Episode 2: The Damned
It's official. This entire season is probably only going to cover a few days of "tv time". This episode is just an extension of the same day we left last week, and we end the episode having not advanced much in time. A lot was covered in one hour in screen time, so you'll have to get your keepin' up pants on... okay that was stupid, but you get what we mean.
Our "Army" is currently fragmented into four groups... one with Tara, Jesus, and Morgan at the outpost Team Family originally attacked (the event that sparked AbraGlenngate), one at the medical facility outpost (where Carol and Ezekiel were last seen diving for cover from a grenade), one where Rick and Daryl are looking for an arsenal, and one where Aaron is helping lead an attack on another new (to us) outpost. Flipping back & forth between all these story lines can be a bit confusing, but we'd rather do it this way than not check in with one or more groups for multiple episodes as has been done in the past when we had multiple "home bases" to keep up with.
Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Tara, Jesus, and Morgan successfully clear their outpost by taking a rather large group of Saviors prisoner after they surrender. The small splinter team Morgan had been clearing with was mowed down (losing two "Family Army" redshirts in the meantime), but after a fake-out death Morgan rose to his feet just in time to argue with Jesus about taking the hostages rather than killing them as their directive demands. Turns out Jesus is to be our voice of peace and understanding this season now that Morgan and Carol are both fully invested in Team Shoot-Em-In-The-Face.
Carol & Ezekial and their team clear the medical center but lose track of the one survivor who tossed the grenade, raising concerns that he will make it to another outpost to warn the Saviors that they are coming. They follow him through the woods by way of trail-o-blood, and catch up to him just as another group from The Kingdom show up with Shiva... who makes quick work of that Savior-on-the-run. Unfortunately, though, just as the episode is ending they realize the 2nd outpost has already been alerted to the impending attack.
The firefight led by Aaron gets pretty nasty. There are casualties on both sides (though only redshirts), and Eric is shot in the gut. Oh NOES! Although he was not dead when we last saw them retreating from the battle, chances of survival from that sort of wound in a post-apocalyptic world are slim. We are more than likely being set up for a farewell episode for Eric some time very soon if not next week, undoubtedly leading to much character development for Aaron.
Rick and Daryl are clearing a building but split up to do it so they are, rather stupidly, both alone. Rick ends up in a battle to the (Savior) death, before finding a sleeping babe in a crib which causes a brief existential meltdown. In one of the better twists of the last few seasons, he ends the episode at gunpoint by... wait for it... MORALES! Yes, folks, the Morales that decided to forego the trip to the CDC and disappeared in his station wagon with his family way back in Season 1 is back! Unfortunately for us, he is a changed man, a member of The Saviors and now holding Rick hostage until the reinforcements he has alerted arrive. Little bastard.
So, lots of action and lots of developments, some small some not-so-small. This episode is definitely one you need to watch twice to make sure you caught everything. Hopefully we'll get in some good "regrouping" episodes between this sort of fast-paced action, which we would assume is coming at least long enough to deal with Eric's wounds. Hold on to your butts, people! It's going to be a bumpy ride.
www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Monday, October 30, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
The Walking Dead: Season 8 Episode 1 WDF Review
Episode 1: Mercy
This episode picks up pretty much right where we left off, with the group preparing for the 2nd battle of All Out War (the first battle being in the Season 7 finale). If you were expecting this to be some sort of build up to a mass surprise attack perpetrated by Team Allies in the exciting style of the Season 7 ender resulting in a satisfying loss on Team Savior's part, you... might be half right?
In classic TWD style, the timeline was fragmented, bouncing back & forth in time to touch plot points in a planned order... but the word we're hearing on the street is that it felt somewhat disjointed and contrived with pacing that left a lot to be desired. We admit it was one of the more difficult episodes to follow; you never knew exactly what we were watching them prepare for and then when the time came, it seemed like it didn't quite have the intended impact. The amount of screen time spent funneling a horde toward The Sanctuary was excessive and overly dramatized for sure. It sort of gave you that "stuck in traffic" feeling, where you're mentally urging things forward but it wasn't progressing at the pace you hoped for, at least not at the "Premiere Episode" level. In the quest to spoon feed us just enough information to allow us to connect the dots, we were fed unnecessary fluff such as Tara's over-dramatic countdown (as if a walker horde moves at such a precise, predictable pace). Yes, there were definitely things that could have been done better, but then we're also being very picky for a television drama.
We finally see the full "Old Rick" sequence as a flash-forward several years to Rick and his family living in a peaceful, safe community. Although there was much speculation as to what this part of the Comic-Con teaser meant, it appears as though this is Rick's fantasy for his family's future and therefore his motivation for fighting. Dwight is back at The Sanctuary as a mole for Team Allies, exchanging messages with Daryl through the fence via message-in-an-arrow. Maggie is joking about being able to wage war through the second trimester. And, for once, everyone including Morgan and Carol are on board with defeating The Saviors.
At first, Gregory is paraded out by The Saviors and attempts to vow Hilltop's loyalties as allies of The Saviors, but the rest of the group is having none of it. When he tells Team Allies that anyone fighting against The Saviors will be exiled from Hilltop along with their families, Jesus and the other Hilltopians proclaim that Hilltop stands with Maggie. Thus, Gregory is officially overthrown as the ruler of Hilltop and Maggie has been crowned in his stead... though this was already understood so it was just a formality at this point.
