THE WALKING DEAD:
THE ONES WHO LIVE (2024)
Label: Acorn Media International
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 360 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.00:1)
Directors: Bert & Bertie, Michael Slovis, Michael E. Satrazemis
Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Pollyanna McIntosh, Terry O'Quinn, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Craig Tate
Oh boy, being a fan of The Walking Dead (2010-2022)has at times been a struggle, the main series lost focus and characters we love as the years went on, but I dutifully watched it right up until the end, but we were left with the question of what happened to Rick and Michonne? I even watched Fear the Walking Dead (2015-2023), which I actually thought got better as the series went on before petering out, but it never recaptured the excitement that I had for TWD seasons 1-3. When both of those shows came to and end we were given The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020-2021), an attempt at cracking the YA zombie pop-culture code, which was only alright despite having some decent world-building; and even still after that we got the spin-off mini-series The Walking Dead: Dead City (2023) following the continuing adventures of Negan and Maggie in NYC, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023) which followed the exploits of the show's ever-popular character Daryl in France. Oops, there are so many I almost forgot the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead (2022) which I did enjoy the episodic nature of, because trying to keep up with the timelines and story arcs is a chore and half, figuring out where all the series may or may not interconnect and all, so I quite liked the one-episode story arcs of these six episodes.
Oh boy, being a fan of The Walking Dead (2010-2022)has at times been a struggle, the main series lost focus and characters we love as the years went on, but I dutifully watched it right up until the end, but we were left with the question of what happened to Rick and Michonne? I even watched Fear the Walking Dead (2015-2023), which I actually thought got better as the series went on before petering out, but it never recaptured the excitement that I had for TWD seasons 1-3. When both of those shows came to and end we were given The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020-2021), an attempt at cracking the YA zombie pop-culture code, which was only alright despite having some decent world-building; and even still after that we got the spin-off mini-series The Walking Dead: Dead City (2023) following the continuing adventures of Negan and Maggie in NYC, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023) which followed the exploits of the show's ever-popular character Daryl in France. Oops, there are so many I almost forgot the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead (2022) which I did enjoy the episodic nature of, because trying to keep up with the timelines and story arcs is a chore and half, figuring out where all the series may or may not interconnect and all, so I quite liked the one-episode story arcs of these six episodes.
That brings us current to the latest, and arguably greatest of the post TWD spin-offs, the six-episode The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, which brings back series favorites Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities) and the sword slinging badass Michonne (Danai Gurira, Black Panther), a series that tracks their long-awaited reunion after many years apart. The show picks-up five years after being taken by the Civic Republic Military, we discover that Rick had been desperately been trying to escape to find his love, and failed repeatedly, even losing his hand in during his last attempt, and outfitted with a metal hand that's interchangeable with a deadly-spike! After that he sort of lost hope and joined the ranks of the CRM, unaware that his lost-love Michonne, has for years been travelling the apocalyptic zombie wastelands to be reunited with her soulmate, even leaving their daughter and son behind to do so.
Reunited after Michonne and new friends launch homemade rockets at a CRM helicopter in response to the mustard gas death of other friends, she is surprised to find Rick among the survivors of the attack. Rick takes her back tot he CRM with a cover-story, realizing that if it's discovered who she is in relation to him she would be killed by the powers that be. The powers that here include the commander of Civic Republic Military Major General Johnathan Beale (Terry O'Quinn, The Stepfather) and a familiar face to TWD fans, Anne aka Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh, The Woman) a warrant officer in the CRM. Leadership also comes by way of Lieutenant Colonel Donald Okafor (Craig Tate, 12 Years a Slave), a senior officer in the Civic Republic Military who recruited both Rick Pear Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt, Spartacus: Blood and Sand), Rick's friend who becomes integral to the story as well.
The story arc here is basically Rick and Michonne reunited, but Rick has sort of lost himself along the way while being promoted through the ranks of the CRM, and her trying to remind him of what he left behind and who he both was and still is, while he tries to fight it, and to protect her and their loved ones, while also trying to reform the CRM who are a rather fascist organization when you get down to it.
I loved the expanded world we get with this mini-series, you can tell they pumped some serious money into the production, lots of zombie hordes, ruined cityscapes, explosions, exploding helicopters, and it just looks polished and well-made. We get all the zombie-gore you would expect from TWD, and the benefit of some nice world building that fleshes out the larger picture, the sort of stuff that was only hinted at previously is all right here on the screen. Of all the spin-offs so far this was easily my favorite, no doubt because I live the characters of Rick and Michonne, and seeing them reunited and teamed-up, even if fractured, brought a big ol' smile to my face.
I also enjoyed the story structure of the mini-series, one episode following Rick, another telling the saga of what happened to Michonne while looking for Rick, surviving a mustard gas attack from the CRM but losing friends along the way, and we even get these flashbacks to annual secret reunions between Jadis and Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam, Starship Troopers) that flesh and her character quite nicely.
Audio/Video: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2023) arrives on 2-disc Blu-ray from Acorn Media International in 100p HD framed in 2.00:1 widescreen, with three episodes per disc. The digital shot series looks stellar with nicely suffuse colors, deep blacks and crisp detail and textures throughout. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles. Like most of TWD series it's got great sound design and that shows through here, dialogue and undead groans are rendered precisely, the acoustic environments sound appropriate, and moments of carnage and action are nicely aggressive.
Extras include a 2-min The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Preview, and a pretty terrific making of doc by way f the 42-min Show Me More: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live with loads of behind-the-scene and making of footage, as well as interviews with the cast and producers. The 2-disc release arrives in a keep case with a flipper tray, with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Special Features:
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Preview (2:04)
- Show Me More: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (42:24)
Special Features:
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Preview (2:04)
- Show Me More: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (42:24)
Screenshots from the Acorn Media Blu-ray:
