The mid-season finale of Walking Dead put the show back on track

Caution: Spoilers for The dead who walk season 9, episode 8 below.

This season of The dead who walk had its own meta-story, with breathtaking ups and downs and cliffhangers. After several seasons of declining ratings, it was announced earlier this year that the showrunner Scott Gimple was leaving the series and that Angela Kang was to take over for season 9. The idea was that the new vision of the series for Kang could revitalize The dead who walk, starting with a reinvented title sequence.

At first, it seemed to work. The imminent departure of Andrew Lincoln, who starred in the series Rick Grimes, allowed viewers to stay afloat. At one point, it seemed that the series exceeded viewers' expectations by sending Rick earlier than expected. It was a gadget, however, as the start itself rather than killing Rick, The dead who walk just put it on the ice, in anticipation of a trilogy of movies that will land on AMC in the future. The non-death of Rick Grimes seemed to be the last nail of the coffin, the moment when the public realized that no matter how much The dead who walk to change the way he plays, it's just not in the cards.

Then, something funny happened. In recent episodes, a new vision of The dead who walk began to emerge – an interested in the little character moments and new conflicts that looked a lot like The dead who walk previous seasons before the series is weighed down by its cartoon-inspired stunts. The mid-season finale, "Evolution", completed this transition. And while both of us have been frustrated by The dead who walk Sometimes we find ourselves in a totally new position: reinvigorated by the new approach of the series, excited by its orientation and eager to know how the characters achieve it. Of course, we sat down to talk about it.

Photo by Gene Page / AMC

How did they do it?

Bryan: I'll be very honest here and say I did not think The dead who walk could remove it. I have obviously had problems with the show for some time and stopped watching when Glenn passed away. But I kept an eye on the larger plot movements of the series and I finally got back. Now, I could not be happier to see how excited I am about the show.

How The dead who walk remove that? There are many elements to consider, but for me it is a philosophical approach. During the last episodes, the series became much more interested in the scenarios and the emotional consequences of these characters. In "Evolution", some great moments spent with the Whisperers are skilfully minimized, but for me, the most telling example of this episode is Henry's scenario.

In "Evolution", the public learns that Henry decided to go to Hilltop not to become a blacksmith, but because he still has a crush on Enid. When he learns that she already has a boyfriend, he does what any teenager would do: he self-destructs and celebrates with a group of other teens. They drink, they act despicably and the other teenagers torture a walker – which Henry rejects vigorously.

This tour is a good example of Henry's moral compass, but the fact that The dead who walk In fact, I took the time to explore what it would really look like growing up in adolescence in this community. These kids know they live in a dangerous zombie world, but they just have enough stability for traditional teenage tendencies to emerge. After literally years After debates over various moral fundamentals, it was refreshing for the series to address something other than The Big Bad Guy Negan and The Big Good Guy Rick. Once upon a time, Carl was used to exploring some of these ideas, and in fact it seems that the story of Carl's comic is grafted onto Henry here. But this kind of relatable situation is sorely lacking in The dead who walk recently. If this is the meaning of the series, register me.

Photo by Gene Page / AMC

Notch: As we approached season 9, I was worried that Rick's imminent departure would dominate the 16 episodes and in no way hinder the promised turnaround that Kang was hired. And as the season got off to a good start, I realized that the eventual test drive at the game did not let me hope the show would improve much after Rick. The emotional lash of "Maybe it's still good?" And of "Oh no, it's back to his old nonsense" was exhausting. And the show to support the departure of two main characters (Maggie Lauren Cohan also left this season) gave the impression that the writing was on the wall.

But then, several jumps in time have accomplished something miraculous: with Rick gone and the weight of the authors of the series, The dead who walk has slowly become the show promised by Kang. I think that refocusing on the characters – the way they handle tragedy and new experiences and what unites them – has made this movie seem revitalized and less like the painful adaptation that it has become . "Evolution" is the best of the last three episodes because it puts the spotlight on all these changes and really shows how effectively Kang and the editorial team have used Rick's departure and the jump of six years, narrative movements for which we were both very skeptical. first.

I was particularly struck by a scene staging Gabriel and Negan, in which the reformed pastor tries to help the captive criminal to talk about his problems and why he chose to become the leader. 39 man he did in the post-apocalypse. In recent seasons, these types of vignettes were usually fun and creative detours – The dead who walk loves good music montages – designed primarily to fill the time and add essential colors. But they rarely said anything deep or contributed to the overall plot.

