Variant

Any positive reviews of this are either bots or people paid to do so.

It's remarkably slow. All dialogue and zero action. The story takes not even one step forward.

The entire episode can be summed up simply: Eugene is a suspect in Sebastian's dead (and we know this). Lance contributed to that death (and we know this). Darryl hides Eugene. Meanwhile everyone else feels like maybe they should leave. That's it. Zzzzzzzzzz.

Last season, and even the early parts of this season, gave me hope that this endless slog of a show that hooked me with how great it was a decade ago, might end things well. But it's just so boring.

Another episode that smacks of filler despite being so close to the end now. This one begins with Eugene finding himself suspected (not without reason) in Sebastian's death and the consequences that follow. I was worried it was going to be the Eugene show again but thankfully he doesn't get an awful lot of screen time. We do get Darryl being badass in the woods which is a lot more satisfying, and I have to say that the Hornsby character has grown on me quite a bit over this season. The scene in his prison cell is relatively shocking but the rest is very much average, neither amazing nor particularly bad.

I can't get enough of Aaron and Jerry. The rest of this episode was crap. Who cares about all these new people we've known for five minutes? At least Jerry got his hero scene hacking walkers to bits! I'd watch a spin-off of him and his family and Aaron building a new Kingdom. Can we kill off the rest of these idiots now please? I'm so done with Lance and the stupid Commonwealth blah blah blah. The actors who play Eugene and Rosita are great but their stories suck hard. I like Mercer but give him something to do besides wander around scowling in a pumpkin suit. I'm so disappointed with this whole season. I'd really hoped we'd get back just a little of the Season One magic for the end. I guess all those writers/ directors are gone.

It's not a new variant. It's just one that hasn't been explored since season 1.

In Season 1, walkers ran, they turned doorknobs and in episode 2, they even showed a walker picking up a brick and repeatedly smashing it against glass to break into the store that Rick, Andrea and the others were seeking refuge in.

I always chose to believe that it wasn't a continuity issue when they stopped including these walker characteristics, and that it was simply that walkers devolved as time went on and that's why they stopped.

Only because I find it almost painful to admit that it was likely that they just changed their minds and it didn't fit in with what they wanted at the time, which is fine I suppose.

I like the idea of re-exploring this aspect, as the world naturally evolves so why wouldn't they, but it's a bit daft bringing it up just before the end. As others have said, it's likely to be for one of the many other spin-off series they currently have or will have. But it's unlikely that I will watch any of these. Oh well, good try.

The premise of episode 11.19 titled "Variant": Eugene goes on the run, and Mercer is tasked to find him; Aaron's group faces a complication on the road. This episode contains some brilliant editing, transitions and pacing. Vivian Tse penned the script for 11.19 and I think it wasn't the same quality as the previous episodes but still good. Overseen by Angela Kang, the writing for this episode is mostly consistent of the previous episodes in Part 1 and 2 if not better. The episode uses the big budget wisely, making it brilliant both technically and the acting and so on, the camera work are brilliant and visually a great episode, an overall impressive production. Stunning looking episode.

Karen Gaviola directed "Variant" and she actually did a terrific job, though she's new to the show, Gaviola's vision and direction were great. The episode contains yet again superb drama with plenty of suspension and tension to keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat. There are plenty of great scenes in this episode and there's not one single bad performance throughout the entire episode. Scenes that are beautifully shot, scenes that are acted with such brilliance, and every other department and people working on the episode, terrific work. The close ups used, the attention to detail and all the shots in the nature, they nailed it on the camera side of things. The cinematography is once again breathtaking and incredible, just right for the show, the way it was shot and so on, simply brilliant. The sets were detailed and perfect, and so are the art and production design. I also found the effects to be fantastic in this episode, practical effects always makes it so more real, and The Walking Dead is known for their practical effects and they didn't let us down for this episode. Superb sound design and a musical score both gripping and dramatic. It's one of many things on the technical side of things that the show succeeds perfectly with.

"Variant" has lots of things that fans of The Walking Dead will like, it's a nice change with Aaron and the group being outside the Commonwealth walls again, giving us some season 4 and 5 vibes when our survivors were on the road. This was a more character driven and slower paced episode, the focus being on characters and drama, thus giving the actors more time to shine. But with the name "Variant" it's also the first time we see one of these smart zombies that haven't been seen since season 1. There were one specific scene involving Aaron and Lydia, a heart to heart conversation and the acting in that scene was so good from Ross Marquand, whilst in the Commonwealth Josh McDermitt gives us another brilliant performance as Eugene and possibly the episode's best performance. I also want to praise Laila Robins for her performance as Pamela Milton, her character is dealing with the death of her son, making her the last Milton if I'm not mistaken. There's a specific theme in this episode, a theme of loss. That's something the writers succeeded with, but there is too many conversations in this episode. I'm glad they're making it character driven though.

This episode kept the story going but not as much as I had hoped, there are only a couple of episodes left and though I loved the cinematography and direction and acting. Yet it gave us an action sequence which showed the new variant zombies or one kind of them. The scene was suspenseful from start to finish and honestly I haven't found myself on the edge of my seat like this during zombie scenes. I think this is just what the show needed, finally acknowledging what Frank Darabont did and wanted to keep doing. But that is the only thing I liked in terms of progressing the story, the Commonwealth arc went in the opposite direction that I wanted and thought would work best. I have read several reviews during this season and not many critics have liked the Commonwealth arc, I'm officially on their side now. They failed, unfortunately. There are also too many characters in the main cast, most don't have anything interesting to do and they then fail the characters, most of them. This was a good episode but far from the same quality as the previous two.