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The Walking Dead Season 11 Ep. 17 Review: Cracks in The Commonwealth
With Sunday night's Greg Nicotero-directed & Julia Ruchman-written chapter, we've reached the beginning of the end. After 10-2/3's seasons, AMC's The Walking Dead kicked off the first of its final eight episodes before the franchise splinters into about a half-dozen spinoffs. But if anyone thought for a second that the long-running global sensation would be going gently into that good night (thank you, Dylan Thomas), "Lockdown" made sure to shut that s**t down. Picking up from where we left off, Lance (Josh Hamilton) and his soldiers are claiming more & more land in the name of the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), Aaron (Ross Marquand), and the others divide a plan to keep their people safe on both sides of the Commonwealth's walls. But for Mercer (Michael James Shaw), Connie (Lauren Ridloff), Carol (Melissa McBride), and the others, things aren't looking too much better, either. But before we jump into our real-time thoughts & observations on S11E17 "Lockdown," we're throwing the switch on our "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer. See ya on the other side…
Our The Walking Dead S11E17 "Lockdown" Thoughts & Observations
And the show wastes absolutely no time crushing our feels right out of the gate with a montage trip down memory lane. It's interesting how they're lumping in Jon Bernthal's Shane with Samantha Morton's Alpha and David Morrissey's Governor. Too many fans try to explain away or justify him. Nope. Definitely belongs in the "big bad" category and got what he deserved.
Glenn's (Steven Yeun) death was as much Daryl's fault as it was Negan's. I offer that reminder because if anything happens to Annie (Medina Senghore)? Yup, AMC has a one-man riot on its hands. She was in Happy!, people… Happy!.
Admit it. Seeing Daryl & Negan working together does bring back memories of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) & Daryl… right?
Lance is finally getting a clearer understanding of who he's up against. "Contingency protocol on Daryl Dixon," huh? Looks like Lance doesn't know how much Judith (Cailey Fleming) takes after her parents and "Uncle" Daryl. Which is why it was a perfect time for Lance to take more damage; this time, a bullet wound to the shoulder, courtesy of Daryl.
Hornsby with that tiny-ass gun!!!! LOLOLOLOLOL Hey… gotta respect a dude who doesn't have "compensation issues," I guess… right? Well, no one can say that Daryl isn't trying to kill Lance when he gets a chance… this time, by SUV.
Okay… we have a f***ing car chase in The Walking Dead. Let that one sink it. And you know what? I like it.
Meanwhile, back at the Commonwealth… Pamela (Laila Robins) has some serious issues with the workers. They want Sebastian (Teo Rapp-Olsson) to pay for the crimes that Connie exposed… and they want justice now. How much longer until Max's (Margot Bingham) involvement in exposing Sebastian gets found out?
Who's doing PR for Pamela? Because this intercom speech defending her son is not working…
I get where Rosita (Christian Serratos) is coming from, but Mercer also knows that having smart-minded people like her on his side can keep the tensions from boiling over.
I'm wondering what exactly Max and Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) mean when they say they want to keep things going. I'm reading it as both wanting to keep exposing what's going on under Pamela's watch as well as wanting to keep the Commonwealth running. Which is a unique situation for our heroes to find themselves in. Can they be a scalpel instead of a machete?
"Well, if no one else is playing by those rules… why are you?" Negan to Mercer, at the end of a great acting exchange between Morgan and Shaw. Hoping we get more of those.
Looking over surveillance images before having to rush to keep pancakes from burning is everything you need to know about how badass Carol truly is at this stage.
Holy s**t! Fleming's gotten big!
Uh-oh… looks like Lance has his hit squad (bald dude and Fake Stephanie) on the prowl. For their sake, I hope they're not heading after anyone near & dear to Carol. Because Carol won't even give them the time to look at the flowers.
Yup, "Contingency protocol on Daryl Dixon" was code for "kill the kids." Wow.
McBride giving off serious Jamie Lee Curtis/Halloween vibes.
Serious props for how Morgan's portraying Negan's first experience within the Commonwealth's walls, and it just felt right that Jerry (Cooper Andrews) would be the first one to (kinda) greet him.
Thanks to Maggie & Annie, there won't be too many phone calls going out to the Commonwealth.
Okay… my "Giddy Geek Meter" went off the charts when Negan and Carol were planning. And, of course? Carol's got contingency plans ready to put into play. But "insurance," huh?
I'm afraid Yumiko just made a promise that she's not going to be able to keep… and now, concern for Connie's safety.
I'm all about this exchange between Yumiko and Magna (Nadia Hilker), and I love how our family is sticking together no matter what, already planning escapes in case it all falls apart.
Ahhhh! Pamela is using a "walker swarm" as an excuse to impose a curfew and the Commonwealth's form of martial law.
Yup, that exchange between Carol and Negan where she tells him it's going to be okay? Heartcrusher. Interesting the way that Carol left, almost like she was in shock over having an emotional moment with Negan.
"Glenn would've wanted me to look after you. You don't ever have to say sorry. Not to me." Daryl to Maggie after she tells him that she feels for him for having to kill Leah (Lynn Collins) during Part 2 of the 11 th season.
Jerry made the save when it comes to the kids… Annie came up with the "underground approach… I'm really liking just how much the entire ensemble is playing into this episode's action.
Maggie and Annie's mom-boding moment once again demonstrates the show's unique ability to convey complex human emotions even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Dammi. Now I'm sad again…
Okay, that one walker? He looked like Freddy Krueger. Is that just me?
Holy crap! Carol and Maggie found Sebastian! LOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOL Carol's reaction to Negan saying to Sebastian how she can bull "bunnies out of her ass" when she wants to make things happen. F***ing priceless!
Dammit! Sebastian got seen, so Carol had to flee with him while Negan took the hit. Meanwhile, tear gas was used on the Commonwealth protestors, creating mayhem in the streets.
Serious waves of respect for Rosita being brutally honest about putting her family first and having no interest in Commonwealth bullshit. We know Mercer more than understands where she's coming from… and that offer to help her get out? Powerful stuff.
Mercer got about as up-close-and-personal with a walker slaughter as you can and still live.
And Carol just delivered to Pamela the biggest bargaining chip our heroes have to play… and it looks like Carol's proposing a deal for them to work together to throw Lance under the bus for everything. Locking in safety for our survivors in the process, too.
Damn! Not that's a cliffhanger ending! Everyone's going Reservoir Dogs, and Daryl's got a knife to Lance's throat.
The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 17 "Lockdown"
9/10
With Sunday night's Greg Nicotero-directed & Julia Ruchman-written chapter, we've reached the beginning of the end. After 10-2/3's seasons, AMC's The Walking Dead kicked off the first of its final eight episodes before the franchise splinters into about a half-dozen spinoffs. But if anyone thought for a second that the long-running global sensation would be going gently into that good night (thank you, Dylan Thomas), "Lockdown" made sure to shut that s**t down. Picking up from where we left off, Lance (Josh Hamilton) and his soldiers are claiming more & more land in the name of the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), Aaron (Ross Marquand), and the others divide a plan to keep their people safe on both sides of the Commonwealth's walls. But for Mercer (Michael James Shaw), Connie (Lauren Ridloff), Carol (Melissa McBride), and the others, things aren't looking too much better, either.
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