The Walking Dead Mid-Season Finale: 3 Ups & 2 Downs From 'Evolution'

Contains spoilers from The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 8.

The ninth season of The Walking Dead was something that many fans of the show were dreading. Losing protagonist Rick Grimes would undoubtedly be a severe blow for the series - which was already suffering in the ratings department.

However, in spite of this fear, the AMC series has gone from strength-to-strength without Rick, proving that there is still life in the once-great post-apocalyptic drama after all.

The mid-season finale, entitled Evolution, was tasked with the job of wrapping up the first half of The Walking Dead's brand new era, all the while giving viewers a reason to return in the Spring. The last couple of episodes have proven fruitful for the show (that is, from a narrative point of view, as the ratings are still down) and Evolution further developed on this, delivering plenty of drama for everyone watching at home. However, don't get too excited because the show once again screws things up by committing what is quite possibly its most baffling creative decision to date.

Evolution is everything you could possibly want from a fall finale, but in typical Walking Dead fashion, the show repeats one of its deadliest mistakes at the very end, which has tarnished its new chapter before it really had the chance to get going.