It’s rare for long-running series to offer up something perfect, but The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 6 was one of the best of the entire series.
Lauren Ridloff had some time away from the franchise to shoot scenes for Marvel’s Eternals. Her highly anticipated return during “On The Inside” delivered fans with a gut-punch that zeroed in on the horror instead of action.
If you watch The Walking Dead online, you know we’ve encountered many villains throughout the series, but this feral family was chilling.
Even more chilling? The house looked empty yet somewhat lived in, and Connie and Virgil were led there with the aim of being served up as the family’s meal.
There are slim pickings 11 years into the apocalypse, and if this universe has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.
When a part of the wall came loose to separate Connie and Virgil, I was terrified. Obviously, there was something amiss with the location, but I didn’t expect it to get real so quickly.
My concern was that the series was about to introduce a new type of creature — in the final season — but when we realized these feral people were hungry and taking what they thought was rightfully theirs, well, it was shocking.
Ridloff was given her best platform to date to showcase her versatile acting, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here with her.
Connie’s been reunited with her sister, but the events inside that house, and by extension, the Whisperers’ cave, are going to be with her for a long time.
Connie is a very understanding individual, but when people have threatened her life, she’s going to have been changed by it.
Kelly will be happy about having her sister back, but she’s quickly going to learn she’s not the same person she was when she left.
Carol is going to feel a sigh of relief by the fact that the person she thought she had killed had returned, potentially repairing her relationship with Daryl.
As for Daryl, well, he’s completely and utterly immersed in the way of The Reapers, even if he’s just looking for a way to save his people.
The show seems to be setting up a storyline in which Daryl will be forced to choose between Connie and Leah, and quite frankly, Leah doesn’t stand a chance.
However, it’s also possible that Leah and Pope, and the other Reapers will manage to break Daryl’s spirit and manipulate him.
Daryl had this strong bond with Leah in the time since Rick went missing, but their relationship faltered, and she returned home to what I can only describe as her family.
Will Leah be open to the idea of Daryl leaving her again, or will it come down to Daryl taking down Pope, thinking things are find and dandy, only for Leah to emerge as Pope’s successor?
There are many possibilities here, but The Reaper storyline is mainly falling flat. Pope is not too different from the villains we’ve had in the past, but at least this installment had Daryl out in the land, saving his people.
The fakeout in the house when Maggie, Negan, Elijah, and Gabriel snuck out wasn’t necessary. It cheapened what could have been a powerful scene. Had they escaped earlier, it would have landed much better.
This being the final season, however, there should be more risks. Maggie and her group being found would have been fun because it would have forced Daryl to show which side he was truly working with.
Pope likes to think he’s in control of his emotions, but he’s completely and utterly paranoid. Daryl and Leah returning only to learn that he killed the survivor and that he told him everything he needed to know was a shocker because it seemed more like a cunning way to see how Daryl reacted.
Daryl’s story about joining up with Maggie’s people for food was absurd. In this show, survival is paramount, and after so much death and destruction, there are few good people left in the world.
It’s hard to believe anyone would allow anyone new into their community … not after the wide array of villains.
That’s not to say the storyline was bad. Witnessing the multi-faceted relationship between Leah and Daryl has been crucial because we didn’t get much of it in the bonus episodes.
Do they really know one another or are they holding on to the mere hope that the other will turn around to their way of thinking?
A love story on The Walking Dead is … something. I much prefer Daryl with Connie because we got to witness the beginning of their relationship play out instead of Daryl and Leah being shoved down our throats.
The Walking Dead functions best when the characters are battling for survival, and “On the Inside” had that, and so much more.
My concern as we approach the end of this first batch of episodes is that many of the longer-serving characters have had very little screentime.
I know there are still 18 left to go, but will all of the characters get enough time to make it worthwhile?
That will be the bigger question.
What did you think of this stunning episode?
Were you as freaked out as I was?
Hit the comments.
Catch new episodes Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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