There is no secret now that season 10 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead has been delayed until the fall due to the ongoing pandemic that halted the post production process. What also came with this is the second airdate delay of The Walking Dead: World Beyond as it was set to debut right after the season 10 finale and also at WonderCon 2020 which would have been the world premiere as well. The sixth season of Fear The Walking Dead stopped filming too as it was also affected. With these delays and pushbacks, it is a sad time for the entire The Walking Dead franchise. However, one idea that was brought to my attention was to have a special event for the franchise this fall.
Twitter user ConnectedVG came up with the idea for The Walking Dead universe to celebrate their ten year anniversary as a special event on the day that the first episode aired. This could be possible, but October 31st is on a Saturday this year so it could most likely air the weekend of New York Comic Con as it did it previous years. By that time, some restrictions should be eased which would give time for the studios to finish the post production.
This idea might also work due to Fear launching sometime in August, according to star Danay García. So if Fear premieres in mid to late August, then the mid-season finale will air before the season 10 finale of The Walking Dead. Then after that episode, World Beyond can make it’s long awaited debut. This also must mean that all three of these episodes should not be on AMC Premiere a few days prior to the airdate. Another idea that was brought to me is if they could also air all three of the episodes in one night in the movie theaters just like it did during the season 8 finale of The Walking Dead and the season 4 premiere of Fear The Walking Dead at the time.
Nicotero explained the post-production process to Entertainment Weekly: “You have to edit the episode, then you do sound effects, and then you do music, and then visual effects, and then colour timing to make sure all the colours in all the scenes match, and then you have to do a quality check to make sure nothing is messed up.” The post production studio of The Walking Dead is in Los Angeles and with the current lockdown, it is not possible to finish the post production since it takes an entire team to do this. Rotating the team would not be a good idea as everyone has to be there to finish the post production at the same time.
During my recent interview with star Melissa McBride, she had this to say about what can we excpect from the finale: “It’s going to be a really good finale and we are going to give everyone something really good to look forward to because, I know the finale is amazing. There was a lot of work done on that when we shot it last fall. But it will be something that people will remember and look forward to in the next season as well so I am grateful for the work that we have done.”
What do you think of this idea that can be possible? Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
The official titlle of the upcoming sequel to Space Jam has been revealed today by Lebron James. That title is, Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Lebron James revealed the title and logo on his Instagram page today. Shortly after, the official twitter account confirmed the name of the sequel and even the release date as it will be in theaters on July 16, 2021. However, that date could be changed in the future due to the current epidemic. But the film will be released in 2021. Lebron James also had worn a Space Jam themed Nike sneakers at one point during one of the NBA games earlier this year as well.
25 years ago, Michael Jordan starred in Space Jam and it became a classic. For years, fans wanted a sequel to the film and Lebron James is starring in this film 25 years later. With this news, the fans will be satisfied and have something to look forward to as the months pass by before Space Jam: A New Legacy premieres. Even the jerseys Nike showcased in an example post looks promising. Also, there will be WNBA representation in this film with WNBA stars including Diana Taurasi, Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike.We are all looking forward to Space Jam: A New Legacy when it hits theaters next year.
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The comic book series of The Walking Dead has come to an end last year with Issue #193. Since then, fans and readers alike were very mixed towards the ending. But what cannot change, is the fact that there are many variant editions of the series. Some are rare to the point where you cannot find that variant cover for years. And some, you can find on online stores. Here are some of those variant covers you need to have in your collection.
Issue #100 Variants
There are many issue 100 variants, and I believe that this issue has the most variants out of all of the issues in the series. There are three in particular that I would like to point out. This one below is a wrap around cover that features the previous characters that were deceased up until this point. On season 9 of the television series, This scene was recreated as part of Rick Grimes’ hallucinations. This variant has a normal version, and a silver foil version.
The next one is the red foil variant of issue #100. It features only Lucille with the blood splattered all around it. This was given to retailers that ordered q large amount of the first print of the issue. There was also a signature edition as well that had Robert Kirkman’s signature on the variant, but those are not the red foil editions however.
The final of the issue #100 variants is this variant that I was not aware of until I did my research. This one is extremely rare due to how it was obtained. On the 15th anniversary weekend of the comic book series, there were blind bags of select key issues. Issue #100 was one of them. You would either have the normal variant, virgin, black and white, or black and white virgin. What only a small number of people discovered, is that there was also a secret variant and only 100 of these were put into the blind bags. This was dubbed “the gold variant” on online fourms and it also has a speech bubble too.
