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This article is about the sixth season of the Original TV Series. You may be looking for the sixth season of Fear the Walking Dead.

Season 6 of AMC's The Walking Dead premiered on October 11, 2015, and concluded on April 3, 2016, consisting of 16 episodes. Developed for television by Frank Darabont, the series is based on the eponymous series of comic books by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The executive producers are Kirkman, David Alpert, Scott Gimple, Greg Nicotero, Tom Luse, and Gale Anne Hurd, with Gimple as showrunner for the third consecutive season.

This season adapts material from issues #78-100 of the Comic Series. It introduces notable comic characters, including Heath (Corey Hawkins), Dr. Denise Cloyd (Merritt Wever), Dwight (Austin Amelio), Paul "Jesus" Rovia (Tom Payne), Gregory (Xander Berkeley) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Following Pete's death, the season continues the story of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of survivors, who must take a step back from the violence they've come to embrace, as multiple threats lead them to adopt a mindset of hardness.

The first half of the season focuses on the group, still having trouble assimilating in the Alexandria Safe Zone, leading the community through a series of crises, including luring the threat of a massive herd of walkers away from a nearby quarry, an attack by dangerous scavengers known as the Wolves and the invasion of a gargantuan swarm of walkers inside Alexandria. The second half of the season focuses on the group's discovery of a new survivor community—Hilltop Colony—who they become allies with, and their becoming adversaries of a vast organization of hostile survivors known as the Saviors.

Plot[]

"First Time Again"[]

Following the night of Reg's and Pete's deaths, Rick's group slowly takes over Alexandria. Morgan helps take Pete's body to the woods. Pete's son Ron following them, wanting to know where his father's body will be. They discover a quarry where a large herd of walkers are being held. Deducing it as the reason Alexandria is still standing, Ricks calls a town meeting to get everyone to help lead the Walkers away despite protests from Carter who later fails at an attempt to overthrow Rick.

As the practice run is prepped, the truck blocking the walkers in the quarry falls of the edge allows the megaherd to escape. Rick initiates the plan and everyone goes to their places. Along the way, Carter is bit and Rick puts him down to keep him from screaming.

During the run, a truck crashes into the gates of Alexandria with its horn continuously blasting noise, attracting the walkers.

"JSS"[]

As Carol goes about a daily routine, the Wolves ambush the community. Carol immediately switches to survival mode. She disguises herself as a Wolf, while killing any intruder she comes across. Morgan is shocked and disgusted by her actions; he only beats down the trespassers, sparing their lives. Morgan manages to scare off the remaining Wolves, but one takes a gun before leaving. Morgan encounters their leader Owen, whom he met prior, in a nearby house. He brutally strikes the man with his staff, possibly killing him.

Enid, feeling the community is unsafe, decides to leave. As she tells Carl goodbye, she is forced to barricade in his house. After the chaos settles, Carl finds a farewell note from Enid: "Just Survive Somehow", it reads.

"Thank You"[]

Glenn, Michonne, and several Alexandrians race through the woods toward the community, where the horn continues to blare. It stops, but the group is anxious to return, as they know that only a catastrophic event could have caused the community to attract attention to itself while the horde of Walkers was still being diverted.

In private, Rick tells Glenn and Michonne that the Alexandrians with them "aren't all gonna make it". Rick instructs them to lead the team back to Alexandria, but to keep going if anyone can't keep up. Heath overhears the conversation.

Meanwhile, Daryl, Sasha and Abraham are driving vehicles that continue to lead most of the Walkers away from Alexandria. When the horn goes off, Daryl wants to rush back to the community to help out. Both Sasha and Rick (over a walkie) advise Daryl to hold his course. By staying with the plan, it is much more likely that many lives will be saved.

As Glenn's group makes its way home, many members fall to walkers. Heath and Michonne debate on whether they should leave people behind. Michonne reminds Heath that he never had to survive the way Rick and her group has. He doesn't know what's it's like to be covered in the blood of friends.

While Michonne, Heath, and the injured in the relative safety of a pet store in an abandoned town, Glenn and Nicholas, who is now fully committed to working with Glenn and redeeming himself, attempt to distract walkers by setting a fire in a nearby building. The plan fails, though, and the two men wind up getting surrounded by a herd. Glenn climbs a dumpster and helps Nicholas up. After staring at the teeming horde all around them, Nicholas tells Glenn "thank you", and then shoots himself. Glenn gets knocked into the herd by Nicholas' falling corpse. He screams as he's engulfed by feasting walkers.

Michonne, Heath, and an injured Scott wade through a creek. Heath is shocked to see his blood-soaked reflection in the water.

Rick makes it to the RV. As he is informing Daryl that he has progressed that far, he is ambushed by the remaining Wolves. He manages to kill them all, but several walkers come out of the forest as he tries to restart the RV's engine.

