The Commonwealth Conflict is the fourth and final major conflict of the series and occurred during the eleventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead.
History[]
After Eugene brings several Commonwealth soldiers to Alexandria, many Alexandrians decide to relocate to the Commonwealth. There, they are assigned jobs and giving living quarters. However, the Commonwealth has a prominent class system, with the rich leading the community while the poor suffer from problems such as debt and poor housing. Talks of rebellion is common among the working class of the Commonwealth. This reached a climax when Tyler, a former Commonwealth Army soldier who had been fired from his job and is now a servant at a ball, stages a protest at a ball hosted by many of the Commonwealth's rich and elite. Tyler is arrested and then mysteriously disappears.
The Governor of the Commonwealth, Pamela later visits the communities of the Coalition, where she is impressed by their hard work and offers them a place in the Commonwealth. However, Hilltop as led by Maggie decline their invitation as Maggie finds the Commonwealth to be too domineering. Oceanside also refuse the invitation, much to the dismay of Deputy Governor, Lance.
Corruption is also rife in the Commonwealth, as evidenced when Sebastian, son of Pamela, instructs Daryl and Rosita who have joined the Commonwealth Army, to raid a walker infested house that is filled with money. While there, they encounter a woman called April who reveals Sebastian sent 40 other people to the house but were killed by the walkers. While Daryl and Rosita successfully extract the cash, April is killed by a walker. Growing disillusioned with the Commonwealth as a result of Sebastian's corruption, Rosita secretly feeds information of Sebastian sending 40 people to their deaths to Connie who writes for the Commonwealth Tribune. Although she is warned not to, Connie writes an article implicating Sebastian in the deaths of the 40 people, causing anger amongst the populace of the Commonwealth.
Aaron and Gabriel are sent by Lance to visit a community of survivors in an apartment block called Riverbend in the hopes of assimilating them into the Commonwealth. When the leader of the community, Ian gets aggressive, the leader of the group of Commonwealth soldiers; under the urging of Lance, Toby takes control and kills Ian. He and the soldiers then kill the rest of Riverbend, leaving a small faction of survivors in hiding, including Negan and his wife, Annie. Negan is able to send an unwilling Commonwealth soldier, Jesse to the Hilltop via horseback to ask for Maggie's help. Although Jesse is shot and seriously injured by the Commonwealth soldiers, he is able to make it to Hilltop and warn Maggie before he dies. Maggie and a faction of her group make their way to Riverbend and take part in killing Commonwealth soldiers in Riverbend. On the rooftop, Toby has pushed several Riverbend residents off the roof to their deaths. Toby reveals that he suspects that Riverbend stole guns from a Commonwealth convoy. Even though a sweep of Riverbend found no guns, Toby still ordered the deaths of Riverbend. After a confrontation, Aaron pushes Toby off the roof of Riverbend, where he is eaten alive by the reanimated Riverbend residents.
Lance later stages an alliance with Leah, the last Reaper, who wants revenge on Maggie and Hilltop. Leah disobeys Lance's orders and stages an assault on Hilltop, killing Marco. Leah herself is killed by Daryl, who has joined the rebellion after growing disillusioned by the corruption of Commonwealth. After that, Lance and his soldiers take control of all the communities of the Coalition. Lance is later captured by the Commonwealth and imprisoned.
Back at the Commonwealth, protests erupt across the community; who demand for Sebastian to answer for his crimes. Pamela used Lance as a scapegoat and announces he was the one who caused the 40 deaths. The protests end when a herd of walkers approach the community. Sebastian criticizes the Commonwealth to Max, unaware she is recording him. During the Founding's Day Parade, Sebastian makes a public appearance and is able to sway the Commonwealth. However, Max plays the recording of Sebastian's criticism out loud, causing the crowd to angrily boo and pelt Pamela and Sebastian with bottles. This protest ends in chaos when several walkers, which were cleanup crews killed by Lance's henchmen, storm the area and kill several people. An angry Sebastian chases after Max, but Eugene saves her and pushes a walker onto Sebastian, which bites his throat out, killing him. Lance is later freed from prison by Carol and Daryl who exile him. Instead, Lance tries to shoot them but is killed by Carol who shoots him in the throat with an arrow.