However, in this scene, when Gabriel accuses Negan of taking back the outside of his tough guy, I was shocked to see how clever it was. Negan, realizing how exhausted he is, pushes Gabriel to talk about Rosita's wounds and the looming threat they all seem to face. It was as if the writers recognized how much they were handling the character of Negan by forcing the man to drop his tired schtick. Later, when Negan discovers that the door of his cell is left open, he comes out with a grim smile. But the public now knows that we should not expect that it will become the same old villain. Gabriel's conversation cleverly made Negan a potential ally for the upcoming fight, although it's a wild card for his own intentions. This type of narrative configuration means that even the smallest scenes in the post-Rick world have a lot more weight.

Photo by Gene Page / AMC

What were the highlights?

Bryan: Let's talk about this Negan getaway a little longer because it's one of my favorite things of the season. Negan has always been a man so comical, capable of extremes, that I stopped thinking about what happened to him or not. But the moment he discovers that the door of the cell is unlocked defines it for more than a year of monologues.

The door was probably only opened recently, but the show does not say it explicitly anyway. Instead, what we have is that Negan realizes that he may have turned himself captive for an indefinite period because he has never bothered to check the door. He recalls the episode of Season 6, "Here's Not Here," when Morgan had a similar revelation. In this case, it was part of Morgan's evolution from a murder machine to a contemplative man of peace. And although I doubt very much that it is there The dead who walk will go with Negan, I love the way that moment so discretely undermines his own sense of bravado. Yes, he comes off and smiles away, but I still feel it's one of the few moments where Negan has experienced a moment of self-realization.

I must also emphasize the far too short story between Jesus and Aaron. This is a classic example of how Kang has Walking Dead does things in a more satisfying way than in previous seasons.

In the comics, Jesus and Aaron are a couple. In the show, however, we learned there is an episode that they have established some sort of private back channel communication between their two communities. We do not know if it's just friends or if there's a romantic component in their relationship – it could really play like one or the other – but it does not really matter because late in " Evolution, "Jesus is stabbed by one of the Whisperers.

So we have a story drawn from the comics that is partially adapted by the series in a way that lets comic book viewers think they know where things are going, but that the carpet is out, giving more impact at the death of Jesus. And for all who watch the series, it is simply a tragically short relationship.

There are no games played. No cliffhangers. No need to wink with marketing materials. The show simply lets the relationship, characters and events speak for themselves. It is brutally effective and it shows a level of restraint that I have not seen since the show. I will admit that it is a little strange to include this as a strong point, since I was legitimately upset by the death of Jesus, but it is also the exact reason for which I include it. The dead who walk has trained the public to care about nothing and not take anything seriously. And yet, here, almost like a grace, the series delivers an undeniable emotional hit, as if it wanted to let us know what it can do. I watch TV shows to feel something, and that's precisely what this death does.

Photo by Gene Page / AMC

Notch: This is a good opportunity to talk about what I think is one of the best improvements of the season: Robert Kirkman's comic-book elements in this series fit loosely. The dead who walk has always traced his own path, retrieving what he needed from the source documentation, introducing new characters like Daryl and playing a clever game of mixing stories and arcs to make it operational. (Rick never lost his hand in the series, but poor Aaron took the burden in his absence.) But with Glenn's fictional death scene and the eventual introduction of Negan, it seemed like the show was becoming a lot. too big. source material. AMC suspended viewers from great moments like tempting teasing, and upset public expectations in a way that seemed inexpensive or undeserved.

Season 9 is different. It's not just that we said goodbye to Rick, Carl and Maggie, who are still major players in comics. It is more the fact that the series now uses its sources in a more transparent way, a bit like the way it handled the big comic arcs of seasons 3, 4 and 5. Why do we grant so many watch out for Henry? He takes the role of Carl in comics. What about Negan's exit from the prison cell? This is a major moment in its history. The bad guys who dress up as walkers? This is the next big saga of comics.

I agree that the treatment of Whisperers, those talkative walkers who seem to have mystical control over the big herds of zombies, is really well done. This is an obvious departure from former showrunner Scott Gimple who played against the Saviors. It feels more organic, better written and less gimmicky. There was no filling episode that wasted time making the audience believe that zombies were evolving. It becomes a disposable suggestion from a frightened Eugene in "Evolution," the group seeking explanations of how they are followed by seemingly intelligent walkers. Instead, we get a powerful benefit in the form of Jesus' stabbed surprise and the immediate revelation of the Whisperers as a deep, cult threat to which the characters now face.

Photo by Gene Page / AMC

What were the weak points?