"Here's Not Here"[]

Morgan speaks to the leader of the Wolves, Owen. As it turns out, he had captured the man, only knocking him unconscious instead of killing him. Morgan relates to him a tale of his past:

Sometime after his second encounter with Rick, Morgan wanders through the woods and recreates his King County bunker at his camp site. He uses walker blood to scrawl messages on the surrounding rocks and trees. "Clear", reads one; "Here's Not Here", another.

He eventually encounters a man named Eastman, who traps him for trespassing. The man was formerly a psychiatrist who specialized in evaluating jailed prisoners to help the state decide whether or not to grant them parole. Using his training, Eastaman deduces that Morgan is suffering from PTSD. Eastman takes it upon himself to help Morgan recover his sanity. Slowly, Morgan regain his senses, learns Aikido, and comes to believe that all life is precious.

One day while scavenging, Morgan nearly reverts back to insanity while visiting his old camp. After a Walker bites Eastman, Morgan fights him, only to lose. Morgan demands that his training be done "not here". "Here's not here", Eastman replies.

Having returned to living at his old campsite, Morgan rescues a couple from a Walker. Although he is torn as to whether he should go ahead and kill the people, the woman chooses to interpret what he did as an act of kindness. She offers Morgan a can of food. He finally understands what Eastman was trying to teach him.

After Morgan returns to the cabin, Eastman confesses he had killed a man before, an escaped prisoner who, angered that Eastman had attempted to prevent his parole, went on to kill Eastman's entire family. Eastman built a cage in his cabin, the same cage Morgan had slept in for the last few months, and then locked the killer inside, allowing him to slowly starve to death. The act of violence, however, didn't give Eastman any peace, He only found peace when he decided to never kill again.

After Eastman has succumbed to his wound, Morgan leaves the man's cabin, and goes in search of Rick.

Back in the present, Morgan finishes telling his story. Owen then explains to him that part of the reason his people had invaded was so he could get some medicine to treat a previous wound he had suffered, which now has become infected. Owen is unrepentant, however, and tells Morgan that if he escapes, he will kill every last person in Alexandria.

"Now"[]

As Deanna takes in the aftermath of the Wolves' deadly attack, she struggles with the community's downward spiral, as well as her own ability to lead. After her son stops a raid in the pantry, Deanna sees her that he is a hypocrite, having taken items for himself. When she confronts him, he blames her for the mess they’re in. That night, she is attacked by a walker and repeatedly stabs it until Rick finally delivers the final blow. She asks if her vision for the future is a pipe dream, to which he replies "No".

When Glenn doesn't make it back, Maggie decides to secretly go out and find him. Aaron learns of her plan, and tries to convince her to stay. He insists that Glenn may still be alive. When Maggie refuses to stop, Aaron helps her. He shows her a passageway through the sewer. They make their way through the tunnels, only to be stopped by an entrance blocked by walkers. Maggie tearfully admits she's pregnant. Returning to the surface, Maggie erases Glenn's name from the memorial wall. Aaron helps, and jokingly suggests that Aaron/Erin is a good name for a boy or a girl.

"Always Accountable"[]

Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham arrive at the 20-mile marker set for leading the herd away from Alexandria. A group of gun-wielding assailants ambush them in cars. As the group flees, Daryl crashes on his bike and is separated from Sasha and Abraham.

Daryl eludes his attackers but comes across Dwight, Tina, and Sherry, who hold him hostage. They believe him to be a hostile member of their former group. They are being pursued for stealing medical supplies for Tina. Daryl helps them escape through a burnt forest. However, Tina is killed by walkers, and Dwight gets cold feet. When they reach Daryl's bike, the couple steal it, and his crossbow, at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, Sasha and Abraham look for supplies after the attack. As they hole up in an abandoned insurance office, they have conversations that help them grow closer. Abraham goes out looking for supplies, and finds a military case containing rocket-propelled grenades. Then Daryl arrives in a fuel truck he'd found, and the trio make their way back to Alexandria.

"Heads Up"[]

After hiding under a dumpster following Nicholas' suicide, Glenn emerges and finds Enid, who's steadfast in not wanting to go back to Alexandria. Glenn repeatedly foils her escape attempts, and eventually convinces her that there are people in the community who she cares about, and she should return to them.

In Alexandria, Rick struggles to accept the community as his own. He teaches Ron how to shoot, and reluctantly saves Spencer from death when the young man tries to get a car left outside the gate. Tobin encourages Rick to not give up on the community, because the rest of his group hasn't.

Rick and Maggie see Glenn's balloon signal, having their hope restored. Just then, however, the steeple from the church collapses on the perimeter wall.

"Start to Finish"[]

Rick scrambles to get everyone inside as the walkers pour in. He barricades himself, Carl, Judith, Michonne, Deanna, and Gabriel in the Anderson house. While there, Deanna discovers that she has been bitten.

Carol, hiding in the home Morgan has taken, discovers that the man has kept Owen alive, despite the Wolves nearly decimating the town. Morgan attempts to defuse the situation, but Carol insists on killing Owen. The two fight, and Owen uses the opportunity to knock Morgan unconscious and take Denise, the doctor, hostage. Rosita, Tara, and Eugene arrive, but have to obey Owen's orders to stand down, for Denise's sake. Owen takes the woman out of the basement and the house, leaving the other five survivors inside.

