What could Lance Hornsby possibly have to smile about in The Walking Dead season 11, episode 17's closing moments? The Walking Dead season 11's middle third ended with the Commonwealth's Lance Hornsby assuming control of Alexandria and its satellite communities, and Daryl Dixon leading his fellow survivors on the run. "Lockdown" picks up the action immediately after, sending Lance on a wild protagonist chase through the deserted post-apocalyptic streets. Predictably, Daryl gets the better of his opponent, and Lance ends The Walking Dead season 11, episode 17 with a knife to his throat and a rapidly dwindling list of options to escape.
Weirdly, "Lockdown" ends with Lance smiling, wearing the expression of a calm and collected individual even though Daryl could end him with a flick of the wrist. The image of Lance grinning like a hyena under such dire circumstances speaks to the sadistic, self-destructive streak The Walking Dead season 11 has already exposed during Lance's quieter moments. In The Walking Dead's "The Lucky Ones," Lance took out his frustrations at Pamela Milton by walking into the forest and intentionally luring a zombie toward him. After letting the corpse get much too close for comfort, Lance eventually shot it. The scene demonstrated his inner unhinged side, and that shade of personality creeps out once more when Daryl catches Lance off-guard in The Walking Dead season 11, episode 17. It's almost like he gets off on being in mortal danger.
Lance's Smile Could Tease A Walking Dead Secret
There is another potential interpretation of Lance Hornsby's sinister smirk. Lance looks like a man with a plan, and while his plan almost certainly didn't involve getting nabbed by Daryl Dixon, the smile alludes toward an ace still hidden up the villain's perfectly-ironed sleeve. As for what that ace might be, The Walking Dead has already dropped several hints that Lance is connected to the franchise's big bads, the Civic Republic Military.
The list of disappeared victims Connie secretly received after arriving in the Commonwealth was only partially explained by Sebastian Milton's extracurricular antics. Plenty of vanished citizens remain unaccounted for, and The Walking Dead season 7 already confirmed the CRM's habit of abducting folk. Moreover, Lance has deep military connections from before the outbreak, and his fingers are in so many pies, not even Pamela Milton can keep track of them.
How The CRM Could Save Lance In The Walking Dead
The CRM are good, but they can't magically appear in the sewer and save Lance Hornsby from Daryl's knife, so why would the smarmy Commonwealth villain still be smiling if his (potential) black-armored associates aren't physically able to help? Maybe Lance's delight isn't inspired by confidence that the Civic Republic Military will save him, but confidence that if he does die, those responsible will be mercilessly wiped out. The thought of revenge might be reason enough to smile, but Hornsby might also realize that in a worst-case-scenario, he could threaten Daryl and those pesky Alexandrians with retribution from a mysterious group lingering in the shadows.
Lance Hornsby might even know the whereabouts of a certain Rick Grimes. Taken by the CRM during The Walking Dead season 9, if Lance has Civic Republic connections, it's plausible he knows something about this mythical "Rick" figure the newcomers from Alexandria keep mentioning. If Daryl's knife starts getting twitchy, Lance may know he can dangle the promise of Rick Grimes clues to save his own skin.
The Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.