Walking Dead Season 9 Made Shocking Choices

The Walking Dead season 9 is a marked improvement over previous seasons of AMC's zombie show, reinvigorating a series which up until now had been dipping in quality with each passing year. The Walking Dead's ratings may never again reach the heights of its earlier seasons, but season 9 is certainly a move in the right direction for the long-running series.

This season, The Walking Dead's cast changed quite a bit with the loss of major characters like Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohen), but in their stead other characters have stepped up and been joined by new groups of survivors. Season 9 jumped forward in time further than any previous season and even employed flashbacks for the first time, slowly revealing events that happened in the interim and even during the outbreak. The biggest change on The Walking Dead season 9, however, is the introduction of a new kind of villain, the Whisperers, who challenge the survivors in ways they never have been before.

All of these changes and more have transformed The Walking Dead from the miserable slog it became across the past few seasons into a captivating series once again. Now, there's an excitement surrounding where the series goes next and even anticipation for season 10. Here's what The Walking Dead season 9 did to improve itself.

This Page: How Rick's Death Evolved The Walking Dead
Page 2: New Villains & Time Jumps Created A New Show
Page 3: Season 9 Was Proper Walking Dead Again

Rick's Exit Was A Perfect "Ending"

The Walking Dead has lost characters before, but losing Rick Grimes was almost unimaginable. The Walking Dead is an ensemble show, but Rick is arguably the main character - how could it continue without him? After seasons 7 and 8 botched the exits of main characters like Glenn and Carl, was The Walking Dead really going to manage any better with Rick?

Then season 9 comes along and it executes Rick's exit more perfectly than was thought possible. Andrew Lincoln's departure from The Walking Dead pleases fans that wanted Rick gone and those who can't imagine Walking Dead without him, removing him from the main series while also promising to continue his story in stand-alone movies at a later date. It's a genius move, and one that even works surprisingly well within in the narrative. On The Walking Dead, the characters all believe Rick is dead, having gone out in a literal blaze of glory when he sacrifices himself and his pet project (the bridge) to save everyone from an oncoming herd. In actuality, he survives the bridge explosion and is saved by Jadis/Anne, flown off in a helicopter to some unknown location which, when revealed, will also explain the "A" and "B" mystery the show has been teasing for years.

Rick's "death" gives The Walking Dead all sorts of storytelling potential, allowing the characters who remain on the main series to carry on without him while at the same time teasing a reunion in the years to come. Season 9 is able to set Rick aside for a time, and in the process, The Walking Dead is becoming a stronger series for him to return to.

Daryl & Michonne Are Good Walking Dead Leads

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead

With major characters like Rick and Maggie exiting The Walking Dead, other characters needed to step up and take their places as the leads among the ensemble. In season 9, those characters are Daryl and Michonne, with Norman Reedus and Danai Gurira easily shouldering much of the narrative following the six-year time jump. Rick's death places both characters into positions of leadership they previously wouldn't have held, challenging them and forcing them to deal with situations they can't solve with a katana or crossbow.

Daryl, especially, is given more to do than in any season of recent memory, as if removing Rick finally allows Norman Reedus' character to step out from his shadow. Nowhere is Daryl's arc stronger in The Walking Dead season 9 than in his interactions with Lydia. He recognizes that she's been abused by her mother, Alpha, even before she does, having some experience with enduring that kind of behavior himself. The two are kindred spirits in that way, and in feeling responsible for her, Daryl finds himself in the unlikely position of being a parent or mentor. Now that Henry's gone, Daryl is really all Lydia has left, paving the way for an even deeper character arc when The Walking Dead returns for season 10.

Page 2 of 3: New Villains & Time Jumps Created A New Show

Judith Grimes in the woods holding a gun in The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead Season 9's Time Jumps Worked

When The Walking Dead season 9 begins, it's been 18 months since the war with the Saviors ended. In that time, it's evident how things have changed as the communities continue to rebuild and look towards the future. This works to visibly and tonally distinguish season 9 from the previous seasons, but it also gives the story and characters a chance to reset following the war.

In the wake of Rick's exit from the series, The Walking Dead season 9 jumps ahead even further in time - six years! Skipping so far ahead in time is about as close to a soft reboot as an ongoing series like The Walking Dead can get, and it reinvigorated the show. There's some mystery surrounding what happened in the interim, and it's used effectively to tease out why certain characters are acting the way they are. The time jump also allows for young characters to grow up, like Henry and Judith, making them an interesting new addition to the main cast. There's even a bit of a jump between the season 9 penultimate episode, "The Calm Before" and the finale, "Storm", with the snowstorm suggesting that at least month or so has passed since the fair's tragic events.

