Season 10 had a somewhat tumultous run due to the pandemic, but I finally got around finishing it. Season 9 was a return to form for the show after the mess of Season 8. So what of this one? I'll say it very much continues, if not even improve a little on its predecessor.
You could say the show is split in roughly two halves and I'll treat it that way to avoid spoilers. The first half is fantastic; dangerously addicting and with a great deal of complexity to make the show have not just a heavily satisfying, but also an emotional grip. The Whisperers are developed even further and honestly stand as one of the best antagonists the series had had to offer. As for our protagonists, the older crew keep being engaging and human. Even a character like Rosita has somehow become bearable, a feat I did not know was possible. One of my newer favourites is definitely Judith - her childlike optimism, combined with her grim upbrining, turn her into someone with great potential.Cailey Fleming is a fantastic actress and is able to stand her ground against all her older co-stars. Other oustanding performances include, but are not limited to: Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Danai Gurira, Seth Gilliam, Khary Payton, Ryan Hurst, Thora Birch, Samantha Morton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Many of these actors have shown us their sheer skill in previous seasons, so there's not much new to say here. Just to reaffirm what is already known.
The second half of the season is much less consistent and has quite the episodic nature to it. This tends to divide TWD fans quite a lot, and I will come out to say that I actually enjoy it when the show takes on a slower pacing. It is something that hits the right spot for me, but I will acknowledge that others may see it as an example of the show at its worst. A few episodes might have breached decency, true, but I don't think it affected the season that badly overall.
Practical effects are great here as always. There were some rough CGI scenes, but I can shrug them off mostly. The action was great if you don't count the forced tension every time a walker comes up to a character, then the character loses their weapon and have to get it back to kill the walker. Yeah, I'm sure they are going to die a stupid death. Thankfully, that doesn't actually happen, the show did go down that road before though.
Really, a weakness of the season has nothing to do with it, but what occured previously. A great deal of the main cast is gone, and these newer survivors don't always make the cut. Magna is particularly horrible, I genuinely hate her character. She always brings some drama to the front that doesn't need to be there in the first place, and the big issue - nobody gives a damn. Compared to some of the tension Carol causes, where she gets in quite the conflict with some people (and herself), this is absolutely ridiculous. Connie has potential and has a very positive screen presence. Yumiko is someone I'm still neutral on. Altogether, this doesn't amount to the sheer variety we used to have in the character roster. It seems they might on the right track with someone like Princess however. She's one of my favourites right now.
Altogether, I really did enjoy this season quite a lot. It dipped a little around the end, but I still had a good time watching it. And the major arc that continues here is an absolutely riveting watch. I highly recommend fans continue with this season, it's a great time. I just hope the show can really tie things up moderately well with Season 11. That will be quite the task. I guess I might as well just wait and see.
Review by Martin SestrimskiBlockedParent2021-10-16T20:12:39Z
Season 10 had a somewhat tumultous run due to the pandemic, but I finally got around finishing it. Season 9 was a return to form for the show after the mess of Season 8. So what of this one? I'll say it very much continues, if not even improve a little on its predecessor.
You could say the show is split in roughly two halves and I'll treat it that way to avoid spoilers. The first half is fantastic; dangerously addicting and with a great deal of complexity to make the show have not just a heavily satisfying, but also an emotional grip. The Whisperers are developed even further and honestly stand as one of the best antagonists the series had had to offer. As for our protagonists, the older crew keep being engaging and human. Even a character like Rosita has somehow become bearable, a feat I did not know was possible. One of my newer favourites is definitely Judith - her childlike optimism, combined with her grim upbrining, turn her into someone with great potential.Cailey Fleming is a fantastic actress and is able to stand her ground against all her older co-stars. Other oustanding performances include, but are not limited to: Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Danai Gurira, Seth Gilliam, Khary Payton, Ryan Hurst, Thora Birch, Samantha Morton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Many of these actors have shown us their sheer skill in previous seasons, so there's not much new to say here. Just to reaffirm what is already known.
The second half of the season is much less consistent and has quite the episodic nature to it. This tends to divide TWD fans quite a lot, and I will come out to say that I actually enjoy it when the show takes on a slower pacing. It is something that hits the right spot for me, but I will acknowledge that others may see it as an example of the show at its worst. A few episodes might have breached decency, true, but I don't think it affected the season that badly overall.
Practical effects are great here as always. There were some rough CGI scenes, but I can shrug them off mostly. The action was great if you don't count the forced tension every time a walker comes up to a character, then the character loses their weapon and have to get it back to kill the walker. Yeah, I'm sure they are going to die a stupid death. Thankfully, that doesn't actually happen, the show did go down that road before though.
Really, a weakness of the season has nothing to do with it, but what occured previously. A great deal of the main cast is gone, and these newer survivors don't always make the cut. Magna is particularly horrible, I genuinely hate her character. She always brings some drama to the front that doesn't need to be there in the first place, and the big issue - nobody gives a damn. Compared to some of the tension Carol causes, where she gets in quite the conflict with some people (and herself), this is absolutely ridiculous. Connie has potential and has a very positive screen presence. Yumiko is someone I'm still neutral on. Altogether, this doesn't amount to the sheer variety we used to have in the character roster. It seems they might on the right track with someone like Princess however. She's one of my favourites right now.
Altogether, I really did enjoy this season quite a lot. It dipped a little around the end, but I still had a good time watching it. And the major arc that continues here is an absolutely riveting watch. I highly recommend fans continue with this season, it's a great time. I just hope the show can really tie things up moderately well with Season 11. That will be quite the task. I guess I might as well just wait and see.