The Walking Dead in the Media

[OoohMaggie]

 

[OoohMaggie]

The epic end of The Walking Dead continues in Part 2 of The Final Season, returning February 13 on AMC+ and February 20 on AMC. Below is a spoiler-free review of Season 11B episodes "No Other Way" and "New Haunts" (airing February 27).

After eleven years and as many seasons surviving the undead apocalypse, The Walking Dead's dictum of "fight the dead, fear the living" is called into question by Daryl (Norman Reedus) in a standoff with another enemy group. "We're doing this all wrong," says Daryl in the AMC zombie drama's February 20 return. "We survived everything for what? Keep fighting and killing each other?"  

While still a final third part away from the homestretch (an eight-episode Part 3 airs later in 2022), the endgame of The Walking Dead is not survival, but humanity rebuilding civilization. Enter the Commonwealth.  

Picking up where October's Part 1 finale "For Blood" left off, Part 2 premiere "No Other Way" is less the beginning of Season 11B and more the end of Season 11A. The Walking Dead went on winter hiatus with cliffhangers at Alexandria (weathering a violent storm) and Meridian (the town turned warzone by the Reapers), leaving the resolution for this twisty, action-packed premiere. 

It's not until the final moments of 1109 that The Walking Dead twists into a fresh — and daringly different — direction. 
 

The episode from veteran series writer Corey Reed ("A Certain Doom") and first-time TWD director Jon Amiel (American Gods, AMC's Halt and Catch Fire) seldom slows down, alternating between Alexandria's blood-splattering walker invasion set-piece and Maggie's (Lauren Cohan) warpath in her turf war with the Reapers. ("They come at night, and by the time you see them, you're already dead," Maggie warned of the ultimately underwhelming boogeyman villains.)  

After spending a third of these final 24 episodes on the road to Meridian, Season 11A's main storylines converge when Eugene (Josh McDermitt) returns with a delegation from the Commonwealth. Plot threads at the forefront of 11A — the tense truce between Maggie and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the antagonistic relationship of Daryl's family and Leah's (Lynn Collins), the mission to take back Meridian from the Reapers and save Alexandria — move to the background as the Commonwealth takes over the "A" story.  

Finally.

It's a revitalizing and much-needed change of pace (and scenery). When Commonwealth envoy Deputy Governor Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) arrives at Alexandria, it's to offer the survivors a choice: stay and rebuild or join the 50,000 survivors living in Ohio's Commonwealth, an advanced community led by Governor Pamela Milton (The Boys and The Blacklist's Laila Robins).  

The status quo shifts as some Alexandrians assimilate into the Commonwealth, some stay behind, and others end up elsewhere. By the end of "No Other Way," there's been a major shakeup, a time skip, and friction between former allies now on opposing sides. Though not as lengthy as the 18-month and six-year time jumps of Season 9, a leap forward does leave burning questions and gaps to be filled in as the season progresses. 

The season shifts to a mystery-thriller vibe as the new residents realize the Commonwealth is not as idyllic as it seems. The Walking Dead explores themes of classism, inequality, and systemic oppression through a post-apocalyptic lens as a movement to resist the Commonwealth threatens to upend the New World Order — and Governor Milton's tightly-controlled system of bringing order to the chaos.  

"New Haunts," also directed by Amiel and penned by newcomer Magali Lozano, is reminiscent of Season 5B, which saw Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of road-weary survivors struggle to adjust to assimilate into Alexandria. Returning showrunner Angela Kang (Seasons 9 and 10) again refreshes The Walking Dead with settings and situations that feel like they don't belong on The Walking Dead — like a luxurious Halloween masquerade ball — and it's the energizing jolt a long-running show needs, even this close to the end. Because we've never seen a fully-functioning civilization, it's an adjustment for the audience as much as it is for our characters.   

