It should come to no one’s surprise that The Walking Dead kicked off its Season 9 Mid-Season with an extremely strong episode.
AMC’s long-running tentpole franchise has made it a habit of starting seasons/mid-seasons off on the right foot. This is particularly the case when introducing a new “Big Bad” into the series. Remember when we first met The Governor? Remember when Negan made his infamous decision? Iconic episodes in the long-running series.
However, longtime fans and critics of the series will know that it can only go downhill from here. The series has failed to sustain in quality for more seasons than we can remember. We’re mere weeks from inconsequential side characters getting too much screen time with no real payoff. We’re nearing endless trudging through the sweaty emotional landscape of post-apocalyptic America. Characters we have little emotional investment in will killed off in a way where should care, but we don’t. And it looks like we found our new Carl, who’ll undoubtedly do something stupid to prove himself to the community and his new “love” Lydia — who will obviously kill him at any moment.
Wow, that was super negative, and depressing right? Well, I have years of reviewing this show to back up my thesis.
However, let’s look at the episode at hand, ‘Adaptation’ and see what this show did right — because there was a lot of it.
The best thing this episode did was establish the new leading characters of this season (and for the series going forward) — Daryl (Norman Reedus), Michonne (Danai Gurrira), and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). This is the first premiere we’re without Rick and Maggie (well since Season 2 for Maggie) — and they were not missed. This triumvirate truly owned the screen delivering intense, and charismatic performances. For Gurrira and Reedus this is the first time in a while they’ve had something to do outside of kill things and look bewildered because of Rick. Both reminded audiences just how good could they can be when given the ball.
It should be of no surprise that Morgan killed it with his scenes. It’s been a while since he’s been able to flex much of his dramatic muscle (outside of one powerful speech earlier this season). His near silent trek on his own on the outside was just great drama. JDM was able to successfully convey the idea of being institutionalized — not being able to make it out on the outside world because there’s literally nothing for him — and resigning himself to going back to prison. It’s some of the smarter writing this show has done for sure.
The Whisperers have been a fantastic addition to the series, and it was the right move to reintroduce them in the same setting we met them at the end of the last half-season. They make them a legit, bad ass threat with a unique backstory. This isn’t another “I’m a dude running my own society, play by my rules and you’ll be fine. Break ’em and you’ll be dead” despot. This is something new, fierce and unpredictable. It adds a sense of danger back into a series that so desperately needs it.
So for the moment, I’ll take solace in the fact this was a really good episode of The Walking Dead. I know the bad times are coming again. I know decisions about this show will once again be dictated by a major cast member leaving. I know this. I know I’ll be hating this show again in two weeks. But, for now this episode was really and good, and I’ll take that.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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