Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Walking Dead: World Beyond: Final Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Another one bites the dust.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 25, 2022

As AMC's juggernaut original series The Walking Dead finally, mercifully comes to a close this month, so does this limited two-season series The World Beyond, the second of waaaay too many spinoffs that prove zombies never really die. To say this series got off to an underwhelming start in Season One would be accurate: in addition to simply asking "what if The Walking Dead just starred teenagers?" and little more, its four main characters were mostly either clichéd, annoying, or both. Though not without a few bright spots -- including, of course, the notion of young people growing up during an apocalypse rather than adjusting to it -- the first 10-episode run did very little to impress new viewers and its ratings waned accordingly. If this wasn't a planned two-season series, fate would've stepped in to kill it.

It's kind of a shame, too... because while it's not head-and-shoulders better than Season One, this second installment shows a few more signs of life than expected. In addition to generally stronger (or at least more consistently passable) stories and dialogue, the series' broader focus on the post-apocalyptic world at large is a step in the right direction. Like the first season, it's in largely linear and completely serialized format, following most of the familiar survivors as it chugs toward its planned ending and a (mostly) satisfying conclusion for its main and supporting characters.

Episode List & (mostly spoiler-free) Summaries:

Disc One:

• "Konsekans" - Beginning with a flashback concerning the demise of Campus Colony in Omaha, this season premiere traces the separate paths of Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour) -- the latter in particular, as she's denied a reunion with her dad at a nearby research facility for her refusal to fit back into civilized society. Proving them right, she storms away and is attacked by a zombie -- sorry, "empty" -- in an abandoned school, where sense is knocked into her by a flight of stairs. Elsewhere, Iris, Felix (Nico Tortorella), and Will (Jelani Alladin) find refuge in The Perimeter, a former artist colony led by Indira (Anna Khaja).
• "Foothold" - Dr. Leopold Bennett (Joe Holt), newly reunited with Hope and in a kinda-secret relationship with fellow scientist Dr. Lyla Belshaw (Natalie Gold), worries about the fate of Iris. Meanwhile in CRM news, loner Silas (Hal Cumpston) ends up working for mechanic Dennis (Dennis Graham), who, along with his work crew, does routine maintenance when he's not killing empties out back. After Felix -- or Iris, actually -- kills a rogue CRM soldier, the normally peaceful Perimeter is threatened by consequences and repercussions.
• "Exit Wounds" - Jennifer "Huck" Mallick (Annet Mahendru) gets it on with Dennis the maintenance guy, and we also learn a little more about her past including the involvement in a covert operation at Omaha. We also get reacquainted with orphaned Elton (Nicolas Cantu) who, along with the wounded possible former Abercrombie & Fitch model Percy (Ted Sutherland), hopes to finally meet up with their former friends and, wouldn't you know it, ends up in The Perimeter, where he quickly bonds with Indira's daughter Asha (Madelyn Kientz).
• "Family Is a Four-Letter Word" - Iris, Hope, and a few other Season One regulars finally reunite within the walls of The Perimeter, but some members are now at a crossroads regarding past events and a possible plan for the group's future... which is also in jeopardy due to the failing help of a member within the colony. Also, Silas is tested by Dennis' work crew in a literal zombie kill house and, despite impressing them with his bludgeoning skills (and possibly landing a CRM job), is clearly hoping to get the hell out of there ASAP.

Disc Two:

• "Quatervois" - Attracted by the same loud music used to lure empties, Iris, Felix, and others are reunited with Silas, who may prove valuable in their mission to break Hope and Dr. Bennett out of CRM's research facility. We also meet another new face in Walking Dead alumnus Anne AKA Jadis Stokes (Pollyanna McIntosh), a stern CRM warrant officer who apparently walked into a barber shop and asked for "the Simple Jack".
• "Who Are You?" - Dr. Bennett tells Iris, Hope, Felix, and Percy about data logs discovered by Huck that detail a deadly "chemical event" at the former Campus Colony that may have been covered up by CRM. Meanwhile, Huck reunites with warrant officer Stokes, who was a former trainee, so the two catch up later and it's shared that CRM lieutenant colonel Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond) doubts Huck's allegiances. And you know what? The more I type "Huck", the more I'm convinced that it's one of the dumbest nicknames of all time.
• "Blood and Lies" - Leading off with a disturbing flashback concerning the fate of a test subject monitored by Dr. Lyla Belshaw, this episode goes into low-budget investigation mode: Silas is questioned about his wandering ways while in Dennis' group, Dr. Bennett is pressed about a stolen vial believed to be in the possession of Hope or Iris (it's not), and even Lyla gets a turn in the chair. Don't worry, at least one empty shows up.