Bryan: It's so satisfying that they made Goofy euphoric, scared by panic and fear, to float the theory of the talking walker. It's almost as if the show was making fun of watching the comics too much to distance itself from the tactics.

That said, it's not a re-imagined series of episodes. It seems that Season 9 is in full swing during these last episodes and that there have been a lot of problems along the way. The worst thing for me is Rick Grimes' Death Fake-Out ™. It was so cheerful, so disrespectful to its audience, so cheap that I still can not believe that the series has followed this path. And that has only diminished the interest I could have for Rick Grimes' new films. It's sad to say, but the way the script was performed has made Rick the symbol of all the bad trends in the series, as new characters and new conflicts are the way forward. And you? What makes you stand out the most, when you look back?

Notch: I'm still on the fence about handling Rick. I agreed that it was too much to deceive all the time, the efforts and the marketing necessary to make us believe that he was really going to die. At first, I recognized that it was a well executed thing, which recognizes that, at least in a show like this, we can throw a bone to the public (few fans really seemed to want Rick die) and get away with it. and loose with expectations, as long as you reward the public later. Whether it's the trilogy of Rick's films or his return to the series one way or another, it remains to be seen. And although I would love to see Rick make an appearance next season or reveal to other characters that he is still alive, it may be better for the series to advance.

Honestly, what is causing me the most problems this season is the treatment of Lauren Cohan's departure. The show not only made him the person most responsible for Rick's sacrifice on the bridge artificially, but she also wrote it off the show, using the hobby to conveniently conceal the events having led to Maggie's departure. It's unfair. Certainly, I do not know behind the scenes of the CMA that may have prompted Cohan not to shoot more than five episodes this season. Nevertheless, I still hope that we will at least have some clarification on this situation and that Maggie will not disappear after the long feud between Hilltop and Michonne members is exhausted as intrigue.

What do you want to see next?

Notch: My greatest hope for the second half of season 9 is not to waste time and to cause the next big conflict. Honestly, I'm surprised we have a Whisperers revealed so quickly this season, and I'm really excited about how much scriptwriters can benefit from the action and plot of the remaining eight episodes. I've long been a huge critic of The dead who walkThe 16 episodes of the season. They are too long and too busy to not affect the quality of the series.

In the Saviors saga, the 32 episodes devoted to Negan were unsustainable and knowing that the length of the season was traditionally a product of the series' massive ratings made her even less defensible since those odds dropped. We hope that the series will maintain the fast pace it has recently established over the past three episodes. I would also like to see the Whisperers become an official antagonist as soon as possible, especially as their comic book leader is one of the best villains in the series.

On the other hand, and I know it's a contradiction for me, I'd like to see a bit of exploration of what happened in the six years that passed between the bridge explosion when Rick was "dead And where are we now? AMC suggested in social media and forum posts that viewers would discover the mysterious "X" scars of Daryl and Michonne. I think it is an invaluable and creative narrative element that it is necessary to explore to help all these characters. conflicts result in a meaningful resolution, if this must happen before communities unite to fight Whisperers. The way Maggie plays in these flashbacks will also be interesting.

And finally, I want to see more of Negan. His character was ready to be an anti-hero. The moment he ceases to be the boogeyman in the prison cell and begins to become a key player in the main set could be extremely rewarding for his character and for the viewers who have suffered his superficial escapades as than mean.

Photo by Gene Page / AMC

Bryan: I do not know much about comics, so I do not have a specific wish list for narrative arcs. I'm just eager to learn more about the reorganized creative approach Walking Dead take. How does a big bow like the Whisperers play when the series executes these scenarios with such efficiency? What new emotional territory can these characters explore, which they have never been allowed to? What does Negan look like in this context and how does his character change and evolve? (I can not believe I just wrote that, but Yes… I'm excited about Negan too.)

And many hooks were dropped during these last episodes on which I would like to know more: the scars of Daryl and Michonne, what happened to these communities to make them so resistant to collaboration and how the series uses the threat of Whisperers to unify them.

I am also happy to see what happens to Henry and his new romantic interest. The dead who walk once very interested in the impact of the extraordinary on the ordinary machinations of life, it was for me the most convincing aspect of the series. It's been a long time since we've focused in this direction, but if we go back to these basics, we still have a chance to overcome not only the discomfort of this series, but also the feeling of the same old-old that surrounds now the general zombies. Post-apocalypse storytelling has evolved, but stories with themes and characters that can be told are always fresh and engaging. Maybe this new Walking Dead can find them.