I think for most of us long time fans of THE WALKING DEAD felt that show had long since ceased to be "appointment TV" on Sunday nights, a show we simply had to see no matter what. It has been a very long and twisting road since Rick Grimes blew away that teddy bear toting Walker at the truck stop in the first episode, and the mileage took its toll on even the most devoted fans. Too many beloved favorite character deaths (Hershel, Glen, Andrea, and Carl for me), some inconsistent character arcs, and repetitious plot tropes which led to a feeling of "been there and seen that" had served to dampen my love for one of the all time great horror shows in TV history. So I did not feel too much sorrow when I heard the news that Season 11 would be the last for the original Walking Dead franchise show. They were ending it with the conclusion of the Commonwealth arc, the same place where Robert Kirkman ended his comic series a few years back, so it felt right. What I hoped for would be a finale that would leave me with a sense of satisfaction, and that a page would be turned, and the DEAD franchise could move on to other stories.
My verdict on the series finale, titled "Rest in Peace," is that they pulled it off for the most part. It was an episode that leaned into what has been the show's consistent strength-its ability to stage and execute great action scenes and create genuine tension and suspense. The Walkers were inside the walls yet again, this time the Commonwealth, and desperate characters where surrounded on all sides and had to fight their way out. This allowed the script writers to do some call backs to the early episodes of the series and remind us of why we'd fallen in love with this show in the first place: Darryl protecting a wounded Judith in an overrun hospital; Gabriel and Rosita having to scramble up the side of a building to escape a horde; a Walker picking up a rock to smash a glass window. Gabriel opened the gates to save the survivors in the Commonwealth, a far cry from the coward who locked his parishioners out of the church at the beginning of the Walker apocalypse. I thought Pamela Milton's ultimate fate would have her bitten by Walker Lance Hornsby in a twist on the end of the comics' incarnation of Carole, but the writers tweaked it so she received a more deserving fate. In the end, the final rampaging Walker herd met its demise when the various groups of survivors put aside their differences and worked together, allowing for a moment of well earned grace, and then a time jump where we could say our proper goodbyes. The cast had grown very large in recent seasons-it seemed as though when one cast member left, two would take their place-and not everyone got the attention they should have (we hardly saw the Princess). But I think they gave proper attention to the two essential remaining relationships. There is a wonderfully heartfelt scene between Darryl and Carole where these two survivors express their feelings for each other, underling how much they have changed since we first met them way back when. Maggie and Negan have a face to face where they acknowledge the gulf between them because of past actions, but reach something of an understanding going forward, which should be put to the test in the spinoff they are headlining and make it interesting. Most of the final cast made it too the end except a couple of exceptions-they gave Rosita a great final moment with Eugene, who really stepped up in this season. I'm glad they spared Khary Payton's Ezekiel the fate of his comic counterpart.
Overall, I can say THE WALKING DEAD did a good job of keeping the shop afloat through 11 seasons, and met the challenge when Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira left. The writing was certainly better than the God awful work over on FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, and later story arcs, like the Whisperer War, were horror story telling at its best. And if I sometimes rolled my eyes at the clunky diversity casting and heavy handed progressive social messaging of later seasons, it never drove me away.
So a job well done to Scott Gimple, Angela Kang, and Greg Nicotero for all the work they did behind the scenes, and a shout out to Frank Darabont, who got the show off the ground so well in the first season that it made all that came after possible. And love to Robert Kirkman, because without his great comic series, none of it would have happened. But the story is not done yet by a long shot; the final scenes of the finale gave us a teaser of the upcoming Rick and Michonne project, where hopefully, we will get the reunion we've waited for. Then there is Darryl's story going forward, what will he find in the wider world? Maggie and Negan are going to New York. FEAR has yet to wrap up, and I want to see what becomes of Morgan and Madison. Will we ever see any of the people from WORLD BEYOND again? I'd sure like to see Pollyanna McIntosh's Anne one more time. What about those "variant" Walkers? THE WALKING DEAD has spawned an incredible universe, one that has the potential to become another STAR TREK with shows continuing far into the future. I'm up for the ride.
My verdict on the series finale, titled "Rest in Peace," is that they pulled it off for the most part. It was an episode that leaned into what has been the show's consistent strength-its ability to stage and execute great action scenes and create genuine tension and suspense. The Walkers were inside the walls yet again, this time the Commonwealth, and desperate characters where surrounded on all sides and had to fight their way out. This allowed the script writers to do some call backs to the early episodes of the series and remind us of why we'd fallen in love with this show in the first place: Darryl protecting a wounded Judith in an overrun hospital; Gabriel and Rosita having to scramble up the side of a building to escape a horde; a Walker picking up a rock to smash a glass window. Gabriel opened the gates to save the survivors in the Commonwealth, a far cry from the coward who locked his parishioners out of the church at the beginning of the Walker apocalypse. I thought Pamela Milton's ultimate fate would have her bitten by Walker Lance Hornsby in a twist on the end of the comics' incarnation of Carole, but the writers tweaked it so she received a more deserving fate. In the end, the final rampaging Walker herd met its demise when the various groups of survivors put aside their differences and worked together, allowing for a moment of well earned grace, and then a time jump where we could say our proper goodbyes. The cast had grown very large in recent seasons-it seemed as though when one cast member left, two would take their place-and not everyone got the attention they should have (we hardly saw the Princess). But I think they gave proper attention to the two essential remaining relationships. There is a wonderfully heartfelt scene between Darryl and Carole where these two survivors express their feelings for each other, underling how much they have changed since we first met them way back when. Maggie and Negan have a face to face where they acknowledge the gulf between them because of past actions, but reach something of an understanding going forward, which should be put to the test in the spinoff they are headlining and make it interesting. Most of the final cast made it too the end except a couple of exceptions-they gave Rosita a great final moment with Eugene, who really stepped up in this season. I'm glad they spared Khary Payton's Ezekiel the fate of his comic counterpart.
Overall, I can say THE WALKING DEAD did a good job of keeping the shop afloat through 11 seasons, and met the challenge when Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira left. The writing was certainly better than the God awful work over on FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, and later story arcs, like the Whisperer War, were horror story telling at its best. And if I sometimes rolled my eyes at the clunky diversity casting and heavy handed progressive social messaging of later seasons, it never drove me away.
So a job well done to Scott Gimple, Angela Kang, and Greg Nicotero for all the work they did behind the scenes, and a shout out to Frank Darabont, who got the show off the ground so well in the first season that it made all that came after possible. And love to Robert Kirkman, because without his great comic series, none of it would have happened. But the story is not done yet by a long shot; the final scenes of the finale gave us a teaser of the upcoming Rick and Michonne project, where hopefully, we will get the reunion we've waited for. Then there is Darryl's story going forward, what will he find in the wider world? Maggie and Negan are going to New York. FEAR has yet to wrap up, and I want to see what becomes of Morgan and Madison. Will we ever see any of the people from WORLD BEYOND again? I'd sure like to see Pollyanna McIntosh's Anne one more time. What about those "variant" Walkers? THE WALKING DEAD has spawned an incredible universe, one that has the potential to become another STAR TREK with shows continuing far into the future. I'm up for the ride.
