Wednesday, April 13, 2016

What I’m Watching: The Walking Dead (Season Finale)


The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 16 “Last Day on Earth” (B)

This episode had all the makings of an epic finale, with a number of series regulars on the road to nowhere with the goal of survival and ending things for good in sight. Their numerous run-ins with the Saviors were very foreboding, and I couldn’t believe that they just got back into their camper van and drove away after the first meeting on the road. Those freaky sounds were the unfortunate immediate precursor to their being completely surrounded by a tremendous and frightening number of people all wishing them harm. Before we get to the big appearance, I’ll comment that the episode was full of some important interactions, like Abraham and Eugene bonding and Morgan getting back into the killing spirit to save Carol, who just didn’t want to be saved and nearly died a tortured death at the hands of a very vindictive man. Things don’t look particularly good for Carl coming back at this point, but I’m not sure anyone is in particularly positive or optimistic shape. It’s crazy to think that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s appearance was hyped throughout this entire season and he didn’t appear until the last ten minutes of the final episode, but boy was it worth it. On “The Good Wife,” Morgan plays a private investigator with crazy eyes and few inhibitions. Here, here’s that same type of unhinged but with a spiked bat and a murderous attitude. I’m not so big on having episodes end in mystery like this one when the victim who died a brutal bludgeoned death could easily have been revealed, but my biggest issue is that it doesn’t seem possible at all for this crew to recover and the show to go on. Given how close these events apparently are to the comic book series, I’m sure it will, but I’m left feeling more devastated that I ever have been at the end of a season of this show.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Merritt Wever as Denise

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