. Methane bombs, I think.
Some kind of trigger on impact. It's a minefield.
Cut the engine and drop anchor immediately.
Secure all units below deck.
Yes ma'am.
Another one. Look out!
Whatever orders you've been given, you've got to forget 'em.
I need you to help, okay?
Did they give you the keys to our handcuffs?
Please, come back.
Hershel, I need you to listen to me.
There's a-- There's a broken pipe above you.
If you stand up, your handcuffs can reach the sharp part of it.
Honey, please, I need you to listen to me
because we've gotta get off this boat right now.
- We don't have a lot of time. - I fucked it up.
I fucked it all up.
No. I'm so sorry for what I said to you earlier.
None of this is your fault.
You should-- Ginny?
What are you--
Thank you.
Hold out your arms. Hold out your arms.
Listen to me, I need you to focus, please.
You came out here to help me, right?
That's what I need you to do. I know you can do it.
Okay.
If we stay anchored, I think it should buy us some time.
Go, go, go. Go, go.
Ginny, get this one.
I got it. She's my mom.
Go find whoever you can and bring 'em here.
What is that?
Governor Bryd, watch out.
Mom!
Give me your hand.
Get the other cleat.
All right, go ahead. Fire.
Fire!
Fire.
You good?
Just wait.
Okay. Fire.
Fire!
There's too many.
We've gotta move. Let's go! This way.
Come on! We gotta go!
- Let's move! - Fall back, fall back.
Granted, it was our first battle, but what a rout.
It was resounding, explosive!
Washed up near Pier 45.
M-my-my name is Benjamin Pierce.
And I'm just a writer, a historian.
I'm-I'm not part of the army.
Umm okay, I can-- I can prove it.
Here. These are my notes.
Good to meet you, Mr. Pierce.
I look forward to reading your history as soon as it's legible.
Have we... met before?
I very much doubt that.
What would you like us to do with him, Dama?
Let him visit with us for now.
In case I have any questions.
Oh, I almost forgot.
Before we get to the celebrating,
there's a loose end that needs tying up.
Who were you trying to spare?
Right on cue.
You asked to see me?
It's Victor, right?
Whatever you're planning,
you take it out on me, not him.
Wow.
You made quite the impression.
You've cracked his shell.
That is no easy task.
Trust me.
I understand you play the violin.
I only ask because a violin was found at your station.
Outside his cell.
I'm guessing you are very talented.
That would certainly make an impression on me.
And the last thing I would ever do
is rob the world of what little is left of the artists
and the visionaries.
Are you a fan of classical music, Mr. Pierce?
Being a self-proclaimed historian, I'd imagine so.
We would love to hear you play.
Please.
It's okay. Take your time.
It's not like your life depends on it.
I was stalling because there was a kid.
- That's it. - A kid?
Some random kid who didn't deserve to die.
Bravo. Bravo.
I have to say, hearing you play like that with so much control
and expression, in this sacred space,
brought me back.
It brought me all the way back to the old days, the old city.
I mean, Bach!
He was the best of his time.
The culmination of everything that had come before him.
Or another way to say it,
he was the best of what everyone else had been doing for a time.
A long time. He didn't change the world.
He didn't imagine something new. He wasn't a revolutionary.
He just perfected what had come before.
Instead of pushing us forward, he chose to take us back.
I am not interested in going back.
No! No!
No!
You did good.
Very, very good.
All right, now that we've taken care of that.
That's them again.
I saw a park up the street. It's dense, overgrown.
We can hide out there till sunset at least.
She's right.
She's been right this whole time.
I'm sorry about everything from before.
I don't know what is going on with me. I just...
freaked out.
I'm just...
I'm glad you're okay.
I love you, Mom.
I love you, too.
Let's move.