HOLLYWOOD─It was the penultimate episode of the hit AMC series “The Walking Dead” before the mid-season finale which is slated to transpire next week. This week’s episode, ‘Open Your Eyes,’ saw Siddiq really struggling with memories from the past. The haunting are so bad they are impacting his ability to treat people and to sleep at night. Daryl had Lydia shack up with Carol as they kept their Whisperer captive in the jail cell. Seeing the scars on Daryl’s back proved how tortured he was while being held captive by the Saviors.

Aaron was busy on the hunt for Negan, just as he continued to build a relationship with Gamma. Carol wanted answers about what The Whisperers are up to. While Carol was thinking she was making efforts to break the ice, a spat of food in the face said otherwise. Siddiq and Rosita bonded while she recovered from being ill. Carol was ready to take action against her captor, but Daryl did his best to calm her rage.

It seems Alpha really has corrupted her people, but why this guy was coughing up blood I will never know. Did Carol poison the food or is something else sinister in play. Let’s just say by the end of the episode everything started to make sense. Alpha stumbled upon Gamma, and had her remove her mask and tried to convince her to follow her order. It was very apparent that Gamma was afraid of Alpha and was doing all in her power to not show it. Carol and Lydia took a road trip, just as Siddiq continued to struggle mentally and physically as a result of either haunting memories or he’s actually ill.

Rosita had a heart-to-heart asking Siddiq to discuss what really transpired. He was grappling with the fact that he didn’t do more to save those who lost their lives. That conversation seemed to help him overcome a few demons, but rather it was enough is yet to be told. For this to be a penultimate episode before the mid-season finale, this certainly bored me to the core. There was not really anything happening to grab my attention and keep me entertained, that was until the end.

Gamma had a new attitude with Aaron after having her conversation with Alpha. She was ready to take him out, but Carol came to Aaron’s rescue ready to take action, so did Lydia. However, Gamma coming face-to-face with Lydia changes everything. How so? Lydia learned that her mother told the Whisperers that she was dead. That took Lydia aback who felt betrayed by Carol. She attacked Carol, just as it seemed Lydia was ready to return to her mother. Siddiq and Dante got into an epic battle where Siddiq discovered that the doc that he was worried about was secretly working with the Whisperers. Too bad Siddiq didn’t spill the truth because Dante murdered him. Wow, I did not see that coming, which makes up for the slow episode in my opinion. Yes, the Whisperers have infiltrated Alexandria and I did not see that coming from a million miles away.

This is game-changing and will have ripple effects in Alexandria and for the impending war that is getting ready to explode during next week’s mid-season finale. Until next Sunday, for what is certain to be a bloody, fantastic finale “Walking Dead” die-hards!