The Walking Dead – Season 11, Episode 24: Rest in Peace

By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)

This review contains spoilers.

The day has finally arrived… it is time for my final ever episode review of The Walking Dead.

The episode drops you right into the action, not only do we lose Luke and Jules immediately, but Daryl is cold-cocked and left unconscious. Despite only returning to the show recently, losing Luke was still an emotional scene – ‘Magna’s Group’ have been a bit hit and miss in the show, but to have them here surrounding him, comforting him, grieving with him – it was a fantastic moment thanks to the music and the performances.

With Mercer liberated from his cell and Aaron and Lydia joining the group, Maggie’s crew heads off to join the others at the hospital. Likewise, Rosita’s crew liberate the babies and make their way over too. Judith is in and out of consciousness, but when she is awake, Cailey Fleming does a fantastic job of selling her performance. With the Hospital breached – thanks to a Variant Walker smashing the window through with a rock – the group tries to evacuate Judith out the back. These enclosed hallways made for such a tense escape and the music throughout this entire opening just increased the drama and emotion. The only negative to come from this entire first act was the fake-out death with Rosita. We didn’t need it and every time they have done one of these, they have been bad. It was just a little too silly and ‘superhero’ given everything else we are witnessing in this intense opening act. We revisit the repercussions later, and although it makes it a little more palatable, the initial scenario could have been handled differently.

The second act allows the episode to breathe, but that doesn’t mean it was any less exciting and enjoyable. What it lacked in action and suspense, it equalled these elements with tremendous performances and writing. Aaron and Lydia have a great moment, whilst Negan and Maggie knock it out of the park with their continued entwined character journey, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan reducing me to a watery-eyed mess. Eugene also has a sobering moment with Rosita, and it is revealed she has been bitten.  Again, both performers were incredible. I enjoyed this middle act for giving us these great character interactions and a place to allow these incredible performers one last chance to showcase what they have done, so well, for such a long time. With everybody regrouped, Mercer moves in to arrest Pamela. In a tense scene, Daryl manages to talk some sense into the troopers, who allow Gabriel to open the gates to let in the survivors, including Jerry and Elijah. Pamela tried to sacrifice herself to Walker Hornsby (Josh Hamilton being amazing yet again, even as a Walker) but is stopped by Judith’s words before Maggie shoots him. The next phase of the plan is to clear the Variants and retake the city, and with Mercer leading the charge, you have every confidence they will succeed! With the Walkers being lured to the Estates, thanks to the awesome tune of Cult of Personality by Living Colour, things are about to get explosive! The size and scale of the explosion were unprecedented for this show – they went out with a bang!

In her cell, Pamela tries to justify all of her actions, but there is no justifying any of them. As a villain, she was hateable, but I think they could have done more with her, or not split the antagonist role between Pamela and Hornsby. As a preference, I’m very much #TeamHornsby. What I am also a fan of, is what followed this scene. Maggie and Negan have yet another phenomenal scene together, but this time it is Maggie’s turn to do the talking and boy, did it start raining on my face again! Despite their characters having so much conflict and not wanting to be around each other, these two have the best scenes! We also had a ‘last supper’ in which my biggest takeaway from the whole thing was that Dog is alive and well and getting fed plenty of lovely food! The fact Dog has made it through the show is probably one of my happiest moments. You wouldn’t believe the stress I have had during all of his scenes, so I am happy that is now over! I also loved the little nod between Daryl and Negan – two of my favourites. Rosita says her goodbyes, in a very touching scene, that once again caused watery eyes. By this point, I am surprised I have any water left in me to able to cry, but no, it still keeps coming!

One year later… Eugene and Max are not only married, but they also have a child, baby Rosie (nice touch Eugene!). Ezekiel is now the governor, with Mercer as his Lieutenant, and I can think of no better candidates for the role! Alexandria is on the up again, which is great to see, but out of all of these scenes, it was the Carol and Daryl reunion that got me the most. Our Season One OGs. What a ride it’s been. To think of where these characters started and where they are now… the transformation is incredible! Again, the music throughout all of these scenes was fantastic and filled me with so much hope for the future of all of these characters – they truly deserve it after all they have fought for and lost. Daryl riding off ‘into the sunset’ was a fitting way to end the episode – or at least I thought…

Rick and Michonne are out there! I yelled out in excitement the second they appeared on the screen. Rick is still a captive, and Michonne has a new bad-ass outfit and is still searching. Their narration over the visuals was perfect and the final montage of all of our characters from all eleven seasons was such an emotional moment. Again, I thought I was done crying, but this got me hard. This show has been twelve years of my life. It’s had the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, but it endured, and it ended on the best possible terms. X-Geeks was built around our reviews of The Walking Dead, and we built up a community of readers from this show, so I have a lot to be thankful for. If you are reading this and have been with us since those early days – thank you!

Looking at the episode in isolation, I think they couldn’t have ended the show any better! It was intense and dramatic and every single cast member left it all out of the field. This was a worthy ending to an, on the whole, incredible show. The ending felt like a historic moment, and while we know there will be future projects involving some members of this core cast, it felt like a good place to end for all involved. Angela Kang has been a phenomenal showrunner and resurrected the show under her stewardship.

Well, there we go. My final ever episode review of The Walking Dead, and I will admit, I am extremely emotional about it. Like the Eleventh Doctor, I don’t like endings, and I am going to miss writing about The Walking Dead. Thank you for reading, be it from the early days or if this is your first time. It’s been an absolute pleasure, and even though the show has ended, remember one thing… We’re the ones who live.

What did you think of the final ever episode of The Walking Dead? Let us know in the comments or find us on social media.