'The Walking Dead': Could Carol and Ezekiel's Romance Be Setting Up Carol and Daryl?

the walking dead carol daryl ezekiel love triangle season 9

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(Note: This post contains spoilers for the Season 9 premiere of “The Walking Dead.”)

Well, it’s official — as of the Season 9 premiere of “The Walking Dead,” there’s a new major romance, one that already seems to have its share of complications.

That romance is between Carol (Melissa McBride) and King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), something the show has been building toward in small increments for a while now. In the first episode of the new season, “A New Beginning,” we see that in whatever time has passed since the end of the war with the Saviors and now, Carol and Ezekiel have gotten very close.

Also Read: Andrew Lincoln on His 'Walking Dead' Exit: 'Nobody Is Bigger Than the Story'

That Carol and Ezekiel are an item is both great and terrible. It’s great because Ezekiel is probably the best guy in the post-apocalypse on “The Walking Dead,” as well as the best, most stable and most caring leader of any of the folks currently in charge. He deserves good things, and so does Carol, who might be the end of the world’s chief badass. She’s also been through a lot of crap over the years.

But it’s terrible because, at least right now, the Carol-Ezekiel relationship seems to put down one fans have been hoping would come to fruition for basically forever: Carol and Daryl, or “Caryl.”

Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol have had a very close, interesting and mostly unspoken relationship for quite a while now, but while there’s definitely been tension between them, their relationship has never quite become romantic. And now, as things advance in the rest of Season 9, it seems it might never be. That’s because part way through the premiere, Ezekiel asks Carol to marry him.

Also Read: 'Walking Dead' Leaders Ranked, From Gregory to Maggie to Ezekiel

Then again, maybe what we’re seeing in the premiere episode of “The Walking Dead” Season 9 is a setup for Carol and Daryl to finally come to terms with how they feel about each other.

The first clue that Carol might not be fully ready to settle down with Ezekiel is the fact that she’s clearly resistant to that idea; after all, she doesn’t agree to marry him. Carol is obviously having trouble committing to much more than being in a stable relationship with Ezekiel, and is carrying around plenty of emotional baggage. She’s spent much of the last two seasons distancing herself from friends and has even considered leaving the group altogether. While she’s obviously recovered from a lot of that, Carol still has some distance issues even in the premiere episode, keeping Ezekiel at arm’s length.

That’s most obvious when Ezekiel suffers a near-death experience halfway through the episode after nearly tumbling to his death to be eaten by walkers. He’s saved by Daryl and the rest of the group, and after the fact, asks Carol to marry him. She pumps the brakes, partially because she doesn’t want Ezekiel’s proposal to be prompted by the emotions of nearly dying. But by the end of the episode, Carol is headed to Sanctuary and taking some time apart from Ezekiel; she says it’s because Daryl and the others need help, but Ezekiel suspects it’s because he pushed Carol too hard with his proposal.

Also Read: Andrew Lincoln Says He's 'Going to Take a Break' After 'The Walking Dead' Season 9

So already, “The Walking Dead” is setting up that, while Ezekiel and Carol are together, she’s not quite in the relationship as deeply as he is. At the very least, Carol has some things to work out (like trust and the fear of losing people close to her that we’ve been seeing for quite a while now). There’s conflict in their relationship that’s only going to develop further.

And then there’s the Daryl situation.

Later in the episode, Carol talks to Daryl about Ezekiel’s proposal, and he tells her that she deserves happiness. We see them have a moment of platonic closeness, and it’s clear the pair are still tight.

Also Read: Did 'The Walking Dead' Just Hint at Future Villains, the Whisperers?

Carol’s struggle with getting close to Ezekiel, and then immediately going and talking to Daryl about it, seems pretty suggestive. We can also expect that things aren’t going to be easy for Carol and Ezekiel regardless — this is “The Walking Dead,” after all. It might be that we’re seeing Carol struggling with her feelings, or it might be that the reason Carol can’t fully commit is because of how she feels about someone else, even if she doesn’t fully realize it.

And if we’re talking about what would make for powerful drama and conflict for the show, and twist fans into knots trying to decide how they feel about it, there’s nothing more powerful than a love triangle between three fan-favorite characters. So maybe Carol being with Ezekiel doesn’t quite mean that “Caryl” is fully off the table.

Then again, this is “The Walking Dead,” and nobody’s allowed to be happy for long. If Daryl and Carol finally got together, as fans want, probably one of them would get killed off immediately afterward.

