It was time to learn what happened to Daryl, Sasha and Abraham as they attempted to finish their mission and return home on Sunday night's "The Walking Dead."
The new episode picked up as the trio took the walkers to the end of the line and hung a left on Route 642 to head back to Alexandria. But their plans for a happy homecoming were put on hold as they found themselves under attack. (And no, there was no mention of Glenn's fate in this episode.)
Here's what happened on "The Walking Dead" Season 6, Episode 6 – "Always Accountable":
For once, everything looks like it's going right as Daryl, on the motorcycle, and Sasha and Abraham, in the beat up red car, are able to put some distance between themselves and the pack of walkers, enough to make that turn on Route 642 to head toward home. They've taken more than half of the quarry herd 20 miles away. After swinging left, they drive down what looks like an abandoned road, but it's not.
Shots ring out, breaking the back window of Sasha and Abraham's car. The attack sends Daryl sideways on the gravel, while a blue vehicle chases down Sasha and Abraham. Daryl quickly gets back on the bike, but he has two cars in pursuit, their passengers firing at him. He dodges walkers on the bike, but one of the cars in pursuit doesn't, and as it crashes it gives Daryl better odds as just the Jeep chases him back onto the main road. Sasha and Abraham crash as they're being chased, but quickly get out of the car, pull out their weapons and fire on the blue car of attackers, presumably killing those inside. "Leave it," Sasha says, as Abraham gets ready to walk over to the car, with a smile on his face -- something she asks about. "We won, darlin,'" he tells her. Sasha stops him from moving in closer, warning Abraham these unknown attackers could have greater numbers. And he listens. "Screw it," Abraham says, ditching his plans, as they run off into the woods to figure out their next step.
As for Daryl, he's turned off the road, safe for now as the Jeep drives off in the wrong direction. He tries to take a wooded path back, but the terrain is too tough to ride the bike, so Daryl sets it down and collapses in exhaustion. A noise to his side startles him – it's a scorched walker with a biker helmet on.
After gathering his strength, Daryl pushes the bike in the woods before he finds a spot to set it down. Grabbing the radio, he tries to reach Sasha and Abraham, but no one replies. It's then that he notices blood dripping down his arm. Taking off his jacket, Daryl tends to his wound, but a rustling sound stops him. He pulls out his crossbow and quickly covers the bike with some leaves. Creeping slowly through the woods, Daryl raises his weapon. "You found us, K? We earned what we took," a brunette woman tells him, as she and a blonde behind her hold up their hands. They distract Daryl long enough for a man – clearly their companion – to knock Daryl out.
In the morning, Daryl gets a rude awakening when the man puts a gun to his head. "Here's the deal, you don't say sh** and I don't kill you," the man says. "I ain't who you think," Daryl tries to tell them, but it's no use. His hands remain bound as they walk through the woods. The brunette and the man try to make Daryl drink some water as they walk, a hint that maybe they aren't baddies.
As they talk, Daryl learns that they're the ones that started the fire with a gas truck, to kill all the walkers. "We thought everyone was fighting them wherever they were," the brunette says. "We thought that's what everyone was doing. Fighting it. We'd all win together. We were stupid," the man adds.
"Y'all don't think you're being stupid right now?" Daryl asks. The man quickly turns around and pulls out his gun, aiming it at Daryl's head. "Right now, by me not pulling this trigger, is that a mistake?" the man asks. "No," Daryl says, before asking the man to make a deal with him. "Keep moving," the man tells him, his gun still pointed at Daryl.
A little while later, they reach a fenced in area at the Pattrick Fuel Company. The courtyard is full of walkers, and they realize the friend they were looking for – Patty – is gone. "You guys don't have to do this for me," the blonde with them says, shortly before collapsing to the ground. Daryl uses the moment to grab the bag and run. In the woods, he tries to call Sasha and Abraham on the radio. No response from them, but a walker hears him and heads his way. Daryl grabs his crossbow and fires, taking it out. Looking back at the bag, Daryl spots a cooler of insulin.
Elsewhere, Sasha and Abraham are trying to figure out what happened to Daryl. Sasha suggests the best way to find a tracker is to stay put. They make their way to what was once Sunrise Insurance, and head inside (Sasha writes "Dixon" on the door as a way to alert Daryl if he comes by). Inside, Abraham finds a military suit in an office, and a picture of the man it belonged to on a bulletin board.
