Okay, now that's what I'm talking about! Welcome back friends to our Season 8 coverage of The Walking Dead. It's no secret that I've felt a little indifferent to this season so far in my recaps. This episode was actually pretty darn good! That won't make my recap any longer because well, I just don't have the time. But, I enjoyed the more focused approach to this episode on a smaller number of characters. Let's discuss!
Recap
This episode focused mostly on Ezekiel and Carol and the fallout from the outpost massacre. But, a few surprises were in store along the way. Yes, it still baffles me how the main characters manage to survive situations where there's no logical reason they would while red shirts and practically red shirts just drop like flies whenever needed. But, you have to suspend disbelief a little bit when watching television.
So, we got some flashbacks to the moments prior to the Kingdommers heading off to battle. Inspiring Ezekiel was giving a speech about how they are one and they will be strong. He gave confidence to the kids and adults alike that they would be victorious. But, he was beaten down through this episode. His followers were mostly dead and reanimated and followed him the rest of the episode. There was some Jim Carrey look-a-like who dragged Ezekiel for miles talking some pointless rubbish. The basic point was that Ezekiel is a fraud, which Zeke begins to believe by the end of the episode. But applause for Jerry chopping that dude in half and still pledging allegiance to his majesty! That dude is awesome.
Meanwhile, Carol kept working on securing the guns from the saviors. She took out a good portion of the saviors camped out in that outpost and did some trickery to take out some more. But, in the end she made a decision to save Ezekiel and Jerry rather than secure the guns. No fear, because Rick and Daryl were hot in pursuit of the guns! Awesome car chase, even if a little unrealistic with the shot radiator and Daryl falling off bike yet still back in time to shoot the gunner. And it's always great watching Rick and Daryl successfully enact a plan! "We got the guns." That's right Rick! You sure did!
Ezekiel kept trying to get Jerry and Carol to leave him behind. He was injured and couldn't keep up. They got to a ravine with some sewage walkers and he told them he's a fraud and refused to go with. But Shiva had other plans. She sacrificed herself to save her king. RIP Shiva. Good save! The return to the Kingdom was a little more somber than the departure. Many left, 3 returned. Ezekiel could barely look the people in the eye as he hobbled past them. RIP Kingdommers.
Discussion Points
- Ezekiel discussed how he chooses to leap into danger to be a hero. If the world needs a hero, be the hero. This resonated with Carol as she agreed that she chose to be brave. But the world helped her come to that decision (Taking Sophia from her among other things).
- I'm sure there are more points, but how about that car chase again? Once I heard that bike in the distance, I knew what was happening and was delighted!
That's it kids, we can discuss more in the comments. But, this episode was the highlight of season 8 for me so far. More of this please! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I"ll see you next week!
9 comments:
RIP in peace Shiva - and many Kingdom red shirts who they only started showing last week and last night. But we all knew that they couldn't keep up the cost of the CGI tiger too long.
Going to read the recap now !
lol...actually some of the Kingdom people have been there since the end of season 6. The one guy rescued Morgan and Carol. Sidenote: I think the actor was following my twitter too. Might still be. He was the one that turned and started clawing away at Ezekiel first.
And the actor that plays Ezekiel talked about how they had formed close bonds with the "background artists" over the years (he didn't want to call them extras because they were committed to the story. lol).
But as for Red Shirts...yes...it was very clear that they sacrificed a bunch of red shirts and a CGI Tiger! lol
Jerry chopping that guy in half was awesome ! I've always marveled how the poeple of the Kingdom were so entraced by Ezekial. If I'd have shown up and found this place I'd have been like what the what ? LOL But yeah - for now he's given up on playing his role. The weird dude - he was just to give Ezekial some drama - and to say that Negen wants them all on the fence.
Yeah - they got guns that they can barely carry and killed the truck they were in. LOL But it's all good.
This was the highlight ? Hmm. I liked this episode but it was not as exciting or intense as the last ones have been.
Weird dude - yeah...that was his point. For the whole episode it seemed silly that he wouldn't have killed Ezekiel...but it's because Negan wants Rick, Ezekiel and Maggie for special display purposes. lol The dude was weird though!
