Walking Dead: Why Commonwealth Is The Right Story For Season 11 – Screen Rant

The Walking Dead appears to be moving toward the Commonwealth story for season 11, which will be a good change in pace for the AMC series.

The Walking Dead is moving toward the Commonwealth story for season 11, which is the right direction for the series to take. In The Walking Dead comic books, the Commonwealth is the story that immediately follows the conclusion of the Whisperer War. After dealing with Alpha and the Whisperers, Rick Grimes and his people become involved with an incredibly expansive and inclusive network of communities called the Commonwealth.

The Walking Dead took a big step toward adapting the Commonwealth story with a season 10 episode that saw Eugene (Josh McDermott) make contact with a woman on the radio named Stephanie. Apparently, this "Stephanie" represents a community that Alexandria and the Hilltop have yet to encounter. In the comics, this is exactly how contact between the communities and the Commonwealth is first established. In the TV show version, Eugene has had multiple conversations with Stephanie at this point. After his people suffered significant losses at the hands of the Whisperers, Eugene and a handful of his friends rode out to meet Stephanie and request help. The highly anticipated meeting is expected to occur in the delayed Walking Dead season 10 finale.

Related: Why The Walking Dead Killed Tyreese In Season 5

Assuming that the new leader of the Whisperers, Beta (Ryan Hurst), is defeated in the next episode, The Walking Dead will be free to move on to a wholenew storyline for season 11. When the Whisperers are out of the way - whether it be with help from the Commonwealth or without them - Daryl (Norman Reedus) and all the others will have to deal with the Commonwealth next. However, as the comics have shown, the Commonwealth will pose a different kind of dilemma for the main characters - and that's primarily why this is the story that needs to be told next, complete with returning fan-favorite Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and new characters like Princess (Paolo Lazaro).

The Commonwealth will be a big change in pace for the AMC series. Since the back half of season 6, the characters have been in constant conflict with hostile groups. Their struggles with the Saviors lasted until the end of season 8. While several years passed before the next big threat arrived, this period occurred off-screen. Halfway through Walking Dead season 9, the Whisperers emerged, and they've been a problem for Alexandria and the Hilltop ever since. So essentially, the past few seasons have deal with the same issue: war with another community. The Walking Dead would run the risk of repetition if it rushed into the introduction of another dangerous enemy.

This isn't a concern for season 11, though. Meeting the people of the Commonwealth will shake things up in a big way because it will bring them into a much larger world. This is a civilization more so than a community, and it has more numbers, technology, and resources than Alexandria ever had. Through them, the survivors will meet all sorts of new characters - good and bad - but as a whole, the Commonwealth won't be an enemy looking to wipe them out or turn them into slaves. They have an interesting class system that will challenge the characters' viewpoints, but an all-out war isn't on the horizon. The Commonwealth is sure to be a world-building story for The Walking Dead season 11, and a huge game-changer for the series.

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Nicholas Raymond is a staff features writer for Screen Rant. He has a degree in journalism from the University of Montevallo. He is the author of the psychological thriller and time travel novel, "A Man Against the World." Nicholas' love for telling stories is inspired by his love for film noir, westerns, superhero movies, classic films, foreign cinema, and wuxia. He also has interests in ancient history. His favorite actors are Tyrone Power, Charlton Heston, and Eleanor Parker. His favorite film is Casablanca, and his favorite director is Alfred Hitchcock. He can be reached by email at cnrmail@bellsouth.net and on Twitter at @cnraymond91.

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Walking Dead: Why Commonwealth Is The Right Story For Season 11 - Screen Rant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero