The World Keeps Spinning ~ Review: #TWD S9:06 WHO ARE YOU NOW? #TWDFamily #TheWalkingDead

Review: S9:5 What Comes After
Days Gone Bye Part 1
Days Gone Bye Part 2
Days Gone Bye Part 3

'The sun keeps rising, the days keep passing, the world keeps spinning...'

What a great season this has been so far - the too-drawn-out-ness of the Negan war in S8A is a thing of the past, and Life After Rick was never going to be an easy task to execute, but it's been carried off masterfully.

So delighted that I was right about the existence of a Rick Grimes Junior ~ I've just read that he's to be called R.J. 😀

Well done, Eddie Guzelian and Larry Teng; a gripping and promising start to the next phase, I thought, and a good 'establishing' episode, so we know where everyone is, where their heads are at, etc - aside from the Hilltop.  Who is the new leader there, that Michonne is taking Magna's group to meet?  Enid? Cyndie? Tara? Diane?  My money's on Cyndie.

I loved the pre-titles bit, with its life-in-a-snapshot of the three we care about most: Michonne, Carol and Daryl.  Positive Michonne, the optimist with her head screwed on, still mourning Rick so much (that shot of the bridge! 😢), and building for her people, as Rick did for Carl and Judith...  

...Daryl the emotional pessimist, off his own because his wounds won't heal, and Carol the realist, happy at last, but doing what she has to do to keep those she loves safe, up to and including burning Saviors alive. 🔥 Go Carol!  Not the first time she's done this, of course... remember 'meet us on the kill floor' in S6:13 The Same Boat?

So sad not to see Andrew Lincoln in the titles.  But Judith can carry around the  figurine not unlike those Dwight used to make, and Michonne can wear his clothes.  When she put his shirt on....sniff, sniff.
 
As for the newcomers... not sure yet, but then it's always weird when you get a group of new characters; they take a while to 'bed in', like Abraham's group did at first.  I liked Luke straight away (which means he's probably not long for this world), not sure if I'm going to loathe Magna, or if she will be a fab Sasha/Rosita/Michonne type.  Either way, it was probably not a great idea to say 'screw you' to Michonne.  I found it odd that some, like Aaron, were still so soft, after all they have been through; that they'd welcome them in at face value, and without a long trial period.

I smiled to see Alexandria finally starting to look like Carl's dream, and a nice touch was how, even more than before, in the new world, your 'family' has become those you choose: Gracie with her 'dad' Aaron, Judith calling Michonne 'Mum'...

...and Carol and Ezekiel the parents of the ever-trucculent Henry, who has still not learned that hitting grown-up men with a big stick tends to end up with you on your back and a whole bunch of shit going down.  Just leave it to Mom, youngster.  Incidentally, he is played by Matt Lintz, brother of Madison (Sophia) and Macsen (young Henry).

Some have grown harder, like Michonne, some softer, like Rosita (an unexpected but rather 'aahhh' match with Gabriel, that might take me a while to get my head round!), some a hell of a lot more chipper than one would expect (Negan), and some more capable: Eugene...

....and wasn't the first scene of the Whisperers at the end terrifying??  😱😱😱
'Don't let them get away' 😱😱😱 I almost wished I didn't know they were coming, so it would have been even more scary.  Those voices were more gut-wrenchingly frightening that Negan's whistle ever was, and that was bad enough.  Such a well done scene, and a brilliant cliffhanger. 

As for Daryl.... looking forward to hearing his recent backstory next week, I hope - bet that's going to cause a few tears.  And let's hope the waistcoat is still kept safe under the green poncho/tent thing - as Michael Cudlitz is directing, let's hope he will be kind to his old chums!

And finally... a bit of girly superficiality about hairstyles new, improved and unlikely:

• Michonne - love it.  Much better in real life than in the pictures.
• Carol - in the pictures I thought it made her look older, but, again, much better in real life.  I'm with Jed Savior on this one.
• Jerry - takes years and several pounds off him!
• Eugene - an effective and stylish progression from the Tennessee top hat, I think 😂 😂
• Laura Savior - I still want to know how she is getting it so expertly highlighted - and it's even blonder now.
• ....or is it being done by the same person who's going into Negan's cell to keep him trimmed and sexily stubbled?

Just one more question: will Judith let RJ have The Hat? 

😱😱😱