7.08: The Walking Dead - Hearts Still Beating

[ctg]

Eugene (Photo by Gene Page/AMC)

Negan's unwelcome visit to Alexandria continues as other members scavenge for supplies; things quickly spin out of control.

 

[ctg]

Spectacular episode. It put me in tears at the end. I couldn't help myself but weep my eyes for all those who were lost. Not just in this one, but going all the way back to the last season. I personally feel quite numb in general to the deaths, but this year has thought me mortality as it happened to Rick.

He gets it. He isn't a god. He is nothing but a mortal man, who lost his way, when the unexpected happen. The tragedy broke him completely. And he honestly thought Negan would honour the deal instead seeing that "there is no honour among thieves."

Negan started this war long time ago, when he started oppressing the communities around the US capitol. "There were many of them, but one by one they all dropped out." Many of them might have been full of sheep. People, who thought that the Authorities has a way to cure the necromorphosis.

It's not going to happen. Ever. Funny as it is the people in Kirkman's world cling so hard on the world of yesterday. Just like we are doing by so hard wishing that Mr T had not got the nomination for being the POTUS. S*th happens every day, especially on Mondays.

Nobody can prevent bad luck. You can try your best to prevent it to happen. Hence, why people train everyday for the catastrophies. They trust their smartest to see the impossible and they prepare for it.

For us, the writers, prolonging the audience agony is daily business. It's the elevated tension and a huge relief which keeps the audience coming back in this series, instead of us seeing Carol's favourite cooking tips, as that in the long run would be so boring.

I get Nicotero's team lost the plot with the beginning of this season. TWD tumbled downhill like a runaway barrel, until this episode that gathered together all those loose treads and tied them together in a nice bundle. They even presented a cherry on the top, by showing Kirkman's zombie cameo at the bog.

 

[REBerg]

Oh, yeah! The band is getting back together.
Carol will come roaring out of her "retirement" when she gets the Negan casualty list. Even Morgan might be motivated to set his staff on "kill" for the cause of the greater good.
Looks like they won't have much choice but to return to the Island of Women warriors to arm the alliance, as they seem to be the only survivors who still have both weapons and ammunition. Their recruitment might be a tough sell, but I suspect a strong residual desire for revenge will outweigh their secret location safety concerns.
The Grimes Group really lost an ace in the hole with the revelation of Eugene's bullet-making skills. Bad decision (and bad shot) from Rosita. Funny that she shot Lucille.
Olivia's death was tragic; Spencer's, not so much. The deaths, as @ctg notes, did awaken Rick to the fact that subservience to Negan will not keep his people alive. If he had been able to hear the fans shouting at their TV screens all season, he would have realized that much sooner.

 

[ctg]

Spoiler: Fat Joey

Some fans probably cheered at this brutal kill, mainly because it meant Daryl was far from Negan's pet, but also because it was one less Savior in the world.

It makes sense to be excited for this, but Fat Joey's death isn't a good thing - not even a little bit.

What many don't realize - mainly because the dialogue was somewhat hidden - is that Fat Joey was actually incredibly smart. In fact, Joey was one of the only people keeping all of the communities safe, and his death means bad news for Rick and the others.

Two episodes ago, when Carl and Jesus were hiding in the truck, the two Saviors who were commandeering the vehicle were watching some walkers cross the road in the distance. If you were listening closely, one of the men explained that there was a herd nearby, and they were being led away from the communities by a series of explosives.

The man said that Fat Joey was the mind behind the 'redirect', and that he was using a trail of trip-wires and RPGs to alter the course of the herd, and keep them away from everyone.

When the truck arrived at Sanctuary, and Carl was readying his gun, Negan could be heard talking to Fat Joey outside. Joey told Negan that something had gone wrong with the redirect, and that he was working on fixing it.

The Walking Dead: The Important Detail About Fat Joey That Everyone Missed

 

[REBerg]

Spoiler: Fat Joey

The Walking Dead: The Important Detail About Fat Joey That Everyone Missed

I thought that Daryl's Negan-style killing of Fat Joey was unnecessarily savage, but Daryl had a lot of pent-up rage to release. Fat Joey just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[ctg]

Fat Joey just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Oh yeah. Big time. It's just like it was with Denise. They both happened to be people that you cannot do without. Sure they might look out from the norm, but that doesn't make them bad. Quite the opposite.

 

[nixie]

The pieces are coming together.

Spencer's death I enjoyed. Olivia's brought a tear to my eye.

Fat Joey, yes I can see why Daryl done it but didn't think he would be so brutal. I thought he would have just knocked him out.

I might need therapy I'm starting to like Gabriel.

Who was that watching Rick and Aaron driving away from the boat?

Now we need to see the coming together of Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom.

Gregory is going to object, Maggie will make him abdicate and Jesus will back her.

 

[Judderman]

Decent episode and good to see most of the characters involved. Still a bit disappointing considering it was episode 8 before the break. But hopefully after 8 episodes they will bring excitement for the next 8! Unlikely..
As Daryl escaped surely the Saviours will be straight back out looking for him. With Alexandria being the place they look first. Not long for the alliance to plan something?
The boat scene with the zombies was fun. Rick didn't hide the guns they found? It seemed they were in the truck and given to the saviours. Also the boat owner will be following them around now?
Rosita's bad shot was a shame. No Eugene really spells more problems for ammo. Doesn't really seem the rebellion can work without some right now.
I appreciated it was an hour long. Always seems so much better than 45 mins in what they can fit in.

 

[ctg]

Who was that watching Rick and Aaron driving away from the boat?

Also the boat owner will be following them around now?

He's not a Savior, or the boat owner. That is pretty certain. Who he is, we'll probably find out in the next season.

