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.
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