After that heartfelt reunion between mother and daughter, let’s check in on the rest of the cast before returning to and learning more about life in the Commonwealth.

And in all honesty, this issue probably could have taken place entirely in the Commonwealth or at least with the group that’s arrived here. There’d be nothing wrong with that, but at the same time, it’s nice that Kirkman decided to drop in on both Alexandria and the Hilltop, as we do get some nice character moments.

We’ve got Rick helping Mikey through the grieving process, and it’s a nice little moment that the two can share since they’ve both lost someone close to them. For Mikey, it’s a good way for him to work through his feelings and, as Rick points out, not be ashamed of expressing his emotions.

And as far as Rick’s character is concerned, the death of Andrea is still hard for him to process, as he states that he wouldn’t even know where to start if he wrote about her. I wonder if, at this point, he’s still sleeping at her grave. But as has been stated before, for a death as big as Andrea’s, it’s expected that it would take time for Rick to process this.

Over at the Hilltop, we get Eduardo catching Maggie in Dante in a…less than flattering position. Where are they? It looks like a sort of weapons shed, but with the weapons lined up the way they are, all around them, one wrong move could be…disastrous. Why here? It’s not a serious question- I find it all the more humorous and baffling that of all the places these two chose to bone, they picked this one.

But yeah, Eduardo walks in on the two of them and while Dante doesn’t think much of it, Maggie is still ashamed of herself. After all, part of her heart will always be with Glenn, so of course she’d feel a bit bad when, as Dante says it, Maggie deserves to be happy. And sure, she does, but it’s admirable that she’s not putting her love for Glenn behind her, much as she may have feelings for Dante now.

And then we’re introduced to three characters: Sebastian, Kayla, and the aforementioned Mercer. Sebastian is Pamela Milton’s son…and from his first impression, he’s a real asshole and spoiled brat. He’s out in a field, trying to score with Kayla, and expecting Mercer to keep roamers away so the two can have their privacy.

Here’s the problem. Now, this would be more evident on television versus a comic, but surely Sebastian and Kayla would hear the approaching walkers, no matter how hot and heavy things were between them. But no, they don’t, so Mercer must take out what we soon see is not just two, but a trail of walkers that came very close to interrupting make-out time.

So this establishes two things: Sebastian is a dick and Mercer is a badass. For leading security, you’d pretty much have to be. But how much can someone like Mercer bear when he’s playing babysitter for someone like Sebastian? We’ll find out.

In the meantime, we get an unbroken sequence of Michonne and Elodie reuniting. It’s great that this scene isn’t interrupted at all. Charlie Adlard’s art is great here in particular with showcasing the range of emotions between mother and daughter. At the same time, we get some background with how Michonne and Elodie fell apart, but the chance for reuniting was interrupted, obviously, when the world went to hell.

As is often the case with newcomers or being in a new place, Michonne asks Elodie if the folks in the Commonwealth are good people. And though I’m sure Elodie has no problem with the community, she does correctly point out that people as a whole probably aren’t good anymore.

Neither sees themselves as good, and that’s a cynical, but realistic approach, given that seemingly good people can be pushed to do bad things, which will become more important in a second.

We learn about the fate of Michonne’s other daughter, Colette, and how she didn’t make it. But we also find out that both Colette and Elodie joined a group of people who protected one another, but also wanted favors done in return. Take away the sexual favors and the group sounds similar to the Saviors since they protect each other, but also the marauders who tried to rape Carl.

And we see that Elodie is haunted by what she’s done. Michonne can relate to this, obviously, given how she was raped and tortured by the Governor, and the revenge she served him in return. So we have both mother and daughter who were horribly brutalized and managed to deliver swift justice to their attackers.

It’s justice that stays with you, as Michonne tells her daughter that you can never know your capabilities until you’ve been pushed beyond your limit. It’s both a blessing and curse of living in this kind of world. That’s very profound, but also a way to strengthen their bond because they’ve both lived through horrible, personal tragedies that both helped them grow and helped unleash their hidden potential.

Back to others, we find that they’re still waiting, since obviously this is a tender moment for Michonne. But when asshole Sebastian arrives and starts bitching to his mother, she’s quick not just to take his side, but also admonish Mercer for something that Sebastian caused, given that he put himself in that situation. She doesn’t give him enough of a chance to explain what happened, which is unfortunate.

And thus we end with Mercer and a friend of his, George, discussing what sounds like planting the seeds of a mutiny, given that they could take over if they wanted. It’s reminiscent of Rick saying that he would take Alexandria if need be, and honestly, it would have been better to end the issue that way, rather than having Siddiq just happen to overhear the conversation.

It’s a bit too convenient that he just happened to be there and doesn’t feel as organic as, say, Jesus walking in as Gregory gloated after he had poisoned Maggie. Merely end the issue on Mercer and George making plans. That way, we get a better sense of what kind of person Mercer is.

But who knows? With Siddiq having overheard the conversation, steps will need to be taken to make sure that he doesn’t talk…