'The Walking Dead': Key Events in the Series So Far (Photos)

A whole lot has happened and a lot of people have died over the years on "The Walking Dead." Here are all the key points in the series to catch you up for the rest of Season 8. Warning: Spoilers within!
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Rick gets shot (Season 1)

Before the apocalypse, Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Grimes and his partner and best friend, Shane Walsh, find themselves in a shootout with random criminals. Rick is shot during the encounter and is left in a coma, but the crooks are all killed.
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Rick wakes up (Season 1)

Some time later, Rick awakens from his coma to find the apocalypse has come and gone, and the dead return as zombies. He leaves the hospital and encounters Morgan Jones and his son, Duane, who help him and tell him about the end of the world.
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Rick gets trapped in Atlanta (Season 1)

After leaving the Joneses, Rick heads to Atlanta in hopes of finding his family, but zombies trap him under a tank. He’s rescued by Glenn Rhee and meets up with other survivors, including T-Dog, Andrea and Merle. Rick and the others escape a camp outside of town, but the racist Merle is left handcuffed on the roof with walkers streaming into the building.
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Meeting up at the camp (Season 1)

Returning to the Atlanta camp, Rick finds his wife, Lori, and son, Carl, who survived with Shane’s help. Lori and Shane have become close in Rick’s absence, as they all thought Rick would never wake up. They also meet Daryl Dixon, who isn’t happy his brother, Merle, was left behind. Rick pledges to return to Atlanta and save Merle, but they discover he has chopped off his own hand to escape the handcuffs, and disappeared.
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Walkers attack the camp (Season 1)

When they return from their search for Merle, the team finds that walkers have attacked the camp, and killed and bitten several people. The remaining survivors decide to head for the CDC, after some debate between Rick and Shane. Lori pointedly sides with Rick.
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The CDC blows up (Season 1)

The survivors find a scientist, Jenner, at the CDC who’s been studying the outbreak, but hasn’t found anything useful. The building blows up when the power runs out, and Jenner opts to die with it, offering the survivors a chance to end their suffering. They escape, but not before Jenner whispers to Rick that everyone is infected, and anyone who dies will become a walker -- even if they're not bitten.
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Heading for Fort Benning (Season 2)

Carol’s daughter Sophia is lost as the group hides from a walker herd, and Carl is accidentally shot by a hunter. The man who shot him, Otis, takes the group back to a farm owned by Hershel and his family, who take them in. Hershel performs surgery on Carl and saves him.
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The barn massacre (Season 2)

As it turns out, Hershel and his family have been keeping walkers in the Greene family barn in hopes of curing them. Rick and Shane argue over it, let the walkers out, and then kill them all. Meanwhile, Lori starts to suspect Shane was dangerous and killed Otis.
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Rick vs. Shane (Season 2)

The relationship between Shane and Rick continues to deteriorate, as they butt heads about Otis’ murder and how to deal with enemies. Shane eventually sets up a ruse to lure Rick into a field, as they hunt for a missing enemy they had captured. Rick winds up killing Shane instead, and later, Carl kills the zombified Shane, who returns. Around the same time, Dale, another survivor, is killed by a walker, dealing a massive blow to the group.
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Leaving the farm (Season 2)

A herd of walkers overtakes the farm, causing everyone to flee and a few to be killed. The group reunites on the road where the season started, but Andrea is still missing. Rick reveals that he killed Shane and tells everyone they can leave if they want, but if they stay with him, “This is not a democracy anymore.” Meanwhile, the katana-wielding Michonne finds and rescues Andrea as she flees the farm.
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Discovering the prison (Season 3)

Seven months later, struggling to find food and shelter, Rick’s group stumbles across an abandoned prison. Inside, Hershel is bitten by a walker and Rick amputates his leg to save him. Afterwards, they discover a locked cafeteria where five living inmates are holed up.
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Finding Woodbury (Season 3)

Meanwhile, Michonne finds medicine and saves Andrea from an intense fever. The two are later discovered by Merle Dixon, who survived Atlanta. He takes them to Woodbury, an idyllic town run by the Governor. He presents an amiable outward appearance but is actually ruthless behind the scenes.
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Lori's death, Judith's birth (Season 3)

