the walking dead

The Walking Dead News: Third Series to Premiere in 2020

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Matt Negrete, a veteran writer on the flagship, will serve as showrunner on the 10-episode series he co-created alongside franchise chief content officer Scott M. Gimple.

On Monday, AMC formally announced that it has picked up what is now the third series in the zombie drama’s larger world with a 10-episode order for an untitled drama co-created by Gimple and longtime flagship writer Matt Negrete. The latter, who has been a writer and producer on The Walking Dead for the past five seasons, will serve as showrunner. Coincidentally, Negrete and Gimple collaborated on the season nine episode (“What Comes After”) that served as the last one for series star Andrew Lincoln, who will reprise his role as embattled former sheriff Rick Grimes in three movies. It’s unclear if the new spinoff will be connected to those movies. It’s unclear if any characters from either The Walking Dead or spinoff Fear the Walking Dead will have a role in the third series. Stars and fan favorites Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol) have “franchise deals” that allow them to move freely between all corners of the universe, for example.

“I’m beyond excited to be a part of this new show set in The Walking Dead universe,” Negrete said. “Writing and producing for the original series has been the job of a lifetime and I’m honored to be working with Scott and all the fine Dead folks at AMC in this new capacity. I can’t wait for the fans of the franchise to see what we’ve been cooking up!”

Few details were immediately available about the third series other than that it will feature two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as viewers know it. Production will begin in the summer in Virginia for a 2020 premiere on AMC. The Lord of the Flies-like series will feature a new corner of the world. Here’s AMC’s formal description: “Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever. Grown-up and cemented in their identities, both good and bad.” The order arrives as the original series introduced (and, spoiler alert, killed off) several younger characters in season nine.

“Showing audiences an unseen pocket of The Walking Dead universe steeped in a new mythology is a very cool way to celebrate a Decade of the Dead on TV and over 15 years of [creator] Robert Kirkman’s brilliant comic,” Gimple said. “Matt Negrete is one of the best writer-producers in TWD’s long history — I’m thrilled to be working beside him to tell stories unlike we’ve seen before, taking our first step into an even larger world.”

The untitled Negrete series is the first new series to stem from Gimple’s March 2018 promotion to chief content officer, a role he was given after Kirkman moved his overall deal from AMC to Amazon. Gimple and Kang wrote Lincoln out of the flagship drama so the actor could spend more time with his family at home in England. Gimple will re-team with Lincoln for three TV movies that will air on AMC and could potentially serve as back-door pilots for other series. Production on those is set to begin in 2019 though its unclear just where they will be filmed. TWD is filmed in Atlanta, while spinoff Fear the Walking Dead has used locations in L.A., Canada, Baja and Texas. Overall, there are now three scripted series and planned three stand-alone movies in the world of TWD as franchises increasingly become valuable to broadcast, cable and streaming platforms alike.

“We’re thrilled that the Dead will keep walking into a new corner of the post-apocalyptic world, a corner that will present stories and characters unlike any that The Walking Dead has dramatized thus far, and that is bound to excite one of the most passionate fanbases in television,” said David Madden, president of programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “Scott has been an invaluable leader for the universe since taking on the role of chief content officer, with a distinct and innovative vision for the franchise. Likewise, we’re excited to have Matt, who has been a crucial part of The Walking Dead family for over five years and penned many memorable episodes of TWD, at the helm of this original series.”

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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 16 “The Storm” Review

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Season 9 of The Walking dead is coming to a close and we will not see another episode until the fall as Season 10 begins filming next month. There were a lot of great moments this season and there were some that got our emotions out such as Rick Grimes’ final episode, the death of Jesus by a Whisperer, the introduction of new characters such as Magna, Yumiko, fan favorite Connie, Alpha, Beta, Ozzy, and Lydia, and the Game of Thrones style reveal of the pike victims. Those moments alone will be talked about for the years to come and with this season finale that deals with the aftermath of the huge pike death reveal last week, we see the survivors deal with another huge road block and that is a snowstorm. Here is my review for the season finale of the ninth season of The Walking Dead.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

First, I would like to say that I have wanted to see snow on the television show for years and I am happy to see it finally happen. The last time it snowed in the comics however, was way back in issue 90 so this was great to see happen in the show and to see how the communities will battle a snowstorm. Now on to my review.