Issue #171 Pink Signature Variant
I actually got this variant without realizing that it was an expensive variant until I left the comic book store. The difference between this variant, and the other variant with the same artwork, is the pink signature on the bottom corner. Once everyone found this out, the comic book stores were either sold out of them, or spiking up the price for it.
Issue #94 Image EXPO Variant
Variants featuring Michonne is a must get for collectors. The ghost variant of issue #101 could have been featured here, but the beauty of this variant of issue #94 takes my vote. There is something about Michonne laying down with a pile of walkers that makes this cover look very cool. Also, the television series did a scene with Sasha that looked similar to this cover.
Issue #168 Pride Month Variant
The Walking Dead celebrated Pride Month by having this great cover made. Jesus taking out a walker with a Pride Flag is badass and look at the guts that is being stretched out! This is my favorite cover that was released in 2017.
Issue #163 Retailer Variant
The beginning of 2017 was the 25th anniversary of Image Comics, and it started with this variant. Here, we see Rick Grimes in Negan’s jacket holding Lucille. There is a normal color, and a black and white variant. This cover stirred up controversy due to the fact that this variant being a retailer varent since the first print issue was 25 cents due to the anniversary. This would be very good to have in your collection.
Issue #75 Retailer Variant
This retailer varaint pays homage to the first issue. It is also the first time that Charlie Adlard did the artwork on the first issue’s style too. This also has Rick Grimes at his current state at the time as a resident of Alexandria. Of all the variants and issues that has the issue #1 layout, I believe this is the best looking one in my opinion.
Issue #1 The Last Wine Variant
This issue was given out to attendees at New York Comic Con 2019 at Chris Burnham’s booth if you were able to buy The Walking Dead wine. There are a handful of these online since almost nobody was aware of this issue being given out at the booth. This is also the last variant cover that was produced.
Issue 78 Long Beach Comic Con Variant
Issue #80 has a photo variant, but I have to place #78 here because of the rarity. Only 500 of these were produced and it is promoting the premiere of the first season of The Walking Dead. This is also the first photo variant of the comic book series as it showcases what is to come with those walkers when the television viewers see them for the first time. It also took me about nine years to finally get one of those variants and I am happy to own one of them.
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We were all excited and looking forward to the next Spider-Man film to come to theaters, but just like Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the delays has hit the upcoming Spider-Man films due to COVID19. It looks like we will not see Spider-Man swing through the city for quite some time and it will be a very long time until we see him again.
The second film of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the second sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming will both be delayed for months as the new dates are the following. The sequel to Spider-Verse will now be released on October 7th, 2022. The final film of the Sony/Marvel Spider-Man trilogy will now premiere on November 5th, 2021. Also, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, will now have it’s worldwide premiere on June 25th 2021 which is more further away than October of this year.
This also affected the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that were going to tie-in to the Spider-Man films as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was supposed to be released on May 7th, 2021. Now, the new date for the Doctor Strange sequel is March 25th, 2022. Thor: Love and Thunder will not have a long delay as it has been pushed back another week as it will premiere on Feburary 18th, 2022.
The only Marvel Cinematic Universe film that will be released in the entire year of 2020 will be Black Widow as it has been delayed to November 6th, 2020. Black Widow was originally going to premiere on May 1st, 2020, which would have also been a good time to go see since Awesome Con in Washington, D.C was originally going to take place that weekend. What do you think of the news of the state of the Marvel movies being delayed?
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Awesome Con was supposed to take place this week in Washington, D.C. But due to the current situation of COVID19, Awesome Con had to postpone their show until December of this year. What will happen this weekend, is Awesome Con Online in which online visitors can explore, shop, and take a look at the live offerings that will be available for everyone to watch in the comfort of their own home. One of the features will be the virtual Q&A and it will be livestreamed via Facebook and Zoom and the celebrities that will participate, will be Shazam’s Zachary Levi, and The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand.
Both Zachary and Ross were originally going to be special guests of Awesome Con before the COVID19 outbreak and their fans, and the attendees were worried of the current status of these two. But everyone has to worry no more as they will both be live in seperate times to anwser fan questions. This virtual Q&A will happen this Saturday afternoon!
There are both free and paid options to view and participate in this virtual Q&A. There will be a special Zoom link for you to click on in order to enter the Zoom and to be considered to ask a question. The link to the Zoom meeting, when it is made public on Saturday, will work for BOTH Q&A sessions and will not cut off in between sessions.
Remember, watching via Facebook Live will be VIEW ONLY. Questions submitted via Facebook will not be monitored.