Despite successfully defending the Anderson house, Rick and Michonne realize they need to leave and head for the armory. A dying Deanna makes Rick promise to look after her people and her son. Covered in walker guts, Rick and the group make their way out of the house into the herd leaving Deanna with a gun inside the house.

"No Way Out"[]

Daryl, Abraham and Sasha are intercepted by another group, who demands their things, as they now belong to "Negan". Before the leader can kill one of them, Daryl uses an RPG to kill the entire group. Then he, Abraham and Sasha head back to the community.

In Alexandria, walkers swarm the streets. Rick leads the Andersons, Carl, and Michonne through the herd, unnoticed by the walkers. Unfortunately, Sam eventually panics, drawing attention to himself. He is killed, and Jessie, refusing to let hold of his arm, is also eaten alive. Ron, in anger, tries to shoot Rick, but Michonne stabs him. However, as Ron dies, a wild shot from his gun blows Carl's eye out.

Denise and Owen make their way through the herd, and the latter helps Denise make her way to the infirmary. He is bitten by a walker when he goes back to save a fallen Denise. He asks why he would have done such a thing, and Denise suggests that perhaps he is beginning to change. Before he can explore that concept further, he is shot and killed by Carol.

After Carl is taken to the infirmary, Rick goes on a walker killing spree. Seeing him struggle, the community slowly joins in to assist. Although outnumbered, the group gets sudden and dramatic backup from Daryl's group, which has just returned. Daryl uses the fuel truck and the RPG to create a gigantic wall of fire which attracts the attention of most of the remaining walkers and causes them to walk to their fiery doom.

The next morning, the melee is over, and the survivors sit in stunned silence. Inside Denise's office, Rick talks to Carl, who is still unconscious. Rick explains that he now understands that the Alexandrians can survive, and that Deanna's vision can come true. Just then, Carl's grip tightens on Rick's hand, signaling that he may be all right.

"The Next World"[]

Rick and Daryl go on a supply run where they find a truck with a large store of supplies. On the way back home, they run into Paul Rovia -- though his friends call him Jesus -- who tells Rick and Daryl that he was just running from walkers. Gunshots go off, but the two discover it was firecrackers, as Jesus steals their truck.

Just outside of Alexandria, Michonne catches up with Spencer, who she had seen sneaking over the wall. As they walk through the forest, Spencer won't say why he is out there, although Michonne notes that he has brought a shovel. Meanwhile, Carl and Enid are relaxing and reading nearby. A walker, whose face is left unseen, attacks the pair. Enid wants to kill it, but Carl refuses. Enid is angry, and also hurt that Carl won't discuss his reasoning with her. Soon afterward, Michonne and Spencer encounter the same walker. It is the reanimated corpse of Deanna, who Spencer sadly puts down. It then becomes clear that giving her final closure was the purpose of his search through the forest.

Rick and Daryl catch up with Jesus, and leave him tied up as they leave in the truck. Soon, though, Daryl realizes that somehow Jesus had escaped and is now hanging onto the top of the truck. As the truck slams to a stop, Jesus is thrown off, and Daryl and Rick fight with him. Unfortunately, while the struggle is going on the truck rolls backwards into a nearby pond. The truck sinks to the bottom.

That evening, Michonne tells Carl that she had seen him outside the walls, and asks what he was doing. He tells her that he too had wanted to put down Deanna. In the end, though, he couldn't go through with it. When Michonne asks why not, he explains that he felt that it needed to be done by her own family. He then tells Michonne that if he ever had to, he could put her down. She is touched.

Jesus, who was knocked unconscious immediately after saving Daryl from an approaching Walker, is taken back to Alexandria for questioning. Denise checks his head wound, after which he is locked in a storage room to keep him from again escaping.

As the night ends, Rick and Michonne sit having a relaxed discussion. They then realize that they have become too close to simply remain friends. They fall into a passionate embrace.

The next day, as Rick and Michonne lie nude in bed, Jesus suddenly appears in Rick's room. He says they have to talk.

"Knots Untie"[]

Jesus explains that he's from a community called the Hilltop. His job is much like Daryl's, except that instead of searching for new members, he searches for other settlements with which to trade. Rick and a few members of his group go to his community to confirm his story. They save a small group of Jesus' people along the way.

Abraham is continuing to date Rosita, but has begun having serious feelings for Sasha. During the road trip, he asks Glenn if he and Maggie had actually planned to make a baby. Glenn responds to the affirmative, which amazes Abraham. As Glenn explains that the community's survival depends on taking chances and trying to get on with a semi-normal life, Abraham silently begins to wonder if perhaps he should take a chance and follow his own heart.