The Kingdom has fallen since the pike border has been revealed. There was no way to sustain that place at all since the storm has arrived. Ezekiel says on the radio that they kept trying to hold on on to what was left and that they needed help and shelter since the pipes were leaking and it would not be fixed during the winter. The camera also cuts to Daryl and Lydia and he tells her that she needs strength to move to The Hilltop. Everyone else gets ready to move there as well as Ezekiel closes the doors to The Kingdom for good. We will not know if we will ever see The Kingdom again after this, but we will have to wait until season 10. Carol also talks with Lydia and you can tell here that Carol is still hurt for Henry’s loss and even Lydia herself asked Carol to kills her but Carol refused to do it as she does not want to see another kid die. Daryl and Carol also had a conversation as he tries to tell her that Lydia is a good person despite how her mom is.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Callan McAuliffe as Alden, Ross Marquand as Aaron, Cooper Andrews as Jerry, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Khary Payton as Ezekiel – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Rosita’s baby bump is showing and at this point, I can tell that a few months has passed by. Lucky that she was not giving birth in the blizzard. But the group travels during the crazy blizzard and they were all talking about the path to The Hilltop and what was going on during the few month time skip. Daryl and Ezekiel were also having a conversation as well and it shows here that Daryl is in the position that Rick was with leading the group through extreme weather conditions. They also cleared walkers during the trip and I must say, Greg Nicotero did an amazing job with blending the walkers in with the snow and there were some that rises up from piles of snow that looked very creepy. The group also had to cross Alpha’s border to make a quick shortcut to The Hilltop and they did not encounter any Whisperers at all. During this, we see how Alexandria is dealing with the blizzard, many of the residents have to group with other people that has fireplaces to warm up and survive the cold. They even let Negan out of his cell so he will not die down there. Negan is handcuffed though as he makes a snarky remark to Gabriel. The fireplace was not functioning anymore and Eugene told them that they have to leave. Michonne and the rest also rest at The Sanctuary and during that time, they plan their next move and Daryl and Carol have a heart to heart conversation. When the snowstorm got stronger, Judith runs off the line to look for Daryl’s dog and Negan went to look for her. I still do not know who is watching Judith correctly because she is always running off somewhere. Negan finds her as she is getting sick and freezing and he takes her back to Alexandria.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

The snowstorm finally stopped when the group arrived. Once Ezekiel and co. went to The Hilltop, Carol decides to break up with Ezekiel because she feels that he will not blame her for Henry’s death so he would blame it on Daryl instead. Carol also decided to return to Alexandria after the trip. Elsewhere, Alpha and Beta have a conversation and the interesting key point is that she wants to become stronger than she was before. So Alpha tells Beta to whip her with a broken branch the same way she used to do to her daughter. Weird scene, but I do not mind. Ezekiel was talking to Judith through the radio, But when they finish the radio conversation, they leave the room and then a voice is heard through the radio but it is hard to listen to since there is static in the way. Nobody hears this since they closed the door as the episode ends.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Khary Payton as Ezekiel, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Cooper Andrews as Jerry – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

One thing I love about Game of Thrones is that their season finales are building to the next season and this episode did just that. I know that a number of people will find this episode too slow, but I do not mind since we had the pike deaths last week. Things needed to slow down after that. Jeffery Dean Morgan, Khary Payton, and Melissa McBribe were the stars of this episode with their brilliant performances during this episode. I love that the snow was a major obstacle during this episode and it reminds me of Fear The Walking Dead when the hurricane was a major obstacle. My only take back is that I wish that Ezekiel was searching for communities with the radio just like Eugene was in the comic series and it took almost a year and a half of issues to finally get a response. That could have been built up more in the show unless it is being saved for the next season and Who knows who could it be. Rick, Morgan, or The Commonwealth.This season has been amazing and I am happy to see what the new show runner Angela Kang did with this season. What can I expect to see in the new season later this year? Well, I think most of the material will be from volumes 25-29 of the comic series (No Turning Back, Call To Arms, The Whisperer War, A Certain Doom, and Lines We Cross)

