The Walking Dead – Season 11B – Episodes 9 & 10 – Disney+ Review
“The Walking Dead” Season 11 returns to Disney+ in many countries, including the UK and Ireland, this month. Season 11 is the show’s final season and is with new episodes of the second batch of episodes dropping weekly.
Episode 9 takes place just seconds after the mid-season finale ended, with an action-packed episode that sees Maggie, Daryl, Gabriel and Neegan battling it out with the Reapers. There’s plenty of zombie-killing plus fights between the two groups. If you like your episodes full of zombie killing, this one is for you.
It’s very much an episode about tying up loose ends and moving the show onto the next phase, which begins when Daryl and the gang get back to Alexandria. Just moments after they are all reunited, Eugine arrives with a stormtrooper army from Commonwealth arrive at the door.
Episode 10 shifts the series forward six months, when the majority of the group are now living in the Commonwealth. The tone has changed drastically, as things become a little more civilised and more “normal”. But the group are struggling with living within the Commonwealth, back in a world with jobs, money and a new hierarchy.
This shift to the Commonwealth, completely changes the show’s tone and is a refreshing change to the overall feel of the show. But at the same time, everything feeling normal, doesn’t feel right. It’s unsettling. As you’d expect, not everyone is settling into the new life, especially Carol, who is suspicious of who’s running the place.
While we’ve seen something like this before, when the group initially were invited into Alexandria, and they struggled with the idea of living normally, this Commonwealth is very different.
We’d already seen hints of the Commonwealth in the previous episodes, but seeing the group trying to settle in, is fun and a little different after years of decay. It’s a stark tonal shift and certainly gained my attention.
Plus, there are hints that all is not well within the Commonwealth, as those at the bottom of society aren’t happy with being waiters, pot washers or other menial jobs. While those living the high life go to fancy parties and live a life of luxury, ahead of everyone else.
These two episodes couldn’t be any more different tonally, and that makes this next batch more exciting. I almost feel like episode 9 should have been the mid-season finale, with the Stormtroopers arrival being the cliffhanger.
The small flash forward to the stormtroopers arriving at the Hilltop, also hints at further issues ahead during this season. Along with the undertones of descent within the underclasses within the Commonwealth.
Overall: I really enjoyed these two new episodes, they were both very different, and I can’t wait to see where the Commonwealth storyline is going.
Rating – 4 Out Of 5.
The second batch of episodes from the final season of “The Walking Dead” is returning to Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on Monday 21st February 2022, with a new episode being released each week.