The Walking Dead is over but, as we know, the end of the flagship series that’s been in fans’ hearts for over a decade doesn’t mean this world is done. The show already has had four spinoff series, Fear the Walking Dead, Tales of the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, The Walking Dead: Dead City, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon on TV. The latter, starring Maggie and Negan, is returning for a second season in the future along with Daryl’s spinoff. But, there is another spinoff coming soon that is perhaps the most important one in the universe.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Will Bring Rick and Michonne Back in February 2024

The Walking Dead‘s final panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 gave us the biggest news of all: a Rick Grimes and Michonne series was coming soon. Two years later, we finally know that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will have a release date of February 25, 2024. Rick and Michonne’s return is oh-so-close after years of waiting. The above clip is short but we get a little commentary from Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln (his Britishness is always jarring, right?). We see some new footage spliced together but it is hard to make sense of it because the clip is so short.

There are currently two teaser trailers out there, with one focusing on Michonne’s perspective and the other from Rick’s POV.

Here’s a breakdown of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live:

This series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?

The name of this Rick and Michonne series should be familiar to fans. Rick first said the phrase “we are the ones who live” back in season five while chatting with Deanna about his group. And, we heard Richonne as well as many other characters say that phrase in The Walking Dead‘s finale episode. So it holds a lot of significance to Rick and Michonne’s individual and collective journeys.

We certainly can’t wait to see Rick and Michonne together again.

There’s also some casting news. Per Deadline, Lucifer alumna Lesley-Ann Brandt will portray Pearl Thorne. Details about that character are currently unknown. We also know that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will bring back Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis. This isn’t shocking considering she’s the one who took Rick away in that helicopter. Terry O’Quinn and Matt Jeffries will portray Beale and Nat, respectively. 

During a Walking Dead preview, Gimple warns us that we will see “Red Machete Rick” again. Remember him? He was the one with the brown murder jacket who was a lot unhinged around seasons five and six. This is probably not a good thing but if anyone can bring him back to normal, it is Michonne. We got a glimpse of Rick in The Walking Dead‘s final episode and he looks like hell. But that scene is from the past so he’s presumably in an even worse state at this point. And, there’s also Michonne with her new gear, braving the world alone. Love to see it. Will their show end with an Alexandria reunion? We hope so.

So there you have it. A lot is happening in The Walking Dead universe and there will surely be more details about these spinoffs as well as new announcements. The show that won hearts is bowing out but there’s plenty left to explore in the land of the dead, so let’s keep walking right towards these spinoffs.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season Two – “The Book of Carol” Is Coming

We are done with the first season of Daryl Dixon’s adventure, but there is already great news about his show’s second season. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon will bring Carol back next season. We don’t know if she will also end up in France or if they will meet in some odd middle. Either way, it will be good to see those besties together again. A new teaser shows that next season will focus a lot on Carol’s journey.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner David Zabel gave fans more insight into season two. He reveals that the Nest is a prominent location in season two and Carol’s previous comment about some mystery person coming back will come into play. “There’s also another clue… this moment in the radio call in episode 5 where she talks about something or someone having come back,” said Zabel. “And the impression we get, and Daryl also gets, is that something’s a little off for her, something’s wrong. And so that’s going to also function into the story for Carol in season 2.”

We cannot wait to see how it all unfolds. In the meantime, we look forward to the return of the great Rick Grimes and Michonne.

Originally published on April 7, 2022.

The post THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE Reveals Release Date and Sneak Peek Teaser appeared first on Nerdist.

Like many fandoms, The Walking Dead family disagrees on pretty much everything. But one thing we largely agree on is that the show’s first few seasons were absolutely fantastic. Many of the decisions that Rick and his survival comrades made in those early years of the apocalypse set the foundation for so many story arcs and pivotal moments. And, even though the flagship series is over, fans love to give The Walking Dead the “What If?” treatment. What if Shane actually killed Rick in that field? What if Daryl never saved Carol at the farm? It is always fun to think about the possibilities, but now we can make them happen. The Walking Dead: Destinies is a new The Walking Dead video game that allows players to rewrite the show’s history and relive some epic moments with original characters.

We can see the conceit in action in The Walking Dead: Destinies trailer below. 

AMC and GameMill Entertainment are teaming up to make this new The Walking Dead game happen. The Walking Dead: Destinies covers seasons one through four, which includes the farm, prison, and Terminus arcs in the Atlanta area. The storyline can go many different ways depending on the player’s choices for The Walking Dead‘s most famous characters like Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon. If a player dares, they can change the fates of folks like Shane Walsh and see how that decision affects the future. It is probably not the best choice considering Shane’s obsession with Lori and Carl. This is a super cool concept considering most of The Walking Dead’s popular games are about characters who don’t exist in the show, like Clementine. 

The Walking Dead: Destinies’ trailer back some unforgettable memories in game-form, especially with its voiceover. We can hear Rick giving his infamous speech following the fall of the farm. Gotta love when he tells people that they can either let him lead or figure life out on their own. (It is lovingly known by many fans as the Ricktatorship speech.) We also see locations that are long gone, like the prison and downtown Atlanta. And yes, there’s some blood and gore because it is a The Walking Dead game. Players will have to manage their resources and fight for their survival. The clip notes that this is a work in progress, so we will have to wait for the final graphics.

A new Walking Dead game with original characters like Rick that lets you change the show’s storylines sounds like a great time. The Walking Dead: Destinies will get a digital release on November 17 with a physical release following in December. It will be available for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox and cost $50. The game is available for preorder today.

Originally published on August 17, 2023.

The post New THE WALKING DEAD: DESTINIES Video Game Lets Players Rewrite Show’s Early Seasons appeared first on Nerdist.

Daryl Dixon’s rise to fame in The Walking Dead universe is truly something to behold. Unlike Michonne, Carol, Maggie, and the GOAT Rick Grimes, Daryl does not have a comic counterpart. The character, played to perfection by Norman Reedus, was created specifically for The Walking Dead TV series. Over a decade later, he’s the only non-comic character with his own spinoff series, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. He started out as a perpetually agitated loner and the younger brother of (the very racist) Merle Dixon; however, Daryl soon became a crucial member of the survival group. Why? Daryl Dixon is a tracker, hunter, fighter, and a skilled crossbow user known for coming in clutch at the most dire moments.

Does he always make the best choices? Nah. But there are many times when Daryl does what needs to be done. It is safe to say that a lot more people would be dead if it weren’t for Daryl saving the day. In honor of Daryl Dixon’s foray into France, here are a few of his most clutch moments in The Walking Dead universe. 

Jump To: Daryl Dixon TWD Season 2 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 3 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 4 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 5 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 6 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 7 and 8 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 9 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 10 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 11 // The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 2

The Walking Dead’s first season gave us some funny Daryl moments. Who can forget the first interaction between him and Rick Griiiimmmeesss when he reminds us that a chokehold is illegal? But it’s not until the second season when Daryl starts to truly come in clutch. 

Daryl Saves Carol From the Farm (Episode 13 – “Beside the Dying Fire”)

Outside of Lori’s stupid pregnancy drama, Rick vs. Shane arguments, and looking for Sophia, the show’s farm arc was mostly chill. That is, until the finale brought us pure chaos as walkers took over Hershel’s farmland. The group got separated with some folks like Carol ending up on their own. Poor Carol wasn’t the survivor that she is now, as evidenced by her panicked screaming while running slowly in the dark. Daryl made a choice to head back into harm’s way and save her, a favor she would return to everyone later on when she blew up Terminus. It also led to the developing a close friendship.

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 3

Daryl Helps a Family Escape Certain Death on a Bridge (Episode 10 – “Home”)

He’s in the woods with Merle when they discover a family in peril on a nearby bridge. It would have been easy for Daryl to ignore a problem that didn’t have anything to do with him, especially one involving strangers. But Daryl hops into action, killing walkers with a trunk door and more. He even threatens to shoot Merle, who attempts to rob the family after the walkers are gone. We don’t know what happened to that family, even though the car appears abandoned in a later episode. (The Walking Dead reuses props so this doesn’t mean they are dead.) But at least they got to survive another day thanks to Daryl’s kindness. 

Daryl Helps Rick Live Another Day (Episode 10 – “Home”)

Coming in clutch twice in the same episode? Daryl did that. Walkers are all over the prison and Rick is in big trouble as he tries to fight off two walkers. Thankfully, Daryl saves his new friend in the nick of time with a surprise assist from his brother Merle. Rick even gives Daryl a “thank you” head nod, which certainly won’t be the last time he appreciates having a clutch bestie by his side. 

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 4

Taking Down a Tank Team (Episode 8 – “Too Far Gone”)

The Governor’s attack on the prison tragically claims Hershel’s life and the group suffers the major loss of their once-secure home. But Daryl prevents more deaths by finding a grenade and tossing it down the barrel of the tank, causing an explosion. Then, when the last living tank person thinks he will get away, Daryl is right there to shoot him. Glorious work.

Sometimes, You Gotta Save Yourself (Episode 13 – “Alone”) 

Sometimes, you are the only one who can save you. It’s not the first time that we have seen Daryl fight his way out of a walker conundrum. But this Daryl vs. Walkers battle is one of his best solo offerings. His clever fighting against the undead with medical instruments in a funeral parlor and that dark, intense hallway scene shows why he’s destined to survive for many years to come. 

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 5

The Perfect Poke to a Walker Brain (Episode 1 – “No Sanctuary”)

Rick and the gang are trying to escape the clutches of cannibals at Terminus. Rick, Daryl, Glen, and Bob are working together as a team before Rick runs rather haphazardly into danger. He’s behind a car and a walker quickly finds him. Daryl saves Rick (again) by driving a stick through the walker’s head in the nick of time.

Daryl Goes Full Ghost Rider (Episode 16 – “Conquer”)

The Wolves set a trap for Daryl and Aaron while they are on a supply run. At this point, no one from Alexandria is particularly skilled at fighting against walkers. This doesn’t bode well for Daryl because he has no true backup. Thankfully, Aaron has the man with a plan by his side as Daryl helps them escape. The best moment is when Daryl takes a chain and whacks three walkers heads off at once. It’s giving Ghost Rider with a dash of Michonne.

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 6

Let’s Explode Some Saviors (Episode 9 – “No Way Out”) 

Daryl is deep into his “blowing s**t up” era in season six. Sasha, Abraham, and Daryl have their first encounter with the Saviors. He’s taken to the back of a fuel truck while his friends are harassed by Negan’s henchmen. The next thing we know, Daryl uses a rocket launcher to blow up the gang after he gets the best of his captor. The scene ends with them stealing the fuel truck. Truly an inspired moment. 

Set Fire to the Pond (Episode 9 – “No Way Out”)

This is perhaps Daryl’s most clutch moment in the entire series. Alexandria is down horrendously, walkers covering the streets and devouring people. Even worse, Carl has been shot (again!) and lost an eye in the process. Rick’s crew and the Alexandrians work together to fight the massive horde but things are looking dire until Daryl gets his plan going using the aforementioned Saviors’ truck. He fills a pond with fuel and sets it on fire with a RPG launcher. It’s enough to lure a chunk of the walkers into the fiery waters and allow the crew to fend off the rest. A true Clutch King!

Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 7 and 8?!?!

There’s not much to say about the Savior arc in terms of Daryl (or really anyone) being clutch. (I like to pick on them during this era because I’m cruel.) In fact, he starts slippin’ and trippin’ to the point that we wonder if he’s lost a few of his common sense crayons. He punches Negan, which leads to Glenn being bludgeoned to death, and gets taken hostage for a few episodes. Then, he helps with the initial fight only to turn around and undermine Rick’s plans in season eight. Sigh. This coupled with Rick’s choice to allow Negan to live puts an unfortunate wedge between Daryl and his brother that directly leads to Rick’s untimely “death.” 

Sense is chasing Daryl, but he is outrunning it on his motorcycle with incredible speed for some reason. I will give him an honorable mention for killing Morales with zero remorse. Still love you, DD.

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 9

Wear the Enemies’ Mask (Episode 12 – “Not Tomorrow Yet”)

Thankfully, the rise of the Whisperers brings Daryl back into full form again. He comes in clutch alongside Connie, saving Henry and Lydia from a tense moment with the Whisperers. This sets up an impending battle between him and Beta where he shows some formidable hand-to-hand combat skills. 

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 10

The Hospital of Horrors and Saving Negan (Episode 16 – “A Certain Doom”)

A hospital of horrors with a massive horde of walkers and Whisperers? No problem for Daryl. He works together with the seemingly doomed crew to come up with a plan. Daryl puts himself on the line, going into the horde and picking off corralling Whisperers with relative ease. He always hits the target and leaves the bodies for the walkers to take care of. Then, Daryl comes in clutch to assist Negan when Beta gains the upper hand. He stabs Beta with two knives, ending the reign of the Whisperers.

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Season 11

All Clutch for (Maybe) the Wrong Reasons (Episode 4 – “Rendition”) 

Daryl has every reason to let Leah die. His former lover not only abandoned him but she’s now a part of a villainous collective holding him hostage. (The Reapers are a stupid group, but that’s another post.) But, when the pair are put to the test by her leader, Daryl makes some crafty moves and saves her from a burning building. Why? Well, it’s likely multiple reasons at play. ‘Tis true that love (and a good heart) makes you want to maintain some moral center. But, I think that it is a strategic play by Daryl. This was clearly a trap and Daryl knows he will have to face the Reapers when he escapes. If he allows Leah to die, they will know for sure that he’s against them. So he saves her to protect himself. (I think.)

The Leah Storm Is Over Now (Episode 16 – “Acts of God”)

And this is why the previous entry is mostly some BS. Daryl saved Leah more than once but she continues to cause trouble, eventually leading to a battle between her and Maggie. Leah isn’t the brightest but she can fight and gets the jump on a very skilled Maggie. Predictably, Daryl shows up in the nick of time and takes Leah out with a gunshot to the head. 

A Well-Timed Boink (Episode 22 – “Faith”)

The Walking Dead is nearly at an end with the battle against the Commonwealth coming into focus. The Warden tries to take Kelly hostage to convince the soldiers to turn back to his side but Daryl pops up like a thief in the night, wounding him and setting the stage for his death at the hands of Rosita. 

The Save That Set a Spinoff in Motion (Episode 24 – “Rest in Peace”)

It’s no secret that Daryl loves Judith a.k.a his “Little Ass Kicker.” In the show’s final episode, he takes a wounded Judith into a hospital. Both of them are down bad for a moment, but Daryl soon comes back to life, saving her from walkers while she’s in a hospital bed. He gets her to Tomi and spares Rick’s daughter’s life. If this hadn’t happened, Judith would not have been able to tell him that Rick is still possibly alive.

This sets up Daryl’s big adventure that somehow ends up in Paris. We don’t know what’s gonna happen yet but we know that Daryl will come in clutch many, many more times. 

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1 Best Clutch Moments 

Finally! We are catching back up with our boy Daryl D., who managed to get himself on a ship heading towards France. The details behind his circumstances are still unfolding but Daryl is already back to doing what he does best: speaking in a gravely voice and squinting. I’m kidding. He’s back to being the real MVP and coming in clutch.

Daryl Gets the Drop on a Soldier (Episode 1 – “L’âme Perdue” a.k.a. “The Lost Soul”)

A couple of days after arriving in Europe, Daryl runs into Maribelle and Guillame and tries to exchange food for meds. Things are going well until two random soldiers show up and get hostile with them. One soldier smacks Maribelle and Daryl wastes no time pulling out his knife and getting the drop on a solider who is (poorly) holding him at gunpoint. Unfortunately, Maribelle and Guillame double cross Daryl and knock him out. But this allows Sister Isabelle to come in and save Daryl’s life. Seems like he might have met his holier match. 

The Abbey Takedown (Episode 1 – “L’âme Perdue” a.k.a. “The Lost Soul”)

Well, Daryl has certainly had a weird 24 hours or so. He encounters a burning walker, nearly gets killed by rogue survivors, wakes up in an abbey full of nuns and a weird kid, kinda flirts with Isabelle, wears a sweater/suspender combo, and is given a wild mission to lead a young Messiah across a strange and dangerous land.

Daryl is amused but trying to mind his own business, choosing to leave the abbey. But underneath his tough exterior, we know that Daryl is a sensitive and caring dude. He’s so caring that when he sees soldiers invading the abbey, he goes back in determined to neutralize the threat. And boy does he do well, popping out of corners and taking people down like a true boss. Love to see it. 

There’s equal exchange of Daryl and Isabelle saving each other. Hmmm. If you listen carefully, you can hear a ship setting sail. I’m just sayin’. 

Daryl vs. a Lesser American (Episode 2 – “Alouette” a.k.a. “Songbird/Lark”)

Most of this episode focuses on Isabelle’s past and Laurent’s birth, but that doesn’t mean Daryl isn’t still coming in clutch. He goes on a mission to nab a new horse and things predictably go wrong. He helps a small group of kids raid a nearby castle where several of their comrades are being held hostage. It doesn’t take long for Daryl to find a not-so-sharp shooter who tries to kill Hedgehog.

Even when the Texan knocks them both into a pit of walkers, Daryl makes it out in classic style. The ball-and-chain, explosives, and more make for a really fun scene. Thankfully, Lou and others throw him a rope and save him in the end. The school group gets some supplies back as well as a hostage and Daryl gets his mule. So it is a win!

Walkers Burn in the Courtyard (Episode 3 – “Paris Sera Toujours Paris” a.k.a. “Paris Will Always Be Paris”)

The third episode takes Daryl and company to Paris! Isabelle returns to her old haunt and things quickly go from nostalgic to awry when they get outside and walkers start falling from windows. She goes into a state of shock as walkers begin to stand up after their fall in a very creaky and horror-like manner. Thankfully, Daryl saves the day and uses a burner walker to help them escape.

The Savior of Pigeons (Episode 4 – “La Dame de Fer” a.k.a. “The Iron Lady”)

Daryl couldn’t save Antoine but he does kill the guerriers who take him out. Thankfully, Antoine’s pigeons are not harmed in the process and Daryl sets them free, honoring Antoine’s final wish. He’s truly a good man.

The Eifel Tower Spectacle (Episode 4 – “La Dame de Fer” a.k.a. “The Iron Lady”)

If there’s one thing for sure in The Walking Dead universe, it’s that kids are going to do dumb things. Laurent storms off and ends up at the Eifel Tower, which is swarmed by walkers. He finds a sketchy spot to hide from walkers while Daryl (with a heavy assist from Isabelle) have to fight a horde to save him. Sadly, Laurent still gets kidnapped but they gave it one heck of an effort. It leads Daryl to perform some fun torture to pump one henchman for information.

Saving Laurent and Serving Quinn (Episode 4 – “La Dame de Fer” a.k.a. “The Iron Lady”)

Daryl makes quick work of getting into Quinn’s place and grabbing Laurent. But it is his fight with Quinn that’s the most satisfying because, well, that guy is a jerk. It all ends with Isabelle deciding to stay with Quinn in Laurent’s place and Daryl having to brave the world with this unseasoned kid. I bet his clutchness will have to increase soon.

The Pouvoir Escape (Episode 5 – “Deux Amours” a.k.a. “Two Loves”)

He spends more time being reflective and grumpy in this episode, but that doesn’t mean there are no clutch moments. Daryl’s flashback shows the epic way that he saves himself from Genet’s ill-intentioned ship. He fakes his way into what seems like certain death before taking out a few guards, releasing cages of mutated walkers, and epically jumping into the ocean as a portion of the ship explodes. Coming in clutch for yourself is the best.

The Great Gladiator Battle (Episode 6 – “Coming Home”)

Daryl has done a lot of cool things but this just might be the best one yet. Daryl gets clever and kills several mutated and running walkers with little to no resources. He even does it with the somewhat useless Quinn chained to one of his arms. Now that’s a survivor!

Walker Killin’ Coachin’ (Episode 6 – “Coming Home”)

A chained fence separates Daryl, who is on the side of freedom, from a trapped Laurent and Isabelle. Walker Quinn comes and attacks Isabelle. Thankfully, Daryl has a weapon to give Laurent and is able to give him some needed motivation to put down Quinn, who happens to be his biological father. Cold world.

The end of the episode includes Daryl having to make a choice: leave Laurent to fend off walkers or help him fight and probably miss his ride. It looks like another clutch moment is coming our way in season two.

Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in The Walking Dead Universe

Jump To: Daryl Dixon TWD Season 2 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 3 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 4 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 5 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 6 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 7 and 8 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 9 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 10 // Daryl Dixon TWD Season 11// The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

Originally published August 10, 2023.

The post Daryl Dixon’s Best Clutch Moments in THE WALKING DEAD Universe appeared first on Nerdist.

Until now, the apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead hasn’t been overly concerned with finding a cure or hoping that humanity will get the same level of restoration. (In fact, some survivors want to make changes to make the world more equitable and collaborative than it was in the “before times.” I like this approach.) This might change in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon thanks to Laurent. He’s a young survivor with a lot of people putting their faith in him. Here’s what you need to know about this important character.

Shortly after Sister Isabelle saves Daryl from near death, she brings him back to her home, where he meets Laurent. He is the only kid living among a group of nuns, so that immediately sets off some red flags. Laurent and Daryl interact in a courtyard, which isn’t surprising because Daryl likes kids. They spend time playing with a Rubik’s Cube and talking about how many people are likely still alive in France. Interestingly, Laurent tells Daryl that his eyes look homesick and that he deserves a happy ending. Daryl goes along with it but it is clear that he finds Laurent rather unsettling. 

Of course, Daryl wants to know what the deal is with Laurent. Despite Daryl being a person who “lives without God,” Isabelle tells Daryl that he is the “messenger” from Laurent’s drawing three weeks prior. She says Laurent is special, perhaps clairvoyant, and is a new Messiah who will lead the revival of humanity. This comes from a prophecy by a religious leader years ago… and it is one that others apparently know beyond their secure walls. Isabelle tells Daryl that Laurent needs to get to a northern community that can raise him into his special calling. It’s not clear if this means that he is immune to the virus or is just destined to be a great leader/prophet of some sort.

An elder nun tells Laurent that he is “the cure” but again, this could be spiritually versus physically. So what’s Daryl’s response to this situation? Well, he says he knew a kid like Laurent in school and that he got his a** kicked all the time. Daryl is not a serious person. He doesn’t buy this story despite Isabelle being fully convinced that fate brought Daryl to them. Isabelle reveals there’s a northern port that can get Daryl home so he would need to travel that way anyway. Daryl doesn’t care and declines to usher Laurent to this new place. He leaves to figure out his next steps.

However, Daryl changes his mind when a few Cause soldiers, whom they call guerriers, invade the abbey. Codron and his crew are looking for Daryl. He returns and helps to subdue the men but several nuns die in the process. His guilt over the soldiers’ actions leads him to make a deal with Isabelle. He will take her and Laurent where they need to go if she promises to take him to the port. Thus begins the mission of getting Laurent to this special place. 

Episode two of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, gives us a huge revelation about Laurent. He is Isabelle’s nephew who was born in the early days of the outbreak. We spend much of the episode flashing back to Isabelle and her pregnant sister Lily as they escape Paris. Lily gets bitten but of course no one knows what that means yet. They end up at the abbey where Lily turns and gives birth to Laurent after she dies and reanimates. The residents and Isabelle see Laurent as a miracle.

Now, this doesn’t mean that he’s “the cure” for the virus necessarily. And even if he were, it would be nearly impossible to restore humanity to what it was before. Unlike other zombie universes where it takes a bite/scratch to get infected, everyone here has the virus within them. When people die from any circumstance, they will reanimate. It’s pretty hard to dole out a cure that will reach everyone nor contact everyone about a cure.

So, we can still assume that Laurent is just seen as a savior. He certainly lacks survival skills and street smarts because he grew up behind those walls. Laurent is no boss killing machine like the late, great Carl Grimes, that’s for sure.

Daryl eventually warms up to Laurent throughout the remainder of the season. Laurent becomes stronger, even putting down Quinn (his biological father) when the time comes. They make it to the Nest and Laurent settles in there, finally finding his safe space. At the end of the season, it seems Laurent will convince Daryl to stay in France. But it is still not clear what Laurent’s purpose is in this universe. We guess we’ll find out in season two.

Originally published on September 10, 2023.

The post Who Is Laurent in THE WALKING DEAD: DARYL DIXON? The Savior (and Possibly Immune) Survivor, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

The Walking Dead universe gave us a lot of strange undead creatures over the years. From the bloated and gross walker in Herschel’s well to the freakazoid monster that Maggie fought in Dead City, the show gets pretty creative with these flesh eaters. Walkers have done everything from creep towards their victims to full on climbing ladders and it is all scary. Or, at least we thought they were scary. In the first episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, we find out that there are a few new (to us and Daryl) types of walkers in France. Daryl encounters a brûlant walker (called a burner in English) and several other mutant walkers that completely change what we thought we knew about these creatures in The Walking Dead. 

Daryl arrives on a deserted shore and makes his way to Marseille, France after listening to a message from a survivor saying it could be safer there. He stops in an abandoned building and it isn’t long before several walkers surround him. Killing multiple walkers alone is like breathing for Daryl, so he begins to dispatch them. A few walkers look noticeably different with prominent veins in their faces. Daryl stabs one walker in the brain and it drops to the floor as some sort of acid drips from its head. We hear a burning/sizzling sound before things really go awry.

