'After this, I'm following YOU' ~ a few thoughts on the first half of #TheWalkingDead, Season 8

I always find that when I watch TWD episodes for the second time, I enjoy them much more.  I think this is because they are so well put together, with so many subtleties that I don't always catch the first time round.  This season is no different.  

'After this, I'm following YOU'.  You so will be, Rick....

This week I watched the last three episodes again: How It's Gotta Be, Time For After, and The King, The Widow and Rick (click titles for my reviews), and saw so many clues that Carl had been bitten that I'm surprised I was so surprised.  His face when he got up from the Walker attack, out in the wood with Sadiq, and the blood on his side.  All that profound stuff he started saying, the letters he wrote sitting in the corner of his room in Alexandria, the sad look at the JSS note from Enid.  Or perhaps it should be BSS; the rare Bob Stookey Syndrome, in which a bite does not turn a good guy into a Walker for at least 24 hours.

Then there was his seemingly reckless determination to save his friends with his own plan, the way he was staggering and limping more as he set fire to their home and, of course, his brave suggestion to Negan that if he must let Lucille have her way with one of them, that it should be him.

Then I went back and watched Episodes 1 & 2 again (it's a great way to spend a dark Wednesday afternoon!).  They were not just a mass of gun fights ~ the whole plan was so well put together.  I loved the reminders of earlier days in the first episode ~ and I don't just mean the petrol can. I'd forgotten that Carl had with him the orange backpack, once the property of the man who chased him, Rick and Michonne in S3:12 'Clear' ('Stop! I'm begging you!' ~ remember?).

The backpack was also one of the visual clues at Terminus, that made Rick realise all was not as it should be; Glenn had taken it when he escaped the destroyed prison.

Then there was the aerial shot of the trailer where Gabriel was trapped with Negan ~ an echo of S6:3: 'Thank You', when Rick got surrounded in the RV by Walkers, and when Glenn was trapped under a bin/Nicholas.  And the tank in S1:1.  Don't forget the tank.

I think that in the second half of S8 we will see the Rise of Maggie, particularly as Rick is likely to lose it, big style, if Carl really does die (and I have still not given up on him being the first immune!).  Although I was a great fan of Glenn-And-Maggie, she's never been a favourite character of mine, but I loved how she shot the Saviour without thinking twice, not allowing her frailty to show until she walked away.  She looked like the old Maggie when she cried, the farmer's daughter who fell in love with Glenn; Hershel's daughter and Beth's sister.

Then we have Michonne, Rosita, Tara and, of course, the woman who never fails to keep her head when all about them are losing theirs (or throwing their toys out of the pram, in the case of Ezekiel) ~ the ever fab Carol.  Maybe it's time for the girls to take over!

Carol, do what you did at Terminus....

RIP Francine, Andy, Eric, Danie, Freddie.... and Carl?

~~~

~~~

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... 😉
 

'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! 🎉🎺 Hurrah!🎺🎉  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.

Review: The King, The Widow and Rick #TWD S8:6 #TheWalkingDead

Reviews:
The Big Scary U
Some Guy 
Monsters 
Daryl Dixon character study 

And so they return... Rick marches/limps along the road like a wounded, worn out soldier, Daryl takes his hissy fit back to Alexandria, Aaron takes baby Gracie back to Hilltop, and the Kingdom mourn their dead.  Rick's not-quite-instant-messaging system lets them all know what's going on, and reminds them that 'our path has led us to who we are'.   If I was him I'd have been pretty pissed at being left out there all alone in Walker/Saviour/Scavenger-strewn Virginia.  Come on, Daryl, this isn't who you are.  We love you best, but we love Rick too. 

Jesus feeds The Saviours

At the Hilltop, Jesus distributes loaves and fishes (and the odd turnip) to the Saviours, while Gregory suggests the gallows might be a better solution for them.  Given that I accidentally saw a picture from the comics of Gregory hanging from one of these contraptions, I cannot help but think his words might come back to haunt him, especially when he gets shoved in with them.  Maggie's a farm girl, remember, and knows all about sheep and wolves and stuff, unlike their 'hippy-dippy, kung-fu fighting friend'.  Which is why she, especially, should be questioning how come she still has a completely flat stomach, four months into her pregnancy.

'If you fight for us, we'll teach you how to speak in complete sentences.  Deal?'

Meanwhile, back at the junkyard, Jadis is doing a spot of naked sculpture when some of her Scavengers turn up with Rick, who tells them of the Saviours' misfortune, and wants to strike a deal with them.  But he talks too much.... incidentally, has anyone else noticed that Kingdom Diane and Junkyard Tamiel are the same person?

Kingdom Diane

Junkyard Tamiel

It's great to see Michonne and Rosita back in action, albeit not at their best, as they discover yet another Saviours' hideaway, but the baddies' plans are foiled by a head on collision with Daryl and Tara in a truck, on their way to the Sanctuary to 'finish it'.  One cannot help but suspect this might not all go as smoothly as planned.  We may have seen the more human side of Negan last week, but let us not forget he is the man who beat Abraham and Glenn's heads in with a baseball bat, and laughed while he did it.  He's still a psychopath.  It's my prediction that Daryl and Tara, who have vowed to kill Dwighty-Boy between them, may themselves be saved by that very victim of Negan's iron.  

Rosita searches for stray RPGs

   

Back in the woods outside Alexandria, Carl is bored and goes off looking for Walkers to bait.  Just like old times, really, and good to see a bit of casual zombie despatching back in the series, especially for those who don't like the gun fights.  Here he comes across Siddiq, who he met in Episode 1; Carl introduces himself as 'Coral' and they say a load of profound stuff to each other, including Carl saying that his mum told him to always do what was right, even if it was the hardest thing to do.  Lori was nobody's favourite character, least of all mine, but I have to say I found her death scene from Season 3 pretty damn heartbreaking, and I cry real tears every time I see it.

Carl and his new buddy work on honouring Siddiq's mom by killing some Walkers and thus freeing their trapped souls, until it gets out of hand, but at least Carl's indestructable hat remains in place.

More echoes from the past as Carol tells Benjamin's little brother, Henry, what happens when kids play in the woods (they end up in Hershel's barn, fully Walker-fied), but Henry needs to avenge his brother's death.  Hope we get to see him kill the revolting Jared Saviour ~ it's got to be either him or Morgan, hasn't it? (btw, where IS Morgan?)  And I'm not too convinced by the Friendly Saviour, who tells Jesus he was just mindin' his own business, puttin' up a fence, when he got caught up in it all...

Later, there's a stepping up of the chemistry between Carol and Ezekiel, as he tells her that she is the only person who makes him feel real.  But what will we call them?  Cazekiel? Carekiel?  Ezekierol?  I was thinking that Carol would end up leading the Kingdom, because she does, after all, totally rock, but maybe they could be King and Queen?  Except Carol should be the King.  Ezekiel can be the drama queen.....

Cazekiel getting real

And so Aaron and Enid go back to Alexandria to fight, and Rick sits naked in a big container thing in the Junkyard.  As soon as I saw her feet, I thought, hang on a minute, Jadis is wearing Rick's boots ~ this does not bode well.

Two more to go ~ I have no more predictions but would love to hear anyone else's!

Those boots, long ago, when they still had toes....

#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...