Probably the most polarizing TV exhibits is over, however had been the meandering plots over the past 5 years value it ultimately?
For a lot of followers, Worry the Strolling Lifeless Season 3 was the tip of the present as a result of the whole lot that got here after was below new management that did not respect the storylines that got here earlier than.
Worry the Strolling Lifeless Season 8 Episode 11 and Worry the Strolling Lifeless Season 8 Episode 12 featured scattered storylines, shifting allegiances, and a few extra character assassination.
I am going to give credit score the place credit score’s due: The creatives needed to exit by offering viewers whiplash, very like they’ve achieved over the past 5 seasons.
I have been wrestling with whether or not they introduced these legendary characters again, solely to destroy their legacies by giving them the worst storylines possible.
There’s been this half-baked feud between Madison and Troy that harkened again to Worry the Strolling Lifeless Season 3, however ultimately, the dealing with of their battle has felt like terrible fan fiction.
Troy has been targeted on getting revenge on Madison up to now, however his motivations have been murky.
Tracy: Mother. She pulled unfastened. We have to tighten the ropes.
Troy: Oh, she’s advantageous. She’s not gonna harm us. You understand, once we get to PADRE, she’s gonna be the one to make Madison pay for the whole lot she’s achieved. What’s unsuitable?
Tracy: Why does Mother should kill Madison?
Troy: Nicely, you already know why. She’s Alicia’s mom. She put the considering in her head that received folks killed. We will not let what occurred to Mother occur to anybody else.
Tracy: I do know all that.
Troy: So, what’s unsuitable?
Tracy: This.
Troy: Your necklace?
Tracy: Victor stated it belonged to Alicia. She… She killed Mother. Why would you need me to put on her necklace?
Troy: Have you learnt what number of St. Christopher’s medallions there are?
Tracy: However Victor stated…
Troy: Nicely, Victor’s mistaken. She gave it to me when she died. And she or he made me promise that I might give it to you to maintain you protected. Which is what I have been doing ever since.
Each time we have gotten near discovering out who the true Troy is, one thing has occurred to tug him away from that path.
There was real progress for each Madison and Troy when Crane returned as a last-minute villain.
For those who watch Worry the Strolling Lifeless on-line, you already know Madison, June, and everybody else ought to have killed Crane as a substitute of letting him run free.
On this universe, the villains you let away at all times return, generally stronger.
Victor: There was a time you’d have thanked me for such a factor.
Madison: Sufficient folks have died due to me. I can not put the remainder of you in danger.
Victor: The remainder isn’t that many, Madison.
Madison: What are you speaking about?
Victor: It is simply me and our newly discovered associates of Alicia right here. The remainder retreated to the island to flee the herd. All of it is best to do the identical.
Then once more, he’d have most likely returned from past the grave as a result of, take a look at Troy. Madison bashed his brains in and let a dam explode on high of him, however by some means, he arrived with a child and a military, decided for vengeance.
Troy has been portrayed as this one-dimensional ache within the butt all through these last episodes, so listening to that he saved Madison and himself from a quick-sand-related demise got here out of the left subject.
He is been so pushed by his quest for vengeance that he by no means stopped to consider whether or not there could possibly be a interval of resolve between him and Madison.
Madison did some horrible issues to him, however he was no oil portray, both.
Victor: I can not allow you to do that alone.
Madison: I am in a tank loaded with ammo and weapons. I do not want anyone else.
Victor: Madison, please. It is like I advised you earlier than, Victor… In contrast to you, I haven’t got anybody left to disappoint. I want to do that so you do not have to. Then you may construct PADRE into what Alicia would have needed.
Victor: This may not finish properly, Madison. You assume it will simply be this one factor. However then you definately’ll notice you may’t cease. I discovered it the exhausting manner. On the Tower. There was simply at all times yet another factor that I wanted to do to maintain it protected, and earlier than I knew it, I used to be the factor folks wanted to be shielded from. Please, Madison. There’s one other manner.
They’re each way more comparable than they’d wish to admit. They play predominantly within the gray space, making selections that can win them haters and lovers.
Troy had severely turned a nook when he saved Madison’s life, and it is an actual disgrace that we can’t get to witness that as a result of Madison repaid him by killing him when he least anticipated it.
Had Troy been round for the whole thing of Worry the Strolling Lifeless Season 8, it will have been far simpler to digest this ludicrous scene.
The unhappy half is that Troy’s demise may have had such a major impression, however due to the scattered nature of the storylines, he is been on the periphery, although he is alleged to be this villain.
