The Walking Dead Season 9 Premiere Review

The Walking Dead Season 9
A brand new season of The Walking Dead is among us, and there are sure to be significant changes coming.

With Carl gone and Andrew Lincoln set to leave the show, what will keep audiences watching? The show seems to tackle this problem by focusing on rebuilding society to what it once was.

This fresh start gave a new breath of life to the comic book series, so maybe it can do the same to the television show.

A brand new intro is introduced in this episode, and it is a lot different than the other ones. It focuses on growth and rebuilding, and there is now a much fresher and greener logo.

This season starts with a time jump that shows the communities thriving. The communities are bigger in size and a lot better with communication and working with each other.

They even have set paths to different communities with patrolmen guarding the path to ensure that no one is surprised by walkers while traveling.

Rick's group decided to go on a supply hunt for seeds and other farming equipment, and it was a nice change of scenery to see walkers in Washington DC.

Seeing Rick’s group scavenge museums in DC definitely made things more interesting to watch, even if the zombie make-up isn’t as impressive after seeing it for nine seasons. The walker filled with spiders did freak me out, but I’m pretty squeamish when it comes to insects, especially while in a horde coming out of a walker's head.

Little things throughout the raid held my attention, like the “Human Evolution” exhibit inside the museum, with a walker attached to the last section.



I hope they continue to explore Washington D.C. There is a lot of potential with how many famous landmarks there are, and hopefully, it isn’t outside of the show’s budget. I also love the idea of raiding museums to find artifacts that can be used to rebuild their old world. It will certainly help things move along.

While moving back to the community, the group comes across a herd. During their escape, Ken is bitten and kicked by a horse. Maggie properly kills him before he turns into a zombie in what is supposed to be an emotional moment, but there is absolutely no emotional weight to the character.

Ken was just introduced and has less than 20 minutes of screen time. Why should we care if he dies?  If The Walking Dead wants to keep the attention of its viewers, they need to stop spending so much time grieving over characters we just met. 

This was especially disappointing as a season premiere, as it was supposed to be the highlight of the episode. 

However, Ken’s death did serve a more significant purpose. It re-opened a conflict we saw the roots of in the season eight finale. People aren’t happy with the second chance that the Saviors have gotten.

It turns out the Saviors aren’t too happy either. There is a hint of resistance and small support for Negan. Daryl being the leader of the Sanctuary isn’t the best choice, and Daryl realizes this. 

It’s nice to see some conflict between Daryl and Rick that doesn’t result in a big fistfight. The tension between the two is at an all-time high, even though they respect each other.

The two understand each other’s decisions but don’t necessarily agree with them. This was a nice change

I liked Daryl in this episode, and he definitely hasn’t been my favorite character in the past seasons. However, he has a lot of conflicts built up inside of him.

These relationships he had with his friends for nine seasons has grown him as a character, and I feel like he is finally given something to do. Now he has a somewhat interesting character flaw that isn’t just about his inability to trust.

I also liked that Gregory is still in the mix and plotting against Maggie. This was one of my favorite arcs from the comics, and I was worried the writers would drag it out for several episodes to come. 

However, I was very pleasantly surprised! Gregory took action immediately and convinced Ken’s father to attempt to kill Maggie.

Lauren Cohan shines in this episode as Maggie, and it was great seeing her mixed emotions throughout the episode. Whether it be hiding her inner anger and trying to stay cool, her subtle reaction to the news of Glenn’s grave being vandalized, or standing up to the famous Rick Grimes, I always looked forward to seeing more of her.

Cohan especially stood out in the final moments of the episode as she executes Gregory in front of the Hilltop. The episode ends with a hollowing shot of Gregory’s lifeless body swinging from a post.

All in all, I liked this episode of the new season. It certainly felt fresh, but I am not sure how long that will last. After completely losing interest in the show last season, this is a step in the right direction. However, I am still a bit worried about how the show will move forward without Rick, but hopefully, his death has a big enough impact to significantly change the show like it so desperately needs.


6/10





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