Author: Joe Otterson / Source: Variety
SPOILER ALERT: Do not keep reading if you have not seen the Season 9 premiere of “,” titled “A New Beginning”
Angela Kang came in with a bang in her first outing as the showrunner for “.
”The Season 9 premiere was an impressive mix of action, horror, comedy, and genuine emotion, hearkening back to some of the best episodes in the show’s history.
The premiere opens with a quick look at Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Sanctuary, which are all more built up after the time jump from the Season 8 finale. People are now riding on horseback due to the increasing scarcity of gasoline, while Alexandria has lined its streets with solar panels. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) spend some time with Judith, while Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) work on producing corn ethanol fuel at the Sanctuary.
Rick then leads a group into the ruins of Washington D.C. with the hopes of scavenging materials from a museum like an antique plow, a canoe, and a covered wagon. Once inside, Anne, a.k.a. Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), leads the group to a stockpile of seeds kept in the museum, which she learned about back when she was a teacher. Later, Carol (Melissa McBride), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and Michonne discuss the fact that Maggie was elected as the leader of Hilltop, officially ousting Gregory (Xander Berkeley). Michonne is also temporarily stunned when she sees a display about the U.S. Constitution, hinting at her desire to establish a system of laws between the now allied communities.
This also marks one of the first times all three women have been together onscreen for some time. According to Kang, she and the writers tried to think of ways to get characters who had had limited interactions in recent seasons back in contact with each other.
“Because we have these really strong women characters…we had the opportunity to really delve into some of these stories and play combinations of characters that we haven’t seen very much,” Kang said at a press event ahead of the premiere. “We realized Michonne and Maggie don’t have a lot of stuff together in past seasons, or Michonne and Carol. We really wanted to see how they interact now that they’ve all risen to a place of strength and leadership.”
The group then tries to carefully remove the wagon from the museum, which is complicated by its enormous size and the fact they have to carefully get it across a glass floor, underneath which is a large number of walkers. They manage to get it across, but Ezekiel (Khary Payton) falls through the floor when carrying the plow with Carol. A rope tied around his waist keeps him from falling all the way down, but the walkers immediately start nipping at his heels. He does his best to fight them off as the others pull him up to safety. Once back topside, Ezekiel and Carol embrace and share a…
The post ‘Walking Dead’ Season 9 Premiere Recap: A New Beginning Indeed (SPOILERS) appeared first on FeedBox.