With the departure of Andrew Lincoln and Rick Grimes, it’s logical to look backwards, and I will look backwards when I put reviews up of the first five episodes with the hindsight of where this mini-arc wound up. Instead, I’m going to look to the future, as that episode 905 ended up six years in the future. This will be non-specific when it comes to comic spoilers and what is to come. Generally, this will be about what is promising about the next several years of The Walking Dead as a whole, including Fear The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, the announced films, and the comics themselves. At the bottom of these reviews there will be comic stuff though, so spoiler warnings for that.
The Next Story
In my first Walking Dead piece, I talked about how the next story is the best story. It is just so damn good. And I won’t want to reveal anything. Just know the new villains are fresh and creative, the slow burn is terrific, and with three of the central characters of this story in the comics (Rick, Maggie, and Carl) absent for this story, even comics readers are getting an entirely fresh take. And hopefully they get the ultimate ending (some 50 issues after it starts) just right, because it didn’t quite hit on the page.
Walking Dead fans should be excited. And if these first five episodes are any indication, they won’t get it wrong like they did All Out War. I have been looking to this plotline since I reached this point in the comics back in 2015. I was looking beyond No Way Out, the new communities, Negan, and The War, to this story we’re starting right now.
Judith Grimes
How great is it that Judith is now about ten years old? It’s crazy to think that Judith has basically been in the show the entire time, the first two seasons inside Lori Grimes, and she (if I remember correctly) just spoke her first words in the S9 premiere. And when you think about it, this could be the most compelling character on the show. This is the first character who literally knows nothing else but this world. Baby Hershel…well, I guess he won’t be baby Hershel, but Little Tyke Hershel, will have a similar character too though less likely to develop as a character for the next few seasons. Judith has been a physical character on the show now for 7 entire seasons. She was born at the end of episode 304, and in episode 905 we see her now grown up, the age Carl was in S1.
Judith had a significant impact on people despite her general lack of a role on the show. Daryl immediately took to her, giving her the name ‘Little Ass-Kicker’, during a period where Daryl became a true fan favourite. She also played a significant role in humanizing Michonne.
There was the scene at the prison where Michonne was terrified of holding Baby Judith because of her losing Andre, and Michonne letting herself connect with Judith was a key moment for her. A big comic change was Rick and Michonne getting together, because Andrea in the show was already killed off, but when you consider the impact Judith had on her, and the relationship she formed with Carl in Seasons 3 and 4, Michonne was the most logical choice to be with Rick. In general, Judith was a beacon of hope for Rick and Co., being a representation of the future they wanted to cultivate.
I am just excited to see who Judith is and the relationships she forges. And how does she the world compared to people to understand the world ended? Judith is played by Cailey Fleming, who you might remember as Young Rey in Episode 7: The Force Awakens
The Movies
Scott Gimple gave up being showrunner. He was, thankfully, replaced by Angela Kang. And I don’t blame Scott like most people (that’s such an easy response…like the coach being fired at the end of a bad season). Scott was showrunner for seasons 4 and 5, which in my mind, and in many fans' eyes, were the best two seasons of the show. I think it’s unfair to praise those two seasons and then say Gimple is trash because of the last two seasons. Gimple was promoted to Chief Content Officer, meaning he oversees the entire brand (comics aside). He announced following Episode 5 on Talking Dead that Rick would feature in movies. And I think this is great.
Why is it great? First, filming The Walking Dead must be grueling. Long, summer days out in the elements of Georgia, months at a time away from home, and all the conventions and PR work the main cast has to do. The last thing any fan of this show wants is their core cast getting burnt out and wanting to leave. This is a great method to give Andy Lincoln time off to be with his family and relax, while still contributing, without screwing over the main show. Really, it’s quite an extraordinary maneuver that was expertly executed. Rick was written out following a great mini-arc, and the same episode ends with us already in the future, meeting new characters and a grown up Judith. We’re just on to the next great story! And we have something to look forward to, something fresh and different with a character we love, in concise little package. It’s not a new TV series we need invest 16 hours a year on, but a little 2 hour film to anticipate, consume, and hopefully be glad we consumed it.
Now all we need is the announcement of the ‘Here’s Negan’ movie!
The Helicopter Mystery
Tying into the last point, this is something that will linger over the show, and be pretty much untouched, for the next season and a half. We’ll have to wait for that first Rick Grimes movie (in production 2019), which I can see them dropping before Season 10 or during its mid-season.First, why I like the way Rick departed. Helicopters have been linked to Rick since the beginning. A helicopter is one of the first things he sees upon leaving the hospital. Entering Atlanta, he sees the reflection of a helicopter in the skyscrapers, and chasing it leads him into the herd of walkers, which causes him to fall off his horse, crawl into a tank, and then be contacted be Glenn. If he didn’t meet Glenn, he’d not only be probably dead, but if he lived, he probably never would’ve been reunited with his family, and none of these characters would be where they are. It is also shown in the Season 2 finale that that very helicopter reflected in that building is what started the first herd of walkers we see, and the fall of Hershel's Farm.
