After 177 episodes, "The Walking Dead" has finally come to a conclusion.
Well, sort of.
Are zombies evolving?
Will Michonne ever end up finding Rick?
Fans definitely have questions about plenty of loose ends, and we're here to explore the
most pressing of them.
When "The Walking Dead" premiered on Halloween of 2010, we were introduced to Rick Grimes,
who woke up from a coma in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
The fast-paced horror of that episode gave way to years of post-apocalyptic social drama,
spending practically no time exploring what happened to cause the outbreak.
There have been plenty of hints as to what initially caused the outbreak.
For instance, an episode of "Tales of the Walking Dead" set in the future notes that
scientists eventually learn that the virus was created in a French laboratory.
Likewise, we've seen something of the catastrophic early days of the infestation through the
underrated spin-off "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" as several children experienced some
of their earliest memories of losing their parents to the sudden influx of undead.
Yet, there are still plenty of questions around what exactly caused the outbreak, and it's
hard to say if the franchise is ever going to address them.
In many ways, the beauty of "The Walking Dead" is that we don't actually need to know what
happened — but we can't help but be curious.
Rick's farewell to "The Walking Dead" series in the 9th season is epic.
Despite hallucinating and being near death, he manages to divert a horde of undead away
from his friends and family.
When an explosion takes out a mass of the walkers, it seems certain that Rick has met
his demise, as he is nowhere to be found afterward.
Enter Jadis, who we meet in the 7th season as the leader of the Scavengers.
Her time with the group shows her to be an enigmatic and puzzling character, and she
ultimately leaves to join the militaristic CRM.
When we see her again in "The Walking Dead: World Beyond," she makes veiled references
that could easily prove she knows more about Rick's whereabouts than anyone.
"And I created a ticket to get into the Civic Republic.
I gave the CRM something very valuable."
Jadis saves Rick with the help of a helicopter, and then the series jumps six years into the
future, where Michonne writes diary entries to her presumably late husband.
However, in the 10th season, Michonne finds Rick's boots and an old iPhone with her and
Judith's faces carved onto its surface, and she realizes that Rick is very likely still
alive, leading her to head off to find him.
In the finale, it seems more likely than ever that we're eventually going to figure out
what Rick has been up to — but currently it's still a mystery.
Since Rick has always been the face of the series, it goes without saying that his fate
is possibly the most pressing question fans have.
"The Walking Dead" is well-known for introducing epic big bads, from the Governor to Negan
to Alpha and the Whisperers.
For the 11th season, the major enemy is the seemingly non-violent Pamela Milton, who "disappears"
countless Commonwealth citizens that prove problematic to her.
Aiding her is her hateful and spoiled son Sebastian as well as Lance Hornsby, a politician
who constantly lies to get people on his side only to revoke his support in crucial moments
to colonize the outlying communities in some sort of manifest destiny plan that we may
never see the full extent of.
Sebastian and Lance both meet satisfying deaths, and Pamela gets captured after her evil actions
are made known to the citizens of The Commonwealth, but maybe that's not the last we'll see of Pamela.
Though there are plenty of surprises with the undead in the early seasons of the show,
over time, they become more of a static background threat that could occasionally leap forward
and take loved ones if you aren't constantly alert.
Living humans remain the most unpredictable threat in the post-apocalypse, while the undead
stick to traveling in herds and feeding.
This final season changes that, and the danger of the hordes grows exponentially.
Through several episodes, different characters notice odd developments with the zombies,
surprised to find them in places that they shouldn't have been able to go, casually dropping
hints to viewers that the undead might be evolving into a greater threat than ever before.
When a group takes refuge in an abandoned township, they see the extent of this as a
walker not only scales a wall but opens a door simply by using the handle.
"When did the dead use frickin door knobs?"
Previously, zombies could only bust through barriers, but using deductive skills was not
a thing they could pull off.
During the attack on the Commonwealth, we see more of them coming over fences and walls,
demonstrating again that the undead are getting smarter.
From the beginning of "The Walking Dead" up to his death in the 8th season, Carl Grimes
played a major role as his father Rick's right-hand man.
When Rick teetered on the edge, nearly giving in to his dark side, Carl was able to call
him back, pointing out that his own belief system should prevent him from crossing those lines.
In that way, the next generation has always played a huge role in the morality of the franchise.
With Rick, Michonne, and Carl all gone, Judith becomes a major character over the last few seasons.
Showing the same determination and heroism as her parents, Judith is able to defend the
other children but also takes part in major events while inspiring the adults around her
to keep their eyes on the prize during conflicts.
"What we're doing could help everyone.
Not just us but maybe everybody everywhere."
Though we almost lose her in the finale due to a gunshot wound, Judith survives, leading
us to wonder where she and the other children will go from here.
We have no idea where Rick has been over the last several years, though the hints dropped
in the finale suggest he's probably in need of some help.
