the walking dead season 11

You would think that The Walking Dead would stop repeating their mistakes over and over again. But that is not the case with tonight’s mess of an episode titled “For Blood.”

That is because the tired gimmick of a “cut to black” cliffhanger was used again here! It comes off as the writers not knowing how to finish the first half of the final season. Sure, there may be some context to why the abrupt ending happened like this on the production side. But for the casual viewer that watched this show for years, it is enough.

Did The Walking Dead learn from past cliffhangers not to do this again? In fact, most of this season’s episodes ended in a cliffhanger that did not move the plot forward at all. If I had to sum up the first half of the final season of this world renowned series, I would say that Maggie and her friends went on an RPG video game-esque side quest to get food. That is the general summary.

On to the episode itself, the only scene I actually liked was the opening minutes. Negan and Maggie killing those reapers in the style of The Whisperers is badass. There are also some parts in Alexandria that I do like too. From Rosita killing those walkers, to the storm, there is some good stuff. But then, my brain turned on.

How could the storm happen in Alexandria but not yet to where The Reapers are? Both scenes are at night so I do not know the explanation at all. And as good as Rosita killed those walkers, the way she knocked the door was too casual for someone who is desperately trying to get back in the house. It took me out of the moment. However, the shot of her once the door opened is really cool.

Then we are back with The Reapers. A field of landmines and firecracker arrows along with Pope’s anticlimactic death just fueled the laughter in me. Pope talked all the game about how much of a leader he is with his religious ideologies and military background. All of that for him to be killed from Leah like that. And now I am supposed to believe Leah is a threat? Pass! Maybe Leah realized that she was with the wrong family. But she talked a big game about family before she even killed Pope. Tell me what is making sense anymore please!

I do not mean to crap on this mid season finale of The Walking Dead, But I believe it deserved this criticism. Everything with The Reapers has been wasted potential and I do not care to see them again. It is the final season and we got the same formula again when it is time for the 8th episode. And how will they even open the next episode? It does not matter now because AMC premiered their 11B promo this week ahead of the cable airing of “For Blood.” When the The Walking Dead returns in 2022, please continue everything with The Commonwealth because that has been more interesting (Along with the Connie’s Horror House) this entire season so far. An unsatisfying mid season finale cliffhanger that can be outclassed by a local high school theater play is my lasting memory of The Walking Dead for the rest of 2021.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content.

Ladies and Gentlemen, “Out of the Ashes” is the best episode of the first half of the final season. The Walking Dead proves time and time again why it is the show to watch on Sunday nights and this episode is one of them.

Whenever Ross Marquand’s character Aaron is the central character on an episode, he knocks it out the park. From the nightmare sequence that brought back past villains such as The Wolves, The Saviors, and The Whisperers, to him waking up back to reality, Aaron is dealing with the pressure of being the man in charge of Alexandria missions. One of them, is for them to make sure the walls are up. And another sets them off to a trip to The Hilltop.

The reason for this trip is to see what tools are left over there to use due to the attack of The Whisperers. Aaron and the rest that are with him such as Lydia, Carol, and Jerry, realize that the last remaining members of The Whisperers are hoarding walkers around. It is here that Aaron goes to a zone we have not seen him in before.

Desperate for answers, Aaron interrogates the one Whisperer and I got a quick laugh out of it when he asked for his name while also reiterating to him “No Alpha or Beta ****.” The interrogation did go too far as Carol pointed out and they did stop until he revealed the location of where Connie is. I found these scenes very engaging and well acted!

Speaking of Acting, Cailey Fleming made me feel for her as Judith misses Michonne very much. The bullying of her by those kids in the episode and the nearly destruction of her last memory of Carl Grimes made me even more sad for her. However, Judith stood her ground and showed those kids why she should not be messed with. In addition, it’s great to see her train the next generation!

Over at The Commonwealth, Yumiko finally meets her brother for the first time in over a decade, Princess and Ezekiel tried to help Eugene as he wanted to use the radio to contact Alexandria. He did, but he paid a price for it by getting arrested at The Commonwealth. Even though Lance let them free, they will have to pay for it. And do you think it is crazy that The Commonwealth uses money as currency?

