As the issue title suggests things finally reached a boiling point this issue and BOY do we have a lot to talk about. We won’t spoil what happens for those who haven’t read it yet, but we know those comments are going to be crazy. Speaking of – if you happen to leave the very BEST comment in our discussion we will send you a signed copy of the issue. That’s right, Robert Kirkman will put his life on hold and sign a copy of 186 just for you. So do it up, and also make sure to pick up the Bill Sienkiewicz variant cover featuring Negan – it’s his last one of the series!
Previously: Dwight’s proposal to take the Commonwealth by force is rejected by Rick, who doesn’t want another war. However, Dwight can’t leave well enough alone, starting an altercation with Commonwealth guards to incite a revolt, that only lands him in jail. But Dwight isn’t the only one who presses Rick to become the Commonwealth’s new leader as Mercer has a proposition of his own…
WOW! Before starting about the main event that went down in this issue can we take a second to appreciate the moment that Stephanie and Eugene had?! It was such a sweet interaction! I like having those experiences between characters, it seemed so genuine.
Now, um WOW? How can I possibly start this? I had a bad feeling deaths would come out of this but WOW Dwight really went off the deep end and I’m sad but also not sad to see him go. Dwight if not put in that situation could have caused a war or killed Pamela another way anyway. But was it right to put him in that exact situation? I really don’t feel Dwight was ever fully happy. He had happy moments, but something else was always going on. So was something like this inevitable? I guess we will never know. I agree with Michonne in some ways, and Rick in others. I mean exactly how outnumbered is Rick and gang here? Would shooting Pamela cause riots or would it start order? Or should that even be a thought because this is suppose to be a civil society. Did Michonne commit the ultimate betrayal? Or did she save everyone she knows from being killed? There is so much grey area. I’m excited to see what the future holds!
P.S. Who does Crime scene clean up in commonwealth? Is that a thing? ?
*Slow clapping turns into violent applause*
Bravo! This cover was one of the best head fakes in a while. Did not see Dwight’s death coming!
A year of simmering tensions is coming to a boiling point. I am quite sad to see Dwight go, but seeing Rick mad at Michonne is terrifying because he knows the consequences and adds clarity to just how high the stakes are.
I know the path is sometimes unclear in TWD, but Kirkman always delivers, and this is an example.
Buckle up, shits going down in 2019!
Over the years, Dwight underwent a long journey. He appeared as a merciless villain, who killed one of our favourite characters without a blink of an eye (couldn’t resist the pun). Gradually, we started to see a more complex version of Dwight, the broken man who suffered for love and justice, both mentally and physically. He often punished himself and always blamed other people than Sherry, who backstabbed him at every opportunity. Despite gaining the trust of his former enemies and leading them during the Whisperer War, he could not find his inner peace. In a similar manner to Sherry, who was a constant troublemaker, Dwight could not have just sit back and relax – he always had to fight for something. Perceived injustice at the Commnonwealth was his undoing, as it set him on a dangerous path into an uknown territory. He died as Abraham, without a chance to even notice the fatal hit. He had to die, so the greater losses would have been prevented. But what if it is too late?
***
Really, it’s sad to see Dwight go, but Rick already gave him a cold warning before, and the man could not stop. It’s always dangerous to draw a gun on somebody when the people behind your back may not be fully on your side. It must have been a hard choice for Rick, as killing Dwight might antagonize Laura and militia members, but also Mercer, who certainly holds a lot of power. Rick’s last question is definitely on point – did he just choose a wrong side? Michonne did, as hinted by friends of Elodie, and her ill-advised step of bringing Pamela in contributed to Dwight’s demise. After so many years, this might sever their friendship for good. Will Dwight’s death force Mercer to start the coup, or will the things turn out in a completely different way? We will see that in 2019.
As for that “shocking moment”, well, that moment came much later. Good for Eugene, though, just another addition to the recent love outbreak. Who’s next, eye-rolling Sophia? Good to see Magna as an alternate leader, it looks like she might be even more important now when Dwight is gone.
Well said. Dwight’s strong realization and death will definitely act as a catalyst pushing this forward. Rick sees the big picture, he had to put him down for the better outcome!
R.I.P. Dwight, shouldn’t have gotten all ball-z.
Really good issue…its been a while since ive been able to say that…probably since negans last issue…sad to lose dwight however he had a good run and character arc….I hope he comes back to the show….i also hope that if he does the writers dont screw it up…
Dwight’s death was unexpected.?After reading the first five pages I didn’t understand where have to be the shocking moment,and only after a few rechecks I realized that this is all about Stephanie’s wig..And then I was like Wooow seriously? Michonne is not the same anymore…? And yeaah.. I just have to say that.. i’m still upset about Andrea… I mean.. when i see Rick crying like in the last issue.. no words needed..