Once the group arrives at Hilltop, they meet the leader Gregory, who comes off as arrogant and selfish. As Maggie and Gregory discuss trade options, a group from the community returns. One of them stabs Gregory, saying that he has no choice because his brother is being held hostage. Rick kills him. Jesus explains that the Hilltop residents are under the thumb of Negan, the leader of a group called the Saviors. The Saviors are brutal killers, who extort everyone they run across. Hilltop is expected to "share" 50% of all supplies they find or grow, or else Negan will order people to be killed.

The Survivors offers to rescue the man who is currently held hostage. They will also wipe out the Saviors, in exchange for food, medicine, and supplies. Gregory reluctantly agrees to the deal.

On the way back to Alexandria, Glenn and Maggie proudly show off a sonogram photo of their unborn child.

"Not Tomorrow Yet"[]

Holding a town meeting, Rick explains the situation with the Saviors and his plan to kill them in order to trade with the Hilltop. Some like Morgan are opposed to the idea while some are for it. After making a plan, Jesus accompanies Rick's team to infiltrate a satellite station where they are located. They they trick the guars into opening the gates and letting the captured Hilltop people out before killing. Once inside, they systematically kill Saviors in their sleep so as to not arouse an alarm. However, a Savior discovers them and manages to pull the alarm, alerting the compound to the attack. Guns are blazing but the group manages to win. By morning, Heath and Tara go on a supply run and the group prepare to leave. A surviving Savior fails to flee on Daryl's stolen bike and a voice on a walkie tells them that they have Maggie and Carol hostage.

"The Same Boat"[]

Paula and her group of Saviors have taken Maggie and Carol hostage. Rick tries to convince them to trade the women for Primo, a Savior who his group has captured. Although Paula initially resists the idea, she eventually agrees. During Rick's final communication, however, Paula becomes suspicious: The lack of static in his transmission suggests that his group has followed Paula's people back to the slaughterhouse in which they are holed up. Paula prepares to defend the building.

Carol, meanwhile, is pretending to be weak-willed in order to get her captors to let their guard down. She waits for the right move. Paula's people begin to show signs of dissent, as a Savior who Carol earlier wounded in the arm demands to take revenge. Paula stops him, but only after being struck in the face by the man, who is also her lover. Carol attempts to bond with Paula over the incident, citing the abusive marriage she was once in. Paula rebukes her, saying that she's weak... which is exactly what Carol wants her to think.

As Maggie is taken away for interrogation and the room is temporarily clear of watchful eyes, Carol sharpens the crucifix on her rosary beads. She then uses the makeshift tool to cut herself free. She attempts to escape with a minimum of bloodshed, as previous conversations with Morgan have caused her to question her propensity toward violence. After Maggie's stomach is nearly sliced by a Savior, however, Carol immediately kills the person.

Paula appears in the hallway. She is impressed by how Carol fooled the group into underestimating her. There is a fight, during which Paula is killed. As a group of backup Saviors arrives, Carol uses Paula's walkie and impersonates the woman, tricking the men into entering the killing room of the slaughterhouse. She then traps them inside and lights a fire, burning them to death.

Rick and the group arrive to find that Carol and Maggie have already saved themselves. He goes on to question Primo, asking him if the as-of-yet unseen Negan was in the satellite compound or the slaughterhouse. "Both", Primo replies. "I am Negan." Seeing that the man will not cooperate, Rick immediately kills him. Carol is shocked by Rick's actions, realizing that she's not the only one who has become quick to turn to violence.

"Twice as Far"[]

Two different supply runs take place on the same day. Daryl, Rosita, and Denise go to a pharmacy Denise had spotted on an earlier journey. She feels that there may be important medicines there. Meanwhile, Eugene and Abraham go to an abandoned factory, where Eugene has found the equipment needed to make bullets.

Eugene and Abraham argue over whether Eugene has "leveled up" (to use the Role Playing Game terminology he employs) to being more of a survivor. Abraham offends Eugene by insisting that he is still helpless. He humiliates him further when Eugene tries to finish off a Walker (whose head was accidentally reinforced by a lead spill), only to have Abraham step in and take over when it appears that Eugene is about to be killed.

Denise struggles to help Daryl and Rosita look for supplies amidst the dead and rotting bodies. In the pharmacy she is traumatized by evidence that someone in the back of the shop turned and then ate his or her own infant child. Later, though, she bounces back, and proves to herself that if necessary she can kill a Walker. She begins to give her companions a pep talk, telling them that they shouldn't be alone, and regretting that she had not reciprocated when Tara had earlier told her that she loved her.

Suddenly, in mid-sentence, Denise is killed by a crossbow bolt through the head. Dwight and a group of Saviors step forward, revealing that they have taken Eugene hostage. The group demands that Daryl and Rosita take them back to Alexandria, so the community can hand supplies and people over to Negan.

As Daryl is trying to work out an escape strategy, Eugene helps out by attacking Dwight, biting the man's penis (through his pants). Abraham leaps forward from the bushes, firing on the Saviors with an automatic rifle. Daryl and Rosita join in the fight. They are unable to finish off the group, however, as Eugene suffered a gunshot wound in the melee. They take his unconscious body and return to Alexandria.

