The Walking Dead has dominated the news recently due to various upcoming projects, but the latest news to date is the show’s part two finale, the trailer for part three, and the cast wrapping on set.
The production team and cast recently completed filming, finalising the third part of season 11. Not only that, but part two of season 11 just aired it last episode, and the trailer for part 3 has dropped.
Even though the show is sadly coming to an end after 12 years, a lot of exciting things are set to happen in the final part of the show. Before we explore what’s to be expected in the show’s return later this year, let’s recap on the show’s most recent events.
Recap
The reapers were killed in episode 9, with the exception of Leah, by Maggie and the team she assembled to travel to their base in order to retrieve resources for their community. Maggie attempted to kill Leah who managed to escape. Negan confronted Maggie after her revenge, telling her that he wouldn’t give her the chance to kill him too, which is why he was leaving the group.
Who died?
Surprisingly, none of the important and beloved characters died in the finale, or throughout part 2 for that matter. The only characters that died in the last eight episodes were Alden, Marco, and Leah. Of course, many other characters were killed, but they weren’t recurring characters or ones who contributed significantly to the narrative.
A wonderful life
Alexandria, Hilltop, and Oceanside were introduced to The Commonwealth and invited to live in their community. Many agreed, but some were sceptical, like Maggie. The Commonwealth made themselves out to be generous and welcoming with the dream world they had created, as well as helping people such as Ezekiel overcome his cancer and aiding Alexandria in its rebuild.
Those who joined this community were assigned jobs; Daryl and Rosita became soldiers, Connie a reporter, and Magna a server at social events. The children were provided with the chance to have normal childhoods by attending school and costume competitions.
Daryl doesn’t seem to be the type to settle down in a community like The Commonwealth, taking on a police-like role, and wearing armour. However, it seems this choice is all for Judith and R.J. in order for them to have a somewhat normal life. We saw him spending quality time with Rick and Michonne’s children in part 2, coming home to them and eating meals with them like a family, he even found a vinyl and listened to it with Judith.
We learned that Pamela knew Alexandria’s former leader, Diana, when she visited to see how the rebuild was progressing. According to Pamela, she and Diana knew each other through their work in politics.
Romance in The Commonwealth
Many fans (including me) are still wishing for Connie and Daryl to exit the friend zone and finally have a romantic relationship. It may never happen, but one surprising and unlikely relationship that bloomed in part 2 was Princess and Mercer. Many have come to like Mercer since his introduction, and although he can seem terrifying at times, he’s shown to have a soft side.
Eugene also found romance (twice, I know, never thought that we would be saying that for Eugene, but hey) in The Commonwealth with “Stephanie” and seemed to be content and in love. Stephanie then went missing and Eugene believed that The Commonwealth were responsible.
Eugene later discovered that Stephanie was actually a spy known as Shira, assigned by Hornsby to get close to Eugene to gain inside information about his group. After uncovering the truth, Eugene was made aware that Shira wasn’t the person he had communications with over the radio; The woman he had travelled to meet was actually Max, Pamela Milton’s assistant.
Troublemakers and psychopaths
Another person causing a lot of trouble in The Commonwealth, other than Hornsby, is Sebastian, Pamela Milton’s son. He and Daryl have had a lot of conflict since Daryl joined The Commonwealth and their last encounter proved that Daryl had had enough of his arrogance.
There was an incident at the Governor’s party which raised questions about The Commonwealth. A former soldier of The Commonwealth known as Tyler Davis, who was part of the team that held Yumiko, Princess, Eugene, and Ezekiel in the train yard, kicked up a fuss holding Max at knifepoint, expressing his issues with Governor Milton and claiming that she doesn’t care about people as much as she claims.
Hornsby sent a former CIA agent called Toby to execute the people they believed stole from them. Toby convinces Aaron and Gabriel to travel with him to the people he intended to kill, although he didn’t clue them in on this detail. Aaron and Gabriel were led to believe they were travelling to this new community to offer a place for them at The Commonwealth.
When they were invited in, the leader, Ian, threatened and refused to trust them over the worry that they were there to commit cannibalism. Toby deceived Ian, portraying himself as pathetic and afraid.
Next thing we know, Toby snatches Ian’s gun shooting him and killing the rest of his soldiers. Aaron and Gabriel challenge Toby which led to Toby killing Ian, Gabriel getting handcuffed (later saved by Negan), and Aaron killing multiple Commonwealth soldiers. Toby then initiates a war with those in the community, including Aaron, Gabriel, Maggie, and Negan.
Negan’s redemption
An unforeseen turn of events this season was when Negan returned and revealed that he was married and expecting a child.
