The Walking Dead Season 11 Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs From "Acheron Part 1 & 2"
The Walking Dead's final season gets off to a thrilling if slightly safe start.
Although there was once a time when it seemed The Walking Dead would outlive us all, the final season has officially arrived, kicking things off with a two-part premiere that promises great things for the last leg of its soon-to-be twelve-year run.
Titled Acheron (meaning "River of Woe" in Greek mythology) and split into two 50-minute episodes, the premiere takes place right after the events of the season ten finale Here's Negan. Maggie's back, having taken charge of the beaten down survivors of the Whisperer War, and Negan is still being shunned by the community he once terrorised.
On the other side of the narrative, Eugene's expedition to meet with the Commonwealth has hit a few snags, with his group being subjected to intensive interrogations to see if they're a worthy fit for the mysterious community.
For the most part, the episodes maintain the heightened quality of seasons nine and ten, wherein new showrunner Angela Kang saved the series from its infamously uninspired All Out War arc.
But despite the striking character development and improved pace, there are some issues letting Acheron down and holding it back from perfection. With that in mind, here are 6 Ups and 4 Downs from the opening episodes...
Minor spoilers follow. First up, the Downs...
10. The Mostly Unchanged Opening Credits
This is small issue, sure, but the opening credits have become such an iconic aspect of The Walking Dead that the limited changes season 11 has made to them is just a bit disappointing.
There are a few added graphics that are easy to miss on first viewing, including a passing image of Dog, Daryl's crossbow, Negan's new crowbar, Carol's knife and Aaron's morning star arm attachment, but for the most part the credits are underwhelmingly unaltered from seasons nine and ten.
Considering this is the final season, it would have been nice to see the show lean into the mythology and future of the show more in the opening, even if it's still early doors and the introduction of Cooper Andrews (Jerry) and Callan McAuliffe (Alden) are welcome ones.
Time will tell if they change further, but for now they're slightly missing the mark.