Later, Eugene is recovering quickly, in part thanks to the antibiotics that Denise had retrieved during the supply run. Abraham apologizes to Eugene, saying that he DOES have survival skills. "Welcome to Level Two", he says. Abraham then seeks out Sasha, telling her that they both have options. They might survive in Alexandria safely for another thirty years, "but even thirty years wouldn't be enough" time with her. Sasha is touched, and finally accepts Abraham's advances, inviting him into her house.

As Carol helps Daryl to bury Denise, Tobin is shown reading a note Carol had left him. She had enjoyed their brief relationship, but now she intends to leave Alexandria. She feels that she cares too much, both for Tobin and for the community in general. If she stays any longer, she will eventually be forced to kill hostiles, living hostiles, again in order to protect her loved ones. She simply can't bring herself to return to the cold-hearted survivor that she had previously become. She asks Tobin not to try to find her.

"East"[]

While on the run, Carol encounters a group of Saviors. When she warns them to leave, they mock and threaten her. She kills them in self-defense, and is injured in the process. As she leaves her disabled vehicle and heads cross country, a surviving Savior pursues her, seeking revenge.

After Tobin informs Rick that Carol has left Alexandria, Rick takes Morgan go in search of her. After finding the carnage she left behind, they follow a trail of blood. Eventually it leads them to a barn, where they encounter a man who is fighting a small herd of walkers. Rick, believing it may have been one of the men Carol fought, prepares to fire upon him. Morgan knocks Rick's rifle barrel down, giving the unknown man a chance to escape. Afterward, Rick and Morgan argue about the incident. Morgan then reveals to Rick that he had kept the Wolf leader alive in his home. Morgan's belief that all life is sacred had eventually, in a roundabout fashion, saved Carl's life after his eye was shot out. "It's all a circle", Morgan says.

Morgan asks Rick to return to Alexandria, as he is now to important to have out in the wilds risking his life. Morgan vows to find Carol on his own, and tells Rick not to come looking if he doesn’t return. Rick hands Morgan a gun.

Back at Alexandria, Maggie asks for Enid's assistance in getting a haircut. As they finish, Maggie suddenly doubles over in severe abdominal pain. She is horrified, thinking that she might be about to have a miscarriage.

Rosita, Glenn and Michonne arrive at the spot where Dwight killed Denise. They find Daryl's motorcycle hidden underneath some branches, confirming Rosita's hunch that Daryl came back to kill Dwight. They later catch up to Daryl in the woods. Glenn tries to stop Daryl from going after Dwight, but Daryl refuses to stand down. After they split up, Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita are captured by Saviors. As Daryl attempts to rescue his friends, Dwight sneaks up and shoots him.

"Last Day on Earth"[]

Morgan continues his search for Carol. He finds a horse – presumably the one the unknown man was looking for at the barn – and rides it into town. He then encounters Carol in a building. He proposes they leave for Alexandria at dawn, so that she can get stitches and antibiotics to tend to her wounds. Carol refuses.

After sending Morgan away, Carol is attacked by the Savior who survived the roadside incident. Morgan is still nearby, however, and helps defend Carol. Morgan orders the man to stand down. When he refuses, Morgan shoots him several times, killing him. Two men wearing armor then approach on horseback. One of them is the man who Rick and Morgan had spotted at the barn.

Rick travels to the Hilltop to get medical assistance for Maggie. He is accompanied by Abraham, Eugene, Carl, Sasha, and Aaron. They are stopped by the Savior Simon, who orders them to hand their things over. Rick refuses. Every road they go to afterward is blocked by the hostile group, until finally the Saviors surround them in a wooded area. The group is lined up, along with Daryl, who survived the gunshot wound from Dwight. They are then introduced to Negan. He tells them that as a lesson, one of them will have to be punished. He chooses a victim at random. He swings his weapon of choice, a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he has dubbed "Lucille". As Rick looks on in horror, a member of his group, as of yet unrevealed, is brutally killed.

Episodes[]

Title Writer(s) Director(s) Original Air Date U.S. Viewers
1. "First Time Again" Scott Gimple
Matt Negrete
Greg Nicotero October 11, 2015 14.63 million
2. "JSS" Seth Hoffman Jennifer Lynch October 18, 2015 12.18 million
3. "Thank You" Angela Kang Michael Slovis October 25, 2015 13.14 million
4. "Here's Not Here" Scott Gimple Stephen Williams November 1, 2015 13.34 million
5. "Now" Corey Reed Avi Youabian November 8, 2015 12.44 million
6. "Always Accountable" Heather Bellson Jeffrey January November 15, 2015 12.87 million
7. "Heads Up" Channing Powell David Boyd November 22, 2015 13.22 million
8. "Start to Finish" Matt Negrete Michael Satrazemis November 29, 2015 13.98 million
9. "No Way Out" Seth Hoffman Greg Nicotero February 14, 2016 13.74 million
10. "The Next World" Angela Kang
Corey Reed
Kari Skogland February 21, 2016 13.48 million
11. "Knots Untie" Matt Negrete
Channing Powell
Michael Satrazemis February 28, 2016 12.79 million
12. "Not Tomorrow Yet" Seth Hoffman Greg Nicotero March 6, 2016 12.82 million
13. "The Same Boat" Angela Kang Billy Gierhart March 13, 2016 12.53 million
14. "Twice as Far" Matt Negrete Alrick Riley March 20, 2016 12.69 million
15. "East" Story:
Scott Gimple
Channing Powell
Teleplay:
Channing Powell
Michael Satrazemis March 27, 2016 12.38 million
16. "Last Day on Earth" Scott Gimple
Matt Negrete
Greg Nicotero April 3, 2016 14.19 million