"Stand, watch or sleep. Your choice," Sasha tells Abraham as he walks into the main office. "I'll do the former, do a little shopping, maybe," Abraham tells her, looking around. Sasha tries to nap, but can't. Abraham is anxious too, unable to do anything about the walker on the other side of the office (it is behind glass). As they pass the time, Sasha gets Abraham to explain why he chose to come with her on the move-the-walkers mission. "You were out of control for a while there. Just about took my arm off on the road to paradise. You remember that?" he asks. "I do. I'm in control now," she tells him, turning the tables to ask him about why he wants to go after everything now – the people that just attacked them, and the walker behind the glass. In a very Abraham-like way, he says he doesn't like loose ends. After Sasha explains that despite his behavior, Abraham is "always accountable" (the episode title), Sasha decides to get some shut-eye and Abraham says they can reassess the situation in the AM.
Over in the forest, Daryl is preparing to do a good deed. With the bag containing the insulin on his back, he finds the trio and asks them what else they have besides the gun (turns out the man has been carving a miniature statue). Daryl takes it in exchange for the insulin, but as he starts to walk away, a group pulls up, led by a man name Wade, who are after the trio.
Daryl jumps in and helps the trio, giving the man the gun so they both have weapons, and ushering them to a safe spot. Daryl stays low, and moves some leaves when one of men chasing them gets too close. That man reacts and turns around, right into a hungry walker, which bites him. The injured man shouts for Wade to take his arm. As everything happens (the man loses his arm), the blond man who held Daryl at gunpoint realizes Daryl was never with Wade's bad group, and asks him why he came back. "Maybe I'm stupid too," Daryl tells him.
Back at the insurance office, Abraham loads up a gun and heads out. "Well, howdy, gentlemen," he says, as he finds weapons in the back of a Humvee (and, some cigars!) parked on a bridge. A hungry walker impaled on a pole (dangling from the edge of the bridge) captures Abraham's attention when he spots the weapon on its back. He heads over to try and retrieve it and gets locked into a struggle with the impaled walker. As he fights with it, the moment leads to an important realization of how he's been living his life, and eventually, Abraham gets it and stops courting danger. He lets go, walks back to the vehicle, lights up a cigar and watches as the walker struggles, and then falls off the poll to the ground below.
"Where did you get that?" Sasha demands to know when Abraham heads back into the office with all the weapons from the bridge. "It was the fruit of some off-the-chart stupidity," Abraham says, before he tells Sasha he knows what's happening back at Alexandria is being taken care of. And then, Abraham makes some comments that indicate he has a renewed zest for life. "We got beer and air condition. And walls. The table is set for the rest of our lives and I hope those years to be long and fruitful. I see that time before me and I've been feeling the urge to make some plays before the great cosmic peak comes to cut my throat unceremoniously and I gurgle my last breath. Things are gonna go on for a while before that. That hadn't occurred to me before," he tells her, before getting a little flirty.
Michael Cudlitz as Abraham Ford in 'The Walking Dead' Season 6, Episode 6 (AMC)
"I like the way you call bullsh**, Sasha. I believe I'd like to get to know you a whole lot better," he says. She laughs. "That one of your plays? What makes you think I want that?" she asks Abraham. "A man can tell," he replies, walking a little closer. Sasha laughs and heads over to the window. "You got some stuff to take care of," she tells him. "Yeah. I do," he says, nodding.
In the woods, Daryl and the trio walk together. We learn they were part of a group that deteriorated badly. As they continue to walk along, Tina, the young blonde, spots what was once a familiar site – a friend's house. The place has been burned to the ground. She runs up and cries at the side of two bodies, not paying close enough attention to realize they're walkers. They attack her and she dies.
Sometime later, as Daryl and the man dig graves, Daryl starts asking questions – three questions. "Hey, how many walkers you killed? Just answer the question," Daryl asks. "A lot," the guy says. "How many people you kill?" Daryl asks. None. "Why?" Daryl asks. "Why haven't I killed anybody? Because if I did, there'd be no going back. No going back to how things were," the man replies. It's the right answer, so Daryl begins to tell him about Alexandria. "I'm from a place where people are still like they were, more or less, better or worse," he says.
As Daryl leads them back to his bike, he tells them about the friends he got separated from (he's careful not to name Sasha and Abraham). His kindness, though, goes unrewarded. When they see his bike, the man pulls the gun on Daryl and takes the bike, ordering Daryl to give the woman his crossbow. She tosses him some bandages and says sorry. "You're gonna be," Daryl says, before they ride off.
Daryl walks back through the woods and finds a truck for AA Pattrick Fuel company. He quickly kills the walker inside it and hits the road.
Back at the insurance company, Abraham has a new lease on life and some new duds – he's dressed up in the military outfit (but he took the man's medals and stripes off) he found earlier. The noise of a truck outside the window startles them, but they smile when they find out it's Daryl. Reunited, Daryl, Sasha and Abraham drive down the road. Abraham looks in the rearview mirror and sees nothing. He smiles and closes his eyes.
"Rick, you copy?" Daryl asks over the walkie. "Help," an unknown man replies.
"The Walking Dead" continues Sundays at 9 PM ET/PT on AMC.