Fat Joey, yes I can see why Daryl done it but didn't think he would be so brutal.

Daryl had a lot of repressed anger and pain in him. Fat Joye, unfortunately, was the first person to receive all of it.

Rosita's bad shot was a shame.

At least she tried. Thing with the bullets and objects in the path is that a small twig or branch is enough to deviate the bullet from its flight path. And once it has made contact, it most likely start tumbling, losing accuracy. So for hitting Lucielle, that was unfortunate, but it saved Negan's life.

The casing to my was pretty standard. Somehow Eugene had even managed to put a print on it, making it look more like a reloaded round than a completely hacked together piece.

 

[Culhwch]

Now that was more like it. If that episode had come three or four ago, it might have saved the first half of this season.

I don't know if I have too many specific comments about the episode - there were a couple of moments of stupidity, but I think it worked a whole lot better than previous episodes have. For instance, Rosita's attempt and failure to kill Negan made a lot more sense than Carl's attempt and failure to kill Negan, even with the miraculous bat getting in the way. For a moment I did wonder about him leaving Rosita alive, but it does kind of jibe with Negan's style. Daryl attacked him, he killed Glenn. Rosita attacks him, he kills Wossname. Still, seems she got off easy. You'd think at least a face-burning would be in order.

I also thought Negan's reaction was interesting. He seemed genuinely surprised that someone would, firstly, make the attempt, and secondly, get so close to succeeding. This former is a little odd, as it was the second time that day. The latter might show that he has developed a bit of a god complex and bought into his own legend, thinking he's all but untouchable. But then that was almost immediately forgotten in his desire to find the bullet maker, so you have to assume that they are starting to run real low on ammo.

There was also good amount of intrigue for a mid-season finale, but with the welcome absence of a cliffhanger. It felt like a proper end that will allow the second half of the season a proper start. But still, questions. Who owns them boots? What's with the Kingdom guy and his hidden RV full of empty bottles - was he a milkman in his former life? Does everyone at the Sanctuary feel the same way about the situation as Michonne's hostage does, and if so, does that mean rebellion may be fomenting (or easily fomented)? And did Michonne end up killing her? Doesn't seem her style, but a few things I've read seem to assume that. Also, when did Father Gabriel become one of the best characters on the show? Didn't see that coming...

I hope that the pacing in the second half is a lot better than in the first half. I am concerned, though, that it might fall into the same trap of knowing where they want to get to in episode sixteen, but not really being sure of how to get there and just wandering around aimlessly for the seven episodes beforehand. There is a bit to do - unite Alexandria and Hilltop, establish contact with the Kingdom, convince Ezekial to fight, potentially bring Oceanside and their arsenal into the fold, discover who Boots is, rescue Eugene, kill Negan and his top brass, liberate the Sanctuary. But, is that enough to fill eight episodes, particularly if a bunch of them are longer than usual? Maybe. We'll see.

 

[svalbard]

A good mid season finale. Happy Spencer is gone, it was even amusing in a very dark way. Negan is even more terrifying without the beard. He is too handsome to be a bad guy. Yet he is one of the most amoral characters I have seen on the small screen.

I loved the final scenes where the group came together to the point where I became a bit emotional myself. They just about saved the season with that episode.

 

[nixie]

The reunion yes it was very emotional, Maggie's face when she seen them coming to Hilltop and then Rick when he seen Daryl.

Going back to Rosita's attempt on Negan, probably as well it failed. If she had succeeded we would have had a bloodbath with most of the Alexandrian's dead. Those with Negan seemed to have been picked for their love violence. The majority of the saviours are likely only doing what they have to too survive, this lot looked to be sadists who get their kicks from torture and death.

 

[Judderman]

this lot looked to be sadists who get their kicks from torture and death.

Not the first time such a group has been encountered in The Walking Dead. Plenty of opportunity for such folks.

Viewing figures on US Cable dropped down to season 3 levels!

 

[ratsy]

I liked it, but it still had a little too much arrogant Neegan walking around like a rooster, but that's the point I guess. Spencer is an idiot, so there you go. One thing I will give Neegan, is he seems to have a good grasp on things. And he has a certain code of conduct he lives by. I think he thrives on being able to get a guy like Rick to bend a knee. The rest are nothing, but Rick Grimes, he knows is different, and it feeds his ego like no one else I think.

Still think Jesus as a character is way underused by the writers. If I understand him at all, he could very easily assassinate the leaders of the saviors while they slept. I mean the guy has been all of their encampment with no problem. At least steal some stuff back!

I hate seeing Daryl so desperate. I just want him to cut his hair and put a clean shirt on!

Curious to see who the big boot belonged too, and am pumped to see the downfall of the Survivors. not sure how they will pull it out, but i bet there will be a little in-fighting when it all goes downhill. Dwight may redeem himself yet.

The ending was worth it. I needed that as a fan losing hope in the show.

 

[Gnrevolution]

Still think Jesus as a character is way underused by the writers. If I understand him at all, he could very easily assassinate the leaders of the saviors while they slept. I mean the guy has been all of their encampment with no problem. At least steal some stuff back!

Did you see the mid-season opener trailer? Would answer your question above (and more!)

Wasn't that taken by this episode, whilst it was much better from the perspective of not focusing on one person for a whole hour, and while it was much better than previous episodes this season, I rather found the reunion came across to me as a bit cheesy. I did like the bits with Neegan (for a change) and those at Alexandria, I felt the Carol / Morgan scene wasn't up to much, as was the Hilltop. Daryl's escape was nothing short of a walk on easy street, and how Rosita managed to shoot Lucille was nothing short of remarkable (not in a good way though).

Hopefully now most of them are back together though it should herald a more positive direction for the next half of the season (finger's crossed).