 |
| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
The Walking Dead
Season 9, Episode 6
By Garrett Yoshitomi
We’ve officially entered the post-Rick Grimes era of The Walking Dead, and although season nine, episode six, “Who Are You Now?” doesn’t pack the same action-filled punch as Rick’s explosive exit last week, it does a good job of reintroducing us to the main cast post-time jump and sets up the story for the weeks to come. With such a huge event, (Rick’s departure), falling right in the middle of the ‘A’ half of this season, it feels like there should be more than two episodes to go before the midseason finale. But this shorter runway should actually help The Walking Dead avoid its typical pitfalls of filler episodes and drawn out storylines, by allowing it to zero in on its next major arc.
It’s no secret that The Walking Dead has been in a ratings freefall. Ever since seventeen million people tuned into the season seven premiere to find out which character got Lucille’d, fans have been flocking from the show at a steady rate. Season nine has seen viewership decline to new levels, with ratings finally dipping below the all-time low marks set back in season one. There is some reason for hope, though. Ratings have been rising slightly since the second episode of the season, (the third least watched episode of the entire series), and last week’s outing received a relatively sizeable bump, no doubt due to the marketing push it gained as Rick’s final episode.
 |
| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
However, the reception for last week’s episode has been mixed, with some critics pushing back on yet another Walking Dead bait and switch job. Amid what’s so far been the most critically well-received season in show history, Rick’s final episode is the lowest rated episode of the season, according to Rotten Tomatoes. With ratings already as low as they are, The Walking Dead probably can’t afford a string of bad episodes, like the ones it suffered through at the beginning of seasons seven and eight. Those seasons technically improved but failed to reel in more viewers. Realistically, ratings will probably hold steady where they are, as numbers take a huge drop after a season premiere and then stabilize throughout the rest of the season. And, with ratings this low, and a future that’s bright but uncertain, I’m sure AMC will gladly take stabilization, for now.
Even with a cast of characters, whose fates largely remain uncertain from episode to episode, The Walking Dead has grown stale due mainly to the predictability of its storylines. For the most part, seasons have been constructed around building up to a flashy, visual effects-fueled conflict with the series’ latest deranged antagonist, with minor, ultimately irrelevant fire fights thrown in along the way, as well as a healthy dose of resistance from some random protagonist, who suddenly decides that violence isn’t the answer due to a myriad of vague, yet supposedly compelling, moral reasons. Sprinkle in a major character death every half season or so, and you’ve basically got the recipe for a major, albeit fleeting, hit TV show.
 |
| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
Of course, television writing is much more complicated than that, but it’s not unreasonable to say that The Walking Dead has lost much of the pizzazz that once made it the most-watched show on cable. If there’s a bright side in all this, it’s that the next chapter of The Walking Dead seems promising. Even without its leading man, long-time fan favorites, like Daryl, Carol, and Michonne, should be able to step in and fill Rick’s shoes, while there’s still enough untapped creative potential within this fictional universe for Angela Kang to mine and craft into primetime cable gold. This six-year time jump could be just the soft reboot this show needs, and this week’s episode, “Who Are You Now?” does a great job of setting the tone for The Walking Dead’s new trajectory.
Although we’re just one episode into The Walking Dead’s new reality, it seems like the show’s future will be decidedly female, as characters like Michonne, Carol, and pseudo-newcomer, Judith Grimes, all take center stage. Judith’s character development benefits the most from the time jump, as she’s now able to walk, talk, and headshot walkers from fifty yards out. For storytelling purposes, Judith is basically a brand-new character, but her time on the show as a baby/toddler allows her to enter the series with valuable, baked-in relationships with already established characters. Unlike a truly new character, Judith’s introduction doesn’t need a ton of fleshing out, and “Who Are You Now?” takes advantage of this, by hitting the ground running with her storyline with Magna’s group.
 |
| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
Judith gets a healthy amount of screentime in this episode- not too much where the episode is reliant on her, but just enough to emphasize her importance in the narratives at play. It’s clear that going forward, Judith will adopt some of the storylines that are given to her brother in the comics, specifically the bizarre relationship Carl develops with Negan, through their series of jail cell chats. The scene between Judith and Negan is cute, although it probably does more in casting Negan as a sympathetic character, than it does in establishing Judith’s outlook towards the former Saviors head honcho. Jeffrey Dean Morgan had a tendency to steal the spotlight in his scenes with Chandler Riggs, a natural outcome for such a forcefully charismatic actor; however, it could inhibit some of Judith’s early character development if she’s seen as more of a prop during these conversations, rather than capable player, in her own right.
With the action seemingly shifting away from Alexandria, and towards the members of the group who are currently on the road, we’ll probably see Judith take a slight backseat, at least for next week’s episode. Even if you’re not a comic book follower, you don’t have to sniff around the internet too much to know where The Walking Dead is heading next. While the Whisperers are undoubtedly an exciting new foe, I do kind of wish that we were spending a bit more time exploring our characters’ post-time jump lives. One additional episode of world building could be nice to demonstrate what differences we can expect, besides a few new haircuts. However, I can appreciate the benefit of keeping the main storyline humming along, especially because so many seasons of The Walking Dead have suffered from meandering plotlines.
No comments:
Post a Comment