If the mid-season premiere began with a bang, this week’s episode begins with a whisper but still manages to hit us with a shocker. Perhaps he’s losing weight, perhaps it’s a bit more figurative than that, but we see Rick carving a new notch in his belt. Things seem peaceful. “More Than A Feeling” is playing, Judith is happy, Carl is sans eyeball but otherwise okay and it looks like Michonne is making herself right at home with them. Her only complaint is a lack of toothpaste. It’s not very clear how far into the future this nice scene takes place, but if you’ll recall Rick recently watched his old girlfriend get eaten alive, her youngest going out first, and her oldest getting shanked by Michonne herself. Love, apparently, moves quickly in the zombie apocalypse. And perhaps it should? You never know when your card will get pulled and you join the undead legion.

Rick and Daryl hit the road together for a supply run, with Daryl ruminating on how they haven’t seen people in a while and how that might be a good thing. While on their run, they come across a sorghum farm with a nice surprise parked in the garage. A truck full of supplies, including the elusive toothpaste Michonne had asked for. It seems too good to be true, and we know how that usually works out for our heroes. Making a pit stop at a seemingly abandoned gas station, Rick and Daryl run into a mysterious stranger who reveals himself to be Jesus. Fans of the comic anticipated his debut on the show perhaps even more than they did Negan. Is he friend or foe? Rick and Daryl find out he’s leaning more toward the latter for the time being, because his quick fingers and misdirection relieve them of their truck and leave them stranded at the gas station.

Meanwhile, Spencer is joined by Michonne in his walk into the forest and Carl and Enid enjoy some outdoor time themselves. Their conversation hits on this episode’s recurring theme: there’s an entire world outside of Alexandria and people living day to day just like our heroes are doing. Whether or not that’s a good thing remains to be seen. Upon encountering an unseen walker, Carl and Enid have a bit of a falling out because he doesn’t want to kill this particular ghoul. At first I thought it was Alpha Wolf, but who it was did add quite a bit of weight to this episode. Spencer carries a shovel on his walk, which perplexes Michonne, but it isn’t until the mystery walker is revealed and Deanna makes her undead return that we see why he has that shovel. It’s a heartbreaking moment to see Spencer give his own mother her final peace, and a reminder that the walkers aren’t just mindless monsters. They each meant something to someone at some point in their lives.

By contrast, Rick and Daryl’s encounters with Jesus seem almost comical. They catch up to him and he proves to be a handful, kicking both their asses before they pull their guns on him, tie him up and leave him on the side of the road. Thinking they had gotten rid of him for good and regained their truck, they find that he got loose and stowed away on the roof of the truck. In yet another scuffle, they manage to sink the truck in an oddly convenient lake. But something very important happens here: Jesus snakes Daryl’s gun away, only to use it to save Daryl’s life from an oncoming walker. He’s not all bad, but he’s not all good either. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Rick and Daryl bring him back to Alexandria and give him temporary shelter. Comic fans know exactly how this plays out but I’m very excited to see all the tricks Jesus has up his sleeve. I refrain from making any miracle jokes here.

Carl and Michonne have a moment regarding their encounter with Deanna and we see a more tender side of Michonne and we’re given some insight to just how tight the group is. The idea of family isn’t necessarily who you’re related to, but who has your back and who loves you enough to give you a dignified death. Or second death. Later Rick and Michonne have an intimate moment and while I thought that Glenn and Maggie were the only hope for true romance on the show (Abraham and Rosita barely count as a couple), it seems that these hardened killers have finally found some solace in each other’s arms.

In the comic book, Michonne and Morgan were a thing, as well as Rick and Andrea. Yes, that Andrea. In the books she’s quite the marksman and not nearly as annoying as they made her out to be on the show. It seemed as if the writers had written themselves into a corner regarding some of the relationships between characters, and it seems a little lazy and obvious to have Rick and Michonne pair off, but it’s good to see our heroes actually living and being human beings.

The Jesus factor will definitely become a large part of this season’s direction. He’s the harbinger of a new era for our heroes, one in which other survivors will become of greater concern than the walkers. This will prove to be a double edged sword, because on one hand Alexandria can only expand and grow stronger with people, and on the other we’ve seen just how cruel and dangerous other survivors can be. Negan has yet to make his debut but rest assured it will be a hell of a thing. But when that day comes, that means yet another of our beloved heroes will have to meet their end. This week’s episode was subtle but important, and it’s probably going to be as calm as we’re going to get before the storm hits.