S11.E09: No Other Way

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate: 02.20.22

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Daryl, Maggie, Gabriel, Negan, and Elijah battle the Reapers for food; Aaron and the Alexandrians must survive a storm.

 

[Morrigan2575]

I liked this episode. I thought it was really well done. The Water Zombies were cool.

I'm intrigued by the Time Jump and Maggie/Daryl standoff.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Morrigan2575

[diebartdie]

Y'all reckon eventually Reaper girlfriend who got away and Negan team up?

[Mr. Sparkle]

8 hours ago, diebartdie said:

Y'all reckon eventually Reaper girlfriend who got away and Negan team up?

[nodorothyparker]

Daryl hasn't learned a damn thing in 11 years of this. If you let someone go for reasons, unless they move to another show entirely they always always always come back to bite you in the end. Or maybe he just forgot in his first attempt to be a real boy. 

Don't get our hopes up, show, with Negan saying he's outta there. He's still in the main credits and one of the few recognizable faces left. He's not wrong, though, to think maybe it's a good idea to put some space between him and Maggie the way she is now. Speaking of, with all the Reapers but Leah gone, are we just never going to get an answer to what their serious beef with her was? A full third of the final season devoted to chasing her and referring to her as "The Enemy" in a way that strongly suggested she did something very very bad to screw them over and that's just it?

The rest of the episode otherwise was fairly well done and well paced. Fireworks walkers are fun and walker soup in the flooded basement with Aaron looked positively disgusting. Walker Alden was the least surprising and most on brand for what this show used to be ever.

[KeithJ]

I really hope we're not going to get a season of flashbacks explaining what happened during the six month time jump but I'm sure we will. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by KeithJ

[Mr. Sparkle]

51 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

Speaking of, with all the Reapers but Leah gone, are we just never going to get an answer to what their serious beef with her was? A full third of the final season devoted to chasing her and referring to her as "The Enemy" in a way that strongly suggested she did something very very bad to screw them over and that's just it?

I really have to ask: what was the point of the Reapers entire arc? 9 episodes just to get to the Commonwealth part, which could be one of the more interesting arcs this show has ever had. Just a reason to stretch out this long season? 

[nodorothyparker]

I asked that too. Just guessing that the show used the Reapers coming in and burning everything down to make Alexandria weak enough to be open to the Commonwealth.  A strong functioning Alexandria that can feed itself has had enough dealings with outsiders that went bad that they'd probably keep the gates closed up to a strong looking group and say thanks but no thanks. Now they feel like the Unfair Wolves of the final season.

The Maggie that returned to the show has been darker than dark. The show dropped several hints in the first third of the season that she'd done something to seriously honk the Reapers off beyond just being a leader of a group they ran off that compound. The chases that ate up the entire first part certainly suggested some real animosity and need for payback. But if everybody from that group but Leah is dead, does it even matter now?

[GustavMahler]

I am afraid this thought might annoy some people, but I cannot see anyway that Alpha Daryl will come out on top against Alpha Laurie, in any conflict they now have, based on current mainstream storylines…..

[Smad]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

I really have to ask: what was the point of the Reapers entire arc? 9 episodes just to get to the Commonwealth part, which could be one of the more interesting arcs this show has ever had. Just a reason to stretch out this long season? 

The reason for the Reapers was them being part of a regular Season. They had half of S11 written and ready to shoot when the axe came from AMC that TWD main show was cancelled. They had no time to rewrite that part and probably did as much as they could while shooting it. So either it got lost in all the havoc or the Reapers were supposed to be there all of S11 and eventually their reasons were going to be revealed. But they had to do away with them quickly once the axe came down so some things are now left unexplained.

[theredhead77]

I mentioned in the live thread that I forgot this came back and turned in around 40 minutes into it. I'm actually glad I stayed up to watch the rebroadcast. Because it was good!

Loved the emergency whistle and water walkers (and the fireworks walkers). The kids doing their best to ward off the walkers (kicking them) but they are still kids. Maggie executing the Reapers was ok by me.  We all knew Alden was done-for.

Did not love Aaron telling Judith to get Gracie to safety. He should have told her to get them both to safety and send help. Sure, Gracie is his kid but Judith is also just a kid. The parentification of Judith because she is brave (or Rick's kid) is really starting to grate.

[madmax]

I liked this episode, a good start to the second third of the final season.  🙄

Gabriel is totally Murder Priest now.  Kinda digging it, actually.  Maggie is slowly turning into Negan.  Daryl is totally faking out the Commonwealth.  I just hope it doesn't take the rest of the season to get to where we learn how/why.

Aaron killing the walker underwater was pretty nasty.  Knew the pipe would break because duh, but how the hell did he get a rope tied somewhere to get out of there?  

Poor Alden, knew he was a goner.  Nice of him to leave another zombie surprise for Maggie.

10 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

Did not love Aaron telling Judith to get Gracie to safety. He should have told her to get them both to safety and send help. Sure, Gracie is his kid but Judith is also just a kid. The parentification of Judith because she is brave (or Rick's kid) is really starting to grate.