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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 15 “The Calm Before” Review

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The season is ending very soon and I will have to say that the ninth season of The Walking Dead has brought on more tears and sadness than any other season. From the major departures of Rick Grimes, Maggie Rhee, and Jesus, there were moments that made us miss the characters even more. But at the same time, the supporting cast has grown to bigger stories along with new characters on the scene. Tonight, we got a major comic book moment that I was looking forward to for four years. Did it deliver? We will see. Here is my review of “The Calm Before.

The fair is underway at The Kingdom and it was funny to see Eugene on the dunking booth. Like literally, that fits his situation. Luke is also preparing a concert during the fair, Henry and Lydia try to get to know each other more, and other festivities as well. Ezekiel did a big speech with everyone gathered and he wanted all of the communities gathered in one to celebrate (I still miss Shiva as there was also a paper statue made for the fallen tiger) and that Rick, Carl, and Jesus would have loved to see what the communities have become. The movie that a number of people were watching was an animated movie and while that is going on, many other activities take place such as carnival games, barbecue, and everyone having fun. Michonne also talked with Tara about wanting Alexandria to be part of the community trade again. They all agreed and signed the declaration that Ezekiel kept over the years. I also liked Ozzy during this episode as he has become very charismatic but we will get to him soon. Some of the members of the group go outside The Kingdom to protect the area from The Whisperers.

Connie and Kelly talked (in sign language) about why Connie was not there as she told Kelly that she had no choice since the baby was about to be eaten alive. They embraced and hugged since you will never know when anyone could die at this point.

Michonne and Siddiq are talking about protecting The Hilltop and as that happens, Jerry and Judith are playing with the other two kids. I thought that was a cute scene to see them play like normal kids with an adult. As we see the groups leave the fair, i get the same vibe as the time when the group left before The Saviors intercepted them a few seasons ago.

While that happens, Alpha, in disguise infiltrates the fair and because Alexandria was away from the communities for so long, nobody reconizes her at all. Ezekiel and her did have a short conversation, but he does not feel suspicious at all about her. also, another group, consisting of Carol, Daryl, Michonne, and Yumiko venture out as well until Alpha and the rest of The Whisperers captures them and circles them around after they all killed incoming walkers. This scene gave off the same vibe as Last Day on Earth did when The Saviors surrounded the group.

Alpha proceeded to berate them for the way that they live as she thinks it is a joke and that they are just living a lie (Also, how in the hell did Beta escape the elevator shaft??). Alpha also stares down at Carol and we know for sure that the fans want a showdown between those two. Alpha also took Daryl with her to show him the very massive ultra mega herd that she has and if they ever crossed paths again, she will destroy all of their communites with the herd. Can I also add that Lydia does not want to go back with Alpha after a third attempt? She could have done this the entire time.

Alpha soon releases the four of them and she told Daryl that they will see a “final warning” on their way back. On their way back, they see a border and what is that border you ask? It is the heads on pikes scene brought to life from issue #144. The people who got killed and put their heads on pikes are Ozzy, Ozzy’s second in command, DJ, Frankie, Tammy Rose, Addy, Rodney, and with the final three being the biggest, Tara, Henry, and Enid. Daryl did not want Carol to look at the heads and It was also shown that Siddiq was about to be slain too but Alpha had changed her crazy mind. But Carol took these loses the most, and the way it was revealed is exactly like the comic as the characters were looking for the slain victim and then it showed the slain victim on the next shot. However, of all people to give the speech, it had to be Siddiq when the memorial happened at the end of the episode. But his speech was also impactful since they showed a montage of the slain victims trying to fight back The Whisperers before their demise while he was talking.

