The Walking Dead: Adaptation (9x09)

Ehhhh.... I try so hard to be enthusiastic about this show, and there are definitely pieces of this episode that I quite enjoyed, but I feel like this whole show is so bloated now, and things have been going on for so long, that I just want them to pull the trigger and put us all out of our misery.

Cons:

I thought that the acting was really good in the scenes with Judith and Negan, but I can't stand the trope of having a precocious little kid who doesn't talk like a kid. And while I found Negan and Carl's weird connection kind of fascinating, I'm just not gripped by the same thing happening again. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is doing a good job with the character, but the script just isn't gripping me when it comes to Negan's fate.

There are so many characters on this show that I just can't quite bring myself to care about. Or, maybe more accurately, I do care about them in some capacities, but the focus on certain relationships is putting me right to sleep. So, for example, I think Siddiq has potential, but discovering that Rosita is pregnant with his baby just feels stupid. Eugene can be good for a laugh, and is certainly an interesting character, but him being in love with Rosita is pointless and awkward past the point of being compelling. And Henry - that little snot-nosed kid is not interesting or funny or anything else. I don't like him, and I don't care about this potential burgeoning romance between him and Lydia, the new Whisperer prisoner.

I feel like I want to reiterate this just once more: killing Jesus was dumb. He was just starting to get interesting. Also, the Walkers actually talking would have been way more interesting than just another human threat. Just felt like I should put in my two cents there.

Pros:

I really liked the pacing of this episode, which is something I almost never say about The Walking Dead. We pick up right where we left off before the hiatus, as we see Daryl, Aaron, Michonne, and the others escape from the clutches of the Whisperers, bringing Jesus' dead body with them. We spend the rest of the episode cutting between the Hilltop plot and the Negan plot, and I never felt too bored or weighted down by either story, and felt they spent a good amount of time on each.

Despite not being gripped by the Judith and Negan situation, I did rather like Negan's scenes in the episode, if you take them as a whole. He escapes, and Judith lets him. He goes back to the Sanctuary and finds it empty, with one of his loyal lieutenants inside as a Walker. The experience shows Negan that there's nothing for him outside of the society he has been a part of for the last several years. Even if he's going back to be in prison, he still knows he has to go back. I'll admit that the time jump did a lot to make a possible redemption for Negan seem possible, and I'm intrigued to follow his progress, as long as they don't rely too heavily on Judith saying precocious adult-like things in order to get him to wise up. We shall see.

Despite the fact that killing Jesus was stupid, I will say this: the most powerful thing about this whole episode was the crew bringing Jesus' body back to Hilltop. The whole time they were making their escape, the fact that Jesus was with them made it really poignant. It also oddly made me feel the threat level more than I usually do. They had this literal dead weight they needed to carry with them, and their reason for doing so was purely sentimental and not at all practical. I'm glad they succeeded, as much as I am devastated that Jesus is gone.

In particular, of course, it was deliciously painful to see Daryl's reaction to losing his friend, especially given the emotions that it stirred up for him regarding Rick. That moment when Daryl apologized for not being able to find Rick to give Michonne closure... ouch. Michonne says she's sorry that she wasn't able to find him either - for the both of them. Her acknowledgment of Rick's importance to Daryl was quite touching. They are bonded through blood and grief, and it's powerful to see that connection amid so much pain.

I'm actually a little bit invested in what happens at Hilltop now that Tara is completely in charge. That's not something she signed up for, but she's going to have to step up to the plate and make the best of it. I think we're going to see a lot of interesting politics develop in the coming weeks. I also think that we've got an interesting reversal going on with Michonne and Aaron. Michonne is maybe starting to realize how connected she still feels to other communities, while Aaron is so devastated by the loss of Jesus that he has turned inward and now chooses to accept that Michonne was right in her isolationist views.

I'll end this review by mentioning that I'm starting to feel a bit more interested in the new crowd. I liked Luke and Alden going off on their own to find some of the others, and of course we get a cliffhanger where they are confronted by the Whisperers. I liked their camaraderie over music, and I like that all these new folks want to chip in and help out at Hilltop, in order to really earn their place.

So there you have it. A pretty good premiere for the back half of this season. I'm still feeling a bit weary about this show, but writing out my feelings has made me realize that there's still a lot to enjoy.

8/10