Madison has at all times been a tough individual to learn as a result of she’s considering a number of steps forward, and in her protection, she believed he killed her daughter, so there was no likelihood she could be excited by working with him.
Daniel: Madison! What did you do?
Madison: I am achieved with second probabilities. Troy was proper. That is what received Alicia killed. That is why I had to do that. If I did not, I would be placing you all in danger. That is how we survive. That is how PADRE survives.
Troy: It’s a must to struggle f-for Tracy such as you fought for Nick and Alicia.
Madison: Why would I do something you say?
Troy: ‘Trigger she’s not my daughter.
Madison: No. You stated your spouse was pregnant when Alicia helped you.
Troy: She was. However she died earlier than the newborn could possibly be born.
Madison: No! If Serena’s not Tracy’s mom, who’s?
Troy: Alicia. I-I took her baby to make up for what I misplaced.
Would Troy and Madison have been capable of co-exist in the identical atmosphere? It is uncertain, however it will have been way more watchable than we received.
Saying goodbye to somebody we barely reconnected with did not land properly, however at the least Troy was readily available to throw within the little nugget about Tracy being Alicia’s daughter.
Ever since Tracy was proven in pre-season materials with Alicia’s necklace, it was nearly like AMC, and the creatives had been dangling it like a carrot in entrance of us.
Alicia: I am not right here to harm anybody.
Tracy: Preserve your palms up and transfer slowly in direction of the tent.
Alicia: You’ll be able to put the gun down. I am simply right here to bury my… Mother?
Madison: Alicia?
In truth, it raised extra questions than solutions, however I am joyful it was a ploy from Troy to forestall Madison from killing Tracy ultimately as a result of this household connection made zero sense.
It felt like all of the emotional weight was placed on Antonella Rose throughout these last episodes as Tracy’s storyline got here into focus.
In the long run, although, these revelations about Alicia gave Madison this urge to seek out her daughter’s corpse and save what was left of PADRE in order that there was a future for folks like Tracy.
Although the writing has been painfully unhealthy, the sequence has at all times had higher visuals than its mother or father sequence, and that was on full show as Madison led the horde into PADRE to blow it up and save lots of the folks she barely knew.
Madison: I simply cannot imagine it is actual.
Alicia: It’s. I promise you, it’s. You okay?
Madison: I might be. What’s that?
Alicia: That may be a very previous good friend I got here throughout looking out a warehouse for provides. Attempting to return him to his rightful proprietor.
Madison: How did you discover us?
Alicia: A narrative. A couple of lady who sacrificed herself right here. And the one who advised me stated her identify was Madison. And it did not make any sense, and I did not understand how you can presumably be alive… however I had to make sure. I noticed the fort over there. How are you continue to right here?
Madison: Your daughter. She got here again. She saved me.
Alicia: What are you speaking about?
Madison: Tracy. She’s the kid that Troy took from you.
Alicia: I by no means had a child.
Tracy: You are not my mother?
Alicia: No, I am… I am not, however I knew your mother once you had been a child. Her identify was Serena. She was a reasonably wonderful lady. I do not perceive why Troy would lie about one thing like that.
Tracy: He knew how exhausting you fought on your personal children. He needed to present you a motive to struggle for me.
Madison: You stated you heard a narrative about me. From who?
Alicia: I have been selecting up radio chatter on the street. I feel their route runs by right here.
Madison: You understand I might’ve come on the lookout for you if I knew you had been alive.
Alicia: I might’ve come on the lookout for you, too. I by no means would’ve stopped. After Troy attacked me, after I received again on my toes, I went to seek out the folks I would been staying with. And I noticed one thing on the street, these ladies that dressed like me, they used weapons I used to be utilizing, they had been doing the issues that I used to be doing. They had been serving to folks.
Madison: We met a few of them.
Alicia: Yeah. It is just like the story of what I would achieved was doing extra good than I may alone. And so I went some place else. I… began utilizing a unique identify so Troy could not discover me. If I hadn’t have achieved that, perhaps we might’ve discovered one another.
Madison: You made the fitting selection. You gave all these folks one thing to imagine in.
The parallels to Worry the Strolling Lifeless Season 4 did not go unnoticed, and it is exhausting to not really feel like Madison ought to have perished this time as a result of this lady retains dishonest demise.
My very best ending would discover Madison awakening from a coma, a la Rick Grimes, solely this time it will have been after the occasions of the Stadium, and the whole lot after has been a dream.
