REVIEW: The Walking Dead S8 E8 “How It’s Gotta Be” delivers the biggest shock of the series

The Walking Dead‘s midseason finale did the absolutely unthinkable, killing one of the show’s “untouchables” in the biggest shocker of the series so far.

The Walking Dead has always been somewhat predictable. Being based on a comic series means certain characters are always earmarked for death. New characters tend to last around a season and a half before meeting their gruesome end. A certain few individuals are immune from death, no matter the odds. All that has changed, as of “How It’s Gotta Be”.

The death of Carl Grimes changes everything. Yes, the death has been confirmed. At least according to Chandler Riggs himself, this isn’t a Jon Snow situation. Carl isn’t coming back. This could go one of two ways. The shock could lead to a new lease of life for a tired show, or else it is the beginning of the end for The Walking Dead. Killing off a character who has grown with the audience, becoming both powerful and compassionate, is a risky move. Time will tell if it’s successful.

One cynical reason for The Walking Dead including such a traumatic ending could be to distract from the rest of the episode, which was substandard at best. For one thing, no amount of adjusting the screen brightness made most the episode easier to see.

Perhaps that was to detract from the jumbled nature of the plot, bouncing around characters and stories at a far too quick pace. The long and the short of it is that the plan to destroy the Saviours has failed. Negan is out and wreaking revenge. “How It’s Gotta Be” shows the characters responding to this terrible failure.

The best moments of the episode are the moments focused on Carl, particularly his interactions with both Rick and Negan. Carl-the-sudden-humanitarian had some beautiful speeches this season, but it doesn’t make up for what might well be a terrible mistake.

REVIEW: The Walking Dead S8 E7 ‘Time for After’ is the best episode of the season

For years, Eugene Porter has been a firm fan favourite on The Walking Dead. He’s never been the most exciting character. He’s never been the most loyal character. He’s never arrived last minute to a battle to save the day, armed with a missile launcher. His trademark? His remarkable intelligence and instinct for self-preservation. Despite all this, Eugene is the most relatable character on The Walking Dead.

Most people would like to think they’d respond to crisis like Daryl – a born survivalist with a knack for looking incredibly cool while doing anything. Eugene’s path to survival however, one born out of self-preservation and necessity, feels a lot closer to home than suddenly becoming a zombie killing machine. Eugene’s selfish nature somehow made him the most human character on the Walking Dead – and because of this, one of the most interesting characters.

‘Time for After’ centres on Eugene. It’s fair to say the character has had his ups and downs. He’s lied to his friends to survive. He’s learnt to fight for himself. He’s learnt the value of friendship, only to turn around and stab it in the face because his survival was more important to him. Eugene has gone full circle, but every moment with him is a pleasure to watch. Every moment spent on this character is interesting – maybe because it speaks to the dark part of one’s self that is sure they would react to – even want to react to – a zombie apocalypse like Eugene. Eugene can carry an episode. For this reason, ‘Time for After’ is the best episode of season eight so far.

‘Time for After’ is the argument of doing what is right for yourself versus doing what is right for others that we didn’t realise the show needed to discuss further. There is the right thing, and then there is the right thing for you. What do you do when your morals and your survival don’t reconcile in your head? What do you do when death is knocking on your doorstep and every escape route is blocked with a person you did wrong in your scramble to be inside in the first place? This struggle is painful, complex – and yet surprisingly human.

REVIEW: The Walking Dead S8 E6 ‘The King, the Widow and Rick’ is the messy aftermath

We prayed for an end to the day that lasted forever – and finally The Walking Dead has delivered. The aftermath of the conflict is character-heavy and a mess, but it’s wonderful to watch things get moving again.

A lot happens in ‘The King, the Widow and Rick’. The Hill Top community is trying to work out what to do with their Saviour prisoners. Carol is trying to find a way through to a traumatised Ezekiel. Rick wants another deal with the Junk Yard community. Carl tracks down the survivor Rick scared away, Sadiq, and invites him to join Alexandria. Rosita and Michonne, missing for most of the series so far due to conflicting actor commitments, go on a road trip. It’s a lot happening all at once, especially considering the last few episodes have moved at the pace of a confused snail.