After an explosive start to the season in "No Other Way," the move to the Commonwealth in "New Haunts" gives the show a fresh start and a fresher feel. As the Rick-less television series adapts a comic book story that hinged on Rick Grimes, even comic book readers won't know what to expect from this provoking, and unpredictable, penultimate chapter.  

The Final Season is The Walking Dead like you've never seen it before. Even at the beginning of the end, The Walking Dead isn't dying — it's living again.

 

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-final-season-11b-spoiler-free-review-no-other-way-new-haunts/

 

 

Edited February 11, 2022 by OoohMaggie

[Mr. Sparkle]

27 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

Maggie warned of the ultimately underwhelming boogeyman villains.

SO UNDERWHELMING!! 

[Nashville]

Um - how many years has this “Final Season” been running for now?  I ask solely for information.

[Mr. Sparkle]

It's 3 parts of 8 episodes each. 1st one last fall, 2nd starts next week, 3rd is presumably in late Summer/Fall. 

It just feels like forever. 

[OoohMaggie]

On 2/11/2022 at 11:49 AM, OoohMaggie said:

“The Walking Dead explores themes of classism, inequality, and systemic oppression through a post-apocalyptic lens”

Dear God after 11 years give me a break,  all we want is excitement, violence, blood, all the people we don’t like getting eaten and a happy ending, how hard can it be 🤔😖

On 2/11/2022 at 12:16 PM, Superclam said:

SO UNDERWHELMING!! 

The guy who blew himself up promised much, yet alas……..

[OoohMaggie]

I swore i’d never let myself get fleeced by AMC+, mocked those who fell for such a blatant con, yet my resistance is crumbling faster than the walls of Hilltop 😭😭😭😭

[Mr. Sparkle]

On 2/12/2022 at 11:31 AM, OoohMaggie said:

I swore i’d never let myself get fleeced by AMC+, mocked those who fell for such a blatant con, yet my resistance is crumbling faster than the walls of Hilltop 😭😭😭😭

I bought it when they had a sale in December, $25 for the year. I don't regret it because it was so cheap. Other than the early WD stuff, there really isn't much content that I want to see. None of the other streaming services have any kind of sale or promotion, which indicates to me that AMC+ is desperate for subscribers. 

[OoohMaggie]

50 minutes ago, Superclam said:

which indicates to me that AMC+ is desperate for subscribers. 

Maybe they could make a few quid by letting us in the UK sign up,  which I’ve just discovered we can’t, there’s me thinking ‘I’ was in control 😂🤣. I’ve got to subscribe to Disney+ If I wish to watch the show and I’m not even sure if that includes the + element. I thought it was being shown tonight ‘13th’ for the + people, how were they reviewing and posting clips ten hours ago? 🙄

Edited February 13, 2022 by OoohMaggie

[OoohMaggie]

I would have paid for + a long while back but, ahem, I had other options open to me sadly missing at the moment 😣

[Mr. Sparkle]

21 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

Maybe they could make a few quid by letting us in the UK sign up,  which I’ve just discovered we can’t, there’s me thinking ‘I’ was in control 😂🤣. I’ve got to subscribe to Disney+ If I wish to watch the show and I’m not even sure if that includes the + element. I thought it was being shown tonight ‘13th’ for the + people, how were they reviewing and posting clips ten hours ago? 🙄

I will say that Disney+ is worth it - lots of new content that you can't see anywhere else, plus a lot of other movies and shows. So is HBO Max. AMC+ is basically just for seeing TWD a week early. 

[Ms Lark]

10 hours ago, Superclam said:

I bought it when they had a sale in December, $25 for the year. I don't regret it because it was so cheap. Other than the early WD stuff, there really isn't much content that I want to see. None of the other streaming services have any kind of sale or promotion, which indicates to me that AMC+ is desperate for subscribers. 

I went for that deal, too. TWD one week early and no commercials is worth that price. Plus, I get to rewatch all of Orphan Black and Rectify without commercials. Given the lack of content, though, I doubt I'll renew in a year.