This irritated me, too.  

[Mr. Sparkle]

49 minutes ago, Smad said:

The reason for the Reapers was them being part of a regular Season. They had half of S11 written and ready to shoot when the axe came from AMC that TWD main show was cancelled. They had no time to rewrite that part and probably did as much as they could while shooting it. So either it got lost in all the havoc or the Reapers were supposed to be there all of S11 and eventually their reasons were going to be revealed. But they had to do away with them quickly once the axe came down so some things are now left unexplained.

So we could've had 16 episodes of this Saviors/Wolves retread instead of just 9? I guess I should consider us lucky then.  

[Guy Incognito]

I can't get over this GLARING flaw in this whole Reapers storyline that was played out at the end of the episode.  So the whole point of Maggie, Negan, and team rounding up a group and walking all the way to DC and beyond was to go get the food they desperately needed for their starving Group.  The Reapers had some massive stockpile of food, right.  That was the whole point of the journey!

Cut to them winning the battle and collecting the food...WTF?  Are you kidding me?  They loaded like 5 crates of fruits and vegetables into a wagon and lugged it back to Alexandria.  Upon getting it there, Daryl drops half of the apples on the ground, steps on them, and lets his dog eat one.  THIS is what they risked (and lost) their lives for?  A few crates of apples and onions?  Are you kidding me? 

Come on writers, at least give some kind of payoff to this 9 episode adventure.  How about massive stockpiles of food that would last a year, or at least a few months.  They brought back 5 crates, maybe enough for one night for Alexandria.  I guess that was well worth the massive casualties they took...

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Guy Incognito said:

A few crates of apples and onions? 

Those onions are really good in spaghetti sauce, tbh. 

But seriously, since the Commonwealth showed up and presumably gave them food & such, that whole onion-trek that killed a whole bunch of people was pretty much unnecessary. 

[Boofish]

Perhaps I'm projecting or making up my own story but I understood that everything the reapers had including the food and compound was Maggie's group originally. She certainly knew her way around the place including the hidden room with medical supplies. I thought it was a bit drawn out but well done and I was satisfied with it ending.

As a long time fan, I was so happy to see them clean, fed and unafraid. I don't think they felt this secure since the farm. I think Daryl especially went with the Commonwealth because of Judith and RJ. Since Carl was a kid, Daryl's goal was always a "safe place for the kid." Last night I told my husband that I can't recall Daryl taking a shower since season 1 at the CDC which was also the first time he laughed/smiled which we didn't see again until I believe Season 4. I used to keep track but now I can't remember.

[econ07]

20 hours ago, GustavMahler said:

I am afraid this thought might annoy some people, but I cannot see anyway that Alpha Daryl will come out on top against Alpha Laurie, in any conflict they now have, based on current mainstream storylines…..

I think Alpha Daryl has a special kind of plot armor, called a spin-off.

[iMonrey]

It seems like it's been forever since the first eight episodes of this season aired, and I barely remembered what happened in them. I sure as hell wasn't interested enough to go back and watch them again, so I spent most of this episode wondering who the hell Elijah was. Finally remembered, he was one of the men who came back with Maggie, but still didn't care about him. 

This episode seemed to be mostly about the visuals, which were well done I suppose. But really the only thing I'm still marginally interested in anymore is the Commonwealth, so I was mostly bored until the very end. 

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 Perhaps I'm projecting or making up my own story but I understood that everything the reapers had including the food and compound was Maggie's group originally. She certainly knew her way around the place including the hidden room with medical supplies. I thought it was a bit drawn out but well done and I was satisfied with it ending.

I was wondering why Alexandria didn't just move there. Alexandria is pretty much toast at this point and the Reaper compound is now up for grabs. 

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Don't get our hopes up, show, with Negan saying he's outta there. He's still in the main credits and one of the few recognizable faces left.

Yeah, fool me once . . .

[Iguessnot]

 I loved that as the storm troopers showed up, Gabriel didn't even turn around. He just looked up like "now I've got to whoop somebody's ass again. Lord have mercy". 

[OoohMaggie]

No way would West Point Mercer let anybody under his command rock hair like Daryl, not a speck of dirt on any stormtrooper, yet Stig of the dump’s greasy mop is somehow A1, did someone mention plot armour? 🤫

[tennisgurl]

Not a bad way to kick off this part of the season, the water zombies were cool and I am just so happy that the stupid Reapers are gone. It sucks that this entire plot and this entire odyssey to get food has all been made pointless by the introduction of the Commonwealth and was just generally a big boring waste of time, but we are at least moving in a better direction for now. The Commonwealth is at least a different kind of antagonist from most of the villains the gang have fought recently. At least they aren't just a bunch of idiots rolling around in their own feces listening to their idiot leader making boring speeches. Although I was really hoping they could finally get Darryl to wash his damn hair, but some dreams are just impossible.

Gabriel was really on fire this opener, I love it. "Call me Gabriel." 

