This was another slow episode, but its staggered pacing didn't detract from the quality too much.
From the beginning, we immediately get the impression that the episode will be mundane, as we're shown seemingly identical clips of the same scenes three times. This is done primarily to emphasise the habits and routines which have arisen in Alexandria; more subtly, though, I think this sequence of repetitive scenes is there to act as a foreboding prelude to the impending chaos: the calm before the storm.
Admittedly, I get rather bored with secondary characters trying to overcompensate for their mediocrity by puffing their chests and asserting themselves to our favourites - yes, I'm talking about Eugene and Denise. That being said, both have powerful roles in this episode, demonstrating that their characters have grown and they have overcome their initial weaknesses. They have both adapted to the post-apocalyptic world, and are able to not only excel in their main areas of skill (medicine for Denise and engineering - I suppose? - for Eugene), but are also able to kill where they have to in order to survive. Interestingly, one of our veteran walker slaughterers seems to no longer be able to kill in order to survive, although her (Carol's) predicament is slightly different in that she is now refusing to kill people in order to survive, not walkers - more on that later.
Daryl is filled with regret in this episode, naturally. When he's rummaging through the motorcycle early on, he tells Carol that he should have killed Dwight. Carol gets up and leaves at this point, because she knows he's right - as she later reveals when they're burying Denise - but that alone isn't enough to convince her to stay. Then when they go out on the supply run, Daryl chooses to not take the tracks, and instead goes the long way around as the last time they followed the train tracks it led them to the 'Sanctuary' which turned out to be quite the opposite and almost got them all killed. But on their way back, Daryl - regrettably - ignores his gut instinct and decides to take the tracks, and is punished once more for his decisions by having Dwight kill Denise with his own crossbow. This makes me wonder if Daryl's third (and final?) mistake will be going after Carol in next week's episode...
Before Denise died, she had a very motivational and insightful speech. She wasn't just talking nonsense trying to rationalise her behaviour, she was able to liken her actions to Daryl's and Rosita's, and even make both of them feel vulnerable in that she understood them so well. And then, mid-speech, she's shot through the face with an arrow. So, now Alexandria has no doctor and no surgeon, and they're sure to need both in the events to come.
Abraham had an amazing one-liner yet again: "You'd have better luck picking up a turd from its clean-end." He and Eugene have an amusing relationship, as they've been through thick and thin together and are diametrically opposed characters, so their dialogue is always quite entertaining.
Looking ahead to the final two episodes of this season, this week's episode makes it so much more difficult to predict how the season will end. For the previous two episodes, which focused heavily on Carol, it seemed to surely be leading her down the path of no return; however, in the preview for next week's episode, it seemed to reveal that Daryl goes after Carol, which means Daryl is putting himself in harm's way for Carol's sake. And what was it that Carol's letter said at the end of this episode? "I can't kill for anyone." This leads me to believe that we'll likely see Carol put in a position where she has to kill again in order to save someone she cares about (Daryl), and she won't be able to do it.
On the other hand, it could be that Carol simply thinks she can't kill for anyone again, but when actually put in the position to do so, she will as it's now in her nature to protect those she cares about. Thinking back to last week's episode, she was able to easily kill for Maggie when she thought her baby was threatened, thus hopefully the same will apply in future.
In the final scene of the episode, in which we hear the chair rocking and the camera zooms in on Morgan, I was expecting the camera to turn towards the porch and reveal the Wolf that Morgan couldn't kill sitting on the chair, smiling at him hauntingly. A hallucination, of course, but that's what I expected to see.
With only two episodes remaining, I expect to see the body count continue to rise. This has probably been the bloodiest season yet, and with Negan still to be fully introduced, that's certain to continue.
From the beginning, we immediately get the impression that the episode will be mundane, as we're shown seemingly identical clips of the same scenes three times. This is done primarily to emphasise the habits and routines which have arisen in Alexandria; more subtly, though, I think this sequence of repetitive scenes is there to act as a foreboding prelude to the impending chaos: the calm before the storm.
Admittedly, I get rather bored with secondary characters trying to overcompensate for their mediocrity by puffing their chests and asserting themselves to our favourites - yes, I'm talking about Eugene and Denise. That being said, both have powerful roles in this episode, demonstrating that their characters have grown and they have overcome their initial weaknesses. They have both adapted to the post-apocalyptic world, and are able to not only excel in their main areas of skill (medicine for Denise and engineering - I suppose? - for Eugene), but are also able to kill where they have to in order to survive. Interestingly, one of our veteran walker slaughterers seems to no longer be able to kill in order to survive, although her (Carol's) predicament is slightly different in that she is now refusing to kill people in order to survive, not walkers - more on that later.
Daryl is filled with regret in this episode, naturally. When he's rummaging through the motorcycle early on, he tells Carol that he should have killed Dwight. Carol gets up and leaves at this point, because she knows he's right - as she later reveals when they're burying Denise - but that alone isn't enough to convince her to stay. Then when they go out on the supply run, Daryl chooses to not take the tracks, and instead goes the long way around as the last time they followed the train tracks it led them to the 'Sanctuary' which turned out to be quite the opposite and almost got them all killed. But on their way back, Daryl - regrettably - ignores his gut instinct and decides to take the tracks, and is punished once more for his decisions by having Dwight kill Denise with his own crossbow. This makes me wonder if Daryl's third (and final?) mistake will be going after Carol in next week's episode...
Before Denise died, she had a very motivational and insightful speech. She wasn't just talking nonsense trying to rationalise her behaviour, she was able to liken her actions to Daryl's and Rosita's, and even make both of them feel vulnerable in that she understood them so well. And then, mid-speech, she's shot through the face with an arrow. So, now Alexandria has no doctor and no surgeon, and they're sure to need both in the events to come.
Abraham had an amazing one-liner yet again: "You'd have better luck picking up a turd from its clean-end." He and Eugene have an amusing relationship, as they've been through thick and thin together and are diametrically opposed characters, so their dialogue is always quite entertaining.
Looking ahead to the final two episodes of this season, this week's episode makes it so much more difficult to predict how the season will end. For the previous two episodes, which focused heavily on Carol, it seemed to surely be leading her down the path of no return; however, in the preview for next week's episode, it seemed to reveal that Daryl goes after Carol, which means Daryl is putting himself in harm's way for Carol's sake. And what was it that Carol's letter said at the end of this episode? "I can't kill for anyone." This leads me to believe that we'll likely see Carol put in a position where she has to kill again in order to save someone she cares about (Daryl), and she won't be able to do it.
On the other hand, it could be that Carol simply thinks she can't kill for anyone again, but when actually put in the position to do so, she will as it's now in her nature to protect those she cares about. Thinking back to last week's episode, she was able to easily kill for Maggie when she thought her baby was threatened, thus hopefully the same will apply in future.
In the final scene of the episode, in which we hear the chair rocking and the camera zooms in on Morgan, I was expecting the camera to turn towards the porch and reveal the Wolf that Morgan couldn't kill sitting on the chair, smiling at him hauntingly. A hallucination, of course, but that's what I expected to see.
With only two episodes remaining, I expect to see the body count continue to rise. This has probably been the bloodiest season yet, and with Negan still to be fully introduced, that's certain to continue.