Alas it was inevitable; The Walking Dead is on the verge of delivering some comeuppance, at least that's what the season 8 midseason finale would have us believe. Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) carefully laid plan for the Saviors has officially begun to unravel. He finds out the hard way after spending quality time with Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) at the junkyard. Eugene (Josh McDermitt) takes center stage in "Time For After". He sniffs out Dwight's (Austin Amelio) betrayal, but struggles to be ruthless. His mantra of looking out for himself at all costs has succeeded so far. One of the interesting developments of season eight will be finding where Eugene's loyalties truly lie.

"Time For After" opens with Rick imprisoned in a container. He's tied up and sweating dreadfully in his boxers. The door opens. Jadis has her men stand him up. She then proceeds to take front and back pictures, while another man sketches him. Rick asks what's this about. She plans to sculpt him "after".

At the walker besieged Sanctuary, Eugene is in his room looking at a notebook. It breaks down what he knows and doesn't know. He goes to Dwight's room and tells him he knows that he's the traitor. Eugene promises to keep his betrayal secret, but Dwight must cease his sabotage. Dwight sits him down. "The Saviors are over". All Eugene has to do is nothing. Keep quiet and Negan will be killed. Eugene responds with "yes, I am Negan". He leaves with a request for Dwight not to harm anyone within these walls. Eugene will keep his secret for now.

Eugene watches as two Saviors block the entrance with a board. The walkers pound on the windows. The Savior estimates that they have a day or two at best. Eugene is walking down a hall when he's stopped by Doctor Karson (R. Keith Harris). Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) is critically ill from infections. He asks Eugene to sit with him while he searches for herbs to treat the priest. Eugene is initially reluctant. At Gabriel's bedside, Eugene watches him struggle for water before raising the glass to his lips. Gabriel begs Eugene to help Dr. Karson escape to the Hilltop. He tells Eugene to have faith in God, that he will do the right thing. Eugene responds that's "absurd". He looks at his thumb and sees the red paint from Dwight's chess set.

Morgan (Lennie James) is at a lookout across from the Sanctuary. He looks through his sniper scope and sees a garbage truck approach. Back in his room, Eugene is visited by one of Negan's wives. She wants to know if he's fixed her radio. Eugene mumbles that he's been somewhat distracted by their predicament. He asks her for another bottle of wine for payment. She refuses, but he confesses to not being able to sleep without it. She chastises him for not helping them poison Negan, for looking out for himself. Eugene looks at her with a sad face. She gives him the bottle of wine.

Outside the Sanctuary gate, Daryl (Norman Reedus) arrives in the garbage truck with Rosita (Christian Serratos) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Morgan comes down to join them. Daryl plans to smash an entrance into the Sanctuary, thus allowing the walkers in. He believes the workers in the back of the building will escape. Rosita decides that the plan is too risky. She believes in Rick. He's going to get the junkyard people. Tara disagrees. She waited too long to reveal her knowledge of the Oceanside weapons. Rosita will return to Alexandria. Morgan tells her there are cars nearby she can use. Michonne decides to stay.

In the Sanctuary, Eugene is meeting with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The situation is becoming dire. People, not him of course, are going to die soon. He reminds Eugene that he's got a big brain underneath that sweet mullet. He gives Eugene his hand, who foolishly goes to kiss it. Negan recoils with laughter. He meant to shake his hand, something he never does. He respects Eugene to get the Saviors through this.

Back in his room, Eugene works on the radio. He picks up a speaker and analyzes it. Cut to the Savior warehouse. Eugene, with a flashlight on his head, finds Sasha's coffin. He opens the lid and recovers the ipod inside. Outside the Sanctuary gate, Daryl is ready to plow the truck into the building. Michonne suddenly has doubts about their actions. She wanted to see the Sanctuary. The plan has worked so far, it's too risky to proceed. Daryl replies that he has to. Michonne wishes him well and exits the truck.

Eugene is on top of the Sanctuary roof. He's attached the ipod and speaker to a drone. He's documenting his effort with a tape recorder. Suddenly Dwight appears at the door with a gun. He demands that Eugene stop. Rick and the others will be killed if Negan escapes. Eugene replies they were "traveling companions". Their entire conversation being recorded, Eugene launches the drone. Dwight doesn't kill him, but shoots down the drone as it takes flight.

Tara and Morgan open fire at the Sanctuary windows. Daryl puts a brick on the gas pedal. He jumps out as the garbage truck plows through walkers and smashes a hole into the Sanctuary. The walkers pour in as the Saviors run for their lives. Eugene and Dwight run downstairs to see the chaos. Saviors run to the stairwells as the walkers start collecting at the base. Eugene seethes with fury. He goes to Father Gabriel's room and curses him. He will never help him or the doctor escape. All he cares about is surviving.

Eugene is back in front of Negan. He knows how to stop the walkers. He will make more bullets for Negan once they are done. Eugene, still with the tape recorder, is about to give Dwight up when the other Savior lieutenants walk in. Negan informs them that apart from dealing with the walkers, Eugene has more good news. Eugene looks at Dwight, and then changes his mind. He weakly replies that he'll fix the intercom once this is all done. Back in his room, Eugene overhears a barrage of gunfire. He starts guzzling down the wine, then throws up in the sink.

At the junkyard, Rick is taken from the container to a clearing. He's held down as Jadis approaches with a helmeted walker. The fearsome creature is controlled by a pole attached to its neck. Jadis coos "this is after". Rick, still tied up and in his underwear, knocks out his captor and takes control of the walker. He disables the other men before tossing Jadis to the ground at gunpoint. The walker's head snarling in her face, Rick says he is leaving. But the offer still stands. Join him or die. Jadis relents. She wants half...and to sculpt him. Rick will give her a fourth, equal to the other colonies, and slaps down her demands. His patience for her eccentricities is over.

Rick, Jadis, and several of her men are in a truck. They approach a water tower, one of the observation points for the Sanctuary. Rick jumps out of the truck with alarm. A body is hanging from the tower with walker's eating it. Rick kills the walkers and grabs the radio on the body. There is no response from any of the lookouts. He climbs the tower and finds the sniper rifle. He looks through the scope and sees that the walkers are no longer blocking the sanctuary.

"Time For After" was entertaining in its depiction of Eugene. Everything else was just ludicrous. The actions of Daryl and company were predictably stupid. These characters continuously act foolishly to propel the absurd Sanctuary plot. It'll be hysterical if the Saviors escape from the Sanctuary is the result of them shooting their way out. What the hell were they doing sitting there the whole time? It's a dumb resolve to an even dumber storyline. Next week is the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead on AMC. The promos are building up another savage killing by Negan, who ostensibly has escaped the Sanctuary. At this point I'm rooting for Lucille for merciless.