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How are we already on a hiatus??? Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead is the first of two mid-season finales for the final season, as the show closes out for 2021. Maggie, Negan, and the others march their walker herd straight to the gates of Meridian. Pope shows a singular focus in trying to defeat his enemy, putting the lives of his people at unnecessary risk. Leah begins to voice her doubts about Pope to Daryl. Maggie and Gabriel wreak havoc inside the walls of Meridian. Leah and Daryl establish their loyalties in a huge way. Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, the community struggles to protect themselves against a monstrous storm. Virgil gives Judith some much needed insight. Rosita reminds the group that she is a badass. Gracie and Judith find themselves in danger. 

The Walking Dead will return on February 20, 2022 (Feb. 13 for AMC+ subscribers) with a second 8-episode arc. (This information was released after the recording of this episode).

In the penultimate episode of Marvel’s What If…? series, we are forced to ponder the question, “What If…Ultron won?” Picking up from the previous episode, we see the consequences of Tony Stark’s attempt to “place a shield around the world” if it had gone a different way. Imagine a world where Ultron not only had Vision’s body, but all of the Infinity Stones as well. With much of the regular universe destroyed, Ultron’s attention is turned to another being and the infinite possibilities of other worlds destroyed. In order to defeat Ultron, one sacrifices their life for the greater good, and another must break an oath and seek assistance from an unlikely source. In a world of what ifs, anything can happen.

In this episode of The Walking Dead, our groups have to deal with lots of conflicts in order to move forward with getting much-needed help for Alexandria. After being chased into the woods, Maggie and Elijah encounter a face from the past. Maggie comes up with a plan to get to Meridian undetected, and it will require some instruction from Negan, which leads to some uncomfortable conversation between the two. Gabriel's scouting in Meridian leads to a moment of self-reflection when he observes another man of the cloth. Elijah's hopes for a reunion with his sister does not turn out as planned. In the Commonwealth, Eugene, Ezekiel, Princess, and Stephanie pay the price for breaking the rules. Yumiko bargains to work as an attorney in exchange for assistance for Alexandria, but she faces complications once her brother is taken in custody. Eugene finds himself in a precarious situation after saving, then attacking, an important member of the Commonwealth community. Daryl and Leah find themselves on Pope's short list, and a mission to find Maggie's group leads them to a situation that compromises Leah's loyalty to the Reapers.

It should be illegal to laugh so much in one hour.

Join us as we discuss the seventh (and only lighthearted) episode of the Marvel's What If...? series, questionably titled "What If...Thor Was An Only Child?" In this version of the universe, Odin does not bring Loki back to Asgard with him, leaving him on Jotenheim to be raised by the Frost Giants. Raised as an only child, a spoiled Thor ducks his royal duties as his father enters the Odinsleep, and instead comes to Midguard (Earth) to throw the party to end all parties. The guest list is a Who's Who of darn near everyone in the Marvel Universe - alien and Earthling alike (including his brother-from-another-mother, Frost Giant Loki). When Thor's partying gets out of hand, it takes a few women - powerful in their own way - to get him to clean up his act. All seems well...until a visit from a strange being puts even The Watcher on edge.

CONNIE IS BACK!!!! Is there really anything else you need to know about this episode? Oh wait, I guess some other important stuff happened too :)

Running away from some unknown threat, Connie and Virgil emerge from the woods and seek shelter in an abandoned house. When Connie's instincts confirm that they are not alone, they are separated and forced to fight a new and dangerous threat. Having learned that her sister may still be alive and near, Kelly sets off on a solo hunt to find her, only to be joined later by Carol, Magna, and Rosita. Back at Meridian, Frost appears to give Pope a location for where Maggie and her crew may be hiding. As Leah leads a team to find them, Daryl has to find a way to warn Maggie without blowing his cover. Back at the creepy house, Connie and Virgil fight their way to safety and come across some unexpected allies. Daryl and Leah find themselves on the outside looking in. 

This episode was originally recorded on September 26, 2021.

Tony...Tony...Tony! What are we going to do with you? The question is answered in the sixth episode of the Marvel's What If...? series, as we see the domino effect of what happens if Erik Killmonger had saved Tony Stark from being kidnapped. Without the lessons learned after being kidnapped in Iron Man, Tony remains the arrogant, narcissistic, playboy billionaire still trying to live up to and surpass the legacy left behind by his father. Having saved Tony in the desert, and subsequently outing Obadiah Stane as the mastermind behind Tony's kidnapping, Killmonger secures his place as Tony's Head of Security and right hand man - to the dismay and distrust of Happy and Pepper. Promising at first, the results of this partnership has long-reaching consequences for all involved.

There's so much to discuss about this episode of The Walking Dead. Aaron is having nightmares about the collective enemies the group has faced over the years, and it begins to take a toll on his behavior. After walkers breach the failing wall, Aaron, Jerry, Lydia, Carol, and Rosita head out to Hilltop to see if there are any tolls to be salvaged to help rebuild the wall. They come across some stray Whisperers, and things get a bit out of control, until Carol steps in to be the voice of reason. As they leave, the receive a hopeful bit of news about one of their missing members. Back at Alexandria, Judith finds herself the victim of bullying by some of the older kids, and she expresses her fear of being alone to Rosita. While looking for supplies to fix a cherished broken object, they get a radio call from Eugene at the Commonwealth, just before he is caught and arrested for improper use of government property. Mercer and Princess share an awkward but promising interaction. Yumiko finds what she is looking for. Negan and Maggie clash in an uncomfortable confrontation. Eugene, Ezekiel, and Princess face punishment by the Commonwealth, until a possible ally steps in.

This episode was originally recorded on September 17, 2021.

BRAINS!!!!! Not many of them left in this episode of Marvel's What If...? When Bruce Banner is hurled back to Earth to warn of Thanos' impending arrival, he finds Earth (and his fellow Avengers) very different from the way he left them. A zombie virus born in the Quantum Realm finds its way onto our plane of existence after Hank Pym's (this dude AGAIN!!!) attempt to retrieve his wife produces deadly consequences. A small group of our heroes try to get to an old S.H.I.E.L.D. base to find a cure, but incur heavy losses and encounter unexpected obstacles during their mission. This episode was fun, but let's just say we are all tired of Hank Pym being the cause of the Avengers' deaths!

This episode was originally recorded on September 14, 2021.

In this episode of The Walking Dead, we see the aftermath of the Reaper attack from Daryl's point of view. As he and Dog go after one of the Reapers, they are again attacked and separated. As Daryl searches for Dog, he runs into someone else from his past instead. Taken captive by the Reapers, Daryl is tortured for information and then put through a trial by fire in order to meet Pope, the mysterious leader of the Reapers. Not knowing the status of anyone else in his group, Daryl plays lone wolf in order to gain the Reapers' trust so that he can gather whatever information may help him and his group out. But Daryl quickly learns that Pope is not a man to break trust with, and must walk a very thin line to stay safe.

Hanako also talks about her Dragon Con experience of meeting Ross Marquand (Aaron), Seth Giliam (Father Gabriel), and Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha).

This episode was originally recorded on September 10, 2021.

Talk about Strange! The fourth episode of Marvel's What If...? series goes even darker as we see how far Dr. Strange would have been willing to go if he had lost his heart, Christine, in the car accident instead of losing his hands. After studying the mystic arts to repeatedly - and unsuccessfully - try to change the events of the crash, Dr. Strange pushes his limits trying to break the Absolute Point of Christine's death, with horrific consequences. 

Article mentioned in this episode: What If...Is Officially MCU Canon (IGN)

This episode was originally recorded on September 12, 2021.