The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 20, "What's Been Lost," which debuted Sunday, Oct. 23 on AMC.
The Walking Dead's final episodes are moving at the speed of lightning, and villains are dropping like flies. Season 11, Episode 18, "A New Deal" saw the death of Sebastian Milton in a well-earned act of revenge, and Season 11, Episode 20, "What's Been Lost" said goodbye to another Commonwealth antagonist. After a miserable punishment that traumatized him to his core, Lance Hornsby finally met his demise via Carol Peletier -- who made sure not to make the same mistake Rick Grimes did during the Savior war.
Lance's death felt like a long time coming, even if his character still had so much potential left in him. He was a far more interesting and complex antagonist for the group to face than Pamela Milton, who always seems to be in the background of her own storyline. On the other hand, it was always hard to tell where Lance stood on the morality scale and he was as unpredictable as they come. But his wild card nature led him to being murdered by Carol, who set him free after he promised to help find her missing people. Lance turned on her and Daryl Dixon at the last second -- and received an arrow in the throat. Finally, a villain on The Walking Dead was not spared for the sake of unearned redemption, which Rick suffered the consequences of.
How Rick's Decision Caused Long-Term Problems
Throughout Seasons 7 and 8 of The Walking Dead, it was assumed Negan would bite the bullet. Even Jeffrey Dean Morgan thought his Walking Dead lifespan had an expiration date. His comic counterpart may have lived, but the show has always gone in a different direction. Negan's end seemed especially inevitable after the death of Carl Grimes, which led Rick into a downward spiral. But Carl's death only convinced Rick to spare Negan for a "better world" -- a concept that the show has yet to achieve.
That choice led to tension between Maggie Rhee and Rick for months. Maggie refused to visit Alexandria since Negan was imprisoned there, conspired to kill Negan behind Rick's back and hated that Rick didn't consult anyone else on what should've been a group decision. It also led to Daryl and Rick's brotherly relationship shattering. All of this indirectly caused Rick to disappear after blowing up a bridge to save the communities. It seemed like that was the end of the Negan problem. He was locked away and rarely caused issues while Alexandria was thriving under Michonne's leadership. But while Michonne was confidently carrying out Rick and Carl's wishes, Maggie was miles away -- still traumatized by the man who killed her husband and left her a single mother.
How Carol Learned from Rick's Biggest Mistake
While Carol never explicitly stated that she disagreed with Rick about sparing Negan, she did affirm that the Saviors would never listen to Rick. Since Rick's disappearance, Carol has teamed up with the biggest Savior of them all. With Negan's help, she orchestrated the death of Alpha and the two worked together to find Sebastian when Lance was hunting down Maggie's group. Their partnership has proved to be resourceful, but it doesn't change the fact that Negan's survival caused feuds down the line and resentment that lingers between Negan and many survivors today.
By killing Lance, Carol prevents a liability. There's no reason to believe he is the changed man he says he is -- especially since he tried to kill Carol and Daryl before his death. His survival meant only the tiniest of possibilities that he would actually be useful in the war to come, and Carol wasn't going to take any chances. It's an act that sacrifices one of the best characters and actors that The Walking Dead has had in years, but it tips the scales in the good guys' favor. The only villain left now is Pamela, who at this rate, may be meeting her demise very soon.
New episodes of The Walking Dead air Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on AMC and stream a week early on AMC+.