REVIEW The Walking Dead, Season 10.5
Did the additional six episodes make a difference for the penultimate season of AMC’s flagship show?
Through an amusing twist of fate, what is now the de facto finale of The Walking Dead’s tenth season aired on Easter Sunday, an inadvertent symbolism that isn’t lost on those who have said the series itself was in dire need of a resurrection. And the only reason it happened is because the pandemic became the latest chapter in what is one of the most intriguingly troubled production histories for a scripted TV show.
The adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s acclaimed comic book series never really had it easy, going as far back as original network NBC reconsidering the decision to air the show once they realized what exactly the words “zombie TV series” would entail (it’s not unreasonable to assume the program’s success is what persuaded them to go ahead with the similarly gruesome Hannibal).
After that, series creator and original showrunner Frank Darabont was let go during production of season 2, due to creative differences with AMC and budgetary disputes. Jeffrey DeMunn, who had joined the cast through his friendship with Darabont, asked to be released from his contract, and other actors also considered walking. Darabont’s successor, Glen Mazzara, lasted until the end of season 3.
That’s when the dark times began, according to most fans and critics: under Scott M. Gimple’s leadership, the show got increasingly worse ratings and the storylines grew more paper-thin, with long stretches of nothingness filled with nonsensical character moments. By the time Andrew Lincoln left the series, early in season 9, it seemed increasingly unlikely that AMC’s vision of the show going on for decades would come to pass, even though Angela Kang’s appointment as showrunner in 2018 brought with it a gradual improvement in the writing.
And then the pandemic happened: the original finale of season 10 was postponed due to post-production issues, and an additional six episodes were ordered to fill the gap until season 11 could start filming. Informally referred to as season 10.5 (and thus considered a separate entity for the purposes of this review), it was described as an opportunity for the cast and crew to adapt to the new filming restrictions.
Was it an opportunity they fully took advantage of? Not in the first episode, which essentially played out like a lower-budget version of a standard season opener (the main sign of things being different behind the scenes? Socially distanced zombies). The other five instalments, on the other hand, genuinely went for something new(ish), with smaller-scale character studies that didn’t require creative ways of getting around the lack of undead hordes.
And while the penultimate episode, about Daryl and Carol falling out, is a strong contender for the show’s worst (as in, ever), the de facto finale, featuring Negan’s backstory (and stellar work by Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s real-life spouse Hilarie Burton as the late Lucille), was the best the series has been in years. No mean feat, considering Negan was one of the low points of the show during the Gimple years, with Morgan’s performance having to contend with sub-par plotting and characterizations.
These additional chapters gave the show a change to recharge its batteries, largely sidestepping the usual long-term arcs (although the first episode is basically season 11 set-up) in favor of smaller, character-centric tales that largely stand on their own (ironically, one of the disagreements between Darabont and AMC back in the day was over his plan of deviating from season-long arcs on occasion).
Moreover, the imposed hiatus between regular seasons allowed Kang to solidify her approach, using the opportunity to get back to the essence of the show, which had been progressively diluted by convoluted large-scale conflicts between warring factions. And while there most likely is another one waiting for us down the line (season 11 is scheduled to premiere in August), at least this time it looks like it won’t be at the expense of in-universe consistency. And maybe, just maybe, the show will be allowed to go out on a high.
The Walking Dead, Season 10.5 (USA, 2021, 6 episodes)
Showrunner: Angela Kang
Cast: Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Distributor: AMC (broadcast, USA)