The 7 Most Important Things That Happen During The Walking Dead's Season 9 Premiere

Remember that passionate letter Carl writes his dad as he's dying in season eight? The one that lays out a beautiful vision for the future of Alexandria, the Kingdom, Hilltop, and beyond? Rick is definitely trying to make that vision a reality, though it's much easier said than done. The episode opens with Rick and Michonne strolling through Alexandria with little Judith, and things definitely seem to be on track — the war with Negan and the Saviors is over, and it's clear their community is in the midst of rebuilding. But there are a few glaring hurdles that the group is going to have to face to truly find peace, from food shortages to a lack of gasoline.

In an effort to properly rebuild their communities, the leaders of each sector — Rick, Maggie, Ezekiel, Daryl — lead a group to a museum in Washington DC where they can gather supplies. Although they manage to find canoes, farming plows, a large wooden wagon and plenty of seeds to help with the dying crops, Ezekiel nearly dies when the glass floor they're standing on gives way and he's left swinging like a piñata above a ton of hungry walkers. Fortunately, they're able to drag him back up before he gets seriously injured.

The King's close call leaves him feeling emotional, so during the horseback ride away from the museum, he proposes to Carol with a ring and everything (aww!). Of course, she immediately turns him down ("Put that thing away, it'll snag on everything"), but he just laughs. Later they share a mini-makeout, so it's clear their relationship is still going strong even if Daryl thinks he's "corny." The only downside to all this cuteness? Ezekiel telling Carol that he loves her is basically the kiss of death for his character, who doesn't have such a rosy future in the comics. Pray for the king, y'all.

On the way back from the museum haul, the group discovers that a bridge is out, and the only other way home involves crossing a very muddy stretch of road. With a small herd of walkers on their tail, they try to push their new horse-drawn wagon through the sludge. Time runs out, and they decide to abandon it, but at the last second a younger member of the group — the son of Hilltop's blacksmith, named Ken — decides to turn back to free the horse tied to the wagon so she doesn't get eaten by walkers.

Ken's choice leads him to get gnawed on by a zombie and kicked over by the horse, and ultimately, to his death. Maggie sadly snaps his neck herself and brings his body back to Hilltop, where she tells his parents what happened. They're furious, especially because the trip to DC was largely for nothing — the wagon is stuck, the plow is broken, and Ken is dead.

They tell her that even though they're happy they voted for her and not Gregory in Hilltop's recent election — yes, Maggie won the Hilltop election! — she's not invited to the funeral. They accuse her of not putting Hilltop first, and instead giving their community's food to the Saviors, who are having a major food shortage.

Oh, Gregory. Will you ever learn? Hilltop's biggest scoundrel still hasn't given up his dreams of ruling over the community, even though Maggie beat him fair and square in the recent election (something that makes him seethe with rage). He hides his true feelings from both Maggie and the rest of the Hilltop residents by putting on a brave face when Ken dies, making a seemingly heartfelt speech at the funeral and tearfully consoling Ken's parents.

His intentions are revealed, however, when he gets Ken's grieving mother drunk enough that she goes to bed, and then corners Ken's father alone with even more alcohol. As they share a bottle, Gregory goes on and on about how Ken's death is Maggie's fault and that Hilltop needs to be led by someone else (aka Gregory, obviously). Foggy with grief and too many drinks, Ken's father agrees to help Gregory kill Maggie.

First Gregory finds her on her evening walk with baby Herschel — who is absolutely adorable, for the record — and tells her that he saw Glenn's headstone defaced by some kids earlier in the day. She immediately goes to the cemetery to investigate, where Ken's father is lying in wait. He knocks over Herschel's carriage (rude!!!) and slams Maggie up against the wall of a shed, giving her a giant bloody gash and a black eye. Enid hears the commotion and comes running over to help, but Ken's father throws her back and she hits her head on some rocks, passing out. Thankfully some other Hilltoppers also hear what's happening and come over to restrain Ken's father.

Negan might be gone, but as Rick discovers when he visits Daryl at the Sanctuary after the DC trip, the former leader's presence has far from vanished. While they were gone, someone spray painted "Saviors save us! We are still Negan," on the wall, and it's clear that the food shortage is taking a toll on many who live there.

In bed later that night, Michonne floats the idea of writing a charter for all the communities to Rick, and also wonders aloud if they should've killed Negan. He says he's glad they didn't but that the breakdown of morale within the Saviors certainly isn't good. He tells her he supports her idea of writing a charter ("not a constitution"), and then they kiss because they're perfect in every way.

After Gregory tries to have Maggie killed by Ken's dad, Maggie confronts him in his office with a blisteringly brutal line: "You wanna run this place? You can't even murder someone right." Damn. Naturally, this prompts Gregory to try to stab Maggie, and he whispers in her ear that he'll tell the people of Hilltop that he acted in self-defense. But, true to what Maggie says earlier during their conversation, he can't even kill her standing mere feet away — she easily wrestles the knife from him and he gets tied up.

The episode concludes with Maggie displaying her strength to the people of Hilltop, even though her actions aren't universally embraced. She spares the life of Ken's father, but decides to put an end to Gregory's meddling once and for all by hanging him from the wooden gallows; his screams for his life fall on deaf ears and he dies without contest. As his lifeless body swings back and forth, Maggie and the rest of the community are left to reckon with the new journey his death has inevitably sent them all on.