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The Hilltop Colony, or simply Hilltop, is a community that first appeared in "Knots Untie" of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is a farming community located in Virginia, formerly led by a man named Gregory, and currently led by Maggie Rhee and is located twenty miles from the Alexandria Safe-Zone. It is also one of the four joint communities of the Militia, along with the Alexandria Safe-Zone, the Kingdom and Oceanside. During the war against the Saviors, it becomes a refugee camp for the remaining survivors of Alexandria and the Kingdom, whose settlements have been attacked or partially destroyed by the Saviors.
Background Information
Pre-Apocalypse
Before the apocalypse, the Hilltop was only the mansion, known as Barrington House, a barn and a blacksmith's shop. The Barrington House was located deep in the woods on top of a hill in the Virginia area, just south of Alexandria, Virginia. In the 1930s, the family who owned the house gave it to the state and made it into a museum. For years since then, elementary schools around the state would make field trips to the house.
Post-Apocalypse
When the apocalypse began, the governor of Virginia declared a state of emergency and requested government assistance in handling the epidemic, bringing in FEMA. FEMA chose the Barrington House as one of its safe-zones, bringing trailers to the location as well as defense, security, and supplies. As survivors began to arrive to the now Hilltop Colony, they found themselves abandoned. Like every other government and military power across the United States, FEMA abandoned the Hilltop, like all the other abandoned safe-zones and civilian populations, leaving the survivors to fend for themselves. However, due to their location, the survivors of Hilltop saw promise. The terrain offered fertile land and crops, while the hill they presided on would offer them an advantage of oncoming survivors and the undead. At some point they used the surrounding trees to build a large wall around the colony's perimeter.
However, as soon as the walls went up, so did the arrival of a group calling themselves the Saviors. Gregory, the newly appointed leader, confronted them. The Saviors demanded that half of their resources will be given to their leader, Negan, for the price of not attacking and destroying Hilltop. Gregory made the deal, but the Saviors killed a teenage boy to make their motives perfectly clear. They also took Hilltop resident Dr. Emmett Carson and transported him to Negan's base due to his medical training, leaving his brother, Dr. Harlan Carson behind. Since then, Hilltop had been giving half of their supplies routinely to Negan and his Saviors. Paul Rovia, known to others as Jesus, became the Hilltop's scout and supply runner, and was tasked to find resources as their group started to dwindle supplies to provide for both themselves and the Saviors, fearing their days were numbered.
Treaty with the Alexandria Safe-Zone
As Jesus was out on a supply run, he spotted survivors Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon with a large truck of supplies. Jesus introduced himself, but did so to pickpocket the keys to the truck off of Rick. Jesus then took off with the truck, but not before the two caught up with him, resulting him in being knocked unconscious and taken back to their camp, although he had faked his injury in order to be aware of his surroundings.
Jesus was then put in the jail cell of the Alexandria Safe-Zone, an upscale community turned into a safe-zone established by the military, much like Hilltop. He managed to escape and notice the amount of supplies they had, including guns and ammo but a lack of food and crops. Jesus then approached Rick, his girlfriend Michonne, and their son Carl. Jesus had a meeting with Rick's group about how he wished to create a merger with his community, as well as the others his community trades with.
He then took Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, and Abraham to his community, but not before rescuing members of his own, including the town doctor, Harlan Carson. As they arrived at the Hilltop, Jesus revealed the reason why he brought Rick's group; they need their weapons and ammo. Meanwhile Rick and his group needed Hilltop's food supply - that they are low on defenses and need assistance. He brought the group to Gregory, but due to his behavior Rick thought it were better suited that Maggie speak with him, considering how she was the protégé of the late leader of Alexandria, Deanna Monroe.
Maggie introduced herself and her group with their intentions, however, community member Ethan returned from trade for Negan, which resulted in Ethan attempting an assassination on Gregory for Negan. Ethan was then killed by Rick and Jesus defended his actions to the community. Jesus then revealed to the group who Negan was, considering that Daryl had a run-in with the Saviors a few months back. Rick and his group promised they would defeat the Saviors once and for all, and agree to the merger. Maggie then struck a deal with Gregory that they receive half of Hilltop's supplies for the price of protection, Gregory reluctantly agreed. Jesus then returned to the Safe-Zone with Rick's group to help deliver the news to the Alexandrians.
