SQUAWKING DEAD

Sunday, December 11, 2022

[Episode 208] Season 11, Episode 23 of The Walking Dead, "Family"

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Major swings occurred throughout this episode that have adequately prepared us for the undoubted craziness that's to come in #TWD's #SeriesFinale! Will #JudithGrimes live? Is #Negan redeemed? And where's #JerryTWD?!

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David Cameo:
Rachael Burt:
Sherrandy Swift:
Bridget Mason-Gray:

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Dave finally retires his 15+ year-old 2007 Toyota Prius, Sea Czar's Ghost, with a new 2023 Kia Niro PHEV, Zelda
Dave asks his fellow hosts if they felt this was a good episode. The answer? A resounding, unanimous yes.
Sherrandy loved seeing the opening sequence of characters picking up and using their signature weapons (in flashback snippets). She adds that Judith Grimes should loosen the strap on her wakizashi (looked awkward, putting it on)!
She follows this by saying that as soon as Judith placed the sheriff's hat on RJ Grimes' head, she knew something bad was going to happen to her. Telling Daryl Dixon that she is coming with them sealed the deal.
Watching Daryl carry Judith, at the end of this episode reminded Dave of Rick Grimes carrying Carl Grimes to Hershel Greene's farm after being shot through a deer by Otis. It reminded others of Daryl carrying the body Beth Greene out of Grady Memorial Hospital.
Aidan's Aside: The scene I was reminded of was in 6x09, No Way Out: Rick is rushing Carl to Denise Cloyd, after being shot in the eye by Ron Anderson, while Michonne clears the area of remaining walkers.
Sherrandy feels Judith might die in the series finale, but Rachael disagrees. What do you think?
Who's death would be more tragic: Carol Peletier or Judith Grimes?
Who do you think will die in the series finale?
Would you be okay if only Judith died, and everyone else survived?
Will Dog be in the finale? Will he go to France for the Daryl spin-off?
Sherrandy says that Daryl has largely regressed over the course of the series, in terms of his lack of dialogue. Bridget feels that this is because he blamed himself for the deaths of Beth and Glenn Rhee.
Will putting Daryl into a foreign environment allow him to grow?
What is the secret Grimes family phrase Judith is referring to?
Rachael says that if Judith is reflecting on this day, does it mean that she inherently survives being shot by Pamela Milton? She could also be speaking in the 2nd person, as an omniscient narrator, or conversing with Carl Grimes in the afterlife.
Could it be that all of the opening sequence narrations/nostalgia openers in the last trimester of The Walking Dead's 11th and final season are one long monologue? Will Carl's letter to Judith finally be narrated?
Does Judith know all the stories of the people who loved her, like Beth and Tyreese Williams?
Sherrandy says that Lydia's bite sequence reminded her of Amy Harrison's.
Did our survivors manage to tell Judith about some of the other people who loved her, like Axel?
Bridget says one of the primary reasons she loves zombie horror content is because the world we know falls apart and the things that are actually important are forced to become first priorities, again, like (found) family, food, and shelter.
Aidan's Aside: Bridget's comment reminds me of the writing on the back of the graphic novel series.
Editor's Note: In my counter to Bridget, I mention how the pull - inside all of us - to burn it all down just so we can start over, again, shows such a lack of bravery on our part. To illustrate how susceptible we all are to this pull, I shared a moment of extreme vulnerability. I miss my original co-host, Carolina Gallardo-Rodriquez. As this series comes to a close, I think of all the time we've spent discussing these episodes, together, and what she helped build. It's not unlike the show attempting to reflect on its history in this final trimester. At the end of the day, we have it in our power to make things better, now, rather than be forced to make things better after the entire world falls.
Will we see a massive time jump in the finale? Will we see someone else telling the story of our characters?
Sherrandy mentions that Eugene Porter body-slamming Commonwealth soldier shows how far his character has come. Bridget reminds the audience of something she said earlier in the season: Eugene is, indeed, a pussy-crusher.
Why are there suddenly so many variant walkers?
Bridget theorizes that another event may have caused the walkers to evolve. Could it be some sort of (space) spore (as Robert Kirkman jokingly said to a crowd was the origin of the Zombie Outbreak)?
Sherrandy theorizes how, as walkers continue to bite and make new walkers out of formerly living humans, as time moves on and this process continues, the mutation emerges down the line. Dave thinks that it's far more likely that - since we're all infected - time, itself, is the cause and variants are the obvious next phase of the outbreak's evolution.
Dave loved seeing Judith pick up the Multi-Community Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is excited at the possibility that it may actually have more use on the show.
What on earth was being depicted in the child's drawing that Judith unfolded after picking up The Charter? It looks like a very large Judith on the left and a very small RJ on the top right with a mountain in the back?
Dave mentions that the conversation Negan Smith & Maggie Rhee have about taking out Pamela is similar to the conversation Rosita Espinosa & Sasha Williams had about taking him out, years ago.
Want to see Dave and Rachael react to this episode?
In reference to the way some folks thought of how Maggie reacted to Negan's admission, do you have Resting Maggie Face (RMF)?
Save for our group of survivors, what does it mean that Tyler Davis - and all of the others who were disappeared - were all killed at Union Station? Michael Mercer certainly doesn't have any witnesses to testify against her, now...
Will Colonel Vickers turn on Pamela?
We digressed for a moment to talk about something we watched in the pre-show, because there's must be a growing concern among the troopers being taken out by (variant) walkers: Steve is a YouTuber that reacts to single episodes of television series he's never seen, without any context, and without much knowledge of the story. In his reaction video to 8x16, he (presciently) admits his confusion over why everyone is trying to kill each other when the real threat are the walkers threating humanity.
What do you think will happen to Jerry after he leaves Lydia & Aaron to go after Elijah?
Watching Jerry go after Elijah, in response to Lydia's pleas, reminds Sherrandy of when, on Fear The Walking Dead, Grace Mukherjee - having just emerged from a fever dream about with a grown-up version of her unborn child, Athena - demands Morgan Jones give Jason Riley the key (to what we eventually find out is one of two keys that arm the nuclear warheads on the U.S.S. Pennsylvania). Both Grace & Jerry are, according to Sherrandy, motivated by their companion's fragile emotional and even physical state and that they should've known better than to listen to them.
Is it possible that Jerry is motivated by more than just retrieving Elijah?
Dave shouts out Cassady McClincy's incredible performance throughout this episode. She is the person he is most excited to see in future projects.
Luke & Jules appearing again, alive, defied expectations from the trailer to this episode.
Could we see a walker version of Lance Hornsby in the finale?
The Walking Dead has often shown us that couples don't last. Which couples do you think will be split up in the series finale? Luke & Jules? Negan & Annie Smith? Jerry & Nabila? Eugene & Maxxine Mercer? Michael Mercer & Juanita "Princess" Sanchez? Lydia & Elijah?

