Photo: AMC
Despite the lowest ratings and critic/fan backlash, the first eight episodes of The Walking Dead Season 9 delivered some of the things we wanted to see on the show. There was a lot to navigate through, much of it revolving around the build-up to losing Rick Grimes and how it would affect the storyline moving forward.
There were a lot of unanswered questions following the mid-season finale. Below are the nine things we want to see in the back half of The Walking Dead Season 9, which will air in February 2019.
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The Walking Dead Season 9
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Alpha and Beta
Samantha Morton and Ryan Hurst were both cast as the comic's iconic villains, Alpha and Beta. Alpha is the leader of the Whisperers while Beta serves as second in command. Both characters were teased in the mid-season trailer, so expect an epic introduction and hopefully episodes heavily featuring the star power of Morton and Hurst.
Photo: Image Comics/Skybound
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Dwight's Return
The last time we saw the former savior-turned-ally Dwight was when Daryl told him to find his missing wife, Sherry. Austin Amelio, who plays the scarred character, recently confirmed at New Jersey's Walker Stalker Con that Dwight is still alive. Daryl promised Dwight that if he saw him again, he would kill him, but the group coming under attack by the Whisperers sets up a perfect comeback for Dwight, and possibly his wife, to return and help save the day.
Photo: AMC
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Flashbacks
The six-year time jump since Rick's "death" means there are tons of questions to unpack from those lost years. Specifically, where did Michonne and Daryl get those X scars from? And what exactly happened between Alexandria and the other communities to fracture relations so badly? Did Gabriel give Negan that baseball and glove?
The Walking Dead could effectively stretch out the flashbacks into the beginning of Season 10 in order to catch viewers up on missing history without cramming it all in the back eight episodes. We're definitely eager to see some of the direct aftermath of Rick's death and how the characters all will respond to losing him before things clearly went to hell.
Photo: AMC
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More Horror
The show is first and foremost a character-driven drama focused on what it means to survive in the apocalypse. However, in recent seasons the show has left behind its horror roots a bit, and now Season 9 appears to be bringing back them back. The mid-season finale proved the show still knows how to balance quality storytelling with intense terror, and we hope to see more of that moving forward.
Photo: AMC
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The Whisperers
Obviously, a lot of the horror element of the series is being reintroduced to the show via these creepy new villains. The Whisperers are an example of what can happen to some people who have spent too long in an apocalyptic world full of zombies who were once loved ones. The show teased the new group before giving them a proper introduction in the haunting, pulse-pounding midseason finale with Jesus' unexpected death.
While the killing of the character felt a little premature, there's no denying that the sequence did its job. The show would do well to continue slow-building the Whisperers, leaving audiences and our main characters completely unbalanced by the new threat. Here's hoping the writers will slowly peel back the layers on the new big baddies.
Photo: AMC
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The Fair
Diehard Dead fans want to see the Kingdom, Alexandria, and Hilltop communities reunited, and perhaps the "fair" that Carol continues to bring up will be the best way to do that. Careful what you wish for as in the comics the "fair" leads to the death of several characters. We won't reveal who dies in the source material, but after a couple of seasons of incredibly big losses, it might be in the show's best interest to hold off on deadly shocks for a little bit.
Showrunner Angela Kang and her team of writers are certainly clever enough to come up with a season-ending cliffhanger that isn't simply more major characters getting written off.
Photo: AMC
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Negan
At the end of the mid-season finale, Negan discovered his cell was unlocked and quietly left his cage behind. So who left the door open? Was Gabriel too distracted by the news of Rosita being hurt to make sure the door was secure? Did he do it on purpose? Or was it someone else?
Now that Negan is free, his first step will likely be to find Lucille, the barbwire bat that acts as Negan's last symbol of his dead wife. Finding Lucille will be a long-shot, but either way, where does he go from there? Negan has had plenty of time to sit with his thoughts over the years. Is he changed? Will he become an important ally against the Whisperers? Or, will he seek out power and control once again?
Photo: AMC
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Ninja Aaron
After the big time jump, we learned that Aaron and Jesus had secretly been meeting for years to keep the connection between the communities alive. Jesus was also training Aaron how to fight, and after seeing how devastated Aaron was when Jesus was killed by the Whisperers in the mid-season finale, it might be time for him to exact revenge. Since Jesus will no longer be able to utilize the ninja skills he was known for in the comics, perhaps his padawan will now take the reins and we'll see some Ninja Aaron in upcoming episodes.
Photo: AMC
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Leader Tara
Tara has already proven herself to be a strong leader after serving as Jesus' second-in-command at Hilltop. With Jesus gone, it's likely Hilltop will have a new vote, and if they're smart, they'll put Tara in charge. Hopefully, she and Michonne can work out their problems. Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom have bigger fish to fry now.
Photo: AMC
