‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘For Blood’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 1108 of ‘The Walking Dead’.
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There are a great many reasons as to why fans of the AMC series, The Walking Dead, continue to tune in after eleven years. For some, it’s about all the quality gore that KNB Efx provides them with since the zombies and their hunger, results in stunning splatter for gore hounds everywhere. For others, it is about the characters and their journey and there are also those who tune in for the dramatic elements and the quality commentary that this series digs into regarding the human condition and our modern world. But one element that people tune in for often, that we don’t discuss enough, are the epic battles that take place on this series. Because TWD really does offer up some stunning action sequences, especially when our heroes and their nemesis for the season face off for the last time.
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For when that happens, we are often treated to a magnificent and satisfying final battle, wherein our heroes emerge victorious and are ready to move into the next chapter of their lives, and these showdowns are becoming so grand and sweeping in nature… that it does leave viewers wondering just how the next one will top the last. But as we continue our final journey through this harrowing world of the dead, it is becoming clear that Angela Kang and her merry band of writers are looking to shake things up as we close in on the end by putting the characters, we love, in scenarios that we’ve never seen before. The kind that quite frankly, defy even the show’s own conventions and for proof… then look no further than last night’s ‘Part 1’ finale. Because ‘For Blood’ made it seem as though an epic showdown between the allies of Alexandria and the Reapers was going to take place… and well, what we got was quite the opposite.

Because there were no rousing speeches about tomorrow or a grand march to war that got our blood pumping. There was instead, a low-key fight to bring down the Reapers and recapture the supplies from Meridian that everyone desperately needed back home and well… it makes sense as to why. After all, this time around, there was no army to bring to the gates of Meridian. Not with the community’s numbers being decimated after the Whisperer War and other encounters with the Reapers themselves. Which meant that in order to take the fight to trained soldiers with nothing to lose… Maggie and her friends had to use the living dead as their army and that led to some gruesome deaths outside the walls of Meridian, the kind that quite frankly… rattled Pope like never before.

For he really struggled to process the fact that someone was standing up to him in a stealthy manner and he genuinely believed that Maggie was watching his every move and that allowed for some supremely unique twists to come into play, ones that both satisfied and horrified the audience all at once. The satisfying ones came about by way of Maggie and Gabriel, and Daryl. Because not having an army at their fingertips, motivated them to get creative in getting into Meridian and thanks to some stealthy assists from Daryl, they were able to do so and wreak a little havoc of their own. Because Maggie knew that testing Pope in a manner that would make him feel unsafe and out of control should allow for mistakes to be made and she was definitely right. Since her actions not only got the dead within the walls of Meridian, but it outright left Pope and his soldiers out of sorts and on the defensive.

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Plus, rattling the Reapers in this manner, allowed for Daryl to finally make a big move in regard to his relationship with Leah and her relationship with Pope. Since he finally admitted to her the truth about what he stood for and who he stood with and that brought about quite the incredible choice on Leah’s part. Because when given the chance to either stand with Pope or stand with Daryl, Leah… kind of chose the latter. Since she put down Pope in cold blood, but not because she wanted to be the hero. No instead, she just realized he had lost his way and turned into a madman instead of a leader and the only way to reconcile this fight was to have someone competent in charge and that someone was her, and her decision to turn the tide against Maggie and her forces, is what brought about one of the horrifying moments in question.
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Because just like that, our heroes, whose only weapon was unarmored walking corpses, found themselves staring down the barrel of a new post-apocalyptic super weapon. One designed to undoubtedly bring forth great devastation and well, that’s where we leave this battle. With no guarantees that anyone will survive the onslaught of this weapon and with no assurances that our oft victorious heroes will win the day. For now, they are facing a focused leader, one that is more loyal to the cause than we ever knew and that’s scary and brilliant all at once. Simply because it serves to remind us of how dire the situation is for our heroes and how things are quite unpredictable in a final season of a series. But while we wait to see how this battle ends, we can in the meantime, offer this battle a round of applause for going an unpredictable route. Since it did keep us guessing from beginning to end and did not resemble any past battle in the slightest.

However, there was mention that there were multiple ugly moments in this tale and the second one came about back in Alexandria. For while Maggie and Daryl fought for food at Meridian, things were quite sour back home. For a storm hit Alexandria, a nasty one at that, and with its whipping winds and wild rains came fires and damage to the walls. Which in turn brought in the dead and left Rosita and Judith and so many others, fighting for their lives. For the dead found the house they were hiding in and as only they can, raised hell because of that. Which forced these good people to retreat upstairs in the hopes of bottlenecking the dead to fight them, but alas… nothing went according to plan. Because Judith and Gracie were separated from the rest and now find themselves stuck between a steady flood in the basement, and the always hungry living dead.

If anything, this really was a wonderful way to bring the first leg of this final journey to a close. Because it really did make it clear that the stakes are high in this final season and that no one is safe and that the finale of this arc, might not end how we like it. But that is what a great final season should do, it should challenge its audience and make us worry and fret over what comes next, and we are doing that right now. Since this particular cliffhanger is as dire and as worrisome as when Negan was introduced into the story, and just like that fateful tale, all we can do now… is wait and hope and speculate as to what comes next and thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long before this harrowing finale is resolved. For Part 2 of the final season of The Walking Dead arrives on February 20, 2022, and it is definitely safe to say we will all be counting down the minutes to that magical day. Until next time.  

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