Well, that’s where we come in! Compiled below is a helpful refresher on The Walking Dead season 11 part 1. Give it a skim to get better prepared for whatever season 11 part 2 has in store for Daryl and the gang.
Alexandria
The theme of season 11 part 1 for Alexandria can be safely boiled down to “hunger.” The main home of most of The Walking Dead’s characters since season 5 is in pretty rough shape following its war against The Whisperers. The food stores have been depleted, infrastructure has been destroyed, and morale has never been lower.
It’s the desperate search for food that actually sets most of the season 11 plot in motion as it sends Maggie, Daryl, Negan, and several other characters down into a dangerous subway tunnel in the two-part season premiere. That subway journey sets off a series of events that brings Maggie and company into conflict with her group’s old foe, The Reapers. As for the rest of the Alexandrians – they spend most of the season at home trying to rebuild…until the season 11 part 1 finale that is.
Episode 8 “For Blood” finds Aaron, Rosita, Carol, Lydia, Jerry, and the rest of the Alexandria homebodies contending with a massive storm that threatens to finally wipe the community off the map. The season ends with a safe house in Alexandria compromised by rainwater, a collapsed exterior wall, and many walkers and with young Judith Grimes and Aaron’s daughter Gracie stuck in a quickly-flooding basement.
Also of note, is that the Alexandria crew does get reunited with the missing Connie and Virgil in episode 6 “On the Inside”. That means the population of Alexandria going into episode 9 currently consists of: Carol, Aaron, Rosita, Jerry, Lydia, Magna, Connie, Kelly, Virgil, R.J. Grimes, Judith, Gracie, and many other unnamed minor characters.
The Reapers and Meridian
The Reapers make up the main antagonistic force of The Walking Dead season 11 part 1. First introduced in season 10’s “extra” episodes, this group is full of former paramilitary experts with a competency for combat. The “family” is led by a man named Pope who has instilled a religious fervor within the Reapers.