11x24 ‘Rest In Peace’

[Dee]

Wow.

This finale for me was a mixture of the utterly brilliant, the spellbindingly beautiful and the desperately sad, with some completely ridiculous and unnecessarily frustrating sprinkled in. But overall, I’m good with it, and ever so thankful we didn’t get a GoT finale. I believe it was pretty close to the best finale we could have hoped for, with the given parameters of previous artistic mistakes and real life turn of events with Covid and actor availabilities/departures. It is a mostly satisfying end to the main show, with the exception of Rick and Michonne’s absence from TF at the end of the main series. Not to incoperate their return into the main show is very unfortunate and far from ideal, but it is what it is, at least we will still get that story.

What I wish was also different in the finale:

I loved Rosita’s character so I was gutted she died.

Also Luke. A very under-utilised character who I instantly warmed to (fellow music teacher). I think his death impacted me more than most others, but I didn’t like it for many other reasons. He should have been more in the story of late to have a better impact. I think it should have been Magna who died, saving Luke. That would have been much more of a blow, for the viewers and her little group too.

The smart walkers. And how they dealt with them. If they were going to lead them away and blow them up, could that not have happened a bit of a way away from the town?

I would have preferred less action in the finale and more time for the aftermath.

I rolled my eyes out of their socket with Rosita springing up from under the walkers. There are mother tiger superpowers but this was just ridiculous.

Daryl going off on his own at the end made me feel very sad. If someone was not ready to watch the spin-off, this is a devastating end for the character. I was waiting for Connie to run after him to say “I’m coming with you.” That would have been a perfect ending. With Judith and RJ looking out, and waiting for their return, hopefully with Rick and Michonne.

But there was a lot I really loved in the finale:

Mostly that everyone else I cared about, got to live. Rosita’s death was beautifully done. She was such a wonderful, inspirational character.

I loved the optimistic feeling for the future. The sense of community. The unbroken spirit of our survivors, the inspirational leadership.

The Maggie/Negan scene was perfect. The best writing we’ve had for these two. And both actors were phenomenal delivering that scene.

Daryl saving Judith - the anguish and the love of the man for this child - all the way to Judith finally telling Daryl about Rick and Michonne, and the little asskicker/big asskicker exchange. Very heartwarming.

I’m glad they left Pamela alive. Better punishment. And that Carol took her house with all the sass! Love the new leadership. nice to see the old communities being built up again and thriving.

But the best moment for me in the finale and what I think will actually be one of the best moments of the series for me, was Gabriel opening the gates to the CW townsfolk. This is who Gabriel has become. This is who our TF have become, despite all the awful crap they had been though. They have managed to stay and become stellar humans. I loved how the message is that everyone who they’ve lost along the way are still very much part of them.

So yes, I’m good with the finale. Despite that it hasn’t ticked all my boxes, I think overall it was a poignant and a beautiful end to the story. And I’m very happy the story is not completely over yet, with the three spin-offs. And there is still a prospect of the most awaited reunion with Rick and Michonne, Daryl and the kids. And maybe Judith will be right and Daryl will finally get his happy ending.

[Lori]

Wow.

Goodness! It felt completely surreal watching this episode and knowing it was the end of this series where everyone, including actors and audience, is 10 years older. I think Judith is walking talking documentation of time passing. I was left breathless a lot of the time. I found my mind filled with predetermined expectation and also an inevitable unfinished forever feeling with so many aspects of this thing winding down and understanding that the finale would no doubt feel rushed in so many ways. All in all, within these restrictional perimeters, it was an amazing ending. To a long-time watcher, some of the portions meant to be epic fell short and other parts clutched the heart - spilling blood, love, and tears. Wow is right!!!

