The Next World starts with this week's episode of The Walking Dead.





Your money or your life?

For the first time in a couple years, I can say I'm falling in love with The Walking Dead again. Skipping ahead with a minor time jump, the show is finally establishing some real momentum and the headway it needs to move forward as an ever expanding franchise with a full plate of incoming and outgoing characters. The Next World sets Rick and his team of have and have nots back on the path of survival, letting audiences know that the writing staff is finally righting some of the wrongs that have hampered the show's progression.





After last week's action-centric episode and a highly dramatic week centered on a massive death toll, The Walking Dead teeters it back with the tenth episode of the season. Instead of keeping up with the action, The Next World is a more character centered chapter that starts a budding romance between two main characters and lets viewers breathe a sigh of relief after the previous gut wrenching, emotionally draining happenings in Alexandria. Unlike the ups and downs of other seasons, this Next World episode just felt right. Just enough action, a little bit of humor, a dynamic push for two of our main characters to finally hook up, and Carl's evolution all take the central focus this time, and make it a great follow up to No Way Out. With Rick's crew on the mend and a new found sense of security, all is right ......at least for a little while.





My shovel. Dig it.

It's hard to say why but this second half already feels much better rounded than the first half of the season. Kicking off with such a hardcore game plan then giving us a reprieve with a more serene entry lets us know that they're just winding up for some crazy action over the course of this half season. Tonight, Rick felt the best and most mentally stable he's been in quite some time as Mr. Dixon continues to prove what a badass he is. And other central characters take on fresh archetypes as either a more motherly role in the universe or an evolving person that wants closure for a part of their story. No matter what, The Walking Dead feels slightly fresh again and it's not bad at all.





If they can keep up the way they're going with this second half, they may have brought me back as a true fan of this show. With impeccable writing and way more attentive detail to the story arc at hand, The Next World makes me happy to say I'm into it again.





This new ebb and flow that they're finding just feels right. From the down and dirty slice and dice to the punctual formation of new interconnected bonds, The Walking Dead isn't boring anymore.







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