A walker grabs Daryl’s arm and its touch burns his skin. Daryl makes it out of this sticky situation but he’s left with a nasty sore that he attempts to disinfect. Later on at the abbey, Sister Isabelle tells Daryl that he got the wound from a burner/brûlant. She reveals that it is just one kind of walker they have there. (They call walkers les affamés a.k.a. “the hungry ones” in France.)  

Isabelle cauterized the wound before any infection could spread. This means this kind of injury could lead to death and reanimation. This is the first time we have ever seen this burner type of walker in The Walking Dead universe. Considering that France is the Wildfire virus’ place of origin, it makes sense for their walkers to have different abilities.

The country has done—and continues to do—lots of experiments on walkers. We see the effects of this throughout the season. When Daryl and Isabelle go to her former apartment in Paris, there are walkers that fall from the windows. But, instead of splattering on the ground, they creak and snap their way back to standing. It is very, very horror movie of them. The scariest ones are perhaps what Daryl encounters in the gladiator pit. They are snarling, running, and quite clever… but not more clever than Daryl Dixon.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon gives us some understanding of how they work but we have more to learn about their purpose. We will see what happens in season two.

Originally published September 10, 2023.

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In The Walking Dead TV series, many of the villains came from the comic books, like Negan, Alpha, and the Governor. Sure, we got some random (and not great) baddies here and there but they didn’t hold a candle to the classic ones. But the show’s spinoff series are giving us a great mix with established heroes and frightening yet fresh antagonists. In The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, our Southern hero gets on the wrong side of not one but two villains—Codron and Madame Genet—shortly after he washes ashore. Let’s dig into who they are and why they are making Daryl’s journey even harder.

Who Is The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Villain Codron? 

Daryl has a good heart but he has an, um, affinity for stirring up fights. Sometimes he starts them and, even when he doesn’t, he is 100% gonna finish a brawl. However, this situation with Codron is not his fault. He starts a fight to save a couple travelers from two jerk soldiers from a group/movement initially known as “the Cause.” Naturally, one of them is Codron’s brother, who Daryl doesn’t even kill! (He does kill the other guy but that’s not what matters here.) The woman traveler killed Codron’s brother and later lied on Daryl to save her own skin. It is easy to believe that an American man would do that, after all.

Codron also works with/for the Cause, more formally known as Pouvoir Du Vivant (Power of the Living). He doesn’t waste time piecing together Daryl’s location and comes into Sister Isabelle’s abbey with his men. They kill several nuns before Daryl takes out his entire crew like John Wick with a knife. (Yes, the nuns are technically killer nuns but they don’t want to hurt Daryl.) Defeated and angry, Codron retreats but we know he won’t stop until he gets his hands on Daryl.  

Pouvoir comes into direct conflict with l’Union de l’Espoir, a freedom group that the abbey members align with. They are open to all messages of faith and perseverance.

In episode three, Codron and Genet finally cross paths. She doesn’t know who he is, of course, but Codron tells her that a “traveler” representing Genet told him about a great movement (the Cause) in Paris. He says the person gave him that Mike Tyson-esque tatt and said he was a warrior now. He presents that recording of Daryl to Genet, confirming that he is still alive, and promises to find Daryl for Genet. She officially hires him to complete the task and this is not great for Daryl.

Daryl slips through Codron’s fingers initially but he still ends up getting captured by another one of Genet’s guerriers. In the end, Codron reveals that he’s not so villainous after all. After Daryl’s group escapes the wild gladiator situation, Genet’s men (including Codron) find them once again. He decides to spare their lives, instead shooting his comrades so they can escape. His deception leads to some torturing at the hands of Genet. We don’t know if Codron will get out of this predicament but if he does, it will be interesting to see what happens to him in season two.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Villain Madame Genet and Pouvoir Du Vivant, Explained

At the end of the first episode, we meet Madame Genet, the leader of Pouvoir Du Vivant. It is possible that the Cause is similar to the CRM in America with widespread operations. We don’t learn much about her except that she has a ship with walker “test subjects” and human prisoners. One of the latter was Daryl before he caused some trouble and escaped, but not before causing so much damage that Genet’s collective lost lots of research. Why was he a prisoner on a ship bound for France? We will surely get more details as Daryl Dixon progresses. The crew (specifically the captain) presumes that he’s dead but she wants them to start looking for him anyway. A man who can do so much damage alone is not someone she wants to be in her way. 

Of course, Genet had her soldiers hunt down Daryl so she can attend to bigger issues. Those matters include walker and human experimentations for reasons that still are not clear. Some of their work takes place at her Pouvoir base at the Maison Mère hotel in Paris. But Daryl ruined one big hub when he destroyed that ship, a project three years in the making.

Genet tried to get revenge against Daryl by making him the center of a dangerous spectacle. In the finale, Genet put Daryl into a gladiator-style battle against enhanced walkers. Thankfully, Daryl teams with Quinn to defeat them before Fallou and company send everything into chaos. Daryl escapes, Genet’s men catch up to them, but thanks to Codron, Daryl and the crew get away.

Madame Genet will do anything to get Daryl in her clutches again, so it will be interesting to see how Daryl continues to evade her and protect the Nest in season two.

Originally published September 10, 2023.

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Daryl Dixon’s spinoff series is nearly done with its first season already. So far, we have followed Daryl, Laurent, and Isabelle across France as they head towards the Nest, a safe place where Laurent can thrive. (Not really.) Of course, there have been violence and side quests in the mix but, in episode five, we finally someone who is dear to Daryl’s heart in the mix. In a flashback, Daryl Dixon finally gets radio contact home and speaks briefly with Carol, which brings her into the Walking Dead series for a very intriguing cameo. And, in the season finale, Carol makes her official appearance in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon to set up season two’s “The Book of Carol” chapter.

First, let’s look back at that radio call. Daryl is at a strange trading post in Maine hoping to get extra gas to make it back to the Commonwealth. The problem is, these guys want people to round up walkers in exchange for goods. Daryl is suspicious but he does it anyway because he’s desperate. He discovers a radio and uses it to contact his home base. At first, it is hard to tell who he is talking to but Carol’s voice soon becomes clear. Plus, it makes sense that Daryl would reach out to her specifically because they are best friends.

He asks how she’s doing and Carol weirdly says it is taking time to get used to something. Daryl picks up on her discomfort right away and presses for more information. He promises to be home in about a week before Carol breaks up and says that “he” came back. They lose contact and the episode quickly moves past this exchange. 

Who is the mysterious “he” who came back? Some fans will jump to the conclusion that it’s Rick Grimes. But that doesn’t really make sense based on Carol’s tone. She doesn’t sound too thrilled about whoever this “he” is being there or life in general for that matter. Plus we still have to see some events unfold with Rick and Michonne on The Ones Who Live.

It’s plausible another male threat came their way after the events of The Walking Dead’s last season. All of their other major enemies except Negan are dead and Negan is in NY under the thumb of the Dama. Even if Negan were free, he hasn’t been a threat in a long time. This is quite the mystery, indeed. 

We do know that Carol will play into The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season two with her own storyline that parallels Daryl’s adventures. In the finale, Carol appears in Freeport, Maine and discovers a dude riding Daryl’s bike. Of course, she kidnaps him for information, thus setting her path towards finding her best friend.

This teaser for season two reveals that “The Book of Carol” will be a major part of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon‘s future. It’s possible they will find themselves in a reunion next season. And the “he” is a mystery that certainly will trickle into season two as well. We can’t wait to see a Carol and Daryl reunion.

Originally published on October 8, 2023.

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The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon takes its titular hero farther than he’s ever gone before. In the show’s first episode, we see Daryl wash up somewhere on a shore before heading to Marseille, France. As usual, it doesn’t take this ultimate survivor long to adjust to his surroundings and get into trouble. Yes he always comes in clutch to save the day, but that doesn’t stop him from being an agent of chaos. From the moment that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon announced its intriguing location, fans have been wondering exactly how Daryl ends up in France. A teaser trailer showed him on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean, but surely he didn’t take that all the way from America, right? The show slowly unraveled the answer to that question. 

In the first episode, Daryl tries to be a good human and trade supplies with a duo for food. Things go awry (as they do when he’s around) when a couple of soldiers arrive and begin threatening everyone. Daryl goes on the attack, the soldiers die, and the duo double crosses him to take everything in his bag. He’s two seconds from becoming walker food when a woman he saw earlier comes to his aid.

She is Isabelle, a nun who takes him to an active convent. Naturally, Isabelle and others at the abbey have the same question we have: How the hell did he get there?! Daryl keeps it vague, saying it was because he made “bad decisions” while on the road. We don’t know what else he will reveal because his motto is “a little less conversation, a little more action.”

The end of the episode gives us more insight into how Daryl Dixon ends up in France. We head to Le Havre, France where several people are docked on a ship. Madame Genet, who is the leader of a nefarious collective called the Cause, wants to know who destroyed her ongoing work. (The work in question includes walker research/experiments.)

She discovers that an American prisoner went overboard and but not before wreaking havoc. His name? Dixon. Daryl took drastic actions (perhaps to save his life) that led to deaths. The crew believe he’s dead but Genet is not so sure and wants them to track him down. Daryl is also on the bad side of Codron, a Cause soldier who believes Daryl killed his brother, one of the aforementioned soldiers from that earlier confrontation. Of course, Daryl did not kill him but he’s got the blame anyway, further complicating this season’s chain of events.

Episode five finally gives us a definitive answer to our burning question about Daryl Dixon. We get a flashback in America with Daryl traveling near Maine. He ends up at a trading post in hopes of getting more gas for his bike. The problem is, this group wants people to round up live walkers for some unknown reason. Of course, Daryl does this better than the others because he is Daryl. He tries to help a young man who is experiencing bullying from others at the post but it is to no avail. An annoying man named Juno kills the young guy and tries to cover it up, angering Daryl and causing a fight.

We see Daryl and Juno get led onto the ship from the show’s first episode. Daryl notes all of the violence and sees a fellow prisoner become walker food. He decides to do something about this conundrum. He teams up with Juno and pretends to puke blood so guards will take him out of the cell. Of course, he gets the drop on them and opens the cages full of walkers, causing a full on panic as he attempts to escape with Juno. A mutated walker quickly gains on them, killing the other guy and forcing Daryl to jump just as a section of the ship explodes. Fantastic. It’s still quite the farfetched story but this is The Walking Dead universe, after all. 

Thankfully, Daryl isn’t completely lost to his American family. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season one finale revealed that Carol made her way to Freeport, Maine to look for Daryl. She’s found a man riding his motorcycle and, in true Carol fashion, captured him to get information.

In the above teaser, we get a glimpse into next season as we follow Carol’s path to find Daryl, who apparently chooses to stay in France with Laurent and company. Now that we know how Daryl made it to France, the question is how Carol will make her way to him and if they will come home together.

Originally published September 10, 2023.

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The Walking Dead universe gave us some truly lovely gifts at New York Comic Con 2023. Fans are pretty hype that Carol will join Daryl in the second season of his spinoff series. But the real big news came in the form of a brief yet action-packed teaser trailer for Rick and Michonne’s spinoff series, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. The last glimpse we got came from Michonne’s perspective with Rick simply walking towards the screen like his true boss self. This time, the trailer is coming from Rick Grimes’ POV as he hints at what he’s gone through. And, if that weren’t enough, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live delivered new photos, casting news, and a firmer release date window. Let’s get into all of this Richonne goodness.

What Happens to Rick Grimes in the Trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live?

Considering this clip is less than a minute long, there’s not a ton that goes down. Rick’s voiceover is a clear message to Michonne about his years of trials and tribulations: 

“I tried to get away…please know I tried. I tried but I failed. Just know…I love you.”

That alone is enough to make Richonne lovers squee with delight. But it is also sad because many years have gone by since the pair were together. Rick has a son that he doesn’t even know exists and a daughter who is a teenager by now. We get to see Rick take down some gnarly walkers, including one that is glowing like an ember. Some fans are speculating that Rick is missing a hand in this shot but it looks more like he’s holding some sort of weapon to me.

We can also see that he’s at some CRM location and killing walkers there, which could have been his primary job at some point. As usual, Rick looks sweaty, bloody, and a little wiley. The trailer also shows a cell phone with Michonne’s image etched on it as well as her taking down a walker with her infamous katana. We can’t wait to see more from this series. 

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: Casting Announcements and New Photos

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The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will bring back Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis. This isn’t shocking considering she’s the one who took Rick away in that helicopter. Terry O’Quinn and Matt Jeffries will portray Beale and Nat, respectively. They will join Lesley-Ann Brandt as Pearl. Of course, this universe is far past any comic source material, so they are original characters. We don’t know how they fit into this narrative but those details should be coming soon. Everyone looks really awesome in these new photos, though. 

What Is the Release Date for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live?

We don’t have an exact date for this series; however, we now know the month. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will bring Rick and Michonne back to our screens in February 2024. That’s only four months away! We can’t wait to witness their journeys back to each other. 

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In my mind (and maybe yours too), 1993 was only 20 years ago. But that’s sadly not true. Believe it or not, 2003 was twenty years ago. That explains why newer artists are sampling Beyoncé and Ashanti songs and making me feel ancient. As a fan of The Walking Dead comics and TV show, it’s truly dawning on me how much of my life I’ve spent with this universe. This October marks twenty years since comic fans met Rick Grimes in an apocalyptic world. Since then, The Walking Dead universe boasts several shows and games as it continues to expand. Fans are currently speculating what The Walking Dead will do next, especially after an official X (formerly Twitter) account posted a photo of a clapperboard to tease a new project. 

The caption simply says “Soon” along with the hashtag #TWD20. The clapperboard date is listed as September 26, which is when it went up on social media. Predictably, responses and thoughts flooded in with people wondering what it all means. The Walking Dead X account did strike down a theory about a Clementine show. While many fans love that storyline, it has nothing to do with the comics. And this is something that is likely tied to the comic stories in some way. 

What Kind of Project Is The Walking Dead Doing for Its 20th Anniversary?

Image Comics is already selling 20th anniversary box sets of The Walking Dead’s entire comic run. So perhaps this project is in conjunction with this special anniversary release. I can see a video series complete with commentary from Robert Kirkman and maybe a few of The Walking Dead TV show’s actors. Sure, the clapperboard says 9/26 but that could be from last year when The Walking Dead actors/writers filmed the project. A big anniversary is not something they would film at the last minute, after all. It would have likely happened long before the recent writers and actors’ strikes. 

The special and secret 20th anniversary project for The Walking Dead could also be a documentary. It could span from the comic’s origins to the massive franchise it has become today. All of the ingredients for a great documentary are there: behind-the-scenes drama, shocking moments, and a meteoric rise that changed our TV landscape. 

Honestly, the possibilities are endless. Perhaps The Walking Dead has a live-action spinoff project that celebrates the show’s history. Or, we will get an anniversary TV special with guests, fans, and much more to honor the show’s legacy. Who knows. No matter what, it’s truly incredible to see how far this universe has come in 20 years.

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The Walking Dead (TWD) universe’s timeline continues to be a trending topic among many fans, even though the flagship show is done. There were a lot of time jumps, after all. And with spinoffs like The Ones Who Live, Daryl Dixon, and Dead City coming, this world is far from being over.

It’s been a really, really long time since that fateful day when Rick Grimes woke up to an apocalyptic nightmare in 2010. How long, exactly? Let’s dive into The Walking Dead’s timeline and figure out what’s going on. 

The Walking Dead‘s Timeline; Jump to: TWD Season 1 // TWD Season 2 // TWD Season 3 // TWD Season 4 // TWD Season 5 // TWD Season 6 // TWD Season 7 // TWD Season 8 // TWD Season 9 // TWD Season 10 // TWD Season 11 // Dead City Spinoff // Daryl Dixon Spinoff // The Ones Who Live Spinoff

The Walking Dead Season 1 Timeline: Days 1-64

The show’s first season is only six episodes and takes place over the span of a few days. In episode one, Morgan told Rick that water resources had been gone for about a month. We know that the world was still normal when Rick got shot and went into a coma. And, we saw that Shane came to visit him and tried to even rescue him after the outbreak. It seems that things went awry just weeks after Rick’s accident, so we are looking at around two months (60 days) since the outbreak. That’s enough time for the loss of our normal life things to completely fade. 

Now, Rick spends a day with Morgan, finds his family the next day, and spends another random day fooling with fake gangsters in downtown Atlanta. (RIP to those Vatos… no way they made it for long.) Meanwhile, Dr. Jenner recorded a video and pinpointed that they were on Day 63 of the virus going global. We are using this to set our whole The Walking Dead timeline, much like The Last of Us sets theirs with “Outbreak Day.” And, on Day 64, the CDC went kaboom thanks to Jenner. Good times and the end of season one. 

The Walking Dead Season 2 Timeline: Day 65-Day 88 (Approximately)

This season’s timeline is a little looser. It opens with Rick telling Morgan about the CDC event, which he said happened two days prior. So, that puts us at about Day 66. Then, the rest of the season is basically the group at Hershel’s farm. Later in the season, Daryl admits that they have been looking for Sophia for a few weeks. And it would have taken that long for Carl to heal as well as he did after being shot. We also find out that Lori is pregnant, which really helps our timeline in future seasons of The Walking Dead. Because, even in a zombie-riddled world, a pregnancy still takes nine freakin’ months.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Timeline: Day 88-Day 499 

Yes, we are still counting the days at this point, and it is for a very specific reason. Season three opens with Lori near the end of her pregnancy and the group finally finding the prison after wandering the woods for months. So, at this point, we are a little over a year into the apocalypse and about six months out from when they arrived at Hershel’s farm. Of course, The Walking Dead season three marks the beginning of their time at the prison.

Lori gives birth shortly after arriving and the group encounters their first big bad: the Governor. We can also start loosely gauging time via Judith, who appears in the season finale and is a couple of months old. But wait… how does that get us to Day 499? Well, there is a time jump of around six months between the end of season three and season four’s debut to show how the prison begins to thrive. (Well, as much as you can in this world.) So we will count that into this season, even though it takes place off-screen.

The Walking Dead Season 4 Timeline: Day 500 – Year 1 and 5 Months(ish)

We know for a fact that season four’s second episode, “Infected” is Day 500 on The Walking Dead‘s timeline because AMC said so. That’s a year and five-ish months. By this point, there are farm animals, and Judith is steadily getting bigger but is being carried around constantly. Things slow down again this season in terms of time—the first half has the big flu outbreak and the fall of the prison happens in a few weeks. Then, the group splinters and spends a couple of weeks or so wandering around before they reunite at Terminus. That’s where the season ends with Rick saying that these people don’t know who they are messing with. So we are at maybe a year and five months here.

The Walking Dead Season 5 Timeline: Near Year 1.5

There is no time jump at the beginning of season five when Carol swoops in and saves the day. This is the season of transition as the group meets Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, and a very cowardly Father Gabriel and double back to Atlanta to find Beth. Of course, she dies, and they decide to make their way towards Washington, D.C. in hopes of a more secure life. Along the way, they meet Aaron, who convinces them to come to Alexandria.

Now, all of this would take quite a while, considering the group walked from Atlanta to Alexandria with stops and such in between. They are also malnourished and hungry. Google says it takes about 208 hours to get to Alexandria, which equals about eight hours of walking per day for 26 days. So, tack on a few incidental days of looking for Beth and a couple more because, well, they aren’t top-tier athletes and it is over a month before they get to their new home. Then, they are there for at least a couple of weeks before the season finale, where Rick executes Pete. So maybe a month or so passes during this time, putting us around the 1.5 year mark.

Fair warning: The timeline will be looser for the next couple of seasons of The Walking Dead because the benchmarks are less clear.

The Walking Dead Season 6 Timeline: A Little Under Two Years (Still) 

Again, there is no significant time jump between seasons five and six. Our characters settle further into Alexandria, encounter a large walker herd, and unfortunately encounter Negan. Tara goes on a two-week supply run that happens at the very end of the season. And, Scott Gimple confirmed that “a few weeks” passed between the midseason finale and the second half of this season. So we are looking at about four to six weeks of time here, give or take a few days.

Maggie also reveals early in the season that she’s pregnant, which means there’s yet another kid that we can (sort of) use to measure time. Speaking of that, Judith is shown to be rolling over and practicing crawling in this episode. She’s still not walking yet, so she’s likely under a year old. This means we are maybe one year and seven months(ish) into The Walking Dead‘s timeline. Apocalypse life comes at you fast. 

The Walking Dead Season 7 Timeline: A Little Over Year 1.5 (Still)

As we know, season seven picks right up where it left off with that horrific Negan scene. And, to many fans’ chagrin, this is the season when things start to move at a glacial pace. Season seven shows us an almost daily account of life under Negan’s thumb, a dejected Rick, and our introduction to Oceanside and The Kingdom, two communities that also want the Saviors gone. It is only a couple of weeks at best. So now we are over the 1.5-year mark but certainly under two.

The Walking Dead Season 8 Timeline: Day 621 (or Year 1 and 9 Months) 

AMC confirms that season eight starts at around day 621, which is about a year and nine months. And this checks out, considering there’s a small passage of time between the previous season and now. Despite this being the big “All Out War” season featuring the burning of Alexandria and the loss of Carl Grimes, things really don’t move too fast here either. This is the point when some fans felt a bit (okay, a lot) frustrated with the Negan timeline going on for two full seasons of The Walking Dead. The war itself happens over about ten or so days, making this perhaps the shortest timespan for a season since the very first one. 

The Walking Dead Season 9 Timeline: Year 3-Year 10 

Now, we do get a significant time jump following the “All-Out War” arc. Negan is locked up and everyone is rebuilding. We see that Judith is a toddler and Maggie has had baby Hershel, who is about a year old. So that puts us a little over three years into the apocalypse with a confirmed 18-month time jump. In episode two, we jump forward another month following Gregory’s death. And, the following episodes leading up to Rick’s departure in episode five happen over the course of a few days.

Once Rick “dies,” the show jumps forward a whopping six years, revealing that Michonne had a son and how splintered the communities are without Rick’s influence. So, now we are about nine years into the apocalypse, which we see with an older Judith and Hershel. By the end of the season, several more months pass as the Whisperers terrorize the survivors, and they go through a bad winter storm. That leaves us about ten years into the apocalypse.

The Walking Dead Season 10 Timeline: Year 10-Year 12 (Maybe 11) 

This season picks up a few months after the finale’s big winter storm, and the group cautiously stays away from Alpha’s borders. They decide to fight back about halfway through the season, and this battle only lasts a mere few weeks as far as we can tell. Negan’s standalone episode (which is the season finale) reveals that more time has passed since the beginning, a little under 12 years at this point. 

The Walking Dead Season 11 Timeline: Year 12

And this leads us to the final season. We get the epic conclusion of the Commonwealth arc as well as a conclusion to this long-running story. There are no major timeskips throughout the season until the finale, where we jump a little over a year ahead to show what the Commonwealth is like under Ezekiel’s rule. So, we end the show right about Year 12 and, in our time, 12 years after its debut. (The final episode aired in 2022.)

So, now that we are through that long ordeal, where does that place the upcoming spinoffs of The Walking Dead on the timeline? Let’s get into it. 

The Walking Dead: Dead City’s Timeline: Year 15(ish) 

The first show is Dead City, starring Maggie and Negan. An early statement by AMC executive Dan McDermott says the show takes place in Manhattan, where walkers have been overrunning the city for about 12 years. However, this is in direct conflict with the show’s synopsis that affirms 1) this show takes place “a couple of years” after the events of The Walking Dead and 2) Manhattan fell shortly after the outbreak.

Negan also affirms this in the series, saying that the initial happenings with the Saviors took place around 15 years ago. So, we will place this show in Year 15, which aligns well with Hershel’s age. He was born around year two of the apocalypse, so he would be about 13 now. We will have to wait and see how much time passes between this first season and the second one.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’s Timeline: Year 12  

The timeline for this The Walking Dead spinoff show is pretty straightforward. In the first episode of Daryl Dixon, Sister Isabelle reveals that the nuns have been at their abbey for around 12 years. This also checks out with Laurent, the rather peculiar boy living with them whom they think will save humanity. So this means Daryl wasn’t out on his bike very long before he somehow ended up on that boat to France. We will see if the show gives us more information in the future.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live and Its Fluctuating Timeline

Assuming that what we saw of Rick and Michonne at the very end of The Walking Dead took place in Year 13, this show is going to probably jump all over the place. We want to see what Rick and Michonne have been doing for the last two or three years, and we will probably go further into the future with them. Again, this show isn’t coming until 2024, so it remains to be seen. 

The Walking Dead‘s Complex Timeline, Its Spinoff Series, and Where We End Up

So, there you have it! Easy right? All this means The Walking Dead’s world is actually in the same year as ours for now: 2023.

But as The Walking Dead‘s universe continues to grow and evolve, and more spinoff details continue to emerge, who knows where the show might go. We’ll be sure to keep track of the timeline so you can follow along with all your favorites.

The Walking Dead‘s Timeline; Jump to: TWD Season 1 // TWD Season 2 // TWD Season 3 // TWD Season 4 // TWD Season 5 // TWD Season 6 // TWD Season 7 // TWD Season 8 // TWD Season 9 // TWD Season 10 // TWD Season 11 // Dead City Spinoff // Daryl Dixon Spinoff // The Ones Who Live Spinoff

Originally published on February 14, 2023.

