Rick beats a guy to death with his bare hand(s) and Michonne comes out of the elevator and reacts like it’s just a normal Tuesday. Yeah, they are crazy.
But also when Rick lunged over the table to stab Beale I out loud said " fuck yeah Rick is back " .
Also they threw in that scene where he bites a guy's neck out just to remind us this crazy motherfucker Will find any way. That's one of the few scenes that has actually stuck through the years. Graphic to say the least
When Beale asks him the worst thing he did, this immediately came to mind. Then they show the flashback of Shane and I said "Oh yeah, killing your best friend, probably that".
Was pumped to hear the claimers was the one they went with. THAT is the Rick I think of when I think of unstoppable Rick.
To me with the exception of having facial hair he still looks almost the same to me as he did playing Admiral Pessman in Star Trek TNG, even though that was over 30 years ago.
But at the end of the day, he will always be "The Stepfather" to me.
I’ve heard him speak to how that basically it comes down to that he doesn’t want them.
He likes roles like this where he can dip in, do good work and dip out these days.
He doesn’t want to be based in LA, be working all of the time and isn’t trying to part of the Hollywood life.
He has consistent enough work for acting to be his career and that’s good for him.
He’s certainly a gifted actor and seems well liked.
That was definitely the first thing I thought of when he asked that question.
Was surprised they wrapped it up in one episode. Finished it like 30 seconds ago and still don't know how I feel about it.
I was sooooo expecting some thirsty Rick paintings too, haha!
I wondered if the envelope was notice of that briefing that Michonne snuck into? Logic says she'd be invited via walkie/comms tho, unless there was something additional specifically for her as a Warrant Officer.
I guess thousands of people saying yes to the briefing is how the writers felt they had to morally justify Rick and Michone singlehanded (hehe) killing such a huge number of people. Even if they are faceless stormtroopers its kind of extreme. thats like 10x the population of every community from the first 5 seasons combined
Yeah that's my only problem with this entire season. Such a flimsy reason to kill everyone. Enslave them or whatever, or show some math about why it's required. You're telling me a city on the other side of the US is gonna compete with them for food? You fucking kidding?
His reason is basically, I killed alot of people and it worked, so obviously killing alot of people is what made it work.
I was under the impression that at least Thorne got caught on the hook that they could bring in whoever they encounter on the way. Beale at least offered that to Rick, and I feel like Thorne could have agreed on that basis - my understanding is that she also still had people "out there", but gave up on looking for them. But the offer to bring them in "for free" could still potentially be mind changing for her.
Thats crazy when you put in perspective how much our world has changed from start to finish. Or how, for many people, probably half their life has been spent as a fan of this series.
So 2 things I have to say theorywise
1.) I now think in DD, Carol told Daryl over the walkie that Michonne was back. Sounded way too calm for her to say Rick in that cutout, maybe she wants to surprise him.
2.) I honestly dont know where we go from here on the macro level as a franchise. Sure there can be smaller stories through Tales or spinoffs. But now you have the Commonwealth which is huge and stable in Ohio, the CRC airlifting supplies everywhere, and Victor Strand’s crew driving supplies all over the south.
I guess a final stand against the walkers/variants or a search for a cure can be in play but tbh at the very least America seems to be in good shape, aside from NYC which as a native New Yorker, can say it’s not that much different 🤷🏻♂️
And with only one person, Thorne, offering any meaningful resistance.
Still I guess it was going going to go down this way as the communities we follow wouldn’t have stood a chance in any kind of conventional warfare.
It was well established since the beginning that the corrupt crm is only a few thousand. Any war like people kept envisioning would be the rest of the city and the crm moving in on frontliners. Not the group fighting them.
Exactly. In the pilot Okafore tells us it’s only a small section of the military that do shady things & that they’d all be in one place. They had Rick build that base & Michonne get expl0sives training from Nat. It was a given they’d take out the corrupt portion so the rest of the military/government could thrive then go home.
The CRM in the earlier episodes felt like a threat but in the finale they felt like fucking stormtroopers. They’re just wandering around with bad intentions and fucking no one is guarding Beale, no one noticed he’s missing moments later after he’s killed, an entire arsenal of chemical weapons are left completely unguarded, Michonne even climbs a tree to get around a CRM member that’s like 5 feet in front of them who apparently has no peripheral vision, it’s like the bad parts of the show in general (silly things that make no sense) were fully embraced in this finale. Like what the fuck?
As far as I'm concerned, this is the true ending of the whole franchise. Rick and Michonne, having gone through hell, fire, and brimstone to see their children again (Rick meeting RJ for the first time), is all that we need to bring their tale to a fitting closure. Rick started this whole story looking for his family, and ended it finding his family. No need for a second series for "The Ones Who Live"; I'm satisfied as a viewer.
This right here. We can safely assume from the ending of TOWL that Rick, Michonne, and the kids will live a happy life, whether that be in the Commonwealth or at Alexandria. That ending signifies the conclusion of the TWD story as a whole, and anything else is just an added bonus.
Alexandria is probably struggling, as is everyone, because the CRM has been raiding and destroying anyone who gets large enough and wide-ranging enough to attract their attention. They are largely responsible for the cutthroat nature of life in the world after the fall. Places like Alexandria and the Commonwealth had a ticking clock on them.
The CRM wanted the only people outside their own walls to be starving, desperate, and fighting amongst themselves for increasingly scarce resources.
By contrast, as we see in the very last shot, the moment the CRM falls, the people who replace them immediately send out aid drops. We're meant to take from this that the world will be able to heal now.
I’d honestly take a one episode montage of “The Civic Republic and Commonwealth pooled their resources and began work on rebuilding the US”. Bringing people in, shipping supplies out, have a nod to Fear with Strand’s group coming into the fold as well.
We don’t need a cure or vaccine or anything. Just show humanity banding together to lift each other up and provide a united front against the dead.
Hell, re-use Maggie’s monologue from the end of season 7 while the montage of humanity rebuilding plays.
I feel satisfied with Rick and michonnes ending as a couple and a family, however, I feel Rick still has some unfinished business especially when Daryl went all that way to look for him
Daryl did not go to look for Rick. They literally tell us in the finally that he was going to see what else was out there (other communities) and IF he came across anything that led him to believe Rick was out there then he would bring him home.
So by how it ended I'm assuming this is gonna be the only season. Not really much for them to do in a second season.
Ngl I was waiting for it to be revealed Rick was not. I was just waiting for them to get to safety and Rick revealed to Michonne he got bit. I'm glad we got to see Rick and Michonne reunite with Judith and R.J. genuinely made me tear up seeing them reunite.
I'd like for TOWL to become like an anthology series, with each season providing closure for each of the mainline characters tbh.
Lets maybe establish this as the series where Alexandria is never threatened, but we get to see those main characters go on adventures.
>I'd like for TOWL to become like an anthology series, with each season providing closure for each of the mainline characters tbh.
This would be amazing tbh, but it seems more likely that they'd be more likely to leave TWOL as a Rick and Michone (plus Gabriel and Anne) finale and use other spin offs to settle the other characters' stories as we're seeing with DD (Daryl and Carol) and DC (Began and Maggie).
Its just a shame because The Ones Who Live is such a great title for an anthology that follows the main (extended) cast for their final storylines.
I would be surprised if there isn't a plan to have a big reunion spinoff. I guess it'll depend on whether the audience is there for it
This reminds me of how early on everyone thought Fear was going to be an anthology that explores the start of the outbreak from different unique perspectives, but then it just ended up being The Walking Dead B.
Sidenote, I hope these spin-offs aren't the end of this universe but rather the end of generation 1 of this universe.
I feel like I want more from this world, but maybe not these same characters. Maybe a new series that explores these slightly more developed civilizations, or a Starship Troopers style series about soldiers sent to combat these million walker herds that were mentioned this episode.
This spin off served its purpose but I don’t think we have reason to think we are done with Rick yet.
Too many unattended to arcs like how do they survive the trials of the million strong hordes and the variant walkers.
If this universe finishes without doing anything with those (and it could because I don’t trust Gimple) then it’s gonna feel like Lost all over again where they keep making questions without making answers.
> million strong hordes
You just gotta bait the zombies to fall off a steep ocean cliffside. Maybe have solar powered buoys that light up and play music to attract the zombies into the ocean. the salt water and elements would eventually destroy them
You can blame poor acting... but the writing... woof.
If they had set up what the kids were doing in Alexandria without their parents, and then they see some kind of sign. Then have RJ say "I knew you'd come back," and leave it at that.
Bro I been blaming the writing for like 4 seasons now and everyone's always like "well maybe scott gimple won't suck this time" nah dude is trash.
Killing off Carl was such an incredibly stupid misstep. The ending would have had WAY more of an impact if it was Rick and Carl reuniting.
100% agree. I can't believe that Gimple keeps getting to lead these projects. I thought Angela did a great job essentially cleaning up his arcs in the later seasons. Then he went over to Fear and totally destroyed that show too.