Are you looking forward to hearing what Ross Marquand might talk about when the topic of The Walking Dead comes up? And what will Zachary will say about Shazam and the sequel that is planned to be released on November 4, 2022? We will all have to find out this Saturday.
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Paola Lazaro as Princess- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
The newest character to grace our screens on The Walking Dead is Juanita Sanchez, but she wants to be known as “The Princess.” Her cool personality, and her look has won over the fans of The Walking Dead community including myself. But behind The Princess’ pink coat, goggles, and heavy machine gun, is Paola Lazaro as she has many credits to her name such as Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Lethal Weapon, and SMILF. Now it is time for you to get to know more about her in this exclusive interview!
I would like to get to know more about you. What was your upbringing like with your parents and your two brothers? And what were some of your early career goals?
PL: “When I was a kid back in Puerto Rico, I used to write poetry. I would say around like seven years old. Then my mom used to make me perform it for the family on the weekends when they would come for dinner and stuff like that. I have always been writing and performing in a way. And I always knew that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be an astronaunt, but then I saw Apollo 13 and that vomit scene in the spacecraft and then I realized right there that I do not want to be an astronaut. I always wanted to perform!”
You have graduated from Columbia University with your master’s degree in play writing. How big of an accomplishment was this for you?
PL: “I never thought that I would graduate high school. I never thought that I would really be too much of anything because of the things that were told to me when I was a kid. So to able to have done all of those things is a blessing, but school and degrees is not what defines us. But the fact that I was able push through what was told to me that I couldn’t do. For me, it’s huge and it is the fire that keeps me going every day. Columbia University, is (laughs) Columbia University!”
Last fall, it was announced at New York Comic Con that you will play as The Princess. Do you remember how you prepared your audition for the role?
PL: “Oh yeah, I will never forget that. I did not leave my house for two weeks. I pretty much self-quarantined for this role. I had the script with me in the bathtub, next to me in my bed when I slept, and the couch. I had it everywhere. I just did not leave my house and kept studying. Something in me was like ‘I know this character. I’ve lived certain things that she’s lived. I can do this.’ I then went in for the audition, and did what I did, and it was awesome.”
The comic book series of The Walking Dead releases their covers three months in advance before the issue is on the shelves. The first time I have seen her on the cover at the time, I thought that she looked straight from the 1980’s. How did you react when you seen her on the cover of that issue (#171) and her scenes in that issue?
PL: “Oh I flipped out and I was so excited! I really bugged out and I just started screaming and jumping up and down. I was like ‘she’s so cool’ and I was very pumped to bring this comic book character to life on the television show!”
Khary Payton as Ezekiel, Eleanor Matsuura as Yumiko, Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Paola Lazaro as Princess – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
Did you include your own personality traits to The Princess since she has a great personality that shines very well on this episode?
PL: “Absolutely! The Princess is very similar to me, and to when I was a kid. All of this energy that I didn’t know where to put it and all this all this love for the world that I didn’t know how to convey along with all of this excitement and toughness and defensive mechanisms, is very similar to me.”
The Princess had to take a detour with Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Eugene to the minefield during this episode. How quickly have you bonded with Khary Payton, Josh McDermitt, and Elanor Matsuura? And what can you tell me about the day that episode was shot?
PL: “It was very awesome because the night before we shot anything, They all took me out to dinner. In fact, the whole cast took me out to dinner the night before to welcome me so that way, I didn’t feel like I was there to shoot twenty scenes and go. This connection that we had established that night I cherish in my heart and we’re so supportive of eachother. There is a true team there. Iv’e learned a lot from Khary, Josh, and Elanor and we support eachother. We are down to rehearse in between takes and scenes. Anybody that needs anything, or if we have to run some stuff down, and they are like ‘lets do it.’ Everyone is into it and I am thankful to have come in with them into this establish world. Now on the minefield, the first time it exploded, I jumped into Khary and Josh’s arms and cursed in spanish. It was hilarious and we broke out laughing so we had to reshoot it.”
Do you know how many times you all reshot that scene?
PL: “We shot it twice! We did good after we stopped laughing.”
One thing I was looking forwared to in the comics is The Princess meeting Negan. Since the comic book series finished last year, it might be possible to do this on screen. What do you think of the idea of The Princess and Negan in the same scene talking with eachother?
PL: “That would be exciting. That will be fun because, god knows what they would do together. I’m scared for the world and I’m scared for the apocalyptic world when these two people meet. They’re both pretty out there and they might get excited about eachother. Who knows what will happen to the world, but I hope that they do meet! I’ve watched Jeffrey Dean Morgan on the show and it would be great to work with him to bring these two characters together on the screen!”
