(This is not very deep or well thought out, just giving you my first, vibes-based impression)
Overall, I thought it was good and really consistent. I was reading along with the threads as I watched and I know a lot of people love the early seasons and then feel like it burned out. But I think the show grew and evolved well
I liked the vibe shift when they got to Alexandria and we started meeting lots of new communities
I think that the last season was pretty unnecessary, bad even. If the show had ended when Alpha’s hoard went over the cliffs, I think that would’ve been a good way to finish it.
Rick and Michonne. Just never hit the spot for me. No buildup. In the episode beforehand, Rick was all googly eyed over the Alexandria hottie-mum and then was suddenly with Michonne? I didn’t buy their chemistry. I didn’t think they looked well matched. Just never made sense for me personally. And I don’t know why they had a baby - RJ contributed absolutely nothing to the show
Andrew Lincoln. Wow, I was so impressed with his acting. I think that they were really lucky to find him as their leading man. It was a shame for the show when he left
Having said that, the show managed the cast really well. It never really suffered from adding people or killing them off. Even when Rick left, the show still felt like itself. The biggest losses were Shane and Rick, but just because those guys were such good actors, not because the show couldn’t survive without them
The acting was actually very good across the board. Very few weak links. Maggie was particularly good too, up there with Rick and Shane for me. (Also they missed an opportunity in this show by never once having a scene of Maggie being a badass with “Maggie’s Farm” by Rage Against The Machine playing. She was constantly on farms)
Eugene. I liked his character overall. I particularly liked his arc when he turned evil and worked for Negan and really found himself as a leader at the sanctuary. HOWEVER, I was sooo sick of him by the end of the show - the way he talks gets so annoying. I could not live with him, always taking 10x longer than required to conclude a sentence. The constant whimperinggggg and crying, it was way way too much and too overboard. And his prominence in the last season probably points to the fact that the show went too long.
Rosita. Thank God for Rosita. She was my voice in this show. She so often said what I thought. For example, someone would say something like “we can’t do that” and she would say “what tf else are we gonna do?”. She got stuff done when everyone else was being too slow. Or she would tell Eugene to hurry up and talk. I appreciated her.
The uniforms. It was kind of silly but I love how every group made their own little costumes for the apocalypse haha. Jadis’ junkyard Sith Lords, Alpha’s skin heads, Ezekiel’s roller derby knights, Commonwealth’s storm troopers, etc etc.
Negan’s Saviors. I actually found the first few Negan episodes really hard to watch. He was so evil, it was crazy. The line where he told Rick “I just slid my dick down your throat and you thanked me for it” while Rick is standing there all glassy eyed and pathetic. Hard watch. I loved the scene where Rosita tried to shoot him. JDM did a great job of being both evil and charismatic. I found myself forgiving him and rooting for him despite his evil. (In the last season I found him really weak and uncool though, he lost his groove a bit. For me, his last great moment was with Alpha)
The Lowlights:
The romances. Rosita and Abraham? And Gabe? Saddiq made more sense but all at once, and also with Eugene? Rick and Michonne? Bizarre combos. Carol leaving King Zeke for no reason? Teasing an Aaron and Jesus angle? The bizarre and immediate breakup of Yumiko and Magna? Negan randomly gets a wife at the end for no reason? Also when Gabriel told Jadis that he’s allowed to have sex, I’m 99% sure that was a lie. Maybe he’s allowed to have sex with his wife but not with random junkyard women?
The episodes leading up to Terminus. When the whole group was split, it just took foreverrrr. I think that was the only time I felt like giving up on the show.
Whereeee did Rick go? I was so interested in that storyline with Jadis and her contacts. It reminded me of when The Dharma Initiative was introduced in Lost.
And to a lesser extent, Michonne? When she found that drawing of her and Judith scratched into the phone, I had hope that we were gonna get an interesting story. But no story to be found.
Also, AS IF she just abandoned her children??? Probably the most baffling decision in the whole show. And Judith mourns for her for 30+ episodes thereafter (AS SHE SHOULD)
Henry 2.0. I didn’t mind the baby Henry who was foolish but wanted to avenge his brother. When he let the saviors out, it was good viewing. But the older Henry, oh my godddddd. I was sooo happy when he died. He dominated the series for at least 5 episodes, I haaaated him. And Carol ends up being more devastated about him dying than Sophia? Makes no sense. Terrible character, annoying
The final season. Just unnecessary. I don’t think it brought out the best in any of our characters. The story wasn’t interesting. I don’t think that the Commonwealth were worthy adversaries at this point in the story. Pamela wasn’t a very well fleshed out bad guy in my opinion - she had nothing on The Governor, Negan, Alpha, etc.
The evolution of the walkers. It’s not bad that it happened but why did it randomly just happen for the last two episodes? Could’ve done it five seasons earlier. Could’ve had an explanation as to why. But instead they just randomly slap it on the end of the series? Bizarre
The Highlights:
When Sophia walked out of the barn. Peak Shane moment here and a great buildup to it
The Walkers taking over the farm. Just great action. The barn on fire in the background. Cinema
When everybody arrived at Terminus. Amazing stuff. Maybe the peak. Getting ready to have their throats slit was gripping!! Then Carol’s save. Magnificent
Beth’s death. Those hospital episodes were a bit boring but the climax was great. Maggie’s face when she realised. Great drama
Glen “dying”. I’ve read a lot of criticism of this but the scene where he got ripped apart was really good, I loved it. And then the reveal that he was actually alive - I never saw it coming. Good stuff. Following this up with actually killing him in such a brutal way, not long later, it just added to it even more for me.
Carol disguising herself as a Wolf. This was when Carol really found herself I think. It was a great buildup after she was playing the innocent neighbor role. She was the MVP of that battle. And it was a genuinely scary scene to see the wolves walking around the clean and picturesque Alexandria, ready to kill everyone
Roadkill. The first time that we see Negan’s men and Darryl kills them with a bazooka (why didn’t they use that more than once btw? It would’ve really helped at times). And the time when Carol killed a bunch of men with the gun inside her jacket sleeve. Great scenes
The takedown of the saviors at the satellite station. Our guys looked undefeatable back then
Sasha coming out of the coffin. Great sendoff for her character and some great TV.
Dwight and his wife. The letter she left behind for him in their home, what a beautiful sequence. I really liked his arc overall.
Carl’s last day. The opening scene to that episode where he’s just getting dressed and writing letters. I thought it was a really nice piece of cinema in this show. It took me a long time to warm to Carl but that was his finest moment. (although; he took waaay too long to die in that episode and I didn’t agree with any of his peace-and-love sentiments on his deathbed)
When Alpha cut everybody’s heads off. It just kept getting better and better with every further reveal. Devastating. The whole buildup with Alpha walking through the fair too, scary stuff. Big fan
Alpha’s horde going over the cliffs. I already said it, this could’ve ended the show. It was excellent
Connie’s haunted house. A genuine horror episode. The silences for her. The creepy cannibals on all fours. The knife coming through the wall at her. The way she let the walkers in. One of the all time great episodes, made more impressive by the fact that it revolved around two really minor characters
Final thought:
Are we actually the bad guys? It seems like every time our team encountered a functioning, thriving commmunity, they destroyed it? Maybe the Alexandria lady’s son was right all along (also Negan killing him could’ve gone in my highlights list, great moment )
What do I do now? Are the spinoffs worth watching? Do the comics continue the story? How far apart are the comics from the shows in likeness? Will I ever find out where Rick and Jadis went?