Wow – another super ending to a story arc.
And, for the second time in a row, we end an arc where the title seems to be about one thing and turns out to be about something else. “New World Order” was a reference not to the Commonwealth but the different order Rick would like to inspire; “The Powder Keg” of the title was probably more fitting for Dwight than the Commonwealth here.
I’ve found Dwight frustrating for a long time (which is, granted, the point) but I think this was the perfect end-point for him. Very dramatic and shocking but also likely to have a long-term impact. Plus, it never hurts for Rick to show his teeth now and then.
During “All Out War”, one of my concerns with the comic is that almost all the MAJOR characters had been killed off, meaning that the deaths of Denise, Eric and Shiva — however sad — just weren’t as gut-wrenching as Glenn, Abraham etc. previously. And while we’ve had a death the scale of Andrea, even the likes of Rosita and Gabriel didn’t feel all that significant given how underused they often were. But what I love is that the comic has now built up a deep bench of characters we really do care about. Negan, Dwight, Aaron, Jesus, Magna, Lydia, Dante… heck, even Elodie for her importance if not her longevity… a really solid second tier of big name characters. And for Dwight, nearing his hundredth issue, to bow out is a major change.
I also loved that Pamela didn’t die. Not to say I’d be disappointed if she does down the track and I certainly find her pretty despicable (that hunting party? Good grief…). But it would feel repetitive of Alpha’s exit if she died. In fact, this is really the inverse of #156 with Dwight trying to “do a Negan”
Michonne’s “betrayal”… yeah, that was dumb. Michonne’s got previous siding against Rick back in #75 but this is a lot messier and Pamela is a lot more dangerous. If she heard Michonne’s words, I think she has Rick marked as a major threat to her and the only thing stopping her from moving against him is that killing him would create too many problems, especially when Rick has acted to save her life .- it’s the old problem Negan had of not wanting to martyr him. But .I don’t think Rick is safe to hang around the Commonwealth much longer.
Other highlights:
* I’ve been looking forward to seeing more of Josh and although the Sophia drama doesn’t grab me too much, I’m glad she’s still getting play as a character. I was sad the whisperers were completely wiped out last year because I thought the concept of them was interesting so I’m intrigued to see how those guys bed in.
* Love Stephanie and I liked that her concern was cosmetic. I expected her to reveal that her head was horribly burnt or something but it speaks to the mundane concerns the Commonwealth people have that a wig is worn for looks, not necessity.
* I thought Nancy might turn out to be the left-field shooter from the cover. Glad she’s not. I’d love to get deeper into Elodie’s world.
* Great seeing Vincent and Heath again. Heath in particular has to be the most underwritten character now Gabriel has gone despite being… what, the seventh longest-lasting character as it stands? He was a really big part of the comic pre-war but since the war he’s always around but rarely ever gets much to do or say. I quite like that characters can rise and fall in prominence sometimes but it would be nice to see him in the fray more.
* Poor Laura… but actually, without being in the shadow of Dwight, I’m really excited to see where she goes. She’s a really interesting character.
* I love how messy the Michonne/Rick stuff is — the pettiness of “I’ll never forgive you.” They’ve been through so much and they can make mistakes with each other. It’s been a long time since it’s been this bad between them though. I do think Rick was just airing an idea in a safe space with Michonne, rather than legitimately committing himself to the ideas Dwight was proposing — indeed, Mercer said what he did after Rick explicitly rejected that course of action and talked about leading through persuasion..
* A year without my man Negan. It was the right place to leave him for a time but… man… I hope he’s back soon.
What a year 2018 has been! The comic is utterly transformed from a year ago. I don’t know if another war is on the horizon but I love how haunted the characters are by the seeming inevitability of one. Interesting times ahead…
Dwight definitely had this coming. He was going to pull the trigger if Rick didn’t shoot him. A lot of moral grey area in this arc. Rick knows this thing is ready to tip over. But as he said, to make things better for everyone they just disagree on how exactly to do that. He stepped in and had to put down Dwight for the future of this place changing…if Dwight had killed her Rick wouldn’t have had a chance in my opinion.
I’m curious what Rick is going to do or say next, the last panel makes me think this can escalate over time the more he thinks about it on the way back to Alexandria since the next issue is titled “The Road Back”. Will he eventually try to take over? Him and Michonne are at odds for sure, see the cover of 187. Also, I really enjoyed Rick’s face after Dwight responds to Mercer in the locker room “We hear you loud and clear.” Made me chuckle for some reason. So Stephanie wears a wig, something I was not expecting.
