Â鶹´«Ã½

Entertainment

    • 'The Walking Dead' finally comes to an end, after biting off more than it could chew

    Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride in the series finale of 'The Walking Dead.' (Source: Jace Downs / AMC via CNN) Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride in the series finale of 'The Walking Dead.' (Source: Jace Downs / AMC via CNN)
    Share

    Editor's note: The following contains spoilers about "The Walking Dead" series finale, "Rest in Peace," which premiered November 20.

    Forgive AMC, at least a little bit, for almost drunkenly celebrating "The Walking Dead" in its heyday by feeding audiences as much content related to the zombie drama as they possibly could. Yet as the series comes to an end, finally, after 11 long seasons, it seems obvious that the network and the producers greedily bit off more than they could chew.

    The final season pursued an overarching plot, as the hardy band of core characters sought to escape the forces of the community known as the Commonwealth. At the same time, they appeared to be operating with a hand tied behind their backs, given the already-announced spinoffs that had to be planted, nurtured and promoted.

    Watching the finale, it was acutely obvious that "The End" of the flagship show isn't really intended to be the end of anything; rather, the 90-minute finish was punctuated by promos for -- "Dead City," "Rick & Michonne" and "Daryl Dixon" -- taking that much more suspense away from what transpired.

    What did that leave in terms of the episode, subtitled "Rest in Peace?" A cathartic comeuppance for Pamela Milton (Laila Robins), the Commonwealth's amoral leader, with Mercer (Michael James Shaw) helping depose her. Some sobering losses, offering a reminder there is seldom gain in this dystopian world without sacrifice. And a one-year leap into the future, offering hope of greater normalcy, with Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Mercer having taken over.

    It was the smaller moments, actually, that stood out. A chaotic sequence in the hospital. Rosita (Christian Serratos) briefly turning into a superhero. A nice exchange between Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan), with a heartfelt apology for what he had taken from her. Daryl (Norman Reedus) bidding farewell to Carol (Melissa McBride) before riding away on his own mission to star in another show.

    In its early seasons, "The Walking Dead" excelled in part because of its unpredictability, as the montage of characters who had died reminded the audience. Impressively, the series kept reloading with new players as well as new threats.

    Yet the , played by Andrew Lincoln, in 2018 turned out in hindsight to be a pivotal moment, not only dealing the show a creative blow but indicating the sleight of hand involved in trying to maximize it as a corporate commodity.

    You see, Rick didn't die, but rather left, with the promise that he would return in a series of movies. Those plans later morphed into a limited series, but the sense that "The Walking Dead" was no longer the priority in AMC's "Dead" universe had been pretty well cemented.

    AMC also became overly enamored with extending the brand, introducing "Fear the Walking Dead," following by "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" -- essentially a teen-centric version of the show -- and more recently the anthology series

    During that period, audience consumption patterns have changed, even if zombie appetites haven't. With people drifting away from linear TV viewing and watching more via streaming services, the communal aspects of viewing the show each week and seeing who would live or die diminished, a trend further fueled by AMC's decision to make episodes available early to streaming subscribers on AMC+.

    Having announced plans to wrap up the flagship show using three eight-episode arcs, these moves might have made sense as business decisions, but they're harder to justify as creative choices.

    Executive producer Angela Kang that the series, like the comics, couldn't end in a definitive way, calling it "the zombie story that never ends." On "Talking Dead," the talk show devoted to the series, Kang said, "We tried to give everybody a moment in the sun."

    Yet even with those limits, it's hard to get excited about a "finale" with so little closure. Television is always hungry for another hit, and at its height "The Walking Dead" was the TV equivalent of a supernova. But AMC turned the franchise into a different kind of zombie, marching onward even when the life had been largely sapped out of it.

    The-CNN-Wire
    â„¢ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. Â鶹´«Ã½.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    For decades, Melven Jones couldn’t talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn’t even remember it.

    The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

    A strike by grain terminal workers at the Port of Metro Vancouver has ended, their employer announced Friday night.

    Canada

    • DEVELOPING

      DEVELOPING

      Toronto police are urging anyone with information, including video footage, to contact them after a man was fatally stabbed in north Scarborough on Saturday evening.

    • For decades, Melven Jones couldn’t talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn’t even remember it.

    • Members of the Southern Georgian Bay OPP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) are sounding the alarm on a rising number of online and phone scams targeting residents.

    • On Broughdale Ave, barricades kept students to the sidewalks, and on Huron, officers kept directing the young people away from the middle of the road for emergency vehicles.

    • The Pride crosswalk in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has been hit by vandalism for the second time in less than three months.

    • Vancouver police officers took a goat into custody Friday night.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    • A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    • A U.S. driver somehow squeezed her vehicle through a parkade hallway at a Metro Vancouver casino Thursday, before getting stuck at an elevator bank.

    Local Spotlight

    A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

    A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

    Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

    Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

    A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

    An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

    Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

    An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.

    • A man was found dead in a home in the Ditidaht First Nation on Vancouver Island Saturday morning, prompting local council to ask residents to shelter in place.

    • For decades, Melven Jones couldn’t talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn’t even remember it.

    • A Vancouver man has paid $337,500 to the B.C. Securities Commission as part of an insider trading settlement, the financial regulator announced Friday.

    • DEVELOPING

      DEVELOPING

      Toronto police are urging anyone with information, including video footage, to contact them after a man was fatally stabbed in north Scarborough on Saturday evening.

