The Walking Dead Series finale: a thorough analysis
After 11 seasons of fierce drama, violent deaths, and post-apocalyptic survival, The Walking Dead's last episode, "Rest In Peace," closed the long-running zombie apocalypse saga. With Daryl Dixon accompanying Mercer and other allies to free the community from Pamela Milton's repressive control, this finale marked the end of the Commonwealth narrative. The episode closed some stories, but it also set the stage for a future full of fascinating new spin-offs.
The Walking Dead Final Interpreted
Though it marked the end of The Walking Dead, "Rest In Peace" launched the franchise's future. Among several forthcoming spin-offs including Daryl Dixon, The Walking Dead: Dead City, and the Rick Grimes and Michonne spin-off, The Ones Who Live, the finale prepared the ground. Moreover, the last episode brought significant mythological changes that will affect every three projects. Even if The Walking Dead is ending, the finale was anything from calm, which prepares the audience for much more adventures.
How Heroes Beat Pamela & Save The Commonwealth The Walking Dead
Particularly the heroes' penetration of the Estates, a wealthy, gated area where Pamela and her inner circle sought refuge, the fast pace of the finale left some elements regarding Pamela Milton's defeat obscure. The heroes found access through Mercer's residual influence among the Commonwealth troops. This let Mercer start his revolt from the inside and let Tomi save Judith's life.
Turning the tide proved much aided by Daryl Dixon's speech, a straight copy of Rick Grimes' famous line from the comic books. Drawing on Rick's words, "We are NOT the walking dead," Daryl persuaded both sides to drop their weapons, so resolving the dispute. Pamela Milton lost her military support, so rendering her helpless.
Gabriel's choice to let desperate people flee via the Estates' gates was a moving return to his past. This act highlighted his major character development and brought atonement for the congregation he left outside of his old church. The only remaining immediate threat came from the zombie swarm invading the Commonwealth once Pamela Milton was defeated.
Understanding that traditional methods would not be able to combat the variant zombies, the survivors developed a strategy. From a fuel station, they gathered gas in a truck and laid it under the Estates. Following luring the zombies with music, a memorial to the dead Luke, who used a similar strategy against the Whisperers, they set off the gas and produced a great explosion. With the rich no longer mistreating the masses, this legislation represented a change in the social structure of the Commonwealth.
Why, in The Walking Dead, Maggie leaves Pamela alive?
The path Maggie and Negan followed in the finale was full of turns that helped to prepare their spin-off, The Walking Dead: Dead City. Negan first intended to protect Maggie and the others from the repercussions by killing Pamela, so sacrificing himself. Although like his past actions against Alpha, Negan's reasons were different. His attempt at acceptance in Alexandria was killing Alpha, but this time he sought to protect Maggie and the others.
Reflecting the Outpost 22 event, Negan once more said he was ready to die in order to shield people he had once tormented. Maggie, though, insisted on accompanying him. Two elements drove this choice: her growing acceptance of Negan as a changed man and her wish to stop Negan and Annie's son from growing up without a father, a mirror of her son's life without Glenn. Killing Pamela eventually became meaningless. Maggie and Negan refrained from killing Pamela when the circumstances turned Mercer's way, despite having a clear shot, so negating Negan's earlier claim that a living Pamela would remain a threat.
Negan's decline from grace shaped this choice. Admitting to Maggie, "Hell, a person like that... it's a fate worse than death," Negan subtly said that having to live with his crimes was a harsher penalty than Rick Grimes could inflict. Maggie shot a bullet through a dead Lance Hornsby in response to this insight while Pamela tried suicide. Pamela's attempt to be consumed by the reanimated corpse of her former assistant represented a medspection on her sins: death at the hands of someone she despised.
What Happens To Rosita in the Walking Dead Series Finale?
The last was shockingly bloodless and had few casualties. Early on Jules passed, then Luke's limb amputation failed to save him. But Rosita, played by Christian Serratos, lost the most important thing. Her injury happened off-screen, thus the details are unknown. After saving Coco, Rosita was bitten while running from the Commonwealth children's house with Gabriel and Eugene. Rosita gave her life to the bite even with a valiant fightback.
More than even Gabriel, Eugene was the friend Rosita wanted as she approached her last hours. Rosita kept her secret to avoid diversion during the Commonwealth takeover, but also to enjoy priceless last minutes with her daughter and their "found family." This plot reflected Andrea's comic book death.
The most poignant moments in the finale came from Rosita's last talks with Eugene. Both characters said they loved one another, a platonic statement of their connection rather than a romantic confession. Rosita said, "I'm glad it was you at the end," on her deathbed, so affirming the strong bond between her and Eugene, who debuted together in season 4.
One Year Later: What Becomes Of Every Character Once The Walking Dead Ends?
Following Pamela Milton's arrest and the Commonwealth estate explosion, the finale showed a one-year time leap. After rejecting leadership following the fall of the Kingdom, Ezekiel was named the new Governor of the Commonwealth, so completing his character journey. Lieutenant Mercer became his right-hand man, and Carol assumed Director of Operations.
Remarkably sweet, Eugene and Max had a child named Rosie in honor of Rosita. Eugene also was seen saving children from the Commonwealth Children's Home, implying Rosie might be his biological daughter. Romance flourished; Yumiko and Magna, Mercer and Princess, Lydia and Elijah stayed together. But Daryl Dixon and Connie never developed a long-teased relationship. While they shared a flirtatious, friendly bond, Connie's line, "How's the frontier?", hinted that Daryl's nomadic lifestyle prevented a committed relationship.
