Walker Wednesday: Eugene and Sasha’s Fateful Decisions

On Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead, fans began to see the unraveling pieces that will present as the bumps in the road on the way to war. ‘The Other Side’ showed breaks in an already unsteady foundation and proved that even the best-laid plans aren’t promised to pan out as you may hope. There were two main examples of this, and both took viewers at home by complete surprise. Just as we’d gotten used to two separate ideas, and tried to make sense of them in our heads, things abruptly changed.

The loss of Glenn and Abraham was painful in a way that we’ve not experienced yet and the characters are still trying to deal with that. Hell, the cast and fans at home are still trying to deal with it as well. In terms of Abraham’s death; Eugene, Sasha, and Rosita had the hardest time understanding the loss and trying to work through the aftermath. They changed, and in their own way, they learned to cope. It was discovered, recently, that Rosita and Sasha had a plan to take Negan out, but it wasn’t just a plan, it was a suicide mission. Neither of the two anticipated coming back. They were willing

It was discovered, recently, that Rosita and Sasha had a plan to take Negan out. However, it wasn’t just a plan, it was a suicide mission. Neither of the two anticipated coming back. They were willing to sacrifice themselves in hopes of avenging the loss of their friends and stopping Negan from unveiling his wrath upon anyone else. The two seemed at odds for a bit, but the latest episode showed a softer side of Rosita in terms of Sasha, and that seemed to be what Sasha had desired for some time now.

The reason comes clear later in the episode.

Earlier this season, Rosita scoffed at Sasha for ‘trying to be friends’ saying, “We both had sex with the same dead guy. It doesn’t make us friends.” In the same episode she lashes out at Eugene, it seemed that she was either trying to separate herself from the group entirely, or at least the people who were closest to Abraham.

As Sasha and Rosita sneak out of the Hilltop to make it to Negan and the Saviors, Rosita softens and begins to tell Sasha things she says she’s never told anyone else. In a teary moment, Sasha says she’s grateful, their connection was important to Sasha. Rosita is hurting, she’s experiencing emotions that she can’t control or escape, perhaps for the first time, and it’s been hard to carry that weight alone for so long. They also talked about how, in their own time and in their own way, they loved and were happy with Abraham. That conversation seemed to help them deal with his loss too.

‘It’s stupid to waste so much time. Now I’ll never get to tell Abraham that I’m happy that he was happy. Were you happy?’
‘I was…’
‘It wasn’t his time.’
‘Abraham would have wanted to go out fighting, and that asshole with the bat took that away too. To go out with a point to going out…I guess we all want that. No matter how it all goes down, I’ve got your back.’
‘I’ve got yours.’

The pair, after waiting for their moment to strike, soon see that the Saviors returned to camp earlier than planned and they can’t get a good shot at Negan. In this critical moment, they decide to ‘get inside’. Looking back now, maybe Sasha’s expression was foreshadowing…maybe we should have guessed what she’d do next.

What no one could have guessed, however, was what would happen when the pair saw Eugene. They offered him an out, an escape, after shooting one of the Saviors… and he simply refused it.

This set another plan into action. Rosita begins to make a way in through the fence before telling Sasha that she’s going in. However, Sasha tells her ‘more could be coming’ and asks her to keep a watch out while she makes a spot big enough for them to get through. ‘This is gonna take a second’ she says, and as Rosita stands guard she gets through the fence, before securing it and locking Rosita out.

‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘Go, it’s not your time. There’s gotta be a point to it right? They need you.’

Leaving Rosita with a smile, she runs inside, having studied a floorplan at the beginning of the episode, she clearly knows her way around. Rosita runs away before breaking down herself, and the end of the episode shows her having seen a shadowed figure not far away.

So why did Eugene and Sasha make these decisions? Thus sealing their fate in two separate ways?

Sasha, quite plainly, wanted to save Rosita. At first, she seemed genuinely okay with the idea of them taking Negan on together, but after hearing Rosita open up about her past, who she was, and the regret of not letting Abraham know she was happy for him; Sasha realized that Rosita had skeletons in her closet that she’d not yet laid to rest.

The smile Sasha offers Rosita is genuine and sweet, it’s a parting gift, a ‘remember me fondly’ as she sets out to seek revenge on a man who has taken so much from the both of them. A man who has taken so much from the people they love.

Sasha going on the mission herself speaks volumes on her character. For some, Eugene’s does as well.

In the first moment where Eugene realizes that Sasha and Rosita stand before him, he seems afraid, and rightfully so. The man walking next to him seconds before lies on the ground dead. It’s obviously traumatizing. However, the fear on his face almost turns to disdain as the pair tell him they’re breaking him out.

Eugene seems satisfied in Negan’s grace, in the capacity in which that exists, and maybe he’s got a master plan, perhaps he’s brewing up a way to undermine Negan. However, some fans are worried that Eugene has found a sense of belonging and some type of stature there that he didn’t have with Rick’s group. Some fans are thinking he’s not just playing the part but is actually full-fledged Negan property now.

If Eugene did switch sides, was it because losing Abraham was too much for him to take as well? Was it his breaking point? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain, if he’s willingly taken sides with Negan, there won’t be much room for compassion when the war occurs and he’s playing for the wrong team.

What did you think of Eugene and Sasha’s decisions? Did you see either outcome before they actually happened?