Within all this, more distinct threads begin to emerge. The back-and-forth structure helps to ratchet up the tension, even if some of the developments, such as the Reapers wheeling out a homemade fifteenth-century Korean rocket launcher called a hwacha, conspire to undermine the good work. The episode moves between these two big setups rapidly Daryl shanking a goon one minute, Rosita running out into the rain for a big - if rather cheesy - heroic moment the next. There’s a caveat, obviously, since Pope seems to have had a peek at the script, but his realization that Maggie is responsible for the assault means that Daryl has to break character and start aiding their infiltration while the horde stumbles dramatically into the perimeter mines. That’s a lot of characters imperiled at once. Part of the wall blows down, and a fire starts in the windmill, so the remaining Alexandrians have to split into three groups - one to repair the wall, one to put out the fire, and a third to protect the children. It does also feel, admittedly, appropriate for a big, climactic episode, at least in its structure. All roads inevitably lead to the Commonwealth, so the remains of Alexandria being swept up in a biblical storm is hardly surprising, even if that feels like a slightly cheap way to undo all the time that has been spent trying to repair the place. The real endgame content feels like everything involving the Commonwealth, but that has been consistently shelved to focus on these bland, cultish militiamen. ![]() This is what happens, I suppose, when you have a bumper-sized season to work with, and “For Blood” is the first of two midseason finales rather than a logical halfway point. The Walking Dead season 11, episode 8 recap While he’s out there, he’s pincered by the undead, shanked by Maggie and Negan, and left to be noisily eaten next to his radio. It takes one of the Reapers’ unfortunate redshirts, Wells, smugly venturing away from Meridian on Pope’s orders to try and redirect Maggie and Negan’s homemade horde. This is less true as of “For Blood” - even if only slightly. There have been plenty of good - and even some great - episodes along the way, of course, but between the Reapers, the Commonwealth, Alexandria’s failing infrastructure, and Maggie and Negan’s testy relationship, the various plot and character strands have felt pretty separate. It feels a bit like this entire season of The Walking Dead has ambled towards some drama with all the pace of a walker, or at least someone dressed like one.
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