Why do you think they cut away and don't show them transporting the guns?? lol It's all good. Rick's Jeep was just pulled over to the side of the road behind where Daryl parked. I'm sure it's fine! LOL
I thought the last 3 eps were a bit chaotic and un-centered. Like one giant action sequence with not a lot of substance. I get that things have built up for that and it was still entertaining to watch. But this mix was better TV for me. Focusing on specific characters, giving the scenes time to breathe, but still having time for a surprise car chase cameo with the A squad. Don't forget, I liked the first half of season 2! lol
Not that this means anything as the whole season is relatively rated low and it's only been a day since Sunday. but IMDB ratings:
Ep 1 Mercy - 7.2
Ep 2 The damnded - 7.2
Ep 3 Monsters - 6.8
Ep 4 Some Guy - 7.9
This basically reflects my opinions on the season so far. lol
Response to some of your comments from last week - The boots person ended up being someone from the Scavengers group. I think her name is Tamiel. And yeah, I've already seen some Heath memes haha. One had a picture of Heath with a ton of question marks that said something like "When Morales returns before you do."
Speaking of the Scavengers though, I wonder if that's where Rick is heading next? Last episode Daryl asked something about if Rick was sure he wanted to go talk to some group by himself. I guess it's either them or Oceanside. Doesn't seem too smart for Rick to go to the Scavengers by himself though haha.
I totally agree on the annoyance of the main characters always surviving the situations where smaller characters can die so easily. I kind of enjoyed the car chase, but the whole time I was thinking that it felt like the superheros came in to save the day, you know? Especially when the same guns that obliterated Ezekiel's army just bounced off Rick's truck like nothing, and happened to miss Daryl completely. I was pleasantly surprised in the beginning of the episode when they showed just how devastating those .50 cal guns are, only for them to make them seem like completely different guns later on.
It seems that the writers specifically wanted to keep Dianne (the bow and arrow Kingdom lady) alive, since they had her go with Morgan's group. There are also a few other Kingdom soldiers in that group, so not quite all of them are dead. We don't know any of the other ones though.
Yep, they will certainly save some money with Shiva gone haha. Hopefully they can use it on some other cool stuff throughout the season though. She did die at the exact same time in the comics though, so this wasn't done just for that reason thankfully. In the comics there was no Jerry and no Carol, so Ezekiel was the sole survivor of the ordeal. It was still just as sad in here though, if not more so. Khary Payton was the perfect casting for Ezekiel, he's such a great actor!
lol too funny on the Heath memes. And yes thanks on the scavengers. Duh!
Totally forgot about Daryl's comment from last week. I'm sure if Rick goes there by himself somehow the red shirts on the other side of the planet will still die because of it! lol
Exactly on the superheroes. They're just beyond killable at this point. Which is fun to an extent, but it gets rid of the life/death stakes for some characters. Yes we saw how devastating the .50 cal guns were but somehow Ezekiel survived in a field of dead kingdommers, carol vanished...jerry disappeared too and that other guy. I mean come on! lol And yes...Rick's truck was shot up and started smoking but then he was able to speed up and jump on the other truck!
Good point on the other kingdom soldiers.
I did hear that Shiva died the same way in the comics so that's cool. Payton definitely doing a great job as Ezekiel. agreed!
You are so fuuny - rating reflect how many watched - not which they like better.
I know lots found the first 3 confusing. I liked them. And yeah - too much time with just one or two key peeps gets you the weird guy and them filling air time to get to the 45 mins of aired show. LOL If it actually deepens the character then fine - but it rarely does. Let us not forget the wasted 30 mins of Beth trying to have her first drink. LOL . There was a lot we did not need to see or know in this ep - time that could have spent just catching us up on Hilltop or finding where Morgan went.
You guys are not wrong about the guns tearing up Zekes crew and not hitting Daryl or Rick - but to be fair - it is still unlikey BUT - the car shooting from was moving and the people being shot at are moving not just standing around in a field.
True enough about Shiva dying at this time in the comics. Guess it's just our snarkiness about the budget.
Ratings - no....those are IMDB "QUALITY" ratings. lol i.e. IMDB voters rate on a scale of 1-10. Definitely refers to what is liked the best. Only time I really saw it fail was with THE 100, when fans were making a statement on a social issue but really an actress was double booked and had to be written off the show. lol
fair points on focused vs. ensemble. I think you need both. it balances out. And yes there are downsides to both!
In general I think focused character episodes build the level of investment in the characters and therby the show. It makes the all out battle episodes more tense and the viewers are emotionally involved. I didn’t mind the first 3 episodes, but I just thought this one was overall put together better (minus the weird guy lol)
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