The Walking Dead Season 8, Episode 13 Review: ‘Do Not Send Us Astray’

(Photo Credit: AMC)

The Walking Dead

Season 8, Episode 13

By Garrett Yoshitomi

For the past several weeks, The Walking Dead has been building up to a pivotal face-off between the Saviors and the Hilltop. Season eight, episode thirteen, “Do Not Send Us Astray” delivers on this build-up, as it features the Simon-led Saviors finally launching their counterattack against Maggie and the rest of the Hilltop. “Do Not Send Us Astray” is first and foremost, an action-centric episode, delivering some of the best action of the season, so far. However, this episode also provides strong narrative value, advancing crucial plot points by tying them in with the natural course of its main action sequence, the battle between the Saviors and the Hilltop. Granted, some of these plot points do end up feeling contrived; but overall, the consequences of this conflict end up advancing the story in an organic and satisfying way.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

The highlight of "Do Not Send Us Astray" is undoubtedly the opening battle between the Hilltop and the Saviors. Despite my fears from last week that we might be subjected to several scenes of Maggie and Simon grandstanding before any of the real fighting begins, this episode throws us right into the action, pretty much from the get go. What follows is an enjoyable combination of sequences that are consistently compelling and easy to follow. We get a nice, mini Game of Thrones-esque longshot sequence with Rick mowing down a wave of Saviors. And, the terrible lighting and visibility issues that plagued the night action scenes in the midseason finale, are noticeably absent. In a way, it's almost more fun to root for our heroes when they're defending their own turf, rather than when they're the ones playing the role of aggressor, like during their assault on the Sanctuary at the beginning of the season. Either way, these action scenes are a thrill to watch, and despite things initially looking favorable for the Hilltop, the Saviors manage to get in their licks, and are able to come across as competent and menacing villains.

The Saviors owe a big part of their comeback to their successful implementation of biological warfare. Two episodes ago, Negan announced to his troops that they’d be using weapons dipped in walker guts to terrorize the Hilltop. And, while it seemed like his main goal was psychological intimidation, the Saviors ended up taking out a decent chuck of the Hilltop’s forces, when the Hilltop’s fighters were wounded by contaminated Savior weaponry, and then later reanimated as walkers. The Saviors’ weaponization of walker innards is one of the major plot points that this episode needs to revisit, and it does so by smoothly integrating it into the fallout of the larger, initial battle sequence.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

At no point during the battle are we repeatedly hit over the head with the fact that the Saviors are wounding people with tainted weapons. There are no instances of the Saviors making heavy handed references to the gnarly state of their arrows and knives, nor is there anyone from Rick’s group who supernaturally susses out the hidden danger they are facing. Nope, instead, events and actions unfold as they naturally would- the fighting wages on, and it’s only later that this twist is fully revealed. It isn’t the most surprising moment ever, but less than careful viewers can still come away shocked, mirroring the state of fright that the sleeping Hilltop-ians find themselves in. There are legitimate criticisms to be made regarding the “realism” of this sequence, but I am willing to overlook them because a) it’s a fictional show about zombies, and b) the scenes we get do a very solid job of making walkers seem dangerous again, something that’s been missing from The Walking Dead for a long time.

Another plot point that “Do Not Send Us Astray” needs to touch on is the issue of Dwight’s current allegiance. After turning against the Saviors in the midseason finale, Dwight finds himself (reluctantly) right back with his former crew, alongside Simon during the Hilltop fight. Just like the contaminated weapons subplot, Dwight’s storyline is organically folded into the battle, resulting in an entertaining scene between Simon and Dwight, and Daryl and Tara. Some may be disappointed with how quickly and resolutely Tara seems to have changed her mind on Dwight. And, I’ll admit, it is incredibly lazy writing for her to so completely shift her opinion in such a short amount of time. However, if having Tara in Dwight’s corner makes Daryl oppose him, then I’m all for it. This season is much more interesting if Daryl is the one who mistrusts Dwight, rather than the “just kind of there” Tara.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

As successful as this episode is at sewing together different plot points into its main action sequence, it does come up short in one hard to overlook way. It’s been no secret that at the end of season eight, Morgan will be departing The Walking Dead to join its spin-off series, Fear the Walking Dead. With the end of the season just three weeks away, Morgan’s arc needs to start moving fast if the show is going to give him a satisfying send-off. This week’s episode gives Morgan a new storyline to venture down, but it revolves primarily around Henry, the latest in The Walking Dead’s long-line of useless, insufferable, kind of creepy, children. There’s really no defense for the absurdity of the Henry subplot, other than that the writers need something for Morgan to do. However, we’ve already seen Morgan deal with the loss of a son, both biological and surrogate, and while I appreciate the symmetry to his overall character arc, I can’t help but wish we could see him do something different before leaving the show forever.

