Monday 5 November 2018

As it begins, so it ends...Review: #TWD S9:5 WHAT COMES AFTER #TWDFamily #TheWalkingDead

Review: S9:4 The Obliged

Days Gone Bye
some of Rick's most memorable moments
(gif post in 3 parts)



Brilliant, and thank you, Andrew Lincoln, Scott Gimple and Matthew Negrete - one aspect of TWD that keeps me watching is that it is never, ever predictable, and Rick being spirited away in the helicopter - see, he didn't just imagine it! - was inspired.  Same injury, different time... but was Jadis really saving him?  Him being a B, not an A, after all?  We shall see; some good news, later on! 😎 


Great touch, having him fly away to the sound of Space Junk... added a bit of 'quirk' to an episode we thought was going to be a total tissue-soaker.  If only there was still a Glenn to show him the way out this time, eh?

Last time he heard that song...

I did read somewhere about one of The Whisperers wearing Rick's face, in the comics.  Maybe too gruesome for the TV show?  Hope it won't happen....




The near-death dream sequences were fab, particularly the one with Shane, which made me remember what a great actor Jon Bernthal is. Pity he couldn't have stayed in the show, becoming a Negan type... anyway, the dialogue was excellent, as he applauded Rick for finally understanding what the world has become, what has to be done, and reminded him of his 'finest' moments.  Also that Judith is very probably his daughter.  She has his eyes, after all...
 
And Shane saw it all

Here's Rick and Shane's first ever scene, if you want to see it again, complete with burgers :)


As Rick floats nearer death, Hershel appears in the 'no more kids' stuff' place in his barn, and shows him the beauty of the world before him, as he did back then, except that time it was real...


...and Sasha shows him all his friends lying dead, but tells him lots of profound stuff about living to keep your people alive and passing on your strength, and making sacrifices, a bit like the stuff Abraham told her just before he went off to die by Lucille.


And so to the moment when all seemed lost, and the 'family' charged forth onto the metaphor bridge to save him.  Did you think it was real at first, too, or was that just me?  Lump in throat and tears in eyes time.  Then I thought....  hang on.  This is too perfect.  Too corny.  Too...predictable, much though I wanted it to be real, and, if Rick was going to die, for it to be at home, with Michonne...


The whole 'does he destroy the bridge in order to stop the herd heading for Hilltop, or keep it standing as a monument to what he had hoped to build, for Carl' thing was corny too, but in the best possible way.  Sometimes, corny is just what you need, and TWD always gets it spot on.  


Saddest moments ever when when Daryl cried, when Michonne was being restrained by Maggie and Carol, but saddest of all was when Daryl walked away.


 
I assume that Jadis picking him up where she did means that the explosion flung him some way away, because I'm not buying that Michonne, etc, didn't go up to the bridge to see if he was still alive!


Meanwhile, back at Alexandria...  I felt that the Maggie-not-killing-Negan thing was wrapped up a bit too quickly, even though I'm kind of done with this storyline now, and of course he was totally manipulating her.  She's right, though - his imprisonment is a far greater punishment than death, but it just seemed a bit too 'okay, that's sorted, then'.  But given the time jump - which looks to be about 6 years - maybe she'll go off to live with Georgie The Key lady in the interim period now that she's sorted out the Negan-shaped monkey on her back ('cause, of course, you noticed that Michonne gave her 'the key' too, right?!).

 
LOVED how the time jump was done - how, once the helicopter disappeared into the distance, the vegetation grew, the barn collapsed... and the years passed.  Cracking stuff!  Judith was about 3 or 4 and now she's 9.  Nice to see that THE HAT is actually looking less battered than when Carl had it.  Perhaps it is a magic hat.  

 
It's exactly the right time to do this jump - in any TV show (or book), when a major character leaves or dies, just picking up where things left off can get tedious, mostly because of the mourning period.  It has to happen, for realism, but it can't go on as long as it would in real life; endless grief doesn't make for good TV.  Much better just to skip along a bit further.



Anyway, this appears to be what the producers meant, when they said that Season 9 would be a different show ~ the episodes so far were just the remnants of what went before (as opposed to what comes after).  Michonne and Eugene both have a new 'do', and the Walkers are evolving....  I wonder if there is going to be a little Rick walking around, too ~ remember that scene in S9:3 Warning Signs when Richonne talked of such possibilities?  Seems sad, though, that all those we have known and loved will, by next week, be so long ago departed.... but Rick isn't dead.  Hurrah!  

>Spoiler Alert<

You can read more about Rick not being dead HERE; it's good news!

I've also read that Daryl goes off into the wilderness to live alone, distraught after the loss of Rick, to be found by Carol, and that Rosita and Eugene are the first to discover the Whisperers - presumably that bit in the trailer when they were covered in mud.

>End of Spoiler Alert<

I will leave you with some reminders of times past, and the reason why Judith Grimes will kick ass... Daryl named her!








8 comments:

  1. O.M.G!!!!!!!! What an ending. Still processing the emotions and I definitely want to give Daryl a massive hug lol. Loved Judith being all kick-ass and saving the day. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds now.

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    1. It's going to be so weird, it being so long into the future... I've read some things that say it's a decade, but it's not, it's no more than 6 years; Judith is 9. Looking forward to those films about Rick though, aren't you? Or maybe you didn't read the spoilers...!!

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  2. I swear, Terry, it's like we were thinking with one brain while watching this. I had the same reactions! Darryl about did me in. Recorded the show, and have to watch it again to fully process everything, lol.

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    1. Must be something to do with the name, Teri! I had to get my clever cover chap to do me a gif of Daryl walking away, immediately... though he couldn't get it to work very well! I know... I always watch certain bits more than once before I write about it. I didn't get how great the time jump scene was, the first time round.

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  3. I could totally live with this 'ending'. I was watching with teary eyes the whole episode just waiting for the moment that Rick would die but I'm so pleased that that didn't happen. Rick got an 'ending' he deserves and giving his character room to come back. The bridge explosion did remind me of Fear The Walking Dead. I think it was the mid season finale of season 3 where Nick (almost the same name) blows up a bridge as well. Absolutely love your posts and can't wait to find out what happens next!

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    1. Yes, you are indeed right!!! So pleased you like the posts, Anniek ~ and isn't it great that we are not losing Rick altogether? And who knows... maybe one day he will go back home to Alexandria, and be with Judith and Michonne again :)

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  4. I'll get this out of the way first that after 9 years of worrying about Rick I actually shed a tear when his "family" were running to save him & he blew the bridge to save them.Season 9 has been a return to form thank goodness after the Negan story went on way to long & got ridiculous in the end. I feel cheated that Rick hasn't died a hero but miraculously survived his wounds,being blown off a bridge & drowning as well ��.So Rick living allows 3 spinoff movies($$$$) I assume he's flown 100's of miles away so it'll be about his adventures & journey back to his family.

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    1. Ah well, Andrew, all the people who love Rick are pleased he didn't die - and that bit made me cry, too! I think we're all agreed re the Negan story - they should have finished it at the mid-season break of S8, with Carl dying, and then the end, and had the 2nd half about the problems with the new community.

      As your $$$ thing.... I must ask you this: did you think, oh yeah, more $$$ every time AC/DC brought out a new album?!! Ha ha! Those who create something that we love to read/watch/listen to don't only do it for the money. If it was only for that, it woulnd't be worth reading/watching/listening to!! Whether he will return is still open... I hope he does. I read that Daryl will be in one of them, hope that is right!!!

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