【Watch Daddy Issues xxx movie 5 (2016)】

This post contains spoilers for The Watch Daddy Issues xxx movie 5 (2016)Walking Dead Season 7, episode 6, titled "Swear." To refresh your memory of where we left off, check out our recap of episode 5.

Did you forget about Tara and Heath? (I almost had.)

We haven't seen the scavenging duo since episode 12 of Season 6 -- probably because actress Alanna Masterson was pregnant and needed to take a break from filming, and Corey Hawkins landed the lead role in Fox's 24: Legacy. (Does this mean that Heath's going to get killed off at some point soon? Probably, but the show just managed to get away with keeping him offscreen for nine episodes without horribly murdering him, so here's hoping they're just going to try and work around Hawkins' 24schedule, and he's currently holed up safely in their RV somewhere, eating packets of soy sauce on his lonesome.)

They've been gone so long -- two weeks in the show's time -- that until Tara makes it back to Alexandria at the end of "Swear," she's unaware that her girlfriend, Denise has been murdered by the Saviors, as well as Glenn and Abraham.

SEE ALSO: 'The Walking Dead' just keeps kicking us when we're down

After the plot movement of the past few episodes, "Swear" feels like filler by comparison -- exposition disguised as a morality play to explain Tara and Heath's absence -- but it does introduce us to an Amazon-esque settlement of women who may be useful in the battle against Negan when the various settlements inevitably join forces against the Saviors.

We come to learn that the women have already had their own close encounter with Negan, who killed all of the community's men and boys over the age of 10 after they tried to fight back against the Saviors. Naturally, the ladies weren't in any rush to continue working for Negan after suffering through that kind of macho posturing, and managed to escape to a seaside camp where they've lived in a state of constant paranoia ever since -- killing any stranger who discovers them.

The women, much like Heath, have become disillusioned with life in the zombie apocalypse, believing that everyone is only out for themselves. "Nobody's in this together, not anymore," Heath insists, clearly wracked with guilt over what went down at the Saviors' satellite compound.

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SEE ALSO: Can we take a minute to talk about female friendships in 'The Walking Dead?'

It's a valid concern, since even Rick was eager to jump on the "kill or be killed" bandwagon when he needed to justify attacking the Saviors -- but Tara is determined to be the Jiminy Cricket the show needs now that Glenn is gone.

When the Amazons (yep, let's make that a thing) decline Tara's offer to join forces with Alexandria on account of everyone being a murderous, double-crossing scumbag, Tara offers a sage piece of advice: "If you keep seeing everyone as an enemy, enemies are all you’re gonna find. Sooner or later, you’re gonna need a friend."

It doesn't prompt the kind of kumbaya moment she's looking for among most of the ladies, but it does strike a chord with at least one of the women -- Cindy, who was responsible for saving Tara's life after she washed up on their beach, and again when she wandered into their camp.

Cindy's all about giving peace a chance, and after her suspicious grandma tries to have Tara killed in the woods on the way back to Alexandria, Snow White style, Cindy helps her escape -- on the condition that she swears not to tell her friends that the Amazons exist. (I know Denise hasn't been gone for long, but is anyone else rooting for Tara and Cindy? There's definitely something there.)

Tara makes good on her promise when she gets back to Alexandria and receives the awful news about Denise (and presumably Glenn and Abraham) from Eugene and Rosita. The latter is still on the hunt for guns and ammo, but Tara pretends she hasn't come across any, because Cindy gave her a shell bracelet and a fist bump and I think that means they're going steady.

All in all, "Swear" was another nice reprieve from the misery of the Saviors storyline, so I don't mind the detour -- as long as it doesn't take another nine episodes to see where Heath ended up.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.

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Topics The Walking Dead