The Walking Dead Review: The Next World (Season 6 Episode 10)

I don’t know what switch The Walking Dead flipped coming in to the second half of this season, but it really needs to stay on. The mid-season premiere was a tough act to follow, but “The Next World” is more than able to rise to the occasion.

Last week was intense, there is no doubt about that. In light of that, this week’s episode feels like a breath of fresh air. We love our show, we love its intensity, but the lighthearted, touching nature of this episode is a welcome change from the sombre tone last week.

This week is all about relationships — building them, strengthening them, rekindling them. It is truly outstanding to see Rick and Daryl back together as a duo. They are wonderful together. They’re gruff and tough and, more than that, they’re actually really, really entertaining and humorous to watch. This week, it almost seems as though these two are a bit of comic relief, which is such an interesting dynamic to have on The Walking Dead, and certainly not one we’d expect from these two characters in particular but, when you put them together, it’s pure magic. They’re a bit like watching a post-apocalyptic buddy cop movie (and I mean that in the best possible way).

And then we have Carl. The Next World is such a great episode for Carl. It offers a little insight in to his character that we haven’t seen — we see how Carl is maturing and growing in this new world and, as it turns out, he seems to be growing in to a fine young man.

Which, admittedly, is a bit surprising, considering we were all a little worried way back when Carl shot Jody after he surrendered in Season 3. Anyone remember that?

This is a very welcome alternative to having Carl lose his mind in such a harsh world (which would have been so easy to do, given all that has happened to him). There is something so touching, so beautiful, about the fact that he lured Deanna to her son so that he could have the cathartic opportunity to, in essence, set her free and put her to rest. As dark as it is, there’s something wonderful and sweet about the fact that Carl respects the dead enough to decide that their final death should be granted to them by someone who loves them — so that they die loved, not feared and despised.

It’s an awesome moment in itself and then to have him tell Michonne that he would do it for her! Ugh. Their relationship is so, so fantastic, it’s impossible to not see Michonne and the Grimes men as a unit, as a family.

Which brings us to what we’ve all been waiting for: Rick and Michonne.

Holy moly, you guys, do we ever need to talk about Richonne. They are wonderful. From the start of the episode, it’s so, so clear how comfortable these two are with one another. They are domestic, they are best friends, they high five each other when they pass in the hall, they talk about their days, they joke around. They trust and love and respect each other on such a profound level because of everything they’ve been through together that, honestly, it’s likely impossible for us to fully understand that kind of loyalty and trust simply because we have never experienced the sort of hell that these two have been through together.

So, watching them being able to laugh and tease each other about their crappy days in the middle of the zombie apocalypse is simply the most outstanding thing any “shipper” could ask for, really. There are not enough words to express how happy this reviewer is to see that these two (finally) found each other.

Now, with this episode’s focus, in essence, being on family and the relationships built within their community, we meet a wildcard who goes by the name of Jesus, and Jesus, essentially, stumbles in to their comfortable group dynamic and shakes it up. He is certainly interesting, to say the least, and it really is up in the air whether or not he can be trusted. Here’s hoping he sticks around for a while because Jesus could really bring something new to the show (and the team itself) — perhaps he could even help keep this lighthearted tone around for a bit longer.

Plus, it would really be entertaining to see a lot more of the Rick/Daryl/Jesus dynamic. Hopefully we will have more of that to look forward to in the episodes to come.

What did you think of the lighthearted mid-season premier follow up? Let me know in the comments below!

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