If the big moment from end of this episode turns out to actually be what it appears to be, I might have to raise my rating. As it is, I'm pretty sure it's just another fake-out like Glenn earlier this season. On the one hand that kind of annoys me, on the other it was very well executed here. As a comic reader, the show rarely stuns me. This was one of the few moments that have genuinely shocked me. Even if it does turn out to be a lame fake-out, I have to give them some credit for that. The rest of the episode is mostly setup and foreshadowing, but the pacing makes it work.
Daryl leaves to find Dwight, and Carol leaves for her own reasons. Rick and Morgan search for Carol while some others go out in search of Daryl. This makes the central focus of the episode the parallel search. It is broken up by an action scene in the middle that is wonderfully foreshadowed and executed.
There is a great development scene with Rick and Morgan. I like the idea of how they're developing Carol this half-season, but these writers don't have the chops for it. I like Melissa McBride's performance, but it doesn't quite match up with the character properly.
The episode is also packed with foreshadowing. The group are almost painfully naive about the whole Saviors thing. Rick has a monologue in this episode showing that he really doesn't understand just how much of a threat they are going to be. This season has also made a big deal of showing the group living happily. They're really setting us up for a big fall when Negan shows up. And speaking of Negan, this episode had a ton of foreshadowing as to who Negan will kill. I like the way this episode handled the foreshadowing, because it threw in some potential foreshadowing imagery for most every character in this episode, meaning that we still have no idea who will be the one despite this show's total lack of subtlety.
I really didn't know whether I liked this episode, but it grows on me the more I think on it. It was a well structured setup for the finale with a scene that I won't soon forget.
Daryl leaves to find Dwight, and Carol leaves for her own reasons. Rick and Morgan search for Carol while some others go out in search of Daryl. This makes the central focus of the episode the parallel search. It is broken up by an action scene in the middle that is wonderfully foreshadowed and executed.
There is a great development scene with Rick and Morgan. I like the idea of how they're developing Carol this half-season, but these writers don't have the chops for it. I like Melissa McBride's performance, but it doesn't quite match up with the character properly.
The episode is also packed with foreshadowing. The group are almost painfully naive about the whole Saviors thing. Rick has a monologue in this episode showing that he really doesn't understand just how much of a threat they are going to be. This season has also made a big deal of showing the group living happily. They're really setting us up for a big fall when Negan shows up. And speaking of Negan, this episode had a ton of foreshadowing as to who Negan will kill. I like the way this episode handled the foreshadowing, because it threw in some potential foreshadowing imagery for most every character in this episode, meaning that we still have no idea who will be the one despite this show's total lack of subtlety.
I really didn't know whether I liked this episode, but it grows on me the more I think on it. It was a well structured setup for the finale with a scene that I won't soon forget.