Yahoo Movies 3 reasons to be optimistic about The Walking Dead season 9
8 seasons down and many fans of The Walking Dead are feeling the fatigue. We’ve endured countless character deaths, story lines seemingly on repeat, and at least a few very dumb decisions. But there is hope for those that have stuck with the show. It looks like it’s going to be all change in The Walking Dead season 9. Sadly, we’re probably going to lose Rick, Maggie, and maybe even Michonne by the end of the season.
On the plus side, many might be pleased to know that showrunner Scott Gimple has been promoted. That means there is a new showrunner for season 9. Here’s 3 reasons we should be optimistic for the next season.
Time jump
According to The Hollywood Reporter, incoming showrunner Angela Kang has confirmed that the show will have a significant time jump. Kang said “We’re playing with time in the season, so we get to jump forward in the story”. I feel relieved about this. The characters need a break. If you think back over the last 8 seasons of the show, they’ve been going from drama to drama, place to place, and conflict to conflict. I’m glad that the show is allowing them some time for peace, some time for growth, and some time to relax and rebuild. The characters we see in season 9 will be very different from the characters we left at the end of season 8, and that is an exciting prospect.
Kang has even suggested that the season will have a “really fresh look and feel” and that the season opens with some “pretty fun stuff”. Fun? In the world of The Walking Dead? Maybe the survivors have managed to build a water park at the Hilltop…
Focus on core character relationships
Angela Kang has also said that season 9 is “really focusing a lot on the core character relationships in the show that have kind of been long-lasting, as well as all of our wonderful series regulars.” This sounds promising, and is also a little unsurprising if this is indeed really Rick and Maggie’s final season.
Hopefully there will be plenty of time to explore the relationships of Rick and Maggie, Rick and Michonne, Daryl and Carol, Maggie and her new child (who will presumably have been born) and many others. Then the crap can hit the fan in time for the mid-season finale.
Watch out for the women
According to Kang, it looks like it might be ‘times up’ for the men folk leading the story forward too. Kang says “We’re going to see some really great stories with the women in our show… for people who are really invested in Michonne, Maggie or Carol, there’s such great material for them.” I’ve been crying out to see more of Michonne and Carol for a couple of seasons now. I want to see them back to their old, interesting selves again. Season 9 might just be their time to shine.
Kang’s comments are enough to keep me hoping that there is life in The Walking Dead still, even if we do lose some of the central characters in the first half of the season.
What do you think of Angela Kang’s comments? Are you excited for season 9?
