A new start indeed – Variety

SPOIL ALERT: Do not continue reading if you have not seen the premiere of "The Walking Dead" of Season 9 entitled "A New Beginning"

Angela Kang made a grand entrance on her first outing as "The Walking Dead" showrunner.

The premiere of Season 9 was an impressive mix of action, horror, comedy and genuine emotion, reminiscent of some of the best episodes in the series' history.

The first opens on a quick overview of Alexandria, Hilltop and Sanctuary, all built after the jump in time that followed the final of season 8. People now ride on horseback because of the rarefaction of gasoline, while Alexandria borders its streets with solar panels. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) spend some time with Judith, while Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) work to produce ethanol-based corn fuel at the Sanctuary.

Rick then leads a group in the Washington D.C. ruins in hopes of recovering materials from a museum such as an old plow, a canoe and a covered wagon. Once inside, Anne, aka Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), leads the group to a seed stock held at the museum, which she became aware of at the time she was a teacher. Later, Carol (Melissa McBride), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Michonne discuss the fact that Maggie was elected president of Hilltop, officially ousting Gregory (Xander Berkeley). Michonne is also temporarily stunned when she sees an exhibition on the US Constitution, alluding to her desire to establish a system of laws between now allied communities.

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This also marks one of the first times that the three women have been together on the screen for some time. According to Kang, she and the writers have been trying to find ways to reconnect characters with limited interactions in recent seasons.

"Because we have these very strong female characters … we had the opportunity to really delve into some of these stories and play character combinations that we did not see much," Kang said. a press conference preceding the first. "We realized that Michonne and Maggie did not have many things together in previous seasons, neither Michonne and Carol. We really wanted to see how they interacted now that they had all become a place of strength and leadership. "

The group then tries to carefully remove the wagon from the museum, which is complicated by its enormous size and the fact that it has to pass it carefully on a glass floor, under which there are a large number of walkers. They manage to pass it, but Ezekiel (Khary Payton) falls to the ground carrying the plow with Carol. A rope tied around his waist keeps him from falling completely, but the walkers immediately start nibbling at him. He does his best to fight them while the others make him safe. Once back at the top, Ezekiel and Carol kiss and share a kiss.

The group moves out of town, at which time Ezekiel offers Carol. She tells him to put away the ring and he promises to hang it until it's ready. On the road, the group discovers that a bridge has collapsed under the weight of a herd of walkers. They are forced to take an alternative route, on which the car is caught in the mud. While they strive to obtain it for free, walkers descend on them. They load the canoe and plow in the wagon and start running, but Ken, the son of Hilltop's blacksmith, can not let the horses be killed. He runs to free them, only to be stung by a walker, then kicked by the horse that he was trying to save (not cool, horse, not cool). In the process, the plow is thrown from the cart and destroyed.

Maggie returns to Hilltop and informs the boy's parents – Tammy (Brett Butler) and Earl (John Finn) – about what happened on the run. Tammy collapses and blames Maggie for what happened, while Earl gently walks out of the room. Tammy then blames the Saviors for using many of Hilltop's resources, leading Maggie to ask herself how she should lead the community.

At Ken's funeral – which Tammy said Maggie is not invited – Gregory delivers a speech in which he congratulates Ken for helping keep Hilltop alive. He then offers a bottle of alcohol to Tammy and Earl, but Earl is an alcoholic convalescing and refuses. Tammy gets a drink and Earl ends up carrying her to bed. Gregory follows them into their house, where he will intoxicate Earl, hurts him, accusing Maggie of the death of his son and casts doubt on the results of the election.

Rick arrives at the Sanctuary, where he promises to give the community everything they need to survive and thrive. But Michonne notices on the wall graffiti on which it is written: "The saviors save us! We are still Negan. According to Daryl, this type of graffiti appears more and more since the lack of crop growth in the sanctuary. Daryl then takes Rick aside and tells him that he will no longer run the shrine and that the situation only worsens since the original group separated from the different communities. This moment, associated with a brief scene that Daryl saw previously in the museum, represents the largest number of characters that the character has spoken for a long time. According to Reedus, fans can expect a little more from Daryl throughout the season.

"You will certainly know Daryl better," he says. "I talk all the time. I have not really talked about the last two seasons … and you will be very proud of him. I think old Daryl who started the series with a chip on his shoulder, I think it's gone. He will not be Rick, but you will know a lot about him.

Daryl and Maggie then share a moment outside the shrine, where he tells her that he approves of his relationship with Ezekiel. Carol then proposes to take Daryl's place at the Sanctuary, both to help him and to give himself time to reflect on Ezekiel's proposal.

In Alexandria, Rick and Michonne go to bed, where she tells him that communities need to establish a charter to govern themselves more effectively.

"She was thinking further and she is now thinking further about how we create order and stability for our children's children," said Gurira. "As women, we think about the shoulders we stand on and strengthen them enough for those who follow us to do it. That's what we think. We are a link in a chain. "

Back to Hilltop, Maggie walks with her son. Gregory stops him and says that someone has tampered with Glenn's grave. When she goes to investigate, a very drunk count the attack, but people rush to his aid. Maggie breaks into Gregory's quarters, accusing her of trying to get her killed. He pulls a knife, but she manages to control it.

Rick, Michonne and Daryl go to Hilltop. Maggie and Rick talk, where he asks Hilltop and her to provide Sanctuary again with extra food. Maggie agrees, but only if the Sanctuary provides the bulk of the labor to repair the broken bridge and send the fuel oil they made.

That night, we see that Maggie, in front of the whole community, has Gregory sitting on horseback with a noose around his neck, the other end attached to the beam of a building under construction. She gestures to Daryl and he hits the back of the horse. He goes away, leaving Gregory to die while suspending himself.