By majority rule, the Alexandrians vote to take immediate action, and a covert mission to take out the Saviors is planned. A few hours before sunrise, Hilltop residents Andy and Jesus participate in the attack on the Saviors' outpost. When the fighting begins, they return to the Hilltop with Craig. By sunrise, at least 21 Saviors are dead, and although Carol and Maggie are taken hostage by a small group of Saviors, they are able to overpower them and their reinforcements, killing them all. When a lone survivor declares himself to be Negan, Rick immediately executes him.
With no knowledge of any Savior presence beyond the Satellite station and their trade deal seemingly coming off without a hitch, both the Hilltop and Alexandria settle back into their regular routines. A week later, however, Daryl, Rosita, and Denise are ambushed by a dozen Saviors, led by a scarred Dwight, who have captured Eugene to serve as a hostage. Denise is killed mid-sentence and the others are barely able to escape with help from Abraham and a timely distraction by Eugene. After this incident and others like it, the citizens of Alexandria begin to realise that the Saviors have more people than they had assumed. When Maggie suffers complications with her pregnancy, Rick, Abraham, Carl, Aaron, Sasha and Eugene rush to get her to the Hilltop, but find that whatever route they take, the road is blocked by the Saviors. Each time, they encounter a larger group and increasingly sophisticated roadblocks, psychologically manipulating them at every turn and implying the true size of their forces. Eventually, they attempt to go on foot, but are herded in the woods and end up surrounded by a hundred Saviors, and are confronted face to face by Negan, who proceeds to viciously beat Abraham and Glenn to death with his baseball bat Lucille. The survivors are left devastated and traumatised. Sasha escorts Maggie to the Hilltop while the others return to Alexandria.
Life Under Negan
Three days after the events on the road, Maggie awakens at the Hilltop, and is informed by Harlan Carson that her medical conditions is relatively minor, and requires only a few days rest. She visits the graves of Glenn and Abraham alongside Sasha, and is reunited with Jesus, who offers his support. An angry and skittish Gregory confronts Maggie, who confirms that they severely miscalculated; the Satellite station was only an outpost, and the Saviors in fact have a lot more people, perhaps hundreds. Gregory insists that once she has recovered, she leaves along with Sasha, despite their protests and Jesus' disapproval.
That night, the Saviors kill some of the guards, open the gates, set fires and drive an armored car into the community, blaring loud music. As walkers begin to overrun the site and Gregory hides in the mansion, Maggie, Sasha and Jesus step up to deal with the problem. Sasha and Jesus get to work eliminating the zombies while Maggie takes charge, giving orders to the other residents before crushing the car with a tractor. In the morning, when a group of 30 Saviors led by Simon arrives at the Hilltop, Maggie and Sasha are forced to hide. Meanwhile, Gregory greets the Saviors and grovels at Simon, playing dumb when told about the attack on the outpost and the subsequent subjugation of Alexandria. He assures Simon that "they" understand the benefits of Savior rule, and gives his assurances of their full cooperation. He attempts to give up Maggie and Sasha, but they manage to change their hiding spot with help from Jesus, who secretly agrees with Sasha to follow the Saviors back to their base.
Outside the walls, Carl and Enid watch as the Saviors load up their trucks. After a tender farewell, Enid covertly enters the community while Carl hides in one of the trucks, determined to kill Negan. After the Saviors have left, Sasha and Maggie confront and criticize Gregory for his actions. He permits Maggie and Sasha to stay for now but continues to insist that working with the Saviors is the best option, even going so far as to call them reasonable. Maggie responds by punching him in the face and angrily chastising him for his continued disregard of her real name, which she defiantly proclaims to be Maggie Rhee.
In the days that follow, Enid integrates into the community, while Sasha, and Maggie, in particular, continue to build rapport with the residents of the Hilltop, who admire them for their actions. Rumors even begin to spread about the possibility of Maggie running for "president" of the Hilltop. Meanwhile, Gregory remains defiant and careless in his treatment of Maggie but is quickly shut down by Eduardo. A short time later, after spending time beside Glenn's grave, Maggie takes up a position on the wall's guard post and is delighted to see Rick, Michonne, Tara, Rosita and Carl outside. They reunite, and the group from Alexandria is reintroduced to Daryl, who had recently escaped from the Sanctuary with help from Jesus. Rick tells Maggie that after the deaths of Glenn and Abraham, he wasn't able to truly listen to her desire to fight back, but that he can now. With everyone freshly motivated, they stride towards the mansion with renewed purpose, determined to organize a resistance movement to fight and ultimately defeat the Saviors for good.