This possibly influenced Maggie’s decision to put aside her hatred for him, not to mention the fact that Negan saved Hershel from being killed by a Commonwealth soldier, which we see when she entrusts Negan with Hershel’s life whilst she searches for Leah and Hornsby.
Although Maggie seems to be civilised with Negan, Hershel doesn’t express the same tolerance for him. Once Hershel realised that Negan was the man who killed his father, he drew his gun. Whilst he seemed determined to pull the trigger, Negan managed to talk him down on account that killing him would alert The Commonwealth soldiers to their whereabouts.
Hornsby’s wrath
Toby and his soldiers are killed, and Gabriel and Aaron cover up the truth. Hornsby suspects Maggie, so he goes to Hilltop and searches the place for evidence that she is hiding the people in the community Toby invaded as well as the guns that were stolen. Hornsby goes a step too far and threatens Hershel, causing Maggie to point a gun at Hornsby and Daryl made them leave.
Daryl unites with Gabriel and Aaron with the intention to take out more soldiers of The Commonwealth, killing all those who had been sent by Hornsby to kill them. Hornsby earlier stated that he wanted to eliminate those who aren’t loyal to the commonwealth, that included Daryl, Aaron, and Gabriel.
The search for truth
Suspicion has now arisen about the Commonwealth and its true intentions. Connie, Kelly, Eugene, Magna, and Ezekiel have formed an investigation after several indicators that the Commonwealth is hiding something.
Max is helping with the investigation and working to expose the commonwealth’s secrets. But Connie claimed that they couldn’t stir the pot without proof, which is where Max comes in handy.
Max snoops around Milton’s office looking for files that would decipher The Commonwealth’s lies.
However, as she searches for these files, a seemingly drunk Sebastian enters. It wasn’t made clear whether he realised what Max was doing, that’s still to be determined. Carol also has her own suspicions and seems to be trying to uncover The Commonwealth’s secrets.
“My name is Lance Hornsby, and I’m here to offer you a job”
Maggie’s rebellion against the Commonwealth and assassination of the Reapers back in episode 9 finally came back to haunt her in episode 16. Lance Hornsby sought Leah’s help to eliminate Maggie from his list of problems, but Maggie wasn’t alone and definitely didn’t give up without a fight.
Leah was left dead after being killed by Daryl, which occurred when she tried stabbing Maggie in the chest. It was definitely a close call between Maggie and Leah, but since the announcement of Maggie’s spin-off show with Negan, it was clear that Maggie would survive the fight.
A storm is brewing
Hornsby and his soldiers approach Leah’s old cabin where Daryl, Maggie and Leah’s corpse are situated, when Daryl realises Hornsby is outside, he shoots him in the face grazing him. Hornsby then goes even further off the rails after being shot and finding Leah dead. He expresses his frustration and that he’s longer playing nice stating “now we take it all”.
This leads to Commonwealth soldiers taking over Alexandria, Oceanside, and Hilltop. We last saw Hornsby flip a coin in front of Oceanside’s residents which insinuates that Hornsby was playing heads or tails with their lives, leaving it up to the coin to decide if they are worth keeping alive or if it would be easier to just assassinate them.
This showed the Commonwealth’s true colours and proved what a lot of fans had suspected all season; The Commonwealth cannot be trusted, and it seems that Lance Hornsby is worse than season three’s villain, the Governor.
The final touches in “Acts of God” were Pamela placing a stack of newspapers on Max’s desk which read “Pamela Milton is lying to you”, Daryl and Maggie meeting with Gabriel and Aaron, and Negan helping Hershel out of their hiding place where Hershel pushes his hand away and walks away from him.
What’s to come?
The cast have finally finished filming for the final part of the show and said a farewell over social media. This led to a few easter eggs for fans to find and question what may be featured in the final episodes later this year.
11 seasons, 12 years, 177 episodes, 1 amazing fan base. Thank you, #TWDFamily for joining us on this journey. pic.twitter.com/YrZDnDVOcE
— The Walking Dead on AMC (@WalkingDead_AMC) March 31, 2022
Rick’s return
Norman Reedus, who embodies Daryl, certainly played a role in causing fans to get their hopes up when he shared a picture from set of himself posing with someone who looked an awful lot like Rick. At a quick glance, it seems that Andrew Lincoln is back playing his beloved character Rick.
However, with closer inspection it can be questioned whether the person posing with Norman is Andrew or whether it’s either Ricks stunt double or someone who looks very similar to Rick. It could even be an old photo that Norman posted.
There is a possibility that Rick may show his face again in the show before it ends, especially since the trailer for part 3 captured Daryl holding Rick’s gun. But the chances that Norman would be allowed to post an image with Andrew dressed as Rick if he were returning isn’t likely.
