Spoilers below for Episode 7 of The Walking Dead Season 11, so be warned!
With its latest installment, The Walking Dead edged closer to the end of its final season's first act, with Eugene & Co.'s Commonwealth visit still presenting the characters with far more problems than anything else. Well, at least for Eugene and Princess in particular, since Yumiko and Ezekiel had some fairly pleasant experiences outside the group, with Ezekiel finally getting some proper medical help. And arguably the biggest troublemaker of all entered the picture, with actor Teo Rapp-Olsson taking on the role of Sebastian Milton, easily one of the most nerve-grinding characters in The Walking Dead’s comic book series. And he's already worse than all of the terrible kid characters combined.
Beyond the Sebastian-fueled aggravation, this episode also deepened the mystery surrounding Chelle Ramos’ presumably fake Stephanie and whatever her deal is in connecting with Eugene despite not being the same person he talked to on the radio for all that time. But before we dig into that, let’s spend a few minutes railing on the waste of space that is Sebastian Milton.
Enter Sebastian Milton, World's Biggest Douche
With the introduction of Teo Rapp-Olsson's Sebastian Milton, The Walking Dead TV show opted for as direct a character adaptation as could be, with the actor somehow bringing the same amount of instant aggravation as the source material iteration did. It's almost unfathomable to think of anyone exuding this dickface's behavior in the post-apocalypse, and yet...
It takes all of zero seconds for Sebastian's full personality to show itself in "Promises Broken," as Josh McDermitt's Eugene and Chelle Ramos' Stephanie come across the all-important Governor's son on an afternoon date with Courtney Dietz's Kayla. The quasi-romantic outing might have become something far more tragic if not for Eugene, as some approaching walkers likely would have reached the couple without them reacting in the slightest. Why? Because Sebastian has security team members like Michael James Shaw's Mercer around to keep him safe, to the point where he clearly doesn't even lift a finger anymore, even to save his female companion. (I'm sure death is a better outcome for her than "a life spent with that turd bucket.")
After Eugene and Stephanie's hectic attempt to save the newly introduced characters, Sebastian positively oozed with petulance as he questioned how they could dare disrupt his date, despite clearly seeing that no one else would have been around to do anything. And even though Stephanie wisely attempted to stop Eugene from getting snippy with the pompous little shit, the fan-favorite "plebian" did not back down, to the point where things became farcical as he comically brushed off Stephanie's warnings about a stray walker heading for Kayla. Not that the latter deserved special attention, though at least she didn't say much.
By and large, Sebastian already seems like as big of a tool as Josh Hamilton's Lance Hornsby, just without the need to appeal to others the way Lance does. Considering his mother Pamela (played by Laila Robins) is the Governor of The Commonwealth, Sebastian probably hasn't had to struggle through life in many years, and if the live-action version is anything like his comic counterpart, Eugene and his fellow Walking Dead survivors would be wise to steer clear of the demanding asshat.
The Walking Dead's Stephanie Switch-Up Mystery Continues
For weeks now, The Walking Dead fans have been curious about how the show is handling Eugene's comic book connection with The Commonwealth's Stephanie, as the two characters have talked various times in the AMC series via radio. However, it wasn't actually Stephanie that introduced herself as such to Eugene, Princess and the others. Rather, Chelle Ramos' faux Stephanie is just a ruse of some kind, presumably with a goal of soothing Eugene to the point where he just starts fessing up about Alexandria and all the community members. Not that they've spent a lot of soothing time together ever.
To the contrary, this Stephanie was punished right along with Eugene after their radio-linked transgression from an earlier episode, and she was out there putting down walkers while dragging their bodies to a central pile. That's some pretty serious grunt work for someone who's meant to just be an undercover spy, or at least The Commonwealth's closest thing to it. Plus, it seems like everyone within the community is in on the plan, as it were, since no one seems to bat an eyelash at her when she and Eugene or around, and no one is asking what she's doing.
And this all might not seem so suspicious if not for the presence of the as-yet-nameless character portrayed by Margot Bingham, whose voice was the one that viewers heard speaking with Eugene in past seasons. The actress was also announced to be playing Stephanie in Season 11, which is what everyone was ready to see after she first appeared.
However, Margot Bingham has only popped up in limited moments, whether it involves gathering ice cream cones for Pamela Milton or serving as the Governor's administrative assistant. And the only thing viewers really have to go on there are a couple of super-brief moments where Bingham's character seemingly breaks. Like when she asked Yumiko for updates on her friends, which was very clearly an attempt to get some info on Eugene.
If this is all some big spy-based plot, one would think Bingham's character could just ask another Commonwealth higher-up about Eugene's whereabouts without having to rely on his still untrusted friends. But the fact that no one is reacting strangely to any of this within the story is at least keeping me on my toes, even if I don't quite understand why the switcheroo-ness is happening.
Color me wackadoo, but I seriously doubt The Walking Dead is going to either answer all of its biggest questions with the fall finale, but I'll still be watching when it airs on AMC on Sunday, October 10, at 9:00 p.m. Be sure to check out all the other big 2021 Fall TV premieres for shows to complement AMC's zombie chaos.
