Family

The premise of episode 11.23 titled "Family": Mercer secretly brings Eugene to Max and Yumiko. He is said to be hiding in an apartment until further action has been clarified. Meanwhile, a group led by Maggie, Negan and Daryl take the train to take down Pamela for good. They bring the missing people back to the Commonwealth. There, an angry crowd is already protest in front of Pamela's office and demanding. Magali Lozano & Erik Mountain & Kevin Deiboldt penned the script for 11.23 and they brought the writing back to how it should be, the dialogue felt natural and overall well written, excellent even. 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. There's so many shots in this episode that are brilliantly shot, such a stunning looking episode, it felt like The Walking Dead again.

Sharat Raju directed "Family" and being a recurring director for both TWD and Fear, he knows the actors and universe quite well so the visual storytelling is all great. Raju's vision and direction were truly amazing, bringing his skills and experience to a show that currently needs it. His work on the episode are surely one of the highlights. The cinematography and the other departments, especially the makeup and special effects departments, were as always top notch. 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.

The Commonwealth arc have had its ups and downs but I'll have to admit, I really liked this episode. I thought it was great. But I still don't agree it's the right direction for the show, it could have focused on something bigger like they've been building towards. This is the penultimate episode of the final season of the entire show, it doesn't feel like it, there is much more unpredictability but also much more tension and suspension in the episode. It doesn't feel big enough. I've written how the Commonwealth have evolved into a military-state, leaning more and more into fascism. It's brilliant really, believable too. I think Pamela Milton is a great character but underused and could have been used better if Angela Kang would have went a different direction with being bigger. The universe of The Walking Dead is now big with CRM but haven't been used at all, I think that was a bad choice from Angela Kang but especially Scott Gimple who surely calls all the shots.

Episode 11.23 has most if not the whole cast in it, it feels like an old episode of The Walking Dead. I think this was one of the better episodes of Part C, it offered us some superb drama, character interactions that keeps you engaged, and a well shot action sequence but also multiple zombie scenes for everyone who likes zombies. I just love the scenes with Ezekiel and Negan, those two actors and characters together in a scene, makes for some fine drama and terrific performances. The scene with Aaron and Lydia was also extremely well written, brilliantly acted by the two. The passion in Ross Marquand's performance is visible and I think his performance in this season have been one of the better ones. Some other performances who I think deserve some praise are Laila Robins who completely nailed her performance as Pamela Milton, what might be her best performance in the season. But let's talk about "Family" and what that episode title mean for the episode, a lot if not everything, but mostly of the Grimes family and how Judith want their legacy to remain and make her deceased brother proud, a character who shouldn't have died. Cailey Fleming have been great as Judith Grimes and continues in that direction in this episode, I'm glad she got more screen time, finally. Norman Reedus and Cailey Fleming have such perfect chemistry and you really notice how their relationship are on and off screen, it's wonderful really. I'm looking forward to the series finale, I wish, I hope that they won't fail the show. We deserve a great ending, we deserve an unsafe episode of The Walking Dead with risk and tension, an episode with the audience on the edge of their seats, an episode worth talking about like Andrew Lincoln's last episode "What Comes After". But we need a finale that's grandios, the penultimate was far from grandios. But for season 11, "Family" is incredible and engaging from start to finish, one of the season's best episodes.

Finally...., this is by far the best episode of S11 Part III, I think this will make you feel excited about the series finale.

Next episode promises a lot of zombies, some major character deads, and maybe one or two comebacks.

This episode feels like a final season, I think they lost a lot of time, this was what I was waiting for, the real antagonist we needed are the walkers, at the end, this is what everybody should be scared of in a show like this.

This episode reminds me of S2 finale, which for me, was one of the best episodes of the entire show.

Andrea came to my mind as one character that could be so awesome but they didnt gave her enough time.

Now I am rooting for Rosita and Aaron. Does anyone else think they would make a great duo for a new TWD show?

The armor of the troopers has the worst writing. Why are they even wearing that if it doesn't safe you from walkers at all? Plus, the herd entered the Commonwealth way too fast. The army must've had enough time to clear the walkers. But other than that... I loved this episode. Our group is so badass in this! I'm a bit nervous for the finale though. They didn't finish the Commonwealth arc in this penultimate episode, which I hoped for. So let's see what they bring to the table next week.

Btw, I really love Eugene as a character ever since season 9. Josh portrays him so well! "Family" was another great episode for him!

With all the time they've had in this season and the slow progression of the Commonwealth storyline, you'd think they rush these couple of final episodes so we could get over with it, but nope, they're going as slow as the rest of the season pertaining to the Commonwealth stuff.

This makes me believe we're not gonna get to see the characters we've all been wanting to see for the last 2 seasons and they're just gonna end the whole show with the Commonwealth storyline which I have predicted a long time ago.

That's not to say this episode is bad, not at all. This episode is probably one of the best of season 11 and has some great moments and surprising ones too. The climbing walkers finally have something to do in this show and do actual damage after they were introduced and forgotten for a bit. The troopers don't act like the idiots they were in previous episodes (minus Outpost 22), and the writing overall is decent and no one really does dumb stuff, except maybe for Lydia. But I guess expected more from the penultimate episode and more like what this episode tells me the finale is gonna be like.

So I won't go into details now as I wait to see what the finale will be, what they will do in there, and if they way they ended the show was satisfying or not and will write a more in-depth and longer review then.

Gabriel asks Tyler Davis whether he knows where the missing children are, but he doesn't know. In Commonwealth, Mercer brings Eugene to an empty apartment where Yumiko and Max are. They know that people are angry with the result of Eugene's trial, and they believe it is possible to have a rebellion against the corrupt government of Pamela Milton. A group goes with Daryl by train to Commonwealth, and Mercer is unable to join them at the Union Station as agreed with Princess. Pamela orders a group of soldiers loyal to her to bring a herd of walkers to Commonwealth to control the population, and Aaron and his group join the herd. When he sees an abandoned RV, he asks his friends to leave the crowd. However, Elijah, Luke and Julie do not succeed, and Lydia is bitten in her left arm by a walker. Mercer is trying to protect the gates of Commonwealth, but Pamela orders Vickers to arrest him and her soldiers do not guard the gate properly. Daryl and his people are trapped inside the Union State by Pamela's soldiers and Pamela hits Judith. They escape and Daryl brings the fainted girl on his arms looking for a hospital. But Pamela has ordered the soldiers to protect her neighborhood and leave the rest of the population of Commonwealth abandoned to their fate.

"Family" is the penultimate episode of "The Walking Dead", and probably the best episode of the Eleventh Season. My only but is the situation of Lydia, bitten at her arm, and now becoming handicapped. She is a nice and suffered character and her situation now without her arm is absolutely unnecessary. Pamela shows her claws and corruption, leaving the dwellers of Commonwealth to their own fate. Judith closing the doors after losing lots of blood and being unconscious for a ling period, is also ridiculous. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Family"