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[Episode 207] Season 11, Episode 22 of The Walking Dead, "Faith"

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to listen to this episode
in your favorite Podcasts App

#FatherGabriel's words from the last episode carry through into this one, "People remember the last thing you do. The end of each story is very important. How do you want yours to end?". We get very close to what #Negan's redemption might look like. We learn that it takes ONE person to change the world... sometimes two... or three. But it starts with ONE. Just one.

David Cameo:
Rachael Burt:
Sherrandy Swift:
Bridget Mason-Gray:

Viewing Parties:

While attending The Camp Events, Sherrandy, Rachael, and your blog author, Aidan, along with supporters/friends - Linda, Meg, and Aaron - were able to watch the episode alongside Michael James Shaw (Michael Mercer). Michael had to swipe some tissues from Rachael, he was so overcome with emotion while watching this episode. Cooper Andrews (Jerry) and Okea-Eme Awkwari (Elijah) showed up near the end of the episode watch. They were ecstatic to witness fans watching the episode for the first time.
Aidan's Aside: One of the things that made Michael so emotional was watching Christian Serratos (Rosita Espinosa) and Josh McDermitt (Eugene Porter) on screen. He kept talking about how amazing his colleagues were and how moved he was by their performances.
Bridget watched the episode at Nic and Norman's, hosted by friend and background actor Stephen Sweet, which was the viewing party Okea and Cooper had attended, prior. They were spreading their love around for fans not attending The Camp, for a little while.

Episode Coverage:

