Frayed Branches

The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 11: "Rogue Element" Review [WARNING: Major spoilers for  The Walking Dead  seasons 1-10, spoilers for season 11.] Two steps forward, two steps back. While the first two episodes of Part 2 of The Walking Dead 's final season indicated an interesting turnabout for the rest of the show, Episode 11, "Rogue Element," ends up feeling a little goofier and more oddly conspiratorial than its predecessors. The conspiracy regarding rogue soldiers in the Commonwealth's army has, it seems, been replaced by an inner conspiracy within higher circles involved with the Commonwealth. The extent of that conspiracy remains unknown for most of the episode, and while this turns out to be an interesting concept, the practice therein doesn't entirely mesh with everything that has come before. The episode starts off with Eugene and Stephanie--the Commonwealth girl he was speaking to over the radio throughout Season 10--initializing a better rel...

  The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 10: "New Haunts" Review [WARNING: Major spoilers for  The Walking Dead  seasons 1-10, spoilers for season 11.] After a rather eventful mid-series premiere, the second episode of Part 2 of The Walking Dead 's final season slows things down a bit, allowing viewers more insight into the Commonwealth as our ensemble of protagonists start settling in. For the first time in a while, it appears the show is building toward an all-encompassing mystery, one that--while it took a bumpy road to get there--looks like it will pay off in the end. This episode in particular featured a number of different plots and side-plots that occurred all at once, but it was presented in a way that allowed everything that was transpiring to feel balanced and natural throughout. The most prevalent plot throughout the episode involved Daryl and Rosita, now living at the Commonwealth a month after the events of the previous episode, learning to deal with their new li...