'The Walking Dead' Overcoming Major Challenge in Next Episodes (Review)

The Walking Dead is facing a challenge heading into the next eight episodes of its ninth season: [...]

The Walking Dead is facing a challenge heading into the next eight episodes of its ninth season: hardcore fans of the series know what's coming (at least, in part) but the series has to preserve an air of mystery regarding its terrifying new Whisperer villains.

The AMC zombie show has always faced this issue when major storylines from Robert Kirkman's comics by the same name approach. A sense of fatigue can set in for some viewers, claiming things are being drawn out (and sometimes they were) while really it's an anxious anticipation to see the next milestone from the comics be realized in live-action. While a huge portion of The Walking Dead's audience is well-aware of who the Whisperers are (courtesy of reading the comics or reading the Internet which reads the comics), showrunner Angela Kang has to maintain a balance of patience in revealing the new group and managing the quick-gratification expectations.

In the back half of the ninth season, through the first two episodes, Kang flexes a bit on her ability to balance those things.

The Whisperer villain mystery comes naturally; Who is this group? What do they want? Why is this little girl that Daryl has hostage the way she is? Many of those answers are available to the audience from the comics, so Kang goes in another direction for a deeper look which wasn't previously provided.

For the sake of preserving spoilers, the details of Kang's big reveals and deviations in the next pair of Walking Dead episodes won't be detailed here. The important thing to know is that she elected to explore characters like Alpha (Samantha Morton) and Lydia (Cassady McClincy) in very welcome sequences which toe a line of being reminiscent of the show's early days but feel like completely fresh material.

As a fan with knowledge of what's next, the mystery may present instances pacing fatigue similar to the back half of Season Six. In the run from early 2017, every Walking Dead fan knew Negan was coming to the series and also knew what would happen when he arrived. Still, showrunner-at-the-time Scott Gimple elected to fill the season's back half with misdirections as a means to preserve the debut for the Season Six finale. Season Nine certainly seems to have learned from the show's past.

There is no stalling. There is no dull side story filling screen time. The pedal is down on an interesting, mysterious, and scary new threat.

The Walking Dead seems to have evolved beyond the days of "major" moments being stored away for season finales or premieres. The Mid-Season premiere doesn't come out of the gate with any explosive beats or world-changing events. It simply uses the characters remaining on the show to continue an expansive story, which is a welcome change of pace. It is also quite a bit different from its successor in the form of Episode 9x10, which is a trend Kang and company are going to pursue Season Nine's final half. The diversity of tone in each episode will help the show tackle the challenge of its audience having a wealth of knowledge beyond what the characters they're observing possess.

The Walking Dead continues cruising through an impressive season on the heels of losing its lead actor Andrew Lincoln and fan-favorite Lauren Cohan just a few episodes ago. The mysterious new storyline is forcing characters (mostly Daryl and Michonne) to step into the spotlight in major ways, developing new relationships and capitalizing on key traits. Newcomers to the series are earning welcome moments in that light, as well. Magna, Yumiko, Connie, Kelly, and Luke are quickly becoming some of the show's most interesting elements but their screen time is coming at the cost of other fan-favorites such as Carol and Ezekiel. It's certainly a better design that the "bottle episodes" of years past as the narrative shifts from group to group and location to location.

In its return, The Walking Dead relies heavily on a mysterious villain to maintain a certain-level of interest, which is complimented by putting most of the characters fans are already invested in at the forefront. It has grown beyond a sense of shock value being necessary and fit into a role of character-driven, mystery-building narrative. All in all, The Walking Dead returns with a pair of somewhat safe but highly-intriguing new episodes.

The Walking Dead 9x09 and 9x10 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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