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Daryl Dixon, France, mysterious nuns, potential murder, a revival, and a mission involving a kid named Laurent. That’s what we are getting with The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, the highly-anticipated spinoff heading our way on September 10. We have gotten quite a few teasers and first-look photos of Daryl’s unexpected trip to France that left us with more questions than answers. Thankfully, an official The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon trailer made its debut at SDCC 2023 and we have a little more clarity about what he will face in France. 

In the trailer for this The Walking Dead spinoff, Daryl Dixon reveals to a nun that a string of bad decisions led to his new locale. And it seems that there is a group that’s been waiting for his arrival. Why? He’s the “messenger” to deliver Laurent, a kid who has some sort of importance. It feels kinda reminiscent of the relationship that Joel and Ellie have in The Last of Us. However, the powers behind The Walking Dead have always maintained that this world is not about finding a complete cure. (No, that radiation treatment in Fear the Walking Dead doesn’t count.) Maybe they are singing a different tune now.

Of course, nothing is ever simple for Daryl Dixon. In the trailer, there’s someone trying to hunt Daryl down and kill him. We know this won’t work because 1) he’s Daryl Dixon and 2) this show is getting another season. But it is always fun to see him fight his way out of deadly predicaments.

Towards the end of the Daryl Dixon trailer, we learn that there’s some sort of “revival of humanity” going on that Daryl will lead. Also, in equally important news, Daryl is wearing suspenders and a sweater. This is a good look for him. It seems Daryl will be a very important figure in France. Whatever mission he is going on, he will be victorious. I believe in you, Daryl Dixon.

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It has been nearly five years since we saw Rick Grimes and Michonne together onscreen. Their great apocalypse love story took a tragic turn in The Walking Dead season 9 when Rick “sacrificed” himself on that bridge. Of course, we knew that Rick didn’t die. Jadis found him and took him on one of those CRM helicopters. But, poor Michonne thought her man was dead for many years until her big discovery at Bloodsworth Island led her to look for him. We saw a glimpse of their separate predicaments in The Walking Dead’s final episode.

Thankfully, we are finally going to get a sweet reunion between this pair in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, which is the official title for the Rick and Michonne spinoff series. At this year’s SDCC, fans got a teaser trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live showing Rick and Michonne in action. 

Michonne looks incredible in this clip, as she speaks about losing someone years ago and finding out that he’s alive. We also see Rick doing one of the things he does best: killing walkers. Do we learn anything? Not at all. Does it matter? Nope. It is just exciting to get a teaser trailer with Rick and Michonne back in action again.

The Meaning Behind the Rick & Michonne Series’ Official Title

The Ones Who Live is also a perfect title for this series. Rick originally said that line in reference to his original group in The Walking Dead’s fifth season. He told Deanna, who led Alexandria, that his group knew what to do because they knew how to survive this harsh world. And, in the show’s final episode, we hear many of the characters utter that line, including Rick and Michonne. Through all the villains, death, and despair, they are still alive and their love lives on. 

What Is The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live‘s Release Date? 

We still don’t know exactly when The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will hit AMC. It is coming sometime in 2024, which feels both close and still too far away. Either way, Rick Grimes and Michonne are back and that sparks so much joy.

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The Walking Dead universe has been on our TV screens for well over a decade at this point. Now, this apocalyptic world is taking a new approach—taking fan-favorite characters and sending them on adventures to places we’ve never seen. The Walking Dead: Dead City brought Maggie and Negan to NYC for a rescue mission, while The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon will sweep our crossbow-carrying hero all the way to France. Many fans thought these The Walking Dead spinoff stories would be miniseries, but, as AMC revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, they are just getting started. The Walking Dead: Dead City and Daryl Dixon both scored a season two renewal at AMC. 

Here’s what Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, had to say about this exciting The Walking Dead: Dead City and Daryl Dixon season two news: 

This next chapter in the Walking Dead Universe continues to thrive with a terrific inaugural season for Dead City and highly anticipated new journey for fan-favorite character Daryl Dixon coming in September. We can’t wait to bring Dead City fans back to the epicenter of Manhattan for more zip-lining action with Maggie and Negan. And, ahead of its debut, we’re thrilled to double down on Daryl as we bring the apocalypse to France, transforming Notre Dame, Pont du Gard, and other iconic locales into an apocalyptic landscape unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Daryl Dixon and Dead City getting a season two renewal is excellent, indeed. Dead City wraps up its first season on July 23. Considering this new information about The Walking Dead spinoff series, we might get a cliffhanger to end season one. At this point, we know that Maggie is lying through her teeth, and it won’t be too long before he pieces the truth together. Plus, there’s enough water under the bridge between these two to keep a story going for a while. Dead City season two will surely continue to unwind Maggie’s complex feelings towards Negan.

The Daryl Dixon season two renewal isn’t surprising at all. Yes, the show doesn’t come out until September. But Daryl is undoubtedly one of the most popular characters in the franchise. And Daryl Dixon is taking us out of the USA and to France. It’s a locale shift that we have wanted in this franchise for years, and everything we have seen from the spinoff series so far looks dope. We can’t wait to see our faves exploring more of The Walking Dead’s universe as these spinoffs progress into their next seasons.

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The Walking Dead is now completely done, but the universe continues to snarl forward with a bevy of spinoff series. The undead/resurrected zombie subgenre of horror can go a lot of different ways, from the downright ridiculousness of Shaun of the Dead to the unquestionably scary Train to Busan. But, where does The Walking Dead fall into that spectrum? Is The Walking Dead scary?

Of course, scariness is subjective but even I, a not-easily-spooked person, will admit that there are some legit frightening happenings in this series. In no particular order, here are the seven scariest episodes of The Walking Dead: 

“On the Inside”  (Season 11, Episode 6) 

The show’s final season delivers one of the show’s best and most frightening episodes ever. Connie, a Deaf survivor, is surviving on the road with Virgil. That alone is scary enough considering how he tried to kill Michonne in the previous season. But when you toss in a group of feral cannibals on their trail and them taking refuge in a creepy cabin of horrors, it all adds up to a heart-pounding episode. Thankfully, we do get some joy at the end when Connie is reunited with some of her people, including her sister Kelly. 

“No Way Out” (Season 6, Episode 9)

Alexandria goes through its worst nightmare in this episode. A herd of walkers is moving through the community, causing death and panic throughout its streets. Carl gets shot, Rick’s “girlfriend” and her son Sam are devoured, and it seems that they will all die. However, Rick goes into his “murder mode” heading out to hack walkers down like an apocalyptic superhero. Of course, Michonne and others from his group join him but the Alexandrians prove their might by getting in on this fight. The intensity and fear that anyone could die at any time (well, except Rick) doesn’t let up in this episode. 

“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” (Season 7, Episode 1)

This episode is one that quite a few fans watched once and will never, ever revisit. (It’s me, I’m fans.) It is a fateful day that Dr. Jenner warned Rick about: the one where he wouldn’t be thankful for staying alive. Negan and his barbed wire bat are absolutely terrifying as they beat Abraham and Glenn’s heads to mush. Rick’s tear-stained eyes, spiraling fear, and subsequent mental torture by Negan make your stomach fall to your feet. It is a brutal and absolutely the scariest episode of The Walking Dead for a lot of fans. 

“A”  (Season 4, Episode 16)

This season finale is full of frightening moments, specifically in its latter half. The Claimers have Rick, Michonne, and Carl in their clutches, threatening death and horrific assaults. We don’t know how Rick will save himself and his family but he finds a way. And whoa is it gruesome. Rick takes a bite of a criminal’s throat, blood spraying all over his face as he spits out a chunk of meat. He’s ruthless and looking really good in that brown jacket. (It is not better than his iconic hat but still a great piece of Rick clothing.) Then, the fear amps up in a different yet still unsettling way once we realize that Terminus is a very bad place. Rick declares they are messing with the wrong people in a dark train car, leaving us all on edge about how they will survive. The Walking Dead packs a mini horror adventure packed into one episode, which is why its on our scariest list.

“Evolution” (Season 9, Episode 8)

There’s nothing scarier than discovering that a walker is actually a living person wearing a skin mask. The Whisperers didn’t have a chainsaw but they did have the perfect camouflage to sneak up on a group of our survivors. Foggy surroundings in a graveyard and a sneak attack on poor Jesus reveals a new horror for everyone. 

“Ghosts” (Season 10, Episode 3)

Sometimes, the scariest things are what our mind imagines. That’s what happens with Carol as she faces the real threat of the Whisperers along with some hallucinations. This episode plays into the horror trope of feeling like you are being constantly watched, followed, and/or surrounded by your worst fears. Reality and fiction are not that easy to distinguish, making all its fearful moments plausible. 

“Beside the Dying Fire” (Season 2, Episode 13)

A barn on fire, a field full of walkers, and a desperate attempt for everyone to escape cap off an otherwise mostly chill season of The Walking Dead. There’s clear inspiration from Romero’s Night of the Living Dead here as walkers descend from all areas to Hershel’s farm. Some people go out with gruesome deaths while others find themselves alone in the woods, separated from their new found family. Many people may not consider this to be scary but they’d be singing a different tune if they were actually experiencing this pivotal event.

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The Walking Dead: Dead City is all about Maggie and Negan’s ongoing plan to save Hershel from the Croat. The show makes frequent references to characters like Glenn, Annie, and others from the original series via Maggie’s recurring nightmares (i.e. archival footage). However, we hadn’t seen any Dead City cameos until now. Dead City went back to the peak Savior days and, through an important and new flashback scene, brought Simon back into The Walking Dead world. 

As we know, Simon was Negan’s second-in-command until things went sour between them. During a failed coup, Negan got the upper hand and strangled Simon to death. Dead City’s fourth episode opens with Negan and Lucille (the bat) chilling at a table. Simon comes in and tells Negan that they have a problem. As they walk down a hallway, Simon says that people are complaining about someone who is way out of line.

That person is the Croat, who claims he got a girl—who was allegedly a King Ezekiel spy—to confess. Her “confession” probably came as a result of torture in hopes that he would stop. This lines up with what Negan told Maggie about when he revealed why he parted ways with the Croat. Negan looks at the girl’s mutilated corpse and gets really angry. We don’t see it happen let’s assume this is what led to Negan booting the Croat from his group.

In the present day, it seems that the Croat wants the good ole days back. However, Negan not the same man who shot off his ear years prior. (I mean, he’s still a killa. Just less chaotic and more remorseful.) Dead City bringing Simon back, even just for a flashback moment, adds necessary context to the complex relationship Negan had with the Croat and his overall past. We don’t know if any other familiar faces will appear for another quick cameo in Dead City. But we can’t wait to see how this dreadful reunion between Negan and the Croat ends.

Originally published on July 9.

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The Walking Dead: Dead City (we will simply call it Dead City) is expanding this universe further with familiar faces. This spinoff series gets into action quickly with Maggie tracking down Negan just outside of New York City. As we already knew, Maggie needs Negan’s help to locate her son Hershel after he was taken by a new villain called the Croat (Željko Ivanek). Many fans (including me!) suspected the Croat was a former Savior who eventually formed his own version of the Sanctuary… and we were right. Here’s everything we know about the Croat and what he’s up to on The Walking Dead: Dead City. 

Who Is the Croat and What Is His Connection to Negan?

In Dead City’s debut episode, Maggie finds Negan, who is traveling with Ginny, a kid whose trauma has rendered her silent. We know that a couple of years have passed in this universe, so there are some gaps that the show will eventually explain. Negan wants to know why she’s stalking him and Maggie says she needs his help with finding and defeating the Croat. Negan pretends to not know him at first. That is, until Maggie says that the Croat’s group came into her community and began to do that famous Savior whistle.

Negan admits that the Croat was “an exceptionally insane son of a b**ch” and that Hershel is probably already dead. Maggie insists that he must help her because he still owes her (does he, though?) and reminds Negan that he’s a wanted man on the run with nowhere to go. Negan agrees to help her find the Croat but only because Maggie promises Ginny refuge and education in a safe community. After watching Negan and Maggie running from falling walker bodies, massive bugs, and a ruthless Marshall (Gaius Charles), we meet the Croat himself. 

At first glance, he looks more like someone’s grandfather than a ruthless leader. He confronts a bound Hershel, asking him what he knows about Negan. Hershel smart mouths him and The Croat prepares to torture him with a scythe-like instrument. But a worker interrupts him and his attention turns to an ill-fated prison escapee. 

In episode two, Negan reveals to Maggie that the Croat “showed up at his door” and had been through some terrible things. Apparently, his whole family died in front of his eyes. He took him in and the Croat began to call Negan his buraz (brother) because he made him feel safe. Negan says that while he was only a monster when he had to be to protect his people, the Croat liked to torture and toy with people for fun. The Croat was Negan’s resident torturer until an incident took place where he specifically told the Croat to let a young drifter girl go on her way. The Croat got her and did something so terrible that Negan wouldn’t even speak it aloud. Negan took a shot at him and missed, blowing off his ear. The Croat got away and Negan hadn’t heard of him since… until now.

Maggie tells the group that 1) he knows the Croat and 2) they can take him down much like the VA communities did with the Saviors. She wants Negan to be bait while they go in for the kill. Negan does prove to be helpful, giving them insight into the Croat’s way of thinking so they can devise a plan.

In episode four, we see a flashback of Negan and Simon confronting the Croat over a brutal murder. And, in the present time, Negan and the Croat come face to face for the first time in years. Unlike Negan’s prediction, the Croat welcomes him with open arms, wanting Negan to join his ranks. Negan refuses, of course, before saving Perlie’s life only for him to point a gun at him. Good times.

The Croat and His Burazi Group in The Walking Dead: Dead City, Explained

The Croat’s collective is known as the Burazi. The word buraz means brother in Croatian (the obvious reference for the Croat’s name) and Negan previously said that’s what the Croat called him. Towards the end of episode two, we find out via Tommaso that the Croat is known as “Van Gogh” and “the psycho.” And his Burazi are deeply, deeply feared throughout NYC. (They look like an evil version of Daft Punk when they are on the streets.)

Amaia later reveals that their group was struggling to survive after the military bombed all their exits from the island. And the Croat’s arrival made things worse. He offered shelter and creature comforts in exchange for joining his brutal group. Tommaso knows the Croat’s brutality all too well after being held captive and tortured for information. He escaped thanks to a walker (which they call fleshies) giving him an out, but thinks there’s no way Hershel is still alive.

We get a good look inside the Burazi’s complex at the Madison Square Garden in episode three and it is quite wild. There are these preservation tanks with human bodies, a Gladiator-style ring, and torture cells. The group also chants “Doma Smo!” which is Croatian for “We are at home!” They are essentially an even more twisted version of the Saviors with a “join us or die” mentality.

The Croat reveals to the captive Marshall that he worked in alternative energy before the outbreak. He literally uses the methane gas released by dead bodies to make a liquid fuel. The concept of death being a resource is a horrible message that he recites to his followers before making the Marshall breathe in that liquid and fight for his life. He also calls his place a “sanctuary,” which was the name of Negan’s complex. He’s a hands-on killer, from bashing in a man’s skull on a balcony to breaking a girl’s body apart while at the Sanctuary.

Based on Negan’s story, it doesn’t seem that any Saviors left with the Croat. We can only assume he found his collective over the years as he took over the island. The Croat’s existence truly speaks to the ripple effect that a single person can have in this world. It is very telling for the Croat and his group to do that Savior whistle years after Negan’s reign.

In a sense, this guy is a monster that is partially of Negan’s own creation. It is obvious he still subscribes to his conquering mindset. And if Negan—a man who bashed two people’s skulls to pulp with a barbed wire bat—thinks the Croat is a psychopath, then that is making a huge statement about what they are facing. Let’s see where Dead City takes us on this quest to save Hershel.

Originally published on June 18, 2023.

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After the series finale of The Walking Dead, many fans were left wondering how Maggie and Negan’s stories would merge together for Dead City. Negan left our group to head off with his pregnant wife Annie to start their family elsewhere while Maggie continued as the leader of the Hilltop. When they reunited in Dead City, Maggie asked the exact question that fans wanted to know: What happened to Negan’s wife Annie and their child? Negan finally decided to answer her inquiry in episode three and yes, it involves heartbreaking violence. 

Negan tells Maggie that he lived in a cabin outside of New Babylon with Annie and Joshua, his son. (This further confirms that Dead City is more than 12 years into the apocalypse.) Annie went into town to do trading one day and didn’t return by nightfall. Negan knew something was amiss, so he went out to look for her. He found Annie and she’d been robbed and badly beaten. Despite Annie pleading with him to let it go, Negan found the five men at a drinking hole and killed all of them.

Afterward, his family went on the run and the transient lifestyle was hard on Annie. Negan put Annie and Joshua on a wagon train to Missouri, telling him that he would be right behind them. Instead, he stayed behind and hopes that they are okay. Of course, Maggie doesn’t have a ton of sympathy for him and, to be honest, it is hard to.

Negan is likely leaving out some details about this situation that we may learn later in Dead City. But, based on what we know, his choice to stay behind makes no sense. He has no reason to want to stay in the area, especially considering that he’s a wanted man. We know that he’s running from the New Babylon authorities for those murders. But their reach/jurisdiction doesn’t extend out to Missouri as far as we know. Negan and his family would have been safe to start a new life that’s far removed from the East Coast. Why would Negan let his family go without him? Does he have the first clue where they are in Missouri? Why would they go to Missouri? And will he eventually look for them?

Now that we know what happened to Negan’s wife Annie and their son, it all seems a little too convenient. There’s no other solid rationale behind this decision except to push them out of the picture so he could go on this dummy mission with Maggie. His situation also explains why he’s being such a fatherly figure to Ginny. He’s missing out on Joshua’s life and may never see him again. Annie and Joshua probably won’t reunite with Negan in Dead City but, assuming they are still alive, maybe Negan’s story will eventually end with him heading to Missouri. That is, if he survives his impending encounter with the Croat.

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Morgan Jones is heading back to Alexandria! The character has been a mainstay in The Walking Dead’s live-action universe since the flagship show’s very first episode. Morgan became Rick Grimes’ first apocalypse-era friend and gave him a crash course on how to kill walkers. After years on that series, he made his way over to Fear the Walking Dead after literally running away from all the chaos of Alexandria and surrounding communities. Now, after several seasons on Fear the Walking Dead, Morgan and his daughter Mo left during the midseason finale to go back to Virginia.

His final moments on the series feel quite full circle as he reaches out to Rick via a walkie-talkie. Morgan says that he is coming to find Rick, whether he is at Alexandria or not. It is reminiscent of how Rick attempted to reach Morgan after they parted ways outside of Atlanta. We even saw Morgan return to that old Georgia house and finally face a part of his past earlier this season. Of course, fans immediately perked up at Morgan going off to find Rick. Honestly, everyone seems to be looking for that guy. Michonne is obviously going to locate Rick and poor Daryl’s mission is way off course considering he’s in Paris.

But, while both of them were there to see Rick’s “death” and many of the following events, Morgan has no clue what’s happened over the years. He left way back at the end of season eight, long before the deaths of Jesus, Tara, Enid, Rosita, and others. In fact, he doesn’t know that Rick has another son now.

Interestingly, Lennie James says that his exit as Morgan Jones is the official end for him. “For me, that’s it,” James said in a Decider interview. “It’s the end of the end really for me. I mean, if you see me again, pick up the staff and start swinging it, it’s because there was a story presented to me that I just could not say no to. But as far as I’m concerned, I’m up and out.”

This could be the actual truth with an ending that leaves things open to our interpretation. After all he’s been through, we are certainly thankful that his story has a satisfying ending. But it is also possible that Lennie James simply isn’t revealing a Morgan and Rick reunion. They may not come together in the Rick and Michonne series. However, a Walking Dead film isn’t necessarily impossible. Fans would love to see Rick’s story come full circle with his return to Alexandria and his children.

We know that Alexandria is a safe and thriving part of the overall Commonwealth collective. Morgan’s daughter would have a nice place to grow up alongside other kids. It would be fulfilling to bring Rick and Morgan together to end this story after they began it together over a decade ago. We will see what happens with Morgan in the future.

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The “Maggie and Negan Take Manhattan” show, officially known as The Walking Dead: Dead City, is almost here. In terms of the universe’s overall timeline, we are jumping into the future by a couple of years as Maggie recruits Negan on a mission to find her kidnapped son, Hershel. We’d only gotten some broad Dead City information, photos, and a couple of small teasers until now. Finally, there is a full length trailer for The Walking Dead: Dead City that takes us into the apocalyptic depths of the Big Apple. 

This trailer sets up a completely different tone than what we previously saw in The Walking Dead. There’s certainly a darker (literally and figuratively) and more cinematic scope. This is partially due to the walkers, which continue to mutate in disturbing ways. We do not need walkers leaping from building to building in a single bound nor forming a super sized terror. And we finally begin to understand the situation in Manhattan, which is completely cut off from the US mainland. The citizens who remain there are much like Negan was when we first met him: chaotic and dangerous. We discover that Negan has a connection to NYC via The Croat (Željko Ivanek), a dangerous leader who doesn’t let people off the island once they arrive. This is the man who has Hershel and explains why Maggie needs Negan’s help. 

Negan is a wanted man in this area, specifically by lawman Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles), but we aren’t sure why yet. I believe it is one of three things. First, Negan ended up in NYC after wandering off at the end of The Walking Dead and somehow pissed the Croat off really, really badly. Old villain habits die hard with that guy. It’s also plausible that the Croat and Negan crossed paths when the latter was with his new wife, Annie, which somehow led to her death. Or, perhaps Negan has known the Croat for a while. Perhaps this character was once a part of Negan’s Savior collective who seeks revenge. Either way, they obviously have bad blood between them and The Walking Dead: Dead City trailer sets up a gnarly and wild story.

It’s not uncommon for people to take each other captive in this world. But it feels awfully convenient that Hershel is taken from the group. It could simply be because he is young or perhaps it is a more calculated choice by the Croat to lure Negan into his grasp. We will find out the truth when The Walking Dead: Dead City hits AMC and AMC+ on June 18.

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The Walking Dead TV show is full of legendary characters. Some of them, like Carol Peletier, got a radical change from their comic counterpart for the better. Others, like Michonne Grimes, are fan favorites in both mediums. Then there’s Daryl Dixon, a character created for the show who became so popular that he’s getting his own spinoff series. And, of course, we cannot forget the man himself, Rick Grimes. But there is one silent yet omnipresent legend who doesn’t get the recognition it deserves: Rick’s Hat. Yes, a hat. It is one of the longest surviving items on The Walking Dead with a consistency that is unmatched. 

Rick’s Hat has stood the test of not only time, but a myriad of incredibly wild and dangerous situations without somehow getting left behind. I truly shudder when I think about how offensive it must smell after over a decade in the apocalypse, but its filth surely adds to its charm, right? RIGHT?! It is important enough to have its own Fandom page and is truly a fun staple in The Walking Dead.

We met Rick’s Hat in the very first episode. You know, way back when the show’s budget was low and Rick knew nothing like Jon Snow. It didn’t get a special introduction or a memorable scene of Rick placing it on his head dramatically. None of that hoopla is necessary when a true star hits the scene. Rick’s Hat just appears magically on his head when he’s walking out of the sheriff’s station with Morgan and Duane. In an effort to hold onto a piece of his former self, Rick walks around in his sheriff’s outfit complete with The Hat of All Hats. Does he need the hat? You may say no, but I disagree. First, it is hella hot in Georgia and it helps to block the sun. Apparently Rick can find many things, but shades isn’t one of them. And, it gives his outfit that extra fashion pizazz. 

We nearly lost this icon (and Rick too) very early in The Walking Dead; however, they are both still alive and well today thanks to Glenn. First, Glenn saves Rick from certain death. Then, Glenn finds Rick’s Hat and returns it to him. In an apocalyptic world, many of those seemingly small but vital elements of life and familial connection fade. One of those is the concept of a family heirloom, perhaps an item that is passed through generations as an inheritance and a way to honor a family’s legacy.

For some people, it is their great-grandmother’s pearl necklace, their father’s cufflinks, or a baptismal dress worn by several babies in the same lineage. For the Grimes family, it becomes Rick’s Hat in season two. After Carl Grimes somehow doesn’t die, Rick gives him his beloved hat at Hershel’s farm, telling him that they have a connection as gunshot survivors. It’s a symbol that Carl’s childhood is over and he must transform into a leader in his own right. Like many sons, Carl idolizes his father and the hat gives him the courage that he believes Rick has in every situation. Rick then sheds his Officer Friendly persona and evolves into the more calculating and bold man to ensure the group’s survival. 

While the hat sits upon Carl’s head until his untimely, and frankly stupid, death in season eight, it will be forever known as Rick’s Hat. And, just as our intrepid survivor group goes through some serious hell during this (shorter than you think) timeline, so does Rick’s Hat while it is in Carl’s possession. It somehow survives Carl’s dumb shenanigans before and after the attack on the prison. Then, it continues to go through chaos with Terminus cannibalism horrors, Rick’s throat biting rage, and an exhausting trek all the way to Virginia.

Carl uses it to shield baby Judith from a rainstorm as she’s clothed in a blanket, but this hat is indeed his security blanket in a very volatile world. This makes even more sense considering a pre-apocalypse flashback of Rick and toddler Carl together. They walk on a farm and Rick gingerly places the hat on his son’s head in a moment of blissful affection.

