{"id":358,"date":"2022-10-30T04:09:12","date_gmt":"2022-10-30T04:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/?p=358"},"modified":"2026-08-14T02:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T02:56:18","slug":"the-walking-dead-s11-ep21-shows-that-all-roads-lead-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/?p=358","title":{"rendered":"The Walking Dead S11 Ep21 Shows That All Roads Lead Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The end is near. The Walking Dead<\/em> S11 Ep21 has just aired & now we are down to 3 episodes left. What does the end game look like? \u201cOutpost 22\u201d laid the groundwork for some of the themes that will be important to the conclusion, which will look different than the end of the comic. We\u2019ll get into that soon. If you haven\u2019t seen this episode, we\u2019re about to get into heavy spoiler territory so proceed with caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Walking Dead<\/em> S11 Ep21 clearly said the words that so many of us have been saying at home: Our main characters have split apart for too long now. It doesn\u2019t feel right to see them almost estranged from one another, as they have been since joining the Commonwealth. We\u2019ve longed for the dynamics and relationships we\u2019ve spent the last 11 seasons watching. Here in the final hours of the series, we\u2019re getting back to what\u2019s important. We\u2019re getting back to family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tearful scene between Maggie and Carol really drove this point home. When was the last time these two women had a scene together, just the two of them? I genuinely can\u2019t remember but it feels like it\u2019s been years. Which made Maggie, whose sense of vulnerability has been severely lacking, pouring her heart out to Carol really memorable. Really special. It felt like home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol correctly brought up the fact that our characters have become a family after \u201cthe fall\u201d and that family barely speaks to each other anymore. Given what we would find out later in The Walking Dead<\/em> S11 Ep21 – that our characters are being taken to Alexandria, which has been claimed by the Commonwealth, the end game feels clear now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Sweet Home<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arguably the biggest mistake our characters made was fracturing into multiple communities. At one point, we had people living in Hilltop, Alexandria, and The Kingdom. By splitting resources, splitting people, and splitting food, our characters become vulnerable. It\u2019s really no wonder all of those communities fell, many died and desperation lead them to the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Walking Dead<\/em> S11 Ep21 laid the show\u2019s cards on the table. By reuniting the family and going back to Alexandria, together, they can stand tall. Maybe it won\u2019t be a definitive ending but we can end The Walking Dead<\/em> on a peaceful note. Everyone back together, as a family, perhaps living out Rick\u2019s vision. It\u2019s a nice thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On The Other Hand\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While it does seem like our characters are headed for a family reunion at one of their former homes, we do know these spin-offs are coming. We know that Daryl is going to Paris, presumably to tie into the final scene<\/a> of The Walking Dead: The World Beyond<\/em> and the work the scientists were doing there. Which begs the question: Why wouldn\u2019t Daryl stay with his reunited family? He\u2019s really taken to Rick and Michonne\u2019s kids, even calling them \u201chis kids\u201d lately. What could possibly tear him away from those kids? It\u2019s possible that everyone being back together at Alexandria could make Daryl feel safe enough leaving the kids with Carol but what\u2019s going to be the event that makes Daryl feel like he has to leave his family?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Same with Maggie and Negan. We all know that they\u2019re headed to NYC. Is Maggie leaving her son behind? Is Negan leaving his pregnant wife behind? Why? What\u2019s the catalyst for them to need to go to NYC and for Daryl to literally cross the Atlantic Ocean? There has to be some major event coming to send our characters in different directions than the reunited homestead in Alexandria. What it will be, I\u2019m not sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the last few episodes, we\u2019ve seen several scenes that could possibly be the final scenes between beloved pairings. Here in The Walking Dead<\/em> S11 Ep21, we quite possibly saw the final scenes between Father Gabriel and the mother of his child and former lover, Rosita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relationship between the two since splitting has been hot and cold. There\u2019s an undeniable chemistry between the two, which was on full display in this episode. But there\u2019s also an underlying tension at times and yet, unspoken feelings too. This wide range of emotions was on full display in The Walking Dead<\/em> S11 Ep21 and if this was the last time they would have scenes alone together, it was time well spent with these beloved characters, reminding us why we care about them so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile at the Commonwealth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While we didn\u2019t spend any time at the Commonwealth in \u201cOutpost 22,\u201d we spent a lot of time thinking about Pamela Milton and her devious plans. We still have a few characters left at the Commonwealth so even though it appears that Alexandria is going to be the location for fights to come, we are going back to the disgraced utopia (presumably next week).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this episode pointed all signs outside of the city limits, I can\u2019t help but wonder if Alexandria will fall during the battles to come and our characters return to take over the Commonwealth. While it would lose some of the emotional impact of Alexandria standing tall to end the series, it would symbolize progress and steps towards the rise of society again. Narratively speaking, there\u2019s something to that. Maybe, just maybe, that\u2019s how we end this series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The end is near. The Walking Dead S11 Ep21 has just aired & now we are down to 3 episodes left. What does the end game look like? \u201cOutpost 22\u201d laid the groundwork for some of the themes that will be important to the conclusion, which will look different than the end of the comic. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[283],"tags":[34,35,288],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-recaps","tag-amc","tag-horror","tag-the-walking-dead"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":363,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions\/363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}