As great as this episode is, I can see how this will baffle fans with a disappointing reveal of the pike victims. But once you go passed the names, you will see the emotional impact it has put on the communities when the bad news is delivered. In fact, this episode begins with a very happy mood, to a danger mood, and finally a very bad mood. Alpha finally showed it to the group that she is not an easy threat at all. I also loved the performances by Melissa McBribe, Samantha Morton, and Avi Nash in this episode as they are the stars of this episode. Next week is the season finale and I cannot wait!

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Who Will Be The Pike Victims on This Sunday’s Episode Of The Walking Dead?

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This Sunday’s episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead will feature the beginning of the fair that has been building up since the second half of the ninth season. The purpose of this fair is to reunite all of the communities together as one for the first time in years. Ezekiel and Carol are the ones that came up with the idea and they even scavenged for a projector bulb in one of the previous episodes in order for them to play movies. With all of the communities (including The Oceanside members that has not been seen since Rick’s final episode) are here at the same time, I wonder how many of them will know about The Whisperers once they arrive. While the fair is going on, something very bad happens and each community will be affected. It is now time for me to discuss about the pikes.

I do not know how this will play on the episode until I watch it, but here is how it happened on the comic series. On issue #143, Alpha walks Rick to the top of an abandoned building. Once they are up there, she shows him the very large mega herd of walkers and she threatened Rick to never cross her again or else his community will be destroyed (Beta eventually releases that herd at the end of The Whisperer War). After that, Alpha tells Rick and the rest of the group that they can have Lydia and that she marked her border. When Rick and the rest walked back, they stop at the field to not only see her border, but to also see that there are pikes with heads on it. We find out right there that twelve characters were killed and the biggest deaths of the 12 is Rosita, who was pregnant at the time, and Ezekiel.

The way it was shown was that on the top of the page, it showed who was the victim and on the bottom of the same page, it showed which character was looking for the character that was killed. This also makes us realize that while Alpha was disguised as a resident in issue #142, she also lured away the victims and killed them and put their heads on pikes. This was something I was not expecting at all when I read this issue four years ago and it reminded me of Game of Thrones.

Who do I think will be the victims on this sunday’s episode? Well, we can already rule out Daryl, Michonne, and Carol since they are being held captive by The Whisperers and Beta mentions that there needs to not be anymore killing which is alluding to the fact that it has already happened. In fact, we do not know for sure if the number of the victims will be the same as the comic, but the big ones, I will predict it will be Tara, Jerry, Rosita, Gabriel, and Alden with Aaron being a wild card guess. But like the rest of us, We will have to wait until this Sunday.


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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 14 “Scars” Review

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The last time I could say “that was extremely dark” on a video game was when I heard the torture cassette tapes of Paz on Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Around that same time, We got one of the darkest episodes to have ever premiered on The Walking Dead and that was “The Grove”. I questioned if an episode could get to that level again and that was the season 7 premiere (Still one of my favorite episodes of all time). But now, I think that the newest episode just surpassed that in tone, theme, setting, and storytelling. Here is my review of “scars”.

This episodes jumps back and forth with the current time, and to a few years ago while Michonne was pregnant with Rick Grime’s baby. I will break down the flashbacks first. A woman who was close friends with Michonne from before the apocalypse was injured during an attack and she had a group of children that she has adopted. She showed up at Alexandria and can I say that pregnant Michonne is still a badass? She told her story to Michonne wanted to take them all in to live at Alexandria.

I could not blame her at all since Rick is gone, she has pretty much nobody. We also did get a good monologue with a scene of Michonne finding Rick’s gun from where the bridge exploded as well in the beginning of the episode in one of the flashbacks. Going back to the flashbacks, It turns out Jocelyn trained those kids to fight and murder people. Jocelyn eventually turns on Michonne and gathers all of the children (including younger Judith) and steals everything from the infirmary. When Michonne and Daryl finds this out, they both go after her but they are both captured. One of the kids proceeds to brand the “X” marks on their backs and she even brainwashed the kids to go after anyone with that mark (which is what I believe happened to the adults that used to be with her). You can see the pain in Michonne’s eyes and hear her scream loud while she was branded since she was also pregnant. Daryl gets loose without her noticing and frees Michonne before anything worse could happen and they begin searching for Judith. After Michonne kills Jocelyn after Jocelyn tried to kill her (including when her pregnant stomach was slashed), Michonne had no other choice but to kill most of the other children to save Judith so that way they can go.

