When people ask me for my advice or opinion I always open with "are you sure you want to know, because I will tell you. You may not like it, but I will tell you. So, are you sure?"

Since you cannot answer me straight away let me just say that if you are not sure you might want to stop reading at this point

1. Confident things will turn out alright

2. Because Angela Kang is a breath of fresh air

3. Speaking of Angela Kang - the direction she is taking the show is exciting. For her first season as showrunner she was given the herculean task of writing Rick's exit in a way that could still hold optimism. She was also tasked with Lauren's exit and I would bet that she also was writing Michonne season 9 with the knowledge there was a possibility of her leaving the show in 10. But hey, no pressure!

With that said there are new characters on board and I am so excited to see what Angela Kang will do with characters that she is able to develop from the ground up. With these characters she is not left to navigate through someone else's character foundation. She is the person who is giving Magna, Yumiko, Connie, Luke their voices. I also think she has more to do with season 9 Alden. And will we see more from Dianne? Laura? DJ? Kal? Marco? Tammy Rose? Earl? Bertie? Scott? Nora? Nabilia? These are all characters, who if they survive season 9, have the potential to become fan favorites themselves. And what of Lydia? Could she herself prove to be a character, that much like Dwight, we find ourselves enjoying what may be another character whose layers are slowly revealed. Might she be someone who by the end of season 9 we have turned the corner and actually want to see her join with our communities?

Then we have Aaron, Enid, Eugene, Gabriel, Tara, Rosita, Jerry, Siddiq, Judith - characters we already know and have attachments to. What does she (AK) have in store for these somewhat developed characters. Will we see more development from them in 9B? Will our love for these characters increase? I look at that list and already see potential for at least 4-5 of them become fan favorites much like their predecessors Rick, Michonne, Maggie.

So much potential exists.

4. Let us talk about Daryl. @Sebrebc you might want to sit down for this one!! I have been very vocal about my dislike for this character. And I agree with you about Daryl being a boring character IF we are talking about seasons 7 and 8 Daryl. But I have to say as season 9 progresses Daryl is becoming anything but boring. Angela Kang has given him back his voice. And she has given him a voice that is stronger than any season prior. He is becoming his own man. No one for him to follow, he is proving that he is someone to be followed. And if I of all people realize this about Daryl then it must be a pretty damn accurate statement to make....amirite Sebrebc ??????

5. The story telling has become, once again, character driven. The feel of the show has once again become desperate but now with a bit of Old West flair thrown in for good measure. The pacing of the episodes is faster yet at the same time easy to keep up with. There is nary a moment that is wasted. The casting of new characters has been spot on and those actors are amazing at their craft.

I will say it yet again. Change is difficult. Some of us choose to embrace the change and be supportive of a show that has brought us endless hours of excitement, tears and sometime a giggle or two. Those actors and behind the scenes people deserve our support. You just need to decide if you are the type of person who can remain open minded to see where the path takes us or if you are the type of person who chooses to jump ship because you can't see the forest for the trees.

 

*the Daryl stuff*

 

I KNOW!!!! RIGHT???? But, it needed to be said. Believe me, it has been a hard pill for me to swallow. Still not a Daryl nor Norman Reedus fangirl but I can admit that his character has improved this season

 

I give you a half hug. You're getting there.

 

I'm not a comic reader, but I can understand your frustration/disappointment when the show deviates from the comic material. I am that way with books and movies. Whichever version I experienced first is the "true" story. I remember watching Memoirs of a Geisha after finishing the book and I'm like..that's not how it happened in the book...this is not how it ended in the book..I really just wanted to see the book brought to life on the big screen in the exact way I read it, and vice versa if I see the movie first.

As for the TV show, I have renewed hope after watching the first half of this season. Like others I feel the show's quality has dropped the past few seasons and was really skeptical how they could carry on without Rick. Somehow Angela Kang has managed to breath some fresh life into the show and I am genuinely interested in it and looking forward to the next episode. Rick's absence is still hard to take, but it helps knowing that his story is basically on hold, they're not finished telling it. ( Hopefully Gimple won't jack THAT up)

I guess it just boils down to whether or not you enjoy watching and if you can reconcile the differences between your comic based expectations and what you're seeing on the TV screen. Had you asked me last year at this time if the show was screwed, I would have answered yes.