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Khary Payton as Ezekiel, Eleanor Matsuura as Yumiko, Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Paola Lazaro as Princess – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
The current season of The Walking Dead is almost over. In fact, it is sad that we will have to wait for the finale since it will be delayed until the end of the year. So for now, this is the last episode for now until further notice. Here are my thoughts about “The Tower.” This review will be slightly different as I will review this episode by how everyone is split across the groups situation.
The Minefield Roadblock
I liked the verbal exchange between “The Princess”, Eugene, Ezekiel, and Yumiko. Most of the lines of this scene were straight from issue #171 word for word. I also got a laugh when Ezekiel introduced himself to Princess as he thought for a second to introduce himself as “King Ezekiel” as he did when he first appeared on the screen. But he held back as he knows that he is not the king anymore. Yumiko did not trust her for most of the trip and I could not blame her due to what they went through. The group also learns that The Princess’ name is Juanita Sanchez and she did not like her name at all, along with the fact that she does not like being called a queen. The scene where Juanita was counting while she was taking the group to the garage got me puzzled for a moment, but I understood why she counted since she had to trace where she walked. She sure walked them somewhere though as they seen the head of one of their horses on the ground. Right here at this moment is where Juanita tells them that the current area is a minefield. There were even walkers that triggered one of the mines along with the only water canister Juanita had too. Her personality and high positive and nervous mood really shines here, but my problem with this scene is, how did they all not hear the mine explosion from the horse when this all happened the same day in an empty city? You would have thought that since the entire city has no people for over a year, and is quiet, that you can hear a big explosion from miles away.
Yumiko was still not trusting Juanita at this point, and Juanita explained why she was stalling. Eugene also could relate to Juanita for what she did as he did the same thing too. I think I would like to see more of these two in scenes in the future as it is a very odd pairing, but I really want to see Princess and Negan meet. When Juanita showed them the bikes in that garage, that is when Yumiko invited her to travel with them and they hugged like they were best friends. Although the minefield was a filler sub plot, it is far better than how she stalled the group in the comics and she had a good reason to stall Eugene, Yumiko, and Eugene. I liked all of this and rest in peace to another horse!
Emotional Rollercoaster
Cassady McClincy as Lydia, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
The second that these two were paired together this episode, I knew that it was going to be emotional. Cassady McKlency did a great job bringing out the tramua of Lydia on how she will move forward since her mom is now gone. And Negan was there for her to take her frustrations out on him as she does not think that Negan was a hero for killing Alpha despite that Lydia did not like her. What made Lydia mad even more, is that Negan told Lydia that he liked her mom and I was glued to the screen the whole time when these two were going back and forth. Also, bonuc points for the appearence of Dog, and Judith and Lydia having a scene together.
Carol and Kelly also talked, and it was good for these two to talk about what happened after they got out the cave since Connie is still missing. Kelly still has hope that Connie is alive, and I hope so too because she has not been seen at all in this second half. Kelly mentioned that she heard all the stories about Carol since she has been there, but assures her that she has a superpower and that she should not give up on herself whenever bad things happen. That is encouragement right there. Kelly also said that her superpower is sign language and everyone learned it because of her. This all happened while they were in a car getting wires and I will have to say this. Kelly is an underrated character and she proves how resourceful she is whenever she is on the screen.
Now on to Judith and Daryl as their scenes together were the best of the entire episode. It went from Daryl finding Lydia in the woods killing walkers by herself, to Daryl giving her hunting tips. After a cool walker kill sequence after Daryl shot one of those Whisperers with an arrow, they hunt down that Whisperer and found her in a ditch. Daryl asked that Whisperer questions of where they are heading to, and if they know that they are there. Daryl then killed that Whisperer with shooting another arrow to her head, and Judith seen this all happened. Judith, was very upset about this as her and Daryl talked about this later in the episode in an emotional conversation. Judith told Daryl what if that was him lost and nobody could find him as that Whisperer was (Also, that Whisperer was with Beta walking the horde, but more of that in a moment). When I heard Judith say that line, I compared it to the time in season 8 where Daryl killed that one Savior after he pleaded with his life after he gave Rick and Daryl the location of the weapons. Rick gave him that death stare because Daryl killed a Savior that was not trying to fight back. I could not blame Daryl at the time because he was a prisoner there, but thinking of that moment, made me see Judith’s point. My heart poured out for Judith because all she wanted, was for the family to be back together and she is afraid that Daryl will be the next to go. Daryl could not promise to stay because, he does not know what will happen. But he does know that there is a whole bunch of people at the communities that will watch over her and when she gets older, they will need her. Daryl took a realistic approach on this since they do not know if they will live another day as long as the world is what it is currently on The Walking Dead. Judith will just have to adjust to the idea for now. Also, I am happy that they brought up Michonne as well as he kept tryng to reach out to her.
