Walking Dead: The Next World

"The Next World" is the tenth episode of season six of the zombie survival horror television series The Walking Dead, and the seventy-seventh episode of the series overall. It was directed by Kari Skogland with a script written by Angela Kang and Corey Reed. It first aired on AMC on Sunday, February 21st, 2016 at 9:00 pm. In this episode, Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon go on a supply run and encounter a man named Paul Rovia, aka "Jesus", who proves to be more trouble than he's worth. Michonne follows Spencer Monroe out into the woods to find out what has been troubling him. Carl Grimes takes Enid out into the woods as well and make a grisly discovery. And yes, this is the episode that has the booty-call/hook-up that fans have been clamoring for.

Synopsis
Several weeks have passed since the group liberated Alexandria. Carl is healing nicely from his eye injury, and Rick Grimes is feeling confidant about their future. Rick and Daryl Dixon decide to go on a supply run, but before they leave, Denise Cloyd approaches Daryl with a list of medical needs. Also on the list is soda pop, which she wants to get for Tara Chambler.

Rick and Daryl drive towards town, but Daryl is not a fan of the CD music that Rick plays on the radio. They stop at a gas station where they find a moving truck filled with many useful supplies. They also find an overturned vending machine. Unable to move it on their own, they hook it up with a chain to the trailer hitch of the truck. As they are getting ready to leave, a strange masked man with long hair surprises them. He introduces himself as Paul Rovia, though most people call him "Jesus". Rick and Daryl pull their guns and are instantly on alert. Jesus goes on the defensive and apologizes for upsetting them. He appears to be in a hurry and excuses himself. Rick and Daryl then hear what appears to be gunshots coming from around the corner. They race around the building, but it is only firecrackers in a metal barrel. They realize that Jesus picked Rick's pocket for the truck keys, and is now gunning it down the road, dragging the vending machine along with it.

Back in Alexandria, Carl Grimes and Enid go out into the woods to relax. Carl pours over a comic book that he had found. They hear a shuffling in the woods and Carl jumps up. He spies a walker coming in their direction and yells at Enid to leave. As the creature draws near however, Carl takes no action against it. Meanwhile, Michonne notices how Spencer Monroe has been going out into the woods alone after his watch with a shovel]. She follows him out, but Spencer has little to say. He reveals nothing about the true nature of these walks, but Michonne begins to suspect something. Before long, Spencer's motives become quite clear. They see the undead form of his mother, Deanna Monroe, shambling towards them. This is the same walker that Carl refused to destroy earlier on. As she gets close, Spencer mournfully finishes her off by driving a hunting knife through the back of her head.

Out on the highway, Rick and Daryl run after the truck. They catch up to it after they see that it has blown a tire. They fight with Jesus, who proves to be more than able-bodied combatant. Despite his martial arts skills however, Rick and Daryl defeat him. They tie him up and leave him on the side of the road. They continue driving until they hear a loud thumping noise on the roof. Clearly, Jesus had escaped his bonds and found a way to climb onto the truck. Rick slams on the brakes, and the man goes flying forward onto the road. The three of them begin fighting again, but all of the noise has attracted some walkers. While Rick deals with a few of them, Daryl continues punching on Jesus inside the cab of the truck. Jesus gets his gun away from him and points it at Daryl. He tells him to "duck", and as Daryl does so, Jesus shoots the walker that was closing in behind him. Though Daryl is grateful for the save, it doesn't make him any less angry at Jesus and they continue fighting.

The truck lurches off an incline in the road and begins slipping into a lake. Daryl and Jesus fall out of the truck, but the open door slams Jesus in the head knocking him out. Not only do Rick and Daryl lose their valuable supplies, but now they have an unconscious thief to deal with. Rick doesn't believe that the man is inherently evil, and decides to bring him back to Alexandria. Daryl reluctantly follows Rick's lead.

Later that evening, Michonne returns to the house that she shares with Rick and Carl. Carl tells her about the walker he saw in the woods and says that it was Deanna. When Michonne asks him why he didn't destroy her, Carl tells her that it should come from someone they love; someone who is family, and that if the need arose, he would do it for her.

Michonne goes inside and finds an exhausted Rick. The two share tender moment, which quickly turns into passion and they kiss. Rick and Michonne spend the night together. The following morning, Jesus bursts into their room uninvited. As Rick and Michonne leap to attention, Jesus says, "We should talk".

Notes & Trivia

 * The Walking Dead was created by writer/executive producer Robert Kirkman and developed for TV by Frank Darabont.


 * "The Next World", "The Walking Dead: The Next World", "WD: The Next World", and "TWD: The Next World" all redirect to this page.


 * This episode is rated TV-MA. It contains strong language and acts of extreme violence.


 * Co-executive producer Denise M. Huth is credited as Denise Huth in this episode.


 * Associate producer Amy Barnes is credited as Amy Beth Barnes in this episode.


 * Actress Tovah Feldshuh is given a guest-starring credit, but it is held until the end of the episode so as to not spoil viewer to her appearance as a walker.


 * This episode had a viewership of 13.483 million people upon its initial broadcast, which is down by .259 from "No Way Out".


 * This is the first appearance of Paul Rovia, who will become a recurring character on the series. He is based on Paul Monroe, who appeared in The Walking Dead comic book series beginning with issue #91 in November, 2011.


 * The comic book that Carl Grimes is reading is a copy of Invincible, which is published by Image Comics, the same company that publishes The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman is a writer on the comic.

Body count

 * Walker - Shot in the head by Paul Rovia.
 * Walker Deanna Monroe - Squelched by Spencer Monroe.

Quotes

 * Rick Grimes: You said you didn't have a camp. You on your own?
 * Paul Rovia: Yeah. But, still, it's best not to try anything.
 * Daryl Dixon: Best not to make threats you can't keep, either.
 * Paul Rovia: Exactly.

....
 * Rick Grimes: It is pretty stupid of us to go out there, isn't it?
 * Daryl Dixon: Yep. Do it again tomorrow?
 * Rick Grimes: Yep.

....
 * Paul Rovia: Do you even have any ammo? [Rick and Daryl both shoot a coming Walker] Okay. You gonna shoot me over a truck?

Crew

 * Robert Kirkman - Executive producer
 * David Alpert - Executive producer
 * Greg Nicotero - Executive producer
 * Tom Luse - Executive producer
 * Gale Anne Hurd - Executive producer
 * Scott M. Gimple - Executive producer
 * Bear McCreary - Composer
 * Avi Youabian - Editor
 * Grace Walker - Production designer
 * Michael E. Satrazemis - Director of photography
 * Jolly Dale - Producer
 * Caleb Womble - Producer


 * Paul Gadd - Producer
 * Heather Bellson - Producer
 * Matthew Negrete - Supervising producer
 * Channing Powell - Supervising producer
 * Corey Reed - Co-executive producer
 * Angela Kang - Co-executive producer
 * Seth Hoffman - Co-executive producer
 * Denise Huth - Co-executive producer
 * Christina Perez - Associate producer
 * Amy Beth Barnes - Associate producer
 * Alex Coley Brown - Associate producer