Last year, it was announced that a second spinoff of The Walking Dead franchise was in development. From that point on, we were given little details over the months of 2019 until the first trailer was revealed at New York Comic Con.
At the beginning of 2020, the name of the series became known to the public as The Walking Dead: World Beyond. I have watched the first and secondepisode of World Beyond and I will give you my non-spoiler opinions about the two episodes and what can everyone expect from the series.
World Beyond’s first episode gets straight to the point of the mysterious CRM group within the first few minutes of the first episode. You will also get to know a little more about what do they do in other states and why they are there in that community.
At the end of the episode however, you will find out why they arrived at that community to begin with. The main focus of the first episode are the two sisters Hope and Iris. They both went through a crazy event over a decade ago that kept them together, but they are both curious to why CRM is very secretive.
Iris stood out to me more than the entire cast of the episode as she feels that she has to be the one to give her all to the community while not focusing on herself as a person. There will be more to this when she speaks to a particular person.
Iris and Hope also seems like the most affected members of that community to what happened 10 years ago as they both still struggle mentally to live their lives in a safe community. You will also see that there is an unexpected connection with Iris, Hope, and Elton too and Elton is a fun, easy going person who is also curious to see what the world outside their community is like.
Felix is the head of the security of Campus Colony and it shows since his jacket with the CRM emblem is a different color than everyone else. Felix is also the first LGBT character on World Beyond as he told a story of his ex-boyfriend to one of the characters on one of the scenes.
He also acts as a big brother to one of the characters too especially on a particular scene where he had to temporary arrest that character. Felix’s authority is believable due to the fact that he is the oldest of the main characters.
The other security guard that is part of the cast is named “Huck” (played by Annet Mahendru) and we do not know her first name yet. She has a bond with Felix and also with Hope. But on the second episode, we see her and Felix spend a lot of time together and they both get to know more about eachother.
The main plot of the first episode is that they are celebrating a holiday to remember what happened a decade ago. Also during the episode, there will be a particular reason to why the group goes out of the Campus to adventure the world. There is a motivation behind it and it will not be too long to find out why.
The second episode revolves around the first adventure the group goes on, and a backstory on Felix. Felix’s past made me really feel for the character because he went through so much. You would have not thought that the head of security at that community had a tragic backstory when you see Felix on the first episode. Nico Tortorella stated on Talking Dead not too long ago that his character was kicked out of his house when he was younger due to him coming out as gay. That will be expanded on this episode.
Another thing about Felix’s past during this episode, is that it also haunts him in a disturbing way to his mental state.
What is also interesting, is that when you hear the main characters interract, you will learn that they all have had a bad past which brings them all closer together. This is showcased during the episode even though it also shows that they are inexperienced dealing with taking down empties.
Life outside of what they are used to will take time for these characters to get adjusted to because it gets tough out there for them early on. There were many times that I rememberd that this is their first time outside the walls to see the world.
Elton also really shined on this episode too and he questions if they can survive outside of where they lived, and if they would one day become one of the empties. There is a particular reason to why Hope and Elton are connected and once you find out, your mind will be blown.
The second episode does end in a minor cliffhanger, but it is the character development of the characters in a swift time that makes this one stand out.
I will have to say that it was werid to see everything so normal in that Campus like nothing even happened at first from an outsider looking in as there are school classes, karate classes, and much more. But they realize that the dead, which are called “empties” on this series, is still out there. There is more to the cast other than them being young ten years into the apoclapse and you will get to know who everyone is little by little.
Also, bonus points to Silas as he reminds me of one person I knew in high school!
I was optimistic and curious of the second spinoff since it was announced and when I went on the set tour last fall (That article will be coming soon), I got to learn about more of the show and how it will tie into the unannounced Rick Grimes movies. Especially since CRM is more than just trading people for supplies.
There is a strong cast and I am looking forward to the rest of the season. But it will take time for the general audience to grow with the characters because many will most likely tune in just for the lead up to the Rick Grimes movies than the characters itself.
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