"Hostiles and Calamities" was watched with fairly mixed expectations. Was looking forward to see some development to Dwight and a subplot revolving around him, and to see some answers explaining the truth of previous events (i.e. Who helped Daryl escape). At the same time, when you have a story that has heavy emphasis on a character that generally did not do much for you beforehand and when the episode was at a point where Negan was already starting too feel overused.
Thankfully, "Hostiles and Calamities" was a little better than expected. It is far from Season 7, mostly a disappointing season, at its worst but it also doesn't feel enough like a return to form. Did appreciate the development to both Eugene and Dwight, that answers were provided and that things continued to progress, but did also find myself reasonably mixed on both subplots (one more so on the other). "Hostiles and Calamities" is far from a calamity of an episode and not one to be too hostile towards, but it also doesn't wow me.
Dwight's subplot to me fared better though could have been fleshed out and featured more. He was always, and still is at this point, a far more interesting character than Eugene for a start, with some great well written conflict. He is well fleshed out here and Austin Amelio has a thrillingly and also movingly intense presence as the character. It is also the subplot where the most questions were answered. Having said that, it also felt on the repetitive side and like it was reiterating things we already knew or suspected.
Eugene's was just as mixed. Did appreciate that Eugene was portrayed as more than a coward and that he goes on a journey as a character and in motivation. His motivation morally also struck me as plausible. Josh McDermitt plays Eugene very well and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is menacing as Negan, who even goes as far to committ a horrific act of violence that shocked me (one would understandably think that this moment was not necessary). It does though slow the episode down pace wise, one can argue too that it slows the momentum of the season when it was starting to get somewhere, and doesn't quite progress enough. It was also not so easy to invest in it when it was heavily focused on a character that was not an interesting enough and at times extraneous one for a long time and still isn't. Which is problematic as it is the more prominent of the two, actually think it is too heavily focused on, and is not always as thrilling or as tense as it should be.
What both stories have in common is that a lot of the usual good things are done extremely well. It is stylish and atmospheric visually and hauntingly scored. The script doesn't ramble and has tautness, Negan's dialogue isn't as long winded as it tends to be and there is definitely dark tension in particularly the Dwight storyline and a sense of foreboding in the latter stages of Eugene's. All the acting is extremely good, especially from Amelio and McDermitt.
Concluding, impressive in a lot of areas but uneven. 6/10.
Thankfully, "Hostiles and Calamities" was a little better than expected. It is far from Season 7, mostly a disappointing season, at its worst but it also doesn't feel enough like a return to form. Did appreciate the development to both Eugene and Dwight, that answers were provided and that things continued to progress, but did also find myself reasonably mixed on both subplots (one more so on the other). "Hostiles and Calamities" is far from a calamity of an episode and not one to be too hostile towards, but it also doesn't wow me.
Dwight's subplot to me fared better though could have been fleshed out and featured more. He was always, and still is at this point, a far more interesting character than Eugene for a start, with some great well written conflict. He is well fleshed out here and Austin Amelio has a thrillingly and also movingly intense presence as the character. It is also the subplot where the most questions were answered. Having said that, it also felt on the repetitive side and like it was reiterating things we already knew or suspected.
Eugene's was just as mixed. Did appreciate that Eugene was portrayed as more than a coward and that he goes on a journey as a character and in motivation. His motivation morally also struck me as plausible. Josh McDermitt plays Eugene very well and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is menacing as Negan, who even goes as far to committ a horrific act of violence that shocked me (one would understandably think that this moment was not necessary). It does though slow the episode down pace wise, one can argue too that it slows the momentum of the season when it was starting to get somewhere, and doesn't quite progress enough. It was also not so easy to invest in it when it was heavily focused on a character that was not an interesting enough and at times extraneous one for a long time and still isn't. Which is problematic as it is the more prominent of the two, actually think it is too heavily focused on, and is not always as thrilling or as tense as it should be.
What both stories have in common is that a lot of the usual good things are done extremely well. It is stylish and atmospheric visually and hauntingly scored. The script doesn't ramble and has tautness, Negan's dialogue isn't as long winded as it tends to be and there is definitely dark tension in particularly the Dwight storyline and a sense of foreboding in the latter stages of Eugene's. All the acting is extremely good, especially from Amelio and McDermitt.
Concluding, impressive in a lot of areas but uneven. 6/10.