Lol, Carl being a little wingman for Sophia.
I’m really liking the storyline! It seems like a civil war is about to happen with the people from the commonwealth and the leadership. With Rick and Michonne stuck right in the middle of it. And both on opposite sides.
I’m disappointed in Michonne and the blindness she’s having at the commonwealth. It kinda reminds me of Michonne at Alexandria in the show, when they first got there. I’m hoping her daughter will show her the truth now that she knows there’s sides.
I’m so happy Eugene has found love again! He deserves it and I love Stephanie. Just wondering where she managed to get a wig in the apocalypse, lol
I’m worried Laura is a threat now after losing Dwight. I couldn’t believe Rick killed him! But he really had no choice. I don’t think it was Michonnes fault. She didn’t know Governor Milton was going to bring the guards when Michonne asked her to come alone. Governor Milton is the one who really betrayed them!
I can’t wait to see what’s next and I’m glad 2018 last Issue went out with a bang.
DAMN, why didn’t Dwight just chill the hell out! I liked that guy but he couldn’t just leave it alone. Nothing was gonna happen. No war. No nothing! Dwight was smart, Dwight was a BEAST, broooooo, why Dwight. You MADE rick do that, man. Oh well, he had a good run. Thanks for the great read. Peace out Deadheads!
There are LOTS to say about this issue, but the last few pages? Now there’s something to comment. Whew. Where even to start. Dwight’s gone from 0 to 100 very, very fast, and while his intentions were ultimately good, the way he was going about it… Probably not the best idea. Understandable, given that he personally suffered Negan’s privilege system, but not the best way to go about it regardless. Definitely didn’t expect him to die, definitely didn’t expect him to die like that, and definitely didn’t expect his death to have that consequence. Now, Michonne and Rick… well. I can see both their points, but they’re both fucking up right now. Michonne’s pretty complacient with a system that oh so happens to benefit her, and Rick’s going from ‘this place has its problems but we need to take this calm because it’s not a black/white morality issue’ to ‘we should take over by force’ to ‘you were right we need to chill’ to ‘this is war’ and framing it as a black/white issue. Both Rick and Michonne want the same which is ultimately good, but Michonne’s being selfish about it, and Rick is being self-righteous, and both are being hypocritical. Ironically, that ties right back in with Rick saying that there’s no clear good or bad sides in this specific situation, even if he’s not in that mindset anymore.
And then there’s the whole issue with how they’re seen by the Commonwealth’s people… We already know they’re not precisely fond of Michonne. And while Rick is on their side, as far as sides can be clearly defined, we have to remember Dwight’s been building himself up as a Champion of the people. And Rick’s just killed him, So people’s perception of him definitely is gonna fit in with him saying that he’s started on the wrong side of the war. Plus, he’s been hanging out with Michonne nonstop, and we already know what people think of her. So basically Michonne wants to make things better but isn’t actually taking effective action, Rick is going to take action in a way that’s probably going to be counterproductive and/or violent, and I’m seeing my two favorite charaters pinned against each other. #pain
Unless, of course, Michonne changes her mind. (I don’t really think Rick will, partly because I’m personally more inclined to his approach, even if not exactly fond of how aggresive it is). We still need to see Elodie’s actual reaction to ‘sides’, beyond shock. And if there’s something clear about Michonne right now, is that she’s gonna do anything for her daughter. Her reaction is what will determine the course of the next year of TWD, even if Rick and Michonne’s friendship won’t be mended right away.
On a last note, I’m not sure if the fortification of Alexandria means this conflict is going to find its way there, or if there’s gonna be something else, but I’m 100% sure it’s gonna come in handful.
I feel pretty positive that Rick, Michonne, or Eugene will not survive this coming conflict. I thought for sure Rick was going to die in this issue by trying to take the gun from Dwight and getting shot himself. One of the top players is definitely losing their lives.
Yep, Dwight pushed Rick too far. He had no chance to disarm Dwight, the guy would have shot him,, and maybe the brutes would have killed them all. But my tip for the big death is Michonne, she’s a bit like Dwight. He could never be happy even when having the chance, and Michonne always lost everyone after being happy for a while (Tyreese, Morgan, Ezekiel, now Elodie).
Looking forward to Aaron blowing Daryl’s brains out in the season 12 finale
Overall a great end to another great year of TWD!!! Love this story, and love the shock value it still maintains!!
All this political drama, and social strife in the Commonwealth. Michone and Rick, Mercer and Pamela.
And Eugene will resolve the pressure with his train.
When people can go between the Commonwealth and the communities easily, many will.
Pressure valve released.
Powder keg defused.
Dwight. Damn!