“There's a lot of shock in it. There's a lot of tension in it. I think [the audience] might feel angry on behalf of our characters. It's a frigging intense finale. It just goes, goes, goes.”
--Scott Gimple on the finale of The Walking Dead, interview with Entertainment Weekly, 9 November 2022The Walking Dead, interview with Entertainment Weekly, 9 November 2022

The Walking Dead has been about family since the pilot episode, in which Rick Grimes wakes up alone in hospital and begins to search for his wife and son. It is a show about the families we lose, we find, and we choose; it is a show about what it means to be a family. “We don’t leave them,” Lydia sobs at one point this week. “They need us.” That has always been the philosophy of this group of survivors, and it is starkly contrasted, in 11x23, with that of Pamela Milton, who is willing to sacrifice thousands of her people to a horde of walkers in order to save a privileged few.

While we see our heroes put this belief into practice during the episode, the same cannot be said of the writers for season 11. In “Family”, Connie tries to save a fellow citizen at her own risk while trapped in a shoot-out at Union Station. Lydia gets bitten and ultimately loses an arm trying to help Elijah to safety. And Judith, of course, saves Maggie and takes Pamela’s bullet herself. Being a family, this episode reminds us, means sticking together, making sacrifices, and never abandoning one another. But in its service to the plot, the universe, and the multitude of characters in the show at this point, The Walking Dead itself has left too much out, and too many people behind.

“[The Walking Dead] ends with a really definitive conclusion for both the series and then each individual character.”
--Scott Gimple, interview with Entertainment Weekly, 25 October 2022

With only two episodes to go before the end of the series, it feels like The Walking Dead is somersaulting so unevenly through the convoluted Commonwealth plot that the show has little chance of sticking the landing. The season as a whole has been, at times, bewildering in its narrative choices, with dead ends (Leah’s arc) and sudden drop-offs (Oceanside) that frustrate any viewer who has been tuned in for more than one season.

“Faith” has as its focus Negan’s redemption arc. Ostensibly, the episode deals with questions around our faith in each other, our faith in the world, and our faith in ourselves. Maggie doubts her decision to bring Hershel Jnr into the world; Pamela fights to retain the support of the disillusioned Commonwealth citizens; and Mercer reveals a realignment of his loyalties. But, undoubtedly, the primary purpose of 11x22 is to move Negan’s story forward, towards his upcoming spinoff with Maggie.

Note: I’m going to write this fairly spoiler free and leave out the big things, but if you want to stay completely spoiler free, read after it airs tonight.

Tonight, BBC America airs the new special “The Power of the Doctor,” which aired earlier today in the UK. The episode marks Jodie Whittaker’s final episode as the Doctor. In the feature-length episode, the Doctor battles not only her greatest enemies, but her arch nemesis, The Master (Sacha Dhawan).

If you’ve read my reviews, you know I love the series, and there is a lot to love about Chris Chibnall’s final episode. The episode has tons of shock and awe, but unfortunately, some people may think that’s all it is. “The Timeless Child” really split fans in a way an episode hadn’t in a long time, maybe ever, and while this episode doesn’t rewrite history or retcon anything (thankfully) it does feel a bit like Chibnall is throwing everything in to make an epic end. The problem is, it’s two-sided. It’s the centennial special, and not only his last episode, but Whittaker’s as well, so he should be pulling out the big guns and making a bang. The problem is, the Daleks, the Cybermen, and even more so, the Master, are huge villains in Doctor Who mythology, and they pack so much more of a punch when they are used sparingly, because they are something that as a fan you look forward to. The issue to me is they’ve been overused in the series so much lately that they don’t feel as special anymore. The episode doesn’t shine as much as it should, because that makes it feel a bit repetitive. That all being said, even though it does feel like a lot is packed in there, I personally really enjoyed this one. It does have a follow through and is vastly superior to the Flux storyline that a lot of people (at times myself included) picked apart. It has a beginning, middle, and end and doesn’t jump all over the place like the former.