There are payoffs and reckonings aplenty in the last ever season breakpoint for The Walking Dead. The storyline of Acts of God offers a mix of thrilling set-pieces, tense political calculations, tender character moments and decisive plot developments.
Having recruited Leah to kill Maggie, Hornsby equips her with weapons, walkie-talkies and a small team of special ops soldiers. Knowing that Hillside is firmly in The Commonwealth’s sights, Maggie arranges an evacuation and agrees to Negan’s offer to protect and defend those in hiding. She heads off with her closest associates to confront the threat. Daryl, Gabriel and Aaron are sent out on a Commonwealth patrol, aware that they have been targeted for elimination, and knowing that they must launch their own ambush before it’s too late.
Inside the walls of the Commonwealth, Max steals secret files from Pamela Milton’s office, which Eugene and the other ex-Alexandrians struggle to fully decipher. Convinced that they have enough information to embarrass the regime, they decide to publish an exposé of the Miltons’ lies. After both their teams suffer losses, the outcome of a one-on-one showdown between Leah and Maggie will have repercussions for all of those whose future relies on their victory.
Director Catriona McKenzie is keen to add some cinematic flourishes to the action, including a tension-building, bass-driven soundtrack. Daryl’s and his compatriots’ shootout with their Commonwealth minders is staged with style, including slo-mo pans and taut choreography. The framing of the seemingly unstoppable Leah pays more than a little homage to The Terminator at key moments. The highlight though is Maggie’s solitary hunt for her pursuer through the pitch black woods, much of it unfolding in silence.
There are some contrivances in the plot – people turning up in the right place at just the right time especially. But this is such a thrilling story, and so confidently told, that that does not detract from the impact. There are intriguing story decisions too, such as the way that Max’s theft of the secret documents, and her discovery by Sebastian, does not end in the way that you might expect. Max’s reflections on the risks of their subterfuge are also articulately expressed, rather than glossed over. And absenting Mercer from their anti-regime plotting will not have been an oversight.
Nicole Mirante-Matthews’ script makes space for some important character beats. Max’s and Eugene’s tentative new intimacy, and Maggie’s interest in drawing a line under hostilities with Negan are both explored succinctly. Yet it’s strange that Daryl’s final encounter with his former life partner Leah is cut short without time for reflection or the settling of grievances. It’s also true that, with the announcement of spin-off series for Negan and Maggie and for Daryl and Carol, much of the will-they-survive tension dissipates.
But there is a very effective denouement for the episode, which sees the balance of power shift decisively as communities are absorbed by aggressors, and their occupants’ fate is left hanging. It’s not a signature Walking Dead cliffhanger, but it does establish the fracture line around which the series’ endgame will unfold. As Hornsby’s ambitions give rise to a new and ruthless era of Commonwealth expansion, even in a world dominated by the undead, the true monsters are once again to be found amongst the living.
New episodes of THE WALKING DEAD – SEASON 11 premiere Mondays in the UK on DISNEY+/STAR
Read our previous reviews of THE WALKING DEAD below:
Season 11, Episode 1, ACHERON: PART I
Season 11, Episode 2, ACHERON: PART II
Season 11, Episode 4, RENDITION
Season 11, Episode 5, OUT OF THE ASHES
Season 11, Episode 6, ON THE INSIDE
Season 11, Episode 7, PROMISES BROKEN
Season 11, Episode 8, FOR BLOOD
Season 11, Episode 9, NO OTHER WAY
Season 11, Episode 10, NEW HAUNTS
Season 11, Episode 11, ROGUE ELEMENT
Season 11, Episode 12, THE LUCKY ONES
Season 11, Episode 13, WARLORDS