As with any episode of this nature, some stories are more interesting than others. Pairing Carl and Sadiq is an interesting introduction to the new character. Maggie and Gregory’s discussion about leadership makes Maggie’s eventual imprisonment of Gregory all the sweeter. Elsewhere, Rosita and Michonne’s mission feels like an excuse to include the actors – and I have no idea what they’re trying to achieve with Rick.

It’s still not clear what The Walking Dead is trying to do this season. Is it trying to wrap up the war against Negan? Is this another minor skirmish to be forgotten quickly? The war against the Saviours has been tiring for the best part of a season and any move to progress the story should be welcomed with open arms.

REVIEW: The Walking Dead S8E5 ‘The Big Scary U’ is a hot mess

The Walking Dead season 8 episode 5 ‘The Big Scary U’ finally gave us the return of Negan. Sadly, this was deemed unsatisfactory story alone and was accompanied by a pointless fight scene and some squabbling from the less interesting Saviours.

We’ll start with the good. The combination of Negan and Father Gabriel as a duo is something we didn’t know we wanted. It’s been clear for a while that what baddie Negan needed was humanisation, but not clear how to organically allow this in the show. The moment happened in ‘The Big Scary U’. Father Gabriel’s “confession” tactic brought about a moment of genuine pain and weakness in the villain. This, coupled with Negan’s surprising benevolence towards Gabriel, and the near-crumbling of the Saviours without him – does a lot to delve into the person and leader Negan is.

Elsewhere, the Saviours struggle to come up with any sort of viable plan without Negan. They are not sure Negan is dead, but they are sure they have been betrayed. Although we know the rat is Dwight, the obvious mole to Negan’s team is Eugene. There’s no follow-up on this, however, apart from the insinuation they believe the rat is Eugene. The Saviour leaders without Negan are very uneven. Simon seems incapable of leading without him, and I’m not entirely sure who the other two even are. Dwight and Eugene, the only pair in that room worth watching, keep fairly quiet. It’s far from riveting television as they scrabble for a plan.

That’s not as badly-thought out as the scene with Rick and Daryl however. Rick and Daryl, who, for the most part, have got along fine the last few seasons. For what appears to be no reason whatsoever, the two Alexandrian hardheads have a brawl besides a supply truck loaded with dynamite. They stop when the truck explodes, destroying the same guns they spent several episodes trying to acquire. This whole plot thread was a complete waste of time.

As with the rest of season eight so far, ‘The Big Scary U’ is uneven at best. There were some great moments. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan is always one to watch, and Father Gabriel’s companionship made for some interesting moments. If only The Walking Dead had been brave enough to try a two-hander, this could have really been something special.

Negan attacks Gabriel and hints there could be major deaths in new The Walking Dead trailer

The brand new trailer for The Walking Dead episode five – ‘The Big Scary U’ – has landed, and it looks like it’ll all be going off as Negan unleashes his anger on Father Gabriel and the Saviors realise a traitor in their midst…

After a three episode break from the notorious villain, viewers will finally be reunited with Negan next week as the show picks up where we left him, trapped in a zombie-surrounded caravan with Father Gabriel.

The promo sees the leader of the Saviors talk menacingly to his opposer before launching at him with his dreaded Lucille.

Meanwhile, the Saviors are plotting their next big move and, in doing so, sniff out a traitor within the Sanctuary. Negan’s deputies Simon, Gavin and Dwight all have very different ideas on how to escape, but who will the group trust after suspicions have been raised?

In a final, ominous clip, Negan hints there could be some major casualties to come in his absence as he warns: “A lot of folks are gonna die in there… because I’m not there to stop it.”

The Walking Dead airs Mondays at 9pm on FOX.

Review: The Walking Dead S8E4 ‘Some Guy’ showcases a fan favourite

The Walking Dead has been having an up and down season. ‘Some Guy’ was typical of this season. On one hand, we have an episode focused on the fan favourite King Ezekiel. On the other hand, we’re still stuck on the same uninspiring day on the show.

Khary Payton’s performance is the main highlight – making an episode that might have otherwise been condemned to the depths of The Walking Dead season eight drudgery memorable. The emotional journey of King Ezekiel is shown through snippets of both past and present. It is also demonstrated in how he responds in the face of isolation and amongst ‘his people’. Since we’ve met him, Ezekiel has been on the upper foot. His safety blanket has now been brutally taken from him and where The Walking Dead goes next with this character will be very interesting.

