The Walking Dead: Leah returns and Daryl is captured

The Walking Dead aired its fourth episode for season eleven titled “Rendition.” This episode was teased to bring us more information about the Reapers and it did not disappoint. We finally met the mysterious Pope, we saw that the Reapers might be fierce, but their numbers were small, Daryl was captured, and he was reunited with Leah again.

Pope (Ritchie Coster) is the leader of this group, and we found out he is a bit of a zealot. We didn’t see much of the Meridian compound, but it doesn’t look like much more than a few buildings. The Reapers group was said to consist of 15 members, which isn’t a huge group, but they are well trained, so still a force to be reckoned with.

Frost (Glenn Stanton) was among those captured during the raid in the forest, and he is the survivor of the Warens. Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari) should also be there, but we haven’t seen him yet. Frost was tortured and questioned, and Elijah could have been as well.

The Walking Dead: Leah and Daryl

Fans of the series pull apart the trailers as soon as they are released. Watching frame by frame for any clues to what is to come. It has been long thought that Leah (Lynn Collins) could be part of the Reapers because of her military background. When the clip of the Reaper with Dog appeared, fans were sure this was true.

Lynn Collins shared on Talking Dead that she has known since last fall that she would be returning to the series but, of course, had to keep it quiet. Her sudden disappearance from the cabin had viewers trying to decide if she was kidnapped or left on her own. This week’s episode confirmed that she joined her squad.

The reunion between Leah and Daryl (Norman Reedus) was a cold one. She gave him an icy glare, and all he cared about was getting Dog back and leaving. She was bitter because he chose to continue searching for Rick, and he was bitter because she had Dog, and she left without saying goodbye.

Now that we know more about the Reapers, Leah should understand Daryl’s plight to find his fallen brother. The Reapers hold to their rule of never leaving a brother behind. But, she expected Daryl to choose between his brother and her. Even when he told her that he returned for her and left the note, this didn’t seem to have much of an effect on her.

When Daryl is captured, on Leah’s orders, and then waterboarded, again on her orders, this didn’t bode well for Daryl’s fans. But, as things progress, it looks like Leah is in a situation she can’t get herself out of. Perhaps she didn’t know how far Pope’s madness had gone when she agreed to join back with this group. She is going through the motions, but her facial expressions are saying otherwise. During the scene around the fire, her face is almost pleading with Daryl for help.

Daryl does all he can to infiltrate this group, gain their trust, and either escape or end Pope to seek revenge for Maggie. We still haven’t heard the whole story where Maggie and the Reapers are concerned. She is heading back to Meridian for much more than just food to feed Alexandria. It will be exciting to see what comes next.

The Walking Dead’s next episode, “Out of the Ashes,” airs on AMC on September 19. This episode is now available to stream on AMC+.