Hide and Speak
I hate to say it, but this was the least interesting part of the episode. Aaron and Elden were practically playing hide and seak the entire episode as Beta and Whisperers walked the walker horde first into Alexandria, and then on their way to Oceanside. Aaron and Alden were first using sign language to tell eachother when to move. While Beta was leading the charge, he hears voices in his head. I thought it was slightly cool, but it did not add anything with the plot. He was even about to kill that Whisperer that Daryl killed later in the episode before his subconcious of his voice was heard. What I thought was also ridiculous, is that Beta finally figured out that everyone is stationed at the abandoned hospital (Negan called it the tower) by following a cat that was walking there. And before that even happened, Alden and Aaron noticed that their radio connection was jammed, and then they were surrounded by Whisperers and that is the last we see of them on this episode. The episode ends when Beta and The Whisperers with the very large walker horde are feet away from the hospital door.
Overall, I liked some parts of the episode, and I am split of the parts that did not move the plot forward. I am sad that this is the last episode for now due to COVID19. Easily, the Daryl and Judith conversation is the best storytelling aspect of the episode along with Negan and Lydia, and the gang with The Princess. In fact, that was comic relief and It did not feel forced at all as it blended well in between the scenes. Everything The Princess has done on this episode, really matches her character from the start to the finish. I really cannot wait to see more of her!
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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
We have seen Carol go through a lot of trauma on this season of The Walking Dead and her quest for revenge against Alpha has not only lead Alpha to a satisfying death, but it also lead to Carol making decisions that might affect her in the long run. With Carol questioning herself in her thoughts if she should have killed her in this episode, Melissa McBride breaks down everything between Carol and Alpha during this season of The Walking Dead along with a few more treats for the fans!
First, I would like to say that I have been a fan of your work on The Walking Dead for years. Before we get to The Walking Dead, how have you been doing since the COVID-19 crisis began and what are you doing to keep yourself occupied?
MM: “Thank you Julian! I appreciate the words from you. But I have been putting air in the tires (laughs). There has been online courses available and that’s been kind of fun. I have been also doing a lot of painting, and some things around the house. I have also been checking in on people and making sure everyone is okay.”
The dynamic between Carol and Alpha has been a highlight for the current season since it started. Would you like to break down how you and Samantha Morton develop that dynamic?
MM: “I don’t know if we went out of our way to do anything. I know that we were both looking forward to the time when Alpha and Carol casme face to face, but we did not talk about anything. The whole circumstance of the story created that dynamic and we finally came face to face. And then we came face to face later in the season with her at my feet looking at me (laughs).”
The community of The Walking Dead is divided on whether if Carol deserves the blame on putting everyone in danger this season during her quest to get revenge on Alpha. What is your response to this and do you agree that Carol deserves the blame?
MM: “Well I certainly think she bears responsibility for the way some things went down in her efforts to seek vengeance. I have to say yes, that she should take responsibility for the things that she put everyone else through and she knows it too. When I was watching as a viewer, I felt the same way to be honest!”
This episode marks the first time that you and Jeffrey Dean Morgan worked together in a full length scene. Have you always wanted to work with Jeffrey Dean Morgan since his debut?And also, why did Carol not hold up her end of the bargan yet with the deal she made with Negan?
MM: “I’ve always wanted to and I could not wait to have a scene with him. Although, I was glad that I was not in the scene where Negan was introduced with everybody was on their knees. I was always looking forward to working with him and having a scene with him so curious if and when it would come and what it would be like, and never did I think it would be this storyline. And to answer your other question, she asked him ‘what took him so long’ and everything going through her head, she got what she wanted, but really? Because it came with such a price. And all the things happened while she was trying to get to Alpha. And she had to think about what she wanted to do about that. And he was free and Alpha’s head was on a spike for everyone to see and Carol is now thinking ‘I gotta go, I got stuff to think about’ (Laughs).”
How has Carol impacted you personally over the years?
