TV Show Review - The Walking Dead (Season 9)

Season: 9
Genre: Horror/ Drama/ Adventure
Number of episodes: 16
Year: 2018/ 2019
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohen, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquad, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Tom Payne

Description: Eighteen months after the defeat of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) under an alliance of communities spearheaded by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), the season focuses on the united communities as they face obstacles and dangers both outside and inside their alliance, with the threat of the mysterious Whisperers looming.

Review: After season 8, “The Walking Dead” had lost my interest a bit. The pacing was slow and the unexpected deaths of some character didn’t help either. Rick decision about Negan’s fate in the season 8 finale was very lame and I thought it was the end for the show. But then there was season 9, which brought the show back to life.
Andrew Lincoln was announced to leave the show. I was never a huge fan of Rick Grimes, so I wasn’t disappointed. But I was afraid that “The Walking Dead” would suffer from this. Because Rick was the main character of the show.
From the start of the season, “The Walking Dead” felt fresh. It had a new opening sequence, it made a time jump and the pacing was much faster. The walkers are more present and the way they wrote Rick out of the show has been handled well. Maggie’s departure not so much, because she was just gone all of a sudden. And within the season another time jump was added.
With The Hilltop, The Kingdom and Alexandria still working together, you can see that, after Rick’s death, a lot has happened between the three places and their leaders.
The most interesting and exciting part of season 9 is the new hostile group: the Whisperers. They skin walkers and used their faces as a mask, so they can blend in with the actual walkers. Negan was a great villain at the start, but eventually became softer. The Whisperers are a real threat, they are scary an merciless.
I also liked the connection between Rick’s daughter Judith and Negan. Unlikely to see them get along, but it’s very endearing to see them bond.
Since a long time, “The Walking Dead” has been interesting again and it managed to shock us towards the end of the season. Something that the show was lacking in season 8.

TV Review: "The Walking Dead"Season 6

Genre: Drama/ Horror/ Thriller
Year: 2015/ 2016
Number of Episodes: 16
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Michael Cudlitz, Daniah Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lenny James, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Description: Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by the walking dead. Fighting the dead, fearing the living.

Review: The season starts with Rick and his crew trying to assimilate into the Alexandria group. A lot of new faces, non as interesting as any of the old gang. Denise and Aaron are the only ones that were likeable and I could see them in Rick’s group.
There are a lot more introductions in season 6. Besides the Alexandria people, we also meet the Wolves, people from Hilltop and Negan’s associates. Especially the last had us on the edge of our seats, because who was this Negan character? More about him later. Some drama: Maggie being pregnant, Rick and Michonne hooking up, Abraham and Rosita breaking up, Carl losing an eye. You gotta love the drama.
The biggest shock was Glenn’s death (Episode 3: Thank You) , or what turned out not to be his death. They left us believing Glenn died a horrible death, for a couple of episodes. Everyone cried! Then to later find out it was someone else who died and Glenn was still alive (Episode 7: Heads Up). Don’t get me wrong, I like Glenn and I’m happy he’s still around. But what a twist it would have been if he had really died at such an unpredictable point in the season.
The Morgan episode (Episode 4: Here’s Not Here) I didn’t really like. I think most people did, but it was my least favorite episode of the season. I think Morgan is an interesting character and I wanted to know more about him, what he did after parting ways with Rick. But the episode was very slow.
The episode where Daryl, Sasha and Abraham first meet the Saviors (Episode 9: No Way Out) and where the people left in Alexandria are trying to find a way through all the walkers, was probably the best, bloodiest and most exciting episode of the season.
Later we meet the Hilltop Colony (Episode 11: Knots Untie) and they tell Rick and his people they have been working for Negan in order to stay alive. This made me even more intrigued, I wanted to find out who Negan was. But I knew I wasn’t going to see him anytime soon.
When Rick plans on a surprise attack on the Savior’s compound (Episode 12: Not Tomorrow Yet) we think we will see Negan, but off course we don’t. Carol and Maggie get captured and in the next episode (Episode 13: The Same Boat) we meet some of Negan’s people. Another pretty bloody episode, Maggie and Carol kick some ass in this one.
All these events lead us to the 90 minute season finale (Episode 16: Last Day on Earth) and our long awaited introduction to Negan. In this final episode Rick, Abraham, Eugene, Sasha and Carl are driving their RV to Hilltop, to get Maggie to a doctor. She is having pains and isn’t doing well. Everywhere they go, roads are blocked by Negan’s people. In the meantime Daryl, Rosita, Glenn and Michonne are captured and Morgan is looking for Carol. Did it need 90 minutes, I don’t think so, but it was a great episode. Especially the last 10 minutes. We finally meet Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Morgan kills it, he is fantastic as Negan, who might possibly be the best villain the show has had. Rick and his people are all lined up, sitting on their knees. One of them is going to meet Lucille, Negan’s barb wired baseball bat. When Negan starts hitting, we see it from the point of view of the victim. We don’t know who it is and that’s exactly where they leave us.
Many people are angry and didn’t like the finale. I loved it. I always like cliffhangers, because they leave me wanting more. This makes me even more excited for season 7. They want us to talk about “The Walking Dead” and that is exactly what we are going to do. Speculate about who Negan killed and why he choose this person. I think it’s either Eugene, Daryl or Abraham. In might be Glenn, because in the comics it’s Glenn. But we all know “The Walking Dead” loves twists and surprises.