To prepare for the series conclusion, “Family” serves as the penultimate episode of Season 11. Finally, after a decade and a half of zombie-related disasters, The Walking Dead is close to skewering its final zombie. Season 11 of The Walking Dead, which continues the long Commonwealth plot, has set up Pamela Milton as the ultimate antagonist. A war is building over who will rule over her society. The Governor of the Commonwealth is on one side. While the heroes, including Mercer and the liberated captives from Outpost 22, have gathered on the other.
The highly anticipated series finale of The Walking Dead is rapidly approaching, and with it comes a new menace in the form of mutant cohort zombies. The Walking Dead season 11, episode 23 pits a desperate aristocratic tyrant against the ever-evolving undead. It set the stage for a titanic three-way showdown that will determine not only the future of the Commonwealth but perhaps the future of all human civilization in the post-apocalyptic US. In addition to teasing a dramatic uptick in major character deaths, “Family” leaves the fate of one long-time survivor in the balance leading up to The Walking Dead’s season finale.
Pamela Milton Draws The Battle Lines For The Walking Dead’s Series Finale
In 23rd episode of The Walking Dead season 11, Pamela Milton’s chances of winning begin to diminish. The inmates in her work camps have rebelled, the head of security has defected to Alexandria, and zombies have broken through the Commonwealth’s defenses. As Pamela’s mental health deteriorates from the guilt of accidentally shooting young Judith, she resorts to channeling the invading zombie herd into the Commonwealth’s “wards,” neighborhoods reserved for low-income residents. At the same time, she chooses to hide among the wealthy in the Commonwealth’s “estates.”
This strategy simultaneously accomplishes two goals for Pamela Milton: it sets the stage for the show’s climactic fight and saves time. A plot to retrieve Coco from the Commonwealth’s children’s home had been laid out by Rosita earlier in Season 11, Episode 23; she had said, “We won’t stick out as much in the wards.” Unfortunately, Pamela’s plan to redirect the zombie invasion through poor neighborhoods ends up sending the undead straight at her Alexandrian opponents, but this is more of a happy accident than anything else. For this reason, in the episode’s climactic moments, the Commonwealth soldiers are more concerned with creating barricades than pursuing Daryl Dixon and his allies.
Pamela Milton’s plot does more than just set up a showdown between the protagonists of The Walking Dead and an army of the undead on the march; it also provides a glimpse into the future of the Commonwealth. A soldier rightly observes that the Commonwealth wards are home to “thousands” of inhabitants who are now helpless. Carol, Negan, and Maggie, the heroes of The Walking Dead, will, by default, become the finalline of defense between the undead and the “lower” classes of the Commonwealth. It’s a given that if the good folks win, thousands of people in the wards will move to support Alexandria.
The Commonwealth’s Zombies Are Always Evolving Walking Dead’s Comic Book Finale
23rd episode of season 11 of The Walking Dead is teasing an outcome that’s not far from what readers of Robert Kirkman’s comics would expect. Discontent in the Commonwealth boils over into a conflict between Pamela Milton and her supporters and the Alexandrians who have joined Mercer’s anti-Milton rebels in the source material. If the final scene of “Family” is any indication, the survivors’ last stand in the live-action series will be against the undead rather than Pamela Milton. However, the presence of variant zombies represents an even greater departure, as these technologically advanced denizens did not appear in Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic books.
The Walking Dead’s protagonists may know how to handle a common herd, but as they observe the Commonwealth zombies leaping over obstacles, Negan sums up the feelings of everyone by muttering, “What the f**k?!” The Walking Dead’s primary characters are currently trapped in the Commonwealth wards, and they have no idea how to deal with the new kind of zombies they’ve seen. The fact that the variation spotted picking up Lydia’s dropped knife in episode 22 of season 11 of The Walking Dead is not to be found in episode 23 is highly ominous and suggests the blade will play a key role in the show’s conclusion. Which character the armed variation will attack is more pressing.
For the series finale of The Walking Dead, variants introduce an unforeseen setting, further stacking the odds against the besieged characters. In contrast, the heroes are given two benefits in season 11, episode 23 of the show. Although Luke and Jules have returned and are making their way to safety, Elijah has vanished and is still missing. Jerry is in hot pursuit, and Aaron and Lydia haven’t caught up with their pals yet. Potentially crucial in luring zombies out of the Commonwealth and into a pincer movement, these individuals deserve special mention. However, Jerry’s words to Aaron carried a chilling air of finality, suggesting the carefree axeman will meet his end in the series finale of The Walking Dead.
In the series finale of The Walking Dead, will Judith Grimes meet her end?
“Family” concludes with Judith Grimes struggling for her life after taking a bullet meant for Maggie. Daryl carries her to the clinic in the Commonwealth, which Ezekiel helpfully affirms is “not far,” but even getting there is no assurance that anybody will be able to help. Daryl may find the facility empty of medical staff when he arrives because of the lockdown protocol implemented by the Commonwealth. Concerningly, Judith Grimes’s death has been shown in previous comic book incarnations of The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman’s original story has Judith dying as a baby while Rick leads the jailbreak. The decision to keep Judith on AMC’s The Walking Dead was likely made with her death being saved until the series finale.
Yumiko’s brother Tomi, a surgeon, appears to be a potential savior. If there were a lockdown, Yumiko would most likely know where Tomi was hiding, and the doctor wouldn’t think twice about treating Judith, even if she is an enemy of the Commonwealth. No matter what happens to Judith at the end of The Walking Dead, it will have a major impact on the story. Carl’s hope for peace in the Commonwealth may be realized in two ways. Either the young character’s death would serve as a wake-up call that leads to reconciliation, or Judith’s survival and mercy toward Pamela would echo Rick’s lifeline to Negan in Season 8 of The Walking Dead.
Season 11 Episode 23 of the show Sets Up Rick’s Return and The CRM
The conclusion of The Walking Dead season 11 will have a lot to wrap up. As time runs out before Andrew Lincoln’s return as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead’s CRM clues from season 11 have failed to bear fruit. Neither the word “family” nor Lance Hornsby’s reference to Commonwealth “alliances” provides any additional information about the nature of Designation 2. These loose ends must be resolved in the series finale of The Walking Dead, or else it will be frustrating to have to wait for AMC’s planned spinoffs to deal with them. Thankfully, the penultimate episode of The Walking Dead keeps hinting that closure is on the horizon.
Daryl Dixon is carrying an exhausted Judith to the clinic at Commonwealth, and she mumbles, “Daddy?” There’s no denying that Judith’s hallucination of a reunion with Rick Grimes in the series finale of The Walking Dead foreshadows a real reunion between the two in the episode. Since viewers know that Rick survived the bridge explosion, leaving out that fact would risk leaving the Walking Dead series with an unsatisfying, incomplete ending, especially since Andrew Lincoln is already set to return in a spinoff.
The role of the Civic Republic is also set up in the penultimate episode of The Walking Dead. The evolution of the undead is a big revelation for the core group in The Walking Dead, as evidenced by Negan’s reaction, but no one has had a chance to process or discuss it yet. It will be time to investigate why zombies are able to learn new tricks once the violence in the Commonwealth subsidies, and that task will draw the attention of the CRM, whose research into reanimation has already brought them into conflict with Alexandria, a fact that the protagonists of The Walking Dead are currently unaware of.
