Some of the polarizing TV reveals is over, however have been the meandering plots over the past 5 years price it ultimately?
For a lot of followers, Worry the Strolling Useless Season 3 was the tip of the present as a result of all the pieces that got here after was below new management that did not respect the storylines that got here earlier than.
Worry the Strolling Useless Season 8 Episode 11 and Worry the Strolling Useless Season 8 Episode 12 featured scattered storylines, shifting allegiances, and a few extra character assassination.
I am going to give credit score the place credit score’s due: The creatives needed to exit by offering viewers whiplash, very like they’ve carried out over the past 5 seasons.
I have been wrestling with whether or not they introduced these legendary characters again, solely to destroy their legacies by giving them the worst storylines conceivable.
There’s been this half-baked feud between Madison and Troy that harkened again to Worry the Strolling Useless Season 3, however ultimately, the dealing with of their battle has felt like terrible fan fiction.
Troy has been centered on getting revenge on Madison prior to now, however his motivations have been murky.
Tracy: Mother. She pulled free. We have to tighten the ropes.
Troy: Oh, she’s advantageous. She’s not gonna damage us. You already know, once we get to PADRE, she’s gonna be the one to make Madison pay for all the pieces she’s carried out. What’s mistaken?
Tracy: Why does Mother must kill Madison?
Troy: Properly, why. She’s Alicia’s mom. She put the pondering in her head that bought individuals killed. We won’t let what occurred to Mother occur to anybody else.
Tracy: I do know all that.
Troy: So, what’s mistaken?
Tracy: This.
Troy: Your necklace?
Tracy: Victor mentioned it belonged to Alicia. She… She killed Mother. Why would you need me to put on her necklace?
Troy: Are you aware what number of St. Christopher’s medallions there are?
Tracy: However Victor mentioned…
Troy: Properly, Victor’s mistaken. She gave it to me when she died. And he or she made me promise that I’d give it to you to maintain you protected. Which is what I have been doing ever since.
Each time we have gotten near discovering out who the true Troy is, one thing has occurred to tug him away from that path.
There was real progress for each Madison and Troy when Crane returned as a last-minute villain.
In the event you watch Worry the Strolling Useless on-line, Madison, June, and everybody else ought to have killed Crane as a substitute of letting him run free.
On this universe, the villains you let away all the time return, generally stronger.
Victor: There was a time you’d have thanked me for such a factor.
Madison: Sufficient individuals have died due to me. I can not put the remainder of you in danger.
Victor: The remainder will not be that many, Madison.
Madison: What are you speaking about?
Victor: It is simply me and our newly discovered buddies of Alicia right here. The remainder retreated to the island to flee the herd. All of you need to do the identical.
Then once more, he’d have in all probability returned from past the grave as a result of, have a look at Troy. Madison bashed his brains in and let a dam explode on prime of him, however one way or the other, he arrived with a child and a military, decided for vengeance.
Troy has been portrayed as this one-dimensional ache within the butt all through these remaining episodes, so listening to that he saved Madison and himself from a quick-sand-related loss of life got here out of the left subject.
He is been so pushed by his quest for vengeance that he by no means stopped to consider whether or not there may very well be a interval of resolve between him and Madison.
Madison did some horrible issues to him, however he was no oil portray, both.
Victor: I can not allow you to do that alone.
Madison: I am in a tank loaded with ammo and weapons. I do not want anyone else.
Victor: Madison, please. It is like I informed you earlier than, Victor… Not like you, I haven’t got anybody left to disappoint. I would like to do that so you do not have to. Then you possibly can construct PADRE into what Alicia would have needed.
Victor: This may not finish nicely, Madison. You assume it’s going to simply be this one factor. However then you definately’ll notice you possibly can’t cease. I discovered it the arduous manner. On the Tower. There was simply all the time yet one more factor that I wanted to do to maintain it protected, and earlier than I knew it, I used to be the factor individuals wanted to be protected against. Please, Madison. There’s one other manner.
They’re each much more comparable than they’d prefer to admit. They play predominantly within the gray space, making choices that may win them haters and lovers.
Troy had significantly turned a nook when he saved Madison’s life, and it is an actual disgrace that we can’t get to witness that as a result of Madison repaid him by killing him when he least anticipated it.
Had Troy been round for the whole lot of Worry the Strolling Useless Season 8, it will have been far simpler to digest this ludicrous scene.
The unhappy half is that Troy’s loss of life might have had such a major influence, however due to the scattered nature of the storylines, he is been on the periphery, though he is purported to be this villain.
