Opinion – TWD: World Beyond is much darker than previews suggested

The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 1, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Zach Dilgard/AMC
The Walking Dead: World Beyond _ Season 1, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Zach Dilgard/AMC /
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TWD: World Beyond is already proving that it’s not The Walking Dead for kids

Some of the most compelling stories from The Walking Dead Universe have featured young people. From Carl putting Lori down to Lizzie killing her sister, and even Charlie killing Nick, kids have always been at the forefront of some disturbing stories. TWD: World Beyond is so much darker than previews suggested, and it’s only going to get darker.

The most important thing to remember about World Beyond is that even though it’s set in the same universe, it’s not the same show as TWD or Fear TWD and that means the rules we have come to understand as viewers don’t necessarily apply.

This group – for better or for worse – has been living in relative safety since The Night the Sky Fell, and as such it means that their level of preparation isn’t what their counterparts in Alexandria or Texas have. This, of course, is part and parcel of the show’s story – it’s a story of how the Endlings discover themselves as a result of their journey.

However, while the show’s primary characters – Hope, Iris, Elton and Silas – are teenagers, the themes are very real. More people died in the series premiere than in all ten seasons of The Walking Dead. (Humans, not walkers) The CRM are a real threat and the fact that they were comfortable killing everyone in the Campus Colony means that they won’t hesitate to kill the Endlings, too.

I’ve seen comments suggesting that the CRM should be the primary focus of World Beyond because the CRM is the element that ties The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead together, and we all know that Rick ended up on one of those helicopters. However, their story is being told through the eyes of people who have a vested interest in discovering the truth about them, which is infinitely more interesting than showing up in the middle of CRM and being spoon-fed the answers.

World Beyond won’t be for everyone, just as many people never caught on to Fear TWD (from the start, or recently) and some people never returned to The Walking Dead after season 6. It’s part of TV viewership that veteran viewers will stick around, some will fall off and new viewers will join the viewership.

What’s important to note, though, is that World Beyond is setting up a very dark story about kids trying to figure out how to live in the apocalypse. They have theoretical knowledge and the support of mentors Felix and Huck, but what happens is largely up to them. They may survive, and they might not.

I’ll never understand why the previews were as lighthearted as they were. Perhaps it’s because the pilot episode ended up being reshot after the sixth episode (as noted by the cast during their Twitch premiere), and the initial pilot didn’t reflect the show’s true direction.

At any rate, World Beyond is delightfully dark, more so than I ever would have guessed after seeing the initial teasers released at New York Comic-Con in 2019. I also had the great pleasure of visiting the show’s Virginia set in November 2019 and when they explained what was happening I realized that the first few episodes are setting up a back half of the first season that will be something we’ve never seen before.

What I’m getting at is that World Beyond isn’t TWD and it’s not Fear TWD. It’s set in the same universe with some links between them, and that’s where the connections end. (For now) It might seem like a teen drama, but it’s so much more than that and showrunner Matt Negrete is setting up something that fans haven’t seen before.

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If you haven’t had a chance to see World Beyond, the first episodes are available on AMC for free. Take a look. See what you think, and let us know what you think after you’ve watched it.

TWD: World Beyond airs Sundays on AMC immediately following all-new episodes of Fear the Walking Dead season 6.