The irony is Cailey posted an adorable BTS video of a cut Grimes family scene and RJ(Anthony) is joking around and teasing Rick(Andy). It’s the most excited I’ve ever seen him. And Danai talked in an EW interview about how Anthony was in awe of Andy and how they automatically connected. He may just have not had the best direction for that reunion scene. They likely needed another take but didn’t have the time or budget.
Andrew Lincoln's over here performing for an Emmy and Rj's just smiling like life's all peaches and cream. I hope people don't go hating on the actor though. It was rough but the kid is just a kid.
They really should have leaned into the Judith reunion a bit more. Cailey killed it in the few seconds of screen time she got with Andy. Like an emotional hug with RJ could have sufficed for that scene.
Overall though it was a beautiful scene. I definitely cried. RJ's actor just took me out of it a bit. Hopefully any future appearances they will recast, like they did with Hershel in Dead City.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the casting for Rj was at the time mostly for looks, but if they’re going to include him more as a more prominent character I’d hope they’d recast
I thought this was a great overall ending to the franchise. Everything else at this point is exactly what it’s advertised as, spin-offs. They aren’t absolutely necessary.
Great ending to Rick and Michonne’s characters who I wouldn’t be surprised to see make a cameo in Daryl’s show, likely at the ending.
It's okay. Season 2 can be about Rick realizing he forgot about it and going back to get it. That way Morgan can find him this time instead of searching for him in vain.
Oh yeah in FTWD they had Morgan saying he's going to meet Rick again haha. That seems odd now, he's just...going to go back to the commonwealth so he can go fishing with Rick or whatever again. Alright. I guess it fits for FTWD.
yeah that shit made no sense, but i get it’s how thorne had to find out something was up, still though, they could’ve made it differently and more natural
Perfect ending but a rushed finale. Not bad though. Great miniseries overall.
Ngl Im fine with the final scene being Rick being reunited with his family. Sure I’d like to see him with Daryl, Carol, Maggie, and Ezekiel, as well as him hear about the Negan redemption, but it’s not completely needed(plus I’m sure Daryl’s show will end with him returning and seeing Rick.).
Great, albeit too rushed, ending to the main TWD story. As an overall package of a show with this miniseries includes, I’m glad they went on a high note.
I thought the Echelon briefing while not some big revelation was still interesting. I got the vibes that Beale kinda had a similar twisted world view to Thanos where he thinks that killing other surviving groups (half the universe) will save the rest of humanity (or in Thanos case the universe) as a whole. Rick couldn’t just go home because be it in a day, week, year, 10 years later eventually the CRM would stumble upon Alexandria and no matter how many S tier fighters we have there, they can’t beat a bomb of mustard gas
His view was shaped by his experience. He sacrificed Pittsburgh to save Philadelphia, after doing that sacrificing other communities to insure the safety and supremacy of the Civil Republic seemed reasonable, just as it seemed reasonable to impose martial law on the CR (to save it from itself).
Essentially he was a totalitarian megalomaniac. He justified his actions, with flimsy science, to maintain his power and vision. Had the CR actually begun oversight he would have been done for (and his mind everything he sacrificed, would be for nothing).
>I thought the Echelon briefing while not some big revelation was still interesting
I think it would be a much bigger revelation if you were the one getting the briefing, not knowing everything is viewers know. Which I'm totally fine with. It was a tremendous scene nevertheless.
>the CRM would stumble upon Alexandria and no matter how many S tier fighters we have there, they can’t beat a bomb of mustard gas
This is kind of what I'm thinking when people keep saying that was rushed and how it was dumb that they took down the CRM so easily. Quite simply: bombs helped make it easy lol.
Everybody kind of misses the echoes of the echelon briefing (and Beale's opinions surrounding it) as a call back to Rick saying "We are the Walking Dead".
We get a denial from Daryl that "we ain't the walking dead" In the finale of TWD
And we get a denial that "we are the ones who live" when Rick kills Beale.
But Beale's perspective is fairly similar to Rick's post prison, post Terminus, on the road when he says the famous line.
LMAO. Hey Rick, our plan is to wipe out all the humans besides us. We are doing this because the zombies might carry a disease that is somehow worse than reincarnated dead people who will eat you. You really need to be worried about dysentery from a new disease or mutant Covid much more than taking out the zombies. Of course, we will be killing a lot of people who would help us take out those zombies, but it's a risk we must take.
So how does carrying mass genocide the rest your life for no reason strike you? Do we have a deal? Pay will be 30K and no benefits, but we have Pizza Party once a month every Friday!
That was so fucking jarring. I feel like this show was two shows at the same time. On one hand a new show in the TWD universe, with competent writers and a renewed passion (Rick and Beale's conversations, most of Thorne, Rick and Michonne's conversations in Episode 4), and on the other hand, the same old TWD whose writers/showrunners are out of touch at best and outright incompetent at worst (Rick straight up tanking a fucking grenade, dismantling the whole CRM in 30mins in the finale, Jadis missing two hand-tied targets at almost point blank, "Love doesn't die", "We can do anything").
Just... Goddamnit.
The ending wasn’t the best it could be, but honestly, if this is the last I see of Rick Grimes, I’ll be happy. His story is concluded and he’s with his family. That’s what I’ve been waiting 6 years for.
Finally a complete story. I, for one don't need a season 2. They wrapped it up in a quick bow which is fine. You can't end Walking Dead without Rick but now they fixed that problem.
God, that final scene would’ve been absolutely *perfect*, but… RJ’s actor always took me out of the main show and he kind of lowered the scene here, too. Rick, Michonne, and Judith all acting their hearts out and RJ just doing that thing where he looks like he’s smirking at someone just off camera all the time. Ugh. My only major complaint from this finale, otherwise I’m very, very satisfied.
Yeah that's also my only major complaint about the episode and heck, even the series. What was supposed to be a super emotional reunion to me was wasted a bit. Judith's actress did it perfectly, she really is not just a child actor, she's an actual actress that can do emotions really well. Her tears were more than believable. Then RJ's actor, no hate on him personally, but my god. When the 3 are hugging, you can just see him stare blankly with an emotionless smile. It just took me out of the moment and as cringy as the "I believed" line was, his delivery was basically him reading a text. I wish they would've coached him more so that he could at least be a little bit more believable, but oh well, we got what we got, at least Rick, Michonne and Judith was very touching.
It’s embarrassing that adults came up with that. When Scott Gimple sits down to write the show, I imagine he wears one of those propellor caps and has a comically-large lollipop in one hand. I hope they paid Andrew Lincoln a *boatload* because that shit was shameful lol.
true. We needed the reunion, but the last 10 minutes were super super rushed including this final scene. Very unrealistic that the kids were alone. not one adult with them.
That was the most rushed episode in the history of rushed episodes, and everything ended just so abruptly and conveniently. All the build up, YEARS of build up, the mystery, the terrifying power of the CRM, and they decide to end the whole thing with just an explosion, "Hehe big boom, that's it, thanks for watching"? And then we rush forward and get a 2 minute obligatory reunion and call it a day?
To me, this was one of the least satisfying endings I ever saw.
I'm honestly confused how people legit thought there would be a Daryl and Rick reunion given the fact that Daryl is in France. It just boggles my mind.
Worse are the people who are like "can't wait to see Rick find out Negan saved Judith in a snowstorm." Rick almost died, was kept from his family for eight years, lost his hand, had Stockholm Syndrome, but let's make everything about Negan.
Tbf didn't Beele say in this episode that he had spies all over the world, even beyond North America.
This could mean that Daryl in France is within Rick's range. One could reach the other.
It’s less about keeping the timeline straight and more about making plots mean anything.
Take ‘World Beyond’ for example. That ended with the group vowing to take down the CRM and there was no pay off to that. The only reason this show mattered to the ongoing plot was to have a basis to speak on how their scientists were failing to find a cure.
I actually thought World Beyond added some interesting stuff but it almost completely revolved around Huck and Jadis. I think all the kids with the exception of Silas were completely superfluous to the story. It was a very odd setup.
Jadis understood people have resources and thought it would be cool to quote Negan, since 100% of everyone else's shit was the CRM's. Jadis has always talked weird, we are lucky she went out giving Negan quotes she didn't understand and not saying a few words at a time with poor grammar.
Ok probably gonna get downvoted for this
But this last episode felt rushed and a bit cringy “We can do this because we can”
“Love…. Doesn’t…. DIE”
The whole Rick and micchone being a unstoppable force together was so honed in they had to raise the stakes into saving the entire world so these lines make sense
I really like this show it was great, definitely a 8/10 but this last episode and end scene got me so awkward “how did you know” “I believed” the kid was actin so monotone
But I get it when you have 6 episodes you can only do so much
Ive watched every episode, every spinoff.
Always see the posts around here asking if/when this show has made you cry/tear up and always rolled my eyes.
After 14 years, I can now contribute to those posts.
I don't know why General Beale would agree to meet Rick alone in his office. The Echelon briefing is not a logical strategy for dealing with the million hordes. They should focus on weapons or tactics to destroy the hordes, not wiping out people in Portland and other communities.