The battle ended with the vast majority of the inhabitants of The Sanctuary safely inside though the fencing was breached to let the horde into the courtyard. Negan was stuck in an annex trailer surrounded by the horde along with Father Gabriel who was apparently not wearing his poopy pants and it may be an episode or two before we get to find out why he needed them. Team Allies quickly retreated without any losses (despite taking heavy fire, those Saviors have terrible aim), but we don't seem to have made much progress in the war past that.
At the end of the day we're just happy to be back in business, excited to see what the remainder of the season has in store. For now, this was not necessarily the edge-of-your-seat premiere we were hoping for (though some would dispute that statement), but war is messy and has to start somewhere.
www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
This episode picks up pretty much right where we left off, with the group preparing for the 2nd battle of All Out War (the first battle being in the Season 7 finale). If you were expecting this to be some sort of build up to a mass surprise attack perpetrated by Team Allies in the exciting style of the Season 7 ender resulting in a satisfying loss on Team Savior's part, you... might be half right?
In classic TWD style, the timeline was fragmented, bouncing back & forth in time to touch plot points in a planned order... but the word we're hearing on the street is that it felt somewhat disjointed and contrived with pacing that left a lot to be desired. We admit it was one of the more difficult episodes to follow; you never knew exactly what we were watching them prepare for and then when the time came, it seemed like it didn't quite have the intended impact. The amount of screen time spent funneling a horde toward The Sanctuary was excessive and overly dramatized for sure. It sort of gave you that "stuck in traffic" feeling, where you're mentally urging things forward but it wasn't progressing at the pace you hoped for, at least not at the "Premiere Episode" level. In the quest to spoon feed us just enough information to allow us to connect the dots, we were fed unnecessary fluff such as Tara's over-dramatic countdown (as if a walker horde moves at such a precise, predictable pace). Yes, there were definitely things that could have been done better, but then we're also being very picky for a television drama.
We finally see the full "Old Rick" sequence as a flash-forward several years to Rick and his family living in a peaceful, safe community. Although there was much speculation as to what this part of the Comic-Con teaser meant, it appears as though this is Rick's fantasy for his family's future and therefore his motivation for fighting. Dwight is back at The Sanctuary as a mole for Team Allies, exchanging messages with Daryl through the fence via message-in-an-arrow. Maggie is joking about being able to wage war through the second trimester. And, for once, everyone including Morgan and Carol are on board with defeating The Saviors.
At first, Gregory is paraded out by The Saviors and attempts to vow Hilltop's loyalties as allies of The Saviors, but the rest of the group is having none of it. When he tells Team Allies that anyone fighting against The Saviors will be exiled from Hilltop along with their families, Jesus and the other Hilltopians proclaim that Hilltop stands with Maggie. Thus, Gregory is officially overthrown as the ruler of Hilltop and Maggie has been crowned in his stead... though this was already understood so it was just a formality at this point.
The battle ended with the vast majority of the inhabitants of The Sanctuary safely inside though the fencing was breached to let the horde into the courtyard. Negan was stuck in an annex trailer surrounded by the horde along with Father Gabriel who was apparently not wearing his poopy pants and it may be an episode or two before we get to find out why he needed them. Team Allies quickly retreated without any losses (despite taking heavy fire, those Saviors have terrible aim), but we don't seem to have made much progress in the war past that.
At the end of the day we're just happy to be back in business, excited to see what the remainder of the season has in store. For now, this was not necessarily the edge-of-your-seat premiere we were hoping for (though some would dispute that statement), but war is messy and has to start somewhere.
www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Monday, October 16, 2017
Don't Be Late to Season Eight!
With another season of Fear the Walking Dead under our belts (one that ended with the best finale of the series so far in our opinion), we're all keyed up and ready to go for the Walking Dead premiere in just a few short days!!
We just wanted to drop a quick reminder that a full marathon starting all the way back from Season 1 Episode 1 is in full swing on AMC this week, and will be ending at 7:30pm eastern THIS SUNDAY with an extended version of the Season 7 finale just before the Season 8 premiere begins at 9. The extra content is slated to include a bonus never-before-seen scene and cast interviews! It's sure to whet your whistle for the 100th episode which just happens to land on the Season 8 premiere. It will be a normal sized episode (it is scheduled to run until 10:07, but with premieres that extra time may not be episode run time - they generally include extra commercial time), followed by a two hour Talking Dead special for the 100th episode!
We'll be live tweeting as normal under @WDFamilyDotCom and as always, the chat room here will be open for anyone who would like to come in and chat with other fans during the episode. See you there!
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
We just wanted to drop a quick reminder that a full marathon starting all the way back from Season 1 Episode 1 is in full swing on AMC this week, and will be ending at 7:30pm eastern THIS SUNDAY with an extended version of the Season 7 finale just before the Season 8 premiere begins at 9. The extra content is slated to include a bonus never-before-seen scene and cast interviews! It's sure to whet your whistle for the 100th episode which just happens to land on the Season 8 premiere. It will be a normal sized episode (it is scheduled to run until 10:07, but with premieres that extra time may not be episode run time - they generally include extra commercial time), followed by a two hour Talking Dead special for the 100th episode!
We'll be live tweeting as normal under @WDFamilyDotCom and as always, the chat room here will be open for anyone who would like to come in and chat with other fans during the episode. See you there!
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
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