Story by Grant Dillard, Staff writer
Graphic courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The eighth season of “The Walking Dead” wrapped up, finally concluding the all-out war between Rick Grimes and Negan. Season eight was definitely the most flawed of all the show’s seasons, with the first half suffering from serious pacing issues and an overabundance of filler episodes not progressing the plot any further. Thankfully, the second half of the season picked up the pace more, though it still had a few slow spots every now and then. With the story going in a new direction, as well as a new showrunner being announced, season nine looks to be a good chance for the show to get back on track. Here are a few strategies that “The Walking Dead” should take for the upcoming ninth season.
Keep the Group in One Major Location
In earlier seasons, Rick Grimes and his group would always find a safe location that they would inhabit for a period of time. Whether it was Hershel Greene’s farm, the prison or Alexandria, the group managed to stay together and not live in separate locations. Even in season three, while the community of Woodbury was also introduced, it was mainly the safehouse for the villain of the season: the Governor. Season six and season seven introduced two new communities for the heroes to live in: The Kingdom and The Hilltop. With one part of the group at The Hilltop, one part in The Kingdom and one part in Alexandria (at least until it was destroyed in the midseason finale of season eight), it was more difficult to keep focus on most of the characters, especially with the roster growing more and more. Since it is the biggest of all the communities, it would be best if everyone moved to The Kingdom and set it up as the main establishment. That way, it will be easier to keep focus on everyone in the group.
Less Negan Screen Time
While seasons seven and eight may be considered some of the lesser seasons of the show, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan was one of the best additions from that time period. He was basically the best human antagonist since The Governor back in seasons three and four. Although after two whole seasons of Rick’s group going against Negan and the Saviors, maybe it would be best to give the character a break. Season eight ended with Rick and Michonne telling Negan their plans to stick him in a prison cell for the rest of his life, so it doesn’t look like he will be causing any damage anytime soon. That way, the show can focus more on whichever new storyline they are going to do. If anything, since he is still incarcerated, they should at least give him a brief appearance every now and then .
Don’t Make Maggie a Full-Blown Villain
One of the most unexpected twists in the season finale was the reveal of Maggie’s plan to eventually kill Negan with Jesus and Daryl’s help after the damages from the war were rebuilt, despite Rick’s decision to spare him. This is certainly an interesting direction to take the story in, as well as a good source of conflict to keep things somewhat engaging. The only potential downfall with this is that Maggie may be too set on her goal to the point where she ends up trying to kill Rick or Michonne, which would result in her becoming an unlikable character. Granted, her motivations are understandable as Negan has been directly responsible for the deaths of several people, including her husband, Glenn. Though, making Maggie so determined to kill Negan to the point of betraying her friends would just be a step too far for a beloved character. Hopefully this conflict will be more like “Captain America: Civil War,” where each side is completely identifiable in their choices and none of the sides are portrayed as villainous.