Madison has all the time been a troublesome individual to learn as a result of she’s pondering a number of steps forward, and in her protection, she believed he killed her daughter, so there was no likelihood she can be occupied with working with him.
Daniel: Madison! What did you do?
Madison: I am carried out with second possibilities. Troy was proper. That is what bought Alicia killed. That is why I had to do that. If I did not, I would be placing you all in danger. That is how we survive. That is how PADRE survives.
Troy: You need to battle f-for Tracy such as you fought for Nick and Alicia.
Madison: Why would I do something you say?
Troy: ‘Trigger she’s not my daughter.
Madison: No. You mentioned your spouse was pregnant when Alicia helped you.
Troy: She was. However she died earlier than the newborn may very well be born.
Madison: No! If Serena’s not Tracy’s mom, who’s?
Troy: Alicia. I-I took her baby to make up for what I misplaced.
Would Troy and Madison have been capable of co-exist in the identical setting? It is uncertain, however it will have been much more watchable than we bought.
Saying goodbye to somebody we barely reconnected with did not land nicely, however no less than Troy was readily available to throw within the little nugget about Tracy being Alicia’s daughter.
Ever since Tracy was proven in pre-season materials with Alicia’s necklace, it was virtually like AMC, and the creatives have been dangling it like a carrot in entrance of us.
Alicia: I am not right here to harm anybody.
Tracy: Preserve your fingers up and transfer slowly in the direction of the tent.
Alicia: You may put the gun down. I am simply right here to bury my… Mother?
Madison: Alicia?
In truth, it raised extra questions than solutions, however I am joyful it was a ploy from Troy to stop Madison from killing Tracy ultimately as a result of this household connection made zero sense.
It felt like all of the emotional weight was placed on Antonella Rose throughout these remaining episodes as Tracy’s storyline got here into focus.
In the long run, although, these revelations about Alicia gave Madison this urge to search out her daughter’s corpse and save what was left of PADRE in order that there was a future for individuals like Tracy.
Though the writing has been painfully unhealthy, the sequence has all the time had higher visuals than its father or mother sequence, and that was on full show as Madison led the horde into PADRE to blow it up and save most of the individuals she barely knew.
Madison: I simply can’t imagine it is actual.
Alicia: It’s. I promise you, it’s. You okay?
Madison: I can be. What’s that?
Alicia: That could be a very outdated good friend I got here throughout looking out a warehouse for provides. Attempting to return him to his rightful proprietor.
Madison: How did you discover us?
Alicia: A narrative. A few lady who sacrificed herself right here. And the one that informed me mentioned her identify was Madison. And it did not make any sense, and I did not understand how you may presumably be alive… however I had to make sure. I noticed the fort over there. How are you continue to right here?
Madison: Your daughter. She got here again. She saved me.
Alicia: What are you speaking about?
Madison: Tracy. She’s the kid that Troy took from you.
Alicia: I by no means had a child.
Tracy: You are not my mother?
Alicia: No, I am… I am not, however I knew your mother once you have been a child. Her identify was Serena. She was a fairly wonderful lady. I do not perceive why Troy would lie about one thing like that.
Tracy: He knew how arduous you fought on your personal youngsters. He needed to present you a purpose to battle for me.
Madison: You mentioned you heard a narrative about me. From who?
Alicia: I have been choosing up radio chatter on the street. I feel their route runs by right here.
Madison: You already know I’d’ve come on the lookout for you if I knew you have been alive.
Alicia: I’d’ve come on the lookout for you, too. I by no means would’ve stopped. After Troy attacked me, after I bought again on my toes, I went to search out the individuals I would been staying with. And I noticed one thing on the street, these ladies that dressed like me, they used weapons I used to be utilizing, they have been doing the issues that I used to be doing. They have been serving to individuals.
Madison: We met a few of them.
Alicia: Yeah. It is just like the story of what I would carried out was doing extra good than I might alone. And so I went some other place. I… began utilizing a special identify so Troy could not discover me. If I hadn’t have carried out that, possibly we’d’ve discovered one another.
Madison: You made the appropriate alternative. You gave all these individuals one thing to imagine in.
The parallels to Worry the Strolling Useless Season 4 did not go unnoticed, and it is arduous to not really feel like Madison ought to have perished this time as a result of this lady retains dishonest loss of life.
My excellent ending would discover Madison awakening from a coma, a la Rick Grimes, solely this time it will have been after the occasions of the Stadium, and all the pieces after has been a dream.
