The Walking Dead Review: No Way Out (Season 6 Episode 9)

The Walking Dead is back with a vengeance with this week’s mid-season premiere, “No Way Out.” They had us all lulled into submission with the mid-season finale and, damn it, they have come back with something to prove and this is what we’re all here for — what we’ve all been holding out for.

They freaking nail it this week.

God, there is so much to talk about, so, let’s get right in to the nitty gritty, shall we?

From the beginning, we know this is gonna be one hell of an episode. For one thing, Daryl is back and he blows up Negan’s little biker gang and it’s amazing. That opening literally sets the tone for the entire episode — it starts with a freaking bang. There is definitely a moment when it looks pretty bleak for our heroes, but if there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that we can always count on Daryl to come out of the woodwork to get things done. It is a great, mysterious introduction to our new villain, and I honestly can not wait to meet the man behind the bikers.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating dynamics of the episode (aside from the main squad itself, but we will touch on that later) is the brief relationship between Denise and The Wolf. She challenges him and, in the end, to everyone’s surprise including his own, she brings out his humanity. He sacrifices himself for her, for whatever reason, and it baffles him when they get to the infirmary after he is bitten during his rescue efforts. He can’t understand why he didn’t just leave her.

Even with his confusion, his doubts about what he’s done, he uses his last living moments to divert the attention of the walkers away from Denise so that she can escape. It a small moment of redemption before he is killed, which is always so interesting to see on shows like these — especially from characters we believed to be monsters.

Now, let’s touch on possibly the most intense, shocking moment in the episode: the deaths of Sam, Jessie, and Ron. No one is really shocked that Sam didn’t survive, but it really is surprising that they killed off that entire family in one fell swoop, but that is one hundred percent what we all love about this show. No one is safe; you can’t predict who will and will not survive, and literally everyone is at risk.

So, naturally, when Carl turns to Rick with his eye blown out of his skull, everyone is going to panic. That entire moment is so, so intense and it happens so quickly that you almost have to watch it all over again just to catch every nuance, to ensure you didn’t miss something — because, good God, you do not want to miss a moment.

So much happens — it’s the moment that just won’t quit. Sam gets bitten, then Jessie gets bitten, Rick hacks off her arm to save Carl, Ron turns to shoot Rick, Michonne stabs Ron, Ron shoots Carl…it’s unbelievable. I’m fairly certain I’m still in shock and, therefore, my eloquence regarding the scene is severely lacking but, trust me, it was just that good.

Which brings us to debatably the greatest thing about this episode: the gang is back together. Glenn, Daryl, Sasha, Abraham — everyone is back and everyone is finally (finally) stepping up to the plate, including the Alexandrians. Everyone bands together after Rick goes on a rampage over the possibility of losing Carl to take back their town and it is an incredible sequence. It’s hard not to cheer when each beloved character shows up to kick some serious zombie ass, one after the other, each one just proving why we love them so much and exactly how they’ve managed to survive as long as they have.

It was heart-stopping and stunning and all the kudos in the world goes out the cast and crew working on this show because when they get it right, it’s a freakin’ masterpiece.

Bravo, The Walking Dead. 

Bravo.

What did you think of the mid-season premier? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Walking Dead airs Sundays 9/8c on AMC.