Season 11 - 24 Episodes (2021-22)
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Created by: Frank Darabont, based on the comic by Robert Kirkman
Starring: Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Josh McDermitte, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Michael James Shaw
Rating: TV-MA
Plot:
A group of survivors tries to survive in a zombie infested
post-apocalypse. The dead are treacherous, but the living are worse.
In the eleventh and final season the main characters are split encountering a hostile faction known as the Reapers and group of settlements with advanced equipment known as the Commonwealth led by an autocratic governor.
Verdict
The seasons have been up and down, but this ends with a strong one. This focuses mostly on character development and oppressive regimes as the protagonists once again find a community that seems perfect. Of course we eventually learn it is too good to be true, and then the group confronts the bad operatives. This covers a lot of ground as we run into a few different hostile groups and more than a few bad guys. I still wonder how there seems to be so much gas and so many bullets still, and at this point how are there still so many zombies?
This season does feel like the Negan redemption tour, but with such a great actor I get why he's still around. This season remains engaging, and it's a great sendoff for the series as it gets nostalgic towards the end with a few flashbacks, but it's not a bad thing. There are more than a few really nice moments in the run towards the end.
Watch it.
Review
The opening of the first episode relays exactly why zombies are so dangerous. It doesn't use exposition, but instead it's a mission to sneak into a zombie infested building without perishing. This easily relays the danger without unnecessary fluff. The first episode generates plenty of questions, but it's a good opener for what will come.
We follow two groups, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Darryl's (Norman Reedus) crew scavenging supplies and Eugene's (Josh McDermitte) party that has found the Commonwealth, a place that seems secure and advanced. It's the closet thing to the old civilization we've seen. There's plenty of tension between Maggie and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) during the mission that continues throughout the season.
Having just watched Fear the Walking Dead's latest season, it's clear this season is just better. The characters are more interesting and the action does a better job of bolstering the story. This season does such a better job of capturing life in camp. This season is always focused, but we have seen wonderful settlements before that didn't pan out.
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| Lauren Cohan plays Maggie |
The Commonwealth seems great, and that's exactly why the characters are poking around and looking for the cracks. Of course the main characters get in trouble, otherwise how would the season progress? Early in the season it's unclear what exactly will happen to them. Concurrently, Darryl deals with the Reapers and their leader, Pope, who claims he's instructed by God. Darryl has managed to infiltrate the group, but you know Pope will fall eventually and his behavior alienates his followers. Then with Maggie and Negan, we wonder who will kill whom first.
This season is twenty four episodes long and split into three parts, so we get two episode cliffhangers at episodes eight and sixteen. In the second part of the season, the problems with the Commonwealth arise despite more main characters joining. The community has created a class system which comes with its own issues. With the way The Walking Dead crew operates you know they will want to abolish classism.
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| Michael James Shaw, Norman Reedus play Mercer, Darryl |
The slow burn of this season is what are the Commonwealth's rael intentions? With it being the final season, you know we're in for surprises. Mercer (Michael James Shaw) is the law in the Commonwealth. He's a solid addition that could either overtake the Commonwealth or overthrow it.
Negan's story is quite the turn from when we see him in season seven. He's been on a redemption arc for a couple of seasons, and this season's goal is to conclude it. I get why they kept the character around Jeffrey Dean Morgan does an amazing job. Writing for characters is important, but so are the actors.
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| Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays Negan |
The last handful of episodes include a voice over from Judith with flashbacks from previous seasons to show us how far the series has come. It's a nice moment for the end of a series. This season is a great sendoff with engaging conflict. There's always some community with a megalomaniac leader, and this season never feels like episodes are filler.
This season is roughly fifteen years after the first, and I have to wonder how we still have gas and so many bullets. This show has never been about absolute realism, which I understand. It's still comical that zombies don't make a sound until they're within two feet of you, not even the sound of a footfall. I have to imagine most of the zombies are dead at this point. How are there no mountains of zombie bodies?
This season certainly becomes more fun as we begin to resolve all the drama and issues encountered this season. This provides a touching ending that reflects upon all the characters that have come and gone over the years.
The Walking Dead series isn't without fault, but the final season is certainly one of the better ones. You really don't need to see every season as this has a revolving cast for the most part and some of the seasons are rough, but it ends well.
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