Disc Three:

• "Returning Point" - After the death of a friend, members of The Perimeter move forward while Dr. Bennett finally tells his fellow researches about his findings regarding the CRM cover-up at Omaha. Meanwhile the group at CRM -- including Hope, Iris, Dr. Bennett, Huck, Silas, and Dennis -- prepare to finally break free in a violent evacuation and a few deaths ensue. If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few soldiers.
• "Death and the Dead" - This penultimate episode concerns the fallout from the group's escape plan, which includes pursuit by CRM soldiers through underground tunnels, more than a few empties to deal with, and a shitload of C-4. Meanwhile, an untold number of poisonous gas canisters has gone missing, which may or may not be en route to a community in Portland and will likely be used in another apparent cover-up.
• "The Last Light" - Determined to destroy the poisonous gas and warn Portland about CRM's actions, the remaining group members must individually decide between personal sacrifice and their own futures. Somebody gets disembowled, there's a surprise amputation, maybe one or two reasonably big deaths, and of course some epilogue time with a few hopeful moments... plus one of those post-credits scenes that kids love.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond: Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Season Two of World Beyond shares a lot of similarities with the first -- not so much in terms of locations but from a purely technical standpoint, as most of the visual creative team returned and, presumably, similar recording equipment was used. Unsurprisingly, outdoor footage fares the best even when it's not naturally lush and green, with impressive image detail reaching reasonably deep into the background in all but the cloudiest scenarios. Other sequences, whether naturally tinted by odd lighting or tweaked for stylish reasons, come through cleanly with very little bleeding or other saturation issues. (Perhaps the only exceptions are a number of deeply blue-tinted hallucinations and flashbacks, many of which have compromised image detail and moderate compression artifacts or chunky noise.) The darkest scenes, as well as those blanketed by heavy fog, likewise don't fare quite as well but banding and artifacts are largely kept to a minimum; it's a bit more noticeable on Disc One since four episodes are included rather than three, but nothing major outside of occasional instances of mild black crush and posterization. Overall, though, this marks another decent video presentation for the series and easily outpaces any streaming counterparts; aside from a full-fledged 4K release (which obviously ain't happening at this point), there really isn't all that much room for improvement here.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond: Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the default DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix offers another enveloping sonic experience that, as expected, combines lots of mostly front-loaded dialogue with occasional ambient effects, supportive music cues, and more than a few jump scares to engage (or possibly annoy) you. Overall detail and clarity are largely good to excellent, with most sequences serving up a straightforward style that's intermittently broken up by distortion, echoes, and other subtle touches depending on the mood or situation. Like the visuals, these particular style changes are most apparent during stray flashbacks, but either way the end result is smooth and doesn't seem all that flashy or overcooked. No obvious distortion, drop-outs, or sync issues were heard along the way. Optional English (SDH), French, and Spanish subtitles are included during all the bonus features, as all as both respective foreign dubs during all 10 episodes.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond: Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three-disc release ships in a hinged keepcase with a third hub on the right side. A matching slipcover is included, but no inserts or episode list. The lone bonus feature listed below can be found on Disc 3.

• Comic-Con @ Home 2021 Panel (41:21) - This mid-length virtual roundtable interview is hosted by Chris Hardwick and features 11 participants from the cast and crew including The Walking Dead chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, executive producer Matt Negrete, and actors Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Nico Tortorella, Annet Mahendru, Nicolas Cantu, Hal Cumptson, Jelani Alladin, Joe Holt, and Julia Ormond; in short, everyone from the 2020 panel plus one. It's a mostly spoiler-free and promotional affair but worth watching for fans of the series even if, like that previous panel, it's readily available on YouTube. Better than nothing, I guess?

The Walking Dead: World Beyond: Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Walking Dead: World Beyond was a pretty easy target for harsh criticism (including my own) upon its 2020 debut because, on the surface, it presented little more than watered-down stories and dialogue served up by a younger cast of mostly new faces. And while those are certainly valid strikes against it, this second season shows signs of refinement that make it a slightly more consistent batch of episodes and, combined with its planned ending (again, this was a two-season series by design), at least ensures it doesn't end on the wrong step. It's still nowhere near as good as the series proper during its best years, but fans of the "original recipe" might want to give one this a shot if they haven't already. Much like last time, RLJ brings Season Two home in a compact and appreciated Blu-ray package that's highlighted by a mostly great technical presentation... but for obvious reasons, it's only recommended to established fans.