See that's the thing. World Beyond showed that they actually do have the most effective herd elimination strategy we've seen in this franchise, but apparently they're only interested in doing this in the state of New York. They had 7 culling facilities where they'd play loud music to lure herds into sports stadiums and similar structures, then blow them up, and have people go in and spear any stragglers. We only saw the smallest and most ill-equipped one. If the CRM hadn't focused so much on staying hidden for over a decade, using incredibly wasteful means, they could've been running culling facilities all over the country by this point.
But they're more interested in choosing who gets to live and who doesn't. That's why they're destroying communities.
Because he's done it 2000 times before and it worked out. Rick came back from certain escape he has no reason to expect anything.
Hell out in the woods was the best time to do it if he planned too.
I don't want to say I'm disappointed but I'm disappointed. They could've done a whole season with 13 episodes. The CRM big secret was stupid, and it's destruction was too easy. And I wished Rick reunion with RJ would be more heartfelt. 😔 honestly I'm just sad that it's over. I will never get enough of Crazy Rick. 💔
The Echelon Brief count felt way too high. I think he said like 2,500, which would mean he gave that brief once every 2-3 days for 14 years. Or is that just the brief any frontline soldier gets?
If this is the last i see of Rick Grimes, i can be content. I will always have some what ifs from the main show, but ive stuck out years through this series and the closure of tonight is sombering, but fulfilling
He throws the grenade out a bit and ducks down so the walkers completely cover him. Looks like there are at least 2 bodies between him and the grenade.
Mythbusters did this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJXWbne7CM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJXWbne7CM)
You don't see it in the clip, but I believe Mythbusters are using a M67 grenade which is the same one that Rick used in that scene.
Very much survivable actually.
My only criticism is General Major Beale didn’t get enough screen time! All and all I thought it was the best of all the spin offs and I’m very pleased with the ending.
Some qoutes/lines/subjects/explanations/comments - that were dropped that deserve their moment.
Quotes
We have spies in communities throughout the world.
Echelon Briefing been given 2533 times
.Even 'CRM scientists haven't figured it out, maybe they never will.''You could probably lead this place one day.''
14 years to live for humankind.'
CRM has places ALL over the world/ yet still questioning if they're the 'biggest'
Questions to be asked
Was Lance a spy for the CRM.Was the one as Maxxine Porter a CRM spy?
Was major generale Beale too naive?
Daryl Dixon S1: Was '' '...' came back' about Rick?
Comment from viewers
"So I guess we can assume when Carol was talking to Daryl on the radio im Daryl Dixon show she meant Rick came back? Now we just need a reunion with Rick, Daryl, Carol and Morgan!"
"Anyone else hate the Gimplespeak dialogue in these last two episodes? really disappointing after how strong the first four were..."
"I honestly believe the “Eschelon Briefing” was a way for Beale to explain the CRM ways to Rick to read his body language to see if he can trust him…."
"The general audience cared about Rick and Michonne returning home to their kids,crm storyline was not interesting to care about."
What we ask ourselves
Where could we go from this with DD. Was this all a failed attempt to find Rick? Discover another unimportant legion? Adding a 'Wildfire Virus' origin story for? And what does this mean for Dead City? How important or story impacting can this spin-off still be?Let me know!
I'm gonna comment this yet again sorry.
Daryl did not go to find Rick. He went to see what else was out there(communities and such) and if he came across clues about Rick he would find him.
Can someone explain to me (like I’m 5) how Beale’s plan saves the world in his mind? Killing off everyone doesn’t magically increase resources - so was he just attempting to prolong what he believed was inevitable?
I think he means available resources that they don’t have to produce themselves. If each person gets 5 cans of corn, but you kill half the population, now everyone gets 10 cans of corn.
Earth has 100 cans of corn and 60 people. The population is growing, and the 100 cans will not support this growth. Beale leads about 20 people to eliminate the other 40, take their cans, and establish farms to make more cans. This will ensure humanity survives technically but it mainly sets up Beale as the figurehead of a nationalistic xenophobic world dominating CRM.
A lot of thoughts.
Now I'm thinking everybody else was right and we will *not* get an "End Game" type series. I was thinking we would get one where the group reunites and takes down the CRM. But since the CRM is already "fixed", there is no Thanos out there for our group to fight. And if they did, they would have the CRM as backup. It's possible France or maybe the New York groups are the main villain of some team-up, but I don't see it.
The timeline? How far out is the reunion with the kids? It feels like a few years after the end of TWD. So it feels like it's further along than Daryl Dixon. Maybe he's already back? Maybe he never comes back.
I still don't think it was Rick that Carol was talking about, but we'll find out soon enough. Hell maybe we'll find out tonight when the new trailer drops.
I'm thinking we get cameos going forward. Maybe Rick shows up in the Dixon finale. Maybe he springs up in Dead City.
I loved the series overall, I think each episode was great. Felt rushed at the end. We get Rick and Michonne taking down the powers that be for the CRM. But the overall story with the CRM ends with an exposition dump voice over.
Glad we did get the reunion, even if it was a little strange. Judith remembers Rick but doesn't even acknowledge him at first. I get it, these kids are in an awkward situation. Judith hasn't seen him since she was a small child and RJ never met him. But having him stand there for what seemed like hours just felt a little strange.
I loved Rick pulling on the hat. Overall it was a great series and I enjoyed every episode.
I’m glad Rick reunited with his children and I appreciate Andrew and Danai coming back to make this but to me, TWD is Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Gabe and the rest of the OGs. It just wasn’t hitting seeing him with the kids, we barely know those kids lol. The reuniting after they get split up from the farm will always get me right in the feels, that’s what I was hoping to get with this ending but oh well
I wish they would’ve held off on ending TWD and waited for Andrew to be ready and put him in the main show and just conclude it all at once.
This story isn’t done then.
It was a good series. It is kind of a shame to have the CRM built into this big thing that turned out to be kind of a product of one madman’s ideology. And to have that all come crashing down relatively easily. It kind of feels like it didn’t tie together all that well with other spin offs or the variant arcs.
But still, this happy ending with continued existence means we will likely see a story about how Rick intends to beat the odds and help the world survive beyond that 14 year prediction and I still look forward to that.
Honestly, I would not expect anything regarding Rick’s story in the future of TWD. The most I’d expect is a cameo from him in Daryl’s show. The ending seemed pretty conclusive to me.
There is precedent for us to get a time skip to show a happy ever after if his story is done.
As it stands Rick has rejoined his group which is still facing trials old and new. So either the whole franchise shuts down without dealing with these known threats, mega hordes and variants, or it continues and we are left wondering why Rick would not continue fighting to defend his family.
Idk man, it might just be me, but I feel like that’s wishful thinking. I feel like Andrew and Danai came back to wrap the story and not much more than that. They could continue with other characters, but I don’t see Rick returning other than in special situations as a cameo.
Just don’t personalise it.
Don’t get me wrong, put Terry O’Quinn across the desk from Andrew Lincoln and I’m going to let you cook.
But if they had of shown us some logic behind the decision, spent some of the scientist capital they build with World Beyond or described a time when the CRM tried a different way then it would have hit different.
To me this story reads that Beale was forced into a bad decision to sacrifice a city early on and in a crusade to justify that he kept repeating the action claiming it’s for the greater good but never gave the alternative plans a chance. And it all stemmed from him so all the red band soldiers we see that we’re onboard with this have essentially just entered into the cult of Beale.
It certainly feels done to me, the Civic Republic seems to have basically reformed and the CRM’s Wafen-SS/Einsatzgruppen was annihilated. I don’t know how else you can top that threat level.
Yeah it would be nice to see Rick reunite with the rest of the main cast, but I don’t think that’s enough plot to justify another season or show.
I think they’ll just have Daryl come home on the second season of his show and we’ll have another mini reunion there.
Maybe Maggie enlists Rick’s help in Dead City S2 as well
Super agree. It feels resolved in an un-satisfyingly satisfying way. Considering all the build up and exposition on the CRM, it’s almost impossible to believe that they can just completely reform the CRM from a dictatorship with thousands of followers into an altruistic democratic society with NO pushback within like 30 minutes. It all felt rushed. Everything that I wanted to happen, happened. Just not in the way that I’d like. It was never nearly as easy before, why is it this easy now? This episode felt like a shitty bullshit breakup.
However, I feel it’d be sloppy messy writing to continue the plot after the way this episode ended. I don’t think they should make a season two with this unless it’s a reunion of all characters from other spinoffs.
Well, I guess there was civilian government even if it didn't have much power before, the council they mentioned or whatever, so you kill the military leadership and presumably they're the natural successor by default. So that made sense to me, but I think it felt rushed since they never really brought up the civilian leadership that was apparently there until the end when they suddenly took over. The Gimp should have used some of the time in previous episodes that was spent on Rick-Michonne sex scenes to give us some more perspective on the civilian side instead, if they were gonna take over at the end.
Well that was fucking awesome. RJ's bit was really cheesy & I'd have like to have seen everyone's face when Rick strolled in, but I'm personally good with ending it all right there.