The Walking Dead isn't afraid to play around with time anymore, skipping ahead and flashing back as it suits the story they're telling. It's a bold choice for a series that had previously spent two seasons covering just a few months time and The Walking Dead season 9 is all the better for it.

The Whisperers Are The Best Walking Dead Villains in Years

Samantha Morton as Alpha and Whisperers in The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead season 9 introduces a new kind of enemy in the Whisperers who are easily the best villains the show has featured in years. The Whisperers and their bizarre worldview are unlike anything the survivors have faced before. These are not simply more people with guns but a group who believe that the world as it was is over and humans must either adapt or die.

To the Whisperers, that adaptation means disguising themselves with the skins of the dead and living among the walkers. They're led by a cruel and malicious woman, Alpha, and her devoted second-in-command, Beta. Together, they instill loyalty in their followers through fear, making them believe there is no better way to survive in this new world. And while The Walking Dead has certainly had cruel leaders before, none have proven so good at manipulating people with a cult-like devotion as Alpha.

The Whisperers' greatest weapon is their proximity to the walkers, using them both as protection and as an attack. This has made combating the Whisperers difficult and already Alpha has claimed several victims. To what lengths Daryl, Michonne, and the rest of the survivors will go to defeat Alpha and her Whisperers is sure to be fascinating to watch unfold in season 10, and that in itself is more than can be said of any obstacle from recent seasons of The Walking Dead.

Page 3 of 3: Season 9 Was Proper Walking Dead Again

Season 9 Smartly (& Shockingly) Adapts The Walking Dead Comics

AMC's The Walking Dead often adapts material from the original Walking Dead comics, though typically it'll pull inspiration from the storylines rather than strictly adapting the events. Sometimes that's worked out well, other times it hasn't, but The Walking Dead season 9 is able to strike that perfect balance.

In the first half of season 9, The Walking Dead moves up Maggie's confronting of Negan in order for Lauren Cohen to take part in the crucial scene before leaving the show. But it also gets the ball rolling on Negan's transition into a good guy sooner than that arc begins in the comics, giving Jeffrey Dean Morgan his best Negan material yet by allowing him to play against audiences' expectations. The Walking Dead season 9 also reassigns certain storylines to others, like how Daryl assumes a combination of both Rick and Maggie's roles from these early confrontations with the Whisperers while Henry takes on Carl's role in the arc.

And in the case of Henry, putting him in Carl's place gets viewers involved with his character more quickly, and by giving him enough screen time, his death later on feels appropriately shocking and poignant. The Walking Dead season 9 doesn't just lift moments from the comics for the sake of including them, it works them into the narrative in whatever way best serves the story its telling.

The Walking Dead Finally Became Optimistic Again

Walking Dead season 9 premiere - Rick Judith and Michonne

The Walking Dead season 9 brought back a sense of optimism about the future, giving its characters a reason to go on living that was more than just surviving through the next fight. In its very first episode, season 9 has the survivors traveling to Washington D.C. not in search of weapons but farming tools and seeds - the very things needed for their communities to grow. The next few episodes focus on them building a bridge, which is a heavy-handed metaphor, sure, but it's indicative of The Walking Dead season 9 being a more optimistic, hopeful version of the show.

Following Rick's disappearance and another time jump, the survivors are a little worse for wear, more isolated and fearful, but The Walking Dead season 9 doesn't wallow in misery. Instead, there continue to be moments that are meant to remind the characters that there is more to life than just staying alive. Jerry and Nabila get married and start a family, and Jerry is beyond giddy when sharing the good news with his king. Henry gets a taste of what it's like to be a real teenager when he sneaks off and gets drunk. Luke is desperate to save musical instruments, wanting to preserve what he can of humanity's pre-apocalypse culture. The fair is itself an attempt at bringing a little joy back into people's lives, with Ezekiel's quest to screen a movie exemplifying that idea better than anything else.

The Walking Dead season 9 brings a renewed optimism about the future - even in the face of new threats that test the survivors as nothing has before. In doing so, season 9 doesn't just make life worth living for its characters, it makes The Walking Dead a show worth watching again.

Next: The Walking Dead Season 9 Ending & What It Means For Season 10 Explained

The Walking Dead season 10 returns this fall to AMC.