Rick and company continue to clear out the prison, and two of the prisoners are killed, while a third is locked out. Rick lets the last two, Axel and Oscar, stay in the prison. Hershel survives his amputation, but Andrew, the prisoner who was thrown outside, lets more walkers in and triggers an alarm. In the chaos, Maggie gives Lori an emergency c-section to save her baby (which is actually Shane’s, not Rick’s), but Lori, and Carl has to stop her from turning.
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Rick loses it (Season 3)

After losing Lori, Rick search for her in the prison's underbelly, where he kills a few dozen walkers. In a deranged state, he imagines he hears Lori’s voice over a phone. Meanwhile, Michonne leaves Woodbury because she doesn’t trust the Governor. Merle goes after her but finds Glenn and Maggie on a supply run and captures them.
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Rescuing Glenn and Maggie (Season 3)

With Michonne’s help, Rick and his crew break into Woodbury and rescue Glenn and Maggie, but not before the Governor threatens them to get the location of the prison. Michonne nearly kills the Governor, stabbing him in the eye, but Andrea stops her from finishing him off. The group also rescues the captured Daryl, but they refuse to bring Merle back with them. Daryl leaves with Merle instead but soon separates from him.
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Ready for war (Season 3)

Back at the prison, new survivors Sasha and Tyreese, and a few others, arrive, and Hershel takes them in. They eventually leave when Rick hallucinates Lori and then yells at her, thinking they’re not welcome. The Governor attacks the prison, killing some survivors, but Daryl and Merle appear to help fight them off. The Governor gears up for war, but Andrea wants to broker peace.
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War with Woodbury (Season 3)

The Governor captures Andrea after she tries to leave and interrogates her. Meanwhile, he claims there will be peace with the prison if Rick turns over Michonne. Rick backs out, but Merle kidnaps Michonne to take her back to Woodbury. Midway, she convinces him to release her, and after he does, Merle attacks the Governor, who kills him. The Governor attacks the prison, but is ambushed by Rick’s people. The Woodbury soldiers flee and don’t want to fight the prison again, so the Governor massacres several of them. Andrea kills herself after being bitten escaping Woodbury.
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Illness at the prison (Season 4)

Woodbury survivors join the prison with the Governor in exile. Things are peaceful, but a bought of deadly flu starts killing people, triggering a walker outbreak in the prison. Rick discovers Carol killed and burned two sick people before they could turn, and exiles her from the prison. Glenn is infected, but Daryl returns from a supply run with medicine just in time to treat everyone.
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The Governor kills Hershel (Season 4)

After kidnapping Hershel and Michonne, the Governor arrives at the prison. When Rick says the two groups could live in peace, the Governor cuts off Hershel’s head. The Governor is killed in the battle, but walkers stream into the prison and everyone flees. The survivors see signs for a place called “Terminus” and make for it.
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Glenn meets Abraham (Season 4)

Once they escape, Glenn and one of the Governor’s people, Tara, run into Abraham, who’s with Rosita and Eugene, a man who claims to be a scientist with knowledge of the outbreak. Meanwhile Carol kills one of the survivor kids, Lizzie, after Lizzie kills another kid because she believes that walkers are still people.
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Captured at Terminus (Season 4)

The different groups of survivors finally make it to Terminus. Though at first the Terminus group seems amiable, they turn on Rick and the other survivors when he realizes they have items that belong to Glenn and Maggie. Everyone is placed in a train car, where Glenn and Maggie are being held. Turns out, the Terminus folks eat people.
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Escaping Terminus (Season 5)

Before the Terminus survivors can kill and eat Rick’s group, Carol sets off an explosion outside the camp that creates a distraction. Rick and his group escape, and later find a church, where they save Father Gabriel from walkers. Some of the surviving Terminus people kidnap Bob, one of Rick’s group, in the night and eat his leg, then return him. In turn, Rick manages to find and kill Gareth, the Terminus leader, and the remaining members of his group.
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Eugene reveals he’s a liar (Season 5)

Several members of the group try to take Eugene to Washington D.C., where they think he’ll be able to work on a cure to the walker plague. He eventually admits he’s been lying about being a scientist in order to get people to protect him. Meanwhile, Beth, Hershel’s daughter, finds she’s been “rescued” by a group of police officers and survivors operating out of a hospital, but she has to work to pay off her debt to them.
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Beth is killed (Season 5)

Rick and his group discover where Beth has been taken (at this point, Carol has also been captured) and kidnap three cops to arrange a prisoner exchange. When they do, Dawn, the hospital leader, tries to change the deal to get back Noah, a boy who escaped her. Beth stabs Dawn to protect Noah, and Dawn accidentally kills her. In response, Daryl kills Dawn, but the other officers call a truce and Rick’s group leaves, shaken.
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Finding Alexandria (Season 5)