This finale for me was a mixture of the utterly brilliant, the spellbindingly beautiful and the desperately sad, with some completely ridiculous and unnecessarily frustrating sprinkled in. But overall, I’m good with it, and ever so thankful we didn’t get a GoT finale. I believe it was pretty close to the best finale we could have hoped for, with the given parameters of previous artistic mistakes and real life turn of events with Covid and actor availabilities/departures. It is a mostly satisfying end to the main show, with the exception of Rick and Michonne’s absence from TF at the end of the main series. Not to incoperate their return into the main show is very unfortunate and far from ideal, but it is what it is, at least we will still get that story.

I felt robbed with the Rick/Michonne wind-up. They might as well have floated their images in the sky. My mind and heart just could not process what they were feeding me. I feel they never adequately wove that story line, try as they might.

What I wish was also different in the finale:

I loved Rosita’s character so I was gutted she died.

Ugh! *sniff - Me too! I thought about you and knew I was sharing in your deep sorrow, loving Rosita like we do. She was a beautifully layered strong and sensitive character and I nearly feel honored to have met her. The scene where she fell into the crowd of walkers and her final feisty fight was an emotional boomerang…then to have it come to fruition in the end was horrifying. Her ethereal calm, love, and sorrow permeated my heart, especially her tender goodbye moments with her little one whom she had defended so valiantly. I cannot say enough about this character and the actress. Heartbreaking.

Also Luke. A very under-utilised character who I instantly warmed to (fellow music teacher). I think his death impacted me more than most others, but I didn’t like it for many other reasons. He should have been more in the story of late to have a better impact. I think it should have been Magna who died, saving Luke. That would have been much more of a blow, for the viewers and her little group too.

Interesting. This death scene was truly amazing, with the breadth given to the palpable effort and sorrow of the group, especially with Daryl in the throes of transfusing Judith. It was done incredibly well. I agree with your thoughts on the impact, yet I’m not sure we could stomach losing another strong female character. Magna was also underutilized near the end with so much minutia that could have been cut. I think a few throw-back personal episodes winding up certain characters could have gone a long way to add to a finished product.

The smart walkers. And how they dealt with them. If they were going to lead them away and blow them up, could that not have happened a bit of a way away from the town?

I would have preferred less action in the finale and more time for the aftermath.

Absolutely. It felt like a desperate waste of precious time. No doubt a strong nod to that portion of the audience bonded to rotting flesh in motion.

I rolled my eyes out of their socket with Rosita springing up from under the walkers. There are mother tiger superpowers but this was just ridiculous.

Ha! It surprised me but I was just damn glad this was not her ending, particularly with a babe strapped on. Very comic book. Then the heroic leap from van to wall pipe. Still, I’ll give it to her.

Daryl going off on his own at the end made me feel very sad. If someone was not ready to watch the spin-off, this is a devastating end for the character. I was waiting for Connie to run after him to say “I’m coming with you.” That would have been a perfect ending. With Judith and RJ looking out, and waiting for their return, hopefully with Rick and Michonne.

It felt like Daryl leaving erased so much that had transpired with emotional growth and relationships. Yes, Connie should have sped her cute little self up to him and hopped on the bike, wrapping her arms around his waist (which I noticed was highly accessible as he didn’t even have his bow and arrow strapped to his back. What?!! This quest to find Michonne and Rick needed to happen early in the season with some believable and satisfying advancement, and because of the spin-off situation robbed TWD of complete closure. That is too bad. This was fractured when those characters mostly left the show. Kind of unforgivable overall. Still, all that Daryl to satisfy the masses instead was kind of wonderful, yes?

Daryl was incredibly heroic and present in these past couple of seasons. I am grateful for that and the respect he was shown in the writing.

But there was a lot I really loved in the finale:

Mostly that everyone else I cared about, got to live. Rosita’s death was beautifully done. She was such a wonderful, inspirational character.

I loved the optimistic feeling for the future. The sense of community. The unbroken spirit of our survivors, the inspirational leadership.