[tv echo]

Jeffrey Dean Morgan says it 'was probably a bad decision' to kill off Glenn on 'The Walking Dead'
Kirsten Acuna   Feb 11, 2022
https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-jeffrey-dean-morgan-negan-glenn-death-2022-2 

Quote

"I wouldn't have killed Glenn," Morgan said when Insider asked if there was anything that he wished would've played out differently with his character, Negan, on AMC's long-running apocalyptic drama.

"Yeah. That was probably a bad decision," Morgan added with a half-smile, referring to the brutal killing of fan-favorite Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) at his character's hands.
*  *  *
Morgan saw Negan as a new challenge.

"Is there any heart in Negan?" Morgan said at the time. "I look at that as a challenge as an actor and that's the kind of thing that I embrace and really look forward to."
*  *  *
Negan didn't simply hit Glenn. He wailed on him, bashing his head in relentlessly — almost gleefully — with the bat in front of Rick and the group of survivors that fans had followed for years. 
*  *  *
When Insider told Morgan that it probably wasn't Glenn's death that so much bothered viewers as opposed to the brutality of it, he pointed to the director of the episode, Greg Nicotero, who's also "TWD's" executive producer.

"Yeah, I didn't film it. You talk to Nicotero about that," Morgan said.
*  *  *
Thinking about it a bit more, Morgan said, "I think that we have to kind of go with what we are given and [what] we all have — not that I haven't fought with writers over what the hell I have to do, but, you know — in the end, it is what it is."

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

The 100 best TV romances of all time
By EW Staff   February 14, 2022
https://ew.com/tv/100-best-tv-romances-of-all-time/ 

Quote

67. Glenn and Maggie

The Walking Dead

Surviving a zombie apocalypse is damn near impossible, as The Walking Dead proved over and over (and over) again to new levels of devastating heartbreak each time. But to find love amid the violence and gore and decimated population where it seemed no one is trustworthy, let alone available for romance? That should have never happened. And yet Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) defied all odds and went from virtual strangers to obligatory allies to, eventually, husband and wife on AMC's long-running drama … until the most-hated villain of all time ripped them apart in one of the most gruesome death scenes to ever air on TV. Glenn's final words to Maggie as his head was bashed in by a barbed-wire-covered baseball bat (no, we will never forget that image, so neither can you!) were, "I will find you." Great, we're sobbing again. "His final wishes are, that he would go so far to say even in his broken state, 'I will find you.' That's heavy," Yeun told EW in 2016. "I think he means a lot of things. Part of it is that he's just had his brain knocked in and is glitching. And maybe he's going back to a time when he was looking for Maggie when they were separated. Maybe he's trying to leave a lasting legacy of what it is to be Glenn in that moment and to be selfless and say, 'Don't worry, I will always be here,' or 'There's nothing that can separate us,' and that could definitely be it. But I think the beauty of this particular situation is the fact that it's so layered, and you can draw whatever you want out of those words." Glenn and Maggie deserved so much better and no, we will never get over their tragic ending. —S.B.

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by tv echo

[OoohMaggie]

 

 

Has she got Greyscale 😧

Edited February 18, 2022 by OoohMaggie

[OoohMaggie]

 

[Emma Snyder]

On 2/11/2022 at 11:33 AM, Superclam said:

It's 3 parts of 8 episodes each. 1st one last fall, 2nd starts next week, 3rd is presumably in late Summer/Fall. 

It just feels like forever. 

If I read the question correctly,I think it had to do with how much time went by in the episodes...as in how long were the time jumps. I'm interested to know that as well.

[Mr. Sparkle]

15 minutes ago, Emma Snyder said:

If I read the question correctly,I think it had to do with how much time went by in the episodes...as in how long were the time jumps. I'm interested to know that as well.

This is the more interesting question, but I think @Nashville was making fun of how long they've been ending this. Which one was it, Nashy? 