It could have been an effective way to play with expectations and reintroduce characters we have misplaced and for the present to undo a few of the irreparable harm carried out to the characters we all know and love.
These final 5 seasons have undoubtedly been a fever dream, and I did pinch myself when Alicia confirmed up, alive and nicely, after battling radiation poisoning, an try from her life from Troy, and all the pieces in between.
I used to be resigned to Alycia Debnam-Carey not returning as Alicia as a result of it appeared out of the realm of risk, however it was fairly darn satisfying seeing the mother-and-daughter reunion.
Madison thought Alicia was useless and vice-versa, so realizing that they’re going to be again out on this undead world collectively offers me the hope that they’re going to land someplace protected they’ll name dwelling.
The choice to ship them (and Tracy!) to Los Angeles was silly, primarily as a result of we witnessed its destruction a number of years in the past within the sequence.
What do they hope to search out in a spot lengthy minimize off from society? It could have been much better for Alicia to have been in touch with Morgan, who informed her in regards to the Commonwealth.
It is an actual shocker that Morgan wasn’t used whilst a plot gadget within the sequence finale as a result of it was his present for thus lengthy.
It is arduous to inform what is going to grow to be of Alicia, Madison, and Tracy, however I hope that in the event that they return, it is on one of many newer spinoffs as a result of these reveals have been creatively stronger.
Strand’s conclusion of getting a husband and son and hitting the street after seeing Alicia and Madison reuniting did not land in addition to I anticipated.
Dove: What route you headed?
June: Uh, there is a cabin in Texas I need to go to. Somebody there I… have not seen shortly.
Dove: You need firm?
June: It is.
Dove: It is okay. Offers you time to show me.
June: Train you what?
Dove: Drugs. What you probably did for me once I bought shot… I need to learn to do the identical for different individuals.
June: We will the appropriate place, then.
Dove: Um, why’s that?
June: The cabin belonged to my husband. It is the place I met him. It is the place he taught me to shoot… to outlive… To stay once more. If he can do this for me there, possibly I can do the identical for you… Odessa.
Strand has been one of many wildest characters in franchise historical past since you by no means know what he’ll do subsequent, however it will have been fascinating to see him reunite with everybody.
Madison’s choice to permit everybody to assume she died in order that they’d proceed to be higher individuals was one thing, however I do not see it lasting for very lengthy.
Alicia bringing again Skidmark was hilarious as a result of that kitty has survived zombies, radiation, and all the pieces else. They need to have known as it plot armor.
The perfect half is that Daniel bought some semblance of happiness after so a few years of struggling to exist on the street.
Dwight and Sherry returning to the Sanctuary to show it right into a sanctuary for individuals on the street was a mind-numbing improvement, however hey, turning the place of their trauma into a spot of therapeutic may be therapeutic.
If this occurred on Worry the Strolling Useless Season 8 Episode 9, it will have been much more satisfying as a result of this random epiphany from Dwight got here out of the left subject.
The one good half is that Dwight and Sherry are collectively after all the pieces they’ve endured.
June’s ending was the worst, sadly. Jenna Elfman has had some nice materials to work with, however she was principally sidelined all through the ultimate season.
June happening the street with Dove to return to her outdated dwelling might have been much more fascinating if these individuals had aspirations of parting earlier within the season.
On the finish of the finale, a lot of it felt like a rush job to carry closure to a present that very clearly bought canceled on the final minute.
Dwight: I used to be pondering of The Sanctuary.
Sherry: What?
Dwight: We… We might take all people there.
Sherry: D… Why would you need to return there?
Dwight: Bec… As a result of we all know it, it is defensible. The streets are nonetheless intact. Sherry: Oh, my. I misplaced you to that place earlier than, D. I can not lose you once more.
Dwight: Hey. You are not gonna lose me once more. We’re household. I imply, possibly… possibly we will take that place and… and… and make it worthy of its identify.
Sherry: I do not know.
Dwight: It will make Finch proud.
Sherry: Okay. Okay, let’s strive.
It is a shock the present did not tie in additional intently with another reveals within the franchise as a result of I all the time thought many would cross paths with individuals within the spinoffs.
Sadly, it looks like AMC needs to shut the door on this present as a result of it has been operating on fumes for years.
What are your ideas on the sequence finale?
Had been you glad after years of meandering storytelling?
Hit the feedback.
Paul Dailly is the Affiliate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
