‘The Walking Dead’ recap: Just a little longer – USA TODAY

Rick and Michonne go on an adventure. Wochit

Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers for theThe Walking DeadSeason 7 Episode 12, "Say Yes." To read our recap of Episode 10, clickhere.

It's almost time.

The seventh season ofThe Walking Deadis winding down, and our heroes are getting closer and closer to their inevitable confrontation with Negan. As Rick notes, people are going to die. It could be him (it won't be, this show will never kill Rick),or Michonne or any of the dozens of characters the show is balancing now. And so the show, like Rick, is dragging things out until the carnage begins.

Of all of the episodesThe Walking Deadhas spent twiddling its thumbs and preventing the plot from moving forward (and there have been a lot), this was one of the more well-conceived. Rick is an infinitely more interesting and sympathetic character when paired with Michonne, and spending time developing this relationship, which has seemed slapdash at points, is well worth it.

Too bad Rosita and Sasha want to rush things to the end.

One might think that Rick has been to every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghousein all of the southeastern United States scavenging for supplies, but somehow there are still stones left unturned. And whole stores of food and weapons left abandoned, apparently, because no one besides Rick and Michonne ever thought to look.

But hey, what else is new? What's new is their attitude as they go on their scavenging mission, which doubles as a holiday. For Rick and Michonne, taking out walkers is basically foreplay, and abandoned houses are romantic hotel rooms. That confidence is what gets them into trouble when, trying to make the biggest score of their scavenging lives, the plan begins to fall apart. Somehow the couple finds a high school carnival that had been used by the military, so it's a treasure trove of food stuffs and automatic weapons. It also means clearing it of walkers is more a carnival of death. What becomes infinitely clear to them, maybe for the first time in awhile, is no matter how skilled they are, no matter how many walkers they kill, it only takes one bite, one walker to bring them down. Rick almost died and Michonne almost fell apart. But it was a realization they both needed to have. Taking down Negan won't be a day at the fair, even with the help of the Hilltop and theGarbage People. And someone is going to have to pick up the pieces when it's all over.

Speaking of the Garbage People, their weird haircuts and speech patterns are outstripped by their ungratefulness. Rick and Michonne deliver 63 guns and their response is "more." It's a bummer for Tara, most of all, because she's been holding the secret of the Oceanside community (the all-female town she washed up on in the first half of the season). She promised the girl who helped her escape that she would never tell anyone they exist, but now it's a matter of winning or losing the war against Negan. Despite confessing her misgivings to baby Judith, Tara decides to tell Rick. We're sure those diplomatic overtures will go over nicely.

One of the most regrettable things about the recent string over episodes (which have been good overall) has been Emo Rosita. After the her umpteenth moody outburst, the show sent her to the Hilltop with one of the new-found sniper rifles. She and Sasha decide to try to take out Negan all on their own, and they don't plan to return from their mission. Again, we're sure that will go off without a hitch.

Scroll through more photos from Season 7 below.

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'The Walking Dead' recap: Just a little longer - USA TODAY