On this week’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” the survivors were introduced to new allies, a new environment and a new set of enemies that will shake them to the core. With new bonds being forged and new challenges on the rise, here are the most important points of this week’s installment, “Knots Untie.”

The Hilltop

We open to the recently captured Paul “Jesus” Rovia [Tom Payne] making his way through Rick’s [Andrew Lincoln] home in Alexandria, only to be confronted by his son Carl [Chandler Riggs] and a handful of other survivors.

Jesus then explains to them his true motives: he’s actually a recruiter and scout for his home, the Hilltop Colony. He then proposes a trade agreement between Hilltop and Alexandria, knowing that it will benefit both towns.

“The world just got a whole lot bigger,” he says before they set out on their journey.

Rick and the others make their way to the colony, rescuing some of Hilltop’s survivors from a small group of walkers along the way. However, even at the colony’s gates they’re treated with hostility, its guards drawing their weapons on Rick and the others. Jesus manages to convince them to be allowed inside, still hoping that Hilltop and Alexandria will form an alliance.

Hilltop, which was partially built through a preserved historic site and a handful of emergency response trailers from the start of the apocalypse, also has leadership akin to Alexandria, being led by Gregory [Xander Berkeley]. Maggie [Lauren Cohan] having been emerging as a leader while living in her respective home, attempts to diplomatically improve Alexandria and Hilltop’s relationship. They propose different trades, Hilltop offering livestock and Alexandria offering a share of their crops, both sides knowing how desperately they need resources.

This deal goes awry after a group of Hilltop colonists arrive back in town in the midst of the negotiations, who after being threatened by Negan, were forced to kill their own leader, Gregory.

It becomes apparent now that that the Hilltop colony is under the Savior’s control, and in turn Negan [Jeffrey Dean Morgan], who is slated to appear at the end of this season. For everyone in Hilltop and Alexandria, the Saviors are a force of nature that will be their reckoning.

The Saviors

Rick and the others quickly subdue the rest of the turncoats after killing the would-be assassin. It becomes apparent that they were only attempting to kill Gregory because Negan put them up to it. The Saviors had captured one of the other Hilltop survivors and was holding him hostage – bending the remaining people to their will.

In a scene pulled right from the comics, the citizens of Hilltop were horrified at the sight of their new guests, especially after they were so quick to kill someone who threatened their safety.

However, given Rick’s bad habit of killing someone right as he’s introduced to a new community this is business as usual.

With the threat of the Saviors becoming quite apparent, Rick, Maggie and the others are going to become the allies that Hilltop needs to survive under Negan’s rule.

Maggie brokers a deal with a now-wounded Gregory to secure their alliance Daryl [Norman Reedus] elects to lead an assault on Negan’s base of operations. This is all in an attempt to bring the fight to the Saviors before they bring the fight to them.

Of all the smart things that Daryl or Rick could have come up with, this is without a doubt not one of them. With no knowledge of the Saviors’ true numbers or of where they’re hiding out, this plan is going to end only one way – horribly.

The Foreshadowing

If there’s one thing that “Knots Untie” did right, it’s setting the stage for what’s come.

While avoiding a lot of major spoilers from the comics, there are a handful of game-changing events on the horizon that are going to shake Alexandria and Hilltop to the core.

Between the threats of Negan, the Saviors and the constant presence of undead lurking around every corner, the odds of anyone making it out alive at this point are slim to none. If anything is for certain in this darker world, it’s that Rick and the others have found themselves on the brink of an all-out war with Negan.

– Featured image:  -The group meets with the Hilltop Colony were they stop an assassination attempt of the towns leader. “The Walking Dead” airs on AMC on Sunday nights.- Photo Courtesy of “The Walking Dead” Facebook Page

For comments/questions about this story, email arts@thewhitonline.com or tweet @TheWhitAE.