A decade ago, The Walking Dead wasnât a mere TV show, it was an impossible-to-escape cultural phenomenon. Crafted with precision, powerful performances, and prosthetics, early TWD rose above regular zombie fare upon its 2010 premiereâthat pilot remains flawless even today. In its first few seasons, the AMC series transcended its genre, presenting a gripping post-apocalyptic survival tale by diving into terrifyingly real human emotions. It also successfully brought the comic book storylines and character dynamics to life with distinct twists. Regretfully, the show lost sight of those things as it dragged on.
Akin to the âwalkersâ at its core, TWD eventually became an unrecognizable, messy, empty husk. It lingered mercilessly until 2022 when it wrapped up after 11 seasons. That wasnât nearly the end. The franchise continued with spin-offs ranging from understandable (Fear The Walking Dead) to eyebrow-raising (Worldâs Beyond) to drastic (Tales Of The Walking Dead). And it got worse. There were the egregious blunders of additional spin-offs for Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan), and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). A so-called series finale is purposeless if audiences donât get time away from beloved original characters. (Give us a chance to miss you, TWD!)
The transparent, pointless gimmick expands further with the franchiseâs latest six-parter, The Ones Who Live (TOWL), premiering on February 25. The show is a flailing last-ditch effort to breathe new life into a universe surviving on a ventilator. Itâs extreme nostalgia bait because it focuses on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), a.k.a. the man who started it all. TOWL catches up to Rick after he disappeared on a helicopter in early TWD season nine (back in 2018, for those keeping track). His wife, Michonne (a sensational Danai Gurira), split from the group in season 10 to hunt him down after discovering he was alive.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
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An electric Rick and Michonne, or âRichonne,â as dubbed by stans, reunion is a lofty goal. But itâs not nearly enough to save whatever the hell TWD wants to be in todayâs landscape. The same storyline couldâveâand wouldâveâhad a weighty impact years ago, back when TOWL was envisioned as three movies to wrap up Rickâs arc (Side note: Announcing this plan after Lincolnâs exit reneged on the emotional value of him leaving). Production delays caused by the pandemic led to a limited series instead. But after all this time, the new series (four of six episodes were watched for this review) is a cry for help to stay relevant.
Donât get us wrong, itâs still surprisingly heartrending to watch Lincoln and Gurira. Theyâre superb actors with an undeniable grasp of their characters, and together theyâre intoxicating to watch. But is that enough? No. Itâs also frustrating that Rick and Michonneâs no-holds-barred reconciliation doesnât happen until late into the showâs run. TOWL somewhat necessarily devotes itself to fleshing out the past few years of Rickâs life with the Civic Republic Military. The organization sporadically appeared in TWDâs various offerings, but now thereâs a dull insight into its evil machinations.
Here, Rick is anguished and resigned to his fate after multiple failed attempts to return to his family. His tether is a dreamy vision of his wife in a non-apocalyptic world. Meanwhile, Michonne goes through an arduous adventure of her own to reach her husband, losing friends along the way, only to eventually be met with a Rick she doesnât fully recognize. Heâs rising the CRM ranks; she desperately wants to take him back to their kids. Will they clash or team up? Underneath layers of exposition and forced plot twists lies a kernel of potential for the âepic love storyâ Lincoln and Gurira teased at a recent TCA panel
An all-encompassing fourth episode digs into the nitty-gritty of Rick and Michonneâs relationship. Filmed like an indie, it has hints of the movie that couldâve been. (Props to Gurira for writing the installment). Itâs the seriesâ singular strength, but the build-up to it is drawn out and nothing TWD hasnât done before. If the same tricks are used for spin-off number six (!), why bother? The Ones Who Live carelessly speeds through deaths, months, and events, making it hard to care. The show features supporting characters played by the likes of Lostâs Terry OâQuinn and Luciferâs Lesley-Ann Brandt. Donât bother investing in their outcome because the show doesnât care about them either. OâQuinn in particular is wasted in a meandering, broadly villainous role.
TOWL doesnât add anything inventive to the TWD lineup and itâs weak at reinventing the wheel. The only lesson to be learned is that, as profitable hard as it may be, sometimes letting go is the right answer. Not everything good lasts forever. Look, this writer shamelessly binged The Walking Dead for a long time because it was freaking compelling. Itâs hard to pinpoint when the downfall beganâGlennâs (Steven Yeun) skull-bashing, Neganâs arrival, or Rickâs departure? Perhaps it was when zombies became an afterthought, let alone a credible threat. In TOWL, too, walkers donât add to the thrill. So TWD mightâve earned its massive viewership numbers and fanbase in the early 2010s, but it has long overstayed its welcome.
This neverending abyss is worth questioning in light of AMCâs other refreshing but overlooked originals (The Terror, Halt And Catch Fire, Dark Winds, Kevin Can F**K Himself, This Is Going To Hurt, and Interview With The Vampire come to mind). How has the cable networkâand we, as an audienceâconspired to keep The Walking Dead alive in the year 2024? Every ounce of creativity has been squeezed from it by now. Despite Lincoln and Guriraâs genuine efforts and sultry chemistry, The Ones Who Live needs to be the final straw. Please, letâs put The Walking Dead out of its misery now.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live premieres on AMC on February 25
This story originally appeared on The A.V. Club.
