After months of delay, The Walking Dead‘s season 10 finale, “A Certain Doom,” aired on AMC this past Sunday. Last spring, a nail biting cliffhanger left audiences wondering how their favorite characters would escape a horde of surrounding Whisperers and walkers, and we finally received our answer.
“A Certain Doom” is mostly effective in its resolution of season 10’s storyline, while offering great sequences along the way.
The meat of this episode is the daring escape plan of the main survivors in the face of Beta’s surrounding horde. Characters like Father Gabriel, Daryl, and Lydia all are forced to take on harrowing roles in order to ensure the success of their communities. One of the episode’s opening scenes finds Father Gabriel explaining to two children the amount of support the survivors have amongst all of the neighboring communities. He ends this discussion by noting to the children that in addition to those survivors they already know, there are a plethora of outsiders waiting to help and join the fight to survive. With Maggie’s return in the opening moments, and a brand new geared-up ensemble circling in at the end, it’s clear this episode is a jumping off point for yet another expansion of the world of The Walking Dead.
In addition to the daring (and much more interesting) main plot, the episode dedicates a decent amount of time to Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and now Princesses’ road trip. Still hoping to unite with Eugene’s radio buddy Stephanie, the crew rides on bike towards the agreed upon meeting spot. While Eugene and Princesses’ quips are quite fun, this side plot often feels sluggish when contrasted with the intensity of the Whisperer War. While the payoff of the trek is certainly one of the most visually shocking moments in the show, the journey there is rather bland.
With the show’s ever-so-expanded cast, the defense plan against Beta’s army is divided amongst several groups of characters. This results in certain characters disappearing midway through the episode, only to reappear at key moments later in the narrative. It’s something the show has always dealt with, but now more than ever the jarring “at the right time” appearances of survivors comes off a bit tacky. Regardless, the tense escape mission through the horde of walkers and Whisperers was seriously cool. The quiet assassinations of hidden Whisperers was swift and brutal. Carol having to walk away from a fellow survivor being devoured was another showcase of her desensitized attitude to the state of the world. The dynamic of the archers covering the survivors from a distance added a new layer to the already tense sequence.
It was great to see Lydia step up in a full circle gesture for her character, re-assuming her “Whisperer” duties but this time for the benefit of the main survivors. Her intention to sacrifice herself for the good of the group was honestly very moving, and the embrace she shares with Carol at the end was tear-worthy. Lydia has struggled to find a sense of belonging since the start of the apocalypse, and finally seeing her accept Carol’s love was extremely rewarding. I’m looking forward to their relationship in the future, with Lydia possibly filling the void left behind by Henry.
One of the coolest parts of the assault against Beta’s army was the blaring of “Burning Down the House” from a horse-drawn carriage to lure away the horde. The moonlight shining down on the main survivors as they led away the danger of the season was extremely cool visually and audibly. The framing and direction felt very distinct from the other end of season battles since this enemy was in allegiance with a shambling horde of the dead.
The insider attack on Beta’s horde featuring a surprising appearance by former-villain Negan was, while a bit deus ex machina-esque, still incredibly satisfying. The double beat down of Beta between Daryl and Negan resulted in one of the show’s most brutal villain defeats. Beta is impaled by daggers in both eyes resulting in a twisted sequence in which he imagines his acceptance into the army of the dead. Complete with quick flashes of Alpha’s monologue and a smiling eye-less Beta, it’s safe to say Beta’s death was one of the show’s most morbid. The sequence is capped off by a great exchange between Negan and Daryl in which the former recognizes Beta’s pre-apocalypse identity, and Daryl shoots him down by stating he was “no one.”
The next step of the plan, involving the disposal of the horde over a giant cliff, is originally taken up by Lydia in an attempt to end the group that originally instilled the terror on her early years. Carol shoves Lydia to the side, eager to personally complete the battle against those responsible for the murder of her adopted son Henry in season 9. As Carol approaches the edge of the cliff and stares down into the crashing waves, Bear McCreary’s somber score rises. During this moment, it truly feels like Carol’s character may meet a heroic and sacrificial end…that is until you remember AMC already announced she is getting a spin-off at the end of season 11. This also applies to Daryl who is also front and center amongst the dangers of the finale. We already know these characters are destined to make it to the end of the show, so any tension towards their mortality feels hindered.
The sequence with the Whisperers’ horde falling over the cliff is certainly cathartic, although the wonky special effects hinder the effectiveness. I understand that The Walking Dead faced post production delays in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some of the walker falling animations looked seriously dated and downright animated. On the other hand, one of the coolest shots of this sequence was when Lydia tosses her Whisperer mask over the edge. The hollowed corpse face slowly drops down into the watery depths, cleansing the show of its most recent adversary.
Despite its title, “A Certain Doom” actually has a rather happy ending. There are no major fatalities aside from one or two supporting characters on the survivors side. The defeat of Beta and the Whisperers is the main takeaway from this episode’s narrative. The final sequences find Maggie reuniting with her old friends. The exchange between her and Judith is genuinely heartwarming as she is finally able to see the strong survivor that baby Judith has grown to become. Bear McCreary’s score really works some magic here, elevating these reunions with a gentle yet celebratory score. Additionally, audiences were treated to the long-awaited reveal of Connie’s fate, last seen in the season 10 episode entitled “The Squeeze.” After the cave collapse she was shockingly able to escape, only before collapsing on the ground in exhaust. Luckily, Virgil (from Michonne’s departure episode) shows up at just the right time and will hopefully nurse her back to health.
Finally, Eugene and his crew are surprisingly surrounded by a large group of white-armored soldiers in the episode’s last few moments. This is clearly the Commonwealth group from Robert Kirkman’s comic series, signaling the TV series’ entry into the overall narrative’s final arc.
The Walking Dead hasn’t been the same in a while. While the narrative work has certainly improved since Angela Kang stepped on as showrunner, the show continues to run into familiar issues. The constant struggle between attention towards its many main characters, sub-par computer generated effects, obvious plot armor, and unnecessarily dark cinematography is unfortunately very apparent during “A Certain Doom.” Hopefully longtime fans of the show have come to accept the current state of the iconic series and will enjoy the larger sandbox the show is now playing in.
Despite its flaws, “ A Certain Doom” does indeed sport some killer sequences, beautiful character moments, a legendary villain death, a striking score, and classic gory Walking Dead goodness.
