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? 

😱😱😱

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!

Days Gone Bye ~ a tribute to Rick Grimes. Part 3. #TWDFamily #TWD #TheWalkingDead #RickGrimes

Click HERE for Part 1

Click HERE for Part 2

He's gone, and we're ALL gutted...

A shattered Rick succumbs to Negan's control at first,

so that no one else will be killed.

Michonne accepts his decision, though Carl isn't convinced....

But Negan goes too far, when he kills Spencer and Olivia.

....and Rick agrees that the time has come to fight back.  A great reunion with the escaped Daryl, and the gang go forth, with a plan....

First, they must gather an army

and keep Daryl safe for now, in the Kingdom

Jadis and her Junkyard crew are more problematic, but Rick comes out smiling.

In the meantime, weapons must be amassed, deals made - some with unexpected new friends...

...and Rick and Michonne have a mini-break at the fair.

 
Jadis and the Scavengers turn up to fight ~ and she has demands of her own....
'I lay with him after'.  Rick's not so sure...😂

But he's confident that they can win, until Jadis double-crosses them, 
and Negan is back in charge... for now.

Next comes all out war... but before that a walk with Carl

...a meeting with old friend Morales, no longer so friendly, and Rick comes to blows with Daryl over strategy.

The plan starts to work, and Rick gathers evidence 
to persuade Jadis to change sides yet again.

But then everything stops when he loses Carl....

Michonne is with him after Carl dies, the two of them alone at Alexandria after it has been almost destroyed in the war with Negan.

Back to Hilltop to make plans, and see Judith.

A car chase after Negan, and he and Morgan come together again, doing things they would never have done if Duane and Carl had been alive... but still he can't read Carl's final letter to him.

But there is still Michonne...
and finally he reads the letter, and Carl brings him back.

The war comes to a close, at at last.

And Rick's mercy prevails over his wrath

Bringing forth his new world?

But too many problems still exist...

...along with a few happier moments.... in another life, perhaps.

Bye for now, Rick.  It's been a blast.