Almost a year ago I reviewed the first part of the bumper length final season of The Walking Dead. That season has only recently ended, with the twenty four episodes zooming through events. My first review was about the first eight episodes, since then there were two further parts. I will try not to speak too much of that first part as I would just be going over old ground.
Part one was mainly concerned with Maggie and her suicide mission into the heart of the new antagonistic force, The Reapers. This storyline culminates with the first episode of part two, No Other Way, with the show heading into the endgame storyline that heavily revolves around the Commonwealth. What I really liked about that storyline was the use of in medias res (starting the story in the middle and then going back to show how events came to be). That idea is something that is used again in the second part. This time we see Daryl shockingly now a soldier in the commonwealth army outside the gates of Hilltop demanding Maggie let him and his soldiers in. This middle part mainly takes place in the Commonwealth where it becomes clear that the paradise it initially appeared to be isn't so true. The settlement may number in the thousands, but the society there is trying to ape the class structure that was prevalent prior to the apocalypse. The rich live lives of luxury, while the rest have to work hard to serve them, and the poorest are treated as expendable commodities whose lives do not matter. Michael Mercer (Michael James Shaw), the leader of the Commonwealth army became a character I really liked, someone who is aware of the rampant corruption of his leaders, but doesn't want to rock the boat and potentially put the civilians in danger. Lance Hornsby on the other hand is king of the corruption. The character is basically Saul Goodman (from Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), he cares only about himself. It isn't too much a spoiler to say that the Commonwealth has some deep seated issues with it. It is a fitting antagonist to end the show on as it is the biggest that our band of survivors have yet had to deal with. This is evil with a smiling face, on the surface all is pure and innocent, yet hidden behind is deep corruption.
The Commonwealth is where the majority of the second two parts of season eleven take place and features a huge number of characters. The show has always struggled with a large cast and it has been many, many seasons since I knew the names of the many main characters. Here that issue is compounded, some certainly make a mark, such as Governor Pamela and Mercer, others join the ranks of the nameless. The show has always struggled to make deaths feel meaningful, often humorous that characters appear only to instantly be killed off, that is reflected all throughout the season, with the hapless Commonwealth guards repeatedly getting killed by zombies in the most stupid of ways, though no less entertaining. Being the final season there are some more prominent deaths, though far less than I expected there to be. It didn't help that a few of those killed off where characters who had been in the show for a few seasons, but whose names I never did learn. There are many storylines going on, but some really work well. As annoying as I find Maggie for instance, it was fascinating all the scenes she shares with Negan, he was one of the highlights of the show as a whole. I never thought I would come to love a character who had such an evil past, its testament to the amazing acting talents of Jeffrey Dean Morgan that this character path felt so believable.
Despite this final seasons end there were parts that felt rushed. The biggest for me was the notion that some of the undead have started evolving into more intelligent versions, being able to use simple tools and climb obstacles. This got introduced out of nowhere, explained away by a character saying he had heard about these. As a viewer I certainly hadn't, and this idea unlike the undead, never really evolved into anything as interesting as it sounded like it could be.
Due to the long length of this season I am going to gloss over large parts of it, so apologies if this doesn't seem like the most cohesive review. For me, having watched this show from the very beginning, this final season was important. Sure, the world is going to continue, with a number of side projects set up, but the show holds an important part in my life. I found my best friend ten years ago, and zombies, in particular The Walking Dead, was one of the things that brought us together. I've watched nearly every single episode of this with her, so it was bittersweet saying goodbye. People say the show ran far too long, I understand that, so I hoped for a good finish. Penultimate episode Family sets things up for a blistering finale, and I was not too disappointed. Rest in Peace included everything that made this show great, including a ridiculous amount of undead, plenty of action, meaningful character deaths and moments for the cast to shine. Some of the zombie kills in this final episode are brutal, with brain being exposed on many an occasion, the makeup on the undead has rarely looked as good. Other effects were not so good, including a set-piece that involved a whole bunch of CG undead which barely looked adequate, but can be excused by being part of a very cool sequence. It almost works as a finale, another timeskip (this makes around the fifth or sixth one surely?) brings things to a lovely end, aside from a whole bunch of scenes setting up the various spin-offs. I had hoped against hope that the characters of Michonne and Rick would be included, without going into any detail, they do get an inclusion, though not in the way I had personally hoped for.
The Walking Dead is my favourite TV show of all time, and a lot of that does go to it being one of the reasons I found my best friend. It will always hold a special place in my heart of the countless hours me and her have spent together living through this story. I think it's about time to give Fear the Walking Dead another chance, me and my friend both fell off it midway through the second season. I am also excited to see the spin-off projects, especially the mini-series about Rick and Michonne. Hopefully I will at some point get to see Tales from The Walking Dead, a show that has yet to air in the UK. Many people fell off the core show over the years, for me, I had a hell of a good time with this, however many frustrating decisions were made over the years (Carl and Beth in particular are characters who got treated very badly). This final season may not be perfect, but it was a fantastic watch for me.
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