AMC has touted tonight’s premiere of The Walking Dead as “The Beginning of the End.” Technically, that’s true…however that’s about it. It’s not a nasty episode of TWD, only a very middle-of-the-road one. After 10 seasons of wildly veering over that metaphorical, zombie-filled freeway, that’s high-quality with me.

Nothing really begins in “Acheron, Part 1.” It’s actually the opposite facet of the bridge that the earlier six episodes—filmed throughout quarantine—related to the pre-pandemic episodes of season 10. As such, the group at Alexandria remains to be reeling from the devastation wreaked by the Whisperers, whereas Eugene, Kumiko, Ezekiel, and Princess arrive on the Commonwealth, escorted by its fake Stormtroopers. They’re two wholly separate storylines, so let’s begin with the Alexandrians.

Carol and Daryl, who appear to have utterly reconciled after their kerfuffle throughout the bonus episodes, lead what can solely be referred to as a heist to a army base. The loot: An enormous pile of MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat in Army jargon), wanted as a result of the Alexandrians don’t have any meals and no crops after the Whisperer assault. The drawback: The base is totally flooded with soldier zombies. The nonsense: All the zombies are napping, so all of them should tip-toe by means of the bottom to maintain them from waking up. This is made infinitely—and absolutely pointless—extra bizarre by them dropping straight into the room all of the zombies are sleeping in by rappelling by means of a skylight, Mission: Impossible-style. (What was the issue with the entrance door…?) Watching everybody tiptoe round zombies is ridiculous, nevertheless it’s a benign type of ridiculous, and type of enjoyable for it.

That’s additionally true when the zombies are inevitably woken up, not due to any of the noise they’ve been making, slightly a drop of blood falling on one of many zombie’s cheeks. I’m unsure how that works, precisely, however the group on the bottom completely takes care of half of the zombie horde with out breaking a sweat earlier than escaping, begging the query of why they didn’t simply care for them from the roof within the first place. Again, it’s foolish, nevertheless it’s enjoyable, and that’s one thing TWD not often manages to be. Unfortunately, issues take a flip once they return to Alexandria and uncover they’ve solely scored sufficient rations for a single week. When Maggie discovers a few of her previous crew have discovered their strategy to the colony, she proposes a brand new quest: head to her previous settlement, Meridian, and take all of the meals that’s absolutely nonetheless there after it was overrun by the zombies and that seemingly nihilistic group of killers referred to as the Reapers (which we met again in “Home Sweet Home”). Few folks assume it’s a good suggestion, however most agree it’s the one strategy to maintain everybody fed.

Maggie, Daryl, Gabriel, Negan, and various posse members set out, solely to be pressured right into a Washington, DC subway line that Maggie insists they journey by means of. Negan spots a excessive flood line within the tunnel, which suggests water may come pouring in any minute given the climate up prime, however because it’s Negan giving the warning, everybody tells him to close the hell up. Negan additionally raises the salient level that nobody is aware of if the subway tunnel is even open; they could possibly be marching on to a useless finish. Negan will get the identical response.

Eventually, he’s had sufficient of strolling by means of a possible deathtrap and getting crapped on and the palpable stress between him and Maggie, who’s by no means forgiven him for killing her husband Glenn within the season seven premiere again in 2016. It involves a head when he confronts the lady who loathes him, asserting to everybody that the one purpose Maggie introduced him alongside was in hopes that he’d get killed on the best way, or she’d have an opportunity to kill him herself out of the “prying eyes of Alexandria.” Maggie, pointing a gun at his head, says she’s simply barely sufficient of the lady who existed earlier than Glenn died to cease herself from pulling the set off, as a lot as she needs to.

It’s a tense scene, and it’s fairly good, nevertheless it doesn’t inform us something new about both character. Maggie nonetheless hates the hell out of Negan, which we’ve identified from the minute she rejoined the present. Really, the scene exists primarily to arrange the very finish of the episode, the place the group has to climb up a subway automobile to flee a zombie horde. Negan’s second-to-last, Maggie’s final, however she will get grabbed by a walker and may’t pull herself up. Negan friends over the sting at her as she struggles, then turns away and leaves. Seemingly. I assume that is only a low cost cliffhanger, wanting us to assume that Negan has deserted Maggie, just for subsequent week’s episode to start with him having gotten a rope or a weapon, one thing to save lots of her. It will surely match his character arc over the previous few seasons to make the rescue regardless of her hate for him. But that is The Walking Dead, so we are able to by no means low cost the likelihood that characters who seem to have an ethical compass can nonetheless revert to misanthropic, sociopathic murderers at any second. (Lookin’ at you, Gabriel.) Whichever is the case, it’s going to be annoying.

