The Walking Dead S6 Finale: Last Day on Earth
The Walking Dead… Everyone is talking about it. Chances are even if you don’t watch the show you know who Daryl and Rick are. Six long, gruesome, emotionally wrenching seasons this show has been on now. I seldom feel the need to write reviews on television shows, but Sunday night’s season finale was… Brutal!
SPOILER WARNING!!!
If you have not seen the finale, and have somehow managed to avoid Facebook spoilery, turn back now or suffer the consequences! Ye have been warned!
At the end of the last episode, Maggie (carrying Glenn’s unborn child) was writhing in pain, Carol had taken off alone, and Daryl had been shot.
Where is Carol Going?
Let me just begin this by saying that I went into this finale KNOWING that someone was going to die. Not just because it is The Walking Dead, because there have been occasions where they don’t end a season with a death. Shocking, I know, right? I knew that someone was going to die because… Negan. I have long been awaiting his appearance because…. Well, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I was convinced in my mind that I knew who was going to bite the dust, and it wasn’t somebody that I wanted to gnaw upon said airborne particles. But still, I was mentally preparing myself for the inevitable loss of one of my favorite characters: Carol.
Carol has slowly been going down a dark path for a while beginning when she killed and burnt some of the group’s sick comrades back in the prison. It has progressively gotten easier for Carol to do what she had to do (look at the flowers…). Over time, she became a bit scary to say the least (cookies, anyone?). It was amazing to watch Carol’s journey from where she started, a battered and meek housewife, to the strong, often brutal woman she has become. Over the last few episodes it has been unclear whether Carol’s spiral of fear has been genuine, or simply ploys to make her captors believe she wasn’t a threat. I feel it is the latter but I do believe that even she is starting to become afraid of herself. This is why I think she decided it was time for her to take off.
Though Carol is ready to give up, practically begging to die, Morgan still believes in her and doesn’t give up the search, telling Rick that he should head back to Alexandria. I cringed as the “savior” began shooting her. But Morgan showed up and saved her (one of the few times that Morgan chooses to take a human life, to save another). Still, Carol wonders why can’t he just let her go?
Morgan Jones: Those people, your people, they care about you.
Carol Pelletier: I know they do. And I care about them. That’s why I can’t be there.
Morgan Jones: That’s why you have to be there.
I saw a lot of symbolism and parallel here to the previous scene in which Morgan found the horse and said, “You… are alive”. In a way, this next scene in which he is reasoning with Carol almost mimics his interaction with the horse. So my beloved Carol is safe… But who isn’t?
What About Daryl?
We know that Daryl, Glenn, Rosita, and Michonne are captive somewhere (and we HOPE that Daryl isn’t dead!). Let’s be honest, we all knew Daryl wasn’t really dead. We don’t know where exactly they are, all we get are glimpses of dim light shining through a few holes, and some muffled voices. We know that this is where Daryl and his group are. That’s about all we know…
Rick’s Group
Maggie is very sick, and she and the baby will die unless she receives medical attention. So Rick gathers up a small group to bring Maggie to where she may be able to see a doctor. Eugene has the RV ready for transport so that she’ll be comfortable. Abraham, Sasha, and Aaron join on this mission. At the last minute, Carl joins in insisting that Enid stay behind despite how badly she wants to be there for Maggie. This leaves Father Gabriel (yes, THAT Father Gabriel) behind to look after the folks of Alexandria. This just goes to show how much character development this show still has when a character like Gabriel, whom I used to despise, is now quite a likeable character who has adapted to the new world.
Words of Wisdom from Sgt. Abraham
The group heads out in the RV, and we know that there’s no way this will end well. They encounter a “Red Rover” of walkers; a wall of logs blocking the road and Abraham (in reference to the tracks on the ground) informs the group, “What it indicates is we are neck-deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open”. Then the logs are set ablaze and we hear a disembodied voice advising Rick and the gang to go where they’re trying to go; a blockade of saviors (What the bitch?) and yet another blockade (Bitch nuts…). Eugene decides that because it’s almost dark and the saviors will be looking for the RV that he will play the decoy while the rest of the team leaves on foot, carrying Maggie on a stretcher.
Foreshadowing?
The dialogue between Abraham and Eugene before they part ways is heart wrenching as this is the first heart-to-heart that they have had in a very long time. “You’re a survivor. You always were. We just didn’t know it.” Abraham says, right before he does the dude thing and tries to shake Eugene’s hand. Instead, Eugene hugs Abraham. This felt like foreshadowing. I was now convinced that it was Eugene who was going to die. I’ve grown to really love Eugene.