Payton aside, there’s not much else to commend in ‘Some Guy’. The episode falls into many of the same problems as the episode 2 ‘The Damned’. There’s a lot of action, including one pointless car chase involving Rick and Daryl (who are otherwise uninvolved in the episode). Unlike ‘The Damned’, The Walking Dead focuses almost solely on the people of the Kingdom. This means that the action sequences are limited to even fewer characters, and is, unbelievably, even more boring.

The most frustrating thing is we’re still watching scenes from the same day. It’s been four episodes and we still don’t know what happened to each set of characters on that fateful day. Negan and Father Gabriel, for instance, remain missing in action. This means that we still have at least one more episode before the longest day ever is over.

It really feels like the war against Negan is dragging.

REVIEW: The Walking Dead 8.03 ‘Monsters’ is an introspective look on the real villains

After last week’s utterly boring ‘The Damned’, in which our heroes spent a lot of time running through corridors and shooting, we didn’t expect a lot from ‘Monsters’. Thankfully, ‘Monsters’ sought to offer fans the reverse side of the coin. Where ‘The Damned’ was the action, ‘Monsters’ was the emotion. It didn’t work quite as well as combining the two episodes might have done, but it was a welcome reprieve from the nonstop action.

The emphasis in ‘The Damned’ was clear: to kill or not to kill? ‘Monsters’ weaved colour into this narrative by examining two characters that are some of the most torn by that choice. Firstly, Morgan. Morgan, who as we know, last left the show a paragon of violence. He returned a different man – defined by his unwillingness to kill other humans. Since his return, he has struggled with this desire to not kill, before finally returning to the Morgan we remember after witnessing Saviour brutality. His inner conflict is evident through his exchanges with Jesus and – finally – his fight with Jesus, symbolising his own inner battle with himself. In Morgan, we see something of an addiction to the violence. Finally, Morgan walks away again.

Elsewhere, it transpires that Morales’ return was fleeting but memorable. He questions Rick’s morals, stating the damning truth that if their places were reversed then he would already be dead. It’s enough to make Rick ponder who the real monsters are.

This is retreading old ground for The Walking Dead. A theme of the series has always been whether these protagonists we follow are the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ guys. In all reality, there is very little difference between the Alexandrians and the Saviours. Is this something that the characters ought to simply accept? Or do they strive to be better? Can they ever be better – in a world where your worth depends on your ability to survive and dominate?

It’s not original content by any means, but it is still a welcome change of pace for the Walking Dead, which has recently become too focused on warfare. One must wonder whether two episodes (probably three, based on the ending) based on the same uninspiring events were really necessary. Fortunately, there is enough good to focus on for now.

REVIEW: The Walking Dead S8E2 ‘The Damned’ is a whole lot of nothing happening

This week’s The Walking Dead marks the first time the show has named an episode after the audience watching it. ‘The Damned’ was a whole lot of needless action and minimal dialogue, progressing an already-dragging war plotline absolutely nowhere.

There are lots of things wrong with ‘The Damned’, but its biggest flaw is simply that nothing happens. The Alexandrians and their allies are surrounding and infiltrating Saviour-owned compounds, using information from Dwight. This leads to a number of overdrawn shootouts and scenes of characters wandering around seemingly empty corridors, only for Saviours to appear from nowhere in jump-scare sequences. This horror tactic is excellent from creating a tense atmosphere when used sparingly. However, this is far from sparingly.

There are a couple of noteworthy interactions this episode. Tara and Jesus argue over whether Saviours who have surrendered should be killed regardless. King Ezekiel questions Carol’s doubt over their success and declares that they must remain positive. Rick discovers a familiar face from the past hidden amongst the Saviours. All in all though, this episode is mainly just a lot of nothing.

The Walking Dead‘s biggest draw has never been the zombies or action. Instead, it has been the clever examination of mankind at its weakest and its continued will to survive against all odds. The series has done this time and time again, mostly through introducing and developing characters the audience cares about and excellent dialogue. It is a shame that ‘The Damned’ and indeed many more recent episodes, has chosen to ignore what made the series what it is in favour of fight scenes and gunshots.