Nerds That Geek Blu-Ray Review - 'The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season'

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

It's safe to say that season six of The Walking Dead was by far the hardest season of the show for fans to get through. Not because it was bad by any means, quite the contrary since it provided us with some incredible moments ripped straight from the pages of the comic book. Oh no, this was a tough one because it ripped at our feels like no other by toying with the notion of Glenn's death and of course, there was that brutal cliffhanger that finally introduced the monster that is Negan.

It was an ending that fired up the fan base in stunning fashion, but as we barrel toward season seven of the show, the time has come to reflect upon last year's story with Anchor Bay's annual blu ray release of the series and last Tuesday, season six of the show finally hit the shelves and rather than outright slam out a fast review and just post it quickly last week, I felt it better that I take my time this go round, and truly dive deep into the release and dig around in the details and well, I have to say that when all is said and done, this is quite the awesome set to own, for so many reasons.

First and foremost, the image quality is absolutely top notch. There is simply incredible and disturbing detail in this disc set, with zombies that leave you cringing within the first few minutes as the hard work of Greg Nicotero's KNB EFX team is put on display. The walker that pulls his skin back when he slips past the truck in the season premiere is a moment of note since well, you see everything when it comes to that makeup, and the mess underneath that simply was not present in the original AMC broadcast and the detail doesn't end there. Every little stain, every little bit of missing flesh is present here, giving season six a gruesome new feel. The splatter and gorgeous visuals are balanced nicely by a clean and wonderful 7.1 Dolby TrueHD mix that sounds flawless and helps immerse you in all the action.  

But the devil is always in the details when it comes to these releases and the special features are plentiful and fun here as well. There's a little 'Making Of' vignette for every single episode from last season, some lovely pieces on the characters themselves and the decisions that they make throughout the season, and the importance of togetherness at the end of the world. But the true gem of the special features, is the extended cut of the season finale, which gives us Negan in all his true glory. Fans of the comic book know that this is a man who is prone to using a particular swear word as a comma, and since broadcast television won't allow anything like that, the alternate 'comic book dialogue' takes are present here for all to enjoy.

In the end, this is truly a wonderful disc set to add to any horror fan's collection, especially a zombie lover since this season featured plenty of the living dead roaming the earth and they've never looked more terrifying than they do in this blu ray set. Sadly however, fans hoping to find clues as to who Negan brings Lucille down upon will discover nothing new. Heck, the Negan featurette is more or less a reactionary piece on the shadow the man casts over the season, so we will still have to wait until season seven to find out the horrible truth about which character we are saying goodbye to. But in the meantime, there's nothing wrong with going back and revisiting so many powerful moments and a season finale that sent chills down our spine and ignited fury in our hearts as we celebrate one of the best seasons to date of The Walking Dead.

---