After arriving in Alexandria in season five, Rick’s Hat sees a lot of mess, from Rick having (another) mental spiral to a horde of walkers taking over the community. Carl is always in the fight but somehow that hat stays on his head like he glued it on… for the most part. In season six, Carl gets shot and literally loses an eye and, well, that hat doesn’t budge until he collapses on the ground.

It seems that Rick’s Hat will be lost for good in the mayhem and walker slashing; however, it somehow mysteriously appears once again in the next episode. You can knock a legend down but they will always rise again. It’s not shocking that the hat was found during a community cleanup (that doesn’t happen onscreen) because they were in the walls of Alexandria. But who found Rick’s Hat in the streets and gave it back to Carl? It is one of The Walking Dead’s great mysteries along with Heath’s disappearance. 

The hat fuels Carl’s courage to fight back against the Saviors and watches him continue to grow up in season seven. Carl’s first kiss and big solo murder mission against the Saviors? Rick’s Hat is right there like a proud dad, even when it once again takes a tumble into dirt. (Carl picks it up before he gets a Sanctuary tour, btw.) 

When the Saviors and Alexandria have a major standoff, Negan removes Rick’s Hat from Carl’s head to bash his brains. But, thankfully the other communities save everyone and wrap up the Negan battle. Once again, Carl thinks of the hat in the face of danger, putting it back on for the final fight. 

At this point, one may wonder why it matters so much to Carl to wear this hat. His idealized image of his father is now gone, replaced with witnessing his necessary brutality. Carl also has a nice head of hair under there. Plus, everyone on The Walking Dead is constantly sweating and stressed out. A hat is great for shielding the sun but surely causes more perspiration, right? Well, Carl explains it to Judith in season eight during the last moments of his life.

At this point, Carl is becoming a young man who wants to build something greater in the world. He wants everyone to thrive and experience some level of peace with united communities. But his desire to save others leads to him getting bit. Before he dies, he hands Rick’s Hat to his little sister and says, “This was Dad’s before it was mine. Now it’s yours. I don’t know… just… just having it, it always kept dad with me, it made me feel as strong as him… It helped me, maybe it’ll help you too.” 

And with that, Rick’s inheritance goes down to his daughter Judith Grimes. While we really don’t see preschool aged Judith wear it at first, it does become a part of her look as she ages. After Rick’s “death” in season nine, we later see an older Judith pick the hat up and place it on her head.

Judith is a great keeper of the hat for a while, rarely losing it in any kind of way, even through the Whisperer war arc. Of course, she’s also not as heavily involved in the action at first either, so that works in her favor. By this point, Rick and Michonne’s son, RJ, is a part of their family. And, it is only fitting for him to follow in his siblings’ footsteps and don Rick’s Hat. In the show’s penultimate episode, Judith officially passes the hat down to RJ. Honestly, she doesn’t need it considering that she has a katana in honor of her mom and now Rick’s infamous gun. And when she puts the hat on RJ’s head, it brings things full circle in terms of the hat’s name. RJ is a junior, so the hat belongs to a Rick Grimes once again. What a beautiful story. 

Will we ever see Rick’s Hat again? Maybe. It would be nice for Richonne to reunite with their children and get a chance to simply LIVE. Just imagine Rick meeting his son for the first time and seeing his old hat perched on RJ’s head. The feels abound. But, even if we don’t see Rick’s Hat again, it will forever be a Walking Dead legend, a comforter in times of trouble, and a family heirloom that bridges the old world with the new. Long live Rick’s Hat.

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Yet another Walking Dead era is coming to an end. Fear the Walking Dead broke new ground as the first spinoff from The Walking Dead back in 2015. Now, eight years later, the show is saying goodbye to fans with its eighth and final season. While not every fan got into Fear, many did at least have a passing interest in Morgan Jones’ storyline. We’ve known Morgan since the very beginning of this Walking Dead saga when he saved a very scared Rick from certain death. Morgan left The Walking Dead and went to Fear the Walking Dead a long time ago, but the show’s trailer reveals that he’s returning to Georgia in the final season and honoring Rick Grimes. 

In the Fear the Walking Dead season eight trailer, Morgan repeats what Rick told him years ago when he decided to literally run away from it all. “I need you to listen to me because I want to tell you something that a friend once told me,” Morgan says. “He said you can hide, but you can’t run. He wanted me to know that hurt will follow you. It follows you wherever you go. He was right.”

And it seems that Rick’s influence is looming over him, as he makes the shocking decision to go back to King’s County, Georgia. He returns to the house where he and Duane lived together in season one of The Walking Dead. Morgan, of course, remained in Georgia for a while before departing the area in The Walking Dead season five, much like Rick’s group did. (We see his experiences via a flashback in the next season. Gotta love those Walking Dead timelines.)

Why Is Morgan Jones Going Back to Georgia in Fear the Walking Dead?

Right now, we aren’t sure why Morgan is bringing his adopted daughter Mo and Grace back to his roots. All of the people he knows left that area a long, long time ago. Maybe he believes there’s something that he needs to do there to feel complete. Perhaps he wants to bring his life full circle and build there with his new family. He finds the gun that Rick gave him in the pilot episode and Grace tells him it has a purpose. This further sparks the idea that he may try to reunite with the Alexandria crew at some point. As far as Morgan knows, Rick and the gang are still alive and well there. Or, maybe he will end up in the clutches of the CRM somehow. Just imagine him finding his way to Rick through a series of unfortunate events. Of course, it could just be a nostalgic nod for us while we wait for that Rick and Michonne spinoff series.

Either way, it is eerie to be back in that house after so, so many years. Perhaps it will all end with a way for Morgan Jones to reunite with Rick Grimes in the future. I beg of you, please let Morgan live. He deserves it.

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The Walking Dead universe is going through a lot of changes in 2023. Less than a year after bidding farewell to the flagship series, the show’s first spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, is bowing out after eight seasons. But, never fear TWD family, there’s plenty of zombies, action, and blood coming our way for the foreseeable future. We have a few upcoming spinoff series that will take The Walking Dead to new places with familiar faces. The first one up is The Walking Dead: Dead City, the Maggie and Negan series taking place in New York City. Until now, we only knew small bits of information with a few photos and a first look. But, The Walking Dead: Dead City gave fans more goods at WonderCon with a teaser trailer that gives us its release date.

It doesn’t seem like this trailer gives us much more info than the last peek at their adventures. We know that Hershel gets kidnapped, and Negan is somehow key to getting him back. Either way, it is still wild to see walkers literally falling from the sky, which Negan hilariously notes. The Walking Dead: Dead City teaser trailer gives the June 18 release date.

Now, we finally know when all of this action will kick off, and will perhaps get a full trailer sometime soon. See you in the Big Apple soon.

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If you’d told The Walking Dead fans back in season seven that Maggie and Negan would have an entire show together, we would have reacted in one of two ways. The first would have been simply looking at you like you had two heads and four eyeballs. The other one involves potential physical sparring after suggesting such a nonsense idea. But that’s exactly where we find ourselves now with The Walking Dead: Dead City, a spinoff series coming in June 2023. We know a bit about its location and new characters, but a new Dead City teaser reveals more about why Maggie and Negan come together. 

In the clip, Maggie’s son Herschel is kidnapped by an evil smirking dude. We don’t see Herschel clearly, but he’s certainly older than he was at the end of The Walking Dead. This lines up with the show taking place a couple of years after the flagship show’s ending. Maggie tells Negan that he is the key to getting his son back in the Dead City teaser. Now, it isn’t clear what that means right now. Perhaps Negan has some connection to the show’s big bad.

This same person (or group) could have done something to Negan’s wife, Annie, and their child, who don’t seem to be in the picture anymore. He does look rather forlorn in The Walking Dead: Dead City teaser, tbh. Or, maybe Negan is up to some suspect behavior that led to Herschel’s kidnapping. But either way, Maggie is only linking up with Negan to get her son back before death befalls him. And he owes her that much and more after killing Glenn many years ago on The Walking Dead. (No, I will not let it go.) 

It is a great extended mission that makes sense for a miniseries. And it will surely tie into finding out more about Rick in some way. Oh, walkers are also “falling from the sky,” so that’s great fun too. Let the countdown to Maggie and Negan’s adventures in the dead city begin.

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The Walking Dead universe created some memorable characters but none of them are quite like Michonne. She’s a staple in the TV show (and comics) who is known for being a clever survivor, innovative leader, passionate community member, and a skilled fighter—both hand-to-hand and with her infamous katana. Fans have watched her kill, love, laugh, and fight for her family as she grew into one of the most beloved characters on the show. Without Michonne, Rick wouldn’t have matured as a leader, Alexandria wouldn’t have thrived through (and after) chaos, and a lot more people would be dead.

Michonne’s TV arc in The Walking Dead wasn’t without its problems, particularly the amount of brutal physical violence against her versus her white female counterparts. She usually got the upper hand in a brawl but it was hard to see her go through so much additional trauma yet somehow remain an amazing and caring person. Nevertheless, the emotional complexity, grace, wit, and passion that Danai Gurira brings to this integral character is a testament to the power of perfect casting. It was difficult to say goodbye to her in The Walking Dead series but we are thankfully getting a major dose of Richonne in 2024. Rick and Michonne’s Walking Dead spinoff will bring the apocalypse lovebirds back together and show us what they’ve been up to since their respective departures.

In honor of her brilliance and beauty, let’s relive some of Michonne’s best Walking Dead moments in all their katana swingin’ and walker slayin’ glory.

Season 3 Moments // Season 4 Moments // Season 5 Moments // Season 6 Moments // Season 7 Moments // Season 8 Moments // Season 9 Moments // Season 10 Moments // Season 11 Moments

Meet Michonne

Michonne’s first onscreen moment is one of the best Walking Dead introductions EVER. Andrea is two seconds from certain death when a katana suddenly plunges through a walker. The walker body falls and reveals a hooded figure standing silently with two armless and jawless walkers on chains. This scene instantly set Michonne up as the badass and often mysterious person that fans would quickly love.

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 3

Michonne, P.I.

Michonne is the master of carefully choosing her words and sussing out suspicious situations. She instantly picks up on The Governor’s mess and tries to encourage Andrea to see the truth too. Only Michonne would piece together that 1) anywhere where Merle lives can’t be a good place 2) bullet holes in military vehicles and cages of walkers inside community walls are not normal and 3) you should definitely listen to your gut in a lawless and post-apocalyptic world.

Her sharp instincts and investigative skills are why she was able to survive alone and how she later became a major asset to Rick’s group.

Michonne vs. Merle & Company

If Michonne wants to leave, then you better let her go. The Governor’s decision to send Merle and a couple of his henchmen to kill Michonne didn’t end well. She leaves the message “go back”—spelled with walker parts—to warn them that blood would be shed if they pursued her further. They ignore the warning and Michonne comes out swinging her katana, killing two men instantly. Merle is able to fire a shot at her but she still manages to kick his butt, gut a walker, and make it all the way to the prison with baby formula and valuable information. How? Because she’s Michonne.

Bye Penny (and Her Daddy’s Eye)

The Governor is angry when he discovers Michonne in his room full of walker heads and his daughter’s zombie body. She puts the little girl down in front of him, which leads to a physical brawl in which Michonne comes out victorious by stabbing The Governor in the eye. That’s what he gets for putting his hands on her. Sadly, her so-called friend Andrea defends this weird man over the person who saved her life. Michonne goes forward into the world because, well, did she really need Andrea anyway?

Getting Carl in Line

The Grimes family has a lot going on when Michonne joins Rick and Carl for a special supply run. Judith is being raised by the others in the group while Rick is dealing with some emotional and mental trauma. And Carl is acting like a whole brat in these zombie streets with no parental guidance.

Michonne’s patience and firmness with Carl laid the foundation for their eventual mom/son/BFF relationship. Her love and kindness convinces Carl to tell Rick that she is indeed a part of their group. Rick also sees a bit of her heart when she commiserates with him about seeing ghosts because she used to talk to her dead boyfriend. Bonus: Michonne got a colorful cat sculpture out of the deal!

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 4

Let’s Go for a Ride

Michonne riding a horse with her katana. That’s it. That’s the caption. This applies to season four and every time she mounts a horse in the future.

Hello Judith

Michonne’s first time holding Judith is such a bittersweet moment. It foreshadows Michonne’s reveal about losing her son Andre and gives fans a small glimpse into the emotional pain that she tucked away for the sake of survival.

This scene hits different in hindsight because that same baby, Judith, would grow up to know Michonne as her mom. Michonne has lost Rick and Carl, so Judith and her brother RJ are the only immediate family she has left.

And, for Judith, Michonne is the only parent she has really known because her father has been “gone” for at least half of her life. The bond between Judith and Michonne is certainly different from the one she shared with Carl, but it’s still one of the highlights of this show.

Stupid Gets You Killed

She’s proven herself to be one of the smarter survivors on the show, so it’s no surprise that she would give sage advice. Michonne offers some simple words to live by in the apocalypse:

“I know you’re pissed. And you have every reason to be. But anger makes you stupid. Stupid gets you killed.”

FACTS. Michonne has had to deal with her share of anger like everyone else but she also realizes the potential result of allowing that anger to govern her actions. It’s the reason why she is still here over a decade into the apocalypse.

Handling Walkers with No Hands

No katana? No hands? No problem. Michonne is tied up by Merle on their way back to Woodbury but she’s still able to take down two walkers with ease. It’s an often forgotten scene that shows her quick thinking and defensive skills.

The Governor Goes Down (for Good)

Michonne was destined to kill The Governor, right? Once again, Michonne saves the day by plunging her katana into his chest and sparing Rick’s life. This moment comes after Rick basically traded her to The Governor and the group ignored her insistence on hunting down The Governor and his group after they attacked the prison. The people really don’t deserve Michonne’s awesomeness but she’s kind enough to give it to them anyway.

The Chopping of a Herd

Danai Gurira told Entertainment Weekly that this is her favorite Michonne moment (for now) and it’s a great choice. The destruction of the prison causes loners like Michonne and Daryl to immediately revert to their old ways. For Daryl, it involves getting caught up with a sketchy group of murderers and rapists.

For Michonne, it means leading two walkers on ropes to walk among the dead. Michonne finally decides to fight for life and find her family after seeing a walker who (vaguely) looks like her. She cuts down a herd of walkers by herself, releasing her anger, fear, frustration, and pain in the process.

The Kill Assist for Murderer Rick

Rick and Michonne are forces to be reckoned with on their own. But, their combined skills make them quite the deadly duo. The virtually perfect season four finale puts them in a terrible predicament with Joe and the Claimers threatening heinous crimes against them. Rick changes the game when he bites Joe’s throat out and Michonne immediately snaps into action.

She kills two people before turning the gun on the guy who wanted to assault Carl. Moments later, she cradles Carl in her arms after the bloody incident. Michonne always provides the perfect balance between necessary brutality, rage, and warmth, which makes her the real MVP.

Snacks on the Train Tracks

Here’s another example of Carl and Michonne being the best. The pair make light of their situation by walking on train tracks like they are balancing beams for the sake of a candy bar bet. He takes her favorite bar before they decide to split it because they are adorable human beings.

A Past Reveal

Michonne opens up to her sweet boy Carl about her son Andre and why she kept two walkers on chains. It is a tender exchange that shows how deeply they trust each other, especially when Carl reveals his own issues about his dad’s recent raging and his own moral compass. So many tears and feels.

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 5

A Right Hook to Rick’s Face

Michonne loved and supported Rick long before Richonne became canon. But that doesn’t mean she won’t challenge him when he goes off the rails. Fans have seen Rick and Michonne have a war of words or different opinions about a situation, but this incident took things to a new level.

Rick is completely out of pocket, screaming at the Alexandrians with a bloody face and a gun. Michonne appears out of thin air and clocks him so good that he doesn’t wake up for a while. It’s what he needs—and deserves—at the time.

In Defense Of….

How do you defend a wily and unpredictable survivor like Rick to a town of sheltered people? Leave it to Michonne to find a way. Here’s what she says to Deanna on Rick’s behalf:

“…after being out there and then not being how you were out there… it can drive you crazy. Rick just wants his family to live. He wants all of you to live. Who he is… is who you’re gonna be if you’re lucky.”

Her words are 100 percent true. The only way to survive in that world is to be a fighter who is willing to do anything to protect their family and way of life.

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 6

A Reality Check with Heath

Thank you Michonne for taking Heath down a peg. Heath thought going on a few runs meant he knew about survival and making tough choices until he got some real talk from Michonne.

“You haven’t been through it, not really… Rick was out there. I was out there. We know, you don’t. But if you don’t learn, you will die, we will… Have you had to kill people because they had already killed your friends and were coming for you next? Have you ever done things that made you feel afraid of yourself afterward? Have you ever been covered in so much blood that you didn’t know if it was yours or walkers’ or your friends? Huh? Then you don’t know.”

Well, there’s some apocalypse reality for ya.

Ron Is Gone 

Michonne taking out an antagonist in the nick of time is a way of life. Yes, Carl still lost his eye after being shot by Ron, but Michonne’s intervention saves his life. And it marks the end of the Andersons a.k.a. the most annoying family in Walking Dead history. Good riddance Ronny boy.

Leading the Alexandrian Pack

In the midst of walkers, Michonne clears a path for Rick and a severely injured Carl to get to the infirmary. She spends a moment with Carl before running out the door to fight the massive herd alongside Rick for their community. Of course, everyone follows her because you should always follow Michonne.

Her actions lead many others to defend Alexandria—a battle that bridges the gap between Rick’s group and the Alexandrians.

The birth of Richonne

It’s the moment that Richonne shippers had been waiting for since season three. The first Rick and Michonne kiss is truly a glorious moment between the Alexandrian leaders. Everything about their union made sense from an emotional and story perspective and they both honestly deserved to have some love and happiness in their lives.

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 7

Michonne Rallies Rick to Fight

The Walking Dead fans had seen a lot of different Ricks—Murderer Rick, Hallucinating Rick, Angry Rick, Witty Rick, and Running Rick. But Negan turned the brave leader into a shell of his former self who was petrified to make a move.

Michonne keeps her fire and faith in their ability to one day triumph over Negan and, without her steadfastness, the group would have stayed under Negan’s thumb for much longer. At the time, Rick is leader of the group but Michonne’s influence and power is equally (if not more) important.

The Richonne Roadtrip

Michonne and Rick go on a mini getaway! There are some funny and sweet scenes with this duo, but the best ones came in the midst of trouble. Michonne is completely devastated by the thought of Rick’s death, dropping her katana in shock. But, Rick’s plot armor came through when he reappears and tosses her the katana. Michonne goes right back to being a boss, catching the katana with one hand and doing a double beheading move on a pair of walkers. Love to see it.

The Car Cutdown

Did the scene with Michonne and Rick using two cars and a rope to take down walkers make any sense? Not really. But hey its a show about zombies after all. That doesn’t mean it isn’t still wildly entertaining and fun to watch them work together before escaping the hoard in another vehicle.

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 8

The Last Chat with Carl

This season marks the beginning of less Michonne in The Walking Dead. The reduction in her screen time was due to Danai’s career skyrocketing with Broadway plays and Black Panther so it was all good.

Her biggest appearance this season is after the destruction at Alexandria when she discovers Carl’s bite mark. Their tearful goodbye to each other and the quiet moment on the porch before hearing Carl put himself down are still too much to handle.

There’s no other Michonne moment that really matters in season eight because this is such a defining time. She loses the community she worked hard to assimilate into and protect and now she must deal with the death of her best friend, her sweet son. Carl’s death may have caused a lot of righteous anger and annoyance, but their last scenes together are absolutely perfect.

Step Back Enid

Here’s a fun one to balance out the sadness of losing Carl. Enid gets the nerve, the audacity to interrupt Maggie and Michonne’s conversation about how to deal with Georgie. She even steps to Michonne’s face talking about the Saviors, fighting, and some other foolery before Michonne calmly takes the gun out of her hand and says two words: Step back. WELP.

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 9

A Woman with a Plan

Michonne becomes a founding mother of this new nation when she writes a brilliant charter to bring all the groups together and establish some ground rules. Her forward thinking is exactly why she is such an effective leader. Other characters know how to survive but Michonne wants to thrive and fulfill her purpose. Gotta love a woman with a plan.

Sidenote: It was infuriating when Tara stole her charter and the leaders almost signed it without Michonne. Ugh. Anyway, fans know the real genius behind the words and her hope for the future ultimately came true via the Commonwealth.

A Fun Day with Judith

The Walking Dead goes from dark to outright cute when it features a day in the life of the Grimes family. Michonne playing hide and seek with Judith, holding hands with Rick, and beaming with a bright smile is so hopeful and sweet.

Maggie vs. Michonne

Michonne talking Maggie down from killing Negan is a phenomenal scene. First, Maggie steps back when Michonne tells her to because she don’t want no smoke.

Second, Michonne tells her that killing him at this point wouldn’t bring anything positive or good to her life. Michonne knows she can only do so much so she gives Maggie the keys to the cell to learn a lesson on her own.

Her Reaction to Rick’s “Death”

Michonne’s reaction to the bridge blowing up is one of the most heartbreaking moments in this series. Her screaming “Rick,” the tears and terror in her eyes after the explosion, and her collapse to the ground is a gut punch to the feels. Cannot wait for the day that they reunite

Leader Michonne vs. Jailed Negan

Danai Gurira and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are an acting match made in heaven. Michonne and Negan’s tense chats about leadership, control, and freedom are all worthy of several views.

Michonne’s Best Moments in The Walking Dead Season 10

The Virgil Conundrum

Michonne is once again in limited episodes this season but she’s always a welcome face. She is ready to give Virgil the business when he’s caught stealing an Oceanside boat until Luke confirmed that he is (possibly) a good guy. Their eventual conversation about his community and family is somehow enough to convince her to go with him alone to get weapons for the Whisperer war. Sigh. She obviously didn’t get back in time.

Show ‘Em How It’s Done

Her final episode has some trippy and strange elements but one thing rings true—her ability to step into a dangerous situation with ease. Virgil takes her to a location filled with walkers and she quickly tells him to hide cause she’s got it under control. She dispatches an entire room of walkers by herself within minutes and shows Virgil that she’s not one to play with… ever. Sure, he’s a dummy who still tries to test her anyway but guess who wins AGAIN.

The Great Escape

You can’t keep Michonne the Great down. She catches Virgil slipping, frees the other captives, and tracks him down in the forest with ease. He’s lucky that he didn’t run into Michonne from a few seasons ago because she would have gutted him like a fish. Instead, she shows him mercy, gets her stuff back, and leaves with the others.

A Shocking Discovery

The moment that fans have been waiting for finally happened! Michonne’s discovery that Rick is still alive is everything. She parses through a wide range of emotions in a matter of minutes—shock, anger, confusion, and eventual signs of cautious optimism. Her last conversation with the Grimes kids is a sweet touch to cap off her new journey.

A New Beginning

Full circle moments are the best. Michonne is back in her infamous hood with two walkers in tow when she meets a couple of people trying to catch up with a larger group. She cuts the walkers down and offers to help save them, much like she saved Andrea in her first scene.

Michonne’s Best Moments From The Walking Dead Season 11

Of course, Michonne never came back to Alexandria in the show’s final season. But we did get a glimpse of her in the show’s very last moments. And it marks the glorious beginning of a new spinoff that focuses on her journey to find the love of her life. A true romance.

All hail Michonne, a sage, loving, and powerful woman navigating uncharted territory in this chapter of her life. Anyone who stands in her way doesn’t stand a chance.

Originally published March 23, 2020.

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The Walking Dead’s finale gave us some surprising cameos. We got to see a glimpse of (ghost but not ghosty looking) Carl Grimes at Alexandria, smiling at the community he loves. And, surely there wasn’t a dry eye when flashes of the many fallen people came over the screen at the end. What really made those final moments of The Walking Dead hit in the gut was none other than Michonne and Rick Grimes. That’s right, they came back for the finale but not in a way that fans thought they would. Here’s what went down. 

Just when we think the episode is ending with Daryl riding off to parts unknown, there’s the light from a match. Surprise, it’s Rick Grimes looking very dirty and disheveled, a very on-brand look for him in The Walking Dead universe. He’s writing a letter to his family, thinking of those who are still here as well as the ones that were lost before his “death.”

We see that boat from Bloodsworth Island where Michonne discovered his stuff. So this is obviously Rick from the past, leaving his stuff behind in hopes that someone will find it. He’s wearing a CRM jacket and standing on the shore near a large city, presumably Philadelphia.

Suddenly a helicopter comes to get him and he sort of smiles as he surrenders. We also see Michonne, who is sporting a very cool new look and also writing in that journal she found earlier in The Walking Dead. We cannot fully confirm the time period she’s in but can assume it is the present. She looks as though she’s been on her own for a while. It is not clear where she is but her writing is clearly aimed at her two children. She gets on her horse and rides straight towards a really large herd like the boss she is. The final scene ends with Judith telling her brother “We’re the ones who live.”

That phrase is super important to The Walking Dead. Both Rick and Michonne have said it throughout the years and it is fitting for those who survived the series. Sure, Rick was way unhinged when he said it the first time in season five (see below) but the sentiment is the same.