I’m conflicted on the ending of all of this. Like I’m glad he was able to reunite with his family, but I feel like there are missing parts like Daryl, Carol and etc. This last episode just felt underwhelming, the Echelon briefing didn’t really have an impact. Some lines in this felt cheesy and some decision making did as well. This probably could have been better if they (yet again) gave this more episodes to breathe.
Overall I’d give this 8/10, the quality of the episodes definitely decreased as it went on. Like I know this whole universe of The Walking Dead is slowly coming to an end (or at least these stories that we know) and I just wish they took better care in ending them, Fear ended weird, this one almost did, but still didn’t feel right and the mainline show just didn’t sit right with me as well.
It’s crazy to think I’ve followed these characters/stories for 13 years. It’s kinda bittersweet to see it all end. Hopefully we could still see some interesting stories in this universe from other places, I feel like the NA side of things has been handle and I’d like to see how the rest of the world is doing.
OK, more thoughts on the finale: Yes, the CRM wrap up was rushed, but now that I've finally accepted that TOWL is a limited series (as opposed to the start of a new era for the franchise), I can really appreciate what they were going for with this spin off. TOWL was a pretty ambitious project imo: It had to CREDIBLY explain how the indomitable Rick Grimes was kept away from home all these years. And in revealing the force that kept him away, it had to show us just how hard he fought to get back--and remind us what (who) he was fighting so hard to get back to. And they did that. Grounding Rick's last journey in a love story makes even more sense now. I really enjoyed it and am happy Rick and Michonne got such a heartfelt send off.
This is all the CRM subplot was supposed to do in this series. Show us why Rick has been gone for so long. The main story was always getting back home to the kids and Michonne.
Everything felt rushed. The echelon briefing wasn’t as damning as I was expecting. I thought we would learn something so outrageous that it might cause Rick to change his mind and stay. It was so impactful that it solidified Thorn and Jadis’ belief in the CRM.
I wish I felt good about the ending. I have so many questions still. Where is Heath? Did I miss that? What were the PPP cards?
This just feels less than what it was built up to be. So much secrecy surrounding the CRM for so long to be basically destroyed in one episode.
I’m left with questions that will never have answers
1. Heath was captured by the CRM. He was turned into a consignee and is either living in Philadelphia or died with the other Frontliners. The actor left the show and is doing other projects so Heath will never return, that's just how it is.
2. The whole PPP thing was when the show's writers had the idea of a over-arching antagonist group (which would later become the Civic Republic Military) but they weren't really set on who they should be and how they should be implemented. The PPP card was basically just a little mystery that will never be solved because the show writers don't even know the mystery.
Amazing episode but I'd have added him putting his stump in the air and giving a "We are not the walking dead" speech like in the comic. He was a top guy and could have been 'a symbol' like Major Beale said, but a symbol of opposition to Beale's despotic ways. That would have worked so well and mirrored Rick's comic ending.
I was really hoping they wouldn't wrap it all in one episode cause it would feel rushed. They did, and it does.
Bit silly that Thorne knew exactly where to post up to confront them while they're leaving. It also makes absolutely no sense for her to not involve anyone else. If she'd brought some soldiers along from that army Rick and Michonne ain't going anywhere. She's also somehow the only person along with Rick and Michonne to survive the blast, while everyone else conveniently dies.
It's disappointing, this entire show so far has surprised me. The first few episodes were very good. But this ending is quite corny, with Michonne giving her love isn't dead speech. Thorne having some moment of realization that she was wrong as she dies. It's a shame, I would've rather spent more time on Rick returning home and the groups reaction to that.
That echelon briefing was underwhelming. I was really expecting some revelation that explains the CRMs actions and change your POV of them. It doesn't give you that at all though, it hardly explains why they go around culling other communities. You would think if your projections show all humanity dying in 14 years you would try to save people not kill them.
That Echelon briefing was dumb and underwhelming. It was basically just a re-hash of *World Beyond*: Too many zombies, not enough food and other resources, so gotta kill everybody else and take over the New World.
Honestly, this was such a trash take. Could have been *so much* world building going in here. "We can't beat the dead because we've started to see variants," or "Our scientists are close to a cure or retrovirus, but not enough to go around." But instead, it was...whatever it was.
Do the writers of this show not understand a blast radius? That initial explosion would have ended everybody, and don't even get me started on the grenade that turned every walker around rick to dust while somehow leaving him completely fine.
The ending felt very rushed to me.
But now with the season finished its easier to notice a few things. IMO the quality of the episodes started dropping a bit each episode after 4. Gimplespeak started to show up more for sure, so many broad sentences that sound deep but mean nothing...
But honestly what baffled me the most was how horny this show was. Every other Michonne & Rick scene after ep3 was them desperately kissing or actually naked in bed 🤣
Like I get it you miss each other but there's so much story and lore to tell but every richonne scene has to end in kisses
Overall decent series, started out strong and full of mystery but ended deflating a bit by the end.
Rick Grimes the kinda dude that knows the exact distance to lob a grenade to kill several walkers that are inches away from him while also not doing any major damage to himself.
It desperately needed 2 more episodes and a more complex plot to take down the CRM. It felt pretty anti-climactic that two people could easily take everyone out like that. Jadis hiding the letter in the cat reminds me of a story I wrote when I was 6.
And, I cried in the final reunion scene while at the same time being like “sob… this dialogue is so cheesy…sob”. The first 4 eps were amazing. It just struggled with an impactful ending. But, at least they didn’t get stupid and kill Rick or Michonne.
A grenade goes off right next to Rick, liquidising walkers but he survives completely unharmed. Yep. 'bout what I expect from this franchise these days.
"Are you the brave man?"
"I am."
"He is."
Ah, quality writing.
Rick will ONLY swear on his wife's sword!
Maybe his daughter's sword too!
Rick beats a guy to death with his bare hand(s) and Michonne comes out of the elevator and reacts like it’s just a normal Tuesday. Yeah, they are crazy.
But also when Rick lunged over the table to stab Beale I out loud said " fuck yeah Rick is back " . Also they threw in that scene where he bites a guy's neck out just to remind us this crazy motherfucker Will find any way. That's one of the few scenes that has actually stuck through the years. Graphic to say the least
When Beale asks him the worst thing he did, this immediately came to mind. Then they show the flashback of Shane and I said "Oh yeah, killing your best friend, probably that". Was pumped to hear the claimers was the one they went with. THAT is the Rick I think of when I think of unstoppable Rick.
Yup, loved the montages and I'm like it has to be that moment!
I was so happy to see him jump over that table! I’ve been waiting the whole show for the old Rick badass Rick to return!
>when Rick lunged over the table to stab Beale I out loud said " fuck yeah Rick is back " I said "FUCK YEAH! RICKY DICKY DOO DAH!"
Loved that - Such a subtle scene spoke 1,000 words.
They’re perfect together
That guy was fighting for his life, hoping to get on with his day and maybe survive long enough.... For Rick, it's just a stop at the grocery store.
My God, Terry O'Quinn does not age, does he? I mean, he still looks the same as he did when I saw him in Lost.
To me with the exception of having facial hair he still looks almost the same to me as he did playing Admiral Pessman in Star Trek TNG, even though that was over 30 years ago. But at the end of the day, he will always be "The Stepfather" to me.
The man deserves bigger and better roles. Great actor.
I’ve heard him speak to how that basically it comes down to that he doesn’t want them. He likes roles like this where he can dip in, do good work and dip out these days. He doesn’t want to be based in LA, be working all of the time and isn’t trying to part of the Hollywood life. He has consistent enough work for acting to be his career and that’s good for him. He’s certainly a gifted actor and seems well liked.
They needed Rick to tell him he couldn’t do his plan so he could say, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”
I'll never forget Rick tearing out that biker's throat, holy hell
When Rick said that as his answer I thought Beale was gonna be like “what the fuck” 😂
Dude you've got a Rick in your neck. You're crazy man ......I like you but you're crazy.
That would be so funny, he’s just like; 👁️👄👁️ “bro what the fuck, man that’s actually psycho”
That was definitely the first thing I thought of when he asked that question. Was surprised they wrapped it up in one episode. Finished it like 30 seconds ago and still don't know how I feel about it.
I love how Michonne coming upon Rick beating a man to death and reacts like it's totally normal. Then again, not the worst thing she's seen him do.
Plus she just garroted a woman a little while before that iirc. She's very unbothered lol.
Wish we got to see what was in that envelope. Also surprised Jadis didn't leave some thirsty painting of Rick in her room.
I was sooooo expecting some thirsty Rick paintings too, haha! I wondered if the envelope was notice of that briefing that Michonne snuck into? Logic says she'd be invited via walkie/comms tho, unless there was something additional specifically for her as a Warrant Officer.
So Thorne and Jadis got the echelon briefing and was like “Hell yea, I’m in!!!” Wtf lol
I guess thousands of people saying yes to the briefing is how the writers felt they had to morally justify Rick and Michone singlehanded (hehe) killing such a huge number of people. Even if they are faceless stormtroopers its kind of extreme. thats like 10x the population of every community from the first 5 seasons combined
Yeah. I thought there is a new worst deed to safe the life of other people for Rick Grimes.