MM: “She has impacted me in so many ways. And just me even having the opportunity to play the character has been amazing and full of it’s own challenges. But to play this character from the beginning, and I was so hoping that if she remained on the show, that we would see an evolution to strength in which I’m really happy to see. Also, The way that the fans relate to this character and in part to me, has been a source inspiration for them in many ways is probably the greatest feeling. And the different aspects of Carol has been really fun for me to play. It’s been pretty amazing.”
Carol and Alpha had those scenes on this episode where Alpha has been taunting her about Sophia, Henry, and more people from her past. What do you believe was her state of mind at that time from when those hallucinations of Alpha began in the episode, until when she freed herself from the fallen debris?
MM: “I think it really was that all of this was coming to the surface and with her ramblings and rumbling through her subconscious about the damage done. And when the damage is done, it also means the losses that came with it. Alpha said something insteresting too ‘you chose me because I was the one to get it done’ and Carol is thinking ‘what do you mean by getting it done’. I liked the questions that this episode asked and these answers exhibited in Carol’s behavior and her actions even though we don’t necessarily hear the answers. But I think there’s more to explore in that subconscious. And I liked that Carol did eventually decide to go back to Alexandria. But at the end, she fought for her life. Alpha kept saying ‘what did you want’ and Carol wanted to either be alone or not. I still think that there is more that Carol wants.”
Danai’s last episode was the episode before this one and I know that you miss her a lot. What have you learned the most from Danai?
MM: “I’ve learned so much from her. She is such a well-rounded, very compelling, dynamic, multilayered person. She is very funny especially in the morning and she’s such a professional. Danai is also very focused, which I admire a great deal because , I have a very little focus and I am sort of all over the place. But when we shoot, she is very focused on her lines, and her actions in those scenes. She is also very encouraging and a inspiring person especially since there are girls all over the world that look up to her. I love her and I miss her!”
I wanted to bring up Norman Reedus. You and him filmed an episode of Ride With Norman Reedus in Scotland. Did you have fun traveling with him over there?
MM: “I am happy that you asked that! I had so much fun on that episode. That is one of the top of my favorite memories. Another one of those things is that I never thought it would be on a road trip with a Norman in Scotland, or anywhere for that matter. It was very fun and we seen so many things and places that we never seen before. I love spending time with him. He is such an adventurer and fun to be around. We had a lot of good laughs and it was very special to me. There were also people over there that reconized us from The Walking Dead and I was happy to see them as well. I would love to go back one day.”
The news broke last week that the season 10 finale has been delayed to later this year. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from you on the finale?
MM: “It’s going to be a really good finale and we are going to give everyone something really good to look forward to because, I know the finale is amazing. There was a lot of work done on that when we shot it last fall. But it will be something that people will remember and look forward to in the next season as well so I am grateful for the work that we have done. I am also going to binge watch the current season during this unexpected break that we have because I think that this season is amazing and I want to watch it all over again!”
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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon; group – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
I have some unfortunate news to report. The season finale of the current season of AMC’s The Walking Dead will not air until the fall.
AMC Network released a statement in which you can read below:
Current events have unfortunately made it impossible to complete post-production of The Walking Dead Season 10 finale, so the current season will end with its 15th episode on Sunday, April 5. The planned finale will appear as a special episode later in the year.
This news comes a few days later as the world found out that The Walking Dead: World Beyond’s premiere date has been delayed until later this year as well due to the COVID-19 Outbreak along with halting the production of Fear The Walking Dead too.
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Danai Gurira as Michonne; single – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
This is the episode everyone have been waiting for ever since Danai Gurira announced that she was leaving The Walking Dead over a year ago and we are finally here. Michonne’s adventure comes to an end on this episode and her journey began on the end of season 2. How does Michonne make her exit on the series, that will be explained as I will give you my thoughts and opinions of “What We Become” right now.
Also to note, this episode’s structure is split between reality, and a “What if” scenario. With that out of the way, time to begin.
In the opening, we see the end scene of the season 2 finale when Andrea is being chased by walkers, but this time, it is from Michonne’s point of view. Instead of saving Andrea, Michonne does not save her as the screams of Andrea being devoured is heard by Michonne as she walks away with her pet walkers. In the current time, Michonne and Virgil arrives at the island and Virgil was handcuffed the entire time on the boat. Michonne uncuffs Virgil and he said that he could have done that five hours ago. They walk on the island and Virgil was stalling for a few minutes and Michonne told Virgil that she needed to get back. Virgil took some urbs and leaves for tea as Michonne asked about the brown building behind them. Virgi told her that it is best to stay away since wild animals go inside there. As they are also walking, a banner of the map of the entire island is displayed with markers of “groups” written on the map and Michonne stopped him from talking as she was becoming unpatient with him. She asked Virgil about the whereabouts of his family and Virgil then took her to a gravesite. Virgil told Michonne that his famly is dead and that a sickness killed them. He also said that the real reason that he brought Michonne to the island is to put his family down as they all turned. This did not make Michonne happy.
