As the Walking Dead Universe expands, new stories are told about the world where walkers, stalkers, lurkers, biters, growlers, infected and empties run wild. Lawlessness leads to global governments collapsing and the survival of the human race gets complicated.

So far, The Walking Dead has fought the good fight for 11 years, Fear will soon begin Season 7 and World Beyond starts its final season exploring the roots of the Civic Republic Military… it’s just too bad there’s so many bland characters slowing down the storytelling in the junior show.

The season premiere, “Konsekans,” picks up where the main characters left off last year. Sisters Hope and Iris are separated, Felix reunites with his lost flame and Elizabeth (the Big Bad) continues to prove unlikable with her power moves. To say that I’m remotely interested in the rebellious, strong-willed, teenaged genius who seems to be the savior of the entire world (played by Alexa Mansour) would be incorrect. But learning about a familiar face crossing over from the mothership definitely raises my interest in this “two-season event.”

Ten years into the new world, no matter what you call them (anything from columns, mega clusters, hordes and herds), undead monsters are running wild everywhere. From the looks of Elizabeth’s past actions, the CRM will stop at nothing to wipe them out, including leveling entire cities in the process (along with anybody living there). In what seems to be a government coverup, she’s just not trustable. Will she turn the good guys to the dark side?

“It takes everyone coming together to have a shot at the future…”

I don’t care about Elizabeth’s manipulations. I don’t care about the intel that was previously decoded. I really don’t mind if any of the main characters live or die. The return of Jadis (played by Polyanna McIntosh) is what’s interested me for Season 2. While her character kinda felt left out of too many storylines on TWD (along with that VERY bad haircut), a makeover and a little more importance to the storyline is what can make this season memorable.

And then there’s that link to Ranger Rick (The World’s STILL Gonna Need Rick Grimes!) which will hopefully lead into his upcoming spin-off tale. The more I think about it, I would have preferred Jadis crossing over into Season 1 of World Beyond. Scheduled to last for only two seasons, these new characters will most likely be killed off, anyway (unless they somehow crossover themselves). In any scenario, the first season feels like a missed opportunity that could have ramped up viewers new and old for the show’s full 20 episodes.

For World Beyond I’d previously stated, “Come for the kids, stay for the adults.” That statement seems true after watching the first episode of Season 2, it just pertains to a new character who hasn’t made her grand entrance yet. Waiting for Jadis will hopefully renew my interest in the franchise as a whole, which has been fading with Daryl’s Crew fighting The Reapers and Fear killing off its best character, which had me in the dumps for months.

Regardless, here’s the extended trailer for TWD: World Beyond‘s Season 2: