The Walking Dead – A New Beginning

By: Kelly Kearney

The world is experiencing a rebirth in this Season 9 premiere of “The Walking Dead.” After three seasons of lackluster ratings and Negan swagger, Rick and the communities are finally rebuilding. With the Savior’s leader in jail and the communities pulling somewhat together to form a new world, things are looking up for our apocalypse survivors. While the immediate threat to their safety is once again zombie hordes we see that Hilltop, Alexandria, The Kingdom and Oceanside are still facing an uphill battle to restore their communities and create a life worth living. Starting from scratch is not easy when the dead lurk around every corner, food and supplies are low and resentment still beats in the hearts of the communities who fought in the war with Negan.

Building a New World

It’s been eighteen months since Rick (Andrew Lincoln) locked Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in a cell and slowly things are starting to take shape. For one, the birds are back and that means life is beginning to pop up everywhere. Rick, looking slightly older and far more relaxed, wakes to find Judith painting on the front porch with Michonne (Danai Gurira). This family is still recovering from all they lost but looking forward to a future where happiness is not out of reach. Besides nature getting its reboot, things have changed for the communities, too. Daryl (Norman Reedus) is now leading the Sanctuary, although he’s less than thrilled about this new assignment as the Saviors work to save their withered crop of corn. Not much grows in the soil of a factory, but Daryl and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) keep the former Saviors busy with making Ethanol from the rotting crop.

Farming is key to the survival of all the communities and while Maggie (Lauren Cohan) has farm experience, but she can’t do much without tools and seeds. That’s why she, along with Daryl, Michonne, Rick, Carol (Melissa McBride), The King (Khary Payton), Father Gabe (Seth Gilliam), Ann a/k/a Jadis (Polly McIntosh) and members from the communities head to Washington D.C. in search of supplies that could help them rebuild.

Once the D.C. streets are clear of walkers, our group head to a museum that is more than likely the Museum of American History. Ann, a former teacher, once took her class on a field trip to the capital and learned that the museum stores all sorts of seeds and even early American farming equipment, something the new world desperately needs. After clearing the entrance the group makes its way through the museum, which is mostly still standing minus a few crumbing balconies and very fragile glass floor that peers over a room full of walkers. Climbing the steps and splitting up to search for supplies, Siddiq (Avi Nash) manages to get jumped by a zombie with a mouth full of spiders. Luckily, Alexandria’s only doctor gets saved by Rick right before the spider walker can eat Siddiq for dinner. The group spreads out and we see Father Gabe and Ann laughing over a painting of the evolution of man, with an ironic final step; a walker speared through the head. Speaking of evolution, Daryl’s had a little of that since the war as he went from three seasons of background grunting to finally opening up to Cyndie (Sydney Park) about his losses and how he deals with them. It’s nice to see Daryl coming into his own, but he’s not the only one who went through changes after the war. Carol is now romantically involved with Ezekiel and even jokes with Michonne and Maggie over the fact she’s dating a King, especially since democracy has come to Hilltop thanks to Gregory (Xander Berkeley) who demanded an election only to lose to Maggie. Democracies, oligarchies and jailed tyrants – things sure have changed in Virginia the last year and a half.

After searching the museum, the group finally finds what they need – a room full of file cabinets packed with seeds and a wagon plow used by some early settlers. The problem is getting that plow down the museum steps and out the door means they have to drag it over the glass floor without it breaking through and landing on a room of zombies. The group works as a team with each member tied to the plow as they ease it down the steps and onto the floor. It’s a slow and tedious process but they manage to get the plow across before the unthinkable happens when the glass begins to crack under the plow’s weight and Ezekiel falls through! Still tied to the plow, the King dangles over a pit of hungry walkers while Carol looks on in horror. Daryl steps up to save his girl Carol’s man by shooting arrows at the teeth gnashing walkers long enough for Rick and the rest to pull Ezekiel to safety. Relieved, Carol kisses her King in a spectacle of fear and love that would make any Carol and Daryl shippers’ hearts break. It’s nice to see Carol happy, but in this world happiness often leads to an untimely death. So, be happy Carol, but not too happy.

All Roads Lead to Nowhere

Back on the road with the plow and supplies, Ezekiel decides to use this time to pop the question to Carol. He even has a ring which she rolls her eyes at as Carol, who seems to be experiencing cold feet, tells him to put the ring away because she’s told him not to ask her that. The King laughs because he knows Carol is a practical woman and wouldn’t jump into marriage just because her boyfriend almost died. He agrees to hold on to the ring, but his love for Carol is strong and for life. She smirks knowing he means it.

When the group reaches the bridge that connects the roads to the communities, they find out the recent storm washed it away and they can not pass. Maggie mentions that she needs to get back to Hilltop because she can’t leave baby Hershel alone for much longer. Yes, after the longest pregnancy on record, Maggie finally had her baby – a boy she named Hershel after her father.

As the group decides what to do, a horde of walkers shows up and makes their decisions for them. Michonne and Daryl slay the dead while the rest of the group grabs the supplies and tries to free the horses. One horse gets stuck and a young man named Ken (A.J. Achinger) runs back to set the animal free. Ken winds up being bitten in the arm by a walker and then kicked in the chest by the horse he tried to save. Siddiq and Enid (Katelyn Nacon) jump into action and cut Ken’s bitten arm off, but the injuries are too extensive. The young man dies and Maggie has the unfortunate task of putting him down before he turns. Ken, who we knew all of four minutes, becomes the driving force for the rest of the episode. When Maggie breaks the news to his parents, Earl (John Finn) and Tammy (Brett Butler), they blame her for getting their son killed. They accuse her of needing the plow to feed the surviving Saviors and sacrificing their son’s life for the people who did nothing but steal and destroy Hilltop. Maggie offers to throw a funeral for Ken, but Tammy tells her she isn’t invited and that maybe Gregory is right, she was not the best choice to head Hilltop.