Yes, a satisfying bow. Part of me said not much has changed as the future was still at risk with the unknown - like we’d seen this all before. Yet, they are now seasoned to perfection, know their strengths and weaknesses and how to best incorporate it in the future. Important would be the stories. When the stories of valor, love, and sacrifice fade, the generations are destined to repeat the past - particularly as the lap of luxury and ease of living returns and the struggle fades.

I gave a nod to the two characters that plagued me throughout the series, making me yawn hard and “roll my eyes out of their sockets”. Ha!!! Gabriel and Ezekiel (The King!) both had my respect in the end. They earned their stripes. Eugene still equaled basically drool to me every time he was on screen. I understand his growth and arc, but I felt saturated with sniveling. Even his goodbye to Rosita made me close my eyes and hand him a tissue…wipe your nose please. It was done as well as possible I suppose and I did bond to his love of Rosita..

The Maggie/Negan scene was perfect. The best writing we’ve had for these two. And both actors were phenomenal delivering that scene.

Oh. My. Good. Lord. Excellence abounding! Perfection for sure. Incredible writing and impeccable acting. That was one storyline given its incredible due. So very well done.

Daryl saving Judith - the anguish and the love of the man for this child - all the way to Judith finally telling Daryl about Rick and Michonne, and the little asskicker/big asskicker exchange. Very heartwarming.

Don’t even. What a warm and strong wing Daryl draped over this child…his child in so many ways. This strong little sprite he helped raise from the moment he held her in his able arms. He found a way when there was no way time and time again. I absolutely love this dynamic. The blood transfusion was visual symbolism as he’d been a lifeline all along. I wonder if Michonne and Rick would truly support a complete absence from their children’s lives. I suppose the painful side of valor is sacrifice…and deep sacrifice it was. This is repeated by heroes throughout history. They left their kiddos in capable hands.

I’m glad they left Pamela alive. Better punishment. And that Carol took her house with all the sass! Love the new leadership. nice to see the old communities being built up again and thriving.

That was a good ending for Pamela. As much as this was well-played, her character did not have the impact of an Alpha, etc. Of course, Alpha and Negan are hard to live up to! Complete disclosure: Don’t miss the cruelty of Negan but kind of miss the bravado. (I will reserve “swagger” for Damon.)

But the best moment for me in the finale and what I think will actually be one of the best moments of the series for me, was Gabriel opening the gates to the CW townsfolk. This is who Gabriel has become. This is who our TF have become, despite all the awful crap they had been though. They have managed to stay and become stellar humans. I loved how the message is that everyone who they’ve lost along the way are still very much part of them.

Yes! That was skin-tingling climactic. The snippets of past characters was touching and solidified how bonded we as watchers were with so many of them. Their hearts and deeds were honored in the ending.

So yes, I’m good with the finale. Despite that it hasn’t ticked all my boxes, I think overall it was a poignant and a beautiful end to the story. And I’m very happy the story is not completely over yet, with the three spin-offs. And there is still a prospect of the most awaited reunion with Rick and Michonne, Daryl and the kids. And maybe Judith will be right and Daryl will finally get his happy ending.

It’s so hard to know if there weren’t spin-offs how this ending would be digested. It did feel rushed to me with all the action, etc. I wondered how on earth does a finale feel so rushed over a decade span. There was so much wasted time. I remember you lamenting throughout the seasons that they were introducing tons of new characters and useless side stories, etc., knowing time was winding down and important building blocks ignored. That is an honest assessment of what transpired for whatever reason. The pandemic couldn’t have helped and the departures of actors, etc., played a role no doubt. They had to walk a fine line in the finale between syrupy crescendos and arrow-to-the-heart truth telling that give this series and characters the respect deserved. The finale failed and succeeded (as most finales of this sort do).

So, my fine feathered friend, I have “walked” alongside you through the guts and glory. Thank you for the fun “Ride”. This series had a lot to teach us or at the very least shined a light into dark corners of humanity and presented important questions to ponder.

