‘The Walking Dead’ Feels More Alive Than Ever in Season 9

The original pitch for creator Robert Kirkman’s comics version of The Walking Dead was: after the end of a zombie movie, what’s next? Once you’ve gotten rid of the people who were destined to die, and accepted that the undead have taken over the world, how do you live in it? And finally, with the ninth season premiere a vastly reinvented, completely refreshed Walking Dead has circled back to that essential idea. It’s been a dark road to get here, but at least in its opening hours (three were screened for critics), The Walking Dead feels more alive than ever before.

That central pitch is fascinating, and one that new showrunner and longtime show writer Angela Kang tackles head-on in the shockingly fresh feeling Season 9 premiere. Heck, that episode is even titled “A New Beginning,” in case you weren’t sure what they were going for. From a cast that seems more engaged and excited than they have been in years (it has been a grim few seasons for our post-apocalyptic survivors), to a completely revamped title sequence, watching the first episode back since Season 8’s “Wrath” at times feels like watching an entirely new show.

That continues in the next two episodes of the season, which pick up plotlines from the previous season and even includes some heartbreaking nods to the show’s past, while still feeling like a brand new beginning. That means new villains, new situations and conflicts, and even a few new settings. It helps to have watched the show previously, of course; but if you’re one of the few human beings who still hasn’t watched Walking Dead, Season 9 is the time to jump on board.

Mind you, they haven’t revamped the show completely. Yet. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is still there leading the pack, though with a more close-cropped haircut, and a beard that’s showing its grey. He’s backed up by Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan), who has finally come into her own as the leader of the Hilltop community. And Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) has his bike, crossbow, and angel wings vest back, signature touches he’s been missing in different aspects for seasons. The rest of the cast is also fleshed out nicely, with characters ranging from Enid (Katelyn Nacon) to Aaron (Ross Marquand) getting new leases on life, new missions, new reasons for being. Even characters who have taken their fair share of knocks like Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) get a new coat of paint that makes them as compelling (albeit in vastly different ways) as they were when they were first introduced.

It helps that the show picks up many weeks after the two plus season long war with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) left Rick triumphant, and multiple characters dead. And because this is Walking Dead, they’re still grappling with how to make their new world, with its uneasy peace, work.

But where the show has spent eight seasons having variations of the same conversation, usually hooked on the phrase “the world has moved on,” what’s exhilarating to experience is the lack of hand-wringing. Yes, the world is different: there are corpses everywhere, though with significant wear and tear as time goes on. Glimpses of a major American city show that the plants have grown back, as nature starts to exert its influence on man’s works. The group knows this, they’ve lived through this, they’ve fought for it… And now they’re ready to figure out how to make it work for them. It’s not about just barely surviving, or fighting amongst each other. Nor is it about trying to recreate a semblance of the world the way it was before, like in the misguided community of Alexandria. The world is what it is, so what’s next?

The old Walking Dead is still there, too, like a zombie jumping out for one more scare… There’s some dark goings-on as characters holding on to the past repeat the same old mistakes. New enemies start rearing their heads. Mysteries that have lingered in the background for seasons start to gain weight. You’ll still be screaming at the screen as folks who should know better make stupid choices that lead to their imminent demise. And the real world knowledge that Rick Grimes’ hours are literally numbered, as AMC has been pretty open about Lincoln leaving the show this season in their ad campaign, makes every moment with him feel a little more alarmingly vital.

Regardless of behind-the-scenes issues, though, the first few episodes of Season 9 take Walking Dead back to the point it was at its height. It feels as big as anything on TV, thrilling, and emotional. It’s not too much of a spoiler to say that after several seasons of warring factions, non-stop gun fights, and some of the most emotionally charged deaths in the show’s history, seeing the enormous cast all working together towards a common goal is cathartic. And interpersonal relationships teased for years get paid off due to the time jump, allowing some of our favorite characters to – gasp! – smile. Can you imagine? Smiling and laughing and happiness… On The Walking Dead? It’s shocking, in all the right ways.

Will Walking Dead ultimately fall back on its bad habits, or fully into the grimdark torture porn some fans have accused the show of embracing? Perhaps. But based on the first three hours at least, the future of the franchise is filled with hope… Even if Kang may be about to tear that all away. At the very least, for the first time in years, Season 9 of Walking Dead will make you excitedly ask: what’s next?

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 7 at 9/8c.

Where to stream The Walking Dead