Meanwhile Rick, Michonne and Daryl go to the Sanctuary to update the Saviors on the farming. The Sanctuary is struggling as they can’t grow their own food and even their gas production is taking a hit. Without gas the supply runs will be limited to nearby areas they’ve already cleaned out. Anything further of the immediate area will be a no-go without gas for the cars and trucks. Most of the Saviors seem thankful for Rick, who promises to supply them with rations and supplies, but not all are star struck over “the famous Rick Grimes.” Michonne spots some graffiti on the Sanctuary walls that reads, “Negan will save us,” and Daryl orders Justin to paint over it. Moments later Rick gets an earful from Daryl over the inevitability of the Sanctuary crumbling. Daryl doesn’t want to lead this group and he resents Rick for forcing these changes on all of them. These brothers are not on the same page when it comes to the rebuilding efforts and Daryl just wants to go back to the way things were in Atlanta. Their small group could do anything, but now friendships are strained, and they have more responsibilities than they can handle. He reminds Rick that the Saviors relied on Negan to steal food for them because the Sanctuary is not self-sufficient. Instead of relying on Negan to provide, now they’re relying on Rick, Maggie and The King.  Daryl doesn’t see this working out and wants to leave and go stay at Hilltop with Maggie. That’s where Carol comes in, who was eavesdropping on the two men and knows Daryl’s needs to leave the Sanctuary and all it stands far behind him.

Later that night Daryl and Carol can’t sleep so they have a heart to heart about everything from Ezekiel’s proposal to Daryl’s assignment at the Sanctuary. Carol offers to take over for him at the Sanctuary and explains that she wants to take this stress from Daryl while also giving herself some space from the King. It’s not that she doesn’t care for Ezekiel because she does, she even enjoys his corniness and says it’s nicer than the life she lived with Ed, but she just wants to take it slow. Carol is loyal to her family first and just wants help. She hopes that’s good enough for the King and he understands. Daryl offers to stay with her because…of course he does, but she tells him she’s fine and she can handle the Saviors.

Maggie Rules With an Iron Fist

In the morning Carol breaks the news to Ezekiel that she’s leaving for the Sanctuary and that it doesn’t mean she’s running away from the Kingdom. Ezekiel kind of feels pushed aside, but she assures him that he and the Kingdom are her home.

Over at Hilltop Rick, Michonne and Daryl show up to talk to Maggie about the problems at the Sanctuary. Rick asks that Hilltop provide the Saviors with more food, but Maggie says she’s not giving them food for nothing. She expects the Saviors to do the bulk of the bridge repairs and hand Hilltop ALL of their gas made from the corn. Rick knows this will not go over well with a community that’s already divided in their loyalties, but Maggie’s not budging. She has too much on her plate to care about whether or the Sanctuary is struggling. She thinks the Saviors should be glad they let them live at all.  She’s still not over the fact that Rick let Negan live and she refuses to visit Alexandria, which is only making her relationship with Rick and Michonne more difficult. Knowing she won’t change her mind, Rick agrees to her deal while Michonne is already working up a charter for all the communities to follow. Rules and cooperation are what will make these towns thrive and without them, it will surely turn into chaos.

Later that night, Gregory gives a heartfelt eulogy at Ken’s funeral and then fuels the flames of Tammy and Earl’s anger over a bottle of whiskey. It’s not long before he’s pushes Earl to seek vengeance for their loss. That night Maggie is taking a fussy Hershel for a walk and she runs into Gregory who casually mentions he saw Glenn’s grave was vandalized. When Maggie goes to see the damage, Earl jumps out of the shadows and attacks her and Hershel! The crying baby falls to the ground as Maggie fights off a drunk and angry Earl long enough for Enid and Alden (Callan McAuliffe) to show up and help. In the scuffle, Enid takes a hard fall and gets knocked unconscious, but Alden and Maggie manage to restrain Earl. Angry and bleeding, Maggie storms into Gregory’s office and accuses him of sending Earl to kill her. After all the chances she’s given him Gregory’s jealousy over the election sends him lunging towards Maggie with a knife. She manages to get the upper hand and pin Gregory against the wall with the knife to his throat. This will be the last time Gregory schemes and plots against her.

Maggie orders the children of Hilltop to bed and then gathers a few witnesses to show them what happens when you break Hilltop’s rules. A punishment that fits the crime, with Daryl playing her executioner. Tammy and Earl get a reprieve from her wrath because Maggie knows what grief can do to a person, but Gregory is all out of chances with her. Tied with a noose around his neck and sitting on top a horse, Gregory begs for his life, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. Maggie nods at Daryl who slaps the horse, sending it galloping forward as Gregory dangles from the noose, gasping for air. That’s when Michonne notices two children who wandered outside and witnessed the execution and she screams for Maggie to stop. Maggie ignores her, ordering the children back inside and all the witnesses look at her in fear. Claiming this is not something she wanted to do, nor is it a sign of things to come, her people are shocked and horrified by what they saw. Maggie’s pain has led her down a path to becoming the very thing she hates, even if Gregory has had it coming for a few seasons now. Is this the beginning of a new and brutal Maggie Rhee? Will she agree to Michonne’s charter and follow the rules set up by Rick? With only a few more episodes before we say goodbye to both Rick and Maggie, anything can happen, but from the looks of things rebuilding the communities won’t be as easy as farming and establishing a rule of law. Everything that Rick’s been working toward hangs precariously in the balance as his family and their loyalty are more divided than ever.