Rick’s group follows Abraham’s team toward D.C., but they never make it. Instead, they come across Aaron, a survivor from the walled community of Alexandria. Rick and his group are invited to stay to help Alexandria’s survivors, who haven’t seen much hardship. Rick’s group struggles to adapt to an easier life.
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Taking over Alexandria (Season 5)

Deanna, the leader of Alexandria, worries that Rick’s group is too powerful, and Rick’s group starts to think Alexandria is too weak. But Rick winds up killing a mess of walkers that accidentally get into the town. When Jessie's drunken abusive husband, Pete, attacks Rick with Michonne’s sword, he winds up killing Deanna’s husband, Reg. In response, Rick kills Pete with Deanna’s permission. Morgan Jones turns up again and stays at the community.
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The walker quarry (Season 6)

With tensions cooler at Alexandria, Rick discovers a huge quarry full of walkers, which someone had blocked off. It’s the reason Alexandria hasn’t been attacked by walkers, but now the blockades are giving way. Rick creates a plan to herd the walkers away from Alexandria, but it goes wrong in the final moments and a few people are killed. About half the walkers are led away, while the other half turns toward Alexandria.
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The Wolves attack Alexandria (Season 6)

At the same time, a group of crazed survivors called the Wolves attack Alexandria and go on a killing spree. Eventually, Rick’s team makes it back and, with the help of Carol and the other survivors, fights them off. The walkers arrive soon after thanks to the noise made by the Wolf attack, and the Alexandria survivors band together to protect their home. During that same period, Abraham, Daryl and Sasha encounter a motorcycle group that tries to rob them, but Daryl kills them all with a scavenged rocket-propelled grenade the group found.
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Meeting Jesus (Season 6)

While scavenging, Daryl and Rick encounter a survivor named Paul, who everyone calls Jesus because of his hair and beard. He steals a supply truck from them but, after chasing him and a fight, Daryl and Rick knock him out and bring him back to Alexandria. In turn, Jesus brings them to his community, the Hilltop, and suggests they open trade.
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Attack on the Savior outpost (Season 6)

At the Hilltop, Rick’s group learns about the Saviors, a deadly group that demands tribute from the Hilltop and other communities. Rick offers to destroy the Saviors in exchange for food and medicine from the Hilltop. Rick’s group goes to where they think the Saviors are and wipe them out. But there are many more Saviors, and Carol and Maggie, who’s pregnant, are captured. They eventually escape.
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Negan kills Glenn and Abraham (Season 6/Season 7)

After several other run-ins with the Saviors that result in deaths, Carol leaves the group because she doesn’t want to kill anymore. Morgan finds her and saves her from Saviors. When Maggie gets sick, Rick and a group try to take her to the Hilltop’s doctor, but they’re captured by Saviors and their leader, Negan, who murders Abraham and Glenn with a baseball bat.
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Negan forces Rick to work for him (Season 7)

While Rick and the group are captured, Sasha gets Maggie to the Hilltop for medical care. Morgan gets Carol to another community, the Kingdom, where they meet King Ezekiel, its leader. Carol goes to live outside the Kingdom to avoid killing. Negan demands Alexandria give him supplies, under threat of killing more people, and Rick complies. He also tortures Daryl to try to make him join the Saviors.
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Carl tries to kill Negan (Season 7)

After Negan takes all of Alexandria’s guns, Carl stows away in a Savior truck. He kills two of Negan’s men, but instead of killing him, Negan shows him around. When he returns to Alexandria, Rosita tries to kill Negan with a bullet Eugene made, but fails. Saviors kill two of Alexandria’s people in response and take Eugene back to their camp, the Sanctuary. Rick resolves to fight the Saviors and hopes to enlist the Hilltop’s help.
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Tara discovers Oceanside (Season 7)

On a supply run, Tara falls off a bridge and washes up in Oceanside. The community is in hiding from the Saviors, after trying to fight them. Negan responded by killing all the men in the camp. Tara, however, escapes with the help of a young girl named Cyndie and promises not to tell anyone about its location.
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Rick discovers the Scavengers (Season 7)

