‘The Walking Dead’: Detective Eugene & the Case of the Missing Girlfriend (RECAP)

The Walking Dead

Rogue Element

Season 11 • Episode 11

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[WARNING: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 11, “Rogue Element.”]

Is this the most badass we’ve ever seen Eugene (Josh McDermitt)?

This noir-infused episode, directed by former cast member Michael Cudlitz, sees the verbose, big-hearted survivor (and aspiring science-fiction novelist!) at his happiest… and at his saddest. He’s quite content in his new relationship with Stephanie (Chelle Ramos) but when she suddenly goes missing, he’s left bereft and disbelieving. He takes it upon himself to investigate, and he finds much, much more than he bargained for. Here’s how it happens.

Josh Stringer/AMC

Eugene on the Case

To start, we get a glimpse of what Eugene believes is his domestic bliss, but it all goes awry when Stephanie stands him up for an ice cream date. A heartbroken Eugene goes over to her place and knocks on her door, but all he finds is a random guy leaving the building — not his love. He reports her absence to the police, but of course, convinced that Stephanie is The One, he doesn’t just drop it. Instead, he gets Princess (Paola Lázaro) involved!

Really, Princess kind of involves herself. Sensing that her friend needs a pick-me-up, she heads over to his apartment and asks that he let her in, casserole dish in hand. (Once she’s inside, Eugene notes that the container is empty. “People have to let you in if you’re carrying food,” Princess says.) Eugene explains to her what he’s been up to, though the massive evidence board in his living room also immediately clues her in. He’s been tracking the guy who was leaving the building on the day Stephanie went missing, and he explains that the man is part of a group of mysterious people who hold meetings in an abandoned building. Eugene hasn’t seen any of their faces, but he knows they’re key to finding Stephanie, and he needs to know more.

Thus, he and Princess break into the guy’s apartment to search for answers where they find a suitcase filled with weaponry. They’re forced to make a quick exit when he unexpectedly returns, but they don’t get off scot-free; a nosy neighbor has reported the commotion to the police, and they wind up being arrested. Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) comes to see them and, slimy as ever. He explains the weapons are the man’s go-bag and insists the man is a plumber, as he’s told Eugene. Hornsby offers them total forgiveness for breaking and entering as long as Eugene stops searching for Stephanie and signs forms saying he was suffering mental anguish as a result of losing his girlfriend. Left with no choice, Eugene signs.

Josh Stringer/AMC

Is Stephanie… Stephanie?

But what’s a signature compared to true love? Eugene goes back to the building where the guy and the group meet, and there, the truth hits him in the gut (literally). Turns out, Stephanie is part of that group… and she’s not Stephanie at all. Betrayed and enraged, Eugene rants against Hornsby (because of course Hornsby is not only the leader of the group, but he also orchestrated this whole thing to find out as much as he could about Alexandria), saying that he’s going to tell everyone what happened and expose him for who he really is. McDermitt’s acting is phenomenal here, and many would’ve been left shaken by Eugene’s threats… but Hornsby? “Okay,” he says, nonplussed. Then he reminds Eugene of the contract he signed, which puts his mental state in question.

Dejected, Eugene goes outside and burns all the fliers he made that declared Stephanie missing. He also burns his novel (Eugene, noooooooo!). As he sits there, Max (Margot Bingham) walks up to him. She uses their radio code names and declares herself the person he was really talking to on the radio. She’s the real Stephanie!

Josh Stringer/AMC

Hornsby’s Backstory

When Hornsby’s not being shady and scarring Eugene for life, he and Carol (Melissa McBride) venture outside the walls to a poppy farm where the opium for the hospital comes from. On the way, she learns that he wasn’t always “at the top” of the Commonwealth — he started out at the bottom and had to work his way up, or so he says. At the farm, he makes a deal with their leader to pay them more if they produce more, but Carol makes a key observation — their leader is beating the workers and taking the payment for himself. Hearing this, Hornsby has his soldiers take the guy into custody, and one of the workers thanks Carol by way of a knowing nod.

Josh Stringer/AMC

Post-Apocalyptic Investigative Journalism

Elsewhere, Connie (Lauren Ridloff) is determined to dig into the Commonwealth’s corruption, against her boss’s wishes. When she’s assigned to cover a Commonwealth Army operation, she spends much of the time asking Mercer (Michael James Shaw) about what happened to Tyler Davis, the former soldier who went after Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) at the gala. She wants to know what charges he’s being held on and, ultimately, what would make him turn against the Commonwealth if he knew he would face such drastic consequences.

Mercer doesn’t address her questions, but it’s clear she got him thinking. After the operation is over, he heads to the facility where Tyler is being held… but he isn’t there. The attendant says he was moved earlier, and Mercer’s angry enough about not being consulted about it that he puts his fist through a wall. Yikes! Later that night, Connie receives a mysterious list of names, slipped under her door — and Tyler’s is the last on the list.

Other Observations

• Poor Eugene! I know many had guessed that Stephanie wasn’t real given that Bingham was cast as her, but it was a bummer to see Eugene realize his whole relationship was a lie. Hopefully he can be happy with the real Stephanie now.
• McDermitt really brought it this whole episode, but especially during that scene with Hamilton. Really, kudos to both of them — McDermitt for showing all the rage and betrayal and utter brokenness, and Hamilton for taking all of it in and shrugging all of it off. That was a fantastic scene.
• Princess continues to move up on my list of favorite characters. “People have to let you in if you’re carrying food,” indeed.
• Carol recognizing that the workers were being beaten and saying something was both completely in character and a heartbreaking reminder of what her life was like before the apocalypse.
• What’s Hornsby up to with his mysterious club? If he’s somehow tied to the resistance, it’s not hard to believe that he’d want to bring down Pamela just so he can “rule” in her place.
• Mild comic spoilers/an “out there” show ending theory: This is the first we’ve heard of a character being a novelist, which is interesting. In the comics, TWD is technically a story that Carl is recounting to his and Sophia’s children. On the show, what if it’s all Eugene’s book? Yes, I realize there are issues with this — including, but not limited to, the several seasons and many scenes Eugene wasn’t part of. But that’s why the theory is “out there.”
• Rating: 5/5. Powerhouse acting from McDermitt and a truly engaging storyline make this one of the strongest installments from TWD this season.

The Walking Dead, Sundays, 9/8c, AMC