So, what does this mean for the Rick and Michonne series coming our way in 2023? Well, we know that Michonne is on his trail and making some level progress. And Rick obviously sees someone flying that CRM plane whom he recognizes, hence the smile. It would be interesting if somehow, someway he is able to cross paths with Maggie and Negan, who aren’t too far away in the Big Apple. Oh imagine the sheer shock he will have seeing those two together.

The voice from the helicopter calls him “Cosignee Grimes” and warns him that he cannot escape the living. So he’s obviously been in their clutches for years, failing to get away after surely more than one attempt. But, if he can get Maggie, Negan, and Michonne by his side, anything seems possible for Rick Grimes. Let the countdown to these spinoffs begin.

The post THE WALKING DEAD’s Series Finale Gives a Glimpse Into Rick and Michonne’s Future appeared first on Nerdist.

The Walking Dead is officially done. It is so wild to actually type that sentence after 12 years and 11 seasons in this apocalyptic world. Of course, we know that The Walking Dead universe will continue on through its spinoffs with a few well-known survivors. But so many people (even those who haven’t watched in years) were curious about the show’s final episodes. Comic fans knew that things would be incredibly different with characters leaving and deviating wildly from the source material. How would things finally end at the Commonwealth? What would happen to Alexandria? And, most importantly, who survived The Walking Dead to hopefully live on in peace? 

In the show’s final moments, we get a heartfelt glance back at the many, many people who died throughout the show’s seasons. But the list of survivors who made it to the end to see a new version of this world is shockingly long. Let’s get into it! 

Note: This list will only cover the major characters that we have a connection with who are on this particular show. Some of the other characters will get wrapped into those we have known longer. Obviously other people made it but it would take another decade to list them all. 

Carol Peletier

Well, it is obviously not shocking that Carol survived The Walking Dead. Carol isn’t heading off into the world with her bestie Daryl to see what’s out there and search for Rick and Michonne. But come on… did anyone really think Carol would die? It is nice to see an original Walking Dead character be a final survivor alongside her BFF for one of TV’s greatest platonic friendships ever. She’s at the Commonwealth, being the boss leader she’s grown to be over the years. And she, along with a few others, bid Daryl goodbye and good luck as he takes off into the world. 

Daryl Dixon

Again, not a surprise at all considering he’s getting his own spinoff series. Daryl gets a nasty black eye and gives blood to save Judith’s life in the finale. And, a year after discovering that Michonne went in search of Rick, Daryl takes off into the world to see if he can find both of them. He doesn’t have a lot to go on, but if anyone can locate a person without modern tech, it’s this loner and tracker. 

Eugene Porter

Who would have thought that Eugene would be the sole Walking Dead survivor from his original group? It’s been many years since Abraham died at Negan’s hands and, tragically, Rosita dies in the finale from a walker bite after saving her daughter’s life. She always has, and always will, deserve better than what she got. Eugene gets a pretty happy ending, marrying Max and having a daughter that he named after his fallen friend. Like Carol, this guy has come a very, very long way from the first time we met him. Enjoy life at the Commonwealth, Eugene. 

Aaron 

Now, this one is a bit shocking because he’s gone through so much. Aaron made it through the final battle at the Commonwealth and back to his daughter Gracie in Alexandria. It’s assumed that the community will still have a council but he’s undoubtedly the leader in that space after, well, most if not all of the original people there have died. 

Father Gabriel

Father Gabriel is now a single father to Coco after Rosita’s death. It appears he’s living in Alexandria with her, a community that once again looks quite lovely. 

Lydia 

Lydia survived The Walking Dead and Elijah is by her side as her boyfriend. Of course, she’s the only one from the Whisperers to remain alive, which I am totally fine with. Please let this girl—and the whole fam—have some freaking peace. 

Jerry 

It was looking kinda sketchy for Jerry, who went missing for a beat. But our funny and fierce fighter is officially a Walking Dead survivor who made it back to his wife Nabila and their children. Jerry deserves all the good things in the world and chose to stay at Alexandria alongside Gabriel and Aaron. 

Magna, Yumiko, Connie, & Kelly 

In terms of The Walking Dead survivors from their OG groups, this collective actually fared very, very well. The death of Luke was quite tragic in this episode but the other four made it to the other side. I guess he will be with Jules, a woman we barely knew, in the afterlife. Unfortunately, the Donnie relationship never came to fruition but both Daryl and Connie are doing what they should be. She’s staying at the Commonwealth with her sister and gal pals to make sure the administration stays honest. And Daryl is on the road for a solo adventure. 

Judith and RJ Grimes

Judith and RJ are both survivors in this walking dead saga, even though we nearly lost the former to a gunshot wound. I tell ya, those Grimes kids are as tough as 50 Cent. You can’t keep a little a**kicker down. Judith finally told Daryl and Carol about the very real potential of Rick being alive, which is a game changer for everyone. 

Rick and Michonne Grimes

Again, we already knew this because of the spinoff. However, we weren’t sure if Rick and Michonne would return to The Walking Dead in its final season. And thankfully, they both did, with Rick on the run from (and captured once again) by the CRM. Meanwhile, we see a present Michonne rocking some incredible new gear as she heads towards a large group in parts unknown. They both read heartfelt letters about their family, both blood and chosen, to close out the show’s final episode. 

Maggie Rhee

Maggie is also a survivor because, well, she’s got a The Walking Dead spinoff series, too. Please give her all the things after she’s lost so much. Everyone gets a show, apparently. Maggie’s in a pretty good place, hanging out at Alexandria with her son Hershel Rhee. However, we discover through her conversation with Carol and Daryl that Maggie wants to explore the world and see what else is out there now that they have stability. We know she will link up with Negan, whom she hasn’t quite forgiven but no longer wishes to be angry at. (A fair place, tbh.) Let’s see how it happens in Dead City. 

Negan Smith

Negan makes it to the final moments and he’s truly a different person. Maggie will never forgive him for what he did to Glenn but says that he and his wife Annie have “earned their place” among the group. Still, he avoids a family dinner and walks off. And, we don’t see him when the show jumps forward a year later. Did Negan stay? If not, where did he and Annie go? According to Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s interview with EW, Negan left to start his family with Annie. But we know that at some point he will end up with Maggie again. That doesn’t bode well for his new family…

Mercer and Princess

This relationship is so delightful, so thankfully they both made it. Mercer is now the Lieutenant Governor of Alexandria alongside its new leader Ezekiel. Having them in power makes sense considering the Commonwealth is Mercer’s original home and Ezekiel led the charge to fight for the community’s lower class residents. And Princess? Well, she’s happy for her man and having a great time. Love that for her. 

Ezekiel 

Ezekiel went from being fraud-ish and a character to a fully realized and vital part of The Walking Dead. While he lost the Kingdom and many of its people, he gets to lead once again at the Commonwealth. 

Pamela Milton 

Pamela’s reign of classist terror comes to an end when her soldiers have had enough of her foolishness. She tries to take herself out in the vein of Carol’s comic death but alas, Maggie shoots walker Sebastian and forces Pamela to have to live with her actions. Now, she’s a prisoner. Good for her. 

Dog 

Yessss. Daryl’s dog named…Dog survived The Walking Dead! A true legendaric icon. But the road is a bit too much for this canine, so Judith will take care of him until Daryl returns.

There are a few loose strands that never got a resolution. What the hell happened to Oceanside? Did they all die at Lance’s hands? We will likely never know since the show is over. And, Virgil also seemingly vanished to never be seen again, much like Heath did years ago. Oh, The Walking Dead. You and your shenanigans will be missed. May peace and prosperity reign forever in the Commonwealth and Alexandria for all those folks in The Walking Dead who survived it all.

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The Walking Dead gave fans a lot to celebrate today as a universe. Tales of the Walking Dead and the flagship series dropped trailers teasing upcoming action. And several members of The Walking Dead‘s current cast and crew came together for the show’s final panel. While we love to see fun clips and actor chatter, there were still a few questions on fans’ minds about Rick Grimes. And, the chief content wizard (a made up yet fun title by yours truly) behind the Walking Dead universe, Scott Gimple, gave some Rick Grimes and Michonne answers at the end of panel, complete with a new spinoff series and a big surprise.

It’s been a very, very long time since we got the announcement that Rick Grimes would be in his own trilogy of movies. Almost four years ago, to be exact. And outside of a teaser showing a helicopter going into a city and a few small tidbits, there hasn’t been much news on that front. We know he’s with Jadis and we know Michonne is out there somewhere looking for him.

But it always felt weird to have to very major characters from The Walking Dead like Rick Grimes and Michonne just out in the world. But we had to continue on and just wonder when, if ever, we would get more news about the Rick Grimes movies. Until now.

A Rick Grimes and Michonne Series Is Coming Soon

Yes! A Rick and Michonne series is coming our way in 2023! Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira hit the stage at the very last minute. The series will start with six-episode and serve as a final farewell to their story. No, there won’t be Rick Grimes movies, though. Sadness. But we did get a wonderful new poster for with a message that has her katana across it! Right now details about the Rick and Michonne series are sparse but we do get a little bit of a synopsis from AMC:

This series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?

Rick and Michonne are coming back to the Walking Dead universe, baby!

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We’ve known that The Walking Dead is coming to an end for a long time now. But it is really starting to hit fans who have been on this ride for twelve years. (And if you count the comics, it is even longer.) Sure, we have some spinoffs to keep this world going; however, the magic of seeing characters like Rick, Michonne, Maggie, and Negan come to life cannot be matched. The Walking Dead has always been a huge staple at SDCC. And now it is hitting the sacred Hall H for the very last time. The final Walking Dead SDCC panel came with the last trailer for the series. And it is a bit of a tearjerker.

Most of our main cast came together one more time, including Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Christian Serratos, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton, Seth Gilliam, Josh McDermitt, Michael James Shaw, Cailey Fleming and Lauren Ridloff. (In case you are wondering, Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are busy working on Isle of the Dead.) Scott Gimple, Showrunner and Executive Producer Angela Kang, Executive Producer, Director and Special Effects Makeup Supervisor Greg Nicotero also joined in on the fun.

As we all know, the second part of season eleven ends with a lot of wild stuff going on. Lance and the Commonwealth have taken over Alexandria (well, what’s left of it), Hilltop (also…what’s left of it), and Oceanside. And things aren’t looking too great for the latter with Lance using a coin to decide what to do with its residents. Everyone is defeated, tired, and sad AF.

Typical apocalypse energy. How in the world will all of this end? Well, we get a glimpse at the final round in The Walking Dead‘s season 11C trailer. However, the beginning of the trailer takes us back to some great previous times. Rick at the hospital. A smiling Herschel. Sasha. But we go forward to today’s times and things are dire. Hornsby is out of control and this final war ever is going down. And, we are very afraid for everyone because walkers are climbing now? What?!

Is Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead‘s Final Trailer?

No, Rick Grimes isn’t in the final trailer for The Walking Dead. At least, not outside of the aforementioned flashback. But Judith does mention him and Michonne, saying that her parents wouldn’t want this kind of future for the survivors.

In addition to the trailer, we also got some heartfelt moments from the cast. Melissa McBride a.k.a. Carol reminds us that the show belongs not only to them, but to the fans who have been watching. Norman Reedus did a Norman Reedus and cried. He also reminisced about loving when Carol blew up Terminus and then had a heartfelt reunion with Daryl.

Rick Grimes and Michonne Spinoff News Stole the Spotlight

And so, so much more happened like, ummm that bit of Rick Grimes movie news. Except there won’t be any movies but instead a Rick Grimes and Michonne spinoff series to wrap their story. Read more about it here. No big deal… just something we have been waiting on for years, ya know? Well, there you have it. One more step towards this show giving its final bow.

The Walking Dead will return for the final eight episodes on October 2.

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Whew… that was intense! The Walking Dead’s final season rolled in like a dark storm with a two-part season opener. The episodes spend more time in unfamiliar places like a subway station in DC and the Commonwealth outpost, which is a good thing. We get some great tension, memorable moments, and a few wonderful revelations as well. As always, there’s a lot going on because there are so many characters. But, here are the biggest things that went down in the “Acheron” episodes.

Maggie vs. Negan

Josh Stringer/AMC

Maggie and Negan had their own apocalypse face-off that ended with a moment of… terse acceptance? Marginal respect? Last week, Negan left Maggie for dead after their verbal sparring. It was a cold-blooded move but, honestly, did anyone really expect Negan to save Maggie? Sure, he’s a “changed man” but he’s about self-preservation, especially when it comes to someone he 1) doesn’t care about and 2) might kill him at any time. There’s only a hint of the old Maggie left and that keeps her from putting a bullet in his brain.

Maggie stitches him good (as she should) and the group debates whether they should kill him for leaving her. But, a situation arises where Maggie coldly decides to let Gage die due to his own stupidity.  Oh well. Until Part II, we’d only heard vague snippets of why Maggie became hardened during her time way. Now we know one of the presumably many chilling stories.

Maggie and Hershel were on their own and starving for a while. Their desperation led Maggie into a grim situation where she found bodies of mutilated pregnant women, yet she could only think about food. She recounts the story in a cold, serious manner as Negan, Father Gabriel, Alden, and others listen.

Josh Stringer/AMC

For her, this cold world is a driving force that makes her believe in preserving Alexandria. Maggie and Negan find common ground at that moment, fearing that no one will ever figure this new world out. They believe that perhaps there will only be cycles of violence, pain, and chaos. (Of course, they don’t know the Commonwealth exists and is thriving.)

In the end, Maggie gives Negan a weapon to help defend everyone, which he does, and she trusts him to lead the way in DC towards their destination. The Maggie/Negan conundrum certainly won’t end here. There’s still a lot of things to deal with, including the Reapers, and they will likely butt heads in the future.

Hopefully, the show won’t go for a “they are the same, actually” angle cause… nah. They are not the same. But it will be interesting to see how Negan interacts with Hershel, if he ever apologizes to Maggie, and if they can perhaps work together for the greater good. There’s a lot that’s not okay with Negan but he continues to be an asset. And in a world with limited resources, you want to keep useful folks around.

Yumiko vs. Commonwealth

I’ll admit it. I’ve been rather lukewarm about Yumiko since their group’s arrival. But after Part II, I am a Yumiko fan. She’s taking on a portion of Michonne’s comic storyline with her finding her brother Tomi on the Wall of the Lost.

This week, she gave the Commonwealth interviewers THE BUSINESS after hours of questioning in circles. She uses her sharp observational skills from her legal background to suss out who they used to be before the world ended. “You think you’ve been assessing me?” Yumiko questions with her arms folded. “No dear. I’ve been assessing you… Your community’s large and organized. There’s a bureaucracy and you’re a part of it. You probably had a job like this before the world fell. If I had to guess I’d say, forensic psychologist.”

Josh Stringer/AMC

She then turns around to the man and accurately pegs him as a former researcher before guessing that the Commonwealth has a system that places you into the job you had before the apocalypse. She even breaks down their economic system with them using US dollars as currency, another tactic to try to capture to essence of the old world. Then, she essentially secures expedited processing because Tomi is in the community. We love to see it! Yumiko’s Commonwealth arc just became infinitely more interesting.

She wasn’t really a big player in the comics but now she’s going to be quite useful to their class system. We will get to see the dynamic between her and Tomi and perhaps get the comic relationship she shares with Magna.

Ezekiel vs. Mercer

Josh Stringer/AMC

The banter between Ezekiel and Mercer brought some unintentional levity to this episode. Ezekiel calling Mercer out for being a beat cop is the only thing that seems to get under the Commonwealth militia leader’s skin. (Side note: Can we give Michael James Shaw a round of applause for killing it as Mercer? Perfect casting.)

Mercer is not here for Ezekiel’s smugness, later returning to say, “I went to Westpoint, asshole.” A classic, lovely moment indeed. There’s lots of tension between them with a smidgen of mutual respect. Hopefully, we see more sparring between them soon.

Eugene’s (Very Personal) Revelation

Josh Stringer/AMC

Poor Eugene. All of his friends broke the Commonwealth’s mental barrier tests more quickly. But Mercer knew Eugene was holding something back. And he was. He admits that he came to the Commonwealth because he fell in love with Stephanie and hopes to have a relationship with her, which wasn’t news to fans.

What did come out of left field was his revelation that he was a virgin. Sure, Eugene is a “different” guy but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything in regards to sex. It made everyone a bit uncomfy in the room and viewers too, honestly. He may have overshared a tad much but they did ask for the truth. Eugene hasn’t always been our favorite guy but he’s perhaps one of the most realistic characters on the show. And his reunion with Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Princess was incredibly adorable. Here’s to hoping you make all your dreams come true, Mr. Porter.

Princess’ Genius Mind

Josh Stringer/AMC

Princess keeps giving fans more reasons to love her. She’s a quirky breath of fresh air with a cool look to boot. (I, too, am impressed that Tomi kept up with a wallet in the apocalypse for so many years.) But Princess is rather skilled in the art of observing and analyzing people.

While in their holding cells, Princess reveals that she knows about a secret affair between two Commonwealth soldiers and their daily schedule. Of course, their plan to escape goes kaput but her ability to pick up on so many minute details is awesome.

Here We Go Again

Josh Stringer/AMC

Lord, here we go again. Our friends are still trying to rebuild and recoup from the Whisperer war and now there’s a new threat lurking. The Reapers got a soft introduction last season but they are here and quite the rogue group. It’s not clear how large their numbers are… if I could guess I’d definitely say smaller than the Whisperers.

But what they may lack in size they certainly make up for with skill. This group comes through like a thief in the night, picking off people with laser accuracy. This episode shows them at the end and, oddly enough, they are dressed a lot like Elijah (and wild man Morgan). Lots of clothing and a whole MASK… a lot, even though it may be a Virginia fall.

Where did they come from? I don’t know. What the hell do they want? I also don’t know. This group is likely what’s going to take everyone to their final breaking point. They are either leaving Alexandria for good or, like Carol and Daryl will do, go off into the world. That is, if they don’t die first.

It’s the beginning of a very long run to the finish line. There are still so many people to see and things that can happen between now and the final chapter. The Walking Dead is back and looks like it’s going for a strong finish.

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Maggie’s tense conflict with Negan (which comes to a terrifying breaking point in this episode), previous trauma on the road, and the general direness at Alexandria all culminate to put her in a dark place. It’s a concoction that Cohan says will significantly inform her decision-making this season.

Josh Stringer/AMC

“I think it [will be] good in a lot of ways, as long as it doesn’t harden her to the point that she loses her humanity,” Cohan tells Nerdist. “I don’t think that she will [lose her humanity], but I know that it pushes her to that point… It’s been a really dark road these last few years. And I think that it takes seeing the darkest of the dark to protect the last pieces of hope. Keeping hope alive has been a consistent drive for Maggie. Being out on her own, protecting her son on their own, and going from one apparent fail to the next has restored her faith and in what can be found and rebuilt in Hilltop and Alexandria.”

Obviously, Hershel is a driving force that reminds Maggie of the innocence and good in this world. He’s the reason she is risking it all to rebuild Alexandria and maintain a semblance of hope. But the lack of true resolution with Negan is a major barrier now that she’s back in the community. Cohan believes the pathway towards Maggie moving forward lies in something that is simple on the surface: an apology.

“[Negan] has harped on about what he’s done, but he has never apologized,” Cohan states. “It’s a nuanced situation. Maggie doesn’t want her hate for Negan to pull her down and drag her to the depth of her personal hell. There’s the question [to herself] of how to rise above this and keep doing good things for the bigger picture. And I like that this is what she’s trying to do.”

Josh Stringer/AMC

If Maggie’s track goes in the direction of the comics, then she will be stepping into yet another leadership position. The Walking Dead comics end with an older Maggie as the President of the Commonwealth, a relatively happy ending in this world. While Cohan remains mum on Maggie’s future in the TV Commonwealth arc, she does hope that Maggie and her comrades will find joy after so much sorrow.

“I honestly want to see people change and I want to see them find a way to build something sustainable and happy and nourishing and worth living in,” Cohan says. “I want to see good things happen.”

But, that final journey to happiness (if it happens at all) is still a long way from now. This season certainly isn’t sunflowers and rainbows. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that everyone is having a terrible time right now. Cohan accurately describes Maggie’s current experience as a “dark night of the soul” moment.

Josh Stringer/AMC

It’s a period of life full of deep despair and suffering. Things are on the brink of becoming unbearable with feelings of stagnation and overwhelming frustration. But, Cohan is hopeful that her residual flashes of resilience and determination will become something greater.

“I think [things may go] into the nastiest most hopeless track and something good is going to be born from it. That’s what I really feel. It’s like this little seed. And there’s just a tiny little sprout. But [she has] to feed it.”

Right now, things are anything but hopeful for Maggie after Negan leaves her for dead. But, we get the very strong feeling that she will come out of this dustup unscathed (and angry). And she will rise to the challenge of providing a stable future for Hershel and her apocalypse family. Because she’s the formidable Maggie Rhee.

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There are a litany of hopes and desires from Walking Dead fans in terms of what they want to see in this final chapter. No two fans have the exact same relationship with the show (and that’s okay!) and love this universe in different ways. Still, there are some loose ends, big aspirations, and comic beats that many of us want to see in the end. Are some of them farfetched? Of course. This is a world where the undead roam the streets and a man had a pet tiger, after all. But other things draw from comics inspiration or simple fan questions that never really got answers.

This list certainly isn’t exhaustive but here are some things that should (and maybe won’t) happen in The Walking Dead‘s final season.

Josh Stringer/AMC

Answers about Rick 

Rick Grimes plays a major role in the comic’s Commonwealth arc as the group integrates into the community. But, there’s no Rick on the show and pretty much everyone except Judith, Daryl, and Michonne (who is also MIA) believe that he died years ago or never even knew him. And honestly, they aren’t even sure if he’s still alive or not at this point. 

Yes, those Rick Grimes movies are still coming (sigh) and will provide further details. But, it would be tragic for this show to wrap without Rick’s found family knowing that he survived the bridge explosion. A reunion would probably be a stretch but they deserve to know the truth. And, it would also give us a little sense of finality considering this show started with Rick Grimes. 

Ezekiel’s Ultimate Fate

We can simply assume that Ezekiel will succumb to throat cancer, but that’s not necessarily true, especially now that he’s at the Commonwealth. In the comics, they are a large community with tons of resources and a caste system that places people into the same job/career they had prior to the apocalypse.

They certainly have oncologists and researchers who have been able to supply chemo and other medicines to those in need. This could be a great opportunity to explore something that The Walking Dead has only briefly touched on in the apocalypse. How does a person handle a potentially fatal diagnosis? Ezekiel’s survival could further prove that there is hope for everyone in this world.  

A Daryl/Rick reunion 

Again, a Rick reunion is a reach. But if it happens, it would be interesting to see Rick and Daryl encounter each other again. They were best friends until ideological differences over several things led to the fight culminating in Rick’s “death.”

Daryl’s been harboring some serious guilt (as he should) over Rick and seeing him alive might lessen his pain a bit. It won’t change what was taken away from Rick, specifically missing time with his children and Michonne, but perhaps they can mend their friendship. It would be a joyful and memorable moment to see them reconcile and embrace each other one last time. 

AMC Networks

The Grimes Family Gathering

Rick has an entire son and doesn’t even know it! Oh, the joy it would bring a Richonne fan (it’s me, the Richonne fan) to see him hold his namesake in his arms. And Judith, who barely remembers her father, needs to not only reunite with him but see her mom again too.

Ahhh just imagine how incredible it would be if Michonne finds “the brave man” and brings him back to their children. The Grimes family deserves to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after… at least, as happy as you can be in the apocalypse. This probably won’t happen on the TV show but we can still dream about it in those movies, right?

Wherefore art thou, Heath?

It’s been 84 years since Heath disappeared. But some fans still want to know more about what happened to him. Showrunner Angela Kang pretty much confirmed that he was kidnapped by Anne/Jadis and given to the CRM. But, what is he doing now? Is he alive? Does he encounter Rick? What did PPP stand for? Heath’s disappearance brings up those questions and, according to Scott Gimple, there is a high-level plan to answer them. This is your last chance to tell us, The Walking Dead, so make it count!

Connie/Daryl reunion

Connie and Daryl have to reunite at some point. Right now, she’s with Virgil but it’s not clear where they are in relation to Alexandria. The season 11 trailer shows them in some kind of peril and we hope that Connie makes it out unscathed. (Virgil can kick rocks, tbh.) Not only is her sister Kelly missing her but so is Daryl. Please come back together, fall in love, and live a great life with Dog. (Which probably won’t happen considering Daryl is going to leave for parts unknown. But still.)

Gene Page/AMC

Rick and Morgan 

This is perhaps the biggest stretch of them all. Rick’s first friend in this post-apocalyptic world was Morgan. If it weren’t for him, Rick likely would have been bitten by that walker in his own neighborhood. Morgan took him in, cleaned his wound, and gave him the 411 on the new world.

Their relationship has had its separations, ups, and downs over the years but they have always had a healthy respect for and influence over each other. This reunion would require Morgan to perhaps be taken by the CRM and end up running into Rick once again, which really isn’t a stretch. Timelines are constantly being toyed with in the TWD universe so the powers that be (Gimple) can make it happen. If nothing else, it would be one hell of a bookend for this series. 

Deeper Insight into the CRM 

Every Walking Dead fan’s engagement with this universe is a bit different. Some people watch all three series religiously but this isn’t the case for all viewers. Some of us stick strictly to The Walking Dead and haven’t veered into its two spinoffs. Others may be into Fear the Walking Dead but didn’t feel the need to jump into World Beyond.