The March to War
Rick, along with the rest of the group, attempts to convince a stubborn Gregory to mobilize The Hilltop for war with the Saviors. Gregory constantly denies the group and sends them out, pretending not to know them. Upon stepping outside of the mansion, Rick is glad to see a group of Hilltop citizens volunteering to fight the Saviors. Rick states that more soldiers will be needed to take on the Saviors and their many outposts. Jesus tells Rick about The Kingdom, and that a possible alliance may be forged with them.
Maggie regards the bustling Hilltop community. She gives residents knife-throwing lessons, in preparation for the war against the Saviors. She and Jesus work on plans for the future of the community. Gradually, the people of Hilltop begin to look to her as a leader.
Forming the Militia
Maggie reviews Rick’s plan with Jesus and Enid as they watch over Judith. She considers their options and contemplates joining the fight at Alexandria. Jesus remarks that he's happy she is the one making the tough decisions. Enid places Glenn’s pocket watch in her hand as she leaves the room with Judith.
As Negan prepares to kill Carl, Shiva leaps onto and mauls a nearby Savior. Carol and Ezekiel arrive at the head of the Kingdom regiment in an attack, as Maggie arrives with the Hilltop fighters. A battle ensues as the Saviors and Scavengers are caught off guard. Rick and Carl join the fight. Negan orders a retreat as Shiva mauls another of his men to death. Before he escapes, Negan is surprised to see Maggie, alive and well, leading the Hilltop warriors. Negan and his men leave under a hail of bullets and gives his attackers the middle finger before escaping.
Maggie proudly tells Rick that she was not the one responsible for the events which saved Alexandria; it began right at the start, when Glenn made the decision to save Rick in the tank in Atlanta. It was that heroic choice that paved the way for everything to come.
Rick, Maggie and Ezekiel stand on a podium and address the crowd as the leaders of their respective communities: Alexandria, the Hilltop and the Kingdom, united.
The War against the Saviors
In a field, members of the Hilltop gather with fellow militia from Alexandria and the Kingdom. The are inspired by the leaders as they listen to speeches during the rally. At the Sanctuary, the Hilltoppers and other militia fire their weapons in the air and shatter the windows of the Sanctuary to get the Saviors' attention. After fleeing the scene so the herd may swarm the Saviors' headquarters, Maggie and several Hilltoppers return home while the rest prepare to raid one of the Saviors' outposts with the help of Tara, Morgan, Dianne, and several other Kingdommers. The attack is a success as numerous Saviors are killed and dozens more captured. Nearly forty Saviors are rounded up and brought to the Hilltop to be held as prisoners of war. They are held in a makeshift prison built by the Hilltoppers and under 24 hour watch by the guards. After Simon executed Hilltop woodworker Neil, Maggie returned to the Hilltop and executed Dean, one of the troublesome Saviors captured from the outpost. After the revenge killing, Maggie orders the residents to bolster their defenses and prepare for refugees from the other communities as she realizes the Saviors have escaped the Sanctuary and are on the offensive.
Government and Society
The Hilltop seems to have a very loose system. Gregory seems to be the main authority figure acting as leader and negotiator and is most likely the primary authority to come up with or approve ideas brought on by community members. Gregory might also hold power over the small guard of the community, but this remains uncertain due to his tendency to negotiate and submit instead of aggression. Jesus seems to be the only other major figure of authority, but that may be more out of his skill as a fighter and the respect and likability he gains from the community. There is also the guard which seems to act as a police system to secure peace and stability inside the community.
The community, due to its closed off nature, is very social based. In terms of punishment none have been really applied. Most conflicts seem to be resolved almost entirely by conversation and it is unknown if any other punishments have been made. Philosophically, Hilltop residents believe in cremation as the way of body disposal. They also seem to hold the lives of other members in high regard and most likely oppose any form of capital punishment.
