Episode 9 came out on February 13th on AMC + and it did not disappoint. “No Other Way” was one of the best episodes in a long time, especially since the “Covid era”. It tied up loose ends with The Reapers, Alden, the storm, and set up something big at the end of the episode. I give this episode a 5 out of 5 stars. I know a big score right out of the gate so I know I will be disappointed with a lot of episodes if episode 9 went out this strong but It had a ton of actions, more gore than usual, great fight scenes, and more walkers than usual. It ended at a great note with a possible Maggie vs. Daryl dynamic for part 2. Episode 9 was titled “No Other Way” because of Maggie’s decision to kill all The Reapers after Daryl wanted them to go free.
The Reapers vs. The Survivors
Like I predicted, Daryl ends up sparing Leah and tells her to go up north. I expect to see her by the end of season 11 part 3 or at the first episode of the Carol and Daryl spinoff show. If she shows up in the spinoff show, we know where Carol and Daryl are going to go and why Daryl will want to leave. The relationship between Daryl and Maggie are going to be tested throughout season 11 part 2. Daryl wanted to spare Carver, Leah, and a few other Reapers but Maggie had other plans. Elijah wanted them to kill Carver because he killed her sister, Josephine. Daryl let The Reapers walk away but Maggie ended up shooting all of them. Visibly upset, Daryl yelled at Maggie and was awkward throughout the rest of the episode. I expect them to be fine but I have a strong lean that she might die by the end of the show. Maggie shot Leah in the shoulder but ended up escaping. Negan saved Maggie and Elijah by decking Carver with bell. He had the best line in the episode, “ding ding” when he knocked Carver out with a bell. Gabriel on the other hand is having an internal debate about God. He ended up killing the other Reaper preacher by saying that “he doesn’t hear God anymore”. The Reaper was giving himself up because God told him to but Gabriel didn’t have it and stabbed him to death. Gabriel even took over for The Reaper sniper, Javier and shot Carver in the foot. At the end of The Reaper story line, the group took all the food back to Alexandra while Maggie stayed behind and checked on Alden. I’m glad that we didn’t have to wait for Alden’s death until future episodes because he turned into a walker when Maggie went into the church. I expected this to happen but I liked Alden, so it’ll be a major loss for the show.
The Survivors Arrive Back at Alexandra
We got all the reunions between Daryl and company. We got a great reunion between Daryl, Judith, and RJ. Daryl and Carol hugged so I believe that their relationship is fine after the bumpy road at the end of season 10. Daryl had the cutest reunion with Connie. This is the first time they saw each other since Daryl thought that she was dead after the explosion in season 10. I forgot that Daryl learned sign language for Connie and when he did it, I was surprised. In the next few episodes we will definitely get a scene between those two, asking where she was and how she got out. Before the spinoff show I either expect her to join them or her dying before the end of season 11 but I am leaning to her death, for another reason why Daryl can’t stay at Alexandra anymore. Maggie also reunited with her son, Hershel Jr. Gabriel ended up telling Aaron that Alden was dead, since they only showed up with Daryl, Maggie, Gabriel, and Elijah. People may ask, where did Negan go? When Daryl and Lydia reunited, Lydia asked where Negan is but he ended up going off on his own from The Meridian. He ended up leaving because he saw a side of Maggie that he always feared. Even though they had the promise of Maggie not killing Negan, Negan still doesn’t believe her. He believes that the first chance she’ll get, she will kill him because of the loss of Glenn. Negan doesn’t want to always look behind his shoulder so he left. No one knows where he went. I expect him to be gone for awhile but I guarantee we will see him in later episodes. I hope we don’t have to wait until episode 15 or 16 to know where Negan went but I have a small fear that we might have to wait that long.
The Storm at Alexandra
Lets get this out of the way, I was wrong about Gracie’s death. She was close to dying but didn’t end up dying because of Aaron. Like the trailer showed, Aaron saved the day by jumping through the window and saved Judith and Gracie. Aaron was alerted by the “warning signal” that Gracie has with Aaron by blowing the whistle. Although you see Aaron in the trailer again, I was concerned that he was going to fall from the faulty pipe and get bit, but he didn’t end up getting bit. The most important part of the storm was Judith dropping her katana in the water. In the trailer it is shown again but The Commonwealth ends up getting it so I am wondering how they found it in the basement. I expect Judith to get it back eventually but it will be interesting to monitor in the upcoming episodes.
End Scene with The Commonwealth
At the end of the episode, there was two major plot points. One was setting up episode 10 and beyond by Eugene, Lance, and some of The Commonwealth soldiers arriving at Alexandra. They give them the choice of giving them materials to build up Alexandra or to go back with them at The Commonwealth. Next episode is all about the group at The Commonwealth so that’ll be their choice but I believe that they will get materials to build back Alexandra and Hilltop. Speaking of Hilltop, it is going to be an interesting dynamic between Daryl and Maggie in the second part of season 11. We learn that Daryl is going to be a Commonwealth soldier as his “job” because he arrives at Hilltop with more solders. The final scene is set six months later so I believe that we will get that conclusion at the end of episode 16. Daryl and Maggie are going to have to talk about her decision on killing all The Reapers (except Leah) because Daryl believed that they should have been spared, since they should be surviving for the future, not just threat to threat.