Of course, Jesus’s line that “things aren’t as simple as they may seem” may as well be the disclaimer for every new community the group discovers. Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Abraham, and Daryl hopped in the RV and followed Jesus to his community in hope that they could strike up a trade deal and refill their dwindling food supply.

“Cure-all” is maybe a touch hyperbolic and premature, but judging by this episode, a bigger world has already led to a more promising story. The show was starting to languish in the stale, claustrophobic Alexandria, so I sensed a cure-all coming when Jesus told Rick, Michonne, Maggie, and the rest, “Your world’s about to get a whole lot bigger.” Learning of the existence of Jesus’s Hilltop colony, and of Negan’s group, the Saviors, may be the biggest world-building development since the introduction of the Wolves. Jesus isn’t just a cool new character-he’s also a narrative windfall (or land mine, depending on how much you want to dwell on all the tragedies that undoubtably lie ahead). If “The Next World” tentatively renewed my faith in the rest of season six, “Knots Untie” has forced me to join the camp of the show’s true believers again.

Lenika Cruz: I’m certain it’s no coincidence that a character by the name of Jesus appeared and suddenly The Walking Dead was saved. Every week for the sixth season of AMC’s post-apocalyptic drama The Walking Dead, Lenika Cruz and David Sims will discuss the latest threat-human, zombie, or otherwise-to the show’s increasingly hardened band of survivors.

Walking dead 6x11 knotes untie