They both entered one of the buildings and Michonne killed one of the walkers. She then killed another one that was trying to walk through a table. Michonne and Virgil then proceeded to squeeze through the broken table and debris that was blocking the path and there were walkers further away from them. She grabbed one of the chairs to use as a shield to rush through the walkers and then Michonne killed more of the walkers in that room including the ones that were about to get Virgil. They both enter another room to see that there are hung walkers and Virgil picks up one of their shoes, and puts it back on the walker’s foot. Virgil then told the story of his wife and Michonne was not ready to hear it as she apologized for his lost, but lets him know right away that she needs to get back and does not want to be thanked. Virgil told Michonne that the boat might not make it through in the sea during the night because of the high tide so he suggested that they both sleep at night and leave in the morning.
Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Eliza Morse/AMC
At night, Michonne tried to use the walkie-talkie to alert Judith. She then goes outside and enters the building that she seen earlier. She then investigated one of the rooms and did not find anything. But she did heard other people talking. Virgil then appeared behind her and closed the door and left. Michonne tried to open the door, but it was closed shut. Then suddenly, someone told her to calm down as there are three people locked in another room next to her. It was two women (One of them named Lucy), and one male as they all told Michonne that they used to be friends with Virgil and that things got bad when other people that they found fought them and when food was getting low. Lucy then said that Virgil’s wife and kids are also in another room, but they are dead. Virgil then appears at the door to check on her. As Michonne begins to plead again to let her out, she begins to get dizzy and starts to hallucinate. Virgil told Michonne that she is in pain and he wants her to see that. This is when Michonne noticed that the tea she drinked, was drugged. In her Hallucinations, Siddiq appears and told her that she was supposed to protect all of them including Rick, Carl, and Coco. Also, the past version of Michonne pulls her into the past.
Remember the guy with the orange backpack from many seasons ago? Switch him out for Michonne as Michonne was calling Daryl for help. Daryl looked, and then left. While she was still walking, Negan and The Saviors arrive and Negan held her sword for a second while Laura given her an apple. Negan seen Michonne as an asset and then recruited her. Following this, is the scene where Rick and his group raid the satellite outpost from “Not Tomorrow Yet” (Season 6, Episode 12) and instead of Heath and Glenn killing random saviors in their sleep, it was Laura and Michonne sleeping as Glenn killed Laura in this “What if” scenario. Michonne then proceeded to shoot Glenn and Heath, killing them. Then we see Rick shooting down The Saviors as he did on that episode, but Michonne was behind the other wall as Rick did not notice her. After this, we go to the scene of Negan’s debut and the group on their knees from 6×16/7×01 as Negan started the “eeny-meenie-miny-moe” chatter and instead of Simon, Negan said that Michonne is his right hand woman. Negan then let Michonne decide who she was going to kill. Michonne with Lucille, decided that she will choose Michonne (One with Lucille is Savior Michonne, one on the ground was the current one at the time) to be the victim. We then flash forward to one of the battles with The Saviors during season 8 as Daryl shot Michonne with his crossbow bolt. As she was dying, Rick Grimes killed her by shooting her with his gun. At this point, the hallucinations are over.
Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Michonne snaps back into reality and Virgil gives her water to drink. She then smashed the fork into his leg and they have a small scuffle until Michonne got the upper hand. Michonne freed Lucy and the other two and they escaped the building (Which is marked Group #2) to only see the boat in flames. They chased after Virgil until he fell and Michonne captured Virgil. Lucy and the others wanted Michonne to kill Virgil, but Michonne told them that taking his life would make them lose themselves as she refused to kill him. Lucy then knocks him out. Virgil then wakes up in the same room where he locked Michonne and it is time for Michonne to get more answers out of him. Michonne said that she checked the entire area and did not find any weapons. Virgil told Michonne that he seen them, but Michonne does not believe him anymore and asked him what does he see when he drinks the tea. Virgil said that he sees his family and hoped that she would see that too.
