WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 10, “Rogue Element,” which aired Sunday, March 6 on AMC.
With the unnecessary Reaper arc firmly in the past, The Walking Dead has thrown all of its storytelling attention onto the Commonwealth community. Last week's episode was set a month after Daryl’s crew arrived at the Commonwealth, and it showed them accomplishing one of the series’ biggest goals while also debuting a savage new weapon for Rosita. There were some minor hiccups during their transition to living in the Commonwealth, but the latest installment took a substantially darker turn.
Set another month later, “Rogue Element” started by showing Eugene in a relationship with Stephanie that didn’t last long. Minutes into the episode, Stephanie (mind you, that’s “fake Stephanie”) disappeared. Eugene was convinced that she had been taken by the government, and to some extent he was right -- he uncovered that fake Stephanie was part of a secret society with Lance Hornsby. Eugene was understandably devastated, but the confirmation that Hornsby was a shady individual had been a long time coming. He's also been a great addition to The Walking Dead because he’s a subtle amalgamation of some pretty impressive villains.
Lance Hornsby Is Utilitarian Like The MCU’s Thanos
Thanos was a murderous supervillain, but he didn’t want to destroy the universe or gain power for power’s sake. He simply wanted to ensure that there were enough resources to go around, so he eliminated people who were using up too many resources. He had the definition of a utilitarian mindset, and in that overly callous sense, his endgame was somewhat justifiable.
Lance Hornsby has been known for a similar approach, putting the good of the Commonwealth above the good of individuals. He hurt Eugene and he didn’t care. In his mind, the Alexandrians were better off benefiting the Commonwealth -- regardless of how or why they got there. He also arrested the poppy farmer who was costing the Commonwealth unnecessary money. He'll do anything that he feels benefits his community, but he's not out solely for himself.
Lance Hornsby Is Manipulative Like Star Wars’ Palpatine
Palpatine’s most impressive quality was his ability to manipulate and keep his Sith identity a secret. He served as Supreme Chancellor for over a decade, started and maintained a war and coerced the Chosen One to the Dark Side. Even with all of that, the Jedi never figured out what he was up to.
Just like Palpatine, Hornsby is the face of the Commonwealth -- and the figure in the shadows who’s really pulling the strings. He told Carol that Pamela ran the Commonwealth, but that he knew how it ran. That was likely a reference to his secret society. Maybe he’s lobbying to take over like Palpatine or maybe he’s connected to the CRM. Either way, Hornsby manipulated Eugene with ease, so that was clearly not the first time that he pulled the wool over someone’s eyes.
Lance Hornsby Wants Attention Like The Incredibles’ Syndrome
Buddy Pine wanted to be Mr. Incredible’s sidekick in The Incredibles, but Mr. Incredible wasn’t interested in him. Buddy's response was to become Syndrome and decide to eliminate all superheroes. Syndrome was clearly out for revenge against Mr. Incredible, but what he really desired was attention.
Lance Hornsby has a similar attitude. He started off at the bottom of society and worked his way up into prominence. Even so, Hornsby has still never been seen as important; the crowds would rather cheer for Pamela and Mercer. It seems like Hornsby’s secret society is a bid to finally gain attention. Maybe he will try and usher in a new age for the Commonwealth -- and that new era could involve the CRM. Whatever his plan is, he's got all the elements of a great villain because he shares traits with several memorable bad guys.
To see more of Lance Hornsby’s villainous schemes, tune into The Walking Dead Season 11. New episodes air Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and are available to stream early on AMC+.