The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 2 Episode 4 Ending Explained
Contains spoilers for "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" Season 2 Episode 4
This week's episode of "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" is all about double identities, multi-layered secrets, and bloody vendettas. "Family Is a Four Letter Word" takes place almost entirely over the course of one night as Hope (Alexa Mansour) and Huck/Jennifer (Annet Mahendru) arrive for an unexpected visit at the Perimeter. There are a lot of tears as Hope and Iris (Aliyah Royale) reunite for the first time since the Season 1 finale, as well as some tense conversations when the Bennett sisters begin comparing notes and discussing how to get themselves and their father free from the grip of the Civic Republic Military.
The Bennett sister's summit was only one of several intense storylines in this episode. While they hash things out, fan-favorite Elton (Nicolas Cantu) stumbles onto a secret that casts his budding friendship with Asha (Madelyn Kientz) in a very different light. Elsewhere in the Civic Republic's territory, Silas (Hal Cumpston) has some bonding time with Dennis (Maximilian Osinski) and proves his worth to his new co-workers.
And then there's Huck. "Family Is a Four Letter Word" begins with a flashback to the moment that the double agent washed up on the shores of the Missouri River in Omaha. Season 2 has had a strong focus on how Huck's actions have affected everyone in her life, including herself. By the end of this episode, she appears to be ready to ask the question, "Was it all worth it?"
Let's untangle everything that went down in Episode 4 of "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" Season 2.
An uneasy reunion at the Perimeter
When Hope and Iris begin to talk it's clear that the sisters are at a genuine impasse when it comes to the question of how to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
Hope wants Iris and Felix to return with her to the CRM facility. She's worried that their father Leo (Joe Holt), who has been kept out of the loop and believes Iris is still missing, will put himself in danger thanks to his increasingly forceful demands that the CRM locate Iris and bring her back to him. As we've seen in the past few episodes, Hope has also developed some conflicting feelings about the CRM after getting a first-hand look at how much important and urgent work is going on at their research facility.
Iris, however, has no intention of going back. In the time since she last saw Hope, she has only become more and more militant in her opposition to the CRM and sees going to the research facility as tantamount to allowing herself to be thrown in prison. Whereas Hope believes they can work within the CRM to achieve their goals, Iris thinks they should focus on remaining outside and building their strength.
This is a pretty remarkable switcheroo for the Bennett sisters. When we first met them way back at the beginning of Season 1, it was Iris who believed in working within the system and following the rules, while Hope was the rebellious outsider. It's not that either sister has completely thrown away their principals, but each has found themselves confronted by things that have forced them to re-evaluate how they operate.
Elton discovers Asha's secret
Unlike Iris, Elton isn't exactly thrilled to see Hope arrive at the Perimeter. He's still reeling from last season's revelation that she is the one who killed his mother during the early days of the apocalypse and when he sees her pull up, he does the sensible thing and flees into the woods. While out there, Elton discovers a hut that contains within it a hidden stash of CRM medical supplies and a dialysis machine.
When Asha stumbles on him making the discovery, she's forced to provide an explanation. She tells him she has a chronic illness that she needs the medication to treat. She asks Elton to keep it a secret, which he agrees to do. Romantic, platonic, or otherwise, Elton and Asha are on track to developing a very close personal relationship.
But maybe they aren't quite as close as Elton might think. At the end of the episode, we learn that it's actually Indira (Anna Khaja), not Asha, who is sick and in need of the CRM medication. At this moment, it's not entirely clear why Indira and Asha want to keep this from Elton, but it could end up affecting the plot in a real way. As the leader of the Perimeter, Indira has been putting herself and her community at risk to shelter Iris, Felix (Nico Tortorella), and Will (Jelani Alladin). We've always known that the Perimeter and the CRM have an uneasy alliance and the fact that Indira needs medication from the CRM to survive only complicates that further. We'll have to see how it plays out, but it does potentially give Indira a pretty strong motivation to cave to any demands that the CRM might make of her in the future.
Silas is trying to reconnect with the other Campus Colony survivors
While everyone else was catching up at the Perimeter, Silas was having a bonding session of his own at the culling facility.
