#TWD100 Thoughts on the first two episodes: S8 #TheWalkingDead #TWD

A friend of mine said she thought episode one was too cheesy, and whereas I can see what she means, I kind of didn't care.... I loved Rick's Braveheart-style, motivational speech!  

Also loved the reflection of the very first episode - after the titles, the silence when Carl drove up to the overturned vehicles and got out, petrol can in hand ... he even looked under the car, just like his dad did, all those years ago.  

Blast from the past - Rick in the first ever episode, Days Gone Bye

So... where will Gregory go?  Who will have him now?  Will he head back for his Hilltop mansion, and skulk under the faded space where his painting used to be?  Justice for leaving the born-again priest to face the dead all on his own ~ not to mention facing Negan, who also found 'sanctuary' (!) in the trailer.  But why didn't Gabriel just turn round and shoot him?  Okay, I know... we're saving Negan's death for later.  Not today, not tomorrow, but some time soon, and at Rick's hand.

Really sad to see Francine die - a minor character who I've liked since she slapped Tobin in the mush in Season 5, when he left her for dead on the construction site.  And Craig and Freddie, but I'm betting that newbie gunslinger Eric will be miraculously saved.  How could they make the lovely Aaron suffer?

Evil Benjamin-shooting Jared

Not sure why Morgan didn't just kill evil Benjamin-shooting Jared straight off, as he doesn't seem to have a problem unloading his piece into everyone else in his path, but Jesus seems to have taken on the philosophies of his namesake; has he become the new Glenn, giving it "It's still who we are" in every episode?  And another observation, about Jesus, and Daryl ~ how come the chicks (Tara and Diane, and that nasty piece of work who got her neck eaten) get to tie their hair back for battle, but the guys don't?  Doesn't Daryl ever wonder why all he can see in front of him is hair?

 
And then we come to the big one: Morales!  What a brilliant surprise - until Rick said his name I was thinking, dammit, I know that face, who is it?  And that's me, who has watched the whole show an embarrassing amount of times.  Yes, he was the guy on the rooftop, when Merle was handcuffed to a pipe, who said, "Okay, Rick from down the road a ways, welcome to the big city", or words to that effect.  And to think Rick gave him a gun as a going away present!  He's a long way from Alabama, though; weren't his family going to Birmingham?

As for the rest, I'm loving Carol being back to normal, wondering if Saviour Gavin may end up being a good guy (he always seemed almost okay when he was at the Kingdom), hoping Dwighty-Boy sticks to the plan and maybe even gets forgiven by Daryl and Tara, wondering why Judith looks nothing like Lori, Rick or Shane (though she is SO gorgeous!), and if Maggie is ever going to look pregnant ... and no, I didn't think Rick was in a coma and it had all been a dream, in Bobby Ewing*-stylee ~ the flowers were different, and it was a different clock!

*for the under 45s ~ Bobby Ewing was a character in 1980s super-soap Dallas, who famously woke up at the beginning of one season, revealing that the whole of the previous one had been his wife's dream.  Yep, and we lapped it up.  Our TV expectations were much less sophisticated thirty-odd years ago.

Yes, Pam, you just dreamt the whole of the last season...