Rick and Aaron are on another run when they find a boat full of supplies. Someone follows them back to Alexandria and kidnaps Father Gabriel. Rick and his team go back and find a colony in a garbage dump, and Rick convinces them to join the fight. They demand Rick bring them guns in exchange, which Michonne and Rick manage to do.
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The Kingdom decides to join the fight (Season 7)

Ezekiel has a deal with the Saviors to give them supplies in return for being left alone. Richard, one of Ezekiel’s men who is convinced they should join Rick’s fight, instigates a conflict between the two groups. When Benjamin, a young Kingdom soldier, is killed, Morgan kills Richard, and Ezekiel resolves to fight the Saviors.
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The Scavengers betray Alexandria (Season 7)

In the Season 7 finale, Alexandria prepares to fight Negan with an ambush, but at the last second, the Scavengers betray Rick and turn on them. Sasha, who Negan captured, agrees to go with him to Alexandria to help him negotiate peace, but instead kills herself and becomes a zombie on the trip. She attacks Negan, distracting him long enough for Rick's group to fight back. Before Negan can kill Carl and Rick, Ezekiel’s group along with Maggie and the Hilltop troops arrive and force the Saviors to retreat.
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Rick goes to war with Negan (Season 8)

With the Hilltop, the Kingdom and Alexandria allied, Rick executes a plan to attack the Sanctuary with a herd of walkers. The alliance is victorious, but Negan survives and captures Gabriel as everyone flees the walkers.
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The alliance takes down Negan's outposts (Season 8)

Fighters from Alexandria, the Hilltop and the Kingdom attack Negan's outposts simultaneously, striking major blows against the Saviors. There are casualties, though, including Eric, Aaron's boyfriend. But opinions differ over taking the Saviors prisoner -- some people want to execute them, while others think that'll make them as bad as Negan's people.
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Rick runs into Morales (Season 8)

As Rick and others lead teams to attack Negan's Saviors at a variety of locations, he meets Morales -- a character that was part of the camp Rick found Lori and Carl in way back in Season 1. Morales suggests that Rick is as much a monster as Negan, but before he can convince Morales otherwise, Daryl kills him.
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Ezekiel loses faith (Season 8)

As the Kingdom's group of fighters, led by King Ezekiel, attacked another Saviors outpost, they were shot down by defenders using a heavy machine gun. Most of Ezekiel's people were killed protecting him, including his tiger, Shiva, causing him to lose faith in himself as a leader.
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Carl meets Saddiq (Season 8)

In the woods while alone, Carl meets Saddiq, a man Rick previously shot at while thinking he was a Savior. Carl recruits Saddiq to come back to Alexandria and saves his life, but Carl is bitten in the process -- a fact he doesn't reveal until later.
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Daryl attacks the Sanctuary (Season 8)

Getting frustrated with Rick's plan to isolate the Saviors, Daryl takes a truck and crashes it into their base, letting the walkers outside get in. The Saviors manage to kill the walkers and escape, depleting their ammo reserves.
The Saviors bomb Alexandria (Season 8)

Newly freed, the Saviors mount a counterattack against Alexandria and the Kingdom. Ezekiel makes sure his people escape, and Carl is instrumental to saving the Alexandrians as they escape in the sewers, but the town is largely wrecked in the attack.
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Carl dies (Season 8)

After revealing that he was bitten, Carl leaves letters behind after his death -- including ones to Rick and Negan, appealing to them to make peace. Carl's words start to resonate with the survivors, but Rick is still unable to stop seeking vengeance against Negan.
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Negan is captured (Season 8)

Negan decides to mount a terror campaign against the Hilltop, which all his enemies are currently defending, by covering the Saviors' weapons in Walker blood and using them to infect people in battle. On their way to attack Hilltop, Rick attacks Negan and the two fight alone. Simon takes over the Saviors, wanting to massacre everyone at the Hilltop. Negan escapes Rick but is captured by Jadis, whose group, the Scavengers, were wiped out by an enraged Simon against Negan's orders.

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The Saviors attack the Hilltop (Season 8)

Maggie and the survivors at Hilltop mount a defense and repel Simon's attack, but several people are injured, including Tara. They don't realize the Saviors infected them and the injured turn to Walkers in the night. Tara, who was shot by Dwight, the Savior who has been helping Rick's group fight Negan as a double-agent, worries she too will soon become a Walker.
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All the big events from the last seven seasons of “The Walking Dead”

A whole lot has happened and a lot of people have died over the years on "The Walking Dead." Here are all the key points in the series to catch you up for the rest of Season 8. Warning: Spoilers within!

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