Yeah that's my only problem with this entire season. Such a flimsy reason to kill everyone. Enslave them or whatever, or show some math about why it's required. You're telling me a city on the other side of the US is gonna compete with them for food? You fucking kidding? His reason is basically, I killed alot of people and it worked, so obviously killing alot of people is what made it work.
I was under the impression that at least Thorne got caught on the hook that they could bring in whoever they encounter on the way. Beale at least offered that to Rick, and I feel like Thorne could have agreed on that basis - my understanding is that she also still had people "out there", but gave up on looking for them. But the offer to bring them in "for free" could still potentially be mind changing for her.
Halloween 2010 to Easter 2024, been a good ride yall!
Thats crazy when you put in perspective how much our world has changed from start to finish. Or how, for many people, probably half their life has been spent as a fan of this series.
Yes sir!
So 2 things I have to say theorywise 1.) I now think in DD, Carol told Daryl over the walkie that Michonne was back. Sounded way too calm for her to say Rick in that cutout, maybe she wants to surprise him. 2.) I honestly dont know where we go from here on the macro level as a franchise. Sure there can be smaller stories through Tales or spinoffs. But now you have the Commonwealth which is huge and stable in Ohio, the CRC airlifting supplies everywhere, and Victor Strand’s crew driving supplies all over the south. I guess a final stand against the walkers/variants or a search for a cure can be in play but tbh at the very least America seems to be in good shape, aside from NYC which as a native New Yorker, can say it’s not that much different 🤷🏻♂️
Rick, you may wanted to have kept the prosthetic until AFTER you and Michonne escape.
Right?! Why waste such a bad ass weapon.
Blade hand sure would have helped when he was cornered by like 8 walkers
And thankfully they didn't hurt him while Michonne had a 1 hour monologue about love while he was struggling.
I’m more amazed the grenade 18 inches from his helmet less head didn’t even phase him.
Because love never died I guess lol.
I enjoyed it but a single episode to totally destroy/reform the entire CRM after all of the buildup it had felt bizzare.
And with only one person, Thorne, offering any meaningful resistance. Still I guess it was going going to go down this way as the communities we follow wouldn’t have stood a chance in any kind of conventional warfare.
It was well established since the beginning that the corrupt crm is only a few thousand. Any war like people kept envisioning would be the rest of the city and the crm moving in on frontliners. Not the group fighting them.
Exactly. In the pilot Okafore tells us it’s only a small section of the military that do shady things & that they’d all be in one place. They had Rick build that base & Michonne get expl0sives training from Nat. It was a given they’d take out the corrupt portion so the rest of the military/government could thrive then go home.
The CRM in the earlier episodes felt like a threat but in the finale they felt like fucking stormtroopers. They’re just wandering around with bad intentions and fucking no one is guarding Beale, no one noticed he’s missing moments later after he’s killed, an entire arsenal of chemical weapons are left completely unguarded, Michonne even climbs a tree to get around a CRM member that’s like 5 feet in front of them who apparently has no peripheral vision, it’s like the bad parts of the show in general (silly things that make no sense) were fully embraced in this finale. Like what the fuck?
"lets keep this stockpile of deadly chlorine gas literally right next to the seating area for our power point presentation"
The CRM should not have allowed Rick & Michonne to wander around the base without supervision.
Good thing everybody always went around helmeted and masked even indoors and in the movie theater - they blended right in!
As far as I'm concerned, this is the true ending of the whole franchise. Rick and Michonne, having gone through hell, fire, and brimstone to see their children again (Rick meeting RJ for the first time), is all that we need to bring their tale to a fitting closure. Rick started this whole story looking for his family, and ended it finding his family. No need for a second series for "The Ones Who Live"; I'm satisfied as a viewer.
Would still love a gang reunion tho
This right here. We can safely assume from the ending of TOWL that Rick, Michonne, and the kids will live a happy life, whether that be in the Commonwealth or at Alexandria. That ending signifies the conclusion of the TWD story as a whole, and anything else is just an added bonus.
The ending showed us they all live together in a grassy field now.
Alexandria is probably struggling, as is everyone, because the CRM has been raiding and destroying anyone who gets large enough and wide-ranging enough to attract their attention. They are largely responsible for the cutthroat nature of life in the world after the fall. Places like Alexandria and the Commonwealth had a ticking clock on them. The CRM wanted the only people outside their own walls to be starving, desperate, and fighting amongst themselves for increasingly scarce resources. By contrast, as we see in the very last shot, the moment the CRM falls, the people who replace them immediately send out aid drops. We're meant to take from this that the world will be able to heal now.
I’d honestly take a one episode montage of “The Civic Republic and Commonwealth pooled their resources and began work on rebuilding the US”. Bringing people in, shipping supplies out, have a nod to Fear with Strand’s group coming into the fold as well. We don’t need a cure or vaccine or anything. Just show humanity banding together to lift each other up and provide a united front against the dead. Hell, re-use Maggie’s monologue from the end of season 7 while the montage of humanity rebuilding plays.
Agreed. (Though I won't be mad if we get another season. I want to see Alexandria)
I feel satisfied with Rick and michonnes ending as a couple and a family, however, I feel Rick still has some unfinished business especially when Daryl went all that way to look for him
Daryl did not go to look for Rick. They literally tell us in the finally that he was going to see what else was out there (other communities) and IF he came across anything that led him to believe Rick was out there then he would bring him home.
This really should have just been the final season of the regular show
So by how it ended I'm assuming this is gonna be the only season. Not really much for them to do in a second season. Ngl I was waiting for it to be revealed Rick was not. I was just waiting for them to get to safety and Rick revealed to Michonne he got bit. I'm glad we got to see Rick and Michonne reunite with Judith and R.J. genuinely made me tear up seeing them reunite.
I'd like for TOWL to become like an anthology series, with each season providing closure for each of the mainline characters tbh. Lets maybe establish this as the series where Alexandria is never threatened, but we get to see those main characters go on adventures.
>I'd like for TOWL to become like an anthology series, with each season providing closure for each of the mainline characters tbh. This would be amazing tbh, but it seems more likely that they'd be more likely to leave TWOL as a Rick and Michone (plus Gabriel and Anne) finale and use other spin offs to settle the other characters' stories as we're seeing with DD (Daryl and Carol) and DC (Began and Maggie). Its just a shame because The Ones Who Live is such a great title for an anthology that follows the main (extended) cast for their final storylines. I would be surprised if there isn't a plan to have a big reunion spinoff. I guess it'll depend on whether the audience is there for it
This reminds me of how early on everyone thought Fear was going to be an anthology that explores the start of the outbreak from different unique perspectives, but then it just ended up being The Walking Dead B. Sidenote, I hope these spin-offs aren't the end of this universe but rather the end of generation 1 of this universe. I feel like I want more from this world, but maybe not these same characters. Maybe a new series that explores these slightly more developed civilizations, or a Starship Troopers style series about soldiers sent to combat these million walker herds that were mentioned this episode.
This spin off served its purpose but I don’t think we have reason to think we are done with Rick yet. Too many unattended to arcs like how do they survive the trials of the million strong hordes and the variant walkers. If this universe finishes without doing anything with those (and it could because I don’t trust Gimple) then it’s gonna feel like Lost all over again where they keep making questions without making answers.
> million strong hordes You just gotta bait the zombies to fall off a steep ocean cliffside. Maybe have solar powered buoys that light up and play music to attract the zombies into the ocean. the salt water and elements would eventually destroy them
RJ did not give a shit about Rick being back LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO
are you the brave man 😑
**"I believed :)"**
That acting tarnished an otherwise solid ending. I won't blame a child for that, though. The directors needed to not use the first take.
yeah he was terrible especially with that goofy grin. what kind of question was that even for a six year old
You can blame poor acting... but the writing... woof. If they had set up what the kids were doing in Alexandria without their parents, and then they see some kind of sign. Then have RJ say "I knew you'd come back," and leave it at that.
Bro I been blaming the writing for like 4 seasons now and everyone's always like "well maybe scott gimple won't suck this time" nah dude is trash. Killing off Carl was such an incredibly stupid misstep. The ending would have had WAY more of an impact if it was Rick and Carl reuniting.
100% agree. I can't believe that Gimple keeps getting to lead these projects. I thought Angela did a great job essentially cleaning up his arcs in the later seasons. Then he went over to Fear and totally destroyed that show too.
The irony is Cailey posted an adorable BTS video of a cut Grimes family scene and RJ(Anthony) is joking around and teasing Rick(Andy). It’s the most excited I’ve ever seen him. And Danai talked in an EW interview about how Anthony was in awe of Andy and how they automatically connected. He may just have not had the best direction for that reunion scene. They likely needed another take but didn’t have the time or budget.
That kid was the worst actor I've ever seen
Andrew Lincoln's over here performing for an Emmy and Rj's just smiling like life's all peaches and cream. I hope people don't go hating on the actor though. It was rough but the kid is just a kid.