And some viewers may be checking out World Beyond simply because it’s a limited series and they are curious about the CRM. The latter show does explore this mysterious organization but the flagship series needs to give us more insight. Does the CRM have a relationship with the Commonwealth? What’s the full breakdown of this “A” and “B” business?  It would be great to explore this through our primary characters. 

A Maggie and Michonne Reconciliation

This is a long shot considering Michonne may not return to this show. But it would be great to see Maggie and Michonne mend fences after years of conflict. Michonne wouldn’t even visit the Hilltop because their relationship was so fractured. Then, Maggie left and so did Michonne. There is a lot that remains unresolved between them after Rick’s demise and it would be nice to see them be friends again.

AMC Networks

One Final Time Jump 

The comic series did one last time jump following Rick’s demise (that’s totally not a spoiler anymore, btw) to show where the characters ended up 25 years later. By this time, Carl is married to Sophia with his own farm, Michonne is a judge, Hershel sucks, and walkers are worth money. Of course, things will be quite different on TV because, well, most of these people are dead, MIA, or completely different.

The show doesn’t necessarily have to go so many years in the future, which may not make sense when aligning things with the Carol/Daryl spinoff and Rick movies. But one final time jump, even a short one, can make for an easy way to wrap things up. It would give those characters whose arcs will end with this series some finality.

Carol and Daryl Decisions

We’ve known that Carol and Daryl will get their own spinoff series after The Walking Dead wraps. So, the show will answer a lot of questions about why they decide to leave, a choice that isn’t truly shocking for either of them. Carol has had one foot out of the door for many years now. Outside of her connection with Lydia, there’s really nothing to hold her back. Her relationship with Ezekiel has been done and she wants to explore the rest of the world. Furthermore, Carol really won’t fit into the Commonwealth dynamic (assuming most or all of our group go there). She certainly won’t want to be a homemaker like she was many years ago.

Daryl is slowly going back towards his original loner attitude. He spent a lot of time living in the woods and doesn’t care to go back to any semblance of the old world. Pamela Milton and Daryl certainly won’t get along. He’s a drifter at heart, even though he does fiercely love his apocalypse fam. The security of having them around is a plus for someone with an abusive family background but Daryl might be afraid of losing more people like he lost Merle and Rick. 

The duo has talked about taking off on Daryl’s bike for parts unknown. But it will be interesting to see if there is a specific event or catalyst that makes them leave. Maybe Daryl sets off to find answers about Rick. Maybe Carol is tired of losing people and wants to be alone, which makes sense considering there’s yet another unsavory group of killers in their path now. Or perhaps they discover new information and set off on a joint mission. It’s not clear yet if they will be traveling together or if the show will look at their individual journeys. We will see what happens!

Chuck Zlotnick/AMC

The Final Moments at Alexandria 

There’s no other way to say it: Alexandria looks awful. The community has been through the wringer since Rick and company walked through its gates many years ago. A lot of destruction and reconstruction has happened through several attacks. But the Whisperer war and a lack of general resources really have them in dire straights. It’s sad to see considering that the Kingdom and Hilltop are both decimated. And Oceanside wasn’t looking so great last time we were there. (More on them later.) So this is the last community still standing.

In the comics, the Alexandria Safe-Zone did make a comeback and essentially became a satellite location of the Commonwealth, although we really didn’t get a lot of finality there. The comics left Alexandria in Issue #187 (out of 193) and that was that. We didn’t get to see if it was still standing after the final time jump.

But TV Alexandria may have a different fate. The Commonwealth will certainly come to Alexandria at some point; however, there’s no guarantee it will be worth saving. It would be interesting to see the characters all on the road again towards a new home, something that hasn’t happened in several seasons. And it would be kind of cool (and hella sad) to get one final shot of a destroyed Alexandria after so much history.

What’s up with Oceanside?

Umm, what’s going on with Oceanside? We saw it a couple of times in season 10, particularly when Michonne set sail with crazy Virgil. He came back later to find it completely empty.  The community hasn’t really been in play much since a few of them showed up during a Whisperer conflict. Where is my good sis Cyndie? Why did everyone leave the community? It’s doubtful that this new antagonist group wiped them out because 1) they are a decent distance away and 2) there’s no evidence of a bloody struggle. So, where did they go? We need answers about Oceanside. 

AMC Networks

Wall of the Lost Arc

In the season 11 trailer, we saw a glimpse of a wall covered with pictures at the Commonwealth. This is a direct reference to the comics’ Wall of the Lost. Commonwealth residents post pictures of their loved ones on it so, if they arrive, they will be encouraged to stick around for a reunion. Comics Michonne found her daughter Elodie this way. Of course, this won’t be the case on the show. But a Commonwealth Wall reunion should happen.

It will give us an immediate connection to the community through the eyes of an established character and make for a really good “aww” moment. Cause, right now, shit looks really bleak. They could do this with virtually any main character, but all bets are on Yumiko. She makes a ton of sense because we see her looking at the wall in the aforementioned trailer. Yumiko mentioned having a brother named “Tommy” a while back, so perhaps he’s at the Commonwealth.

This seems even more likely considering Ian Anthony Dale’s casting as Tomi. Yumiko is poised to take some of Michonne’s storyline anyway as a former lawyer, which makes her an asset to this community. 

A Sebastian Death?

Sebastian is one of the most hated characters in the comics. He’s annoying, volatile, and the person responsible for Rick’s death. It was heartbreaking and shocking to see our main man go out so suddenly after surviving through so much. The TV show will surely include this character (or a version of him) in the Commonwealth arc, even though there haven’t been any cast announcements yet. The show likes to switch things up a bit, so Pamela Milton might have a son (or daughter) by another name who takes on this role.

The question is, who will die at the hands of Sebastian? It certainly won’t be Daryl because, well, plot armor and spinoff show. But, there are a few possible candidates. It would have to be someone whose been around for a while and is a leader similar to Rick to have the same impact. This could be Gabriel or perhaps Aaron, who certainly seems to be very Rick-like on the show. It’s easy to see how Aaron’s philosophy on leadership could conflict with Pamela Milton’s ideology, which messes with Sebastian’s established lifestyle of doing the worst and getting away with it.

But, with Gabriel as the leader of the Alexandria council, he could be the one who gets into a deep and deadly conflict with Sebastian. Aaron and Gabriel are the only two who could really step into this place but we will have to see what goes down. 

Maggie and Negan Need a Resolution

Don’t get me wrong. Maggie has all the reasons to strongly hate Negan. The horror of watching someone beat your husband’s head to a pulp doesn’t ever fade away. But at this point, there has to be some sort of resolution or agreement. Maggie could kill Negan after all of these years but that just doesn’t seem sensible anymore. So Maggie must accept that Negan is a part of the Alexandria community for now. It doesn’t mean she has to become his best friend or like him. However he’s there and, honestly, she really can’t make a unilateral decision to force him out because she’s not in charge. That’s what the council is for.

And Negan will have to figure out how to navigate this space and the continual consequences of his actions. Sure, he may have changed (to a degree) but that doesn’t mean he is absolved from facing his past. Looking at Maggie and Hershel are the ultimate reminders of his brutal decisions.

Will Maggie ever forgive his sins and accept him fully? Probably not. Will he somehow make amends for his actions? Maybe. It could happen if he somehow sacrifices himself for Hershel and/or Maggie, which would be high key lazy. Negan may decide to leave on his own volition and that’s okay too. We don’t know how The Walking Dead will settle the Maggie vs. Negan conflict but it must happen this season, hopefully sooner rather than later. 

Big Death By Walker 

The comics shocked everyone when Andrea got bit saving Eugene. (It’s funny how walker deaths seem so shocking at this point.) Michonne is the loose equivalent of comics Andrea so the show would have to remix this with someone else major. This took place between the Whisperer War and Commonwealth arcs so it’s not impossible to slide this in, especially with walkers looking like they are about to roll up in Alexandria. As much as we hate to lose people we really know and like, it is inevitable this season.

Josh Stringer/AMC

Do Something Smart with Rosita

Rosita is a boss character whose been around for a long time. Yet, she’s been mostly sidelined since her revenge mission against Negan way back in season seven. She had the odd love triangle going on and became a mom but it doesn’t make sense for Rosita to not play a larger role in Alexandria, especially since we haven’t seen her express a desire to not be a leader.

Rosita has all the skills that Carol, Maggie, and others have so let her get some real action for more than five minutes, please. Just because she’s a mom doesn’t mean she can’t be a part of missions or expand as a character too. She may be able to pick up her previous profession at the Commonwealth. (We don’t know exactly what she did. But Rosita does have a vague military background and engineering, mechanical, and explosives knowledge. Perhaps a Militia leadership position?) Or she can become the leader of Alexandria if it is rebuilt. Please, for the love of God, let her do more.

Who Will Lead the Commonwealth?

In the end, comics Maggie became the President of the Commonwealth with Hershel becoming rather Sebastian-like in a bad way. I can absolutely see this happening on The Walking Dead. Maggie’s always been a leader who isn’t afraid to make tough calls. People look to her and follow her, even though she certainly doesn’t have a perfect decision-making track record.

She’s certainly gotten a lot darker since she left with Georgie, an edge that may set her up to have power in this massive community. The show could take an alternate direction and bestow that honor on someone else but who would want to take it? Aaron, Gabriel, and Carol are pretty much over life at this point. Daryl certainly doesn’t want to lead anything.

And none of the other characters have the track record or power to do it, except maybe Yumiko. But, all signs point to her becoming the Commonwealth judge, not a President. So it looks like Maggie is the prime candidate for the future position.

Josh Stringer/AMC

All the Jerry Content 

Jerry is finally a Walking Dead series regular after being around for a while. We don’t know where his story arc goes but we will see him more. And that’s a great thing. Jerry is a favorite among fans with his jokes, love for food, and ability to go ham if necessary. Give us all the Jerry content. We deserve it.

Unusual Pairings 

Season 10’s extended episode with Gabriel and Aaron was an interesting journey with two characters who don’t appear as a duo often. The final Walking Dead season should do more of that considering we see the same people together far too often. Throw Princess and Daryl into a weird conversation. Put Rosita and Alden together for no reason. Let Mercer and Carol meet and have a verbal sparring session. It’s the perfect time to make interesting or uncommon pairings among these characters.

Will all of these things happen? Probably not. But thinking about our greatest hopes and dreams for the end of this apocalypse story only amps up the excitement for its final season.

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It’s hard to believe it, but after dominating so much pop culture for most of the past decade, The Walking Dead is ending its run after eleven seasons. Of course, this doesn’t mean the end of the franchise for AMC. There are still plenty of spin-offs coming, and even a Rick Grimes movie. But the end of the flagship show is truly the end of an era. And soon, the final season begins, and AMC has released a new trailer for the series swan song. You can watch the teaser right here.

Along with the new trailer, AMC has released new images of some of the brand new additions to the cast. Down below, you can see Pamela Milton, portrayed by Laila Robins, and Lance Hornsby, as played by Josh Hamilton. The official announcement came for both new additions to the cast during The Walking Dead Comic-Con@Home panel last weekend.

AMC Networks 

The final season of The Walking Dead premieres on August 22. But subscribers to AMC+ will be able to watch the show a week early, on August 15. AMC is breaking up the final season into three blocks of eight episodes each. There will then be significant breaks between them, meaning the series finale probably won’t air until mid-2022. So fans still have some time to go before the final curtain call. We’re not done with the Alexandria compound just yet!

AMC Newtorks 

In addition to all of this, there is also TWDU.com’s “11 Weeks of TWD” promotion, which takes a look back at the series from an artistic lens. Each week leading up to the Season 11 premiere on August 22, a custom piece of artwork featuring an iconic moment from the show will be released. The seventh piece of custom artwork is by Rafael de Latorre (Black Widow, Peter Parker: Shutterbug). 

The final season of The Walking Dead premieres on August 22.

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In the tradition of seasons past, the trailer dropped during the show’s SDCC panel with the cast and crew, including showrunner Angela Kang. In the clip, we see all of our old favorites (including Jerry!) as they fight to keep Alexandria from further falling apart. Areas of the walls are down, walkers are streaming in, and the community looks like pure hell. A new, rogue foe is literally coming for their necks. And, even though this group is bad news, they look like cosplay gold.

There are a few glimpses at our folks at the Commonwealth and they don’t seem to be having a great time either. Oh, and there is some interesting Maggie/Negan dialogue as they argue about their past choices for survival. And, for those of us who have been wanting to see Connie for a while, she’s still in the world with Virgil and also not living her best life. It appears they are being chased, perhaps by this new vagabond collective. It all adds up to a very emotional and frightening glimpse into where our group is right now.

The final season is bringing in a few new characters, including Mercer (Michael James Shaw) and Stephanie (Margo Bingham), whom we get a soft introduction to via Eugene last season. The SDCC panel also revealed that Laila Robins and Josh Hamilton will take on the roles of Commonwealth leader Pamela Milton and bookkeeper/intake guy Lance Hornsby, respectively. For those who are familiar with the comics, they certainly play a major role in this era.

We’ve known for a while that The Walking Dead’s final season will come in stages. But it wasn’t clear how they would break up a monster 24-episode season until now. Season 11 will air in three parts with eight episodes in each with 11A coming this fall. (AMC+ subscribers will get it a week early on August 15.)

Josh Stringer/AMC

Season 11B and 11C will come in 2022. It’s not clear when those exact dates will come but the flagship series normally airs in late winter and fall. So we can probably expect 11B to drop sometime around February/March 2022 and 11C in September/October.

It’s time to finish the saga strong and prepare ourselves to say farewell to (some) of these beloved characters.

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In present day times, Daryl, Carol, and Dog go out on a hunting mission. They come upon an abandoned cabin to stay in for the night; it turns Daryl’s general annoyance with Carol’s presence into sadness. We get a small glimpse of a woman petting Dog while Daryl walks up in the background. The action then goes back five years into the past which, by this point, is about two years after Rick’s “death.”

Daryl is living out in the woods and searching for Rick’s body when he runs into Dog as a puppy. A year later, a search mission leads him and Dog to Leah’s cabin. It turns out Leah is Dog’s original owner and the one who gave him such an uninspired name. They form an odd and rather abrasive acquaintanceship; they say they want to be left alone while never leaving each other alone.

Eli Ade/AMC

Leah eventually opens up about losing everyone around her, including her adoptive son, and Daryl shares his feelings over losing Rick. They eventually form a romantic bond but things go sour months later. Leah tells Daryl to choose between being with her, his search for Rick, or his community. He makes the choice to leave and when he comes back, she is mysteriously gone. Daryl leaves her a note saying he belongs with her and to find him if she ever returns.

The big mystery in this episode is what happened to Leah. Carol brings up a few good possibilities, including the chance that Leah simply left. Her cabin is somewhat out of sorts when Daryl comes back to it but not to the point that it looks like she’s been robbed or hurt.

A family photo is no longer in a frame and Dog comes out of a closet. Leah may have decided that staying there after falling for Daryl was too much to bear. So she left and gave Dog to him as a present of sorts so he wouldn’t be completely alone. If this is true, it’s an interesting decision to make in this still very dangerous world.

Eli Ade/AMC

Leah had been living in this space for years with safety and security. Why would she give up a relatively stable place? Where would she even want to go? This seems like an unnecessary risk, even for a person with a broken heart. But, perhaps there’s a larger reason behind her disappearance. She may have left the area in a CRM helicopter like Heath and good ole Rick Grimes.

The group has been snatching up “A” and “B” people for a while now, so she could possibly be wherever Rick is located. We may never see Leah again, but it would be cool for her to make a future appearance. Imagine her telling Rick about a man she’d met in Virginia who was searching for his dead brother. That would certainly blow Rick’s mind.

For all we know, Leah may be dead at this point. Honestly, it may be better for Daryl (and us) to have that closure than to deal with yet another mystery. Or she might decide to one day come back and find Daryl. This could turn into some mess with Connie likely reuniting with the group. Things can get tricky if Leah and Connie come back. Daryl obviously fell in love with Leah but he also has strong (and more recent) feelings for Connie.

Eli Ade/AMC

Closure doesn’t always happen in the apocalypse, but Daryl is famous for not knowing when to accept and let things go. So he’s currently upset over Rick, Connie, and now Leah. Sigh. We all know that he’s set for his own show alongside Carol so it’s hard to determine what his relationship status will be by the series finale.

After years of the fandom speculating on his sexuality and wanting him to be in a romance, we find out that Daryl did find love for a bit. Will Leah ever come back and find Daryl? Or is she just a part of his past that he’ll never figure out? We shall see.

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Maggie, Daryl, and Kelly team up with two of Maggie’s new friends Elijah (a.k.a. the masked man) and Cole for a mission. The group heads to a safe house to bring Herschel and people from Maggie’s recent community into Hilltop after their community’s destruction. Of course, this cannot happen because Hilltop is a pile of burned rubble and dead bodies.

It’s honestly heartbreaking to see Maggie’s face as she processes this loss. So, this new group (and Maggie) will have to become a part of Alexandria. It’s an interesting and sad twist considering Maggie hasn’t been an Alexandria resident since Glenn’s death. She’s coming back to her original community as a completely different woman. And she’s got quite the story to tell about her own trauma during the Whisperer war.

Eli Ade/AMC

Maggie later reveals to Daryl that she’s indeed been with Georgie; however, it is not in the way that anyone expected. Maggie and Georgie’s crew went out traveling and spreading their community building knowledge to other struggling survivors. She admits that every place they went became a disaster, indicating that there was death and destruction along the way.

The conversation reveals that she went as far as Knoxville a couple of years ago. The closest Knoxville to Alexandria is the one in Tennessee, which is a nearly 500-mile trek from home. Georgie and Maggie split up, with the former heading to “a city out West” while Maggie stayed with her son. Soon after, the community “fell” for some undisclosed reason and Maggie took off with her son. Most of the people died and Maggie hasn’t seen Georgie since then.

This tidbit about Georgie is interesting considering most fans thought Maggie was simply living the good life at Georgie’s community. We don’t get any information about this group’s (previous?) home base, numbers, or travel radius. Perhaps Georgie’s group is 100% transient at this point.

Gene Page/AMC

It would have been cool to follow Maggie’s footsteps and see where she went onscreen; but considering COVID-19 filming restrictions, that would have been hard to pull off with so many people and location changes. The pandemic surely forced the series to go against the “show don’t tell” mantra to convey information. This does set up the potential for Maggie’s story to be told in print or perhaps in her own series one (post-pandemic) day.

Maggie doesn’t name the “city out West” but it could possibly be a tie to TWD: World Beyond. In case you aren’t familiar, this show starts off at Campus Colony, a fortified and progressive city built on Nebraska State University’s campus in Lincoln. The community is defunct now but two years ago it would have certainly been on Georgie’s radar.

Georgie doesn’t make an appearance on the spin-off series. So, for now, we don’t know if she made it or perhaps ran into some trouble of her own. It wouldn’t be surprising if we never hear from her again because, well, people die and disappear in the apocalypse.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

The conversation also reveals that Maggie feels guilty about not being there for her people during the Whisperer War. She says she should have come home after the events in Knoxville; but she took a detour with Herschel to her Nana’s house by the ocean. This marks the first time we have heard about a Greene family member who wasn’t at the farm in season two. It’s a fond memory that brings a small smile to her face. This is the place where her and Glenn considered going after Beth’s death.

Again, we don’t get a location confirmation but we can assume it’s somewhere in Georgia. Way back in season five, Rick’s group was still in the Atlanta area when Beth was kidnapped and eventually killed at Grady Memorial Hospital. They were also not as open to exploring the world as they are now, so Maggie and Glenn likely wouldn’t have considered going to, say, Florida or South Carolina. It’s also possible that Maggie’s Nana could have died prior to the apocalypse (explaining why she never went to search for her) and her home was vacant when the outbreak hit.

The thought of Maggie returning to Georgia is another spin on the episode’s title. To our knowledge, none of the OG survivors have gone back to their home state to reflect on their previous lives. The Georgia coast is a good stretch from Atlanta but that doesn’t mean that Maggie didn’t take the even longer way back to Virginia and show Herschel where their family’s farm once stood. (And where she fell in love with Glenn.)

Bob Mahoney/AMC

It would have been incredible to see that location again and what it looks like so many years in the future. Some people may wonder why Maggie wouldn’t try to stay and rebuild the farm. The answer is simple: it’s no longer her home, nor where her friends and family are anymore. The apocalypse is over a decade in and the Maggie who lived on that farm doesn’t exist anymore.

Now, Maggie is back with Herschel as a full-time Alexandria resident. It will certainly cause some friction because Maggie is used to being a person in charge; she will likely want a seat at the Alexandria council table. And she’s still seething about Negan being alive while others at Alexandria have accepted him as a community member. Will Maggie actually stay for good or will she end up choosing the road again? Let’s see how it all pans out.

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A few months ago, The Walking Dead intrigued fans with news about season 10c. Since then, there have been tidbits of information about what will happen including a Here’s Negan flashback episode with his wife Lucille and a Caryl adventure. Now, the series is gearing up for its impending return on February 28 with a fresh new trailer for examination.

The episodes will have an anthology feel while also servicing the ongoing story. It’s been hard to grasp exactly how that concept will work considering past “bottle” episodes usually didn’t push much forward. And, forward is the only way to go right now considering the show will end with Season 11 in 2022.

Of course, the short clip doesn’t give us specifics but there are a few very interesting things of note. Maggie Rhee’s son Herschel, who is probably around 8 years old, makes his first appearance ever. He is sleeping peacefully as Maggie tells Daryl about her son asking about his father Glenn’s tragic death. It’s pretty clear that Maggie still wants to see Negan die years later and doesn’t care about his newfound acceptance in the group. There are more glimpses of Maggie’s masked friend with the incredibly cool weapons so it’s likely we will get more information about him (or maybe her) too.

We also catch back up with Yumiko, Princess, Eugene, and Ezekiel as they are beaten and detained by Commonwealth soldiers. Their encounter at the train station was the most recent cliffhanger on The Walking Dead so it makes sense to catch up with them. There’s no glimpse of Stephanie (unfortunately) but we do see Princess appear to stand up on a platform while everyone else is wearing black bags over their heads. Why isn’t she out there with them? Is she double crossing our people? It wouldn’t line up with the comics but anything is possible on The Walking Dead‘s TV show.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Daryl and Carol make more nebulous appearances. Carol appears to be thinking of running away for the one millionth time while a woman holds Daryl at gunpoint. At first glance she resembles Yumiko but it’s not her…and it wouldn’t make sense for her to threaten Daryl. Aaron is certainly in trouble as he holds a gun to his head under duress. He’s with Gabriel on a mission and everything about it spells danger and trouble. We also see an unknown character dramatically yelling. But we don’t know if he’s a new character in the present or appearing in a flashback. A few people are noticeably missing from this The Walking Dead trailer, including Rosita, Lydia, and Connie.

There are a few looks into Negan’s episode with his wife taking aim at a walker. He also makes a chilling appearance at the very end of the clip with him in his old getup saying “little pig, little pig…let me in.” Overall, the trailer is pretty dark and dramatic which means these episodes will give us hurty feels.

The Walking Dead‘s new chapter looks like a thrilling ride to take these characters one step closer towards their next apocalypse phase.

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The details surrounding The Walking Dead’s additional Season 10 episodes are finally coming together. Entertainment Weekly reports that Hilarie Burton will take on the role of Negan’s wife Lucille. This news is pretty cool considering Burton and actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who plays Negan) are real-life husband and wife. It’s also thrilling for fans of the TV series as well as the comics for so many reasons.

This will be Lucille’s first appearance on the television series. The character actually died early into the apocalypse from pancreatic cancer, an event which sets Negan onto the dark path towards forming the Saviors. Negan talks about his wife a couple of times throughout the series to characters like Father Gabriel, Anne/Jadis, and Alpha.

He regretfully admits that their relationship was in shambles before the apocalypse. He also says he was unable to put Lucille down after she became a walker and she later became the inspiration for his infamous barbed wire baseball bat named Lucille. Now, TV series fans will get the backstory of Negan and Lucille. (The person and maybe the bat, too.)

Many comic fans met Lucille through Here’s Negan, a stand-alone volume of The Walking Dead. The story takes readers back to the pre-apocalypse days of Negan finding out about his wife’s cancer and her initial treatments. He’s unsurprisingly not a great person before everything falls apart which explains how he ended up being a full-on villain.

The world goes downhill quickly and Lucille ends up dying (and being put down) as Negan sets off with a young boy. Here’s Negan follows Negan on his path towards meeting characters like Dwight, finding the Lucille bat, and forming the initial Saviors group.

Jace Downs/AMC

The Walking Dead will likely lean heavily on Here’s Negan to give him his own standalone episode or two. It is possible that Negan will decide to tell his origin story to someone within the group. A friendly sit-down with Lydia and Negan is a strong possibility considering their close relationship.  Maggie and Negan still have some presumably bad blood between them so this story might build a bridge between them after so many years of anger.

Or, perhaps he will strike out on a solo adventure to put some long-standing unfinished business to rest. It wouldn’t make sense for him to go searching for his Lucille’s body so many years into the apocalypse. But maybe he will want to go back to his hometown to get some form of closure.

