Walking Dead has been truly good for four consecutive episodes

I tried to be patient, to reserve my judgment because I was already burned. I was very scared that the series of good episodes of the ninth season was an anomaly or just seemed to get better since Negan's war was behind us. Four episodes – 25% of the entire season – and The dead who walk was not bad at all. In fact, it was damn good.

I may be condemning the series by saying it, and God knows that the imminent loss of Andrew Lincoln will be difficult (if not impossible) to handle, but the last time I really enjoyed four episodes of The dead who walk in the row that preceded the divine season 6 of finals, which marked the decline of the show of notations in … non-heavyweight. I can not remember the last time I was so excited for next week's episodes.

It's amazing how different the show is now. There are more scenarios happening simultaneously, but they all have their own momentum and very little time is spent wading. These stories work together so that each episode remains exciting, but also for the entire season, because if a plot breaks down, others stand to maintain the excitement. I'm not saying that it's perfect, or that it does not stumble on occasion, but it's way better than what the show has been successful for years, when it stumbled regularly, fell to the ground and just stood there for hours. at the same time, assuming everyone was fascinated.

Example: Michonne is under the spotlight in "The Obliged", but the episode still has plenty of time for everything else – which is great because Michonne's story is probably the weakest part of the episode . (This is not bad yet, though!) It begins with a montage of Michonne's life as the mother of Judith, leader of Alexandria, researcher and legal editor, referee of the struggles and much more. Throughout the day – but at night, her restless nature makes her leave the colony and begins to separate the zombies from her katana. At one point, she is caught off guard by a zombie and has to club him with a nearby baseball bat, which she watches with horror as it was Negan's weapon of choice.

This little incident is supposed to make us think of a kind of kinship, or at least equivalent, about Michonne and Negan, an allusion made incredibly explicit when Michonne visits the prisoner after learning that Negan had started a strike. from hunger. It turns out that he just wants to have a conversation with her, in which Negan literally begins to say how they are alike and really killers who need the freedom of the post-apocalypse, and how good it is that their old loved ones died because they were a weakness.

This dark side of Michonne is not something that has been proven in the last years of the series, but I will not hold back the sins of the past against the 9th season. That being said, the real reason I am The deal is that the face-to-face conversation contains two revelations – or rather, a revelation and a breathtaking reminder, the last being that Michonne had children. This is something the show has not talked about for five years, and I forgot – and I bet a lot of you -. Suddenly, his relationship with Rick and Judith is presented in a totally new and much more interesting light. It gives Michonne the depth she so badly needed, since she was relegated to the rank of Rick's love and lieutenant.

The other moment is Negan's. It was when, after his long and tempting attempt to connect with Michonne, he asked him if he could see Lucille, his bat. When Michonne says that he was left on the battlefield, Negan responds "No". But when he does, he looks like a four-year-old on the verge of a tantrum. He is upset to the point of denying that Mchonne is telling the truth because she does not want it to be the truth. It is a shocking vulnerability that we have never seen before in Negan. I mean, I know he's already been panicked when he can not find Lucille, but it's … a regression. It's something that goes beyond weakness, because Negan is so devastated that he starts to hit his head against the stone wall, completely doubtful blood noises. I hope that The dead who walk take the time to explore this more deeply, and I'm a bit optimistic about it.

Meanwhile, the bridge as a metaphor for civilization continues to work overtime, even though the bridge itself (as well as what it represents) is in poor condition. Progress has been made, but the rise of the river threatens to eliminate all work. Two herds of zombies are approaching, which will make everything harder, too. Meanwhile, Maggie secretly travels to Alexandria to murder Negan, but a worried Jesus sends Jerry to Rick with a note warning him of it.

Rick uses his walkie-talkie relay line to contact Alexandria to make sure Michonne does not let her in. He jumps on Daryl's bike for a quick return ride, on the sole condition that Daryl drives him away from Alexandria (since he had been conspiring with Maggie previously) and tells Rick that his message no has never been transmitted to the colony, since apparently he and Maggie have found one or two recruits. We will come back to this in a second, but the last problem facing the bridge and the people who work there is the former Savior, who 1) took Alden's gun from him; 2) discovered that Oceanside had killed them; and 3) returned to the bridge for more weapons to seek revenge for Oceanside's revenge. A shootout ensues, causing enough noise for Rick to realize that it will attract the flock and make things worse.

At this point, Rick and Daryl are in a hole – a huge, inexplicable pit that exists only to be able to fall after one of their brief struggles and get stuck for a while. Again, I thought I was okay with that because it led to another great no frills conversation, and this time I would say that Daryl wins. When Rick explains how keeping Negan alive helps prevent things from returning to their normal state, Daryl says that keeping Negan alive really gives people hope that will return to their original state (speaking of former saviors). Rick, a truly upset and crying man, explains how, if Negan dies, all the sacrifices made would have been useless, but Daryl gives what is surely the most potent counter-argument possible: "Do you really think that we could not handle [Negan’s death]after all we went through? "

One of my biggest problems with The dead who walk In the last few years, no one has called Rick to his shit. No matter how bad his actions are, no matter how much trouble he has caused, no one has ever told him that he was wrong. In the ninth season, people are not wondering if Rick's plan for the future is achievable, but here's Daryl, who says that letting Negan live is perhaps one of the biggest hurdles to the meeting of people. Keeping him alive is a constant reminder of what people have lost and what Negan and his people have done. Throughout this conversation, Daryl is exceptionally calm and collected, not at all warm under the collar, and his words have more weight because of them, just like the scene.