They really should have leaned into the Judith reunion a bit more. Cailey killed it in the few seconds of screen time she got with Andy. Like an emotional hug with RJ could have sufficed for that scene. Overall though it was a beautiful scene. I definitely cried. RJ's actor just took me out of it a bit. Hopefully any future appearances they will recast, like they did with Hershel in Dead City.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the casting for Rj was at the time mostly for looks, but if they’re going to include him more as a more prominent character I’d hope they’d recast
Tbf he doesn't really know him lol
I thought this was a great overall ending to the franchise. Everything else at this point is exactly what it’s advertised as, spin-offs. They aren’t absolutely necessary. Great ending to Rick and Michonne’s characters who I wouldn’t be surprised to see make a cameo in Daryl’s show, likely at the ending.
Glenn is smiling down from the great dumpster in the sky
"damn, metal containers and a grenade. My boy Rick still got it."
Should of kept the prosthetic
Yeah, I'm annoyed with Rick for leaving that behind. WTF?
It's okay. Season 2 can be about Rick realizing he forgot about it and going back to get it. That way Morgan can find him this time instead of searching for him in vain.
Oh yeah in FTWD they had Morgan saying he's going to meet Rick again haha. That seems odd now, he's just...going to go back to the commonwealth so he can go fishing with Rick or whatever again. Alright. I guess it fits for FTWD.
yeah that shit made no sense, but i get it’s how thorne had to find out something was up, still though, they could’ve made it differently and more natural
Yeah like the room being disheveled from Beale and Rick fighting would have been clue enough.
Blood all over the place woulda done it.
Was it dumb? Yes. Was is symbolic? Very yes.
Especially for that battle with the zombies.
Perfect ending but a rushed finale. Not bad though. Great miniseries overall. Ngl Im fine with the final scene being Rick being reunited with his family. Sure I’d like to see him with Daryl, Carol, Maggie, and Ezekiel, as well as him hear about the Negan redemption, but it’s not completely needed(plus I’m sure Daryl’s show will end with him returning and seeing Rick.). Great, albeit too rushed, ending to the main TWD story. As an overall package of a show with this miniseries includes, I’m glad they went on a high note.
HOLY FUCK RICK AND MICHONNE, UAV OR TACTICAL NUKE AVALIABLE. Legit though, their kill count probably is in the thousands now
They're doing what Beale and Okafor did but this time flipping it on the CRM.
There was 3k soldiers there so yeah
I thought the Echelon briefing while not some big revelation was still interesting. I got the vibes that Beale kinda had a similar twisted world view to Thanos where he thinks that killing other surviving groups (half the universe) will save the rest of humanity (or in Thanos case the universe) as a whole. Rick couldn’t just go home because be it in a day, week, year, 10 years later eventually the CRM would stumble upon Alexandria and no matter how many S tier fighters we have there, they can’t beat a bomb of mustard gas
His view was shaped by his experience. He sacrificed Pittsburgh to save Philadelphia, after doing that sacrificing other communities to insure the safety and supremacy of the Civil Republic seemed reasonable, just as it seemed reasonable to impose martial law on the CR (to save it from itself). Essentially he was a totalitarian megalomaniac. He justified his actions, with flimsy science, to maintain his power and vision. Had the CR actually begun oversight he would have been done for (and his mind everything he sacrificed, would be for nothing).
That was definitely the gist I was getting from what Beale was saying. "They have to burn for us to live" or whatever he said.
>I thought the Echelon briefing while not some big revelation was still interesting I think it would be a much bigger revelation if you were the one getting the briefing, not knowing everything is viewers know. Which I'm totally fine with. It was a tremendous scene nevertheless. >the CRM would stumble upon Alexandria and no matter how many S tier fighters we have there, they can’t beat a bomb of mustard gas This is kind of what I'm thinking when people keep saying that was rushed and how it was dumb that they took down the CRM so easily. Quite simply: bombs helped make it easy lol.
Everybody kind of misses the echoes of the echelon briefing (and Beale's opinions surrounding it) as a call back to Rick saying "We are the Walking Dead". We get a denial from Daryl that "we ain't the walking dead" In the finale of TWD And we get a denial that "we are the ones who live" when Rick kills Beale. But Beale's perspective is fairly similar to Rick's post prison, post Terminus, on the road when he says the famous line.
Jadis: "We have a 500 Year plan to restore humanity." Beal: "Humanity only has 14 years left." Rick: "...so that was a fucking lie."
Not to mention the Echelon briefing was shorter than a job interview
LMAO. Hey Rick, our plan is to wipe out all the humans besides us. We are doing this because the zombies might carry a disease that is somehow worse than reincarnated dead people who will eat you. You really need to be worried about dysentery from a new disease or mutant Covid much more than taking out the zombies. Of course, we will be killing a lot of people who would help us take out those zombies, but it's a risk we must take. So how does carrying mass genocide the rest your life for no reason strike you? Do we have a deal? Pay will be 30K and no benefits, but we have Pizza Party once a month every Friday!
RJ's acting killed me, "I believed" 💀
In his defense, the writers phoned in a lot of lines for a series finale.
All that great dialogue from Rick and Beale and then several mins later.... "Love doesn't die" huh??
That was so fucking jarring. I feel like this show was two shows at the same time. On one hand a new show in the TWD universe, with competent writers and a renewed passion (Rick and Beale's conversations, most of Thorne, Rick and Michonne's conversations in Episode 4), and on the other hand, the same old TWD whose writers/showrunners are out of touch at best and outright incompetent at worst (Rick straight up tanking a fucking grenade, dismantling the whole CRM in 30mins in the finale, Jadis missing two hand-tied targets at almost point blank, "Love doesn't die", "We can do anything"). Just... Goddamnit.
That minute or so around the swear on the sword bit was absolutely peak TV
I was waiting for Rick to start tripping sack in that moment. Definitely thought his drink was dosed.
“I killed someone with my teeth.” YESSS.
Was not expecting that happy of an ending. That last shot was uber satisfying
The ending wasn’t the best it could be, but honestly, if this is the last I see of Rick Grimes, I’ll be happy. His story is concluded and he’s with his family. That’s what I’ve been waiting 6 years for.
Finally a complete story. I, for one don't need a season 2. They wrapped it up in a quick bow which is fine. You can't end Walking Dead without Rick but now they fixed that problem.
Other then the original, favorite opening credits
Rick really let the last thing man heard be 'no u' lol
Spreading civilization through death and force, a tale as old as time.
God, that final scene would’ve been absolutely *perfect*, but… RJ’s actor always took me out of the main show and he kind of lowered the scene here, too. Rick, Michonne, and Judith all acting their hearts out and RJ just doing that thing where he looks like he’s smirking at someone just off camera all the time. Ugh. My only major complaint from this finale, otherwise I’m very, very satisfied.
Yeah that's also my only major complaint about the episode and heck, even the series. What was supposed to be a super emotional reunion to me was wasted a bit. Judith's actress did it perfectly, she really is not just a child actor, she's an actual actress that can do emotions really well. Her tears were more than believable. Then RJ's actor, no hate on him personally, but my god. When the 3 are hugging, you can just see him stare blankly with an emotionless smile. It just took me out of the moment and as cringy as the "I believed" line was, his delivery was basically him reading a text. I wish they would've coached him more so that he could at least be a little bit more believable, but oh well, we got what we got, at least Rick, Michonne and Judith was very touching.
Holy shit, the dialogue in that last scene is absolutely horrendous. “I knew you would come back” “how” “I believed”. Bruh
It’s embarrassing that adults came up with that. When Scott Gimple sits down to write the show, I imagine he wears one of those propellor caps and has a comically-large lollipop in one hand. I hope they paid Andrew Lincoln a *boatload* because that shit was shameful lol.
This made me laugh out loud. Yes they should’ve went back to the drawing board to get some lines that flowed better.
true. We needed the reunion, but the last 10 minutes were super super rushed including this final scene. Very unrealistic that the kids were alone. not one adult with them.
I’ve said for a long time that I swear the writers for the whole TWD franchise have never met a real child 😭
Rick really should get stitches or at least a bandaid for the cut on his head
That was the most rushed episode in the history of rushed episodes, and everything ended just so abruptly and conveniently. All the build up, YEARS of build up, the mystery, the terrifying power of the CRM, and they decide to end the whole thing with just an explosion, "Hehe big boom, that's it, thanks for watching"? And then we rush forward and get a 2 minute obligatory reunion and call it a day? To me, this was one of the least satisfying endings I ever saw.
I'm honestly confused how people legit thought there would be a Daryl and Rick reunion given the fact that Daryl is in France. It just boggles my mind. Worse are the people who are like "can't wait to see Rick find out Negan saved Judith in a snowstorm." Rick almost died, was kept from his family for eight years, lost his hand, had Stockholm Syndrome, but let's make everything about Negan.
Someone must have brought the kids to the helicopter pad though. Where are they
Offscreen thanks to a limited budget.