Perhaps he will bury Lucille (the bat) physically and reflect on his past as he emotionally buries his wife, too. This story also sets up a chance for Dwight to show up if The Walking Dead decides to go further into Here’s Negan’s storyline. Dwight is still alive on Fear the Walking Dead but this Negan episode could bring back long-dead characters like Simon and Morales to show how the group really rose to power.

It’s not certain how this Negan backstory will advance the overall storyline (if it does at all) but the chance to go back in time and see Lucille on the TV screen for the first time is exciting news.

Featured Image: Jace Downs/AMC

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For years, The Walking Dead was one of the biggest comic books on Earth. The 175th issue outsold every Marvel comic the month it was released; its 31st volume topped bestseller lists, which is nigh unheard of. Ten seasons after the hit AMC adaptation first aired and changed horror television forever, a new spinoff reflects the current comic book landscape in the same way that the original did. But The Walking Dead: World Beyond isn’t shaped by the Image series of the same name, or even a related spinoff title. Instead, it’s shaped by the current trend of complex, inclusive, and interesting young adult comics.

The story of two young women of color coming of age during the zombie apocalypse sounds like it could be the log line for a bestselling YA graphic novel. But here it’s the setup for a whole new exploration of the world that The Walking Dead survivors live in. Gone are the ruined urban cities and the straggling dead wandering through their streets. Instead, this story is about the lucky few who have been raised in a secure walled complex called Campus Colony that, once inside, does a good job of approximating what many would imagine as the American Dream.

AMC

Where The Walking Dead took from the pages of Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Tony Moore’s best selling comic, World Beyond feels like it’s learning from the pages of young adult and middle grade comics everywhere. The journey of self-discovery and adventure that Hope and Iris go on feels straight out of the pages of Nilah Magruder’s beautiful comic M.F.K. The webcomic-turned-book tells the story of a young girl driven on an epic journey by an ultimately personal quest to spread her mother’s ashes. Our young heroes in World Beyond don’t have the fear or horror driving them that Rick Grimes did in the original, as he awoke in a world devastated by zombies. Instead familial love inspires these young women and they wish to save their father no matter what.

Directed by Magnus Martens (Fear the Walking Dead), the pilot of World Beyond focuses on the first generation of children raised since the zombie-plague began. Raised in the safety of Omaha, Nebraska, Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour) have to venture outside into the “world beyond” to save their missing father. The Walking Dead fans can break down all the deep-dive Easter eggs in the show. But, what strikes me is the thoughtfulness and patience of the storytelling, the wonderful young cast, and the clear influence of the new generation of sequential storytelling. These comics center character arcs as much as action, diverse body types in age-appropriate fashion over sexualized spandex, and a softer look at genre that focuses on emotions and personal journeys before grotesque gore.

First Second 

Although the pilot ends with the girls and their two friends heading out into world, it begins by focusing on the everyday realities of their lives. It basically works as a slice of life story with a few added zombies. That subgenre is particularly popular among young readers, in both manga and western comics. Ngozi Ukazu’s Check, Please! is a great example of the power of slice of life, with a sprinkle of sports and romance too. The pilot does its best to replicate that kind of storytelling with space given to show us how the kids at the center of the story experience school. There are teachers, rebellion, crafting, and even an unconventional physical education class where Hope learns how to fight a zombie and talk about her feelings.

Hope and Iris’s journey of self-discovery and reevaluating the world they’ve grown up with is another classic YA comic book arc. Questioning authority and the adults around you is a key part of becoming a young adult and in story’s like Sloane Leong’s A Map to the Sun and Ryan Andrews’ This is Our Pact, personal quests and questions drive forward the young protagonists. The World Beyond’s leads echo this as they venture out of the safe space they called home on an adventure that will change everything. Not only do they begin to challenge the structure they were raised in but also the people who have claimed to protect them. Both Hope and Iris facedown figures of authority in their life with bravery and honesty in this episode, which in turn leads to them surviving another day and continuing their quest outside the walls of their compound.

Nilah Magruder

There’s a difference between the representation of youth seen in World Beyond and that seen in, say, Riverdale or 13 Reasons Why. This isn’t youth for adult consumption but instead trying to center young people in a story about them and for them. Aliyah Royale is the rare TV teen that feels like someone you could actually know, and that’s not to take away from the power of her performance. Iris’s authenticity is something that Royale crafts alongside the creative team who give the girls the time to breathe, laugh, and in one of the episode’s most powerful moments to grieve.

First Second, Tillie Walden

Tillie Walden is one of my favorite cartoonists and the power of Walden’s work comes not only from her incredible talent as an artist, but also because of the way she treats her characters. In her queer sci-fi epic On a Sunbeam there are many moments without dialogue, where everything you need to know is in a mere expression on the face of Mia and her crewmates. World Beyond offers up moments that reflect that generosity of time, the unusually organic feeling of allowing characters to just be, and Royale is at the center of one of the strongest examples of it. After witnessing her therapist become a zombie, we sit with Royale as time passes, day turns to night, and we see the fallout of what happens but it’s never frantic. Instead, the audience gets to sit with Iris in her grief as she feels it.

Kids enjoying comics isn’t something new. It’s not even something that’s really radical; it is, rather, the basis for the entire industry but was largely eschewed in a post-Watchmen world. The big two superhero publishers playing for an older, grittier market allowed the space for younger readers to try new things; to seek out the stories that spoke to them, and to find representation where it was previously lacking.  Books like This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, and every title from Raina Telgemeier contradicted the idea that only comics for young people featured capes, cowls, and corporate IP characters.

Something that I hope the show takes from these comics going forward is a thoughtful exploration of identity. The show centers around two women of color and is led by a Black actress. Stories like Trung Le Nguyen’s gorgeous The Magic Fish lay out a groundwork for intimate yet fantastical explorations of race, immigration, language, and queerness. Jen Wang’s The Prince and the Dressmaker also uses the structure of fairytale narratives to delve into the identity of the titular pair and their relationship. Although the pilot does take its time to establish its diverse cast of characters, this would be a way for the show to continue to blaze a new trail for The Walking Dead while building on the influence of the comics that have clearly shaped it.

Header Image: AMC

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The Walking Dead’s long-awaited season 10 on-time-finale-turned-special-episode finally arrived on October 4. There’s been so much speculation about how the Whisperer war will end, who will kill Beta, and who else will die. Because, honestly, there’s always someone dying in a conflict. But the biggest hype is Maggie’s return to the series. Her resurfacing moment is unexpected, yet matches her signature style of swooping in at the right moment. Bringing her back into the fold sets up so much to explore in upcoming episodes.

If there were a “Most Likely to Die Award” in this episode, it would go to Father Gabriel. His comic death occurs at this point in the story, and “A Certain Doom” starts to hint at a similar fate; his increasingly brave yet risky behavior have all pointed to an ending for him. Gabriel stays behind to defend an escape route for the Grimes kids and several other survivors. He sends them away and stands ready to fight a few Whisperers barreling through a barricaded door. Gabriel ends up pinned down on his back by two Whisperers with a third one ready to stab him. Suddenly, Maggie, Aaron, and the mystery masked person with dual bladed weapons show up to take them all down.

This scene confirms that the masked person is a friend, not an enemy. Unfortunately, the finale doesn’t offer a big mask reveal. But Maggie uses “he” and indicates that they have a close relationship, so he’s likely a member of Georgie’s community, where she has been for a while now. Maggie certainly looks different with a bow and arrow, hat, and a dark jacket and gloves. However, her penchant for being clutch in a deadly situation hasn’t changed at all.

Maggie’s Past Heroism

AMC

In season two, Maggie literally rode onto the scene with a weapon in hand. She galloped in on a horse and used a bat to knock out a walker attacking Andrea. Maggie also figured out how to take down walkers in riot gear when they were trying to clear the prison. Several seasons later, she came to Rick and Carl’s rescue against Negan. Alexandria was being held hostage by the Saviors when Maggie, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom all led the charge to get things moving for a war. Maggie has certainly made her share of bad choices and mistakes over the years. But she undoubtedly plays such a critical role in The Walking Dead’s overall narrative as someone who will take action, lead, and make tough decisions. Now she’s back with her apocalypse family.

After Gabriel’s initial shock wears off, he quickly comes over to hug Maggie. It’s not clear how long it’s been since they last saw each other but, to many viewers, she’s certainly a sight for sore eyes. She’s one of the few surviving characters from the early days. Her presence brings some familiarity, and even some comforting nostalgia, after so many characters leaving the show in various ways.

Father Gabriel eventually leads them to the survivors meetup where Maggie reunites with Judith, RJ, and Alden. The moment suggests that Maggie hasn’t been around in quite some time. Of course, time is always tricky on The Walking Dead, so who knows how much time has passed since she was last home? She certainly hasn’t been gone for seven consecutive years. But Maggie did miss the entire Whisperer conflict, which we know lasted for over a year, based on changing seasons within the show.

New Challenges for Maggie

AMC

Maggie’s return sets up a few interesting possibilities for her in the final season and possibly beyond. Where will Maggie fit in now? Prior to leaving, Maggie’s guilt over her indirect involvement in Rick’s death caused her to step down as the Hilltop’s leader. Now, the community is defunct after being destroyed in a Whisperer attack. That means it’s highly unlikely that she will try to take on any leadership role there. There’s honestly no need for Maggie to want to resume power anyway. The Coalition is presumably still in tact with leaders like Daryl, Carol, Aaron, and Gabriel still alive.

There’s also no real need to rebuild the Hilltop. The overall numbers from all the communities seems to be quite small. It would make more sense for Oceanside, Alexandria, and the remaining people from the Hilltop and former Kingdom to come together as one. If anything, Maggie will likely stick around to make sure that Alexandria gets back on its feet. Beta brought his horde there after the residents fled, so there’s probably some fixable damage there. Maggie might have a new home now but she surely feels an obligation to help during the aftermath. Her in-depth knowledge of Georgie’s plans for building a sustainable and fortified community would be beneficial.

The announcement about The Walking Dead‘s final episodes initially caused confusion among fans. No one was sure if the extra six episodes from season 10 would simply tack onto a mega-sized season 11 or not. But showrunner Angela Kang recently said in a PaleyFest Fall TV Previews panel that those six extra season 10 episodes are still a separate thing. Kang added that they will dive deeper into specific characterization components. This isn’t necessarily new ground for The Walking Dead, considering episodes like “Here’s Not Here.” In case you forgot, that’s the Morgan flashback episode showing how he got from King County, Georgia, to Alexandria, and what he learned along the way.

Maggie’s Future

The Walking Dead can easily use one or two of these episodes to zero in on Maggie. They can take a step back and show what she was up to in Georgie’s community. If the show wants to keep pressing forward, it could show Maggie coming to terms with what’s happened in her absence. First: Maggie found out about losing Jesus, Enid, and Tara in a letter. Plus: Negan, the man who brutally murdered her husband, is now an accepted member of Alexandria. Maggie certainly won’t be too happy about this new Daryl/Negan pseudo-partnership, and it might put her and Daryl at odds.

Finally: the community she worked so hard to build is no longer functional. That’s a lot to take in and process at one time. Maybe she will go back to the Hilltop and visit Glenn’s grave with Herschel. She may even decide to repair the Hilltop. Either way, Maggie’s story must be explored in some way during these additional episodes.

Season 11 should show Maggie returning to Georgie’s community at some point. Viewers met Georgie and two of her community members, Hilda and Midge, back in season eight. But the show hasn’t given us any more information about them. We don’t know the community’s name, location (outside of it being “far away”), or connection to the greater Dead universe, if any. It’s possible that this place could have some sort of tie with the Commonwealth or the CRM. Season 11 would be a great time to dive into all those questions and more, including Maggie’s role in that space. This also opens the door to learn more about her relationship with the masked man.

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Maggie tends to lead wherever she goes so perhaps she is in a leadership position in Georgie’s community. This would further play into her decision to only stick around the Alexandria area for the short-term. Maggie’s son Herschel has presumably spent more of his life in Georgie’s community instead of the Hilltop. The Rhee family has built a life, connections, and a higher level of stability in that place.

She might also need a few residents help with building up Alexandria, especially Georgie. And, perhaps some of our people will go with her and decide they want to leave the Alexandria area for good. This would be a good way to give certain characters a “happy ending” as the show comes to a close. It would be smart for someone like Rosita to take baby Coco to a place where people are thriving instead of constantly fighting to survive. There’s also the possibility that Maggie returning back to Georgie’s community is how her story will end. She comes in, helps to rebuild, and knows that her place is no longer here.

A Maggie Spinoff?

The show could also decide to follow her comic arc, in which she ends up the Commonwealth’s new president. It’s hard to imagine that Maggie would come back to just die and, if she’s there, why not let some of that storyline play out? Season 11 will focus heavily on the Commonwealth arc, so there should be a way to tie Maggie into it either loosely or in a larger sense. Maggie could also find love once again with Alden or someone we haven’t met yet.

The Walking Dead universe is already set to expand with a Daryl/Carol series and it wouldn’t be surprising if Maggie got her own show as well. Right now, Deadline reports that there are no plans for a Maggie spinoff. This makes sense considering the franchise is trying to wrap up TWD, continue with Fear the Walking Dead, and start new projects like the Tales of the Walking Dead anthology series, the ever-elusive Rick movies, and a Carol/Daryl spinoff. But this doesn’t mean a Maggie show or even miniseries is completely off the table. A lot can change between now and 2022.

In a Kelly and Ryan interview, Cohan hints that there could be spinoff possibilities for Maggie. Plus, announcing a Maggie spinoff right now would kind of ruin any potential suspense with her character in the future. This is the case with Daryl and Carol now because we know that no matter what they face, they will 100% survive the events of Season 11. Honestly, if there is going to be a character spinoff, Maggie’s story makes the most sense.

Maggie is a major character with a lot to explore in her life in a different location with her son. If she takes her comic arc, a spinoff would show how she deals with her responsibilities and future plans. Or, assuming Georgie’s community is separate from the Commonwealth, maybe the show could center on her life and experiences in that space. Both options would be a different take from what we have seen on the current show, which is mostly about trying to survive in smaller communities.

It will be interesting to see how the next chapter of Maggie Rhee’s story unfolds. It may be in a familiar setting or somewhere else in The Walking Dead‘s expansive universe. Either way, fingers crossed for something awesome.

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It seems like years have passed since Connie and Magna were trapped in Alpha’s walker-filled cave. Magna eventually resurfaced during the Hilltop attack but Connie’s fate remained unknown until now. “A Certain Doom” reveals that Connie did not face her own certain doom in a dark and dusty cave; she somehow survived it all and opened the door for so many new ways to keep building her character arc. In fact, Connie might be the key to the group finding out about Rick, and her pre-apocalypse career could lead to some Commonwealth conflict.

In the episode, Connie is seen stumbling in the woods and she doesn’t look good. Her body is covered in dust, her head is bleeding from an injury, and she can barely stand. She’s likely gone several days without food or a good water source so she needs immediate assistance. Connie manages to fall down on a road just as someone approaches on a horse. She looks up and stares right into Virgil’s face before passing out. Unfortunately, that’s all we get to see with Connie for now. However, pairing Connie with Virgil sets her up for an interesting narrative as she tries to make her way back home.

A Connie and Virgil Adventure

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The Walking Dead season 10 will have six extra episodes. According to showrunner Angela Kang, these episodes will deeply examine different characters in an anthological fashion. It would be awesome to have an episode focus on Connie and Virgil because there is a lot to unpack in this situation. First, there’s the issue of whether she can really trust Virgil. He is the same man who locked Michonne in a room and gave her hallucinogenic drugs. Michonne’s compassion and mercy towards Virgil may have caused him to change, but he’s still kind of sketchy.

There’s also a communication barrier between Virgil and Connie. She’s a person who is deaf and uses American Sign Language to communicate. She can also read a person’s lips. It’s possible that Virgil could know some ASL but there’s nothing to indicate that he’s fluent. Connie is usually able to write out messages for hearing people, but she may not be able to do that right now. So, they will have to learn how to effectively exchange information.

Virgil did return to Oceanside but found the community empty. It’s highly likely that he went there to tell them about Michonne leaving to find Rick. At one point, there were signs in that area directing to communities like Alexandria. Assuming they are still in tact, Virgil may have been heading to Alexandria or the Hilltop. Virgil has been on Bloodsworth Island for a while so he wouldn’t know which community to choose. And Connie is not aware of the Hilltop’s destruction. They may end up traveling there first, seeing the destruction, and then going to Alexandria.

A Connie/Virgil episode would be a great way to see how they get to know each other and what happens on their way back. We could learn more about both of their backstories and what they want in the future. Connie has a way of bringing out the best in people so maybe she can help viewers see Virgil in a new light. And of course, it would be even better to have it end with her embracing Daryl, Kelly, Yumiko, Magna, and Luke.

Connie’s Potential Connection to Rick and the Commonwealth

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Someone from Oceanside will likely recognize Virgil as the man who went off with Michonne. And he might recognize Judith from the sketch on that mystery phone. Virgil can tell the community about Michonne’s mission to find a man named Rick. This won’t mean anything to Connie, but it will ease some of Daryl and Maggie’s guilt behind Rick’s “death.” It remains to be seen what Daryl will do with that information (if anything), but it is a way to still keep a Rick connection in the current storyline.

If Connie’s reunion doesn’t come in the extra episodes, then it will happen in season 11. The final season will focus a lot on the Commonwealth arc and it would make sense for Connie to head that way. Yumiko is there with Eugene and Ezekiel right now so Connie will be eager to see what’s going on. Like our survivors, her group has been through several communities and lost a lot of people. They want to be in a place that is secure and thriving. If Connie goes to the Commonwealth, she could easily take on a prominent role in this community. Connie was an investigative journalist before the apocalypse who exposed corrupt politicians.

If the show even loosely follows the comic’s Commonwealth story, then we will meet Pamela Milton or a version of this character. She was a pre-apocalypse politician turned governor of the Commonwealth who serves as an antagonist. This could set up a very, very interesting dynamic between the two characters. Connie may be suspicious of the Commonwealth leader and use her journalistic skills to uncover some secrets about the community. Maybe the Commonwealth is working with the mysterious CRM, the organization that has Rick. It would be incredible to see her play a role in removing a corrupt Commonwealth leader from power and dismantling a class system.

Or the show could flip things around and have a benevolent Commonwealth leader. Connie could still work as a journalist documenting how society is rebuilding itself. She could interview people, write down stories, and put together a collection of experiences from people about their lives for the future. Most people only think of Connie in terms of her dynamic with Daryl, but her character is and can be so much more than that.

The Connie and Daryl Conundrum

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This is not to say their relationship isn’t a point of interest. Connie and Daryl a.k.a. Donnie is the fandom’s current favorite ship. Daryl has yet to have a love interest in the show and many fans want Donnie to become canon. But the future of Donnie looks murky. “A Certain Doom” shows Carol and Daryl reconciling and revisiting their plans to head to New Mexico again after tying up loose ends from the Whisperer conflict.

This heavily hints at how they will exit the show for the Carol and Daryl spinoff series (2023). In the context of the show, it makes sense for them to do this. Daryl hasn’t really been an active part of any community for a while. He shows up randomly and helps when he can. And Carol has been trying to run away or die for several seasons. Daryl and Carol are just as tired of the continuous fighting for their home cycle as viewers are at this point. They have known each other longer than anyone else so why not stick together on an adventure?

Actor Norman Reedus recently appeared on a PaleyFest Fall TV Previews panel. He says he envisions Carol and Daryl going through new towns, getting wrapped up in drama, and changing those whom they meet along the way. Reedus has worked with writers for years to shape his character so his wants and desires are taken seriously. This means their story will take them on the road to a new place. It’s great for them but doesn’t seem like good news for Connie.

If Daryl forms a romantic bond with Connie, it wouldn’t make sense for him to leave her behind. This means she could possibly die, which would certainly make him want to leave. There’s far too many instances of great women characters dying to advance a white male character’s story. This choice would be a great disservice to Connie.

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Or maybe they simply decide that they want two different things out of life. Daryl is a natural drifter but Connie seems to want stability. She might want to stay in the Commonwealth or Alexandria (if it is still standing) in the end. She’s not the type of character who would impose her will on another person. If Daryl wants to go, she’s not going to try to hold him back. They may form a close friendship bond, wish each other well in the end, and go their separate ways. It’s not a riding-off-into-the-sunset romance but at least everyone would be alive and happy, right?

There is a slim chance that Connie could come along for the ride. Maybe she wants to see the world with them. This would tie back into her journalistic spirit and allow her to collect more stories about this time in human history. But Connie probably wouldn’t leave Kelly behind, so the only way she would go is if Kelly dies.

It could also be a bit odd to have Daryl, Carol, and Connie as a traveling trio. Surely someone would feel like an awkward third wheel. It might work if Kelly or someone else came to balance things out. Right now, Carol seems to be Lydia’s surrogate mom, so that would work. But if too many characters come over to the new show, then it sort of defeats the purpose of a spinoff in the first place.

What could work (but probably won’t happen) would be if Daryl and Carol aren’t really together in the spinoff at all. Perhaps the show could have Daryl and Connie going in one direction while Carol (and maybe Lydia) are in another place. If not, then Connie could get their own time to shine in the Tales of the Walking Dead anthology series. The series could go into her backstory or even show what happens with her in the future.

It will be interesting to see exactly how everything plays out for Connie in general. She brings a different perspective to the apocalypse with a lot of brilliance and heart. There’s always the possibility of romance but even if it doesn’t happen, Connie could be the key to a lot of great stories.

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Season 11 was originally set to air this October in line with the show’s normal Fall TV cycle. However, the coronavirus pandemic means fans will only get the season 10 “finale” this year and Season 11 in 2021. Now, the upcoming season will be expanded from the 16-episode norm to a whopping 24 episodes over the course of the next two years. This means the series finale will take place in 2022.

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It’s sad news for a lot of fans but makes sense for a few reasons. First, the flagship show has gone through a myriad of changes in the past two seasons. Core characters like Rick Grimes, Michonne, and Carl exited the series due to personal and behind the scenes reasons. This is on top of the many other key characters who have died off because, well, it’s the apocalypse. The show is mostly full of new faces who are cool but don’t have the same impact as the mainstays. For some characters like Rosita, there’s essentially little to no growth nor anything for them to really do anymore.

And, to some fans, the show has struggled to maintain its footing as a result. It’s tough to keep a show going for so many years and try to keep the fanbase engaged and interested. The formula of a period of peace, some inner conflict, big bad(s) show up, debate war, people die, go to war, and eventually triumph is wearing thin for some viewers. The Walking Dead is also coming up on the end of its source material so this is a good time to wrap things up for whoever is still alive at the end.

Chuck Zlotnick/AMC

It’s sad news for a lot of long-term and dedicated viewers. But Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier fans won’t have to say goodbye to their faves forever. The aforementioned Deadline report reveals that actors Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride will go on to star in a Walking Dead spin-off series. The Daryl and Carol adventure will debut sometime in 2023. It would also be a spoiler for their future if it wasn’t so obvious that they are basically unkillable at this point.

Showrunner Angela Kang revealed via Comic-Con that Season 10 would have 6 additional episodes outside of its 11th season. So it’s a bit confusing right now. Are those episodes now a part of this massive season? Will one of them be a backdoor pilot for the Carol and Daryl show? Where do the Rick movies fit into all of this?  There have also been hints that there could be more spinoffs or miniseries with other popular characters. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Negan or Maggie on their own show.

The Walking Dead may be ending but the story of this world will expand in the future.

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This week’s Walking Dead was supposed to be the big penultimate episode to build anticipation for the always explosive season finale. However, Deadline reports that the current COVID-19 pandemic caused a halt in post-production for episode 16. This means the current episode was essentially the season finale; the intended finale will be a special episode later this year. No one knows when this special episode (or Season 11) will happen so, for now, we will focus on what went down and what to expect when The Walking Dead returns.

The Princess Adventures Begin

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The obvious highlight of “The Tower” is Princess. Paolo Lazaro brings this comic character to life with all the vibrancy and fun that fans would expect from the character. She’s an exciting and eccentric addition who is breathing fresh air into the long-running series after seasons of (mostly) doom and gloom.

Sure, Princess almost got Yumiko, Ezekiel, and Eugene blown up in a minefield because she didn’t want to let them go but let’s give her a break. She’s been on her own for a while and garnered the sympathy of our trio. And she introduced them to a garage full of sweet bikes to help them continue on their journey.

There’s still the question of what city they are in. Comic Princess was in Pittsburgh, but it wouldn’t make any sense for Eugene’s group to be in Pennsylvania when they are supposed to be heading to West Virginia. And it’s not entirely clear how many days they have been on the road nor how much time they have left before the meetup deadline.

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The Walking Dead has always been iffy in terms of how many days have passed so we will have to assume that the meeting in happening in the next day or two. Better pedal fast to get there my friends!

The upcoming special episode should show their arrival and reveal the truth about Stephanie’s group. Is she with the Commonwealth? Or, will The Walking Dead introduce yet another random community? No matter what, there better be all the lines and screen time for Princess because she rules.

The Final Whisperer Conundrum

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Everything outside of Princess was all doom and gloom. The communities are all holed up in a hospital to protect themselves from Beta’s revenge attack following Alpha’s death. The plan seems to work after Beta and the walkers go into an empty Alexandria but things go awry when they suddenly shift and move towards the location where everyone is hiding in the final moments.

