Walking Dead Mid-Season Finale Review

After a huge time jump and major “death,” The Walking Dead Season 9 mid-season finale has a lot to live up to – and it doesn’t disappoint!

Luckily, instead of filler scenes about the new threat coming our way, Daryl, Aaron, and Jesus find out pretty quickly that the walkers are not acting normally. It’s an uneasy scene with characters that I can’t wait to explore more (maybe minus Daryl). This, along with a focus on certain zombies in the herd, gives us a compelling introduction to the Whisperers.

For those who aren’t familiar with Skybound’s The Walking Dead, the Whisperers are a hostile group of survivors who skin zombies and wear their skins to blend in with herds.

The fact that these people will dress up in rotting skin every day says a lot about who they are and the lengths they are willing to go to survive. I would not want to mess with this group, and I’m eagerly waiting for more of this new and exciting threat.

The next scene was just as compelling! As children are playing in the gardens, their toy falls down the stairs – right next to Negan’s cell. Even six years later, children know who Negan is, and they know that they should be afraid of him.

The slow tilt of the camera downwards from the children to Negan’s cell stood out to me. I hope Negan isn’t a huge focus moving forward, but I definitely still want to see more of him. Not only is Jeffery Dead Morgan amazing in every scene, but the controversy surrounding his character is always fun to watch. Seeing as how some idiot let his jail cell open, I’m sure we will see Negan stirring up more trouble in future episodes.

As Michonne and her group of new survivors reach the Hilltop, they all run in fear even though the group means no harm. It shows that there is still a lot of tension between the communities, it seems it didn’t get better over the years.

We see some character reunited at Hilltop, but there wasn’t much new information revealed about what happened with Maggie, Michonne, and Michonne’s new scar.

I enjoy the show’s new focus on Henry and his new friendships. Henry feels like the first step in a bridge between the communities, which is something I’m looking forward to seeing – all four communities working together as one.

While Henry is hanging out with his new friends, they go out into the woods, and he discovers they have a pet zombie. Of course, this is a dumb idea and the kids are asking for trouble.

Realizing this, Henry kills the walker before anyone is hurt. I was genuinely expecting another pointless death, but this was a pleasant surprise and shows a lot about Henry’s character.

Meanwhile, Daryl’s group finds Eugene, and they must make their way back to the Hilltop. These scenes were by far the highlight of the episode. It was great seeing the character’s try to figure out why zombies are suddenly talking.

It also makes walkers scary again. Knowing that they can’t be outsmarted and that one might be a normal human makes the threat real again. Their actions can’t be predicted anymore, which makes gives the show the tension it has been missing.

Every time one of these scenes ended, I was itching for more. I even wanted to see more of Daryl because the scenes were so well done. One of my favorite parts was when Daryl realized that his normal herd technique of drawing walkers away with sound and fire wouldn’t work.

As a result, Eugene, Aaron, and Jesus had to run from walkers during a storm in a foggy cemetery. The lighting and fog were perfect for setting the mood. The show regained a horror aspect to it, and it felt like the early days of The Walking Dead.

If the show continues to give us great episodes like this, I’ll happily watch for more seasons to come. There wasn’t a lot of filler, the special effects were great (they always are), and I was more engaged in the show than I have been in a long time.

I can’t stress enough how refreshing it is to feel tension again. Having the audience not know knowing how zombies will act, being uncertain about the show’s future storylines as they stray a bit further from the comics, and the shift of focus from the Grimes family has given this episode a lot to work with.

My favorite moment, and probably the most important in the episode, is when Jesus goes to swing at a zombie, and it ducks with incredible speed. Unfortunately for Jesus, he wasn’t able to predict the movement because he was expecting a normal walker and it cost him his life (maybe).

It was great seeing character reactions to the Whisperers, and the acting is all great. My favorite reaction has to be Michonne’s look of terror after picking up a weapon that a walker was just welding.

From their point of view, it very much looks like the walkers are evolving and they have every reason to be afraid.

As for me, I’m less afraid for the remaining episodes of season 9. With the Whispers now front and center, it should be a thrilling rest of the season.


9/10