AMC’s The Walking Dead returned for its ninth season this past weekend. Entering into this latest instalment, we’re expecting big changes. New showrunner, Angela Kang, has taken the reins from Scott Gimple, and we’re well aware this is Andrew Lincoln’s last series as the show’s lead, Rick Grimes, as well as Lauren Cohan who plays Maggie Rhee. The loss of two huge stars could be a pinnacle moment for the show, so there’s a lot riding on season nine’s shoulders to ensure the audience doesn’t flee, leaving the show in the dust to devour itself. Here are five thoughts about season nine’s premiere episode, “A New Beginning.” Warning: spoilers follow!
1. The Time Jump
The episode’s cold open immediately introduces us to a new Alexandria, rebuilt from the ashes of the settlement following the war with the Saviors. It’s a quiet, peaceful, gentle opening which hints at a return to normality. As the show progresses, it’s revealed that 18 months have passed since the war. In that time, Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Sanctuary have banded together, exchanging supplies and trading skills to thrive together. Maggie has finally had her baby, Hershel; Daryl/Carol shipper’s hearts were broken around the globe when it was revealed that Ezekiel and Carol are now romantically involved, with a proposal to boot; Judith is older, but remembers her brother as she paints a family portrait. This episode quickly and cleanly establishes that time has passed, people and surroundings have changed, and allows us to jump in neatly where it matters.
Beyond that, it does feel like a new era for The Walking Dead itself. The grey, grainy filter has been replaced with impressive full colour cinematic shots – a nice sign of optimism. While the episode slowed down in the middle, discussions and deeper character dives built towards something, rather than padding the episode out. Most of the core characters had their moment to shine. Is it too soon to get hopes up?
2. Museum Field Trip
Our leading characters are reunited in this episode during a supply run to a museum. Harkening back to that first season as Rick rides horseback into Atlanta, the group rides into Washington DC. Instead of being surrounded by a hungry hoard of walkers, the streets are quiet and deserted.
The team are off on a scavenger hunt to find supplies and artifacts that can help them rebuild: seeds, a plough, an old-timey cart. It’s great to have these characters reunite, allowing for some natural-sounding exposition to get the viewer up to speed on everything that has happened since the war whilst seeing characters who haven’t interacted in a while come together. There are some really nice bits of humour (especially a de-evolution of man gag), but the hunt itself felt like a return to the horror that the show has been lacking lately. Dark, cobwebbed rooms are dimly-lit by torches, with little background noise other than their cautious footsteps and hushed voices.
While it was possible to see the big stunt from this opening scene coming from the moment they entered the building, it was still entertaining to see it pulled off, with Ezekiel hanging from a wire through shards of broken glass with a chomping, grabbing herd of the undead below him. While characters are thrust into ridiculous situations purely to build tension and plot armour is still very thick for the core characters, leaving no risk of the rope snapping and plunging Ezekiel to a bloody end, it was still a really fun stunt to watch unfold.
3. Ken
The episode took a bit of a dip in the middle as young Hilltop lad, Ken, was killed during the return journey from Washington DC, taking a bite to the arm from a walker and a kick the chest from the horse he was trying to save. Ouch. Some classic tropes crept back in here, with the group choosing to run rather than face a small hoard, leaving the cart behind – a decision that didn’t really make sense. They’re a group well-equipped to take on a small number of walkers, so why not just despatch of them quickly before returning to free their cart from the mud? The episode lingered heavily on Ken’s death, and I feared we were about to immediately return to the days of season eight, where an unprecedented amount of time would be spent giving speeches about how wonderful Ken was, despite having just five minutes of onscreen time. And while we do see an emotional goodbye and a moving funeral service, it turns out Ken’s death was catalyst for sparking the drama, propelling the actions and motivations for the rest of the episode.
Continued belowIt was with this that a glimmer of hope for real change within The Walking Dead itself shone through. This wasn’t a needless kill for drama and gore, but something that had been well thought out with implications no doubt being carried deeper into the series. This change of writing, with all actions leading to some kind of consequence – no matter how big or small – lingered throughout the episode, and we can only hope it’s a thread that carries throughout the season.
4. New Leadership
With three busy camps working away, new leadership is required. Rick is still overseeing Alexandria and is considered something of a legend when he visits the Sanctuary, which Daryl (Norman Reedus) now watches over. In our museum visit, it’s revealed that Maggie recently won an election at Hilltop, making her their official leader, much to Gregory’s dismay.
It’s here that cracks begin to show in this shiny new world they’ve created. Despite his legendary status at the Sanctuary, it’s evident some still hold hope for Negan’s return, with ‘We Are Negan’ graffiti scrawled on the walls. Citizens of Hilltop express upset at Rick’s role over the three groups, accusing Maggie of being a puppet for him. And there’s upset amongst the leaders themselves.
Daryl, never one to settle in one place too long, doesn’t want his leadership role, preferring to make himself useful out on the road. In a scene where Daryl gets actual lines to say(!), Carol steps in as leader, offering him the freedom he longs for while buying herself some space from Ezekiel to consider his proposal. Maggie, on the other hand, knows her own strength as a leader. In fact, Rick is the one to approach her for help, well aware that Hilltop is thriving more than Alexandria. But with pressure building from inside her own community, Maggie knows she needs to start putting her own people’s needs first. Standing up to Rick, she assures him that although she was once told she “wasn’t someone to follow, that changes now.” Her newfound assertiveness as leader hints at a clashing of titans in future episodes, with conflicting ideals overtaking their friendship.
5. The Coup
It will come as a shock to no one that Gregory continues to be a snake in this first episode. Angry and upset about losing the leadership vote to Maggie, he uses Ken’s grieving parents to stage a coup, overthrowing Maggie once and for all. The tension was built brilliantly here, despite the events being no surprise to comic readers. Maggie thwarts the plan, instantly knowing Gregory was the “mastermind” (I use that term loosely) behind it.
The episode established that our surviving groups are looking to the past to rebuild the future. Everything from the opening shots of the groups and their hand-built societies, to the items they take from the museum, to Daryl jousting on his motorcycle while taking out walkers, it hearkens back to the days of yore. But with the positive ways of old-school living comes the dark side. It’s not all planting seeds and riding horses. Crime and punishment need to be considered, and in this brave new world, what should a leader do with criminals? Here, Maggie firmly establishes herself as a different kind of leader to Rick. Instead of letting the man who tried to kill her live, she publicly hangs Gregory.
While the episode could use some tightening up and smoothing round the edges, it was a promising look into a potential new beginning for The Walking Dead. With tensions building within the societies themselves, which looks as if it could make for some interesting conflict in the future, it’s a big step in the right direction for a show which has found itself floundering in recent seasons. Combining the promising look at improved dialogue and reasonable motivations with upcoming arcs which could lean heavily on horror and inter-community conflict to provide the drama, this viewer hopes The Walking Dead has found its way again. For the first time in a long time, I’m looking forward to seeing where the road goes.