[Emma Snyder]

10 minutes ago, Superclam said:

This is the more interesting question, but I think @Nashville was making fun of how long they've been ending this. Which one was it, Nashy? 

I hear you about how it feels, though. It feels like...as long as Maggie's pregnancy 😂

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

This is the more interesting question, but I think @Nashville was making fun of how long they've been ending this. Which one was it, Nashy? 

Realtime; seems like this “final season” has already been running for a couple of years, and still no definitive end in sight.  “Part 2 of 3” my ass.  😜

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 minutes ago, Nashville said:

 “Part 2 of 3” my ass.  😜

If there are 3 parts to your ass, you should probably see a doctor, friend. 

[Nashville]

35 minutes ago, Superclam said:

If there are 3 parts to your ass, you should probably see a doctor, friend. 

Parts 1 and 2 are my ass - and do you really want details about Part 3, my friend?  😆

[Mr. Sparkle]

[ShadowHunter]

I use to love this show and planned Sunday night around it. Starting with the Glenn fakeout death I thought it started to dip. I also had other issues with the show like it felt like it was starting to drag on. Still it's ending and I figured I would watch the last few episodes. What do I found out these aren't the last episodes the show still won't end till later this year. Really? I'm laughing 🤣 so hard right now. Even the end they had to drag it out. 

[OoohMaggie]

I just knew it had a happy ending 🥳

Edited February 24, 2022 by OoohMaggie

[OoohMaggie]

22 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

I thought it started to dip. I also had other issues with the show like it felt like it was starting to drag on.

I felt like that after eighteen months on Hershel’s farm, although the view was nice 😛

[OoohMaggie]

Edited March 2, 2022 by OoohMaggie

[OoohMaggie]

[maystone]

That's a hell of a juxtaposition with those two pictures there.

As the bard said: What a long strange trip it's been.

[Nashville]

6 hours ago, maystone said:

That's a hell of a juxtaposition with those two pictures there.

As the bard said: What a long strange trip it's been.

WTF is that first picture?

[maystone]

12 hours ago, Nashville said:

WTF is that first picture?

That's the cast screwing around in between takes, S11 2/3. Far left is, I believe, one of the two fake Stephanies (I wish I were joking); pink suit is Lance, super ambitious, sneaky Commonwealth bureaucrat; far right is Princess, who is my absolute favorite addition to the cast as part of CBD: love both the character and the actor.

I haven't read the graphic novel past the point when the prison fell, so I have no idea where - or if - this falls on the GN timeline. I suppose it makes sense for CBD to join up: adapt or die, right. It's just such a jarring change from our plucky but destructive OG.

[OoohMaggie]

12 hours ago, Nashville said:

WTF is that first picture?

The result of going for the ‘bargain’  LSD  🤪

[Nashville]

12 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

The result of going for the ‘bargain’  LSD  🤪

Is there another kind?  😈

[Ms Lark]

Oh hells no! Maggie + Negan in NYC spinoff greenlit:

https://www.tvinsider.com/1035123/the-walking-dead-spinoff-isle-of-the-dead-amc/

Kill me now.

[KeithJ]

1 hour ago, Ms Lark said:

Oh hells no! Maggie + Negan in NYC spinoff greenlit:

https://www.tvinsider.com/1035123/the-walking-dead-spinoff-isle-of-the-dead-amc/

Kill me now.

Spoiler

This whole show is pretty much a spoiler for TWD.  Maggie currently hates Negan and Negan left because he's afraid she's going to kill him.  Obviously now they will make up at some point and begin to trust each other.

 

[OoohMaggie]

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

Is there another kind?  😈

Not that I’ve ever been able to remember 🤕

 

Now I know what winning the lottery then being told you’ve a week left to live feels like 🥳😱

I’ve got strange visions of Escape From New York meets The Warriors filling my head, it’s not pretty, Negan dressed as a Baseball Furie…...popsicle anyone ⚾️

Edited March 7, 2022 by OoohMaggie

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Oh hells no! Maggie + Negan in NYC spinoff greenlit:

https://www.tvinsider.com/1035123/the-walking-dead-spinoff-isle-of-the-dead-amc/

Kill me now.

