WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for this week's episode of The Walking Dead, "Chokepoint," which premiered Sunday on AMC.
If the latest episode of The Walking Dead is any indication, Daryl and Beta aren't going to be taking hunting trips together anytime soon. The two finally came face to face (so to speak), and they made each other's acquaintance by trying to murder one another.
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After Daryl rescued Henry and Lydia from the Whisperer camp, Beta and a team of his cohorts (including a recently turned young man Beta referred to reverently as a "warrior") tracked them to an abandoned building. Connie had suggested using it as a chokepoint to give the survivors an advantage over the Whisperers' and walkers' superior numbers. Henry, Lydia, Connie and Dog kepts most of the Whisperers occupied while Daryl waited on the top floor in an effort to lure Beta to a vulnerable position. For better or for worse, it worked.
The building is unfinished, so when the Whisperers make it to the top floor, there is drywall and plastic to obstruct their view and movements. Daryl made decent work of the first couple, and then Ryan Hurst's giant, loping Beta emerged. He literally threw Daryl across the room and then they engaged in a knife fight that sees them break through drywall like it's Styrofoam; Daryl nearly got his throat opened by a miter saw. Eventually, Daryl proved size doesn't matter, as he hid in a secret floor compartment Connie had shown him earlier. As Beta searched for him and growled about how Daryl's people mean nothing, and all he wants is the Lydia, Daryl silently sneaked out and pushed the Whisperer down an elevator shaft. If you didn't cheer, you're a traitor. If you thought Beta was dead, you're naïve.
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The Whisperer conflict is the first major confrontation we're seeing the survivors deal with absent the leadership of Rick. While the tentpoles of the comic storyline are evident, we're guaranteed a good deal of divergence. Daryl's burgeoning rivalry with Beta is one such unpredictable thread -- if it turns into a personal rivalry, that is. If Negan follows his own storyline from the comics and takes it upon himself to hunt down Alpha in an attempt to gain Michonne's trust, he'll take Daryl's place in Beta's cross hairs. Either way, it's doubtful this is the last time Beta and Daryl will face off, although it will probably be the last time they both walk away alive.
Airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC, The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Nadia Hilker, Dan Fogler, Angel Theory, Lauren Ridloff and Eleanor Matsuura.