Is everyone recovered yet?
Tonight, The Walking Dead aired its penultimate episode of season 9. Though the title was “The Calm Before,” the calm brought about by Ezekiel’s fair certainly didn’t last long, as Alpha and the Whisperers were on hand to make sure it all ended in bloodshed, taking the lives of many of the survivors in the process.
What with this and Michonne’s encounter with murderous kids last week, TWD has been pretty heavy-going of late. And the drama’s only about to heat up as we go into the season finale. Titled “The Storm” – can you see what they did there? – the synopsis below promises that the subject of the episode’s name is both metaphorical, as our heroes face new horrors, and also literal, as a winter blizzard takes hold of the environment.
“In the aftermath of an overwhelming loss, the communities must brave a ferocious blizzard; as one group deals with an enemy from within, another is forced to make a life or death decision.”
TWD fans will note that this is the first time the TV series has tackled extreme weather conditions as a source of danger for the survivors, even though blizzards and the like have featured in the comics right from the beginning. This has previously been explained as owing to budget concerns, but apparently, the production team thought it was high time they went to the expense anyway, hence this finale.
Like I said above, the show has served up a lot of shocks and devastation of late, so it’s difficult to see how the last episode can top the past few weeks and send the season out with a bang – but we’re certainly eager to find out.
Be sure to catch The Walking Dead 9×16 “The Storm” when it airs on AMC next Sunday, March 31st.