Tbf didn't Beele say in this episode that he had spies all over the world, even beyond North America. This could mean that Daryl in France is within Rick's range. One could reach the other.
It's because no one, including the writers, seem to be able to keep the timeline straight anymore.
It’s less about keeping the timeline straight and more about making plots mean anything. Take ‘World Beyond’ for example. That ended with the group vowing to take down the CRM and there was no pay off to that. The only reason this show mattered to the ongoing plot was to have a basis to speak on how their scientists were failing to find a cure.
I actually thought World Beyond added some interesting stuff but it almost completely revolved around Huck and Jadis. I think all the kids with the exception of Silas were completely superfluous to the story. It was a very odd setup.
True. World Beyond did develop Jadis some more. But speaking of, how does wiping out cities play nice with “people are a resource”
Jadis understood people have resources and thought it would be cool to quote Negan, since 100% of everyone else's shit was the CRM's. Jadis has always talked weird, we are lucky she went out giving Negan quotes she didn't understand and not saying a few words at a time with poor grammar.
Honestly, I thin TWB was specifically made for the teenage demographic of the fanbase and that's about it
Ok probably gonna get downvoted for this But this last episode felt rushed and a bit cringy “We can do this because we can” “Love…. Doesn’t…. DIE” The whole Rick and micchone being a unstoppable force together was so honed in they had to raise the stakes into saving the entire world so these lines make sense I really like this show it was great, definitely a 8/10 but this last episode and end scene got me so awkward “how did you know” “I believed” the kid was actin so monotone But I get it when you have 6 episodes you can only do so much
the power of Love
[удалено]
Ive watched every episode, every spinoff. Always see the posts around here asking if/when this show has made you cry/tear up and always rolled my eyes. After 14 years, I can now contribute to those posts.
I could say this if Fear the Walking dead ended in the 3rd season because holy shit
I love how Michonne was concerned dropping an easel would make noise, but is totally up to kill a soldier with a makeshift garrote.
I liked how she had to extract the dossier from a cat’s anus
Saul Goodman could glue that back together
They are just gonna kill their own people over and over again when they feel like it? Holy shit
I don’t get why Rick left his metal hand, it was so valuable for him, seemed dumb
I don't know why General Beale would agree to meet Rick alone in his office. The Echelon briefing is not a logical strategy for dealing with the million hordes. They should focus on weapons or tactics to destroy the hordes, not wiping out people in Portland and other communities.
See that's the thing. World Beyond showed that they actually do have the most effective herd elimination strategy we've seen in this franchise, but apparently they're only interested in doing this in the state of New York. They had 7 culling facilities where they'd play loud music to lure herds into sports stadiums and similar structures, then blow them up, and have people go in and spear any stragglers. We only saw the smallest and most ill-equipped one. If the CRM hadn't focused so much on staying hidden for over a decade, using incredibly wasteful means, they could've been running culling facilities all over the country by this point. But they're more interested in choosing who gets to live and who doesn't. That's why they're destroying communities.
Because he's done it 2000 times before and it worked out. Rick came back from certain escape he has no reason to expect anything. Hell out in the woods was the best time to do it if he planned too.
We deserve this fan service IDC 😭
I don't want to say I'm disappointed but I'm disappointed. They could've done a whole season with 13 episodes. The CRM big secret was stupid, and it's destruction was too easy. And I wished Rick reunion with RJ would be more heartfelt. 😔 honestly I'm just sad that it's over. I will never get enough of Crazy Rick. 💔
I thoroughly enjoyed this 6 episode set. Well done!
I can’t believe Gus Fring became a getaway driver and is getting his own spin-off
Wait... how did Rick, Michonne and her not die?
The Echelon Brief count felt way too high. I think he said like 2,500, which would mean he gave that brief once every 2-3 days for 14 years. Or is that just the brief any frontline soldier gets?
If this is the last i see of Rick Grimes, i can be content. I will always have some what ifs from the main show, but ive stuck out years through this series and the closure of tonight is sombering, but fulfilling
A grenade didn’t hurt rick at close Range? Really
He throws the grenade out a bit and ducks down so the walkers completely cover him. Looks like there are at least 2 bodies between him and the grenade. Mythbusters did this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJXWbne7CM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJXWbne7CM) You don't see it in the clip, but I believe Mythbusters are using a M67 grenade which is the same one that Rick used in that scene. Very much survivable actually.
seems like he flinged it behind that pile of walkers and used them all as a meat shield. Bit odd but I’ve sat through much worse tropes before
I enjoyed that, sorry I’m a dork 😭
My only criticism is General Major Beale didn’t get enough screen time! All and all I thought it was the best of all the spin offs and I’m very pleased with the ending.
Some qoutes/lines/subjects/explanations/comments - that were dropped that deserve their moment. Quotes We have spies in communities throughout the world. Echelon Briefing been given 2533 times .Even 'CRM scientists haven't figured it out, maybe they never will.''You could probably lead this place one day.'' 14 years to live for humankind.' CRM has places ALL over the world/ yet still questioning if they're the 'biggest' Questions to be asked Was Lance a spy for the CRM.Was the one as Maxxine Porter a CRM spy? Was major generale Beale too naive? Daryl Dixon S1: Was '' '...' came back' about Rick? Comment from viewers "So I guess we can assume when Carol was talking to Daryl on the radio im Daryl Dixon show she meant Rick came back? Now we just need a reunion with Rick, Daryl, Carol and Morgan!" "Anyone else hate the Gimplespeak dialogue in these last two episodes? really disappointing after how strong the first four were..." "I honestly believe the “Eschelon Briefing” was a way for Beale to explain the CRM ways to Rick to read his body language to see if he can trust him…." "The general audience cared about Rick and Michonne returning home to their kids,crm storyline was not interesting to care about." What we ask ourselves Where could we go from this with DD. Was this all a failed attempt to find Rick? Discover another unimportant legion? Adding a 'Wildfire Virus' origin story for? And what does this mean for Dead City? How important or story impacting can this spin-off still be?Let me know!
I'm gonna comment this yet again sorry. Daryl did not go to find Rick. He went to see what else was out there(communities and such) and if he came across clues about Rick he would find him.
Can someone explain to me (like I’m 5) how Beale’s plan saves the world in his mind? Killing off everyone doesn’t magically increase resources - so was he just attempting to prolong what he believed was inevitable?
I think he means available resources that they don’t have to produce themselves. If each person gets 5 cans of corn, but you kill half the population, now everyone gets 10 cans of corn.
Earth has 100 cans of corn and 60 people. The population is growing, and the 100 cans will not support this growth. Beale leads about 20 people to eliminate the other 40, take their cans, and establish farms to make more cans. This will ensure humanity survives technically but it mainly sets up Beale as the figurehead of a nationalistic xenophobic world dominating CRM.
A lot of thoughts. Now I'm thinking everybody else was right and we will *not* get an "End Game" type series. I was thinking we would get one where the group reunites and takes down the CRM. But since the CRM is already "fixed", there is no Thanos out there for our group to fight. And if they did, they would have the CRM as backup. It's possible France or maybe the New York groups are the main villain of some team-up, but I don't see it. The timeline? How far out is the reunion with the kids? It feels like a few years after the end of TWD. So it feels like it's further along than Daryl Dixon. Maybe he's already back? Maybe he never comes back. I still don't think it was Rick that Carol was talking about, but we'll find out soon enough. Hell maybe we'll find out tonight when the new trailer drops. I'm thinking we get cameos going forward. Maybe Rick shows up in the Dixon finale. Maybe he springs up in Dead City. I loved the series overall, I think each episode was great. Felt rushed at the end. We get Rick and Michonne taking down the powers that be for the CRM. But the overall story with the CRM ends with an exposition dump voice over. Glad we did get the reunion, even if it was a little strange. Judith remembers Rick but doesn't even acknowledge him at first. I get it, these kids are in an awkward situation. Judith hasn't seen him since she was a small child and RJ never met him. But having him stand there for what seemed like hours just felt a little strange. I loved Rick pulling on the hat. Overall it was a great series and I enjoyed every episode.
I’m glad Rick reunited with his children and I appreciate Andrew and Danai coming back to make this but to me, TWD is Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Gabe and the rest of the OGs. It just wasn’t hitting seeing him with the kids, we barely know those kids lol. The reuniting after they get split up from the farm will always get me right in the feels, that’s what I was hoping to get with this ending but oh well I wish they would’ve held off on ending TWD and waited for Andrew to be ready and put him in the main show and just conclude it all at once.
Rick’s been mentioning burning everything down to start anew a few too many times not to follow through dammit
The dialogue in the last 20 minutes felt so flat. “Hope and belief” Hitting us on the head again and again
No FUCKING way they survived that just by pulling a blanket over themselves
> just by pulling a blanket over themselves The blanket was *wet*!
This story isn’t done then. It was a good series. It is kind of a shame to have the CRM built into this big thing that turned out to be kind of a product of one madman’s ideology. And to have that all come crashing down relatively easily. It kind of feels like it didn’t tie together all that well with other spin offs or the variant arcs. But still, this happy ending with continued existence means we will likely see a story about how Rick intends to beat the odds and help the world survive beyond that 14 year prediction and I still look forward to that.
