The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 4 recap: Rendition

If you are a Daryl fan then Episode 4 “Rendition” of The Walking Dead is for you. Starting on the night Maggie’s group is attacked in the dark by The Reapers, Daryl barely escapes with his life chasing Dog.

After a scuffle with a Reaper they survive however one Reaper keeps following them. Daryl survives till dawn losing Dog in the process.

Covering himself in walker guts he searches and finds Dog in the hands of a Reaper. Upon removal of the mask Daryl’s heart breaks on screen at the sight of Leah.

He’s surrounded by more Reapers and brought back to their home base.

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 4 – Daryl and Leah

Throughout the episode, it is apparent that both Daryl and Leah (Shaw to The Reapers) still care about one another. While we are to assume they never said “I love you” to each other, the feelings are still there.

Thankfully Daryl wastes no time in repeatedly telling Leah that he went searching for her and that if he found her she wouldn’t be with The Reapers. While this is probably true Leah calls them her family and knows Daryl is lying about the group he was with that night.

Daryl tells her he was alone even through torturous waterboarding. He changes his story a bit, claiming they were a group who offered him supplies while adding that the group is far larger than The Reapers.

Even going as far as yelling at one of Maggie’s people when they are both locked in makeshift cells. Leah believes him having no reason not to however the leader Pope will need some convincing.

Leah had told Pope about Daryl and he believes that Leah’s feelings for him are clouding her judgment. She insists that Daryl will make an excellent addition to their family considering they need the numbers.

Adding to Daryl’s surprise he finds out that Leah was a mercenary before the world ended. While this was something she withheld from him, she still wants to save him even though she believes they wouldn’t have stayed together due to the cruel nature of the apocalypse.

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 4 – Forged by fire

When Leah believes she has convinced Pope to trust her judgment with Daryl she goes to him tied up in a small shed. Within minutes the two are locked in and the place is set afire.

After Daryl manages to break through a window, he allows Leah to escape first. Once they escape, Pope and The Reapers are there as Leah immediately stands with them.

Having passed the test, the group welcomes him. With tears in his eyes, Daryl looks onto Leah who is seemingly emotionless from the peril they just survived.

Now Pope can at least bring him one step closer to becoming a full-fledged member of their family. But what kind of family is this exactly?

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 4 – The story of the Reapers

Now that Daryl has passed the first test, Pope decides to actually speak with him and dives into the backstory of how The Reapers came to be. Long story short they were a group of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan who found God everywhere around them.

However they felt used by politicians and so when they came home, permanently wounded or unable to find jobs, they became mercenaries. When the world ended they found themselves fighting in a different kind of war.

While all of this sounds crazy to Daryl who smartly remains reserved, it’s what happens next that shows how erratic Pope is.

As the group of them eat by fire, Pope confronts one who while carried the dead body of Turner home (someone Leah regarded as a little brother), who seemed to not have a scratch on him. Pope accuses him of fleeing from the fight and as punishment burns him alive over the roaring fire.

This scene is dramatic, to say the least, and shows a pattern of behavior we have seen multiple times from our villains. They smile at you one second and kill you the next.

The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 4 explains The Reapers but still leaves a lot out.

Let’s be honest, as much as Pope explains who they are they don’t explain why they perform such horrible acts of violence against fellow survivors. When he does tell Daryl how they are fighting a whole new kind of war, just who is he fighting against?

Walkers? Fellow humans?

The group seems to follow a very loose religious aspect by mentioning God repeatedly but still doesn’t say what kind of God or how they use God as justification for what they do. As such it also doesn’t explain how these kind of people drew in Leah.

She knew them, she was once one of them but couldn’t she see how much they changed? We didn’t get a lot of time with her before but she never gave off this kind of cruel behavior vibe.

On top of that is Daryl done trying to help her or is he just getting started? The tearful expression he gave her with a hint of betrayal at the end of his “forge by fire” test seemed pretty intense.

True, not every villain or villainous group needs a thorough backstory. Terminus could be explained in really one sentence but for someone like The Reapers, it feels like something bigger is at play while also downplaying it at the same time.

If Leah can be redeemed how will her story end? Will she be killed saving Daryl or killed for bringing down The Reapers herself?

What did you think of The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.