To see Rick Grimes end his tenure on The Walking Dead (for now) via a helicopter after falling off his horse, is perfectly poetic for his character. On top of that, he’s saved by Jadis, someone who betrayed him, attempted to trade him for supplies, and even shot him point blank. This really ties into his Negan cause, and the idea of forgiveness; not only did he not kill Jadis, but he let her come live with them. A villain whom he gave a second chance gave him a second chance. It not only gives Rick’s staunch defense over his punishment for Negan some justification, but shows promise for Negan to redeem himself in the future.
In general, helicopters have been a persistent element in The Walking Dead, from the wreck that introduces us to The Governor and brings Michonne into Rick’s life, to the helicopter that crashes through the roof in the Season 4 premiere, they’ve always been there. Even before we know about a chopper, we see a helicopter pad in Season 7.
So who are these people in the helicopter? What is the difference between an A and a B? Rick was an A, so was Negan. But she now said Rick was a B. Are the people in the helicopter tied to researchers? Is an A someone bitten, but not dead? Is that why she had weaponized walkers for Rick, Negan, and Gabriel? To infect them right before pick up, to ensure they don’t turn? Does a B simply mean healthy? Does it mean someone to be a slave? Or someone valuable alive?
I’m truly more interested in discovering how The Chopper People linked up with Jadis and the Junkyard. Jadis says they’re far away, so chances are slim they are just scouting so far out in such a costly method as via helicopter. I don’t think them meeting Jadis was quite an accident. I think the Chopper People specifically went to that Junkyard, it just happened to be occupied, and that’s when they struck the deal: people for supplies. As a tangential side note, Heath hasn’t been seen since he was separated from Tara in S7’s ‘Swear’. It’s clear that Jadis and her people abducted Heath and traded him. Why is it clear? Well, in this episode she was driving the same RV Tara and Heath were making their run in, and was gone when Tara returned. Was Heath an A or a B? Will we see him again in the Rick Grimes movie? Is he already dead?
In Season 8, there was a hint to the chopper connection. Right before Simon wasted all of Jadis’s people, he asked Jadis, “What’s with the solar panels? The Helicopter pad? What was this place?” Jadis then replied, sarcastically, “A dump.” We then got Simon’s famous line,
So what was that place? Was there a secret government site hidden inside the junkyard? Is that what The Chopper People went to raid for supplies and met up with Jadis and her people? That’s what I think. And I hope Jadis will reveal that in the movie. But these people could be anyone. They could be the last remnants of the military. They could mad scientists. They could be the last remnants of the US Government. They could just be people with access to some facilities. Are they good or bad, or a mix of the two? What are their motives? What will they bring to The Walking Dead?
I do hope that this plot has nothing to do with a cure, and by that I don’t mean these people trying to find a cure. What I don’t want is for them to find a cure. It makes sense there could still be some scientists or remnants of the government or CDC, like Jenner in Season 1, attempting to find a cure. That is another little touch that would tie back to the first season. If fact, if they are going that route, Rick’s connection to Jenner and his being the CDC in Atlanta could be what allows him to become a part of the group, if he would otherwise serve some lower purpose.
Fear The Walking Dead – Season Five
The first half of Fear S4 was very good. The episode ‘Laura’ is one of my favourite episodes from either series. There was some good zombie action. A good story. The new characters were interesting. Even the villains were a unique take on The Saviors. It had shocking moments and great character moments. But then the second half came, and while I didn’t outright hate it, I got some Season 2 vibes from it. I think the main faults with the back half of S4 came down to having all these new characters, not only trying to form relationships with the old Fear characters, but the new ones as well. It had a couple good episodes, some pretty good moments, but it was disjointed and aimless. However, it ended with a set up to Season 5 that they obviously wanted to get to…it was just a matter of filling the time until they got there.
I don’t know what to expect from Season 5 of Fear, but with how good Season 3 and 4a were, I have faith the show can rebound. I think the writers were just trying to find their footing in the last 8 episodes, and they slipped quite a bit. The show has a fresh cast, a fresh location, and a goal. Let’s see what they do with it.