Rachael could not stop crying: watching the episode with TWD family and knowing the end is on the horizon hit her hard.
Bridget is clinging on to every bit of the show we receive because she knows she's going to be overwhelmed with emotions when it's through.
What does the world look like after The Walking Dead comes to a close? How many seasons of Fear the Walking Dead are left before it, too, ends?
Bridget suggests AMC adapts the TWD graphic novel Typhoon.
What are Aaron, Lydia, Jules, Luke, Elijah, and Jerry up to and where are they heading? Could they be making their way towards Alexandria Safe-Zone (AKA Outpost 22)? Could they hide out at what remains of The Kingdom or even the Kingdom 2.0 (as Jerry referred to it in Variant)?
Where is the variant walker subplot going? Are they going to be a prominent threat in the the show, from here on out, or a fixture in upcoming spin-offs?
Could The Commonwealth rebrand The Oceanside into a (ironically, male-only) resort? We would stay there, but would you?
Sherrandy appreciated that this episode balanced every storyline thread and, with the exception of the kids, we saw the majority of our main cast.
What happened to Shira? Will we see her again and on whose side would she fight?
Does Negan Smith feel his past is going to wreak karmic retribution upon his wife, Annie Smith?
Was Ezekiel Sutton standing up for Negan, at the end, or just for Annie and her unborn child?
Sherrandy says the scene with Annie & Negan kneeling against Alexandria's windmill heavily reminded her of Negan's lineup from Season 6's finale/Season 7's premiere. Negan and Annie are on their knees (like our survivors were); the bus that the work camp workers are transported in is standing in for the RV Negan came out of to greet our kneeling survivors; the large gathering of people behind The Commonweath's Troopers mirrored The Saviors witnessing the havoc Negan was about to rain down; and the flood lights shining on Negan and Annie were a reflection of the headlights of The Saviors' vehicles on Negan and his bat, Lucille.
Dave adds that in the Season 7 premiere, The Day Will Come When You Won't Be, Negan initially wanted to kill just one of our survivors (he maintains this theme throughout his run as leader of The Saviors, repeatedly having to remind his 2nd-in-command, Simon, to do the same - despite Simon's protests/outbursts) and in this episode he intended to be the only one to die to save everyone. The Warden adding Annie to the new line-up perfectly mirrored Negan adding Glenn Rhee to the body count, after killing Abraham Ford. Another example of this occurs in 7x08, when he guts Spencer Monroe, then orders Arat to kill someone and chose Olivia.
Dave contends that Mercy prevailed over wrath with the Troopers countermanding The Warden's orders to kill Negan, Annie, and Annie's unborn child; however, with Rosita exacting vengeance on The Warden, Bridget counters that Mercy may not have prevailed, after all. A lot of wrath was depicted in this episode.
Is Negan truly to blame for the death of Benjamin? Is he also responsible for the horrors Simon wrought upon Oceanside and Jadis/The Scavengers?
Bridget says we got some of the best lines of the series in these last few episodes. From Zeke, "The world is broken, but we don't have to be."
Did the scene with Daryl Dixon & Connie navigating Alexandria's sewer tunnels remind you of prior episodes? Some of our hosts thought of the final episodes of Carl Grimes, but Sherrandy flashed to Maggie Rhee and Aaron attempting to escaping Alexandria in Season 6.
Could Carol Peletier die in the final episodes? Dave explains the possible significance.
Will new fans - that will binge watch the show after the series comes to a close - react differently to these final episodes and the series finale?
Will the stories of Carol & Daryl have a happy ending?
Were you surprised that Maggie ended up finding Hershel Rhee? Since we know Lauren Cohan moves on to The Walking Dead: Dead City, did you think Hershel wouldn't survive The Walking Dead?
What did you think of the way the writers attempted to mirror The Warden with Negan?
Do you feel that the series has raised the stakes in these last few episodes?
Was the Warden connected to the Civic Republic Military?
Whether or not The Warden is connected to the CRM, could there be consequences to Rosita murdering him?
Is there relationship potential between Daryl & Connie?
Will the series ever show Daryl in a relationship outside Leah Shaw? If so, with whom?
Did you feel like Yumiko Okumura's legal prowess was lacking in this episode?
Sherrandy asks whether The Commonwealth's residents actually know what Sebastian Milton's voice sounds like. Could that explain why some of the courtroom attendees seemed to accept Pamela Milton's testimony: that Eugene doctored the recording of Sebastian's voice?
Bridget says the trial was fake. Dave asks Bridget to clarify whether she meant narratively or whether the execution of that scene was terrible. Bridget says the former, but adds that the fakest, most terrible thing to ever appear in the series is that deer. You all know the one.
Were you satisfied with the courtroom scene's execution?
Was Mercer always going to come around and help our people or did he only come around, recently?
Did Eugene's speech sway Mercer? Or was it - as Michael James Shaw said on Talking Dead - that Mercer already had it in his mind to save Eugene shortly after Maxxine Mercer told him their father would be ashamed of him (after attempting to coerce a confession from her that would pin everything on Eugene)?
Oscar Rodriguez III (background actor, artist, and head organizer of The Camp) appeared in this episode as a Commonwealth Trooper and we actually got to see his face!
Will Mercer be able to rally The Commonwealth's soldiers on his side? There is a concern that their loyalties may be split.
The MVP line of the episode was uttered by Michael Mercer, "Time to fuck shit up."