WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 11, Episode 8, “For Blood,” which aired Sunday, October 10th on AMC.
Ever since the mysterious, military man hunted Maggie’s people in Season 10C, the Reapers have been the villains on The Walking Dead. That man said that “Pope marked [Maggie],” so fans of the show had a name for the group’s leader before Season 11 even started. When the final season premiered, it introduced Pope and his religious fanaticism, but in “For Blood,” he was ingloriously killed by one of his own soldiers. So, going forward, the Reapers have a new, totally unexpected leader.
For the entirety of Season 11A, Maggie has been on a quest to find food for the Alexandria. She plans to retake her community of Meridian and reclaim the food stores that the Reapers had stolen. In doing so, she is hoping to provide for her community while conveniently allowing herself the opportunity to exact revenge on the Reapers at the same time. In the Season 11A finale, she launches her attack, and things quickly get heated in an explosive episode.
Using Whisperer tactics, Maggie sends a horde of walkers against Meridian while infiltrating the walls to bust the gate open. The Reapers mount their defenses by preparing to fire a hwacha, and that’s when things get interesting. Daryl – who has gained the Reapers’ trust – comes clean to Leah, hoping to save his people for a sure death.
Leah was introduced as a love interest for Daryl back in Season 10C, and she was the only reason that he wasn’t killed by the Reapers in the first place. The series has been clearly leading her up to the point where she would betray Pope, and this is when it happens. Throughout the season, the fanatical leader has spiraled so far that he no longer cares about his people. All he wants to do is kill Maggie, and when he goes so far as ordering the hwacha to be fired into his own compound, Leah has had enough and kills him.
The obvious implication, when she kills Pope, is that she will join Daryl and help overthrow the Reapers. However, that couldn’t have been more wrong. As the episode continues, she radios the other Reapers and blames Daryl for Pope’s death. In effect, she takes control of the Reapers and continues the fight against Maggie’s invasion, supplanting herself as the series' next major villain.
Her rational for killing Pope wasn’t that she wanted Daryl’s people to survive; rather, she was tired of letting Pope sacrifice her people, and it looks like she will do anything to protect her family. In a way, she could be more dangerous than Pope because she isn’t fanatical, she’s grounded and ready to fight. In fact, she ends up firing the hwacha into the courtyard as the episode ends on a cliffhanger.
To see how Leah’s surprising turn to villainy ends, watch The Walking Dead on AMC. Season 11B premieres on February 20th of next year and will be available to stream a week early on AMC+.