The New Aesthetics
One of the best aspects of The New Beginning story in the comics is the fresh look to the world, the communities, and the characters. And we are seeing that with the show. Carol now has long hair. Judith and Henry are grown up. Aaron has a prosthetic arm like Rick in the comics, though different. Michonne has a different look. Alexandria has a windmill. They have horse-drawn wagons. The communities are truly working together as one. They’ve established their region. They’ve developed systems for migrating herds. They’ve kept their zone relatively free of the dead, so they can feel safe outside their walls. But are they safe outside their border?
The show really needs this freshness, and the story hits its planned reset at the perfect time for it. I do hope that they take the key aspect of the comics, The Fair, and do it. The first arc of this story is centered on a fair that takes place outside the walls, where all the communities come together, to celebrate living and all they’ve accomplished. We saw in Season 7 where Michonne and Rick stumbled upon some fairgrounds, and I hope that was foreshadowing that they are doing it. The fair was mentioned in the ‘flashforward’ in Season 8, and if they do it, as a means to honour The Grimes Family, then it would be fitting, and have a deeper meaning for the core cast. And I can’t see how they could do the story from the comics without it.
Lastly, I think we are going to see a lot more atmosphere out of this show. More creepiness and tension, as these next villains deserve that sort of treatment. There have been touches of horror along the way, but it’s been mostly absent since Season 5 and 6.
The Comics
COMICS SPOILERS (Obviously). I wouldn’t read anything on my TWD reviews in the comics section unless you don’t care to read the comics, and don’t mind the next few seasons of the show (somewhat) spoiled.
Issue #185 of The Walking Dead comics drops today. This year has been the 15 year anniversary of the comic. For the past about 10 issues, we’ve been mostly journeying to this new community with over 50,000 people called The Commonwealth in Ohio, as well as learning about them. They have a class-system oriented society, based on what you did before the world ended. Michonne is automatically placed into a position of authority i.e. the upper class, because she used to be a lawyer, and we recently saw her trying her first case. This community also has a stadium and football. But like all communities in the world of The Walking Dead, something is amiss. Surely there must be something wrong beneath the surface, right?
There have been glimpses of darkness, but not necessarily anything in terms of brutal dictatorship, subjugation, or some small group of people controlling the masses. It does seem genuine, and even characters who seem sinister are almost proven to not be sinister. It seems if anything the natural tension exists where ‘have and have-nots’ live and work with each other. It seems as if even those in power are good people who might even understand they might be doing things wrong. We see in the past few issues that Michonne and her group arrived as a riot breaks out, and Rick finally arrives with The Governor (there was a great scene involving that name in an earlier issue) Pamela Milton to see the riot.
Rick and Pamela are already at odds, and a conflict was planted, but I don’t think that’s the direction their going. Rick’s leadership philosophy is what is essentially a socialist society, where everyone just does their part for the community, where as Milton thinks the old world ways are better, where you have those who delegate, and those who are delegated too. Rick too values the authority of leadership, but everyone in his community is an equal contributor in whatever manner, as opposed to the white/blue collar dichotomy in The Commonwealth. After the riot, Rick is seen down on the streets, helping the blue collars cleaning up, while people sitting on some outdoor patio above look down on them; Pamela bites her lip and helps out with Rick, knowing it degrades her, but I think she also sees the Public Relations value in the image of her helping. I think the plot will be a slower-burn here, like The Whisperer arc was. And I think it’s going to be more about Rick and his ways poisoning this society, for better or for worse.
The cover for issue 186 sets up a big event. We see a gloved hand holding a gun, with Pamela Milton hiding behind Rick who is wide-eyed, and pleading for the shooter not to do it. There was a scene at the end of 184 where Dwight is basically telling Rick that this place is bad because of the way it treats the lower class people (I think it reminds him of Negan, just not as barbaric), and without coming out and saying it, expressed that they should killed Pamela and everyone in charge and take over, for the benefit of the many in the community. Rick is vehemently against it. I think Dwight is going to take matters into his own hands, and Rick will be between Dwight and Pamela. Who knows how it will turn out. Either Pamela and Rick bond over Rick stopping/killing Dwight and they work together, or Pamela does die and they deal with that aftermath, or Dwight shoots Rick to get to Pamela. I think all three directions, and maybe directions I haven’t thought of, bode well for the upcoming storyline.
But with Eugene working on a train system between Ohio and Virginia, and the world being as big as it is, there are a lot of way this series can take in 2019 as it builds its up to issue #200, and if Kirkman is going to do something as huge as Negan’s debut in this issue, then it should be something special. I wasn’t reading the comics back then, so I’ll be glad to be apart of it.
Today’s issue, #185, appears to deal with Carl and The Hilltop, which have been mostly absent since the end of The Whisperer war. It will be nice to catch up with them, but there is something about this cover that makes it seem like not everything is alright on the homestead, like something is brewing.