Agriculture seems to be the main resource for the communities supplies, but individual searches by Jesus seems to still make runs to get enough supplies to meet savior demands.
Under Gregory's rule the community managed to preserve itself without major casualties and built a wall around itself. When the Saviors arrived and executed members of the community Gregory chose to agree to the Saviors supply tax to preserve the community. Peace was achieved and the community became a provider of the Saviors. This agreement lasted until an attempted assassination of Gregory took place. Gregory then made a treaty with the newly discovered community of Alexandria. Recently Gregory return to his old policies and reached another agreement with the Saviors with Simon acting as the new outpost commander.
Inhabitants
Survivors
- Maggie Rhee - Leader of the community
- Gregory - Former leader of the community
- Alden - Former prisoner; defected to the Militia
- Paul "Jesus" Rovia - Recruiter, supply runner
- Kal - Guard
- Eduardo - Guard
- Bertie - Supply runner
- Crystal - Food exchanger
- Craig - Cook, food exchanger
- Ms. Maitlin - Cook
- Enid
- Oscar
- Gracie
- Wesley - Supply runner; killed by the Saviors, later put down by Daryl
- Neil - Woodworker; killed by Simon
- Andy - Food exchanger; killed by the Saviors
- Freddie - Supply runner; killed by the Saviors
- Ethan - Food exchanger; killed by Rick Grimes
- Tim - Food exchanger; killed by the Saviors
- Marsha - Food exchanger; killed by the Saviors
- Rory - Killed by the Saviors
- Numerous unnamed residents
Formerly
- Reilly - Former prisoner; escaped during the assault, killed by Rick
- Jared - Former prisoner; escaped during the assault, killed by walkers
- Evan - Former prisoner; escaped during the assault, killed by walkers
- Harlan Carson - Former community physician; taken to the Sanctuary, killed by an unnamed Savior while escaping
- Sasha Williams - Captured by the Saviors at the Sanctuary, committed suicide
- Emmett Carson - Former community doctor; taken to the Sanctuary, executed by Negan
- Katy - Killed by the Saviors, later put down by Siddiq
- Dean - Executed by Maggie
- 1 unnamed Savior prisoner - Killed by the Saviors
- 2 unnamed Savior prisoners - Killed by Katy
- At least 15 unnamed Saviors - Former prisoners; defected to the Militia; Later moved back to The Sanctuary
- 10 unnamed Savior prisoners - Escaped during the assault, killed by Rick and Morgan
- 5 unnamed Savior prisoners - Escaped during the assault, unknown
Deaths
- Rory - Beaten to death by the Saviors.
- Ethan - Stabbed in the throat by Rick Grimes.
- Dean - Shot in the cheek by Maggie Rhee.
- Derek - Shot by Carol Peletier.
- Tobin - Injured by Derek with tainted weapon, later put down by Carol.
- Kurt - Bitten by zombified Tobin, later put down by Michonne.
- Kevin - Shot by a Savior with a tainted arrow, later put down by Ezekiel.
- Dana - Bitten by zombified Tobin, later put down by Daryl Dixon.
- Wesley - Injured by a Savior with tainted weapon, later put down by Daryl Dixon.
- Katy - Shot by a Savior with a tainted arrow, later put down by Siddiq.
- Bruce - Injured by a Savior with tainted weapon, later put down by Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Carol Peletier, Maggie Rhee or Bertie.
- At least 14 unnamed Hilltop residents and refugees
- At least 30 unnamed Saviors
Appearances
TV Series
Season 6
Season 7
- "Go Getters"
- "Hearts Still Beating"
- "Rock in the Road"
- "Say Yes"
- "The Other Side"
- "Something They Need"
- "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life"
Season 8
- "Mercy"
- "Monsters"
- "The King, the Widow, and Rick"
- "How It's Gotta Be"
- "Dead or Alive Or"
- "The Key"
- "Do Not Send Us Astray"
- "Still Gotta Mean Something"
- "Worth"
- "Wrath"
Trivia
- Since the beginning of Season 8, the Hilltoppers started wearing green armbands, representing their position in the Militia. The other communities: Alexandria Safe-Zone are represented by white armbands, and The Kingdom are represented by orange armbands.