Rick returning to the show would be a monumental moment not only for the storyline but for fans who have stuck by this show since its origin. We can only hope that he makes an appearance before the show ends, and that he brings Michonne with him making his family whole once again (bar Carl of course).
Seeing a happy ending for Rick, his family and the rest of his group would be fulfilling and preferable, but I’m sure fans are also eager to see Daryl and Rick reunite again; This would certainly be a touching moment and quite a shock for Daryl as he is still under the impression that Rick is dead.
Carl, is that you?
Another face that appeared to be present on set was Chandler Riggs, who once played Carl on the show. An image was released of the final day on set for season 11, which showed a large crew gathered to say one last goodbye to the show. Many fans zoomed in on the photo and claimed to see someone who resembled Chandler.
Chandlers’ presence on set could mean that he came back in season 11 for one last hurrah, which would have to be a flashback since he died in season 8. However, it could be that Chandler just came on set to watch his castmates shoot their last scenes, if it even was Chandler in the photo. Only time will tell.
Another disappearing act
A main character has disappeared from the show altogether this season and his whereabouts haven’t been addressed.
Remember Luke? He appeared in the show back in season 9 along with Connie, Kelly, Magna, Yumiko and Bernie (deceased). Luke hasn’t appeared at all in season 11, and whilst there has been no official statement as to his whereabouts, it is suspected that he’s living in Oceanside with his girlfriend.
What’s even stranger about this is that none of his friends has even mentioned him so far this season, it’s as if he’s just been overlooked and erased from the storyline. There is no word on whether he will appear in the final part of this season but there’s a chance he may not return.
Whilst fans may believe this would be the wrong choice to make as leaving his fate to people’s imagination would tarnish the show’s ending, it wouldn’t be the first time that a character’s story has been left up in the air; Heath’s story was never addressed after he separated from Tara back in season 7, although there are predictions that he was traded, like Rick, to the Civic Republic Military.
Nomads
It appeared that Daryl and Maggie’s team are on the outside now without a home, but some Alexandrians are still in The Commonwealth who are unaware of what has occurred outside their walls. This includes Judith, R.J., and a handful of others, which means Daryl will do everything he can to get back to The Commonwealth to get them to safety.
As of yet, we haven’t been clued in on whether Pamela is aware of what Hornsby has been up to. Therefore, we don’t know if she is at fault for Hornsby’s actions or if she will stand by Daryl and his people against Hornsby.
The loyalty test
Since Princess is with Mercer, and she will most likely band with Eugene and the others, it raises the question of whether Mercer will rebel against The Commonwealth. There is a huge possibility he will do so since he has shown to have a good side, killed Commonwealth soldiers who put lives in danger trying to retrieve money, and his sister Max has decided to expose the place she calls home.
The trailer for part 3 shows that Mercer and Negan finally meet and have a conversation about protecting people in The Commonwealth. Their conversation indicates that Negan was asked by Daryl and Maggie to get into The Commonwealth to either create a distraction or get Mercer on their side so they can save their group from the danger that surrounds them. This decision won’t only show whether Negan is trustworthy and finally deserving of redemption but it will also test where Mercer’s loyalties lie.
Who are you really?
The biggest question this season has been whether The Commonwealth are genuinely good people or just another enemy concealed by the promise to reintroduce a pre-apocalyptic world. Part 2 answered this question revealing The Commonwealth’s true colours and exposed them as a corrupt society, although their intentions remain unclear.
The Commonwealth resembles the world that existed before walkers caused its collapse. They have luxuries such as ice cream and parties and have reintroduced things like politics, police, newspapers and more. These commodities are what makes their community so appealing to those being offered sanctuary, which is why no one questioned their kindness or the cost that comes with getting involved with them.
We know that The Commonwealth are corrupt, but why are they taking people from other communities in and providing them with accommodation, ice cream, and jobs? What is the point of it all? Hopefully these questions are answered in the final part of the final season.
When will part 3 be released?
There is no official date for the release of part 3, it’s just been announced that it will be released in the fall. The Walking Dead usually airs its episodes around October which is around the time we can expect season eleven’s final episodes to premiere.
The final season of The Walking Dead has fans eager to see how the writers wrap up the show. We can only hope that it exceeds our expectations and leaves viewers satisfied instead of disappointed by making the same mistakes on this beloved show as the Game of Thrones finale.
What do you guys think will happen in the final eight episodes? Will Negan finally be forgiven for his actions during his time as the Saviors’ dictator? Will Rick return surprising everyone who believed him to be dead? Will The Walking Dead showrunners leave us all content with the ending of this twelve-year long show?
By Ellimay Mead
Instagram: @ellimays_activism