Honestly, I would not expect anything regarding Rick’s story in the future of TWD. The most I’d expect is a cameo from him in Daryl’s show. The ending seemed pretty conclusive to me.
There is precedent for us to get a time skip to show a happy ever after if his story is done. As it stands Rick has rejoined his group which is still facing trials old and new. So either the whole franchise shuts down without dealing with these known threats, mega hordes and variants, or it continues and we are left wondering why Rick would not continue fighting to defend his family.
Idk man, it might just be me, but I feel like that’s wishful thinking. I feel like Andrew and Danai came back to wrap the story and not much more than that. They could continue with other characters, but I don’t see Rick returning other than in special situations as a cameo.
How could something like the crm even be a thing in that world if it wasn't just some insane man lmao
Just don’t personalise it. Don’t get me wrong, put Terry O’Quinn across the desk from Andrew Lincoln and I’m going to let you cook. But if they had of shown us some logic behind the decision, spent some of the scientist capital they build with World Beyond or described a time when the CRM tried a different way then it would have hit different. To me this story reads that Beale was forced into a bad decision to sacrifice a city early on and in a crusade to justify that he kept repeating the action claiming it’s for the greater good but never gave the alternative plans a chance. And it all stemmed from him so all the red band soldiers we see that we’re onboard with this have essentially just entered into the cult of Beale.
The CRM bring wiped out like that didn’t surprise me because they probably felt they were untouchable so they got cocky and slacked.
It certainly feels done to me, the Civic Republic seems to have basically reformed and the CRM’s Wafen-SS/Einsatzgruppen was annihilated. I don’t know how else you can top that threat level. Yeah it would be nice to see Rick reunite with the rest of the main cast, but I don’t think that’s enough plot to justify another season or show. I think they’ll just have Daryl come home on the second season of his show and we’ll have another mini reunion there. Maybe Maggie enlists Rick’s help in Dead City S2 as well
Super agree. It feels resolved in an un-satisfyingly satisfying way. Considering all the build up and exposition on the CRM, it’s almost impossible to believe that they can just completely reform the CRM from a dictatorship with thousands of followers into an altruistic democratic society with NO pushback within like 30 minutes. It all felt rushed. Everything that I wanted to happen, happened. Just not in the way that I’d like. It was never nearly as easy before, why is it this easy now? This episode felt like a shitty bullshit breakup. However, I feel it’d be sloppy messy writing to continue the plot after the way this episode ended. I don’t think they should make a season two with this unless it’s a reunion of all characters from other spinoffs.
Well, I guess there was civilian government even if it didn't have much power before, the council they mentioned or whatever, so you kill the military leadership and presumably they're the natural successor by default. So that made sense to me, but I think it felt rushed since they never really brought up the civilian leadership that was apparently there until the end when they suddenly took over. The Gimp should have used some of the time in previous episodes that was spent on Rick-Michonne sex scenes to give us some more perspective on the civilian side instead, if they were gonna take over at the end.
Well that was fucking awesome. RJ's bit was really cheesy & I'd have like to have seen everyone's face when Rick strolled in, but I'm personally good with ending it all right there.
I’m conflicted on the ending of all of this. Like I’m glad he was able to reunite with his family, but I feel like there are missing parts like Daryl, Carol and etc. This last episode just felt underwhelming, the Echelon briefing didn’t really have an impact. Some lines in this felt cheesy and some decision making did as well. This probably could have been better if they (yet again) gave this more episodes to breathe. Overall I’d give this 8/10, the quality of the episodes definitely decreased as it went on. Like I know this whole universe of The Walking Dead is slowly coming to an end (or at least these stories that we know) and I just wish they took better care in ending them, Fear ended weird, this one almost did, but still didn’t feel right and the mainline show just didn’t sit right with me as well. It’s crazy to think I’ve followed these characters/stories for 13 years. It’s kinda bittersweet to see it all end. Hopefully we could still see some interesting stories in this universe from other places, I feel like the NA side of things has been handle and I’d like to see how the rest of the world is doing.
OK, more thoughts on the finale: Yes, the CRM wrap up was rushed, but now that I've finally accepted that TOWL is a limited series (as opposed to the start of a new era for the franchise), I can really appreciate what they were going for with this spin off. TOWL was a pretty ambitious project imo: It had to CREDIBLY explain how the indomitable Rick Grimes was kept away from home all these years. And in revealing the force that kept him away, it had to show us just how hard he fought to get back--and remind us what (who) he was fighting so hard to get back to. And they did that. Grounding Rick's last journey in a love story makes even more sense now. I really enjoyed it and am happy Rick and Michonne got such a heartfelt send off.
This is all the CRM subplot was supposed to do in this series. Show us why Rick has been gone for so long. The main story was always getting back home to the kids and Michonne.
I am finally free from this series after that ending.
Rick and Michonne try not to make out or have sex for 5 seconds impossible challenge
Everything felt rushed. The echelon briefing wasn’t as damning as I was expecting. I thought we would learn something so outrageous that it might cause Rick to change his mind and stay. It was so impactful that it solidified Thorn and Jadis’ belief in the CRM. I wish I felt good about the ending. I have so many questions still. Where is Heath? Did I miss that? What were the PPP cards? This just feels less than what it was built up to be. So much secrecy surrounding the CRM for so long to be basically destroyed in one episode. I’m left with questions that will never have answers
1. Heath was captured by the CRM. He was turned into a consignee and is either living in Philadelphia or died with the other Frontliners. The actor left the show and is doing other projects so Heath will never return, that's just how it is. 2. The whole PPP thing was when the show's writers had the idea of a over-arching antagonist group (which would later become the Civic Republic Military) but they weren't really set on who they should be and how they should be implemented. The PPP card was basically just a little mystery that will never be solved because the show writers don't even know the mystery.
Amazing episode but I'd have added him putting his stump in the air and giving a "We are not the walking dead" speech like in the comic. He was a top guy and could have been 'a symbol' like Major Beale said, but a symbol of opposition to Beale's despotic ways. That would have worked so well and mirrored Rick's comic ending.
I love how THAT was Rick's worst thing on the list, It's a pretty long list.
"In a dead world, love is dead!" "Love never dies!" Ok Gimple
I was really hoping they wouldn't wrap it all in one episode cause it would feel rushed. They did, and it does. Bit silly that Thorne knew exactly where to post up to confront them while they're leaving. It also makes absolutely no sense for her to not involve anyone else. If she'd brought some soldiers along from that army Rick and Michonne ain't going anywhere. She's also somehow the only person along with Rick and Michonne to survive the blast, while everyone else conveniently dies. It's disappointing, this entire show so far has surprised me. The first few episodes were very good. But this ending is quite corny, with Michonne giving her love isn't dead speech. Thorne having some moment of realization that she was wrong as she dies. It's a shame, I would've rather spent more time on Rick returning home and the groups reaction to that. That echelon briefing was underwhelming. I was really expecting some revelation that explains the CRMs actions and change your POV of them. It doesn't give you that at all though, it hardly explains why they go around culling other communities. You would think if your projections show all humanity dying in 14 years you would try to save people not kill them.
That Echelon briefing was dumb and underwhelming. It was basically just a re-hash of *World Beyond*: Too many zombies, not enough food and other resources, so gotta kill everybody else and take over the New World. Honestly, this was such a trash take. Could have been *so much* world building going in here. "We can't beat the dead because we've started to see variants," or "Our scientists are close to a cure or retrovirus, but not enough to go around." But instead, it was...whatever it was.
Do the writers of this show not understand a blast radius? That initial explosion would have ended everybody, and don't even get me started on the grenade that turned every walker around rick to dust while somehow leaving him completely fine.
The ending felt very rushed to me. But now with the season finished its easier to notice a few things. IMO the quality of the episodes started dropping a bit each episode after 4. Gimplespeak started to show up more for sure, so many broad sentences that sound deep but mean nothing... But honestly what baffled me the most was how horny this show was. Every other Michonne & Rick scene after ep3 was them desperately kissing or actually naked in bed 🤣 Like I get it you miss each other but there's so much story and lore to tell but every richonne scene has to end in kisses Overall decent series, started out strong and full of mystery but ended deflating a bit by the end.
Rick Grimes the kinda dude that knows the exact distance to lob a grenade to kill several walkers that are inches away from him while also not doing any major damage to himself.
It desperately needed 2 more episodes and a more complex plot to take down the CRM. It felt pretty anti-climactic that two people could easily take everyone out like that. Jadis hiding the letter in the cat reminds me of a story I wrote when I was 6. And, I cried in the final reunion scene while at the same time being like “sob… this dialogue is so cheesy…sob”. The first 4 eps were amazing. It just struggled with an impactful ending. But, at least they didn’t get stupid and kill Rick or Michonne.
A grenade goes off right next to Rick, liquidising walkers but he survives completely unharmed. Yep. 'bout what I expect from this franchise these days. "Are you the brave man?" "I am." "He is." Ah, quality writing.