The Walking Dead Season 8, Episode 12 Review: ‘The Key’

(Photo Credit: AMC)

The Walking Dead

Season 8, Episode 12

By Garrett Yoshitomi

With five weeks to go until the season eight finale, we’re entering a stretch of episodes that tends to stagnate whenever The Walking Dead reaches the back-half of its seasons. However, it’s possible that season eight could buck this trend, as the start of 8B has been surprisingly strong in terms of episodic quality. “The Key,” while still relatively enjoyable, is classic Walking Dead filler, with about 5 minutes of action on either side of forty minutes of very little forward plot movement. However, the actual content of this episode does a decent job in masking this, as we get an entertaining (albeit, somewhat contrived) showdown between Rick and Negan, as well as a compelling introduction to a mysterious new group of characters. It’s not a great episode, but it does enough to hold your attention, which is saying a lot for where we are at this point in the season.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

The main storyline this week is the face-off between Rick and Negan. It’s a fun pairing for the show to further explore, and Andrew Lincoln and Jeffrey Dean Morgan have a solid level of chemistry that deserves to be displayed more than it has been this season. There’s a bit more complexity to Rick’s relationship with Negan, than we’ve seen with other antagonists. It’s more than just, “you’re clearly the bad guy, I’m clearly the good guy, so let’s fight.” Instead, there’s a prism of respect through which Negan’s hatred of Rick filters, and the two share a tangible, though strange, personal connection through Carl. With all that said, the Negan and Rick dialogue, in this episode, never really escalates past monologue-y banter, and the real strength of their scenes comes from the interspersed action sequences. The majority of their car chase scene could be seen in clips and previews from last week, and we don’t even get to see the most exciting part of this chase, as it takes place off camera. But, all of the closing action that we get is great, and the use of walkers, as well as Negan’s signature weapon, Lucille, is quite unique.

Since his menacing introduction in the infamous season six finale, Simon has been built up as one of the Saviors’ top dogs, as well as Negan’s most trusted lieutenant. However, we’ve seen friction develop between Simon and Negan, in recent episodes, and things are starting to come to a head much faster than most plot points, in The Walking Dead, tend to develop. It’s a relief that we’re getting to see this conflict play out swiftly, yet methodically. It’d be easy to imagine a scenario where the writers quickly introduce, and then completely drop, the Simon v. Negan plotline, only to revisit it later by condensing their entire feud into the B-plot of the penultimate episode of the season. But this way, there’s a natural feeling of escalation in Simon’s eventual betrayal of Negan. And, while it’s fairly obvious how things will end, I’m interested to see exactly how things play out between Negan and his former right-hand man.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

The most memorable development from this episode, and the one with the most long-term narrative impact, is the introduction of a brand-new character, Georgie. Georgie’s fresh and clean-cut demeanor is certainly unique compared to the typical revolving door of grimy, apocalypse-hardened chuckleheads that The Walking Dead usually presents us with. However, her mysterious form of initial contact with the group, is largely reminiscent of Aaron back in season five. In both instances, fans were kept on their toes, as they tried to suss out the true intentions of these two seemingly well-meaning, yet slightly “off” newcomers. In Aaron’s case, it didn’t help that his appearance was coming off the back of the group’s run-in with the initially friendly, later cannibalistic, folks of Terminus. Plus, even though he’s been dead since season three, Merle Dixon’s age-old adage of: “The stranger with his mitts in his pockets is the son of a bitch you’d really want to be scared of,” still rings true within The Walking Dead to this day.