Aaron, Jerry, and Gabriel lived in Alexandria; after Rosita died, Gabriel took custody of Coco. Negan's gift to Judith suggested that Annie, their new child, and he lived at Hilltop or close by. Reiterating season 9, the compass represented Negan's newly acquired direction and community acceptance. Like Alexandria, Maggie oversaw a rebuilt Hilltop town with notable progress. However, Oceanside's status remained largely ignored in the finale. While Luke and Jules revealed the community had been attacked by the Commonwealth, the only mention in the finale came from Eugene, who looked forward to Coco swimming there, potentially hinting at Oceanside's continued existence.
The Walking Dead's Massive Rick & Michonne Cameos Explained
The finale featured two major cameos: Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes and Danai Gurira as Michonne. Their scenes took place in separate locations and different time periods. Rick's scene occurred sometime between his departure in season 9 and Michonne's in season 10. Dressed in a Civic Republic jacket and carrying supplies, Rick was clearly a prisoner of the CRM (Civic Republic Military). Despite being saved by the organization in season 9, he was desperately trying to escape their captivity.
The CRM's typical approach to runaways was to shoot them, making Rick's continued existence intriguing. This suggested the CRM deemed him valuable, a notion implied by both Jadis in The Walking Dead: World Beyond and the detached loudspeaker voice in the finale. The finale revealed that the iPhone and boots Michonne discovered in season 10 were thrown onto a ship by Rick before his recapture, a desperate attempt to be found. This ship likely reached Virgil's island, where Michonne encountered the items.
Michonne's return in the finale took place later in the timeline, likely coinciding with the end of season 11. Wearing unusual armor and separated from her companions, she continued hunting for her lost husband. These parallel cameos set the stage for their spin-off series, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. The finale left Rick's status ambiguous, either still captive or on the run. Meanwhile, Michonne had evolved into an even tougher warrior.
The Walking Dead Series Finale Revealed Why Daryl Travels To France
The conversation between Daryl Dixon and Connie in the finale explained Daryl's constant movement between communities, searching for potential dangers and clues about Rick Grimes. Maggie then engaged Daryl in a discussion about the "future," suggesting he explore the wider world to learn more about the virus, the variants, Rick and Michonne's whereabouts, and any other relevant information.
While Maggie's request explained Daryl's mission, it didn't clarify why he ended up in France in his spin-off series. Instead, Daryl encountered bad people who abducted him and took him to France, where he escaped before they landed. The Walking Dead: World Beyond revealed France as the birthplace of the virus, but The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon focused on Daryl's typical rescue mission. He promised Judith that he would bring Rick and Michonne home if he found them, but that mission was sidelined.
How The Walking Dead Finale Teased Maggie & Negan's Dead City
Despite refusing to kill Pamela Milton, Maggie and Negan's partnership in the finale laid the foundation for their spin-off adventures in The Walking Dead: Dead City. Negan became Maggie's go-to person for challenging tasks, highlighting their evolving relationship. The finale established them as the Walking Dead's special-ops duo, prompting questions about the threat that led them to New York in The Walking Dead: Dead City.
The finale offered hints about this threat. Maggie confirmed that forgiveness for Negan remained off the table, but she acknowledged his remorse and quest for atonement. The finale's confession scene mirrored an earlier moment in season 11, where Maggie admitted to starting to trust Negan. However, it also ruled out outright forgiveness, making Maggie's betrayal of Negan in their spin-off series understandable.
The Walking Dead Series Finale Sets Up Variants For A Big Future
The penultimate episode introduced variant zombies, a twist that challenged the survivors' assumptions about the undead. The finale further developed this concept, foreshadowing its significance in the future of the franchise. A variant zombie used a rock to smash through a Commonwealth hospital's glass door, forcing the survivors to flee. As Rosita climbed a car to escape a horde, zombies followed her onto the vehicle, demonstrating the variant zombies' unpredictable nature.
The finale highlighted that survival tactics used thus far were becoming obsolete, making the zombie apocalypse a dangerous landscape once again. Even Mercer's plan to destroy the Commonwealth horde acknowledged the variants' unpredictability. Maggie's decision to explore the world and Daryl's task of discovering the reasons behind the dead's evolution implicitly foreshadowed a future filled with the variants' growing threat. The arrival of variant zombies fundamentally altered the survivors' perception of the undead threat, suggesting their prevalence would only increase. Despite their limited role in the finale, the variants' presence raised numerous mysteries, indicating that Daryl, Rick, Michonne, Maggie, and Negan would face these evolving, intelligent, and increasingly dangerous walkers in the future of The Walking Dead.
How The Walking Dead Finale Impacts The Show's Legacy
The Walking Dead finale received mixed responses, prompting debate about whether it lived up to the show's legacy. The show had several iconic moments, including the groundbreaking first season and shocking twists like the introduction of Negan and Glenn's death, that remain memorable.
Compared to these highlights, some viewers found the finale somewhat lackluster. The absence of most original characters, including Rick Grimes, Lori, and Carl, contributed to a feeling that the story concluded was not the same one that captivated viewers in the early seasons. The finale's focus on setting up spin-offs also led to moments that felt more like teases for Dead City and Daryl Dixon than a satisfying conclusion to the core show.
While some enjoyed the finale, there's a strong argument that it didn't live up to the incredible pilot episode that aired back in 2010. Despite its shortcomings, the finale marked a significant turning point for the franchise, launching new chapters and setting the stage for exciting new adventures.
