Monday 11 December 2017

Review: HOW IT'S GOTTA BE. S8:8 #TWD mid-season finale #TheWalkingDead

Reviews:
Time For After 
The King, The Widow and Rick


What did you think?  Loved it, always love it, but I have to admit to being slightly disappointed that there was not a little more resolution.  I knew Negan wasn't going to get killed, but couldn't we have had just a little glimmer of hope?  No, it's the end of S4 and mid-season S6 all over again, when all seems lost ~ still, maybe Carol will save the day, like before... πŸ˜‰
 
'Daryl, do you think we might get to move on to some new storylines soon?'
'Yuh.  Hope so.'

What a shock, though!!!  The best bit of the whole episode was the end... not because I want Carl to die, I don't, because he's Rick's main reason for everything he does, but because it was so well done, and so unexpected.  As soon as Richonne walked towards him in the sewer, I thought, 'hang on, is it just me, or does he look sort of ill?'  Oh, but to go out via Walker bite, after all this time... hope it pleases those who complain that it's all about gunfights now: we're reminded that the Walkers are every bit as deadly as they've ever been.  That last shot, as the camera panned back... so good.


"You're going to live, Dad," said Carl earlier, as they walked along (flashback ep 1) with The Can.  Carl's been getting more profound over the last few episodes, though, so we should have known; in TWD world, saying a load of deep stuff or having some really ace lines often means you're about to snuff it.  

....or might he be the first person to be immune?  Hmm.  Oh, and nice touch, directors, having Daryl sitting in the sewer with his arm around the totally gorgeous Li'l Ass Kicker.  Daryl + kids = total winner every time.

 Never not a good time for this one....


 
Couldn't find a new pic of Daryl with her, so here's Judith with Step-Mom, instead.

Back to the fight, and we find out that wine-slurpin', pickle-eatin' toad Eugene facilitated the Negans' exodus from the Sanctuary.  Yet as he lies abed, guilt overcomes him.  Probably remembering the good ol' days when he used to spy on Abraham and Rosita shagging, and get to sit and cry when the bad people came, while other people did his fighting for him.  So he gives Dr 'erb Carson and Sweaty Gabriel a way out...

 Eugene in the library self-help section, watching Abraham and Rosita 'at it'.

The Good Old Days

So, who else thought that Simon's gang had killed Jerry?  I did.  But no, the shot was for some bloke called Neil who I'd never noticed before, and hurrah for that clever li'l cupcake Maggie who gets back at them by puttin' on a show ~ and killing one of the Saviours in the Hilltop pen.  And she has 38 more.  She walks away crying, but don't worry, Maggie; Hershel and Glenn would have been proud of you.  Never mind Big Girl's Blouse Jesus, sitting there pondering with a heavenly light on his face, during one of the 'let's have a quick look at everyone's facial expressions' interludes.

Reluctant Saviour Gavin reluctantly tries to take control of the Kingdom; unlike when Negan professes his love for Carl and Daryl, you believe that Gavin really did like Ezekiel on those days when they'd pick up the Walker-fed pigs.  Ezekiel ends his mammoth sulk and somehow manages to get all the Kingdom-ites one side of the gate while he is on the other with the Gavster and his men; I couldn't quite see how he did it, not least of all because the whole episode was so damn dark, but Carol looked a bit concerned.  Fear not, Morgan is outside, minus his stick!

Carol, a bit concerned.  Come on, girl, do your stuff.  You can save them all.  Again.

And so Alexandria burns.  Sorry, Deanna, it never did become a thriving community with commerce and all those pie-in-the-sky ideas, but who knows?  Still, a shame about all those solar panels (Negan was a bit gutted about them, too), and those eco-loos and that running water, and... ah well.  Maybe our gang can have Barrington House, when it's all over.


....but will Dwight be with them?  He should be.  I'm sure he's saved more than he's killed now, and best of all.... Daryl's got his waistcoat back! πŸŽ‰πŸŽΊ Hurrah!πŸŽΊπŸŽ‰  All he needs to do now is get his hair a little professional trim, maybe have a few layers cut in, and he'll look as hot as he did in Season 4, once again!  


So what's to come?  Do not forget the little light of hope that is the lovely Aaron, and Enid (who I can never look at without remembering her eating that turtle), who have taken the Oceansiders some whisky in the hope that they'll get pissed enough to agree to fight with them, or something.  Mind you, it wasn't a very smart move to gun down the grandmother of the key fighter.  We shall see.  Go Aaron.  Show Eric he didn't become a Walker in vain.

I mean, she could have taken the shell off, and cut it up a bit first...