After his young co-workers catch him trying to escape to find the CRM research base, they subject him to a gauntlet of empty killing that resembles a haunted house attraction. Silas passes this test with flying colors and earns himself the respect of his peers. When he meets with Dennis afterward, he also gets the chance to explain exactly why he was trying to run away. "I was trying to find my friends. We were going cross-country together before we got split up," he says. "And someone in the group ... she's dangerous, a killer. And the others might not even know."
When Dennis assures him that his friends have probably already dealt with the situation, Silas replies, "You don't know Huck." That, of course, could not be more incorrect. But thanks to Huck/Jennifer's dual-identity, Dennis doesn't recognize that Silas is, in fact, talking about his estranged wife.
Silas plays another important role this episode. During her visit to the Perimeter, Huck reveals that she got Silas placed at the culling facility and when Felix fills Will in on this detail, his eyes light up. "It's a long shot," Will says, "but if he's where she says he is, I might know a way to get everybody out."
It looks like Silas will soon be having his own reunion with the Campus Colony Crew.
There's romance in the air for both Bennett sisters
Scheming for how they plan to undermine the CRM isn't the only thing the Bennett sisters got up to this episode. Both Hope and Iris have romantic subplots brewing and "Family Is a Four Letter Word" saw them heat up.
Last episode, Iris and Percy picked up their mutual flirtation right where they left off when they were separated back in Season 1. And this week they finally take things to the next level. Percy almost got the opportunity to get deadly revenge on Huck, who killed his uncle, but is thwarted at the last moment by Will. When he comes to see Iris the next day, she offers him a sympathetic ear.
"You wanted justice," Iris says to him. "And I think we're both willing to go a little further than most people to get it. I thought my sister was like that, too." Moments later, she leans in for a kiss.
Meanwhile, back at the CRM research facility, Hope gets a cheeky little gift from Mason (Will Meyers). It's a Jenga block with "Good hanging out w/u ... Rematch? :)" engraved on it. Now, Hope still appears to be rather conflicted about whatever is brewing between her and Mason, as evidenced by her expression when she opens his gift. But there is obviously a spark of attraction between the two.
Each Bennett sister's crush of choice further demonstrates how much they've both changed since the show began. Iris is making moves on the bad boy who she's also trying to recruit as a foot soldier in her war against the CRM, while Hope is flirting with a guy who has deep roots in the Civic Republic itself and appears to be all-in on their mission. It's likely that both of these romantic subplots will end up playing a significant role in whatever ends up happening with the sisters and the CRM.
Jennifer learns the limits of a mother's love
"Family Is a Four Letter Word" was a particularly tough episode for Huck/Jennifer. Not only was she almost assassinated by Percy, but it seemed that just about every other character had something to say to her about the intricate web of deception she's been weaving throughout the series.
The toughest moment, though, comes courtesy of her mother Elizabeth (Julia Ormond) at the end of the episode. While at the Perimeter, Jennifer heard Iris' (correct) theory that the CRM was behind the destruction of Omaha and the Campus Colony. When she goes to ask her mother questions about the tragedy, Elizabeth completely shuts her down. Not only does Elizabeth tell her daughter that the information is above her rank, she also lashes out at her, bringing up the incident that caused Jennifer to have to take the undercover job at the Campus Colony in the first place. Elizabeth tells Jennifer, "I would hate for someone to think that you hadn't learned your lesson."
This rebuke is heart-wrenching for Jennifer. Not only does it throw fuel on the idea that Elizabeth had something to do with the disaster in Omaha, but it's also a personal slap in the face. Jennifer has made huge sacrifices for her mother, including volunteering to have her arm broken as part of her undercover assignment, yet Elizabeth won't even bring her in as a confidante and still uses Jennifer's past mistakes as a cudgel against her. The reason every other character on the show has it out for Jennifer is because of the work she does for her mother and it's clear after this episode that Jennifer isn't exactly feeling like that work is being properly rewarded. Could this dynamic turn daughter against mother? We may soon find out.