Movies & TV / Reviews

The Walking Dead 9.1 Review – ‘A New Beginning’

October 8, 2018 | Posted by Wednesday Lee Friday
The Walking Dead - A New Beginning
8.5
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
The Walking Dead 9.1 Review – ‘A New Beginning’  

Hey gang, Katie is off this week. I’m delighted to be asked to cover “A New Beginning,” as we see how the survivors are holding up after Rick Grimes ended The War. AMC has made much of this being Andrew Lincoln’s last season, while pretty much ignoring the other major character who is leaving. We know it’s not because they care a lot about spoilers. Speaking of which, expect spoilers for all Walking Dead to date, including tonight’s ep. And can I just say how weird it is that Z-Nation and Walking Dead premiered in the same weekend?

Before we get into the episode, it falls to me to say a few words about the passing of Scott Wilson, whom Walking Dead fans know as Hershel Green. He’s been acting for decades. If you’re a horror fan in general, you may have also seen him in Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, as well as Clay Pigeons, Monster, X-Files, and the short-lived but excellent series Damien. Thanks for all the scares, man. I’m confident that he’d be delighted to know that the name Hershel will live on at the Hilltop colony. Maggie had a human boy, which is good. She’d been pregnant for so long I was worried she might be gestating an elephant.

Lots of new tech at the colonies. Hilltop, Alexandria, Kingdom, Oceanside, and the Foundry are all little communities full of people with varying degrees of supplies and civility. Solar and wind power appear common. Zombie-powered scarecrows are tried and rejected, and horses are now the main mode of transport —- with all the plusses and minuses that go with it. Daryl’s jacket seems way worse for the wear. And it’s odd to hear people say things like “When Carol is in town,” because there are towns, and people can go between them without it being a death sentence, usually.

The other new thing this season is the intro. I’d given up hope for an animated intro after season three, but here we are. Birds appear to be a major thematic element, both within the dialogue and visually. Does that mean someone will be flying away to greener pastures? Could Rick eventually be off to look for Morgan in the confounding timeline that is Fear the Walking Dead? Hard to say at this point. But that new intro is really friggin’ cool. There’s also a new showrunner, so we wish her the best.

The gang is on a field trip to a museum. What for? It takes a while to reveal that they’re getting farming equipment and heirloom seeds. We see that Carol and Ezekiel are formally a couple, and they’re raising little Henry. That’s cool. The homage to human evolution was cute, if a bit heavy-handed. We got some drawn-out nonsense with a glass floor and the threat of losing King E. All the wagon stuff reminded me of a Donner Party documentary, between the muddy wagon trails and the rampant cannibalism. But maybe that’s just me. We also learned that Siddiq is afraid of spiders. Like, paralyzing so. I have to think that’s going to be relevant later. Also, what kind of diseases can be spread if a bug bites a zombie and then a living person?

Just when we think everyone will get back safely, Ken goes back to free one of the horses and is bitten. Ken! Nooooo! Wait…who the hell is Ken? I’m not sure we’ve ever seen Ken before. And they really wanted us to remember his name. “Hang on Ken, it’ll be alright. Come on Ken, stay with me.” Then there’s was Ken’s alcoholic but sober dad, Ken’s furious mom (played by Brett Butler, which was a huge and fun surprise), Ken’s funeral, Ken’s eulogy, a song for Ken, Ken Ken Ken. Ken’s mom is overwrought and bans Maggie from the funeral. I expect grieving parents to be emotionally unstable, so letting that go makes sense. Still…Ken, right?

Fashion-wise, beards are clearly the order of the day. Everyone is sporting them, presumably because sharp blades can be best used elsewhere. Jadis/Anne’s hair is less ridiculous, and Carol’s hasn’t changed at all. Over at the foundry, Eugene is keeping everything ship shape. But there are issues. Hilltop is doing awesome growing food and such, but nothing will grow around the foundry. Hungry people are making rumblings about still being Negan. If they’re so Negan, maybe they should share Negan’s cage—which we don’t actually see this week. Is it me, or do Rick and Negan look a lot alike at a glance these days? It that intentional?

As the episode goes on, we notice that there are several conflicts brewing. Maggie is still angry that Negan is alive. Daryl doesn’t want to be the leader at the foundry, or anyplace. Gregory seems like he took losing the election at Hilltop to Maggie pretty well. Except he’s Gregory, so he probably has some crap planned—which we later see that he does. Rick is being treated like a hero, which doesn’t suit him or the environment. Talk begins about the importance of voting, the need for rules and guidelines for what happens when rules are broken. Will this lead to another big war? I hope not, but it’s not like we can have a whole season without human conflict. The saviors have no love for Eugene, so he ought to watch his back.

For a bit there, I thought Ken’s mom might commit suicide. Then Gregory gets Ken’s dad drunk knowing full well that he’s an addict. Before long, Gregory is setting Maggie up for death in a ruse even more hackneyed than that time they stabbed Jon Snow at The Wall. Glenn’s grave is certainly an Uncle Benjen-like scenario. Enid tried to help Maggie during her attack and was knocked viciously to the ground. The next time we see her, she’s in a wheelchair. I’m hoping that’s just them being extra cautious. Nobody is gonna survive long without usable legs.

We got a lovely Carol and Daryl moment when she offered to take over leadership duties for a dejected Daryl. I think these two developed the almost-lovers but almost-familial relationship that we should have gotten with Dale and Andrea. Remember them? They were all set to explore that relationship a la the comics until AMC screwed over Frank Darabont with all that entails. Carol also explains why she didn’t immediately accept the King’s marriage proposal. She’s had pretty bad luck with relationships, but the fact that she’s taken in Henry has to mean that she hasn’t given up on getting attached to people. I was shocked that she crushed that cigarette though. They’ve got to be pretty scarce.

I was worried at the end that Maggie might be punishing Ken’s father in some harsh and terrible way. But no, it’s finally time for Gregory to pay the piper. His wailing at the end was expected, but not exactly dramatic. He’d been given far too many chances already. It’s not as if he’ll be missed. But tiny kids saw the execution, which is awful. This shouldn’t be the world they are building, which Maggie says after Gregory was dead.

This was a solid introduction to what’s bound to be another action-packed season. Even as I understand the fan complaints about too much walking and nothing happening — I like that they still take time to show us small conversations between our fave characters. Game of Thrones showed us how rushed a season can feel without those moments to break up the fighting and sex.

Katie will be back next week, and I’ll be back with my next American Horror Story review later this week.

See you’s then!

8.5
The final score: review Very Good
The 411
Season premieres tend to be some of our best television of the season…until sweeps anyway. The Walking Dead tends to have especially good openers. We check in with where everyone is. We use hairstyles and children's ages to discern how much time has passed. Things got a little messy this week, but that's to be expected when you leave certain people alive.
legend