It seems like a lot of fans are convinced of Georgie’s intentions (warning: MAJOR SPOILERS) based on her similarities to a future comic book character. I’m not entirely convinced, though, that that’s where this character is heading. It would be awfully early to introduce this particular storyline, and for the most part, the writers have stuck relatively close to the comics, in terms of unfolding new characters and plots. Regardless, Georgie, along with her traveling companions, Hilda and Midge, represent a nice tonal change to the show, and I think their introduction is very well done. For the past several seasons, we’ve met a variety of different communities, ranging from the regal Kingdom to the downright bizarre Scavengers. And, while it’s always interesting to get a first look at these sprawling communities, I really enjoy the more intimate introduction we get to see, this week, between Maggie and Georgie’s groups.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

Overall, “The Key” is a solid episode that manages to be entertaining, despite its filler-y nature. If the writers can manage to strike this balance with more of The Walking Dead’s filler episodes, it will mean a lot for the show’s future prospects, because as of right now, the middle stretches of these eight-episode half-seasons have a tendency to drag. It’s certainly possible, though, that things start to languish next week, and even if the episode itself is decent, it would be hard to forgive the lead-up to the Saviors’ counterattack against the Hilltop getting stretched out by another week. However, from what I can tell based off of the preview (which, granted isn’t always reliable), it looks like we will get an actual firefight next week, rather than just Simon and Maggie threatening each other through walkie-talkies.

The Walking Dead Season 8, Episode 11 Review: ‘Dead or Alive Or’

(Photo Credit: AMC)

The Walking Dead

Season 8, Episode 11

By Garrett Yoshitomi

It’s been about three months since we last saw Father Gabriel during the midseason finale. And, while it’s hard to jump back into his current situation after such a long layoff, Gabriel’s storyline in “Dead or Alive Or” is relatively self-contained, and still enjoyable, even if you don’t remember exactly what it is he’s doing, why he looks like he’s dying, or who the random guy he’s travelling with is. To answer these questions: Gabriel has just escaped from the Sanctuary, and is en route to the Hilltop. He looks like he’s dying because…well, he is. If you’ll remember, back in the fifth episode of the season, Gabriel and Negan covered themselves in walker guts, in order to sneak past the herd surrounding the Sanctuary. The next time we see Gabriel, he appears deathly ill, and we’re meant to believe that it’s because of the intimate contact he made with the contaminated walker insides.

And that random guy he’s travelling with? Why, that’s no ordinary random guy! No, it’s a Walking Dead minor character, random guy- with a first name, a last name, and even a few lines of a generic backstory! This man is none other than Harlon Carson, kidnapped doctor for the Saviors, and Walking Dead plot device. His only real purpose on this show, along with his brother, who was also a doctor, (No, seriously. There are two Carson brothers on this show, and they’re both doctors.) is to play the role of resident physician, there to nurse people back to health, whenever the plot calls for it. However, in his swan song episode, Dr. Carson gets to provide a new function-  the catalyst for Father Gabriel’s upcoming crisis of faith.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

Arguably the character, other than Carol, who’s evolved the most since their introduction, Gabriel stands out amongst a cast of jaded, pragmatic survivors because of his continued devotion t0 God. And, even though Gabriel spent a good portion of seasons five and six as a sniveling, self-righteous detractor of the group’s necessary, though grisly, survival methods; he’s since turned into a willing and capable fighter, and a trusted member of the group. Gabriel’s faith is played up quite a bit in this episode- more than it has been in a while. It’s charming at first but gets old once everything that can break his way, does. But, Gabriel and Dr. Carson’s good fortune is eventually spoiled by the Saviors, and it will be interesting to see how Gabriel responds. It’s clear that his faith is shaken, as his insistence on following certain “signs” is ultimately what leads to Dr. Carson’s death. At the very least, he’s in a prime spot for redemption, though, as he’s currently smack dab in the middle of the Savior’s bullet manufacturing operation. The potential Gabriel-Eugene character pairing is intriguing, as well, as they are both two formerly useless characters, who can be quite influential, given the right circumstances.

It’s easy to hate on Tara because of how extreme, and unreasonable, her mistrust of Dwight is. If she were to actually kill Dwight that would be one thing, but to constantly talk about it, and then do nothing, comes across as whiny and hollow, which doesn’t help her character in the likeability department- something that she’s sorely lacking. Besides, Dwight seems earnest in his allegiance to the group, or at the very least, in his hatred for Negan. He seems like a good bet to stay safe for now, no matter how much Tara waves her gun in his face. So, what’s the point of having Tara raise a huge fuss about Dwight, if the writers aren’t going to ultimately allow her to act on these feelings?

(Photo Credit: AMC)

Simply put, Tara’s role, in this episode, is to serve as a foil to Daryl and Rosita. She provides resistance and a sense of dramatic tension, when it comes to their decision to keep Dwight in the fold. We’ve seen this kind of storytelling mechanic in The Walking Dead before, mainly whenever a character abruptly speaks out against killing, after never having had an issue with it before. However, even if it’s a common practice, it’s never fun watching a character act somewhat irrationally and argue with other characters, who they could just as easily agree with, just for the sake of having them argue with someone.