After the walkers were dealt with, Eugene is implicated as Sebastian's killer. Desperate to find him, Pamela orders all of the Coalition residents in the Commonwealth to be arrested and taken away. Eugene surrenders himself and after a trial where he is represented by Yumiko, he is found guilty and sentenced to death. However, he is freed by head of the Commonwealth Army, Mercer who has revolted against Pamela.
Daryl, Carol and Rosita; the only three in the Commonwealth who evaded capture, discover the location of their friends; in a fortified Alexandria now known as Outpost 22. They discover Tyler there, who has grown disillusioned with rebellion. In the camp, the Warden discovers signs of rebellion and decides to kill Negan who he believed to have spearheaded the rebellion. When the Coalition surround Negan so he won't be shot, the Warden orders the execution of everyone. But noting the hesitancy of some of the soldiers, Ezekiel convinces them to stand down. The soldiers turn on the Warden, who shoot him. He is later killed by Rosita who allows a reanimated soldier to devour him after he refuses to tell her where the children are.
The Coalition infiltrate the Commonwealth, but realize they were led into a trap. At Union Station, guards led by Pamela open fire, killing Tyler and other members of the Coalition. However, Judith is accidentally shot by Pamela who was aiming for Maggie.
The protests reach an ultimate in the Commonwealth, so Pamela orders another herd of walkers to be led to the walls of the Commonwealth to force another lockdown. However, this herd contains many variants of walkers, who scale the walls and attack the soldiers. One soldier accidentally opens the gates of the Commonwealth while being devoured, letting the herd into the community. Pamela orders that the Estates be fortified, saving the rich but leaving the poor to fend for themselves.
Daryl rushes Judith to the abandoned hospital in the Commonwealth, where he saves her with a blood transfusion. While fighting their way through the herd, Jules is devoured while Luke is bitten and dies of blood loss. Rosita is bitten on the shoulder by a walker but keeps it a secret.
At the Estates, a crowd of Commonwealth residents beg to be let in. The Coalition infiltrate the Estates but are caught. Mercer is able to convince the guards loyal to Pamela to stand down. They comply, allowing Mercer to arrest Pamela for crimes against the Commonwealth. Gabriel lets the crowd of people into the Estates before the herd approaches and locks the gates. Seeing a zombified Lance in the herd reaching through the gates, a despondent Pamela attempts to commit suicide by letting Lance bite her, but is saved by Maggie who snipes the zombified Lance. The Coalition evacuate the Estates and then create a trap where they rig the entire area with explosives. The herd is then let into the Estates, triggering the explosives which destroy the Estates and the entire herd. Pamela is later imprisoned for her crimes.
While celebrating their success in Alexandria, Rosita dies from her bite with her friends by her side. One year later, the communities have assimilated into the Commonwealth where Ezekiel is now the Governor of the Commonwealth and Mercer is the Deputy Governor. The communities are now at peace, but Daryl decides to leave the community to find what is out there, as he is certain the Commonwealth will function fine now the corruption has ended.
Participants[]
Casualties[]
The Commonwealth[]
|
Riverbend[]The Coalition[] |
Results[]
- Most of Riverbend is massacred.
- Exposure and eventual death of Lance Hornsby.
- Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside are taken over by the Commonwealth.
- Possible massacre of Oceanside's residents.
- Exposure of Sebastian Milton's crimes and his eventual death.
- Trial and conviction of Eugene Porter for Sebastian's murder.
- Eventual liberation of Alexandria and the prison camp there.
- Revolution of the lower classes of the Commonwealth and a number of its forces.
- Invasion of the Commonwealth by a massive herd due to Governor Pamela Milton's scare tactics and variant walkers.
- Overthrow and arrest of Pamela.
- Destruction of the Estates.
- Ezekiel Sutton becomes governor of the Commonwealth, with Mercer as his lieutenant governor.
- Carol Peletier becomes new Director of Operations of the Commonwealth.
Appearances[]
TV Series[]
Season 11[]
- "Warlords"
- "The Rotten Core"
- "Trust"
- "Acts of God"
- "Lockdown"
- "A New Deal"
- "Variant"
- "What's Been Lost"
- "Outpost 22"
- "Faith"
- "Family"
- "Rest in Peace"
Trivia[]
- TBA