The Walking Dead season 11, episode 22 review: "Reminiscent of the grittier early seasons"

Warning! This review contains major spoilers for The Walking Dead season 11, episode 22.

In a nod to what goes down at the end of Robert Kirkman's graphic novels (Carl Grimes being taken to court by Maggie and a grown-up Hershel), The Walking Dead serves a slice of legal drama in its lean, mean latest episode, switching up the vibe and making for a super watchable 45 minutes. As Yumiko defends accused murderer Eugene from a vengeful governor Pamela Milton, the show converges other characters' storylines outside of the Commonwealth, allowing several of them to get their moment – and is one of the better installments of season 11 because of it.

After defying Pamela a few weeks' back, announcing she was going to back Eugene rather than prosecute him, lawyer Yumiko channels her pre-apocalypse self and faces her toughest trial yet in 'Faith', as she tries to get the Commonwealth's people to see how corrupt its leader is. They might not be able to get Eugene off, but they could start a mutiny in the process… 

Writers' Nicole Mirante-Matthews and Magali Lozano surely had the words 'rebellion' and 'redemption' inked on their storyboard when they sat down to pen the Rose Troche-directed installment, which pushes the likes of Negan, Ezekiel, Rosita, and more to question each of their wills and morals elsewhere. Eugene's trial aside, much of the episode revolves around the former, as he tries to figure out a way to escape the Commonwealth's hard labor camp with his pregnant wife, Annie and the rest of the gang. 

Aware of his nefarious past, the base supervisor suggests that Negan works with him to sniff out the "traitor" rumored to be plotting an uprising or else, not realizing that it's actually him. Negan has dealt with men who oppress others through fear and intimidation before. Heck, he's been one of them, and he soon realises that the only way to encourage those under the baddie's proverbial boot to actually take a stand is to shine a light on his evil – and so he confesses. In response, the warden drags the prisoners to a courtyard and makes out like he's going to kill Negan in front of them. It's a dark, super tense scene that feels reminiscent of the grittier early seasons and would make you hold your breath, usually. Problem is, we know he's going to live, thanks to the upcoming spin-off series that's set to center him and Lauren Cohan's Maggie. 

There aren't any real stakes when it comes to Negan, though the scene does keep us on our toes by having his martyr-making plan quickly scuppered by the supervisor threatening Annie instead – and it's frustrating. While characters have kicked the bucket in recent episodes, it's felt like forever since a main one bit the dust, and Negan (or Annie) being killed here – as bleak as it might have been – would have made the prospect of those final two episodes all the more thrilling. A major death would have hinted at a conclusion where anything is possible and no one is safe. That wasn't the writers’ desired outcome, evidently, and that's fine, but it would have been good to have felt like it could have happened in the moment.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan shines in 'Faith' regardless, imbuing the charismatic, smirk-bearing Negan with a refreshing sense of vulnerability as he willingly sacrifices himself (and finally justifies why he has been kept around since the Saviors' fall). We've come a long way since those Lucille days, huh? Still, you're never really sure what he's going to do next, and it's thrilling. But praise too must go to Morgan's scene partner Khary Payton, whose wounded and uncharacteristically cold Ezekiel constantly reminds Negan – and viewers – of the pain he once caused to other communities, before he shields the reformed villain in his stand-off against the warden, and encourages the likes of Magna and Kelly to do the same. Pairing these two – one, so inherently good and trustworthy, and the other, the opposite – has been one of the smartest decisions The Walking Dead has made in a long time. 

Elsewhere, as Daryl, Carol, Maggie, and co. try to figure out how to break their friends out of the camp, Christian Serratos, who has long been underused on the show, is great as Rosita goes to desperate, violent lengths to rescue her missing daughter Coco. Cohan and Melissa McBride get another lovely scene, as a tearful Maggie wonders outloud to Carol whether she was selfish to bring Hershel into this world. "You will always try to make the world better because of him, and for him", Carol insists as she remembers her late children, Sophia and Henry – it's heart-wrenching stuff.

It's Josh McDermitt, though, who is proving to be one of season 11's most surprising MVPs. Echoing his standout moment in episode 19, he delivers another monologue as Eugene that underlines the character's growth when Yumiko suggests that the trial is fixed for them to lose, and it's impossible not to be moved by his performance – which makes it sting all the more when he's found guilty of killing Pamela's son Sebastian and, presumably, condemned to death.

'Faith' isn't all doom and gloom, however. As the show moves towards its conclusion, there are plenty of reunions in store, as everyone's narratives collide. Maggie finds Hershel – the same can't be said for Rosita and her youngster, sadly – Connie and Kelly find one another again, and Luke (remember Luke?!) stumbles across Aaron and Lydia in the woods, before filling them – and us – in on what happened to Oceanside ("It's gone, man"). It's exposition at its finest, but at this stage in the final season, it's forgivable.  

These last few episodes have teed up the show's end quite nicely; rallying our heroes, uniting them against a common enemy, and reminding them that it's each other that makes every fight worth it. But, at this point, it's time for the pay-off. At the very end of episode 22, troopers march a handcuffed Eugene to Commonwealth army man Mercer, who previously shut down Yumiko's plea for him to testify against Pamela. And in a surprise turn of events, he frees the convicted "murderer" and grins, before declaring that it's "time to fuck shit up". For the sake of our patience, we hope he winds up to be telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Make sure you never miss an episode with our The Walking Dead season 11 release schedule, and check out our how to watch The Walking Dead guide if you're wanting to watch/rewatch the main series and its spin-offs.