Title Screen[]

Main article: Title Screens (TV Series)

Cast[]

Co-Stars

Uncredited

Deaths[]

Production[]

On October 7, 2014, AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a sixth season.[1] Scott Gimple said that the sixth season would continue to remix material from the comic and explained that there would be a flashback backstory to some of the characters:

"There are other people that we're going to see throughout the season from the comics, and I'm excited for people to see it, but I don't want to tell them now. I think a few minor remixes, but some direct stuff from the comic as well, as far as these characters go.

I think there's a really cool aspect to the first half of the season that serves almost as a prequel to some direct comic stuff in the second half of the season. I think there's a way that Robert did some of the story that we're reaching that had a real past to it, where people are referring to some things in the past in the comic. And we're able to portray some of that backstory in some ways that you didn't get to see in the comic."[2]

Filming[]

Filming for the season began in Senoia, Georgia, in early May 2015 and concluded on November 17, 2015.[3] The season contains three extended episodes, airing in expanded 90-minute time slots, the season premiere, the fourth episode and the season finale.[4][5]

Casting[]

Three new actors were cast to portray new characters in the sixth season, including Corey Hawkins as Heath, a prominent and long running comic book character who is a supply runner and loyal friend to Glenn Rhee.[2] Merritt Wever joined the cast in the role of comic book character Dr. Denise Cloyd, while Ethan Embry also joined the cast.[6] In September 2015, Xander Berkeley was announced in an unknown recurring role that would debut during the second half of the season, and Berkeley has an option for series regular for the seventh season.[7] In January 2016, Berkeley's role was confirmed to be Gregory, a character from the comics. Tom Payne joins the cast as Hilltop recruiter, Paul "Jesus" Rovia. On November 10, 2015, it was announced that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been cast as Negan.

Alanna Masterson who portrays Tara Chambler took maternity leave from the season in the episode "Not Tomorrow Yet" as she was nine months pregnant during the time of filming the episode. She is absent from the final four episodes, and it is explained through her character going on a two-week supply run.[8]

Reception[]

Critical Response[]

The sixth season of The Walking Dead has received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 79 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 10 critics.[9] On Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 76% with an average rating of 7.40 out of 10 based on 25 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Six seasons in, The Walking Dead is still finding ways to top itself, despite slow patches that do little to advance the plot." Matt Fowler for IGN gave a 6.8/10 rating for the season as a whole. In summary, he said: " Season 6 of The Walking Dead had some big, effective moments while also crumbling under an avalanche of fake outs & trickery." He praised the Morgan flashback episode ("Here's Not Here") and Carol's arc and the "string of great, violent episodes in the [second half of the season]." His major criticisms of the season were "Glenn's 'death' - and other cheap fake outs/unnecessary cliffhangers" and "characters clumsily steered into making dumb choices."[10]

Glenn's fake death in the third episode, "Thank You", was a major source of controversy. The Hollywood Reporter heavily criticized the decision of the writers to create the story line. Daniel Fienberg felt apathetic about the decision and said, "I'm not sure I care about [...] the way his death would impact the ensemble. If he's dead, the loss will be felt most by Maggie, but Maggie just had her sister die a few episodes ago, so there's no variation anymore to making Lauren Cohan wail, no matter how entirely convincingly she does it. To me, The Walking Dead has lost whatever core of human relationships it ever had, and whether Glenn lives or dies, it just feels mechanical now." Tim Goodman expressed shock over the concept of Glenn potentially being alive saying, "I honestly don't think showrunner Scott M. Gimple is dumb enough to fake this death somehow, not with how implausible it would be for Glenn to survive it."[11] The Hollywood Reporter later declared that the show had "lost its credibility" when Glenn was revealed to be alive in the seventh episode, "Heads Up". Scott Gimple responded to the controversy surrounding this. He said, "We've had instances of people in a very emotional state — Tyreese jumping into the middle of a large herd and fighting his way out; a man cut off his own hand and fights his way through a department store full of walkers. These things are part of the world. Glenn had the bad luck of being knocked off that dumpster by Nicholas, ending his own life but [Glenn] had the good luck of Nicholas landing on him. There's a lot of very specific facts about it that I think a lot of people have sort of gotten wrong. But breaking it down shot for shot … I think we're past that point. I don't think this is any sort of new instance that broke the rules of our show at all. I think it's very much in line with everything we've done before. I don't think there's a credibility issue."[12] Erik Kain for Forbes felt that the decision ruined Glenn's storyline. He declared season 6 "a mixed bag" and was frustrated with the decision to hold off Glenn's fate for 3 episodes. He said, "...the showrunners spent three more episodes essentially refusing to move the plot forward. We got one good backstory, and then two episodes where almost nothing happened to anyone we cared about. We learned that Maggie was pregnant and that's about all." When speaking of the confirmation of Glenn being alive, Kain felt the decision was "implausible" from the inconsistency of his fall and camera angle tricks. He also felt the decision to "[drag] it out for weeks" had "effectively [killed] off all the tension [...] at the end of episode 3."[13] Brian Moylan of The Guardian was also critical, saying: "Glenn is alive, and The Walking Dead will never be the same.... It would rather kill off a main character than pull a lame switcheroo. Until now."[14]