Michonne then replied by saying to Virgil that she would see that too, but he took her family from her and that she sees hell now. Michonne then asked Virgil to take her to get her belongings. Once Michonne opened the room to get her belongings, she noticed boots on the counter that belonged to Rick Grimes. Michonne pushed Virgil towards the wall and grabbed him and asked him about how he got those boots. Virgil was unaware of who she was talking about and about the boots as he thinks that they washed up on the shore. They then go on a bigger boat and she goes through a book. In the book, there were locations written of Virginia, and New Jersey. She then seen an iPhone 4 with a chalk drawing of Michonne and Judith with Rick’s name on the top of it. Virgil realized that she is the drawing. Michonne thinks I that he knew about this the whole time, but again, Virgil assured her that he does not know who she is talking about. But Virgil also believes that it was not an accident that they meet and that she should look for him as he wants the other three people to help him with the engine of the big boat.
Kevin Carroll as Virgil, Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Eliza Morse/AMC
Michonne and Lucy with her two friends meet with Virgil and Virgil decided to stay at the island as he wanted to give flowers to his wife every day even though she is dead. They leave the island on the giant boat. Michonne started to cry when she seen the chalk drawing of her and Judith again. Michonne then used the walkie-talkie to contact Judith and she did exactly that and Judith responded. Michonne asked about Rosita, Coco, and The Whisperers. Judith told her that they are fine and even RJ talked to Michonne too. Judith told Michonne that Alpha will not hurt them anymore, and then Michonne told Judith that she found something from “The Brave Man” and Judith asked if he was alive. Michonne told Judith that she does not know yet, but she is hopeful that he is. Judith told Michonne to go find him, but Michonne was concerned for everyone at Alexandria. Judith then said that Rick might need her help than they do and that she needs to find him. One of Lucy’s friends told Michonne that they are close to the coast. Michonne then not only said her good bye to Judith and RJ, but she told them both that she loves them and that she will radio her every day until she cant.
Once on land, Michonne makes two new pet walkers. She then saved two people and they told Michonne that their people will leave them and not return if him and her did not catch up. Michonne agrees and the final shot of the episode is a wide-panning shot from above as we see an extremely large-traveling group with horses walking in formation.
Danai Gurira as Michonne, Kevin Carroll as Virgil – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Eliza Morse/AMC
On Rick Grimes’ final episode, it was about Rick reflecting on his courage, heart, and wisdom in the style of The Wizard of Oz. On Michonne’s final episode, it was Michonne reflecting on decisions and where would they lead you. I liked the idea of the way this episode was written, but it was also sloppy on most of this episode as I felt that her hallucinations were not needed to tell the story of why she would want to look for Rick Grimes. There were a few good moments that I enjoyed however such as her talk with Judith and RJ, those walker kills in that building, her finding Rick’s boots, and that scene where she begins the hallucinations with that out of body experience with her old self. That right there made me feel like I was watching a psychological film.
Danai’s performance on this episode is outstanding as she really made me feel worried for Michonne while she was locked in that room. Also, I found Virgil very annoying the entire time I was watching the episode and I rolled my eyes whenever he was on the screen. I believe after everyone watches this episode, Virgil will be the most hated character in the history of The Walking Dead.
My biggest concern of the way this episode is structured, is the status of the Rick Grimes movies. Rick was taken by the CRM group and the group that was shown at the end of the episode seemed like they had nothing to do with CRM. In fact, it seemed like that large group with the horses might be part of Virginia’s group from Fear The Walking Dead. Also, we do not know what Danai’s schedule will look like within the next few months when the movie begins in full production since nobody is sure what the cast will look like. I am hopeful that she is part of the cast though. The “What if” scenarios that happened on this episode, I could compare that to the Marvel Comics “What If” comic book series, or the TellTale Batman video game. That would have been fine for me if this was not Michonne’s final episode, but because of this, those scenes felt like a huge distraction to the main plot of the episode in a logical sense. But with that out of the way, It was produced very well besides one inconsistency and that was, Daryl’s vest. Why would I bring this up? Because when he killed Michonne in that “What if” scene during the war against The Saviors a few seasons ago, the wings on his vest were like brand new. But during season 8, the wings of his vest were decayed. I have an eye for detail and accuracy so I noticed that. And finally, lets assume that Rick made that chalk drawing. If he did, how would he know what Judith would look like now when he has not seen her in almost 7 years?
I am split with the episode overall as I most likely wanted more, but more questions were raised while I was watching it. I was underwhelmed and it was not like I was expecting a big blowoff to her exit. I would have had it differently, but that is my opinion. Danai Gurira will be missed and Michonne is a legendary character that will never be forgotten. I have been a fan of Danai for years and I am sad to see her go, but happy at the same time of the opportunities that she has gotten during her time on and after The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead family will always have your back Danai Gurira.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
