S9E1 lives up to it's title by bringing dramatic pacing, post-apocalyptic atmosphere, and (mostly) rational plotting back into TWD. Clearly Angela Kang did some serious housecleaning and/or asskicking among the show's writing staff and it shows. The improvement is marked over the two seasons of the disastrously mishandled "All-Out War" arc. If it continues, then the next few episodes will be well worth watching.
There is some intelligent political commentary in the plot which is refreshing after the gross military and historical ignorance that was on display all through Season 8. There is also some reasonably astute thinking about the problems of rebooting civilization in the aftermath of apocalypse which I also appreciate. I know TWD's a drama, not a documentary, but some of us prefer not having our intelligence insulted while we're being entertained.
Characterization in this episode also makes sense as far as it goes. I'm sure that sounds like "damning with faint praise" but after the many bizarre flips of the past few seasons, I have trouble trusting the show again. As soon as Maggie ordered You-Know-Who's body cut down (ninety seconds or so after stringing him up), I had the suspicion he wasn't dead at all and next week his forgiveness would be announced in a long speech full of sappy platitudes.
In the same vein, I found it impossible to believe anything Carol said because of the numerous personality swings the writers have perpetrated on this character. It doesn't matter that Melissa McBride handled all her scenes expertly; the character of Carol is just too damaged for me to buy into her anymore. And as for "EzekCarol", don't even get me started: I stopped taking that clown, Ezekiel, seriously five minutes after the writers introduced him back in Season 7.
This is the point where the obsessed Deadheads start grumbling, "Why is this hater even watching the show?" and the answer is I used to love it. Hell, unlike most doubters, I even liked the first half of Season 6. I consider that just as much part of the "Golden Age of TWD" as Seasons 1-5. I especially identify with the character of Rick Grimes and after all these years of following him, I want to see how his character arc is resolved. After that though, I don't know...
I'm streaming the show on Amazon and I am deliberately buying it one episode at a time because I suspect I'm going to stop watching after Andrew Lincoln's departure. I'm just not interested enough in any of the surviving characters to stay with the show after Rick is gone. I like Darrell a lot of course but he's too reticent and inarticulate to be at the center of things (unless the TWD writers pull a "Carol" on him and give him a completely new personality. Which would be obnoxious. And just like them). At some future time, I might buy a second-hand copy of this season (or the coming ones) on Ebay but I can't see myself staying emotionally invested in TWD without the presence of the Regulator. To me, TWD was, above all else, the Epic of Rick and without him, it's dead.
There is some intelligent political commentary in the plot which is refreshing after the gross military and historical ignorance that was on display all through Season 8. There is also some reasonably astute thinking about the problems of rebooting civilization in the aftermath of apocalypse which I also appreciate. I know TWD's a drama, not a documentary, but some of us prefer not having our intelligence insulted while we're being entertained.
Characterization in this episode also makes sense as far as it goes. I'm sure that sounds like "damning with faint praise" but after the many bizarre flips of the past few seasons, I have trouble trusting the show again. As soon as Maggie ordered You-Know-Who's body cut down (ninety seconds or so after stringing him up), I had the suspicion he wasn't dead at all and next week his forgiveness would be announced in a long speech full of sappy platitudes.
In the same vein, I found it impossible to believe anything Carol said because of the numerous personality swings the writers have perpetrated on this character. It doesn't matter that Melissa McBride handled all her scenes expertly; the character of Carol is just too damaged for me to buy into her anymore. And as for "EzekCarol", don't even get me started: I stopped taking that clown, Ezekiel, seriously five minutes after the writers introduced him back in Season 7.
This is the point where the obsessed Deadheads start grumbling, "Why is this hater even watching the show?" and the answer is I used to love it. Hell, unlike most doubters, I even liked the first half of Season 6. I consider that just as much part of the "Golden Age of TWD" as Seasons 1-5. I especially identify with the character of Rick Grimes and after all these years of following him, I want to see how his character arc is resolved. After that though, I don't know...
I'm streaming the show on Amazon and I am deliberately buying it one episode at a time because I suspect I'm going to stop watching after Andrew Lincoln's departure. I'm just not interested enough in any of the surviving characters to stay with the show after Rick is gone. I like Darrell a lot of course but he's too reticent and inarticulate to be at the center of things (unless the TWD writers pull a "Carol" on him and give him a completely new personality. Which would be obnoxious. And just like them). At some future time, I might buy a second-hand copy of this season (or the coming ones) on Ebay but I can't see myself staying emotionally invested in TWD without the presence of the Regulator. To me, TWD was, above all else, the Epic of Rick and without him, it's dead.