Things have changed on The Walking Dead. Can the communities come together to face a new threat that’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen before? Here’s our review of the midseason finale, “Evolution”!
“Evolution” is the culmination of a three episode arc that shot up six years into the future. In this new world, there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future of the communities. We still don’t have the answers to a lot of our questions, and it looks like we’ll be waiting a bit longer due to this new threat.
It looks like it won’t be a fair that brings everyone back together, but the Whisperers will force them back into an alliance.
So, what did we really learn in “Evolution”?
The drama that shall not be named…
There was a brief interaction between Carol and Michonne that danced around the conflict without actually bringing up the incidents in question.
“I read Ezekiel’s letter, and I’m sorry for your troubles.”
“You can still help. We really need this fair. If Alexandria could just send a delegation…”
“I’m sorry. I am. I didn’t want to turn you down. You of all people, but we’ve had our troubles, too. You know that.”
“I know what you went through, and I get why this is hard for you, but we’ve all lost something. You and me, we both lost children, and we kept going. For each other. We’ve always been a family.”
“And we still are, but Kingdom is Kingdom, Hilltop is here, and Alexandria is there, and in between, there’s a whole lot of broken world, and we cannot pretend otherwise. We’ve got to take care of our own now. It’s just the way it is.”
“That’s a shame.”
“It is.”
I can’t help but wonder if this happened because Michonne was so traumatized by Rick’s death or if something else happened along the way. Did she pull away because of R.J.? Did she blame Maggie for being the reason Rick was rushing back to Alexandria? Does she just blame herself for being at the ASZ and not with Rick when she believes he needed her most?
All of those questions don’t even get to the biggest question of all…
Why do Daryl and Michonne have matching scars? What happened to them that caused them to be branded in such a way, and did it have to do with Maggie letting strangers into the community?
Now, let’s talk about Gabriel’s mistake…
He has been trying to reach Negan for the last several years, but as he says:
“For once in your life, shut your damn mouth. I keep scratching at you. I keep trying to figure out what’s underneath it all, ’cause I think, if I dig deep enough, I’ll find a person. Someone I can help. But I never do.”
I’ve never empathized with Negan. I’ve always said that people needed to stop treating him like he was some redeemable character because he’s not. He’s a sociopath, rapist, murderer, and he always will be. Just because he’s kind to Judith or Carl doesn’t mean he’s reformed or capable of change.
After Gabriel leaves Negan in his cell, we realize the same time that Negan does that his door has been left unlocked. If this was intentional or not, we might not ever know. What we do know is that Negan manages to make it back to the Sanctuary, and it looks like he’s ready to be in charge again.
With Negan back on his feet and The Whisperers roaming around, the ASZ, Kingdom, Hilltop, and Oceanside (?) may have their work cut out for them.
What happened to Oceanside any way and who is watching these kids?
This episode is the first time they’ve been brought up since Rick’s “death”. Nothing is truly given away since it’s a few drunk kids that even get the conversation going, but did they pull back from the groups after Rick disappeared?
Now, these children in Hilltop.
Someone needs to get a hold of these little assholes before they become Negan’s newest recruits. Henry made a horrible choice of friends during his first day there, but with Earl Sutton taking him under his wing, I think he’ll be okay. Being away from his family is a huge adjustment for him.
I was super critical of the Suttons arc at the beginning of the season, but to see how it’s come full circle, and we have Earl and his wife looking out for Henry and treating him like a surrogate son, I appreciate it very much. I really look forward to see how thing progress on that front.
The Whisperers
“Evolution” follows Daryl, Aaron, and Jesus as they try and get around a group of walkers to find Eugene. Once they find Eugene, and after they notice the weird way these walkers are behaving, we really get into the mess.
Daryl goes ahead of Aaron and Jesus who have Eugene to get the herd to move away from them. Instead of following his noise, though, they go directly after the other guys. You can hear them whispering to each other, too.
Daryl’s shook by all this. He didn’t believe Eugene about the walker’s behavior, but something is definitely up with this herd.
In a cemetery, Aaron, Jesus, and Eugene are ambushed. Daryl’s on his way and so are Michonne and others from Hilltop. They all battle the walkers, and it appears like they’ll make it out.
Jesus turns around to take care of some that are following them. He does his incredible ninja moves, but at the last walker, when he swings his weapon, the walker ducks.
Jesus’ momentum turns him and the “walker” stabs in the back, straight through his heart. Jesus doesn’t even get any final words. He’s gone before he hits the ground. They kill the walker, and after everything quiets down, they notice stitching on the back of the “walker’s” head. Daryl removes the walker mask to find a human.
Now, the group and all of us know there’s a very different threat lying ahead.
What did you think about the midseason finale? Are you looking forward to this new narrative on The Walking Dead? Let us know in the comments!
The Walking Dead returns to AMC on February 10, 2019!
