Rick proved once again what it takes to be a leader in the apocalypse as he fights to gain an ally. We learn more about The Heapsters and their leader Jadis. And lastly, there was a bittersweet reunion between Carol and Daryl. Here are our thoughts and highlights from episode 10, “New Best Friends.”

Rick Grimes and The Heapsters 

Rick and his group find themselves compromised after they search for Father Gabriel. They are led out by a group of people that look straight out of Mad Max to meet their leader, Jadis. The emotionless leader appears in all black with a silent demeanor, and only speaks in a dialect that she has created for her people.

She brings out Father Gabriel to the group, and quickly things begin to escalate as members of the group begin to have trust issues with The Heapsters. Punches are thrown at one another until Father Gabriel takes a Heapster hostage to argue for a chance to hear Rick’s offer. Jadis entertains a conversation with Rick by throwing him into a “Walker Gladiator Pit” where he must fight an armored and spiked walker.

Rick scrambles at first, getting his hand and leg sliced by spikes. He receives help from Michonne, who is just outside the wall of garbage, and instructs Rick to pull at the pile of trash which causes an avalanche of garbage to come down onto the spiked walker, pinning him. This allows Rick to kill the walker and prove his worth as a leader to Jadis.

Jadis agrees to help Rick and his group go to war, but has some strings attached to their offer. They negotiate terms in which The Heapsters get a third of the supplies from Negan along with guns from Rick’s group. This is interesting as all members of The Heapsters were wielding weapons after capturing the group. They seem to already have the weaponry and numbers in which to take on Negan and The Saviors. So why the special request?

Daryl and Carol 

After Carol had taken off from the group after the raid of Negan’s compound and had a run in with a small group of Saviors, she found herself being healed in The Kingdom. So it was only a matter of time, after Daryl was given safe refuge by King Ezekiel in The Kingdom, that the two would cross paths.

Morgan is the first to speak of Carol to Daryl about her staying just outside The Kingdom in solitude. This was something that she wanted and requested which King Ezekiel honored. However, Daryl is made aware that Carol’s safety is at risk when it comes to Richard’s plan. The plan makes Carol “Savior bait” after Daryl and Richard take out more of Negan’s men. Richard would turn in Carol as the perpetrator to The Saviors due to her history of violence with them.

Of course Daryl is not on board with Richard’s plan. He threatens Richard’s life if he harms Carol and makes his way to her. The  two have a heart breaking reunion as Daryl is overcome with emotions seeing Carol. He simply ask, “Why’d you go?” Almost like a child asking a love one why they abandoned them. Carol invites Daryl to dinner and ask about the group and their safety against The Saviors.

Stating that if anyone she cared about was harmed by The Saviors, she would lose control. Daryl lies to Carol about the deaths of Glenn and Abraham to protect her. Even through this gesture could be seen as sweet and sincere, it will only be a matter of time before Carol learns the truth. This will lead her to join the war against The Saviors and possibly causing a rift between these two or worse, Carol’s life.