The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon betrays Reapers to help Maggie Rhee storm Meridian and loses Leah Shaw

Daryl Dixon after betraying the Reapers to help Maggie Rhee and his friends was targeted by his love interest Leah Shaw on Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead.

The season 11 episode titled ‘For Blood’ concluded the first eight-episode installment of the three-part series finale that consists of 24 episodes in total ending in 2022.

The Reapers compound Meridian was surrounded by an army of zombies as the episode started. Leah Shaw [Lynn Collins] couldn’t understand why the zombies were walking in circles. Daryl [Norman Reedus] said there was probably no reason, but Pope [Ritchie Coster] said there was always a reason.

Daryl suggested they could lead the zombies out away from the compound and offered to do it himself, but Pope told Paul Wells [Robert Hayes] to be the zombie’s ‘pied piper.’ Wells thought it would be easy but then suddenly he was surrounded on all sides by zombies. 

Then suddenly one stabbed him. Injured, he tried to fight the other zombies off, but there were too many and they ended up eating him alive.

Maggie Rhee [Lauren Cohan], still in her zombie disguise, quickly picked up his walkie-talkie and sauntered off with it.

Leah kept calling Wells over the walkie-talkie but he didn’t answer. She told Pope that she knew he was alive because she had seen him kill hundreds of zombies at one time.

‘They didn’t kill him, she did, ‘ said Pope. ‘My enemy.’

Leah was mad at Pope that he thought Maggie was out there and he sent Paul in and told him that Paul was family. Pope told her that Paul was a soldier.

‘Soldiers sometimes fall,’ said Pope.

He told Leah he noticed that she had a lot more to say ever since her ‘boyfriend’ showed up. He asked her if she had anything more to say and she said ‘no sir.’

Pope started to question Daryl about Maggie, but Daryl said he didn’t know much about her. Pope then questioned why he was keeping him around. Leah stepped in and said that they kept Daryl because he was an excellent tracker. Pope asked him where he would look for Maggie and the others. He told them maybe the trees.

They went up to the lookout over the gate and saw that more zombies were headed toward them. Pope said they wouldn’t get too far and then explosives started detonating, killing the zombies.

Pope asked Leah what was on her mind and she said she was thinking of the ones they lost.

‘In every war there is sacrifice,’ said Pope. ‘That is why we were chosen in the first place because we didn’t run from the fire.’

He said ‘their sacrifice shows that we are still worthy and that is why we will prevail.’

Daryl looked out using the binoculars and recognized Maggie and Father Gabriel from the other zombies. 

He then walked the perimeter and killed one of the guards standing watch. He leaned over the fence and told Maggie and Father Gabriel to go to a door that he unlocked for them.

Maggie told Father Gabriel that they do this and then they get the food and go home. Father Gabriel went inside the compound and opened a panel in a closet.

Back on top of the compound gate, Leah unveiled a weapon that had hundreds of arrows that they were going to use against the remaining zombies. Daryl realized that the weapon if launched would also likely kill Maggie and the others. Daryl told Leah that he was sorry about Wells. Daryl asked her if she believed what Pope was saying about being chosen by God.

‘It doesn’t matter if I believe or not,’ said Leah.

‘It matters to me,’ said Daryl.

She asked him if he ever thought about what it would have been like if they ever left the cabin. He said that he did. Daryl then revealed to Leah that his people were there walking with the dead and that they were there for the food.

‘Please you can’t let them die like that,’ Daryl said urging her to not fire the massive weapon.

Leah told him that he lied to her and that he was with Maggie. Pope then walked over and asked them what they were talking about.

‘Family,’ Leah said.

Pope then told Daryl that he wanted him to find Maggie for him.

‘Bring her to me,’ said Pope who attacked and took over the Meridian compound from Maggie and her group the Wardens.

Maggie ran into a nearby car and tried to hotwire it. She started it and one of Pope’s men heard and tried to stop her. She drove off and used the car to smash into the gate to let the zombies get inside. Brandon Carver [Alex Meraz] then reported to Pope that the enemy was inside the wall.

Maggie used that as a distraction to get herself inside the walls of the compound. Pope told his group to point the weapon at the courtyard. Leah tried to stop him and told him that they had their own people out there. Pope told her it was just their time to die.

‘The Lord speaks through me,’ Pope yelled at her. ‘You don’t question the Lord, you don’t question me.’

He told them to light up the weapon. Daryl pulled his knife and Pope turned. Leah then rushed over and stabbed Pope in the neck. Daryl quickly put out the ignition wire for the weapon.

Maggie made her way through the compound and was almost killed by a Reaper before Father Gabriel killed him with a sniper rifle from a high vantage point.

On the roof, Daryl killed Ancheta [Dave Davenport] , a member of the Reapers and Leah’s face changed. Daryl told Leah it was time to go. Then Leah got on the radio and told the others that Pope was dead and that Daryl murdered him.

‘He’s with the enemy,’ she said.

Daryl wanted to know why she did that. Leah said she would do anything to protect her family but she then let Daryl escape.

Brandon told Leah that he should have killed Daryl when he had the chance. Leah told him to get the gate closed and then they would kill everything and everyone inside.

Daryl went outside to help Maggie and Negan to fight off the Reapers. Leah stared down at them angrily. She had re-lit the weapon and it started firing arrows into the courtyard at them.

Back at Alexandria, there was a storm outside. Aaron [Ross Marquand] and the others worked on nailing boards over the windows of their house. Gracie [Anabelle Holloway] and the other children huddled together as lightning and thunder roared outside. Suddenly, they saw pieces of the outside wall flying around.

Aaron told the others that not only was a panel from the wall now missing but also that there was fire at the windmill that was drawing in walkers from the surrounding areas.

He said they would need three teams – one to fight the fire, one to protect the wall, and one to stay behind. Virgil [Kevin Carroll] offered to help despite the fact that Carol Peletier [Melissa McBride] reminded him that he could barely stand. Judith Grimes [Cailey Fleming] offered to help Carol, but she told her to stay behind.

Virgil told Judith that her mother would be so proud of her. Gracie went near the window and a zombie grabbed her. Judith stepped up and killed the zombie. 

More Zombies pounded on the house and Rosita Espinosa [Christian Serratos] made the decision to go outside to fight them and bid the others more time. She returned drenched after killing a horde of zombies and told them to stay away from the windows.

A new swarm of zombies approached pounding on the windows of the house. Gracie went to hide in the basement that was filling up with stormwater. 

Judith helped her find a pipe to fight with. When they got upstairs, zombies were in the house so they ran back down to hide in the basement.

The Walking Dead will return in February on AMC.