We see him decked out in a CRM jacket, stuck at a riverbank, dismayed by the number of
undead stuck in the mud and snapping at his feet.
He throws his backpack on a boat to keep it from being confiscated, leaving a trail for
Michonne to find, as a voice through a loudspeaker warns him,
"There is no escape for the living."
If there is one thing we have seen time and again in this series, it's Michonne pulling
off superhuman feats of bravery.
As Rick surrenders to his captors, images are intercut with Michonne, who has never
stopped searching for him.
Alone and surrounded by the horde, she continues on, hacking away at the undead with her trusty
blade and riding an armored horse into battle in search of her love.
"Rick and Michonne" will no doubt see a reunion between the two, even if only through memories
and flashbacks, but it's not guaranteed that Michonne and Rick will make it to safety.
With Richonne fans across the globe holding their breaths, we're hoping to get some answers
in 2023.
This season spends a lot of time delving into the animosity between long-time fan favorite
Maggie Greene and the villain turned antihero Negan, who murdered her husband Glenn during
his time as the ruthless leader of the Saviors.
Understandably, Maggie is still upset about this, despite Negan's presence as a helpful
member of the Alexandria community.
"Killing you, it's always on my mind."
Now married and soon to be a father, Negan is wracked with guilt over what he's done
and attempts to sacrifice himself to a firing squad to save the others.
But, to Negan's shock, he gets rescued by Ezekiel and other members of the community
stepping up around him and Annie.
After that, he apologizes to Maggie for the first time, telling her that it took all of
the horrors they've been through for him to fully understand what he had taken from her.
"I am so sorry for what I took from you and what I took from your son."
Though she tells him she can't forgive him, she admits that she's ready to move forward,
which will open the door for their pending spin-off, "Dead City."
However, we still don't know how they end up in New York.
After Rick and Michonne leave the series, Daryl makes a seamless transition into a central
role, where he spends more time with the community, helps to raise Judith, and even works for
Mercer as one of the Commonwealth's soldiers.
His dedication to the community has been clear since the early days and he's always been
a true friend to both Rick and Michonne during their time as leaders.
More so than almost anyone else, he and Carol have remained vital characters, surprising
us countless times by jumping in and saving the day.
The finale sees Daryl spending most of his time trying to keep Judith alive as the horde
overruns the streets of the Commonwealth.
In her delirious state upon waking up, Judith admits to Daryl that Michonne is on a quest
to find Rick.
Surprised to hear that his friends are still alive, he doesn't make any immediate moves
until we cut to the One Year Later segment that ends the series.
Daryl says a touching goodbye to Carol while preparing to head off on his own journey.
Where is he going?
We're not sure, but we're guessing that Rick and Michonne are at the end of that path.
The ending of "The Walking Dead" was pretty great overall, but the series couldn't fully
manage to grant adequate screen time to its countless amazing characters.
Though arcs for many characters wrapped up or at least put them on the path to their
next adventure, plenty of others struggled to find a resolution.
The Commonwealth is now the home of many recurring characters, from sisters Connie and Kelly
to King Ezekiel himself, and these are all people we're dying to see more of.
Since Magna's group first appeared in the 9th season, they've counterbalanced the loss
of major cast members by repeatedly proving their survival skills are unmatched.
Eugene and Max fought hard for their relative sense of peace, but are we ever going to see
what Eugene is like as a dad?
"That there is a video game worth a pre-order."
Over the years, "The Walking Dead" has been surprisingly adept at tying up its loose ends
and viewers seldom lose sight of a major character or plot thread without some sort of explanation.
However, the people behind the show are only human, so there are still a handful of questions
left over from the earlier seasons that we've never quite resolved.
For instance, way back in the 4th season, Grady Memorial Hospital was shown to be overrun
by villainous monsters masquerading as healthcare officials, but after Beth Greene's death,
we never hear about it again.
Even though Daryl killed the head of the organization, we've spent years wondering what happened
to everyone else.
Another question that has fans scratching their heads is, "What has the Civic Republic
been up to?"
We're pretty sure they have to be aware of major townships like the Commonwealth.
We've seen their "ends justify the means" approach up close and personal through the
"The Walking Dead: World Beyond," but their status as ruthless protectors of humanity
has always been a bit vague.
We're dying to hear more.
With Hilltop destroyed and both Alexandria and Oceanside having been invaded by Commonwealth
soldiers, it's harder than ever to understand what's going on in the outlying communities.
And their fates are even more jeopardized now that so many of their best and brightest
members are all heading off in different directions.
The benevolent King Ezekiel is unlikely to ever turn his back on the other communities,
particularly the ones he once found a home in.
Aaron was uniquely committed to Alexandria, which means he very well might return to it
as a leader and usher in a new era.
The full status of Oceanside and whether it will make a comeback is unknown, but we're
looking forward to finding out soon.