In the present day, Judith and Daryl talk about the stories that the group went through to defeat Negan and The Saviors and Judith believe that they can do the same thing to The Whisperers. Judith also wants Daryl to stay at Alexandria again, but he refuses. Siddiq patches up Henry’s leg when they arrived there and after that, Daryl, Connie, Lydia and Henry leaves. I would also like to point out that Michonne still does not trust Lydia.

Elsewhere, Judith goes off somewhere to find Daryl after they leave and Michonne even asks Negan if he had seeen her and Negan told her not since yesterday. They also got into a small heated argument and Negan had to remind her that she is a mom and Judith was not someone that would take things lightly just like her. While they were clearing walkers, Michonne finds Judith in the woods and saves her from approaching walkers. They also have a heart to heart after the encounter as they talked about what she remembers and how much they love eachother. Michonne also talked to her about making a promise to never bury any bodies at the spot they were standing at and gives the reason to why they never accept new members into Alexandria. Michonne wants to protect everyone that is there as her and Judith held hands as they walked away from Carl’s grave. Michonne eventually caught up with Daryl and the rest as they head to The Kingdom since the fair is under way. The last scene of the episode shows us that The Whisperers has found The Kingdom.

This episode I have a feeling will spark controversy in a bad way, but it is what The Walking Dead needed in a very long time. A dark and gritty episode that will put shivers to our spine. Now we have a reason to those “X” marks, but it also leaves us with more questions. What caused the rift between Michonne and Maggie? My theory is that Maggie found out that she murdered kids but could not do it to Negan. But her anger has been justified since it has been building up since episode 6. Seeing Michonne branded while she was pregnant made me almost close my eyes because that scene was sickening but not as sickening of her killing the kids that attacked her. I also think that brainwashing kids to kill people that are branded is compared to training combat dogs but I will not go further than that. As of the episode itself, It is one where you would not watch with your kids at all and It is a good episode you have to watch if you are curious to know why Michonne is the way that she is.

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SKYBOUND’s The Walking Dead Lucille Patrol Set Review

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A few years ago, Skybound revealed that they were releasing the Shiva Force line of The Walking Dead action figures. There were both sets that has a normal version, and a bloody version with blood splatter on different parts of the figures. The Shiva Force paid homage to the Tiger Force of G.I Joe back in the 1980’s. The packaging and the character cards of each figure brings back that feel when you first look at one of the G.I Joe figures when you were a kid. Featured in the Shiva Force pack is Rick Grimes, Michonne, Ezekiel, and Shiva. A few months later, the rival team Lucille Patrol (based on Python Patrol) made their way to battle Shiva Force. Here is my review of the Lucille Patrol set that features Negan, The Governor, Alpha, and Beta.

The Governor is first here and his appearance is based on issue #44 of the comic series right when the battle at The Prison begins. He comes with his mega phone and his pistol. He has a missing arm due to Michonne chopping it off way back at issue #33 and you can also see the blood spot at that part of his shoulder. His armor is the hardest part of the figure and the figure’s body can move left and right. It’s legs however, are very stiff and the knees cannot bend. However, of all the figures, I like his look the best in the entire set.

The leader of The Saviors is now the leader of Lucille Patrol. Based out of his debut on issue #100, Negan comes in style with a knife that can be placed in his holster and his signature weapon, Lucille. His jacket is also grey with the barbed wire pattern. I originally thought that his jacket would be the same as the box but I am okay with that. I also love the blood splatter on his head and it looks in a way that he bashed someone’s head in with Lucille.

Coming next, is the first in command of The Whisperers and she is called Alpha. She us the smallest of the entire set and I love the paint job the designers did on her. Her oroboros belt buckle is red this time instead of yellow and her undershirt is bright green. The only drawback is that she does not come with an extra head where she is unmasked along with her machete. Her first figure that was released in 2015 did come with those accessories with the sawed off shotgun like the one you see here. I also do like that the gun could be attached to her hand which is something that should have been done for the rest of the figures on this set. This is also based on her first appearance on issue #132.