While the first half of the season received heavy criticism, many of the episodes in the second half were critically acclaimed. The episode "No Way Out," which resolved all previous cliffhangers, was widely acclaimed.[15] "The Next World" received highly positive reviews for its lighter tone[16] and the romance between protagonist Rick Grimes and Michonne by fans and critics alike, notably The Guardian[17] and The A.V. Club.[18] Subsequent episodes received praise, notably the episode "Not Tomorrow Yet". "The Same Boat" was lauded for its "strong female focus."[19] Jeremy Egner of The New York Times commented positively on Carol's character development. He adulated the complexity of Carol's division between ruse and real emotion, saying "Like always, Carol did whatever necessary to survive and protect her cohorts, and did so in particularly brutal fashion [...] but she seems increasingly unable to avoid reckoning with the toll. "Are you O.K.?" Daryl asked when he arrived. "No," she responded, and that was before Rick executed the remaining Savior right in front of her. It's going to take more than a few Hail Marys to make that image, among many others, go away."[20]

The finale, "Last Day on Earth", received largely mixed to negative reviews, with many criticizing the cliffhanger. It sparked backlash on social media from fans and critics alike. While Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance as Negan was praised, the episode was mostly criticized for its cliffhanger ending. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 42% with an average rating of 6.60 out of 10, based on 33 reviews. The episode's critical consensus reads, "Despite Jeffrey Dean Morgan's deliciously evil turn as Negan, the meandering "Last Day on Earth"—and its manipulative cliffhanger ending—make for a disappointing season finale."[21] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C, the lowest grade given by the site for the show to date, and commented, "The problem is almost everything else. We'll get to Negan and that so-idiotic-it's-actually-kind-of-hilarious cliffhanger in a second, but before we do, let's unpack the many ways 'Last Day On Earth' went wrong. Even the title is bad—not on its own."[22] Emily VanDerWerff of Vox gave the episode a negative review, calling it the worst episode of the show so far, and commenting, "The extra-long episode spent its first hour dramatizing all the excitement of your GPS insisting that you take a road you already know is closed, and the last half-hour sank some nicely spooky moments with a too-long monologue and a completely botched cliffhanger." However, she gave a positive review on Negan's introduction.[23]

Accolades[]

For the 42nd Saturn Awards, the sixth season of The Walking Dead received seven nominations and three wins. The wins were for Best Horror Television Series, Best Supporting Actress on Television (Danai Gurira), and Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series (Chandler Riggs). The nominations were for Best Actor on Television (Andrew Lincoln), Best Supporting Actress on Television (Tovah Feldshuh and Melissa McBride), and Best Guest Starring Role on Television (John Carroll Lynch).[24]

The season also received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which were for Outstanding Prosthetic Make-up for a Series, Limited Series, Movie, or Special and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role (both for "No Way Out").[25][26] Additionally, the season was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series at the 22nd and 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards for both halves of the season, respectively.[27][28] For his portrayal of Negan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan earned himself a nomination and win for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series at the 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards for his appearance in the season six finale, in addition to the first half of season seven.[29][30]

Ratings[]

The sixth-season premiere of The Walking Dead ("First Time Again") received 14.63 million viewers in its initial broadcast on AMC in the United States. The viewership slightly declined from the previous season's record-breaking premiere ("No Sanctuary") and the fourth-season premiere ("30 Days Without An Accident"), but was the most watched television series of the night. The season finale ("Last Day on Earth") received a 6.9 rating in the key 18-49 demographic with 14.19 million total viewers and was a significant increase from the previous episode ("East"), which received a 5.9 rating and 12.38 million total. This was also significantly lower than the ratings for the fifth-season finale ("Conquer"), which was watched by 15.78 million American viewers with an 18-49 rating of 8.2.[31][32]

Home Media Releases[]

The sixth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 23, 2016.

