I have to admit, as a fan of the comics and a viewer of the show, I absolutely loved this episode. I have never seen an episode of Walking Dead that is this faithful to the comics. I was expecting this episode to just be the journey to the Hilltop; a tension-filled road trip focused on questioning Jesus, much like season five's "The Distance".
That turned out to be only first third of the episode. We actually get to see the the Hilltop in this episode. We get to meet its leader. We learn some more about Negan. We get to see a deal brokered, and a hopeful ending with some foreshadowing to coming darkness.
Most Walking Dead episodes have something that really annoys me, but every line in this one filled me with joy, both for how close they were to the comics and the amazing new opportunities being opened up for the show. Much like the last episode, this is mostly setup, but it's not filler. I knew that they were blasting through this section faster than their usual pace (they spent an entire season on THE FARM), but even I wasn't expecting them to cover this much ground in this episode. It makes me wonder if they'll be introducing Negan sooner than the finale. He could really even come in as early as next episode.
All in all, this is a fantastic episode, full of intrigue, twists, and very faithful story and dialogue choices.
That turned out to be only first third of the episode. We actually get to see the the Hilltop in this episode. We get to meet its leader. We learn some more about Negan. We get to see a deal brokered, and a hopeful ending with some foreshadowing to coming darkness.
Most Walking Dead episodes have something that really annoys me, but every line in this one filled me with joy, both for how close they were to the comics and the amazing new opportunities being opened up for the show. Much like the last episode, this is mostly setup, but it's not filler. I knew that they were blasting through this section faster than their usual pace (they spent an entire season on THE FARM), but even I wasn't expecting them to cover this much ground in this episode. It makes me wonder if they'll be introducing Negan sooner than the finale. He could really even come in as early as next episode.
All in all, this is a fantastic episode, full of intrigue, twists, and very faithful story and dialogue choices.