Of all The Walking Dead spin-off shows The Ones Who Live is the most anticipated as it sees the return of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick .
Not many programmes lose their leading star and while the main series continued on for a couple of seasons following Lincoln’s departure, it was never quite the same.
This six-episode arc fills in the gaps on Rick’s subsequent journey – and sees his true love Michonne (Danai Gurira) try to reunite with him and return home to their family.
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Rick’s post-main show escapades were originally conceived as a series of movies and that initial intention comes across with the new expanding world and bombastic action sequences.
The Walking Dead has always had the themes of love and family as its main driving force, though, and despite seemingly insurmountable odds you are confidently willing and anticipating Rick and Michonne’s reunion.
Within a few short scenes you realise how much Lincoln was missed in the original series; whether hammering through a horde of zombies, serving up one of those famous head tilts or delivering putdowns like “you’re a hero, with a s*** haircut”, he is the charismatic, caring bad-a** leader we all deserve.
Gurira is excellent too and the extra pathos her character has built during Rick’s absence shines through as her love for him supplants everything else.
It’s great seeing Terry O’Quinn ( Major General Beale ) on TV again and the Lost standout is so calmly cold with a world-threatening agenda that he makes for a worthy adversary, while Pollyanna McIntosh’s Jadis returns – and is as weird as ever.
Some familiar Walking Dead tropes – like the zombies often being ineffectual and new friends suffering an inevitably harsh, quickfire fate – are once again utilised, and becoming gratingly predictable.
But that’s what happens when you spin off from a show that already had 177 episodes of its own.
Fortunately, however, The Ones Who Live has enough fresh things to say and delivers on its promise to bring Rick and Michonne – and their inspiring romance – back onto our screens.
● What are your thoughts on The Walking Dead spin-offs? Should it just have ended with the main show?
Pop me an email at [email protected] and I will pass on your comments – and any movie or TV show recommendations you have – to your fellow readers.
● The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is streaming on Sky On Demand now.
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