The Walking Dead: Could Daryl Be Forced To Kill Maggie?

WARNING! SPOILERS for The Walking Dead 11x09, 'No Other Way'.

Beloved Zombie Apocalypse series The Walking Dead has returned for the second batch of episodes in its eleventh and final season, and the show has already thrown a massive curveball to to fans. In the closing minutes of 'No Other Way', Eugene returns to the storm-ravaged Alexandria with a delegation from the Commonwealth, including high-ranking member Lance Hornsby. Hornsby offers the Commonwealth's help in either rebuilding Alexandria, or an unspoken second option. The scene is followed by a six month time-jump, where we see Maggie and Elijah keeping watch at the gates of a rebuilt Hilltop, before a squad of Commonwealth soldiers arrive, led, surprisingly, by Daryl.

Some fans now fear that Daryl and Maggie could be the central figures in an adaptation of one of the comic's final story arcs, potentially bringing a heartbreaking end to one of the show's longest running friendships.

A Visit From The Commonwealth

In the comics, it is not Lance, but the Commonwealth's overall leader, Pamela Milton, who makes the trip to Alexandria, after hearing Michonne sing the praises of the community's leader, Rick Grimes. However, having expected a community of comparable size to the Commonwealth, Pamela is at first disappointed in Alexandria, which had recently suffered damage during the Whisperer War, and denounces it as a shithole. She also disagrees with how Alexandria is run. Pamela runs the Commonwealth on a class system, with citizens placed in that system based on their job and social standing before the Apocalypse. Rick, however, believes what people were before no longer matters in the new world. All in Alexandria and it's neighbouring communities are equal, and all put in an equal share of the work to keep things running.

Despite these disagreements, Pamela allows Rick to take her on a tour of Alexandria, Oceanside, The Sanctuary, Hilltop, and The Kingdom. She is impressed by the trade network that runs smoothly among the five communities. She acknowledges that Rick may in fact be as impressive as Michonne claimed, and invites him to the Commonwealth to discuss an alliance with Alexandria and the other trade network communities.

Rick consults the other community leaders, particularly Maggie at Hilltop, before his departure.

Maggie is distrustful of the Commonwealth. However, unlike what appears to be happening in the show, declares that she will agree with whatever Rick decides, as she trusts his judgement. The real issue is former Savior Dwight, who serves as the leader of Alexandria's militia.

Trouble in the Ranks

Dwight almost ruins any alliance before it really begins when he confronts Pamela with the Militia at his back during her tour of the communities, and damaging the fragile trust Rick and Pamela were building. Rick initially manages to defuse the situation, and invites Dwight to join him on the trip to the Commonwealth, in the hope of winning him over once he sees what Pamela and the Commonwealth have to offer. Unfortunately, this proves to be a very bad move.

For the most part, Dwight has no quarrel with the regular people of the Commonwealth. However, he becomes increasingly angry with the Commonwealth's class system, finding it painfully similar to the way Negan once ran The Sanctuary. Dwight grows to despise Pamela and her spoiled son, Sebastian, seeing them as symbols of everything wrong with the Commonwealth, and joins a growing movement to overthrow them. While Rick also has problems with the class system, he hopes for a peaceful way to resolve things.

Michonne, who has a personal interest in making things work with the Commonwealth after discovering that her long-lost daughter lives there, arranges a meeting with Rick and Dwight, hoping that she can convince her friends to work with Pamela to improve things instead of rebelling against her. While Rick agrees, Dwight is unsure, and things soon go pear-shaped when Pamela bursts into the meeting with armed guards. Having hoped to catch out Rick in an act of treason, Pamela instead finds herself on the wrong end of an angry Dwight's gun, quickly realising that he, not Rick, was part of the growing rebellion. To preserve the chance for peace between the Commonwealth and his own community, Rick reluctantly shoots Dwight dead before he can harm Pamela.

So, how might this play out in the show?

If this comic storyline is adapted into The Walking Dead's final season, things will obviously play out rather differently. Rick has been missing, feared dead since season nine, and while actor Andrew Lincoln has recently been spotted hanging out with Norman Reedus in Georgia, where the show is filmed, he wasn't around during the filming of the currently airing batch of episodes, in which this storyline would most likely take place. Meanwhile the show's Dwight, played by Austin Amelio, was banished by Daryl at the end of the 'All Out War' story arc, and crossed over to eventually become a regular on spin-off series Fear The Walking Dead, where the character was reunited with his wife, Sherry.

Since Rick's disappearance on the show, many of his main comic book storylines have been taken over by Daryl Dixon. With Rick missing and Michonne embarking on a quest to find him, Daryl has been left as guardian of the couple's children, Judith and RJ. It's possible that Daryl takes up his position in the Commonwealth army to give the kids a chance at a near-normal life that the Community offers.

As things currently stand, Maggie seems to be the character most likely to threaten this chance at a new life. She has been on a rather dark path since her return, first by allowing Hilltop resident Gage to die back in 'Acheron: Part 2', and now by killing the remaining Reapers just moments after agreeing to spare them. And, judging by the time jump, it seems that Maggie does not fall in line with Commonwealth ideals in the same way some of her fellow survivors do. As someone who has worked hard for her keep both before and after the Apocalypse, she is unlikely to agree with the rigid Class system.

Some fans fear that Maggie will step into Dwight's role from the comics, and that if a similar confrontation between Maggie and Pamela arises, Daryl may be forced to kill Maggie in order to keep the dream of the Commonwealth alive for Judith, RJ, and the rest of the survivors.

Daryl and Maggie have always been close, so having to make such a painful choice would likely break him. In fact, the guilt of being responsible for Maggie's death could drive him away from his fellow survivors, leading to the Daryl and Carol led spin-off set to debut some time after the main series ends. On the other hand, this would be a massive departure from the comics, which end with Maggie as the elected leader of the Commonwealth and it's associated communities.

We'll have to keep watching The Walking Dead's final season to see how things unfold.