When the group on foot is cornered and we see Eugene on his knees in the distance, I was preparing myself for his death. I was sure this was it. Instead, Rick and his group (along with Eugene) are forced to go on their knees, including poor sickly Maggie. Finally Daryl and his group are released from where they’ve been captive this whole episode. Poor Glenn when he sees not only his pregnant wife is in the lineup, but he also sees that she is terribly ill. The moment is finally here… We’ve been building up to it for half a season now. Negan is finally unveiled to the group.
Hi, I’m Negan
I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He has played several roles that made me fall in love with him. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan… Terrifying! The saviors as a whole are terrifying. These guys make the people from Terminus feel like characters from Disneyland. At first Negan makes Rick and his group feel like they’re gonna get off easy. All they have to do is work for him, giving him half of everything they have whenever he wants it. Of course he’s not going to let it be that simple. He tells them that as punishment for the number of his people that Rick’s people have killed, one of Rick’s people is going to meet Lucille (Let me just clarify that Lucille is not a quirky red-headed woman in a polka dot dress… Lucille is a baseball bat covered in barbwire).
The scene that commences in which Negan is trying to determine who has a date with Lucille left me feeling stressed, tense, squeamish, and at times sick to my stomach. When Negan simply can’t decide who to kill….
Eeny…meany…miney…moe.
We see a first-person view from the perspective of Lucille’s victim. There is a lot of speculation as to who we are seeing die based on what we hear. Some people have said that you can hear the victim panting and groaning and that it clearly sounds like Glenn. The “panting” and “groaning” that we hear, to me just sounds like the muffled sounds of the people around the victim. I mean come on, if you were kneeling right next to one of your comrades who was getting his or her skull brutally bashed in by a lovingly named baseball bat you’d probably be panting and groaning too! Here are my theories on who it is and who it isn’t (these are simply my theories based solely on my opinion. Feel free to form your own)
WARNING: The following scene is pretty graphic, not based on what you see but upon what you hear. Watch at your own discretion if you’d like to form an opinion on what we hear at the end.
I Don’t Think It’s…
I don’t believe that it is Daryl, because we already had the “Is Daryl dead?” scare in the last episode. It may also not be Glenn for the same reason that we’ve had a similar scare in the past, but I’m not completely ruling out Glenn like I am Daryl. Obviously it’s not Rick because he is the main protagonist in the series so it’s pretty much a given that he will survive to the end. It’s not Carl because Negan says that if anyone moves they will remove Carl’s other eye and make Rick eat it and then they will start. I don’t believe it is Maggie because there are too many places that they can go story-wise with Maggie being pregnant during the zombie apocalypse. I also don’t think it is any of the other women because in the comic, Negan had a thing against killing women.
It Could be…
If they are going the way of the comic, it could be Glenn that died. But why would they choose such a predictable death if they’re going to leave us hanging until October? They could have chosen Abraham or Eugene based on the foreshadowing dialogue from earlier, or maybe that’s just what they wanted us to believe. In all honesty, I think the character that has been taken out is Aaron. He joined the group on this mission to fulfill some kind of redemption, and though I really like Aaron he’s probably one of the more disposable characters in this group. Rosita is also kind of meh but like I said before, I doubt that Negan chose a woman.
My bet is on Aaron. But we will have to wait until October to find out!
In Conclusion
I’ve read a lot of people saying, “This was the worst TWD episode ever, OMG!” because they left us on such a cliffhanger until October. But I feel like this cliffhanger was justified… Hear me out! As discussed in The Talking Dead, this episode, and this death is the conclusion of this story arc. When we begin next season and we find out whose life was taken, that is the beginning of a new story. Instead of being left with the grief of losing a beloved character, we are instead left with a hunger to find out who it is that has been taken from us. Instead of previous episodes in which we are left wondering, “Is he dead or is he alive?!” we in fact KNOW that someone is dead. We just don’t get to find out who that someone is yet.
Overall, though I would not describe this episode as enjoyable (how can an episode that makes me feel sick to my stomach from anxiety be described as ‘enjoyable’?) I would say this was actually a really great finale. I felt like it was very gritty, very symbolic, and very gripping. I for one cannot wait until the show makes its return in October. Though it’s never easy to say goodbye to a beloved character, it’s always better to have some closure.
Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on this episode, nerds!
Stay nerdy, my friends!
~Jams