To sum up ~ plenty of action, but please can we have a little bit of resolution soon?  And now we have to wait for months.... though I am sure it will be worth waiting for!  And although some of the players are, sadly, no longer with us, and perhaps we will lose a couple more, maybe one day it really will be something like this...for a while, anyway.😌



~~~😱😈😰~~~

***



For serious obsessives only: I've read several articles that claim it's only two years since the zombie outbreak, in TWD time.  Judith is proof that it's longer; further explanation follows.

Lori did not get pregnant until possibly a month after the outbreak, so Judith was born 10 months after.  She has got to be at least two and a half, I'd say, judging by how she looks.  Thus, we're around 3 and a half years in. 
Also:
1st summer: Outbreak.
1st winter/spring: After the farm, when they were on the run, between S2 & S3; in S3, Andrea mentions having spent 8 months in the woods with Michonne.
2nd summer: At the prison/Woodbury: S3
2nd winter: A whole winter/spring between S3 and S4, during which time they grew a whole load of food, built barns, etc, took in loads of new people, etc.
3rd summer: Fall of prison after return of Governor
3rd winter: On the road/Terminus, before Alexandria.  When Rick, Michonne and Carl are attacked by the Claimed gang, it's clearly autumn/winter.
4th Spring/summer: At Alexandria.
4th autumn: First appearance of Saviours.  This has lasted approx 3 months, as Maggie mentioned being in her 2nd trimester (though you wouldn't know it), and she was pregnant a few weeks before it all started to kick off.

8 comments:

  1. Wow....πŸ˜₯πŸ˜₯πŸ˜₯πŸ˜₯Carl.
    Great write Terry. Now there are only 4...ugh. Thought he got bit in that episode. Let's see Rick go nuts now.
    Liked Began/Rick fight.
    Darryl got his wings back. Great episode. Time for Eugine to go, I hope. Abraham would've been so disappointed.
    Great time table on Judith's age.
    Also, nice to see Maggie back in the game. Great write Terry!

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    1. Yes.... I think Rick will be a lot more devastated than he was even about Lori's death! And I agree with Dylan, below, that Maggie will become a major player :)

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  2. O M G!!!!!!! Just watched it on catch up after avoiding social media (and your post) until after I'd seen it. Gutted!! I even said 'wow, Carl should be a motivational speaker when he grows up' - I should have known! I literally hid behind my hands when that dude jumped out at Michonne but then she sorted him out, phew! Too many thoughts to process, too many emotions, but SO glad Daryl's got his angel wings back x

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    1. Yes... me too with Michonne.... but the main thing is that Daryl's got his waistcoat back. All is well with the world! x

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  3. Sad to say this episode was a let down for me after last week and even hubby, a die hard TWD fan has said he doesn't think he'll be watching when it returns. The Negan storyline has been going on too long and all the missed opportunities in this week's episode had me shouting at my TV.

    Come the zombie apocalypse I want to be far, far away from Rick Grimes!

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    1. Hubby cannot be a true believer then ;) ;D

      I still love Rick, but yes.... we need an end to the Negan thing now. I just want them to be doing something DIFFERENT!

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  4. Nice review of the episode, Terry, and man do you have some time on your hands to work all that out about Judith. I’ll get to the minor points soon, but my take on the big event of this, the best episode of season 8 so far …

    Carl has been bitten and he is going to die. The Twitterverse is in tears of mourning over this turn of events but I’m totally okay with it—that is, in regards to the show killing off a huge fan favourite character that has been there since the beginning. The way this season has been floundering and losing ratings, a death of this magnitude is EXACTLY what we need. My problem is that they got the wrong guy. That kid was the future of The Walking Dead: he was going to take over from Rick and lead this bunch of survivors onto bigger and better things. Carl’s character is still alive, well, and kicking serious arse in the comics, and the creators have now just disposed of an opportunity to take this show on a new and exciting path. Boo on them.

    It’s great this character is dying by way of walker bite (I’m with you here, Terry, the zombies need to be more deadly than they have been of late), but I think it’s lame as hell that Carl gets bitten while doing “the right thing” for some guy we neither know nor care about. For all Carl has given us over the course of seven and a half seasons he should have gone down in a blaze of glory; rescuing Judith, or Michonne, or saving his father’s tired arse.

    But for now, our gang’s future rests in the capable hands of Maggie. Loved her scenes in this episode, and she might have to step up and take over because Rick may well become a burned out mess with the death of his son. And I’m liking Negan more and more—not as in going over to his side and routing for him—but just because of his dialogue, wit, and mannerisms. Perhaps the most entertaining character on the show right now.

    Oh, and I don’t mind waiting until February for episode 9 … because Vikings is back.

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    1. Yes, I'm looking forward to watching it for a second time, think I will like it more, though I reckon ep 7 still rates as the best of the half-season. Get what you mean re Carl being bitten doing something we don't give a shit about. I think the future of the group might actually be with Maggie... and her son (of course, it will be a boy!). And let us not forget Carol. The women seem to have their heads screwed on far better, generally; with men it's so much about ego.

      You're right, Negan's a brilliant character, as is Simon. Y'know, I always used to think that Rick was a bit of a twat, etc, but when I started watching it all over again (and over...), I found I liked him more and had more respect for him. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't have had the prison, for instance. He makes mistakes, yes; but Alexandria would have been ravaged by the Wolves and the quarry Walkers, anyway, and, if not, discovered by the Saviours long ago.

      Thanks for your long and interesting comment! As for me working out the timeline, just call me a TWD obsessive. Proud to be so, ha ha!

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