The Walking Dead recap: It’s all right now

Daryl’s leadership skills are tested for the first time as he faces off with Alpha. Also, it’s movie time for the Kingdom.

As all fans of The Walking Dead know, Daryl Dixon does not exist in the comics. And, as far as he’s existed in the world of the show, he’s never taken on a leadership role. Since very early on in the series, he was the trusty and unflappable right hand man of Rick Grimes. Rick and Daryl were brothers. They were like peanut butter and jelly. Peas and carrots. They were perfect compliments to one another.

But now Rick is gone, and Daryl is left in a position he never wanted or asked for.

In The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 11 – ironically episode 911 – the alarm bells start ringing as the Whisperers finally make their presence known, and Alpha (Samantha Morton) establishes her power and dominance over the gang. And, faced with this threat, Daryl (Norman Reedus) is no longer on the sidelines when it comes to decision making. He is the decider.

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In the power vacuum following Jesus’s death, Tara (Alanna Masterson) is expected to step up and take the reins as the defacto leader of Hilltop, but the arrival of Alpha is somewhat beyond her pay grade and level of expertise. So Daryl steps up, and we find that he’s not half bad at negotiating with psychopaths.

It’s a bit unnatural to watch Daryl take on this type of responsibility. Generally, we’d see Michonne (Danai Gurira), Rick (Andrew Lincoln), or Maggie (Lauren Cohan) step up and face the music of this insane new world. However, both Rick and Maggie are no longer in the world of the Dead, and Michonne is on her way out, so the incredibly stressful task falls to Daryl.

Carol (Melissa McBride) has also been a leader throughout her time on The Walking Dead, but for all her fierce survival capabilities, she isn’t necessarily the most effective negotiator. Under her jurisdiction, the altercation with the Whisperers may have gone very differently – likely with all the Whisperers dead at the hand of Carol’s sweet sweet ninja skillz. Ultimately, I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that she was out on a supply run with Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Jerry (Cooper Andrews) instead of dealing with Alpha, but her time to tangle with the Whisperers will come soon enough.

The Kingdom’s supply run is one of the lighter sequences that we’ve seen in recent memory. It’s well-intentioned, innocent, and involves some of the most big-hearted characters on the show. The primary objective of the mission is to hunt down a few hundred pounds of elk meat to serve at the upcoming fair, but Ezekiel is also seeking out something to feed their collective souls.

The Kingdom crew goes to a local movie theater and pumps out the jammin’ tune “It’s All Right Now” by Eddie Harris as a distraction for an approaching herd. At first, things seem a bit sticky when Jerry drops the bulb into a whole gaggle of walkers stuck inside the theater, but, with some encouragement from Queen Carol, they manage to clear the space and emerge victorious.

Ezekiel and Carol even snag a sweet poster box to display Michonne’s proposed Multi-Community Charter of Rights and Freedoms that Tara entrusted them with earlier in the episode. Ezekiel is a dreamer, and he’s exactly what we need on The Walking Dead right now. As a man of the arts, he knows that survival means so much more than just living. That’s what the Whisperers are doing. Living. Existing. Not thriving. Art is a vital component to the foundation of humanity, and without it, our happiness and motivation are compromised.

Luke (Dan Folger) knows this as well, having introduced us to the joys of a Stradivarius earlier in the season. He’s also been one of the most vocal proponents of the fair, encouraging Alden (Callan McAuliffe) to come sing at it. But right now he and Alden are stuck as prisoners in front of the Hilltop gates. Somehow, Luke has spotted Connie (Lauren Ridloff) in the corn field, and manages to sign several warnings to her, including one about an abandoned baby.

Ok, that baby. First off, it cries right on cue when Daryl comes up to confront Alpha, thereby saving the Whisperers from the wrath of the Hilltop. But when the baby cries a bit too much, Alpha shrugs callously at the mother, indicating that she should put it down to be one with the walkers.

This is a suspenseful sequence that serves to highlight Connie’s capabilities, and it gives viewers a cool scene from her near-soundless perspective, but the logic behind it makes little sense. That’s okay though, because the cornfield gave me serious Children of the Corn vibes, and the team effort to save that lil chubby baby was hella heartwarming.

Inside the walls of Hilltop, however, Henry (Matt Lintz) is busy making a huge mess of everything, as per ushe. He’s fled with Lydia (Cassady McClincy) to the teen rec center in the woods in attempt to hide her. But little does he know that the Whisperers have Luke and Alden. Enid (Katelyn Nacon) swoops in to save the day, invoking her JSS mantra, and Lydia willingly hands herself over to her mother. As she leaves, she plants a sweet kiss on Henry’s lips. Aww young love in the apocalypse.

In the wake of the prisoner exchange, everyone seems happy. Ed and Tammy have a new little baby to care for, Enid and Alden get it onnnnn, and the new group shares some moonshine. But Henry continues to be the worst, and he heads out to track Lydia down. The kid has zero tracking skills and middling ability with his bow staff, but sure, go head out into the unknown.

Of course, Daryl pursues Henry, because Carol would be downright furious if he let her son die. Surprisingly, Connie follows, offering up her help in locating both Henry and the girl. She can’t live with the fact that they’ve handed over a young girl to a life of continued abuse.

Until next week…

Random Thoughts Before I Go:

• Who knew projection bulbs were so sensitive? Also, I’m dying to find out what movie they’ll be screening at the fair.
• Speaking of the fair, there’s a good amount of fair-shadowing (see what I did there?) in this episode. Given the comic book arc, I’m getting real concerned for Ezekiel, Rosita, and Luke, but the show may shift from the book. The set up in recent episodes also makes me worried for Jerry, Alden, and Connie. No one is safe.
• If you fill in the missing letters on the marquee at the movie theater, the most obvious title is “The Silent Army”. Makes sense given that walkers rule the world now.
• Comic fans, we saw Beta in this episode, but only for a moment. Here’s hoping we get to see his grizzled face next week.

‘The Walking Dead’ airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.