The second in command of The Whisperers arrives as he is the final member of the Patrol as Beta slashes his way through the box. Based on his first appearance on issue #154, he is very tall and intimidating. His two large bloody knives comes with the set and for a big figure, he is the easiest to move the limbs of the figure. His large trench coat never feels like it is in the way at all and the detail of his whisperer mask is spot on.

This set is worth to have in your collection especially if you already have the Shiva Force set. McFarlane and Skybound always knock it out the park with the attention to detail with The Walking Dead characters whether if it is the television show or the comic series. These will be more rare to find in the future so pick them up when you can.

Also, check Rob’s review of the Shiva Force set when you get a chance.

 

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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 13 “Chokepoint” Review

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The Walking Dead this week has a boat load of action along with the debut of a new group that has not been seen in the comics that is exclusive to the show. With the fair beginning to take place, there is a road block that comes in the way. Here is my review for the newest episode titled “Chokepoint”.

At the end of the last episode, we seen Daryl and Connie rescue Henry and Lydia from The Whisperer camp. This episode continues the escape and Henry notices that they were not going the same direction to The Hilltop as he thought. Can I mention how resourceful Connie has been ever since her introduction? Anyways, Daryl told all of them that there is no way they should return to Hilltop because Alpha will return there to kill everyone now since that deal went sour. Daryl also kept giving reasons to why Lydia cannot come with them but Henry told him that they will go alone. After arguing about it for more minutes, Daryl had no choice but to follow Connie to the old building that Magna used as a hideout. Daryl also takes advantage of the building to see a Whisperer and walker herd from above. Lydia did however told Daryl about Beta but we will get to that soon.

Remember that red symbol that was shown a few episodes ago? Well, I initially thought that it was The Whisperers marking their territory but I was wrong. It turns out that it is a new group that is called “The Highwaymen” and they act as extortion pirates that is similar to The Saviors. They are lead by a man called Ozzy and they steal people’s belongings as a toll in order for people to pass the road. Ezekiel and Carol were talking about this when they read the letter. The Highwaymen demand items from Ezekiel, Carol, and Jerry and they refused and they told them that they have nothing to offer. A little more back and forth of words along with Ozzy and the rest point guns at then and then The Kingdom made a deal with them so that they can hire Ozzy and his men to watch the roads while the fair is going on in exchange for The Highwaymen to attend the fair. I found this scene creepy from the way Ozzy and his men stood in the darkened area with other cardboard cutouts of humans before they came to the light. Carol even asks Ozzy when was the last time they seen a movie.

While Tara and others such as Magna, Yumiko, Earl and others are on the road, they encounter a number of walkers and during the scuffle, Earl was close to being bitten which also gave me a jump scare. The Highwaymen also rescue them and escorts them to the fair. It also seems like Tara is going to tell Carol about The Whisperers as well.

The fight between Daryl and Beta that everyone was looking forward to finally happens here during the last half of the episode and Beta, who is tall and intimidating, throws Daryl around like he is a pillow. Daryl even tries to stab Beta with a knife but he realizes that Beta has armor under his clothes so that did not help. That also caught me off guard too. There were times that Daryl tried to sneak attack Beta and that did not work until the end of the fight where Daryl jumps on Beta from behind and pushes him down a elevator shaft. There were also Whisperers that was also killed by Daryl, Connie, and Henry during the time that they hid Lydia and the dog in a closet. Henry was also stabbed during this fight as well. The episode ends with Beta waking up from the hard fall.

This episode picked up the pace from last week’s episode and everything is starting to come full circle. The Daryl and Beta fight took up the majority of the episode and I love it. The Highwaymen i am curious about if they encountered The Whisperers before or other groups during the 6 year time skip. Speaking of that, the next episode will reveal how Daryl and Michonne got those “X” marks on their back and I am looking forward to it!