I am raising a glass to the man with dirt on his boots, shoulders so broad he held his loved ones up like Atlas, and arms gentle enough to cradle innocence and protect it at all costs. I’m grateful for the feels and fun, and strangely the deep impact beyond the screen. So happy he remains something to look forward to seeing more of and not just a winged wonder who visits in dreams.

These characters and stories will live on in our psyches.

[Lori]

[Dee]

I was so thrilled to see you’d caught up with TWD and read your review. I’m delighted that you mostly liked the finale. It’s awful to be disappointed after a finale after investing so much time watching a long-running show. (Still sore about GoT here.)

Her ethereal calm, love, and sorrow permeated my heart, especially her tender goodbye moments with her little one whom she had defended so valiantly. I cannot say enough about this character and the actress. Heartbreaking.

I loved these words about Rosita.

This death scene was truly amazing, with the breadth given to the palpable effort and sorrow of the group, especially with Daryl in the throes of transfusing Judith. It was done incredibly well. I agree with your thoughts on the impact, yet I’m not sure we could stomach losing another strong female character. Magna was also underutilized near the end with so much minutia that could have been cut. I think a few throw-back personal episodes winding up certain characters could have gone a long way to add to a finished product.

The scene was very strong. And yes, you’re right, losing two strong women at the end would have been too much. For those people who paid attention in Season 9 and still remember the days when we saw how closely knit this group of five were, it was particularly sad to see them reunited under these circumstances. I still feel it was too much time passing since we had Luke around. And you’re right about being Magna under utilised, especially as she was much more likeable (for me) in this final season.
My greatest grief with this group is that they didn’t pair Connie with Daryl, and send them off together in the spin-off. It’s frustrating to know that the Daryl Connie pairing was planned but not developed due to the actress filming elsewhere. However, they still could have picked up this thread on her return and decided not to, which is their and our huge loss. An unearthed goldmine. Hard to think of a more unique pairing.


It felt like Daryl leaving erased so much that had transpired with emotional growth and relationships. Yes, Connie should have sped her cute little self up to him and hopped on the bike, wrapping her arms around his waist (which I noticed was highly accessible as he didn’t even have his bow and arrow strapped to his back. What?!! This quest to find Michonne and Rick needed to happen early in the season with some believable and satisfying advancement, and because of the spin-off situation robbed TWD of complete closure. That is too bad. This was fractured when those characters mostly left the show. Kind of unforgivable overall. Still, all that Daryl to satisfy the masses instead was kind of wonderful, yes?

Daryl was incredibly heroic and present in these past couple of seasons. I am grateful for that and the respect he was shown in the writing.

In complete agreement with this. With a caveat the Leah storyline was a big mistake with the character. Should have never happened.

And yes, Daryl leaving without a specific strong lead and specific mission to retrieve Rick and Michonne is also a bit out of character, leaving the children and his family. To go out to explore and have finding Rick and Michonne simply a hopeful side mission did not sit well with me. If that was the case, he should not have left alone. He should not have left alone under any circumstances. It felt wrong. And very sad.

So true. It would have been nice to hear maybe a handful of stories from the last told to the children, like Daryl promised. I think the series could have worked with an entire episode devoted to the aftermath, not just the last third of it.

I’m so glad you’ve ended on a good note with Ezekiel and Gabriel. And lol about Eugene, I kind of agree too.

What a warm and strong wing Daryl draped over this child…his child in so many ways. This strong little sprite he helped raise from the moment he held her in his able arms. He found a way when there was no way time and time again. I absolutely love this dynamic. The blood transfusion was visual symbolism as he’d been a lifeline all along.



I wonder if Michonne and Rick would truly support a complete absence from their children’s lives. I suppose the painful side of valor is sacrifice…and deep sacrifice it was. This is repeated by heroes throughout history. They left their kiddos in capable hands.