I won't even type the expletives I was thinking when I read this. 

Is Lauren Cohan gonna fake a New York accent in this one? 

[nodorothyparker]

I just read the Isle of the Dead spinoff news too.

What on earth will be the premise of that? Maggie and Negan for some reason abandon everything familiar to tool around bombed out NYC  for reasons with Maggie threatening to kill him every episode and Negan alternately trying to goad her into it/talk her out of it? They've gotten a good bit of mileage out of their history, but a little of that goes a long way.

[OoohMaggie]

48 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Is Lauren Cohan gonna fake a New York accent in this one? 

You know it’s coming 😂  Noo Yoik Noo Yoik 🗽

[Crashcourse]

I predict Hate Sex between these two.  Don't care and not gonna watch.

[Mr. Sparkle]

I will say that "Isle of the Dead" is a better name than "Tales of the Walking Dead" which isn't even trying. 

[Ms Lark]

Kill me now (again) and let me come back as a walker so I can bite both of 'em. The more I think about this, the worse it gets. I guess Maggie will leave Little Herschel with Jerry since he's really good with kids. They all leave their kids behind, but not to run off with their mortal enemy. **sigh** Worst idea for a TWD spin-off EVER!

Edited March 8, 2022 by Ms Lark

[Starchild]

3 hours ago, Superclam said:

I will say that "Isle of the Dead" is a better name than "Tales of the Walking Dead" which isn't even trying. 

Hey now, it's at least as good as "Fear the Walking Dead"

[Nashville]

14 hours ago, Superclam said:

I will say that "Isle of the Dead" is a better name than "Tales of the Walking Dead" which isn't even trying. 

 

11 hours ago, Starchild said:

Hey now, it's at least as good as "Fear the Walking Dead"

Could always go Rule 34 on it: “Fuck the Walking Dead”.  
Reckon that’un would have to be on a premium cable channel, though….

[Mr. Sparkle]

17 minutes ago, Nashville said:

 

Could always go Rule 34 on it: “Fuck the Walking Dead”.  
Reckon that’un would have to be on a premium cable channel, though….

I am NOT google-ing that at work! 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Three new shows coming, but what happened to the Rick movies that are totally, definitely going to happen? 

[OoohMaggie]

They’re going to have to reanimate Alfred Hitchcock to create a credible enough storyline as to why those two are together in NYC  😩

 

46 minutes ago, Superclam said:

but what happened to the Rick movies that are totally, definitely going to happen? 

Ssssshhhhhhhh 🤫🤫

[Ms Lark]

9 hours ago, Nashville said:

Could always go Rule 34 on it: “Fuck the Walking Dead”.  
Reckon that’un would have to be on a premium cable channel, though….

"Negan Can F**k Himself" They can switch back and forth between reality and fantasy... Annie Murphy can play Lucille, in both forms.

[OoohMaggie]

[Nashville]

Soooo… “Maggie Does Manhattan”?

(Hey, somebody had to say it)

Let’s think about the possibilities post-ZA Manhattan Island offers…

• 72% built (concreted over), leaving 28% at most for any possibility of sustenance hunting and/or cultivation of crops.
• Pre-ZA population of approximately 1.632 million - or, in terms of population density, approx. 72,000 people/sq. mile.  But hey, maybe half of them got out of town when the shit started going down.
• Approx. 500,000 buildings, of which about 400 are high-rises (40+ stories).  Talk about your box lunches - in reverse.

…yep - sounds like post-ZA motherfucking paradise.  
Don’t know why it hasn’t been overrun with survivors already.  
No, really.
Book your tickets NOW!!!