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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 12 “Guardians” Review

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Are you ready for more of The Whisperers and Negan? well get ready for it because this week’s episode of The Walking Dead is dedicated to those along with more plot points that move the story in a great way and it makes me fear the impending doom that is to come with the upcoming gathering at the fair. Here is my review and thoughts on this week’s episode of The Walking Dead titled “Guardians”.

Ryan Hurst as Beta – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

I would first like to say that Ryan Hurst as Beta is a great casting choice. He looks very intimidatng as he towered over everyone else since he is close to seven feet tall as his comic counterpart. He also sounds very scary as his voice is exactly how I imagined it when I read his debut issue a few years ago. The way him and Alpha interact shows how much the both of them has high authority over the other Whisperers. We will get to more of that in a few paragraphs.

Cassady McClincy as Lydia, Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Alpha talks to Lydia about what happened at The Hilltop and about her time there when she was captured. Lydia lied to her about most of the information she told her and she also says that there are not too many guns over there and that The Hilltop does not trade with other communities. Henry, who went after her in the last episode, is captured by Beta after Henry fought off another Whisperer beforehand. I did love the way Beta just grabbed him so easily. It made me laugh. Beta takes him to the camp they are staying at and he gets tied up so he will not escape. Lydia notices Henry and Alpha also sees that Lydia knows him too. Lydia could not give away that she liked him so she punches him to not have her cover blown at all. Alpha also wants Lydia to kill Henry right there but they are interrupted as Lydia was hesitant to do it.

Father Gabriel finds out about Rosita being pregnant and also that she cheated on him. That disappointed him and he wanted to break up with her because of her actions. This was until Eugene convinced him to stay with her and continue the relationship. Gabriel should have listened to Negan when they were talking about Rosita a few episodes ago. Speaking of Negan, him and Michonne were talking and he mentioned that he could help her lead Alexandria since he believes that her leadership is starting to go thin due to the current conflict. in fact, there was also a vote at the council to see if Alexandria should go to the fair or not. This conversation mirrored Negan and Rick’s from issue #149. Michonne was not having it at all as she ordered for his window to be closed for good due to him eavesdropping. Michonne also talks to Judith about her not wanting her (Judith) near Negan ever again.

Danai Gurira as Michonne, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Daryl and Connie went after Henry at the end of the last episode and here, we are shown that they are directing a herd to The Whisperers camp and another scene from the comics is here where Daryl wears a Whisperer mask to blend in with the herd. In the comics, it was during The Whisperer War where Dwight got the idea to do this so that he and the rest kill Whisperers when they blend in with the herd with knives and swords.

A good and brutal moment that happens in this episode is that two Whisperers tried to challenge Alpha since Alpha broke her own rules just for Lydia. When this happens, Alpha ends up stabbing the Whisperer to death and Alpha beheads the girlfriend of the stabbed Whisperer with a piano wire. Pretty gruesome to see this happen. More Whisperers were killed when the heard made its way to the camp. Daryl and Connie rescues both Henry and Lydia as the episode ends.

Cassady McClincy as Lydia, Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Although the episode had a slower pace than the last episode, it was a great character driven episode and Beta is the star of the episode in my eyes. The incident at the end of this episode will be crucial to what happens during the fair so that is what I am looking forward too. I am also glad to see Negan again in this episode and time will tell when he will get out of his cell again.

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The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 11 “Bounty” Review

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There are a few words that I can sum up Alpha and that is “creepy as s***” when she arrived to The Hilltop on last week’s episode. This week, the story of that continued along with a little buildup to what divided the communities during the six year time skip. Now it is time to give my thoughts of the newest episode of The Walking Dead titled “Bounty”.

Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

The episode begins with a flashback during the six year time skip of Carol, Ezekiel, Tara, and Jesus (I still miss him so it was great to see him again) as the first two were waiting for Jesus and Tara to arrive as both Carol and Ezekiel were clearing a path of walkers. When they arrive, Tara gives Ezekiel a document that she says that she has stolen from Michonne’s house since she claims that it was gathering dust. Tara also says that she has stolen medication from there as well and that she will never return to Alexandria ever again. For those few minutes, it makes me question more to what happened within those six years between the communities and how did both Daryl and Michonne got those “X” scars on their backs.