Several Whisperers also apprehend Aaron and Alden. Alden has gotten away from their grasp before but he might not make it out this time. Aaron feels like the more stable choice to survive because he’s an Alexandria OG but his demise can’t be ruled out.

Someone points a gun in Aaron’s perpetually pissed off face before the scene ends. But, who is he looking at? It could be a random Whisperer who happens to have a gun. But all signs point to another Whisperer spy within their group. There’s no way that Beta would have known where the survivors were hiding unless someone told him, right?

via GIPHY

But, who could it be? Perhaps it is Jules, who suddenly popped up this season as an Oceanside community member. Or, maybe the person behind the gun isn’t an enemy after all. It would be nice if there were someone undercover and in disguise. Who knows?

Aaron was in radio contact with Gabriel, who is posted up at a tower. Uh oh. Gabriel might die at the same time as his comic counterpart. In the comics, Gabriel was patrolling a water tower when he saw a large group of walkers coming towards him. He tries to escape via a ladder, slips, breaks his ankle, and is gutted by Beta before walkers devour his body.

If Gabriel goes down, it probably won’t be as clumsy because this version of him is much more calculating, badass, and an integral part of the plot. He would likely go out guns blazing to protect the people that he loves.

Uncle Daryl and Judith also go on a security adventure. He shoots a Whisperer in front of her before they share a heartfelt moment about losing people they love. Judith admits that momma Michonne left to help someone but oddly omits the part about Rick possibly being alive.  You had one job Judith.

Where Are They Now? 

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Where the heck is Connie? She’s supposed to still be alive yet there’s no sign of her in this episode. Kelly gave Carol a mini pep talk to relieve her of some lingering guilt, but it would honestly make everyone feel better when we see her face again.

There’s also the hope that Maggie will show up again in the actual finale/special episode. There’s certainly going to be a final stand against Beta (who is quite delusional) and now would be the perfect time for Maggie to come in with some reinforcements. It would be way past time considering she abandoned the Hilltop and let ALL of her friends die without bothering to come back home. Sigh.

The new adventures with Princess and final stand against the Whisperer war is temporarily delayed but fans won’t be denied a firm ending in the finale. Hopefully, it will all be worth the wait.

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This week’s The Walking Dead follows several characters post-Hilltop fire. Carol contemplates leaving the community (again) before finally deciding to stay (again); Daryl and Negan have a mini adventure on the way back to Alexandria; and Beta has a weird reckoning with Alpha’s head before forming a massive walker herd. But the most exciting development this week is the debut of a colorful comic character. The Walking Dead welcomed Juanita Sanchez aka Princess (Paola Lazaro) and things are about to get awesomely weird.

In this episode, Eugene finally tells everyone that he has been in contact with someone from another location. Yumiko and Ezekiel offer to go with him to meet Stephanie near Charleston, West Virginia. The trio arrive in a city (presumably Charleston) and notice a few disturbing scenes of walkers dressed up and tied to chairs and cars.

Jace Downs/AMC

But things get really strange when a chipper woman suddenly confronts them. Not just a chipper woman, but one with purple hair, a huge pink coat, and goggles. She yells “hello” at them and they stand back in disbelief. Eugene knows this voice doesn’t belong to Stephanie; they aren’t at the agreed meeting place just yet so he’s understandably confused. The woman doesn’t say her name, but comic readers definitely know that outfit.

In the comics, Princess was a lone survivor living in Pittsburgh. She ran into Eugene, Michonne, Yumiko, Siddiq, and Magna on the road and went with them on towards the Commonwealth in Ohio. Her chipper and childish demeanor were a contrast to her solid fighting skills and dark, abusive past. The show seems to have made her the Princess of a different city, but she will likely join Eugene on his trip to meet Stephanie.

It’s interesting at this point in the apocalypse to see a person who is surviving on their own. By now, most people have found a community for protection and camaraderie or they started their own safe place with others. Comic Princess hadn’t seen a living person in over a year when she met Eugene but it remains to be seen what’s been going on with the TV version of this character.

Jace Downs/AMC

There’s also a possibility that she may not be a lonely and friendly ally after all. The show has been known to switch it up and make good characters go bad. For example, comic Dante ends up being Maggie’s boyfriend but TV Dante was a Whisperer spy. This move would be disheartening because Princess is such a cool addition to the narrative so hopefully she won’t turn out to be a terrible person.

The introduction of the Princess means the Whisperers are about to take their final bow to make way for the Commonwealth arc. There are only two episodes left in this season so this season might end with a first glance at the massive community. The Commonwealth plays a big role in the later volumes of the comics but this doesn’t mean that the show is ending any time soon.

Timelines are a funny thing on the series with one or two days taking several episodes before a time skip pushes us months (or years) into the future. So it could be several more seasons with Daryl, Carol, and whomever else survives with Commonwealth action and new explorations created for the TV show.

Either way, it’s exciting to find out more about the TV Princess and how she will play a role in this ever-changing saga.

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It’s so hard to say goodbye to a beloved TV character. But that’s exactly what The Walking Dead’s fans have done once again with the recent exit of Michonne. She was a staple in the series for eight seasons, known for her leadership and survival skills. Now, Michonne is off on an adventure to find Rick Grimes after discovering his infamous boots during a mission. In real life, actress Danai Gurira is putting down Michonne’s katana and stepping into the next phase of her career. Following Michonne’s final episode, Gurira hopped on Twitter with an emotional love letter for her Walking Dead family and friends.

In the post, Gurira admits she’s feeling heartbroken and overwhelmed over this big shift in her life. She says leaving the role is one of the hardest things she has ever done, which makes sense considering because Michonne has been a major part of her career. Of course, Gurira thanks the fans, cast, and her beloved crew for their love, support, guidance, and friendship along the way, calling them all a major part of #TWDFamily.

Her final episode has caused a flood of fan art tributes, Michonne’s best moments posts, and a lot of love from her co-stars, particularly Andrew Lincoln. He bid farewell to his onscreen love with a video clip showing him playing the piano and dramatically singing “we love you, Danai” He then jumped into a story about Rick and Michonne’s first encounter at the prison gates in season three.

In the show, Michonne was severely injured and carrying infant formula for Judith as she stood among walkers outside the prison. Rick watched her with disbelief and suspicion before Carl asks if they should save her. Andrew Lincoln fondly remembers the scene and jokingly says Rick thought she was a maniac.

He recalls the crew advising him not to pick Danai up. He did it anyway, dropped Danai, and then fell on her. Lincoln apologizes once again for the embarrassing moment before congratulating her on her present and future success. He ends the clip by showering her with praise, calling her the most marvelous, dignified, talented, honorable, classy, and gorgeous girl he has worked with ever. Sorry to all those other actresses!

Lincoln ends the clip with a remix of “Gangsta’s Paradise” by saying they have been spending most of their lives living in a zombie paradise. Danai Gurira posted the full video on her page and gave him props for his talents. Basically, it was an exchange of too many feels that have Richonne fans on the floor.

It’s never easy to move on to the next phase in life, but hopefully each day will get a little easier for Danai. She gave fans so much through Michonne and we can’t wait to see what she does next.

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The Walking Dead finally caught back up with Michonne after a lot of Whisperer action. In case you forgot, Michonne sailed away with Virgil a few episodes ago in hopes of scoring some heavy artillery to take down Alpha. She obviously didn’t make it back in time, and now she won’t be back because of a major discovery during her stay at Bloodsworth Island.

Virgil turned out to be the creeper we all suspected him to be after he misled Michonne about his “community.” His family was dead, there were no massive weapons, and he was holding the final people from the community hostage because he was mentally unstable. Virgil briefly imprisoned Michonne and drugged her for no reason before she took him down and freed the other captives.

She was understandably pissed off but things went in a completely different direction when she discovered Rick’s boots in a room with her katana. Ahh! The moment that fans have been waiting for since Rick’s “death” last season was finally about to happen!

Eliza Morse/AMC

Virgil claimed the boots washed up on the shore but Michonne discovered even more information on a larger boat. She found an old cell phone with an image of herself and Judith etched into the screen. There was also a ship log featuring a name that looked like Virginia Haywell and its previous location: a shipyard in New Jersey.

How the heck did Rick end up on this boat? When did he lose his boots? Why does that drawing of Judith look like current Judith instead of how Rick remembered her years ago? What is happening here?!

Michonne set sail for a while and was last seen walking in the middle of nowhere with two new people towards a massive group. Who are these people and where are they going? How will this connect with the CRM? How long was Michonne walking on her own with those walkers? This final episode set a lot of new things in motion that sadly won’t be explored on the TV series.

Gene Page/AMC

It would be incredibly cool to have a Michonne miniseries that documents her journey towards New Jersey for more answers. This would give fans a chance to get some needed answers and go into a new territory with a familiar face. But that probably won’t happen. Surely, there will be some fanfic to help us get through this difficult time, right?

We’re still expecting the Rick Grimes movies, but everything is quite vague at the moment. Scott Gimple told Entertainment Weekly in January 2020 that a script was still being refined but the impact of the Coronavirus could push things out even further, especially if there were plans to film in the next few months. Gimple obviously didn’t outright confirm that Michonne would be in the movies, but he did say her story would “inform everything moving forward.” So, she will likely appear in at least one or two of the three planned movies.

This makes sense for a couple of reasons. First, movies would allow the character’s story to have a real ending without dominating as much of Danai Gurira’s time. The Walking Dead is basically a full-time, year-round job for its primary actors between filming, appearances, cons, and other obligations. But a movie can be completed within a couple of months, or even weeks.

Eliza Morse/AMC

Danai is currently booked and busy as the writer and executive producer of the upcoming series Americanah, along with a future appearance in Black Panther 2. And given that the first movie of the Rick Grimes trilogy would likely focus solely on Rick’s dilemma, it could be another year or so before she would have to reprise her role.

Secondly, Michonne, Rick, and everyone who loves their relationship need some closure. It wouldn’t make sense to introduce this thread of Michonne looking for Rick only to never, ever return to her again. Imagine how terrible it would be to never know what happened to one of the biggest characters from the series. Michonne has to reunite with him, as well as her kids, sometime before RJ gets a mustache.

Michonne’s last Walking Dead TV show appearance is yet another reminder of how rapidly the show is shifting in a different direction from the comics. It’s hard to imagine a battle or big decision without her input, but Daryl, Carol, and the others will have to find a way to move forward and take care of the Grimes children in their parents’ absence.

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This week’s episode of The Walking Dead picked up right where last week left off—the middle of a Hilltop vs. Whisperers battle. But, the fiery conflict was the least interesting development this time around with several character deaths and a major Negan plot question that finally got an answer.

The Whisperers are pretty much a done deal after Negan sorrowfully cut off Alpha’s head. Thank you for your act of service, sir. Her ideology about this world was already bothering him, but Alpha’s willingness to kill her daughter was the final straw. Negan spotted an injured Lydia after the battle and used her as bait to lure Alpha into a secluded area. In reality, he protected Lydia by capturing her before her mom could find her and placing her at a safe location. At the very end of the episode, Negan brings Alpha’s head to Carol and tosses it at her feet, prompting her to ask what took so long. So, it was Carol who let Negan out of his cell.

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This revelation isn’t super shocking considering that 1) Negan beheaded Alpha in the comics and 2) Carol was willing to do anything to ensure Alpha’s demise. But this makes Carol’s actions at the cave seem even more ridiculous. If she had an agreement with Negan to kill Alpha, then why did she chase Alpha and try to blow up the hoard? Negan was moving a bit slow with the plan so perhaps she was trying to take it into her own hands. Is Carol upset about all the damage from (and presumably Hilltop lives lost) the previous night? Negan did help Alpha devise the plan to take down the Hilltop.

This pact also makes you wonder what Negan was promised—and will actually get—in return. He’s not welcome at Alexandria because, well, Aaron wants to murder him every time they see each other. Hilltop is no longer inhabitable and the Kingdom has been a done deal so there’s nowhere else for him to go unless he wanders off on his own. Perhaps Alpha’s head will be the turning point to convince the Alexandrians to treat him like a community member. Or, Daryl (or even Aaron) may pull a comic Rick and make Negan live alone at an outpost until more trust is built.

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Alpha is the glue that holds the Whisperers together but now she’s dead. Beta is still alive, but he doesn’t have the same influence and leadership skills as Alpha. He leaned on Alpha for approval and guidance and doesn’t seem to be the most mentally stable person in general. Her death will certainly destroy his resolve and lead to his own demise at the hands of Daryl.

It’s been a while since they have gone head-to-head in a fight. This may take place at Alexandria, where more Whisperers and people will die. No leader equals no pack, so the Whisperers will probably dissolve at this point. The Whisperer arc has been going on since season nine, so it’s beyond time for them to go away.

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Mary (formerly Gamma) also bit the dust in this episode. She risked her life to save Alden, Kelly, and her nephew and paid the price for betraying her group after Beta came out of thin air and stabbed her to death. It’s a mixed bag of feelings because she did prove herself to be loyal to Aaron and the group but she also killed her own sister to save freaking Alpha. Something could be said about karma here, but honestly everyone on this show has done terrible stuff at some point.

This episode also revealed that Connie and Magna made it out of the cave alive. Yumiko spotted Magna walking with the herd during the Hilltop battle. Magna later told Yumiko, who gave Carol a deserved punch to the face, that she was with Connie but they got separated in the herd. So, Connie’s current status is still up in the air. Sigh. She’s a savvy survivor, so hopefully she navigated the walkers and found a place to hide.

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A few survivors probably died this episode, but they were likely extras who show up specifically to die. Earl, the only established Hilltopper, met his fate; he wasweirdly the only person bitten during the attack. Goodbye Earl… and Alpha and Gamma.

The aftermath of Alpha’s death, Connie’s fate, and what happens at Alexandria will have to wait until after next week’s Michonne update and sad farewell. The Walking Dead is in constant flux and fans can only go on comic knowledge and general speculation about where this will go next.

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The Walking Dead is finally giving its Whisperer arc some much-needed steam in the final episodes of this season. In the wake of Connie and Magna’s predicament, Alpha and Negan have concocted a plan to make the Hilltop and Alexandria bow to their command. The Hilltop is outnumbered by thousands of walkers and dealing with its own infighting over the arrival of Gamma/Mary “Morning Star” gave fans a classic battle from the Whisperer comic arc and new updates that deviate from the comics, too.

Here’s how it all went down on this week’s The Walking Dead and what this episode hints at for the remainder of Season 10.

The Hilltop Battle

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Alpha’s determination to make every Hilltop resident a member of her walker herd seems to be going well at this point. Her massive hoard has overwhelmed Hilltop’s electrical barrier and the walls are coming down too. The circle of people equipped to fight at Hilltop is painfully tiny, partially injured, and covered in flammable liquid while fires are burning most of the ground and buildings around them. There’s seemingly no where to run nor hide. Yikes. But, we all know that everyone cannot die here because the show must go on!

This battle borrows directly from a comic battle at Hilltop. The Militia fought against the Whisperers (and their herd) but things went downhill quickly when the latter shot flaming arrows into the community. Many of the buildings, including the historical Barrington house, were lost but the Hilltoppers still managed to win the battle under the leadership on none other than Maggie.

The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang recently said during an online Q&A with fans that Maggie will show up in the “nick-of-time” and this is a dire moment where she needs to run in with an army from whatever community she has been hiding at for years. The Hilltop is eventually rebuilt but, until then, the residents make their way to Alexandria.

This wouldn’t be a bad thing for the TV series. Alexandria will have to deal with Michonne’s exit and the likely deaths of leadership people like Father Gabriel among other residents. And, it’s likely that the Hilltop will lose people (Alden, maybe?) too. The aftermath is chance for the three communities – Hilltop, Alexandria, and the remaining Kingdommers to come together in one residential area, form new councils, and evaluate how they are going to rebuild for everyone.

Maggie and Yumiko would likely fill in leadership gaps while the story could expand towards the Commonwealth and New World Order arc with people like Eugene, Rosita (if she is still alive), and maybe Daryl at some point.

A Stephanie/Eugene Update

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Stephanie and Eugene’s radio romance is certainly ripped straight from the comics. They start communicating during the Whisperer arc and their communities meet around this time. Most comic fans have assumed that she’s with the Commonwealth in Ohio like her comic counterpart. The shows seems to have confirmed this after Stephanie set up a face to face meeting with Eugene at a rail yard in Charleston, West Virginia.

It makes sense to meet each other halfway (sort of) and she’s given him a week to get to that point. However, she has yet to confirm whether her community is in West Virginia or in Ohio. Both locations are possible because Stephanie and Eugene saw the same satellite crash from the season opener. Eugene tells Stephanie that the range for seeing that crash could only be a few hundred miles – a range that both West Virginia and Ohio fit into.

In the comics, a few Commonwealth soldiers met Eugene and others at an Ohio train yard. There’s a possibility that Stephanie is still a Commonwealth resident and the show simply moved the community from Ohio to West Virginia. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to have her in some random community, especially when there’s still something to explore with Maggie and Georgie’s community.

West Virginia hasn’t been a state of interest in the TV show but it does make an appearance in the Telltale Walking Dead game when Clementine spends some time in the state. There’s probably not a significant connection here but it’s a nice Easter egg for those who engage in this universe outside of the TV series.

It’s been a while since The Walking Dead has expanded its scope outside of Virginia (outside of flashbacks) so it will be great to see other parts of the country.

Carol Makes Amends With Everyone

Chuck Zlotnick/AMC

Carol and Daryl’s relationship is still pretty rocky at this point. Daryl says he could never hate her – and I believe it – but he definitely isn’t interested in being buddies right now. He’s ready to go out and look for Connie and Magna but has been derailed by Alpha once again. Both of them have the thickest plot armor in the apocalypse, so there will be time for them to repair the broken trust. Whatever happens, Connie needs to LIVE.

Of course, there’s no comic precedent for what Daryl nor Carol will do next. Comic Carol was a very different person who died way back in the prison arc. But, Carol has taken on some comic Michonne aspects so perhaps she will travel with Eugene to meet Stephanie. Daryl is the new lead so he might end up at the Commonwealth too at some point.

Carol also spent time with Ezekiel right before their big battle and found out about his cancer diagnosis. It’s nice to see the former romantic pair back on better terms but also a sign that Ezekiel is probably about to die.

Any time a person finds some resolution or peace on The Walking Dead, they should prepare for their impending murder. Ezekiel has mended fences with Carol, made his diagnosis known, and made a death pact with Daryl. It was nice to know you King.

The Negan/Alpha Weirdness

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The Negan and Alpha pairing continues to get increasingly weirder as they whip each other and he gets his skin mask. Gross. Their comic counterparts never had a sexual relationship but they were still an odd pairing for a while. Negan was weirdly attracted to her and respected her rule over the pack. However, Negan sees the inhumane (even for him) philosophies in her group and eventually decapitates her.

Right now, TV Negan seems genuinely enthralled with Alpha but her desire to make all of Hilltop walkers might be enough to make Negan decide to take action against Alpha. Or, perhaps something will happen within the camp to make Negan stop being uncomfortably weird.

Will Negan cut of Alpha’s head? The show may decide to follow that path because he has the space and opportunity to get it done. Or, perhaps Carol’s dream of torturing Alpha to death will come true. Either way, Alpha needs to die soon.

The Walking Dead‘s Hilltop battle and burning marks the beginning of the final fights between the communities and the Whisperer army. It’s no secret that our groups will come out victorious but there’s always a price to pay in the fight for survival.

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The past few seasons of The Walking Dead have featured the deaths or ambiguous exits of a ton of main players including Glenn, Abraham, Sasha, Morgan, Dwight, Carl, Siddiq, Maggie, Tara, Enid, and even Rick Grimes himself, among others. Now, fans are all shook up once again after Carol’s inability to make good decisions led to what may be Connie and Magna’s deaths.

Of course, since there’s no body nor zombie corpse to prove that they are really gone, fans are theorizing that Connie and Magna are somehow stuck in the cave and will return later on. I’m not sure how or why the show would decide to make that happen, but it certainly would be great to get these characters back again. But for now, we’re forced to accept that they might be gone for good.

The events as they played out weren’t too shocking, given the clues from trailers and photos. But it still didn’t make it any easier to accept the possible truth of their possible deaths. It would be disappointing to lose either of them, but the thought of Connie dying on The Walking Dead is especially infuriating for several reasons.

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Connie instantly became a groundbreaking and intriguing character when she was introduced as a part of Magna’s group in season nine. The journalist sparked curiosity and respect from established characters and fans alike about her ability to survive as a person who is deaf in a zombie-infested world. What is it like to take on threats without relying on sound to detect their presence?

Additionally, Connie provides powerful representation for many deaf and hard-of-hearing Walking Dead fans who hadn’t seen themselves in this world before. And for many hearing fans like myself, her presence was a gateway to learning more about the deaf community and its culture. Connie’s deafness is never portrayed as a disadvantage, but rather a single aspect of a fully-realized character who is compassionate, fearless, skilled, and smart.

She’s an expert at relying on her other senses to spot potential strife and carefully studies others to get a feel for their personality. In fact, Connie’s use of American Sign Language (ASL) is a major strength, allowing her to communicate with her friends and others silently in the face of danger.

The love for Connie grew even deeper with a million ships setting sail after she grew closer to Daryl. It’s delightful to watch him lean over her shoulder as she writes out a note, or to observe his interest in learning ASL. Who can forget the ASL booklet in his back pocket earlier this season? All signs were pointing towards the pair having a romantic relationship (thumbs up for #Donnie) as well as Connie taking on more of a leadership role as a member of the Coalition.

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What would be the point of so richly developing Connie to simply have her die? She (as well as Magna) still has far too much to do in this story. And with Michonne leaving this season, these newer characters need to be here to bridge the gap. If Connie is dead, it would be the latest example of yet another Black character being killed to advance a White character’s story.

Her death would be nothing more than a plot device to cause a divide between Carol and Daryl and advance their development. He gets to be angry and in pain over Connie’s death because he loved her, which causes a break in his friendship with Carol. Oh no, will their friendship survive this trauma?

Of course it will, because Carol realizes the “error of her ways” due to Connie’s death and come back to her senses. It’s frankly infuriating because there are other ways to develop a character, even in the apocalypse, without killing someone to prove a point. Yes, people are going to die on this show, but this one is just as nonsensical as Carl’s demise.

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Why would the entire group run to a dark place behind Alpha? Why would Carol possibly think she could blow up walkers and somehow not affect the structure of the cave, even though it was discussed literally moments earlier? The sheer idiocy of this situation would make Connie and/or Magna’s death seem cheap.

At this point in the series, there are probably no new fans coming over to join the watch party. The Walking Dead is ten seasons and literally hundreds of hours deep at this point. It’s all about retaining existing fans, and that’s getting pretty difficult after so many years and other TV options. There’s a group of fans who will watch no matter what happens, but many others are growing bored with the same old cycles. Connie brings a fresh perspective to the show, so please, please let there be some miracle to help her get out of that cave.

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A few months ago, The Walking Dead left fans with a major cliffhanger. Carol’s incessant thirst for revenge led to her, Daryl, Connie, Aaron, Magna, Jerry, and Kelly getting caught in a cave filled with walkers (courtesy of Alpha). Who will live? Who will die? What else is in this cave? Those questions (and more) were answered in mid-season premiere, which picks up right where the story left off.

The entire situation was undoubtedly a means to get Carol to finally stop acting on impulse. Frankly, if this doesn’t make her stop acting like a complete fool, then nothing will at this point. Everyone on this show has had their share of “not so bright” decisions that have led to major consequences, but Carol’s actions are completely without any sense of rationale.

The events that transpire during their escape mission quickly become infuriating after taking a sharp turn for the worse. In a world where there are infinite ways to progress a character’s story or take them on some sort of emotional journey, The Walking Dead goes back to the same exhausting formula.

Eliza Morse/AMC

It’s not shocking for awful things to happen on an apocalypse show, especially in the middle of a brewing conflict, but that doesn’t mean this blow will be any less devastating to a lot of viewers. Discord among The Walking Dead‘s fervent fandom is a way of life and I can already see the dark clouds on the horizon.

There will probably be a share of theories to suggest some alternatives to what is being presented in the show, but it’s not likely considering that there was backlash to fake-outs in the past. In the show’s universe, Carol’s strained relationships with pretty much everyone just became infinitely worse.

Outside of the cave debacle that lasted a little too long, there’s a small yet significant update inside the Whisperer camp. The growing dissension and suspicions among the pack are addressed before things go in an aggressively disturbing and weird direction. I say with full confidence that there isn’t a fan of the show (or comics) who won’t be scratching their heads and left feeling very, very unsettled by an odd encounter in the woods.

The subsequent episode finally starts to move this Whisperer war forward as it deals with the fallout from the midseason premiere’s events and starts a new conflict. A lot more happens than expected with action that brings to mind those great murderer Rick moments from the past, bait and switch trickery, a quick catch-up with some familiar faces, and a few intense one-on-one battles.

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It would all be a much more intense affair if it wasn’t for obvious plot armor as well as 10B photos that confirm certain characters’ survival. That’s the price we pay in today’s TV universe where far too much is revealed ahead of time. Everyone is starting to unravel in their own ways and this time there’s no Rick or Michonne to reel people back in. The ending might leave some folks screaming “Whyyyyy?!” as they wait impatiently for another episode.

The Walking Dead‘s midseason premiere and its follow up are the beginning of an end with far too many goodbyes and painful moments as the long-running show shuffles to its next chapter.

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