The long-delayed “season” finale brings an epic, but quick conclusion to the Whisperer War arc.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
The Walking Dead: “A Certain Doom”
Season 10, Episode 16
Airdate: 10/4/2020
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a new episode of The Walking Dead, but we’re back with “A Certain Doom,” the long-delayed “season” finale to the Walking Dead’s tenth, and now penultimate season.
The Walking Dead hasn’t filmed anything at all since last November due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and over the unplanned hiatus a couple of big news items came out regarding the future of the franchise.
First and foremost: The Walking Dead will end after an extended, 24-episode Season 11 wraps up in 2022. I was disappointed by this news initially, as I feel the show was once again about to hit its stride. But at the same time, I’m OK with the decision.
It makes sense for the show to stick to its comic story. And with news of Daryl and Carol getting their own spinoff, as well as a separate anthology series that will follow some characters from the main show both past and present, this makes the decision to end it an understandable one. Not being completely restricted by the expectations of comic readers can give those making the show more artistic freedom to do as they please.
Secondly, this is not the true “season” finale, as six more “bonus” episodes will be filmed shortly and will air (hopefully) next spring. In total, there are 30 episodes of The Walking Dead left. That’s plenty of time to wrap things up in a satisfying manner. With Angela Kang at the helm, I’m sure I will not be left disappointed.
Before we talk about “A Certain Doom,” I think I should point out that we’ve waited a long-time for this finale, as well as the new spin-off series “World Beyond” which I will review in a separate post. I’m not sure how long it was necessary to stop post-production work for, but I suspect that AMC’s decision to hold both of these shows off until this month was more rooted in marketing and advertising rates than anything else. Shows typically rake in more in advertising revenue during the beginning of the fall than they would during the summer months. So while financially it was an understandable move, I’m not sure I agree with the decision. I would rather the wait have been shorter, than drawn out for so long.
Now, let’s get to the episode.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this episode really could have benefited from being longer.
The Walking Dead got really cocky at one point, roughly around the seventh season, with making some of their episodes unnecessarily long. Take, for instance, the episode where Negan arrives at Alexandria for the first time. That episode did not need to be 90-minutes long, and neither did the majority of that season (arguably only the two finales of that season were justified in their extended length).
The later seasons have largely avoided this trend, but “A Certain Doom,” while still one of the most satisfying, action-packed and emotional episodes in the history of the show, feels a little bit rushed. That’s my only real complaint. It should have been a 90-minute episode. Perhaps it’s because it’s been so long since we’ve seen a new episode, and I wanted more time with these characters. But the episode itself is far from bad, and arguably one of the best “finales” the show has ever done.
The Whisperer War is over, and it ended much more definitively and satisfyingly than it ever did in the comics. In the comics, they kind of just retreat and the horde overwhelms Alexandria, and Beta returns later on out of nowhere and just gets killed rather easily after being shot by Aaron, of all people. Here, he nearly kills Negan, so Daryl stabs out his eyeballs and leaves him to be devoured by the walkers. A much better death, if a little too quick. The majority of the horde literally gets led off a cliff by Carol and Lydia, and most of the remaining Whisperers are picked off by the good guys.
Maggie Greene Rhee is back in town, and she saves Father Gabriel from certain death at the hands of a couple of Whisperers. Other than that, Maggie does basically nothing of note, not even come across Negan again, but her story will be told in those six bonus episodes that will air next spring.
But I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about Gabriel and why he’s so great. Father Gabriel was absolutely insufferable when he was introduced, and continued to be that way through the middle of the sixth season. He was a coward and a traitor and as a fan of the show I was actively rooting for him to die in any way possible. Starting with the sixth season episode “No Way Out,” that began to change. He continually proved his worth, showed insane bravery and became a genuine leader within the community. While a lot of the credit has to go to actor Seth Gillam for portraying him so great, it’s worth giving the writers props for taking a completely unlikable character and making me almost tear up when I’m convinced he’s about to die.
I almost would have preferred that he die on that hospital floor at the hands of the Whisperers, as it would have given the episode another big, meaningful death and would have been a great way to end his character arc. It was not to be, but I don’t think he makes it out of this series alive. There needs to be at least one more big death before the end of Season 11, and it’s not going to be Daryl or Carol.
The B-Story of the episode, concerning the journey of Eugene, King Ezekiel, Yukimo and newcomer Princess to meet the voice on the radio, Stephanie, did not take up too much time but its conclusion does have major implications for the rest of the series, and maybe even the franchise as a whole. In the last scene of the episode, the foursome thinks they have missed the boat on meeting Stephanie but seem determined on continuing to search for her, only to be surrounded by a futuristic-looking militia.
Non-comic readers may have been caught completely off-guard but comic readers like myself knew exactly what’s coming… it’s time to talk about The Commonwealth.
I think that with the majority of players from the comic off the table that had vital roles in the comic arc concerning the Commonwealth, it’s OK to spoil things a little. In the comic, the Commonwealth is a massive network of communities located near each other somewhere in Ohio. It’s the largest community in the series, and has well-maintained infrastructure, modern technology and over 50,000 residents across all of the settlements in the network.
But there are some drawbacks. As should be expected, not everything is what it seems to be. But that’s for next season to explore.
SCATTERED THOUGHTS:
- Connie is still alive! And looking terrible. Virgil finds her, and I really hope that he doesn’t make her drink any of that psychedelic tea that made Michonne trip balls.
- I don’t think it needs it consistently, especially this late in the series’ run, but the amount of gore in this episode helped it stand out.
- I’m just gonna say it: Maggie aged. She also looks like a discount Kate Barrlow from the movie HOLES. I’m glad to have Lauren Cohan back, though!
- I really want to know who that ninja is under the mask.
- The Commonwealth Soldiers look like stormtroopers, but they do in the comics too.
- Negan recognizing that Beta was a country music star is not as funny as it should have been, but Daryl absolutely not caring who he was is very on-brand for Daryl.
- I genuinely thought Negan was going to sacrifice himself for a minute there and that made me really sad.
- People complaining about Carol having “plot-armor” because she is getting a spin-off series are failing to realize that she’s had that plot-armor since she basically took out the cannibals completely on her own in the fifth season. You could never, ever kill her after that. Anyone expecting her to actually walk off that cliff should know better.
- Speaking of the cliff, the song that was blasted on speakers and used to lead them the majority of the way there was “Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads. It’s ridiculous, hilarious and the perfect song choice.
- Beatrice from Oceanside got eaten and I don’t remember her and thus I did not care.
- Rachel from Oceanside is the worst. She better be sure what she’s shooting at before she shoots the arrows!
- The “Nail Bomb” that was thrown in the hospital hallway was a nice tribute to “The Last of Us” franchise.
- Rosita had nothing to do. Boo!
- OK, so here’s the plan: There will be regular coverage here at The Montage of “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” and my review of the series premiere will be going up shortly. I have mixed feelings about that show, so that should be fun to review. I’ll also try to review “Fear The Walking Dead” which is a show I absolutely hate, so that should also be (hopefully) fun to write. A review of that premiere will be going up separately next week, and then reviews of those shows will be condensed into a single article going forward.
