The season finale for The Walking Dead: World Beyond is here, and it makes sense that they worked this into a double feature as the previous episode wrapped up a lot of the character development, pulled most of the secrets out of the shadows, and aligned the characters with where they need to be for the finale. So this final episode, the cap of the season, was really just a lot of setup for what is to come in the second season. I already went through a lot of the plot and developments we got in ‘The Deepest Cut,’ so I want to spend my time with this finale highlighting some of the more important characters for ‘In This Life’ and where they ended up in the final moments of this finale.
1. Hope & Huck
In the penultimate episode, we saw Hope and Huck leaving Iris and an injured Felix behind and reveals that Hope has taken Felix’s gun. This episode picks up on that thread immediately, as Hope tries to get information out of Huck. This is an aimless conversation where Hope keeps asking the same question and Huck just keeps talking past everything to get into Hope’s head.
I enjoyed this bit in the sense that it hearkens back to the very beginning of the series and all the psychological manipulations that Huck has been doing from the very beginning. Hope knows she is no good, Huck even admits to being CRM and on a mission to bring Hope in, but she didn’t even need that because she had already cracked the code. It is just a way to make Hope openly show that she doesn’t have the strength to pull the trigger and do what is necessary. She buys into the propaganda, but she feels reassured of herself in that she thinks she is choosing something despite holding the weapon and having no control over the situation. This would have been, like so many other Hope and Huck scenes, fantastic if the casting director had chosen a better actress for Huck.
2. Elton & Percy
If you have been reading my thoughts for a while, then you know that Nicolas Cantu & Ted Sutherland are the two best actors on the show. Elton has steadily become my favorite character because he is driven by logic but cares deeply for the people around him and would never give up on them even when they give up on themselves. Percy on the other hand has the state of mind required to survive in the world beyond and the charisma to get those things done.
I think that is why Percy’s return in the last episode was so great because there is a system of checks and balances in place that make these two work so well. With Percy being physically limited by the bullet wound in his shoulder, he has to depend on Elton to get things done, but Elton would never really be able to survive on his own and Percy makes that possible. At the end of this episode, we see that they have a pretty good idea as to what is going on, and with the help and sacrifice of an ally, they are off to save the world.
3. Silas
Two weeks ago there was an alternate reality episode where Silas’s situation was the focus, but he himself had very little presence in the episode. And then this past week he didn’t even make an appearance. So getting him back this week, and getting his vindication through Elton and Percy, was a great moment and worth the wait. The one thing they could have done better was give us a hint as to what he went through after he left the group and how he ended up at the school. Even better would have been a new ally or traveling partner.
He ultimately sacrificed his freedom to buy time for Elton and Percy to escape before they were arrested by CRM soldiers. This means that we will be starting the next season, most likely, with Silas in a CRM prison. This should be the perfect way to leverage his size and strength to help the group as they are inevitably reunited. In the end, Silas has been an underrated character portrayed by a competent actor and I hope to see him in season two playing a more pivotal role with a lot of character growth.
Continued below4. Felix & Iris
‘World Beyond’ has been an interesting experience for me in a weird way. Where most series get better over time, this one has been all over the place. The one actor and character that has progressed logically has been Felix. He was ok in the beginning, but the last few episodes have shown some new sides to the character, and the more depth he is given, the better Nico Tortorella has been able to play him. I was really surprised by the strength of his performance in the last two episodes of the season, and I am excited to see how they continue to grow Felix in season two.
The other anomaly for me has been Iris. Aliyah Royale started the series stronger than most of the other actors, but she also hasn’t got any worse over the season. However, the show opened with a lot of focus on Iris, as she seemed to be the most traditional of the cast and a great window into the world for the viewers. But the more the season has progressed, the more they have pushed her to the background. She was barely present in the weird Silas trial episode where she should have been valuable. She did very little in the ninth episode, and in the finale, she is basically an extension of Felix and has very little agency of her own. Iris does get a little limelight right at the end of the episode so fingers crossed that makes her invaluable in the next season.
5. Civic Republic Military
There is a lot going on with the CRM but it basically comes down to rebuilding the new world and saving humanity. The process they are employing to do this is basically authoritarian communism. They are doing a lot of bad in order to save humanity from a world on the decline. Noble, but their process is fundamentally flawed and I wish there was something more substantive to it all.
The biggest flaw in this plot thread is that the CRM has data that they believe shows humanity will be extinct in 30 years. Sure that is concerning, but the core characters are trying to save the world because they believe humanity will be gone in 15 years. It just seems like everything would be more convincing if those numbers were flipped. If the kids thought they had more time and then realize they have half of that, wouldn’t they be more interested in joining the bad guys? The CRM has all the resources so it makes sense that they are undeniable, but the method to their madness mostly just seems like greed and, well, madness.
In Summary…
This was the end of the first season, and this series has always been promised as a two-season story. So we are halfway to the end. At this point, the show seems to have confirmed what we all knew; the CRM is bad, but they are looking to end the zombie plague and rebuild society. There have been some ups and downs through this first season, Elton being the better end of that spectrum with Huck anchoring the other end.
I think in the end, most of the characters are in great positions for the next season and the stage is well set to make the show even better going forward. I don’t really know what connects this to The Walking Dead aside from the “walkers” shambling around everywhere, but I assume that whatever the CRM is working on will ultimately lead to the end of the problem in both series. Only one way to find out, but I am grateful for the break between seasons.