    • One person is in police custody following a double stabbing in north Etobicoke on Saturday night.

    • Thousands of dead birds, from kingfishers to blue jays, encircle a wild turkey to illustrate in one snapshot a mere fragment of how many die from colliding into glass windows – a death that can be easily prevented, the Torontonian photographer says.

    • A child was sent to hospital after being attacked by a coyote in northwest Calgary.

    • Alberta's premier spoke to calls for an outside, independent investigation into the death of Jon Wells during an incident involving Calgary police last week.

    • A Calgary city councillor's plea to have permanent residents be given the right to vote in municipal elections, an idea long dismissed by Premier Danielle Smith as unconstitutional, has been defeated.

    • The victim has been identified as Chanel Charette, 33.

    • The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

    • The federal holiday on Sept. 30 will bring some schedule changes in Ottawa as Canada marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

    • World Wrestling Entertainment Hall-of-Famer Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon is the inspiration for a local wrestling production company that will bear his name host events on Montreal's West Island to raise money and create memories for sick children.

    • A commemorative rally marking the fourth anniversary of Joyce Echaquan’s death will take place in Ville-Marie on Saturday afternoon.

    • Members of Montreal’s Maghrebi community are gathering in a city park this afternoon to sound the alarm about what they call the “scourge†of street gangs recruiting youth to carry out criminal acts.

    • A man has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of 25-year-old Wyatt Omeasoo in 2023.

    • A person is in hospital after a hit-and-run crash involving a stolen motorcycle in Grande Prairie early Saturday morning.

    • Alberta’s government is getting pushback from some municipal leaders and support from others over its plan to build the sheriffs into a second provincial police service.

    • Communities that suffered total losses in Hammonds Plains, N.S., and Upper Tantallon, N.S., in the 2023 wildfire received a donation of trees from Northern Pulp on Saturday.

    • Education and infrastructure were the focus of promises made on the tenth day of New Brunswick’s provincial election campaign.

    • RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment say they have charged a man with multiple offences, including assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, following a disturbance in Beaver Bank, N.S.

    • As the temperatures begin to drop and the leaves change colour, the time for fall suppers has returned in Manitoba.

    • Hundreds gathered in Winnipeg’s Memorial Park Saturday afternoon in a solemn ceremony honouring the lives of fallen firefighters.

    • A beloved annual celebration of arts and culture returns to city streets Saturday night.

    • The Town of Lumsden held their ninth annual Scarecrow festival Saturday.

    • The Saskatchewan Roughriders moved into second place in the CFL's West Division with a 29-16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday.

    • Minister of Health Everett Hindley wrote to healthcare provider unions on Friday inviting them to join a nursing task force, something the government previously said no to.

    • It’s homecoming weekend for many students and alumni and preparations are underway to ensure it’s a safe celebratory weekend.

    • People in Guelph may notice a new addition at the entrance to Franchetto Park in Guelph.

    • The Kitchener Rangers returned to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday to the roar of thousands of eager fans.

    • Saskatchewan RCMP says the man who sustained injuries from a serious assault earlier this month has died in hospital.

    • The Saskatchewan Roughriders moved into second place in the CFL's West Division with a 29-16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday.

    • Minister of Health Everett Hindley wrote to healthcare provider unions on Friday inviting them to join a nursing task force, something the government previously said no to.

    • A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    • The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

    • On Broughdale Ave, barricades kept students to the sidewalks, and on Huron, officers kept directing the young people away from the middle of the road for emergency vehicles.

    • VIDEO

      VIDEO

      For 28 years, motorcycle riders have gathered at Hully Gully in London, Ont. to raise money for the Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) and enjoy a fall ride.

    • The town of Aylmer might be getting a little bit larger - it's considering expanding boundaries to include more land, and they’re holding a meeting on Thursday

    • Huntsville OPP is investigating a two-vehicle collision Friday afternoon that resulted in the death of a motorcycle driver.

    • Midland Fire Service, Southern Georgian Bay OPP and County of Simcoe paramedics responded to an early Saturday morning fire at a residence in Midland, which sent one person to hospital.

    • Two drivers were charged after a vehicle struck a house in northern Barrie Friday evening.

    • Windsor Fire Service is on the scene of a house fire in South Windsor this morning. A single-family dwelling was reported to have been the location of an early morning fire.

    • A collision on Friday evening has resulted in charges for a 32-year-old Lakeshore Resident.

    • Students looking for work while they study had an opportunity to scope out the local employment scene on Wednesday when St. Clair College held its second annual part time job fair.

    • A man was found dead in a home in the Ditidaht First Nation on Vancouver Island Saturday morning, prompting local council to ask residents to shelter in place.

    • For decades, Melven Jones couldn’t talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn’t even remember it.

    • Almost 200 pages of research on the B.C. Conservative Party, which sources within BC United confirm were compiled by their party before it dropped out of the British Columbia election campaign to support its former rival, have come back to haunt the new alliance.

    • Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.

    • A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.

    • A man and woman have been charged after a Lethbridge ice creamery was broken into earlier this week. Staff arrived at Cookie Crimes, in the 300 block of Sixth Street South, just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday to discover the front window broken.

    • Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.

    • The Pride crosswalk in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has been hit by vandalism for the second time in less than three months.

    • Despite a lead at mid-game in front of a near-capacity home crowd, the Sudbury Wolves dropped their first game of their OHL regular season to Barrie, 3-1.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at Â鶹´«Ã½. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹´«Ã½