Oh no, Negan is leaving? Wait, stop, come back...Not that he wont be back soon, we aren't that lucky.

[Starchild]

So I recorded this on Sunday. Not really in a rush to watch it but fully intended to before the week was up.

Then today (Tues) I saw this clickbait headline about a shocking death (with pics of Negan and Daryl) and I thought, "welp, better watch it before I get spoilt."

And it's Alden? "Shocking"? lolwtf 

I'd totally forgotten about him. If I never saw him again I wouldn't even notice.

[theredhead77]

I'm in the minority but I like Negan when he isn't yammering endlessly. Not because they are trying to redeem him, I don't think they are. It's a good character study from going to an asshole to a grieving asshole, to a cult leading murderous rapist, to this. No one has forgotten what he's done, even if they do leave him alone with the kids. Seeing him get his ass beat by the Reaper was golden. He was so confident with his pole weapon thing and bam, ass kicked. So no, he's obviously not gone for good. It's plot and I hope it brings more interesting stories. 

Edited February 23, 2022 by theredhead77

[iMonrey]

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And it's Alden? "Shocking"? lolwtf 

I'm reasonably certain that wasn't Callan McAuliffe playing him though.

[madmax]

49 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'm reasonably certain that wasn't Callan McAuliffe playing him though.

It was.  They showed him on Talking Dead in zombie make-up.

[OoohMaggie]

16 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I'm in the minority but I like Negan

Speaking of being in the minority, I felt positively Leper like over my disappointment of him not stoving Coral’s head in, I’d always loved  big cats up until that point 🐯

Someone mentioned him and the blonde one joining up, I can definitely see that happening, Maggie and Elijah against those two could be very interesting. Unfortunately I do have this annoying itch that Negan is still earmarked for the dreaded ‘R’ word. 😞

[WalterSobchack]

On 2/21/2022 at 8:24 AM, nodorothyparker said:

I asked that too. Just guessing that the show used the Reapers coming in and burning everything down to make Alexandria weak enough to be open to the Commonwealth.  A strong functioning Alexandria that can feed itself has had enough dealings with outsiders that went bad that they'd probably keep the gates closed up to a strong looking group and say thanks but no thanks. Now they feel like the Unfair Wolves of the final season.

The Maggie that returned to the show has been darker than dark. The show dropped several hints in the first third of the season that she'd done something to seriously honk the Reapers off beyond just being a leader of a group they ran off that compound. The chases that ate up the entire first part certainly suggested some real animosity and need for payback. But if everybody from that group but Leah is dead, does it even matter now?

No, the show explained this in 11.07. Maggie didn’t do anything to the Reapers. Leah admitted to Daryl in 11.07 that the Reapers only attacked and slaughtered Maggie’s group because they “needed a place to live.” They wanted Meridian - That was the entire reason.
 

Maggie also alluded to this in 10.17 when she was screaming “we did nothing to you!” to the lone reaper right before he offed himself. 
 

Maggie does what she has to do and can be ruthless, but the Reapers deserved what Maggie did to them.

 

On 2/23/2022 at 12:16 PM, OoohMaggie said:

Speaking of being in the minority, I felt positively Leper like over my disappointment of him not stoving Coral’s head in, I’d always loved  big cats up until that point 🐯

Someone mentioned him and the blonde one joining up, I can definitely see that happening, Maggie and Elijah against those two could be very interesting. Unfortunately I do have this annoying itch that Negan is still earmarked for the dreaded ‘R’ word. 😞

I actually think Maggie and Negan will team up again and resist the Commonwealth together 

Edited February 25, 2022 by WalterSobchack

[WalterSobchack]

On 2/20/2022 at 9:52 PM, diebartdie said:

Y'all reckon eventually Reaper girlfriend who got away and Negan team up?

I think Maggie and Negan will both work together to resist the commonwealth 

[Persnickety1]

On 2/22/2022 at 4:35 PM, Starchild said:

So I recorded this on Sunday. Not really in a rush to watch it but fully intended to before the week was up.

Then today (Tues) I saw this clickbait headline about a shocking death (with pics of Negan and Daryl) and I thought, "welp, better watch it before I get spoilt."

And it's Alden? "Shocking"? lolwtf 

I'd totally forgotten about him. If I never saw him again I wouldn't even notice.

The only reason I didn't forget Alden is because I kept waiting for the show to hook him up with Maggie.  

RIP Alden, along with our much beloved Neil.  

 

[Primstone]

didnt get to see this episode last week, but got to see Negan ring that reapers bell

And Maggie becoming Negan

[The Lurker]

Would love to see Negan again in future episodes.
A lil sad to see him leaving the group and wandering off on his own but I get it.
If I were him, I would have done the same thing.

[PurpleTentacle]

Maggie made the only right moral choice. These people murdered entire communities on a whim and they would have done it again. Daryl is a complete dumbfuck. You don't let people like that go. If this show wasn't over in under a season, she'd be back to exact revenge. With the show being done soon, I don't know if there will be enough time.