The Walking Dead S9E8: Evolution

First things first; I owe an apology to my regular readers for not having written a review on last week’s episode, Stradivarius. I made notes and had every intention to, but life got in the way as it does. By means of a shortened review, I gave Stradivarius a ‘C’ grade. This was Michael Cudlitz’s (fka Abraham) directorial debut, and it was an okay attempt to get to know this new group led by Magna a little better, but I saw it as quite average with very little forward movement, especially with respect to how the season has gone thus far. We learned what Daryl has been up to, which isn’t much, and that he still holds hope for finding Rick. We learned that Maggie took off with Georgie’s group at some point and there now exists a rift between Michonne and (at least) Hilltop. The biggest question in my mind right now is what the ‘X’ scars on the backs of both Michonne and Daryl are from. My best guess is a skirmish of some kind in the six-year time jump that will factor into some decision making later in the season. Perhaps this skirmish is why Maggie left. Be that as it may, let’s move onto the midseason finale, Evolution…

August, 2014 is when the Whisperers were introduced into the graphic novel series. The television series was then ready to begin its fifth season and we were only just about to meet Gabriel. I caught up with the comics about a year after that, but I had always seen this group of Whisperers as a potential “jumping the shark” moment for the tv series. We had seen people cover themselves in walker guts in order to avoid detection, but to actually wear the skin of walkers? This wreaked of something that works in the comic world, but not in the television world. Unfortunately, that shark jumping moment may have come with the introduction of Negan. At least in terms of ratings. Millions of viewers abandoned the show after that season seven premiere introduction, and that slide continues into the current season despite a substantial increase critically over every prior season. After last night’s episode, all fears I had of the introduction of this group are wiped away, and I am again reinvigorated to be watching this show and witness a strong return to quality and what I hope to be a return to television prominence.

When we weren’t keeping pace with Michonne’s return to Hilltop after an apparently years-long hiatus, the show was teasing us with the mysterious behavior of this new herd of walkers. From the opening curiosity of Daryl, Aaron, and Jesus examining the strange walking patterns, to the uselessness of Daryl’s common methods of distraction, the intrigue slowly built throughout the entire episode. Finding Eugene in the barn heightened this intrigue when he explained that he believed the walkers were evolving. I wondered for a moment how such a hypothesis might sound to a viewer unaware of where this was going. Jesus seemed to buy it. After all, if they can walk and hear, why couldn’t they develop speech? The prospects of an evolving herd of smart walkers was terrifying. It’s starting to scare me… let’s come back to that later!

Clearly something bad has happened between the communities. Specifically, something Michonne did or decided upon that it seems no one else agrees with. The Michonne of six years ago would have never said that each community is on their own, yet she is now saying exactly that. Tara is very short with her from the start. Siddiq and Carol both try to persuade her to rejoin Hilltop and the Kingdom in trade, protection, and friendship, but she will not. This attitude, coupled with the ‘X’ scars on the backs of both Michonne and Daryl are creating intrigue about this six year gap without really trying too hard. This is a sign of good writing, and a sign of a revitalized show.

An additional sign of good writing has been the handling of Negan thus far. Before the time jump he was still a rebellious, angry villain. The fact that he was ultimately broken was revealed by Maggie, the one who most wanted him dead. The artful dialogue which took us through to that reveal deserves a ton of credit. The first we see him after the time jump is helping Judith with her math homework. Last night, he’s working on meditation practices with Gabriel, presumably trying to gain inner peace. He appears quite content in his cell now, even playfully razzing Gabriel when he empties his latrine, and apologizing – yes, you read that right – when Gabriel reveals his anger that Rosita is injured and he can do nothing to help because he has to watch Negan. It seems that in his anger, Gabriel was lax in his duties of locking Negan’s cell. The episode ends with Negan discovered his unlocked door, and deciding to escape. We will soon learn if he has truly changed.

Okay, back to these Whisperers. I think the cemetery scene which ultimately reveals that these walkers are just people wearing walker skin will go down as one of the best moments in the history of the show. On par with the escape from Terminus, or discovering Sophia in the barn, or Negan’s introduction. It is a scene like this that shrouds any fear of “shark jumping” in a fog of mystery and horror. It is an accomplishment in suspense that this show has never attained before. It is the perfect send-off of Jesus as a leader, protector, and fighter. And it accomplishes all this while maintaining intrigue as to the size, ability, and motives of this new group of apocalypse-adapting survivors. It was perfection in every sense, and when combined with the teaser for the second half of season nine (to return February 10) it completely re-orients the world we thought we knew.

Let me tease a theological thread that I can see coming up. If we accept for the moment that zombies are the embodiment of evil, death animated to bring about more death, then the symbolism happening when people decide to take on the flesh of death is a playground of potential analysis. I trust that will come, and such analysis will only be deepened once we learn more about this group. But keep that in mind; what lives is choosing the form of what is dead. That’s no small thing.

My Rating: A+

The horror and suspense of this episode, especially the cemetery scene, is the height of what the zombie-genre can provide. The fear and dread seen on the faces of our group was brand new as they faced a new, unexpected, and terrifying threat. This all while also developing an interesting conflict existing within the groups that we know nothing about and are curious to discover details. AND, while giving a scene or two to develop the future of the show, and building the character of Henry while passing certain batons of leadership and bravery to him. In nearly every way, this episode was excellent.