Despite my hatred for splitting the group up, as the writers have done ad nauseam, I got to give credit to the writer of this episode for giving some life back to the show. Normally, the writers do this for the purpose of stalling the plot, which got annoying after season 6; however, I was genuinely surprised on how much was done in 42 minutes of show. Whether it be Morgan going on a killing spree, or Rick meeting an old friend (aka Morales), I felt that the episode had a nice mix of slower moments, particularly with Carol and Ezekiel, to more action-packed sequences, as with Aaron and Morgan. I can only hope that this is a sign of even greater things to come moving forward - though I wonder, how did Rick and the gang get so much ammunition? No matter.. I am happy to see this one-up - no ten-up the season premiere, and I am hoping the writers take the misfires of season 6 and 7 as a lesson that their beloved fans want quality over quality, and that our loyalty to the show cannot be bought with mediocrity. In short, this was definitely a step in the right direction, and I hope (begging) that Gimple and his associates don't screw it up in the end. Overall, I give it a 9/10, which has become increasingly rare since the end of season 5.
Review of The Damned