It could have been an effective way to play with expectations and reintroduce characters we have misplaced and for the present to undo a few of the irreparable harm achieved to the characters we all know and love.
These final 5 seasons have undoubtedly been a fever dream, and I did pinch myself when Alicia confirmed up, alive and properly, after battling radiation poisoning, an try from her life from Troy, and the whole lot in between.
I used to be resigned to Alycia Debnam-Carey not returning as Alicia as a result of it appeared out of the realm of chance, but it surely was fairly darn satisfying seeing the mother-and-daughter reunion.
Madison thought Alicia was lifeless and vice-versa, so realizing that they will be again out on this undead world collectively provides me the hope that they will land someplace protected they will name dwelling.
The choice to ship them (and Tracy!) to Los Angeles was silly, primarily as a result of we witnessed its destruction a number of years in the past within the sequence.
What do they hope to seek out in a spot lengthy minimize off from society? It could have been much better for Alicia to have been involved with Morgan, who advised her concerning the Commonwealth.
It is an actual shocker that Morgan wasn’t used at the same time as a plot system within the sequence finale as a result of it was his present for thus lengthy.
It is exhausting to inform what’s going to turn out to be of Alicia, Madison, and Tracy, however I hope that in the event that they return, it is on one of many newer spinoffs as a result of these exhibits have been creatively stronger.
Strand’s conclusion of getting a husband and son and hitting the street after seeing Alicia and Madison reuniting did not land in addition to I anticipated.
Dove: What route you headed?
June: Uh, there is a cabin in Texas I wish to go to. Somebody there I… have not seen shortly.
Dove: You need firm?
June: It is.
Dove: It is okay. Offers you time to show me.
June: Educate you what?
Dove: Medication. What you probably did for me once I received shot… I wish to discover ways to do the identical for different folks.
June: We’ll the fitting place, then.
Dove: Um, why’s that?
June: The cabin belonged to my husband. It is the place I met him. It is the place he taught me to shoot… to outlive… To reside once more. If he can do this for me there, perhaps I can do the identical for you… Odessa.
Strand has been one of many wildest characters in franchise historical past since you by no means know what he’ll do subsequent, however it will have been fascinating to see him reunite with everybody.
Madison’s determination to permit everybody to assume she died in order that they might proceed to be higher folks was one thing, however I do not see it lasting for very lengthy.
Alicia bringing again Skidmark was hilarious as a result of that kitty has survived zombies, radiation, and the whole lot else. They need to have referred to as it plot armor.
The most effective half is that Daniel received some semblance of happiness after so a few years of struggling to exist on the street.
Dwight and Sherry returning to the Sanctuary to show it right into a sanctuary for folks on the street was a mind-numbing improvement, however hey, turning the place of their trauma into a spot of therapeutic is perhaps therapeutic.
If this occurred on Worry the Strolling Lifeless Season 8 Episode 9, it will have been way more satisfying as a result of this random epiphany from Dwight got here out of the left subject.
The one good half is that Dwight and Sherry are collectively after the whole lot they’ve endured.
June’s ending was the worst, sadly. Jenna Elfman has had some nice materials to work with, however she was principally sidelined all through the ultimate season.
June happening the street with Dove to return to her previous dwelling may have been way more fascinating if these folks had aspirations of parting earlier within the season.
On the finish of the finale, a lot of it felt like a rush job to carry closure to a present that very clearly received canceled on the final minute.
Dwight: I used to be considering of The Sanctuary.
Sherry: What?
Dwight: We… We may take everyone there.
Sherry: D… Why would you wish to return there?
Dwight: Bec… As a result of we all know it, it is defensible. The streets are nonetheless intact. Sherry: Oh, my. I misplaced you to that place earlier than, D. I can not lose you once more.
Dwight: Hey. You are not gonna lose me once more. We’re household. I imply, perhaps… perhaps we will take that place and… and… and make it worthy of its identify.
Sherry: I do not know.
Dwight: It will make Finch proud.
Sherry: Okay. Okay, let’s strive.
It is a shock the present did not tie in additional intently with some other exhibits within the franchise as a result of I at all times thought many would cross paths with folks within the spinoffs.
Sadly, it looks like AMC needs to shut the door on this present as a result of it has been operating on fumes for years.
What are your ideas on the sequence finale?
Have been you glad after years of meandering storytelling?
Hit the feedback.
Paul Dailly is the Affiliate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