Videos[]

Official Trailers[]

Promotional Material[]

Posters[]

Trivia[]

  • This season is mainly based on "Volume 14: No Way Out", "Volume 15: We Find Ourselves", "Volume 16: A Larger World" and the first half of "Volume 17: Something To Fear" from the Comic Series.
  • Below are the changes made to the main cast in this season:
  • On Talking Dead, Scott Gimple wrote a letter in regards to the sixth season, stating the following: "For a good while now, humans have been the bigger threat. At the start of our next season, that will change. I've said before the show reinvents itself every eight episodes and we're doing it again, friends. Now that these characters know that they have what it takes to survive, what are they going to do with that power? How will they choose to live? Beyond answering those questions, we're currently putting into motion some of our most ambitious stuff yet and things are going to get very big, loud, and scary."
  • This season has the second highest death toll, with 134 deaths, being second only to Season 8 with 690 deaths as "Wrath".
    • This season featured human deaths in every episode except "Heads Up" and "The Next World".
    • This season is tied with Season 2, Season 4 and Season 8 as the season with the least number of main character deaths, with only two main characters: Deanna and Jessie.
      • Coincidentally, all 4 seasons are seasons with even numbers (2, 4, 6, and 8), whereas the seasons with odd numbers (excluding Season 1, which featured no main character deaths) featured more than two main character deaths. (Season 3 had 3 main character deaths, and Season 5, Season 7, Season 9, and Season 11 all had 4 main character deaths each).
        • The only exception is Season 10 in which ties with Season 3 as the season has 3 main character deaths.
  • Gale Anne Hurd has stated the walkers will become a larger threat in Season 6 as compared to Season 5.
  • The season premiere of this season is 90 minutes long, making it the first season premiere since "What Lies Ahead" of Season 2 to be so.
  • "First Time Again" is the first season premiere that did not surpass the viewing figures of the previous season. Receiving a total of 14.63 million viewers received during the initial broadcast, compared to Season 5's "No Sanctuary".[33]
  • "Here's Not Here" is the first episode (excluding season premieres and finales) to have a run-time of 90 minutes.
  • This is the first season which Robert Kirkman wrote none of the episodes since the previous season.
  • This is the second season in which no actor from the opening credits dies on-screen (Season 1 being the first).

References[]

  1. http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/10/07/walking-dead-renewed-season6-amc/
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/02/walking-dead-showrunner-scott-m-gimple-says-comic-backstory-will-be-revealed
  3. https://comicbook.com/2015/11/18/the-walking-dead-season-6-has-wrapped-production/
  4. https://www.avclub.com/article/amc-debut-preacher-trailer-during-supersized-episo-227396
  5. https://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/21/walking-dead-season-6-finale-90-minutes
  6. http://eonline.com/news/674974/merritt-wever-joins-the-walking-dead-season-6-alongside-ethan-embry
  7. http://tvline.com/2015/09/16/walking-dead-xander-berkeley-season-6-cast/
  8. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/carol-maggie-saviors-hostage-tara-the-walking-dead
  9. https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-walking-dead/season-6
  10. https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/09/the-walking-dead-season-6-review
  11. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bastard-machine/walking-dead-does-dead-mean-834669
  12. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-dead-boss-defends-glenn-844221
  13. https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2015/11/28/how-the-walking-dead-completely-screwed-up-glenns-story-in-season-6/
  14. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/nov/22/the-walking-dead-season-six-episode-seven-heads-up
  15. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-walking-dead/s06/e09/
  16. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-walking-dead/s06/e10
  17. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/feb/21/the-walking-dead-season-six-episode-10-the-next-world
  18. https://www.avclub.com/tvclub/daryl-and-rick-go-hunting-kinder-gentler-walking-d-232595
  19. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-walking-dead/s06/e13/
  20. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/arts/television/the-walking-dead-season-6-episode-13-recap.html
  21. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-walking-dead/s06/e16/
  22. https://www.avclub.com/tvclub/walking-dead-season-finale-swings-misses-234745
  23. https://www.vox.com/2016/4/4/11358954/the-walking-dead-finale-recap-negan-spoilers-last-day-on-earth
  24. https://variety.com/2016/film/news/saturn-awards-nominations-2016-star-wars-mad-max-1201713942/
  25. http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2016/outstanding-prosthetic-makeup-for-a-series-miniseries-movie-or-a-special
  26. http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2016/outstanding-special-visual-effects-in-a-supporting-role
  27. http://sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/22nd-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards
  28. http://sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/23rd-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards
  29. https://deadline.com/2016/11/television-nominees-for-2016-critics-choice-awards-unveiled-1201853806/
  30. https://deadline.com/2016/12/tj-miller-la-la-land-hbo-2016-critics-choice-awards-the-complete-winners-list-live-1201868363/
  31. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/03/30/the-walking-dead-season-5-finale-is-highest-rated-finale-in-series-history-garnering-15-8-million-viewers/381342/
  32. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/03/31/sunday-cable-ratings-the-walking-dead-tops-night-talking-dead-real-housewives-of-atlanta-going-clear-killing-jesus-more/382018/
  33. "First Time Again" Receives 14.6 Million Viewers - Zap2it (Oct 13, 2015)
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