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(© AMC)
Since two seasons, The Walking Dead hoped for a miracle to get back on track. Fate has put a messiah on his scaly road. In just eight episodes, Angela Kang has managed to raise the level of the show by restoring the character's cachet, subtlety dialogues and a rise in tension monster that reached its peak in the episode "Evolution".
A mid-season finale frankly scary, which comes back to the sources of the series and even the zombie genre in the broad sense. An episode so exciting and captivating that The Walking Dead manages (finally!) to find the level of the best episodes of Game Of Thrones in terms of entertainment. And we say it without flinching.
And yet, the road was full of pitfalls for the showrunneuse, who had to manage the departure of two main actors, Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan (and surely the ego that goes with it), while cleaning up the bazaar left by Scott M Gimple at the end of a mediocre 8 season, not to mention catastrophic.
If everything is far away, and even far from perfect, Angela Kang and her team have focused on what has always been the salt of The Walking Dead : his endearing and identifiable (female for the first time) characters and his charismatic villains, even downright terrifying in the case of newcomers.
The Night of the Whisperers
(© AMC)
The arrival of Angela Kang at the head of the zombie series has boosted the female characters (coincidence, we do not believe). Thus, Andrew Lincoln's departure served as a springboard for characters such as Michonne and Carol, who took the lead and found space to express their full potential. If the wig of the second has made fans laugh, it is undeniable that she remains the most unpredictable and captivating survivor to see evolve. She even embodies a symbol of renewal: Scott M. Gimple had cloistered her alone in a miserable house, Angela Kang brought it out and made it bright among her family and friends, while insisting on his manipulative side. What makes Carol a successful, badbad and resolutely rebellious survivor. In short, a woman from 2018.
The case of Michonne is even more convincing. Danai Gurira has always been a very good actress, too often relegated to the background in a supporting role. For Rick, for example, she played the role of faithful right-hand man before becoming the perfect wife and a good mother. But that time is over and the swordsman has taken over Alexandria. In "Evolution", a dialogue between Carol and her emphasizes this badurance: Michonne establishes the separation between feelings for her friend and responsibilities towards her community. And then, his blade has never sliced prowlers with so much style and there is no risk of depriving them or get bored.
Obviously, Angela Kang knows how to do the parity and does not denigrate the men of the series. Daryl is once again the reclusive, loyal and ruthless bad boy we know. His chronic stupidity has been healed by real dialogues, including intense exchanges with Rick and behaviors that elevate him more to the rank of leader than follower. That said, all is not rosy either in the treatment of the characters: Siddiq is still useless, Henry fails to forget the heretical decision to kill Carl and the new group of unknown, although intriguing fun with Luke (Dan Fogler, Jacob Kowalski in Fantastic animals), lack of relief and biting.
(© AMC)
But the stroke of genius Angela Kang, which summons all the talent of the team of the series – ranging from a more neat staging (the grains of the image have largely disappeared) to perfect cadaver makeup mastered – lies in the management of tension. If the seasons of The Walking Dead are always too long (a point on which the showrunneuse can unfortunately do nothing), it has made suspense and a good dose of mystery to a story that has become as thrilling as the heart of a zombie.
This gradual rise in anxiety reached its climax in "Evolution", an episode practically mastered from start to finish to introduce the whisperers, the new antagonists of the series. The mid-season finale a real moment of terror, which surprises us by reminding us that The Walking Dead is above all a series of horror. Directed by director Michael E. Satrazemis refers to the original films of the genre, Night of the living dead George A. Romero at the head: a scary frame (the graveyard and the mist), an oppressive supernatural presence (the prowlers chasing the living), a feeling of oppression, confinement …
Thus, the series will be forgiven for its untimely incoherences (Michonne and Luke's group who point themselves out as deus ex machina to save Eugene and Aaron) counterbalanced by a traumatic entry of the Whisperers. Hearing them murmur, diverting Daryl's traps, or even dodging Jesus' sword-a movement so unexpected and chilling that he acts like a jump scare in the minds of the audience-takes the guts to the final revelation. and the nod to comics. Here again, the return to the basic material will delight fans amazed by the disastrous narrative choices of seasons 7 and 8.
The missed sacrifice of Jesus
(© Gene Page / AMC)
"Evolution" was almost perfect until its controversial conclusion, which is already controversial on social networks. The death of Paul, so heroic, almost biblical given his nickname, is debated for two reasons. In the first place, it is a character with potential remained cruelly unexploited. Apart from a few venerable fighting scenes, including this sacrificial kung-fu fighting in this episode, the epicurean psyche of Jesus has never been deepened. And yet, Tom Payne's score made it oh so endearing and bright in the universe of the series.
The fans who have come back to this deadly decision must also know the truth. The actor was aware that his character remained unjustly behind since his arrival in season 6. In fact, it was Tom Payne himself who asked the production to kill Jesus so he could move on and stop spoil the talents of the best fighter of The Walking Dead. Which brings us to the second problem posed by his death: the AMC show does not learn from his mistakes and continues to maintain the nauseating trope of "Bury your gays".
Tom Payne has all the rights to leave the show. But he must also be aware that his character represents a social cause, that of the representation of minorities. Gold, The Walking Dead has too often sacrificed his LGBTQ + survivors in the past: Alisha, Denise and Eric have paid the price (even the spin-off follows this retrograde scheme with Victor Strand). The symbol is all the more dramatic as one began to perceive a nascent romance between Jesus and Aaron. The report is deplorable but very real: the show never leaves in peace its homobadual couples (Tara / Alisha, Tara / Denise, Eric / Aaron). Conversely, heterobadual characters like Rick and Carol always end up finding love, respectively in the arms of Michonne and Ezekiel.
Three years ago, The Walking Dead had sunk into the tasteless series. She may have never been perfect, even in her best days. But the hard work of Angela Kang is hopeful for the last faithful of the series. He still has a mountain to climb (or rather a hill) to put the show back in the right way. A mountain consisting of a long journey punctuated by mediocre or incoherent narrative decisions (over eight years of existence, imagine the crazy job), many ego of actors who rub, the pressure of a chain in loss of life. audience and spectators ever more demanding.
In truth, everyone has thrown into the wheels of Angela Kang but she leads his boat as an indiscriminate pirate, staring at the horizon. Thanks to this spite, her talent of writing and her creativity, she managed to tie up a creative team to finally propose an episode of The Walking Dead simply brilliant. The genre of those who can join the pantheon of cult episodes such as "The Grove", "Killer Within" and "18 Miles Out". The showrunneuse is perhaps the only person to have discovered the cure of a zombified series, so that The Walking Dead deserve your full attention under the Angela Kang era.
In France, season 9 of The Walking Dead will resume on February 11, 2019 on OCS Choc.
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