The Walking Dead season 11 premiere leaves us wanting more

The Walking Dead’s beginning of the end started with “Acheron Part 1.” This episode will flow right into “Archeron Part 2” that will air on AMC on August 29. It left us with that major cliffhanger and has left us anxious to see what happens next. (unless you have AMC+ and have already watched the second episode).

This episode starts with a mission to scavenge for food in a military base that Daryl found. There are some tense moments that keep you on the edge of your seat, and it was a great kick-off to the final season. This first scene was filmed sans dialogue which only made it even more intense.

We know that Alexandria is hurting after the Whisperer war and is desperate for food for the growing number of residents. In addition to Hilltop, Maggie and her Wardens have also moved into the community. Maggie shares about a group called the Reapers who infiltrated the Warden’s home known as the Meridian that has food stores. It sounds like a suicide mission, but with many people who need to be fed, including many children, they must take the risk.

The Walking Dead season 11 premiere

The group that goes on Maggie’s mission surprisingly includes Negan. We find out they need him to navigate the streets of Washington DC. You can tell he doesn’t think taking shelter in a tunnel during a storm is a good idea at all. He shows them the watermark on the tunnel wall, a sign that the tunnel often floods during a storm, but they ignore him. Everyone, including Daryl, treats him terribly and disregards anything he tries to tell them.

I have always been Team Maggie because of the brutal way Glenn was killed. But, in this episode, I was heavily leaning towards Team Negan. Stop with the threats and kill him already. Or don’t and move on. Yes, it was awful; I can’t even begin to imagine how terrible it was to endure something so horrific. Nothing in my life can even come close. But, you can’t continually hold something over someone’s head while making them do your bidding and expect them to come to your aid when you need it.

I am sure Maggie will survive as she is a true survivor. But, will this be what finally pushes her or someone else to kill Negan? I think Negan baited her when he brought up Glenn’s name thinking if anything would push her to finally kill him it would be that. And, if she didn’t kill him then, she never will.

We also got more introduction to the Commonwealth. We finally got to meet Mercer, who is an imposing specimen. At least to everyone except Ezekiel, who didn’t back down from him. The foursome underwent hours of questioning from the Commonwealth auditors Clark (Carrie Genzel) and Evans (Matthew Cornwell). Some of which were very personal. During all the questioning, they were able to keep quiet about Alexandria.

After being placed in a holding cell, they decided to find a way to escape. As they were making their way to safety, they came upon The Wall of the Lost. This is a wall full of names and photos of family members of Commonwealth residents who have been missing since the outbreak. Princess notices Yumiko’s name on one of the pieces of paper and the name Tomi, which is her brother. Yumiko can’t leave without finding him.

If you don’t follow the comics, this is a storyline similar to Michonne’s. Her daughter was a resident of the Commonwealth and had been looking for her mom. Michonne found her own name on the wall when she arrived at the community. This will be an interesting arc in the series.

Overall I felt this was an outstanding start to the season. Lots of action and tension, we saw many familiar faces, along with lots of new ones. The cinematography was stellar and the storyline was very well written. This is some of the best Walking Dead we’ve seen in quite some time. Now, on to episode two!

The Walking Dead “Acheron Part 2” will air on AMC on Sunday, August 29.