Truly, I think Michonne’s departure wasn’t done well. She should have at least had a conversation with Daryl about it. I consider that a big mistake. She knew how much Rick meant to him. She should have told him. I think it was in character for her to go off to look for him with the lead she had, and leave the kids in Daryl’s charge, but not in character to do this without talking to Daryl about it. Rick of course had no choice Ieaving, and we did see him trying to escape to get back to his family in the post credits. Well, when we finally get to see the Rick and Michonne spin-off, we will learn more about what’s kept them this long away from their family.

Don’t miss the cruelty of Negan but kind of miss the bravado.

I think we might get a bit of that back in the spin-off. I hope we will. I think some of that bravado was a bit OTT cartoon like, I’d like to see a bit of a toned down version of it. Bravado for only the immediate audience, not to a theatric display to a crowd of people. Like Damon.

(I will reserve “swagger” for Damon.)

Damn right.

It’s so hard to know if there weren’t spin-offs how this ending would be digested. It did feel rushed to me with all the action, etc. I wondered how on earth does a finale feel so rushed over a decade span. There was so much wasted time. I remember you lamenting throughout the seasons that they were introducing tons of new characters and useless side stories, etc., knowing time was winding down and important building blocks ignored. That is an honest assessment of what transpired for whatever reason. The pandemic couldn’t have helped and the departures of actors, etc., played a role no doubt. They had to walk a fine line in the finale between syrupy crescendos and arrow-to-the-heart truth telling that give this series and characters the respect deserved. The finale failed and succeeded (as most finales of this sort do).

I think we are in full agreement.

They should have scrapped the Reapers storyline completely, with Leah included. Totally superfluous to the main story. The only thing about it that moved the main storyline further was Maggie and Negan’s interactions throughout that mission. We could have still had that without all the episodes that were wasted on that group and Leah.

In many ways the writers’ hands were forced but for some mistakes there are no excuses.

It’s a great pity they only get one shot at telling the story. Wouldn’t it be great to go back to certain points in the main events and see it develop in a different direction? A bunch of what-ifs?

So, my fine feathered friend, I have “walked” alongside you through the guts and glory. Thank you for the fun “Ride”. This series had a lot to teach us or at the very least shined a light into dark corners of humanity and presented important questions to ponder.

I’m so happy we have shared this experience. I am also deeply sorry for some of the truly distressing parts of this story, but I hope you feel, like I do, that we were richly awarded on the whole, and the overall feel of the show was still an uplifting experience and left us with more hope and appreciation of what’s beautiful about humanity than despair about the depravity people are capable of.

I am raising a glass to the man with dirt on his boots, shoulders so broad he held his loved ones up like Atlas, and arms gentle enough to cradle innocence and protect it at all costs. I’m grateful for the feels and fun, and strangely the deep impact beyond the screen. So happy he remains something to look forward to seeing more of and not just a winged wonder who visits in dreams.

Thank you for these words, Pic.

And I hope that the journey from here onwards will be also be a good one. I don’t think Daryl’s story will be complete without reuniting with Rick and Michonne and bringing them back home to Alexandria. And the bit in between will hopefully be fun.


These characters and stories will live on in our psyches.

I’m so glad you think so too. I feel immensely grateful for the whole experience that has truly enriched my life in so many totally unexpected ways. And I’m so happy to have shared this journey with you, Pic. Thank you.

[Dee]

Moments like this will stay with us forever. Out of all the darkness this surge of hope and love and such fierce loyalty.

[Lori]

This reunion just says it all, doesn’t it? My heartstrings pinged seeing every beloved familiar face. I wished them alive and well. Ah me. The Daryl/Rick hug with Daryl tucking his head into Rick’s shoulder - very much the little brother with a bond beyond words. So much spoken in this moment. So damn much gratefulness and respect. Masterful relationships made manifest in fabulous acting. Each core person’s story has been honored for the most part very delicately and with care. (Yes, the Leah story was something to be drop-kicked across time. And Carol and Daryl should be inseparable at this point for sure.). We shall see where the road leads…