It's great, but I think we all know why the rest of the show will remember this episode, it's the end. Once Rick and Daryl have heard the shot on the bridge and come out of the hole (it takes a lot of time, but at least gives us the pleasure of watching Daryl stack zombie corpses to make a staircase), they discover that herds are approaching. Fortunately, at random, a horse has passed, and Rick tells Daryl to help the catwalk as he takes the herd on horseback. Daryl tells Rick that they can lead the flock to the water and then destroy the dam, which certainly destroys the bridge, but the torrent would also occupy zombies. "I'm not leaving the bridge!" Rick shouts. Once again, the metaphor – the bridge – Rick's vision of creating a single community – is still topical, with Rick obsessed with the need to preserve both despite the dangers, not wanting to admit the sad reality that they are probably doomed.

Rick riding on a white horse is an obvious reminder at the very beginning of the series, almost as if Rick's trip was on the book or something. But when he suddenly meets the second flock, his horse rears up, throwing him … directly on an iron bar that pierces his stomach completely. Rick fainted in pain as several hundred zombies rub against him.

Of course, Rick will not die here – though he may be bitten – because there are still two episodes in Lincoln, and I bet there is at least one farewell scene with Michonne in his future (limited) . But I like the idea that Rick dies as a result of an accident, mainly because I do not like any of the other options. If it's eaten by zombies, it's a horrible and sudden end to a main character we've been watching for almost a decade; if he was just bitten, Carl's death would be too much like anything. Rick being murdered by an ex-Savior or being killed trying to stop a fight between the ex-Saviors and others would mean that Rick would die knowing that he had completely failed, which is too tragic , even for TWD. Here, Rick inadvertently sacrifices himself to try to keep everything he has built, to die thinking he's done something – or at least to start something that can last after his death, offering him and his audience a certain peace when he left. (even if / when everything will go to hell later).

I sincerely hope The dead who walk Even after Rick's death, I'm optimistic. After four episodes of constant quality, I am optimistic. I also think it's enough to miss Rick when I miss him, which shocks me a bit. Forget the metaphor of the bridge: thanks to Season 9, Rick and The dead who walk have managed to recover after years of horror, which is an incredible feat (and again, thank new host Angela Kang and her team for both). Except that we know that Rick's time is limited, this good version of The dead who walk can really live.

Assortment of reflections:

• In the helicopter news, Anne tied Gabriel to a snowmobile and pulled out the cart with the zombie, the bucket attached to the head. she drops the zombie on Gabe, as she would with Negan last season. Gabriel apologizes for having him do that, forgives him and hopes one day that she will forgive him – the complete journey for religious guilt – and Anne decides to let Gabe live. When he wakes up later, she is gone. So, I guess the mystery of the helicopter is again paused, but that's fine, because …
• Maggie receives letters from Georgie ?! Georgie from "Here's the Key to the Future, My New Post-Apocalyptic Best-Seller Guide"! What are these letters about? Does Maggie know more about Georgie and her people? Are they connected with people from the helicopter? Because of course, they must have some sort of secret agenda and sinister.
• Speaking of which, does anyone have an idea of ​​what an "A" or "B" is still? Gabriel is an "A", which means somehow that he must be infected – but why would the helicopter want a zombie? I guess they specifically want fresh zombies because otherwise Anne could have brought a bucket-headed zombie on the helicopter, is not it?
• Daryl's claim that Rick might have failed his own peace plan is evoked earlier in the episode of Jesus, who tells Maggie that "Rick was wrong" [to spare Negan] because he made a call that was not his, "which is an absolutely true statement. If he wanted people to work together, then people would need to move from the past – and that means giving them the power to control Negan's destiny. Things would be a lot more peaceful if Rick had a vote or something, whether Negan had lived or died. It's good, people.
• I love Eugene's decision to name the herds of zombies after the deaths of Shakespeare, in this case Tybalt's Romeo and Juliet and King LearCordelia. I pray for a future where meteorologists-ze zombie talk about herd movements and their potential destructive effects, such as hurricanes.
• Rick's eulogies of Eugene and Carol really felt like the show was a farewell tour. Plus, Rick's "brother, take my hand" at Daryl's was ridiculous and ridiculous, and I still loved him a little.
• If it seems strange that the former Saviors learn in one way or another, off camera, that Oceanside is responsible for the murders, it is that Walking Dead Finally, enough interesting things to cover so that it's no longer necessary to waste time seeing people relearn things that the public already knows. Which is amazing and wonderful.
• Rick to Carol: "If anything gives me hope, it's you," he says, speaking of his move from the nihilistic murder machine to someone willing to show up for a greater good.
• It is likely that Negan's bat is still on the battlefield and has not been apprehended by anyone for a major revelation in a future episode: Maybe … two percent?
• Lesson: Taking a gun from Carol, she's pretty much less likely to kick your ass. Speaking of that, someone else laughed when Jed called Carol a "weak little woman"? Ha ha, fool.
• I do not think I've said it for years, but here's a reminder that I've named the "Assortment of Reflections" section of my recaps as a scam at the obvious joke of "Observations of the AV Club Stay" ". It was a lot more funny. before the AV club becomes our sister site, but after six years, I will not bother to change it for the moment.