Khary Payton as Ezekiel, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Kingdom soldier Jerry also announces that he and Nabila are having a child. The kid must be a few years old by this point but either way, it is good to know that there are more babies part of the group now (more one this in a few more paragraphs). In the current time, The Kingdom is planning to unite the communities once again with a fair and Ezekiel and co. are scavenging for a movie projector bulb so that way, they can show movies to everyone at the fair. I will have to say this, as Carol and the others were shooting arrows at the walkers at the abandoned movie theater, there was music being played as this happened and it sounded like it came out of the mid 1980’s. Great action sequence though and the chemistry between Ezekiel and Carol grows each episode. Even the minor characters got to shine on this episode as well.

Back at The Hilltop, Alpha demands to everyone to bring her daughter back and she reveals that she has captured Luke and Alden. Every time a hostage situation happens on The Walking Dead, someone dies. But this time, that did not happen. Alpha exchanges both of them for Lydia. But before that happened, Henry tried to hide Lydia from everyone to prevent the exchange to happen but Daryl and the rest found him in that shack that we have seen on episode 8 of this season. Lydia did not want to go, but she had to since she thinks that her mom will kill Luke and Alden. Lydia kissed Henry before she left and when Lydia says “mom” to Alpha, Alpha slapped Lydia so hard across the face that you would think that she stolen the cookies from the cookie jar. Alpha was disgusted and tells Lydia to address her as “Alpha”.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

As walkers were showing up, Alpha demands another Whisperer to leave her baby on the ground as the baby was crying. Alpha wants the walkers to devour the baby and the whisperer left her baby on the ground. The walkers were close to eating the baby until Connie, Daryl, and the others come to the rescue to rescue both the baby, and Connie. Thank god that they rescued the baby. Earl and his wife Tammy adopted the baby and that is another baby that will be at The Hilltop (remember the other baby Rick Grimes saved at the Savior outpost back in season 8, he is still there at The Hilltop as a kid now as well.

Henry decides to go after Lydia without anyone’s permission and Daryl with his dog and Connie notices this as they now go after Henry as the episode ends.

Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Khary Payton as Ezekiel, Cooper Andrews as Jerry – The Walking Dead _ Season 9, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

This episode showcased how messed up Alpha is as a person and as a leader and she is far more feared than what we imagined. Most of the hostage situation along with Henry going after Lydia is directly adapted from the comic series as well so I was happy to see that. The Carol and Ezekiel subplot is actually better than what I expected as those two continue to shine in their scenes. Good episode overall as the plot is moving forward to that infamous fair that we got in the comic series.

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Chandler Riggs Joins A Million Little Things with new role

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The fans were shocked when Chandler Riggs was let go from The Walking Dead. His character of Carl had been there from the start. Viewers actually watched him grow up on this show. Now he is done with The Walking Dead and has landed a new role.

The news is out that fans will be seeing Chandler in his new role very soon. He is actually going to be on the hit new show A Million Little Things. This show is doing great and has already been renewed for a second season.

His character is named PJ and has been confirmed for at least two episodes. Chandler may be a bit hard to recognize since his long hair is now gone. He could end up being on the show a bit longer, but that hasn’t been confirmed just yet.

The viewers of The Walking Dead may decide to tune in just for a chance to see Chandler Riggs once again. Both shows are so popular that a lot of fans probably watched him on TWD and will also see him on AMLT because they are fans of that show as well.

He will show up on the episode that airs on February 21 and then will also be on the season finale on February 28. A Million Little Things was already renewed, so it is possible that he will come back for next season as well. For now, fans will have to wait and see but they do get to see Chandler Riggs once again.

The show A Million Little Things focuses on a man who committed suicide and the mystery behind it. Viewers love the story of all of his friends and family that he left behind.

Are you excited to see Chandler Riggs on A Million Little Things? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

(Written by Mandy Robinson. You can follow her on Twitter @tvshowsace and follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TVShowsAce/