This is the moment. After an epic 12-year run, The Walking Dead has finally come to an end! Along with the characters, we have also journeyed through the highs and lows of some truly incredible stories. Now, the series finale takes us to the last chapter.
The Alexandrians are facing the double threat of the evolved zombies and the Pamela-led Commonwealth. So, how does the series finale wrap up the show?
In The Walking Dead series finale, Pamela Milton is arrested, allowing the Alexandrians to use the Commonwealth’s resources to defeat the evolved zombies. The main casualties in the episode are Jules, Luke, and Rosita.
As one might expect, the series finale is a rollercoaster of emotions that touches base with all the characters we’ve come to love or hate—some of whom we shall be seeing for the last time. So, let’s look into the finale in more detail:
1. Does Judith die?
Good news, Judith does not die in the season finale! She, along with Daryl and the group, encounters a few problems on the way (both the undead and Commonwealth kind), but they finally make it to the hospital.
There, they find Yumiko’s brother Tomi, who’s also a doctor. He treats Judith and assures everyone that she’s not in grave danger. The beacon of hope will live another day, and that’s enough to make us optimistic about the rest of the episode.
2. Does Rosita reunite with Coco?
We have another group, Rosita, Eugene, and Gabriel, who are looking for Coco. They know he was last seen in the Commonwealth’s children’s ward, so that’s where they head.
As expected, the route is filled with hungry zombies, and it is excruciating to see if the group will make it out safely or not. There’s even a point where Rosita falls towards a swarm, teasing that this moment could be her last.
This is an apt foreshadowing, for although the trio finds Coco, Rosita realizes she’s been bitten. More on that later…
3. Pamela Milton Gets Arrested
Once everyone tackles their respective hurdles, they end up having a face-off with Pamela. Pamela tries to rile the Commonwealth soldiers into fighting the Alexandrians, but with the threat of the zombies looming, they end up defying their leader.
As expected, Pamela gets arrested. She even tries to commit suicide by walking into a swarm of zombies; in particular, the undead body of Lance Hornsby. But Maggie rescues her before anything can happen, believing that Pamela must answer for her crimes in the right way.
Thankfully Pamela’s arrest means that the remaining Commonwealth citizens can be let into the safer sectors. Then, to ward off the zombies, the Alexandrians set fire to the elite’s households—an act that has a great anti-classist symbology to it.
The fire may not be a permanent solution to the zombies, but it does enough to drive them away and keep them at bay for the time being.
- Negan and Maggie Make up
Maggie and Negan’s uneasy alliance has kept us on edge for quite a few seasons, so it would be unfair if the show ended without addressing it.
With a sincere heart, Negan apologizes to Maggie for killing Glenn. While Maggie cannot still find the grace to forgive him, she expresses her gratitude for saving Hersheel and even acknowledges that Negan’s been changing for the better.
Maggie’s speech is indeed cathartic because she’s trying to let go of the hatred she harbored for Negan. As the two characters will partner up again in their Dead City spinoff, this new side to their alliance is refreshing.
5. Who dies in The Walking Dead series finale?
From the main/recurring characters this season, we bid farewell to Jules, Luke, and Rosita.
Jules and Luke are the first ones to go right at the beginning of the episode, as the group fights off zombies. Jules gets taken down by a whole swarm, while Luke gets bitten. The latter leaves behind his harmonica to the group as a memento.
As mentioned above, Rosita, too, gets bitten when she tries to rescue Coco. Unlike Luke, who was quite injured, a relatively unscathed Rosita could fight off the conversion for some time.
After all the action goes down, the Alexandrians share one of their first peaceful meals. While different characters reunite, Rosita spends her last moments with Maggie, Carol, Daryl, Gabriel, and others. Finally, it is insinuated that it’s Eugene who will pull the trigger when the time comes, and Rosita accepts it as a privilege.
6. What happens after the one-year time jump?
As a few fans predicted, the finale did indeed have a time jump. There isn’t much known about everything that happens during this year, especially with regard to the evolved zombies or the state of the Commonwealth. But it did cover a few bases.
- Eugene and Max have a baby together named Rosie. We also see them visiting Rosita’s grave, which is right next to all the other characters who died earlier in the episode.
- Ezekiel and Mercer have been elected as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth!
- Daryl says an emotional goodbye to Carol as he prepares to go off on a new mission. No details about what it entails were revealed, but it’s safe to assume we shall know all about it in his 2023 spinoff series, Daryl Dixon.
- Rick and Michonne make an appearance! It starts with a voiceover that teases their romance but also sets up the stage for their own yet-unnamed spinoff series. We also see shots of Michonne and Rick, the latter in a CRM jacket, apparently surrendering to some authorities.
- The very last shot is of Judith and RJ. Judith says, “We get to start over. We’re the ones who live.” I have a feeling we might see her again soon.
7. About The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is a neo-western horror drama that is based on the comic book series of the same name written by Robert Kirkman. It currently stars Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and others.
Rick Grimes, a sheriff’s deputy, wakes up from a coma to find that the world has just gone through a zombie apocalypse. He soon realizes that the world is divided into the zombies- the ‘walkers’- and a group of survivors who will do anything to survive.
The recent season, that is season 11, will adapt material from issues #175–193 of the comic book series and focuses on the group’s encounter with the Commonwealth, a large network of communities that has advanced equipment and almost fifty thousand survivors living in their different settlements.
No Comments on The Walking Dead Series Finale Ends the Show on a Hopeful Note