AMC premiered The Walking Dead season 11, episode 9, “No Other Way,” on Feb. 20, 2022, and it was a fantastic kick-off to the second part of the final season. This episode’s death toll was high as Maggie (Lauren Cohan) took out many of the Reapers. But another scene in this episode featured Callan McAuliffe’s Alden, a character not seen in some time, and there is more to the story than what was seen on screen.
In the season 11 episode “Hunted,” Alden was injured during a fight with a Reaper. Maggie and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) got him to safety in a church along the way, but his injury slowed their progress, and Maggie sensed that Negan wanted to leave him behind. Alden agrees that this is the best choice for them.
Alden was thinking about his son Adam back at Alexandria and all the other residents who would benefit from the much-needed supplies Meridian could supply them. His injuries only slowed down the delivery of these supplies.
The Walking Dead – Alden
Callan McAuliffe is the actor who portrayed Alden beginning in season 8 until he died in season 11. He started his journey as a Savior at the Satellite Outpost and was part of the group that surrendered to the Militia. He and the others were transported to Hilltop and held captive.
Alden would eventually turn to Maggie and ask to join her group. Although initially reluctant, Maggie would later see that he was sincere in his desire to change, and she would slowly allow him to be part of Hilltop. He would become a productive member and eventually adopt Adam as his son.
Alden’s death is much sadder than viewers know
In an interview with Insider, McAuliffe shared that Alden’s death wasn’t as simple as it seemed. In the episode, Maggie returns to the church to discover his fate. She found his reanimated body crawling on the ground. It was an emotional scene as she kneeled, stabbing him in the head to end his torment. (You can watch the scene here.)
McAuliffe would share the true story of what Alden endured. Alden’s reanimated self didn’t make much noise, and upon closer inspection, his throat had been slashed during an altercation with the Reapers. He was also seen crawling across the floor because the Reapers broke his legs.
Alden didn’t just starve to death or die from a bleed-out because of his wounds. The Reapers tortured him. This shows that Maggie did the right thing by killing the remaining Reapers, as at least one of them saw an already injured man and proceeded to break his legs and slit his throat.
"“Though I was either dead or near-enough to dead when the reapers stumbled upon me in the church, they saw fit to break both my legs and cut my throat because they decided I hadn’t been harmed enough,” McAuliffe said of what happened to Alden off-screen. “I don’t know if that’s clear or not.”"
Even though he didn’t have a lot of screentime, Alden became an upstanding member of the community, and it was unfortunate to see him in this condition.
This was another event that Maggie would carry with her as she was partially responsible for leaving Alden at the church. Alden’s death indeed helped her believe that slaughtering the Reapers was the right thing to do.
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