The Walking Dead series finale review, “Rest in Peace”

After over a decade on our screens, the time has finally arrived: The Walking Dead is over. The hour-long extended series finale is an epic, action-packed, emotional rollercoaster that will have you begging for more!

Beware, this review contains SPOILERS!

The last stand

Unlike every other episode of season 11C, the finale surprisingly doesn’t begin with a monologue from Judith. Instead, it kicks off right where the penultimate episode, “Family,” ended. Our group has been cornered by the Commonwealth and is being attacked by variant zombies. We see them being overrun by walkers. This might be the largest-scale zombie attack the show has ever had.

Nobody is safe. All plot armor is gone…except for the characters who are set to appear in spinoffs.  I really felt afraid for several characters, and my fear was vindicated. Not everyone makes it out alive. Jules is bitten and lost to a rush of walkers. And Luke is bitten while trying to save her. The group manages to get Luke away, but he is too far gone and ultimately passes away surrounded by Yumiko, Kelly, and Magna, all part of his group from back when he was introduced in season 9. It’s a heartbreaking moment that sets the tone for the rest of the battle.

Meanwhile, Judith is fighting for her life after being shot by Pamela, and Daryl is risking everything to rush her to the hospital for urgent treatment. The hospital has been abandoned so Daryl and Carol have to treat her themselves. Daryl volunteers to give blood. Zombies turn up outside the hospital and smash their way in. The variant walkers using rocks to smash the windows of the hospital is undoubtedly a callback to season 1, where the zombies were actually able to pick up objects to use them as weapons; it’s even shot the same way!

The rest of the group tries to hold off the walkers from breaking into the hospital, but eventually, Judith, Daryl, and the rest are forced out. At this point, Judith is relatively stable after getting treatment from Tomi, who is actually a doctor.

Rosita

Coco, Rosita, Gabriel, and Eugene are still under threat of variant walkers. They’re forced to climb up the side of a wall to get away from them. While Gabe and Eugene get up there somewhat safely, Rosita is weighed down by Coco and falls into the swarm of walkers. I thought that was it for her. By all accounts, it looked like a fatal drop, although like the badass she is, Rosita manages to fight her way out…but we later find out that she was bitten. She is a hero for saving her daughter Coco. Her death will not be in vain.

Some of the action sequences are super impressive. A couple — like Rosita beating down zombies — I would say are the best I’ve seen in the entire series!

Mercer vs. Pamela

Mercer is broken out of prison by Princess and his sister Max and they go to meet the rest of the group. Mercer proposes that they make a quick escape while he remains in the Commonwealth to deal with Pamela, but Ezekiel wants to remain and fight. He rallies everyone together to go out and confront Pamela.

After everything she has done, Pamela cannot wriggle her way out of this one. She no longer has any supporters. Even Mercer — once her most trusted right-hand man — has turned against her. Basically, she is on one side of the entrance to the community with the gate closed, while on the other side there are tons of innocent people seeking refuge. Pamela refuses to let them in, despite hundreds of zombies drawing closer to them.

Now Daryl gets to have his speech where he turns Rick’s iconic quote: “We are the walking dead.” In front of everyone, Daryl proclaims that “we ain’t the walking dead.” As it happens, this is one of Rick’s final lines in the comic.

I found it funny how everyone instantly joins Mercer’s side and Pamela is left on her own. Gabriel lets the people of the Commonwealth back in and Mercer arrests Pamela. It’s important to note that Pamela is not killed but instead thrown in prison. It’s similar to the mercy the group showed Negan.

At one point, Pamela attempts to kill herself by giving herself to walkers, allowing one of them to bite her, although it doesn’t work. Also, the zombie she tries to force to kill her is actually a zombified version of Lance, a fun cameo.

Ultimately, to end the war once and for all, the group declares that the zombie-infested Commonwealth is a lost cause. They use music to lead all the walkers into the center of town (similar to when they lured walkers by playing “Burning Down the House,” in the season 10 finale) flood the community with gasoline, and light it up. The explosion is epic. You can tell the team had a big budget for the finale!

Farewells

After the war is over, everyone heads back to Alexandria for a lovely family meal. Everyone is together at last.

Fans have always wondered who would get the “big death” of the series. Of course, after being bitten by a zombie, Rosita is living on borrowed time. She has been integral to the series for so long and deserved a huge, emotional goodbye. She gets time to say a proper goodbye to the people she loves most, like Gabriel and Eugene. She lies in bed with Coco, her daughter, and goes out peacefully. I like that she gets to go out surrounded by her loved ones. It’s rare that anyone in this show gets that chance.

I think the episode handled character deaths well. We got the opening shock with Jules and Luke, and the drawn-out heartbreak of Rosita’s demise.

Maggie and Negan

In terms of setting up spinoffs, I want to mention the dynamic between Maggie and Negan in this episode. Of course, fans have been pondering how they end up heading to New York City in Dead City. And while we don’t get any real details, they do seem to make up.

Remember earlier in the season when Negan is put on his knees alongside his pregnant wife Annie and they almost die? Well, Negan now understands the trauma he caused Maggie by killing Glenn. He breaks down in front of her. While Maggie can never forgive him, she allows them to be a part of the community going forward, which is huge for him. Hearing her talk about losing Glenn so candidly is heartbreaking. Negan doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and he knows it.

1 year later…

In the comics, the story ends by jumping 25 years into the future. The show, however, only jumps one year ahead. Things aren’t radically different, except for that the group is finally living in peace. Everyone gets along. Lydia is still alive with her amputated arm and she is happier than ever with Elijah by her side.

Ezekiel is now the leader of the group, with Mercer as his deputy. They seem to have a pretty good system going. Of course, Judith is alive and as active as ever. She appears to have no lasting effects from the gunshot wound.

I liked all of the little touches, like the walls of Alexandria bearing the names of all the people that they have lost over the years. It’s hard not to feel nostalgic looking at that wall. Nobody is forgotten.

Also, in the end, Daryl decides to ride away on his own to look for Rick and Michonne. Daryl’s final conversation with Carol was heavy; he finally tells her that he loves her. He tells her that she will definitely see him again. It’s nice to see Carol stay put. She’s spent her entire life running away, but now she feels like she has stability. She has found peace.

Daryl leaving basically sets up his upcoming spinoff where he goes to France.

Rick and Michonne

You simply cannot end The Walking Dead without Rick Grimes. That would be a crime. And the finale does not disappoint on that front. Before the credits, we briefly see Michonne, clad in some badass armor, out in the wild still on the hunt for Rick. Elsewhere, we get confirmation that Rick was taken by the CRM; he’s wearing their uniform. He appears to be writing a letter to Judith but is being tracked by a CRM helicopter. Evidently, he’s been on the run!

This is clearly meant to set up the spinoff, but it’s also a nice way to bookend the series.

Verdict

I have no doubt that this finale will satisfy the majority of fans. It was always going to be impossible to make everyone happy, but I think they’ve chosen the right path. Every character gets a chance to shine. It felt conclusive, but also looks ahead to the spinoff-centric future of the franchise.

Episode Grade: A

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