Luckily, Team YEEP (that’s Yumiko, Eugene, Ezekiel, and Princess—sorry, consistently writing out all 4 names is a drag) has a extra enjoyably absurd journey as soon as they arrive on the Commonwealth. Remember how delighted I used to be when one of many Commonwealth’s troopers mentioned YEEP’s seize meant he must do paperwork? Man, that was simply the tip of the bureaucratic iceberg. Each of our heroes will get “audited” by two lawyer-esque, utterly monotone, and impassive folks in enterprise fits who ask them a collection of exponentially weird questions, ostensibly for them to realize passage to the Commonwealth itself. Those who fail are subjected to the generically dystopic “reprocessing.”

What’s nice about this scene is that the foursome is, rightfully, surprised once they’re requested which faculty they went to. As Yumiko asks, how may it presumably matter? It’s the zombie apocalypse, faculty doesn’t even exist anymore. But the scene escalates splendidly with more and more bizarre, ineffective, but vaguely threatening questions, like: What zip codes did you reside in? How many bowel actions do you are taking per day? What do you utilize to wipe? It appears they’re asking this nonsense to disorient them, Voight-Kampff-style, so that they’ll reply the query that truly issues: Where is your settlement?

No one solutions. When they’re returned to their cell, Yumiko, Ezekiel, and Princess are able to go, however Eugene asks them to remain, give the Commonwealth an opportunity, to belief his relationship with Stephanie (who informed Eug concerning the website over the radio). That’s once they ask an imprisoned couple close by how lengthy they’ve been “assessed” and the reply is someplace between 4 and 9 months. Then YEEP sees somebody dragged out of his cell, screaming as a result of he’s about to be “reprocessed.” Even Eugene is aware of they gots to go at that time. Luckily, it seems Princess is Sherlock Holmes.

I’m not being flippant right here, it seems she has an extremely attentive and deductive thoughts. She figures out that two of the guards are sleeping collectively based mostly on their virtually non-existent physique language and how they time their breaks. Yumiko, Eugene, and Ezekiel are surprised and seize upon the chance to one way or the other seize the lovers’ two Commonwealth Trooper uniforms off-screen and use them as a disguise to escort the opposite two “prisoners” out of the holding space. This takes them proper previous a wall of images—folks liked by somebody within the Commonwealth, hoping that the household or mates they misplaced throughout the zombie apocalypse may one way or the other, towards all odds, make their strategy to them. That’s when Yumiko out of the blue sees {a photograph} of herself, together with a word from her sister Tomi. And Yumiko realizes she will be able to’t depart.

That’s by far probably the most attention-grabbing growth in “Acheron, Part I” and on the finish of the day, tonight’s episode was a bit underwhelming for a season premiere, particularly for the present’s finale season. However, “Part II” is coming subsequent week, so it appears solely honest to order my judgment till then. Assuming we get to lastly see the true Commonwealth, and/or the stays of Maggie’s previous settlement Meridian, there could possibly be main developments coming that can kick off season 11 in earnest. However, if it’s simply these fits asking folks about their bodily capabilities over and over, I’d be down for that, too.

Assorted Musings:

• Do zombies nap? Historically on the present, we’ve seen zombies on the bottom lie inert till one thing grabs their consideration. But most individuals, once they die and rework, get to their toes to shamble round in search of one thing to eat, which continues till they’re taken out or collapse. So shouldn’t the troopers have been doing the identical? It really looks like they obtained all tuckered out and had a lie-down.
• Some good graffiti within the subway tunnel, my favourite being: “If there is a god he will have to beg my forgiveness.” A cursory search on-line says individuals are satisfied {that a} Jewish prisoner carved this into the wall of his focus camp in World War II, however I can’t discover any dependable proof. I hope it’s not true as a result of knowingly evaluating a pretend zombie apocalypse to a really actual atrocity makes me really feel uneasy.
• There’s a scene the place we slowly watch Ezekiel drink a complete glass of water after a coughing match. It’s a bit lengthy.
• Yeah, Commonwealth Trooper goes to be “Commontrooper” to any extent further. And I’ll by no means apologize for my clumsy portmanteaus.

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