I also wonder when the real Stephanie is going to introduce herself to Eugene. We saw her at the ice cream truck for a quick second as he was still with the decoy Stephanie. The reveal must happen soon! Maggie and Negan did not escape my mind. As for their ongoing feud, I think it’s safe to say that it has me siding with Negan on Maggie’s current status. It is important to understand that I am referring to Maggie’s reckless decisions at the moment, not to what Negan did to Glenn. Maggie was right about one thing, though. It is to wait until other people arrive. And Gabriel and Elijah did come later that day.

This episode of The Walking Dead saw the plot advance for the first time since the first episode of this season. The Walking Dead’s final season has a great bright spot in “Out of the Ashes,” after an awful episode last week. Every episode of this franchise should feature great acting, fast-paced action, and an engaging story. And all of that is cramed into this week’s episode! Also, that 90’s themed introduction to The Commonwealth reminded me of Wandavision for a moment! I cannot wait for next week’s episode!

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content.

AMC’s The Walking Dead will kick off their 11th and final season on August 22, 2021. I was given access to the first two episodes of the season back in July. Although I would love to give you all the juicy details of the episodes, I cannot go in detail with certain plot points. For now, here is my non-spoiler preview of The Walking Dead’s 11A premiere.

I will also note that these two episodes are titled “Acheron Part 1” and “Acheron Part 2.” These two are not airing back to back and these were the rough cut versions of the episodes.

What I like about Part 1 and Part 2, is how the boundaries are tested. Those mostly have to do with Maggie and Negan. The two of them are reaching a level of a big clash that I believe will happen later in the season. Their tension that is building up on Part 1 that is carried into part 2 also affects the group too. But not to the point of who’s side is one person is on. More like if what one person is trying to make sense over another in the current situation. I will have to say this, one line said from one of the characters will have a trigger warning. What happens after that said line is exactly what that character deserved at that moment.

The atmosphere truly brought out the threatening horror of The Walking Dead, which has been missing for quite some time. It is no surprise that AMC has managed to capture the horror vibe on the show from the abandoned train station to the military compound. Especially the first opening minutes where one move wrong could have been a disaster for the group. Additionally, the group encountered a very disgusting walker who almost resulted in one of them losing his life. However, there was one character who made sure it wouldn’t happen.

The sound department also gets a high praise from me. The score, and how the sound was used for one particular scene made me question whether if it was reality or just part of the episode. And I am not sure if it is because these are the earlier versions of the episodes, but one line said from a character is muted. I read that character’s lips when it was muted and it might have been a “F” bomb (Editor’s Note: I watched the final cut of the episode last week and the line was unmuted. No “F” bomb to be heard).

One question that ran through my mind during the first two episodes was about the status of Alexandria. There was no explanation on what happened to the community. I hope this will get addressed later on in the season.

What you knew about Maggie a long time ago, is completely gone. Although I will refrain from calling her a “Dark Maggie”, she is different and cold. You’ll have to discover what the reason is, but there is one. As far as I recall, Rosita, Aaron, and even Carol did not get much screentime in the first two episodes. But when they were on screen, it did matter!

I did not forget to mention Eugene, Yumiko, Princess, and Ezekiel. It might have been debatable whether if their scenes could have been one episode, but It worked for these two. They have not stepped foot in The Commonwealth yet, but they are questioned for a long period of time. There were multiple times that this sequence was showed to us as a split screen. Speaking of The Commonwealth, Mercer is here! I will not disclose which episode he debuts on, but Mercer is more menacing and threatening than he is over his comic book counterpart.

The scenes with the guards were good, and I liked their interactions with them, but there was one major scene that caught me by surprise. Whether the actress is being recast or if the character is a decoy is unclear, but I was caught off guard when I saw it. Furthermore, a revelation to one of the characters is also depicted in the comics in a similar manner if you understand what I mean.

I do also feel that 11×01 should have been longer, or aired alongside of 11×02 based on what happened at the end of 11×01. And a few minutes before the end of 11×02, be sure to pay close attention to the area!

That is it for my preview. While the first episode of the final season is not as strong as the season 10 premiere, it did made me look forward to the rest of the season. I am sure that fans of The Walking Dead are happy that the show is back. I can also say that The Walking Dead is back and better than ever!

Be sure to check out my weekly recaps of this season along with interviews from the cast. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content.