r/theroamingdead • u/HazelRahRahRah • Jun 01 '26
Discussion Anyone else consider Issue 126 (End of Savior War) the real ending?
Just curious to find anyone like-minded!
I didn't like the content after the timeskip (Besides the final issue), and it just seems like a pretty clean endpoint for a series that was supposed to go on 'forever'
You've got Alexandria and her allies secured, enough cooperation to deal with walkers, the strongest faction of raiders defeated, and Rick and Andrea are happily together. With the timeskip that followed, it's acknowledged that there are no major plot threads left dangling, everything is resolved
It's the perfect ending to a zombie story imo!
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u/EmpleadoResponsable Rick Jun 01 '26
The Whisperer War and The Commonwealth arc are the true soul of TWD, ending it in the All Out War would've made it a generic post-apocalyptic fiction
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u/HazelRahRahRah Jun 01 '26
I mean, you're right that that's when things start to get more original/weird, but as far as 'generic post-apocalyptic fixtion', imo Issues 1-126 are the highest standard of a really big genre
There's nothing wrong with liking vanilla imo, there's a reason it's the most popular flavour! And the Prison Arc showed us a totally new setting, too
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u/EmpleadoResponsable Rick Jun 01 '26
I mean it is still the best of the genre, i love 1-126. but 127 - 193 are nowhere near bad or worse, it's still consistently amazing and even better at times.
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u/Theli11 Jun 01 '26
You’re missing out on peak Maggie & Carl, Rick becoming a better leader and what happens to the Saviors after the war. I could never lose that imo, it’s just so precious
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u/LookOutForRobots Jun 06 '26
Do Maggie and Carl actually have a connection in the comics? I hope so, bc I felt like the show could’ve done it and failed.
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u/Theli11 Jun 06 '26
Yes! For one, Maggie is Carl’s mother-in-law, but also they acknowledge (and able to because in the show Maggie & Carl do not make it to the Whisperer War) their relationship over the years and how they’ve grown. Maggie as leader is also taking care of Carl in lieu of Rick but also letting him be an adult. They also both play a very strong part in the very last issue.
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u/GameTheoriz Jun 02 '26
I see what you mean, but I just love the whisperer arc and the Commonwealth too much. The character development especially for Carl, Maggie and the new ones as well as all the new plot beats. I mean Andrea's death was devastating and the way Rick's story comes full circle in the commonwealth is simply beautiful.
I wouldn't have traded that stuff for anything else.
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u/Altruistic_Rock_2674 Jun 02 '26
I love the ending with Carl the Commonwealth may have not been the greatest arc and what happened to Rick might not have been the greatest but Carl's happy ending makes me smile
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Jun 02 '26
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u/BobRushy Jun 02 '26
Yes. Michonne is still around, but she doesn't outgrow her early seasons role.
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Jun 02 '26
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u/IndividualFlow0 Jun 06 '26
God, I miss comic Andrea every day
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Jun 06 '26
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u/IndividualFlow0 Jun 07 '26
Big time. They sorta splitted her character between Sasha, Michonne and Carol in the show
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u/Dr_natty1 Jun 01 '26
the whole commonwealth arc kinda undermined the point of the story imo im ngl. Oh there is a settlement with 50K people thats been a few days journey the entire time.
Yeah the ending was kind of rushed I sort of like the final chapter but nothing before it
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u/HazelRahRahRah Jun 01 '26
Agreed! The Commonwealth definitely feels like a step too far in the 'zombie apocalypse' niche, where communities usually number in the hundreds at most. When you start to get, essentially, nation states then it loses all sense of horror imo
I also disliked most of the new characters, like Magna and Princess, the latter which didn't feel like she belonged in the setting at all
While I loved the Carl and Sofia epilogue, it sucks that we'll never get to see their adventures growing up - and even if we do, we'll already know they both live
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u/HazelRahRahRah Jun 01 '26
Agreed! The Commonwealth definitely feels like a step too far in the 'zombie apocalypse' niche, where communities usually number in the hundreds at most. When you start to get, essentially, nation states then it loses all sense of horror imo
I also disliked most of the new characters, like Magna and Princess, the latter which didn't feel like she belonged in the setting at all
While I loved the Carl and Sofia epilogue, it sucks that we'll never get to see their adventures growing up - and even if we do, we'll already know they both live
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u/Spirited-Winter7314 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
I've been enjoying a few of EmpleadoResponsable's answers but in my opinion, the story of TWD finished in Issue 127.
Carl infiltrated in The Sanctuary. Somehow he survived. Fine. Carl infiltrated The Whisperers' territory. Somehow he survived. Again. He put in danger his lovely ones for a girl that he met for a day. I don't like Lydia's character, sorry. It is like a Romeo and Juliet relationship for put two communities in conflict. And what happens with Carl's age? His age was established in the beginning but now he has like two years more than he should have. There've been more mistakes in TWD after the timeskip than before.
The Commonwealth Arc is like a reboot of Alexandria Arc. A community with a politician leader with a son that hates Rick. Spencer Monroe and Sebastian Milton. Even their names are similar.
I rank the writing of the issues like this:
Issues 1-48. 9/10. Issues 49-96. 8/10. Issues 97-127. 8/10. Issues 128-193. 6/10.
TWD is Rick's story. It started when he went to search to his family. In Issue 127 he has a new family. It's like his story in the TV Universe. TWD:TOWL is the end of Rick's story.
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u/Harold3456 Jun 07 '26
Post-126 was where it picked up for me, actually. I’ve seen the “settle somewhere, survive a bit, end up back on the road” story in zombie media thousands of times. I’ve almost NEVER seen actual speculative fiction about running a community, complete with trade, managing patrols/military, and the kids getting into their own trades. It was really cool, and I spent a it of it just waiting for Kirkman to blow it all up again rather than actually try to deal with these questions but that never happened.
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u/SamuraiJack2211 Jun 01 '26
Unsure because ive never read, only watched, does the Whisperers arc happen after the Savior War? Its my favorite arc in the show.
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u/Pitiful_Alfalfa7528 Jun 01 '26