 

I was going to give my opinions also, but this is exactly it.

Especially the stuff about Daryl.

 

So many words in this thread. I like threads with pictures.

I like the color blue.

It brings out people's eyes. Plus its been shown to be the color that stands out best against the background of the human visual field. Road workers should wear blue instead of yellow or orange. It would save so many lives, as well as bring fashion back to blacktopping...

And naw, the show's not screwed. Unless you mean it gets some action at least once a week, then ya.

 

I can only speak for myself but while I really am a fan if certain characters, it's the setting of the show that's the draw for me. If they bring on new, interesting characters I'm all for it. In fact I favor it. I was glad to see Rick and Carl go as I grew tired of their characters (but never of Andrew Lincon's acting).

If they continue to have good actors, good dialog and good story I can watch this show forever.

 

I don't read the comics so I couldn't care less if the characters are from it, alive, dead or taking someone else's storyarc. Doesn't change a thing.

I'm glad some of the weaker characters are gone, Dale, Carl, Maggie, all worked out my nerves a little too much. I'm sad about others, and I'm crushed I'll be losing Michonne, but I guess that's what happens in a Zombie apocalypse...

Contrarily to what others think, I never thought the show was all that great! No great writing here, no depth or interesting or fresh take on the zombies. Just a fun show. It had the Darabont touch, which made it character-driven and easy to like, and I feel that's back now, so it's still easy to like. For me anyway. I certainly won't mind Ezechiel leaving...

 

Just my opinion. An "intact" cast (as intact as a show with a hallmark for killing off characters at the drop of a hat can be), or, for that matter, a cast consisting of nothing but the greatest actors in the world means nothing if the story, um, let's say...sucks.

We've seen our "intact" cast mired in quicksand for two years. Now the show (to me, totally shockingly) feels completely fresh.

Nobody wants to lose anyone they love, but, much like life, the choice is to move on or shut down. I suspect it's mostly knee-jerk ("Rick's gone, I'm gone!"), but I feel sorry for those people because they're missing out on something quite outstanding that's happening right now, a show that picked itself up, dusted itself off and started all over again.

There's a reason the writers are giving us episode titles like "Evolution" and "Adaptation". They're double entendres for a completely new chapter in our story.

The episodes are great, the dialogue treats me like I'm not an idiot, and the
story's really moving. I can't ask for more, and am so, so glad I didn't give up on the show!

 

Love the song reference in this post.

 

I'm hoping Magna and whichever characters from her group survive, turn out to be solid characters.

The best parts of seasons 1-6 were losing main characters and gaining new ones. The show will slowly die if they don't replace good characters with more good characters. Can't lose good ones and replace them with side characters.

 

I am pretty damn confident that at the very least Magna and Yumiko will become central characters. Of the remaining three I think Connie has a slight edge over Kellie. I would give Kellie about a 40% chance of survival and Luke, well about a 10% chance of surviving

 

Say it ain't so. I love Luke.

 

well that is just me playing "what if"

Goodness only knows how it will all pan out. This season has been fraught with WTF moments!

 

Yea, Luke feels like a character who won't last long....because he came off really likeable right off the bat.

 

I hope he goes out with a song!!

 

I just wished none of the characters left the show because they wanted to like Rick/Jesus and now Michonne or contract disputes like Maggies. That's like the most awkward thing about the show right now, because you know something is up behind the scenes while watching. It just sucks things turned out this way. The show is about the characters, and now we just keep losing more and more. At this point I just want them to keep Carol/Daryl alive to the very end, if one of them then leaves we really have no face of the show anymore.

Jk Eugene would take over as the face of the franchise and only him and his mullet/ponytail will be on every poster!

 

That's what happens when you try to make a show last as long as it possibly can. Just like a lot of people in the regular work world start itching to find something new professionally after staying somewhere for so many years so do actors. Plus now that the show isn't getting the ratings it once did they may not be wanting to pay the actors as much as they would if it was still getting 12m an episode.