With all that said, I really didn’t mind Tara that much, this week. Yes, I do think her attitude towards Dwight is over the top, but at least she’s getting some kind of story arc thrown her way this season. Believe it or not, with so much recent character turnover, Tara is now one of the longest recurring characters in The Walking Dead. Only Rick, Carol, Daryl, Maggie, and Michonne were introduced before her. (Technically, Morgan should be included on that list, but he was only around for an episode each in season one and three, before disappearing until three sporadic appearances in season five.) However, despite this longevity, it really doesn’t feel like Tara’s…done much in the four years since she’s been on the show. Clearly giving her more exposure, in the form of her solo episode, “Swear,” back in season seven, did her character development no good. But, maybe this new arc, in which she transforms from staunchly anti-Dwight, to someone willing to work with the former Savior lieutenant, will give Tara’s character the kind of complexity that will allow her to play a bigger role in the storylines to come.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

If there’s one major thing that I took away from this episode, it’s that I really miss the days when our protagonists were all together in one, solid group. I’m talking about back in season five, when the Rick Grimes crew was on the run from Terminus, and had to travel constantly, with only their wits and some meager supplies. I’m not going to be entirely revisionist by saying that season five was any better than the current season. There were some major problems with season five, including the god-awful Beth-hospital arc. But, I think what season five did really well was build a genuine sense of friendship within the group- a feeling that these characters would truly do anything for each other.

And, while there hasn’t been anything recently to really negate that feeling- it’s still pretty obvious that these characters care about each other- we only really see it in pairs or small groups. When we finally get a reunion with a significant portion of the cast, like we do this week at the Hilltop, the interactions between these longtime travel companions doesn’t feel like the surrogate family it used to, and that’s unfortunate because as their world has expanded, and the stakes have been raised, we should always be able to contextualize these dangers within the very real relationships and feelings shared between these characters.

The Walking Dead Season 8, Episode 10 Review: ‘The Lost and the Plunderers’

(Photo Credit: AMC)

The Walking Dead

Season 8, Episode 10

By Garrett Yoshitomi

We interrupt your Oscar viewing party to bring you the latest episode of season eight of The Walking Dead, “The Lost and the Plunderers.” And, while it’s hard to turn down a four-hour, black tie tribute to the Hollywood elite; and the slight feeling of personal gratification you’ll get if one of the movies that you’ve actually seen manages to win Best Picture, I can assure you that there’s no shame in sinking into yet another episode of mindless zombie killing, and people shouting into walkie-talkies. Because even if a typical hour of The Walking Dead contains the same number of over-rehearsed, emotionally overwrought speeches as the Academy Awards, at least you won’t have to lie to your film buff friends that you “heard a lot of good things about the foreign film nominees in a podcast last week,” or that you even pretend to know what the difference between sound editing and sound mixing is.

No, The Walking Dead takes you for who you are- that same loyal, possibly Norman Reedus-obsessed fan, who's stood by the show for the past eight years. Every Sunday at 9/8 central, from October-December, and February-April, you've been there to witness The Walking Dead's lowest lows, as well as its brief and sporadic highs. And so, while it may never win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama, there is something kind of charming and unpretentious about sticking with a show because of its unapologetic lack of complexity, or because the (very) faint possibility of it transforming into a show worthy of Oscar-like praise is actually fun to root for. Occasionally, though, The Walking Dead rewards our patience and loyalty with a surprisingly solid hour of television, like this week's "The Lost and the Plunderers."

(Photo Credit: AMC)

A reference to the once prominent sign hanging outside the front gates of Alexandria, "The Lost and the Plunderers" excels in its relative simplicity. There's no poorly executed attempt at the creative use of nonlinear storytelling, or the extravagant, drawn out death of a well-liked main character. Instead, this week's episode provides neatly focused storylines on major characters, like Rick and Michonne, as well as seldom explored supporting characters, like Simon and Jadis. It's in the exploration of these secondary characters that "The Lost and the Plunderers" shines.

The main question that this episode raises, is whether or not Negan's fear-based leadership actually works. In the short-term, the looming threat of a barbwire-covered baseball bat is definitely one of the more effective ways to persuade people into doing what you want. But, as history has shown (both in real life, and within The Walking Dead) people rarely take kindly to iron-fisted rule. In the early going of the zombie apocalypse, Negan's promises of protection were probably incredibly valuable to the weaker individuals and smaller groups of survivors, who had trouble fending off walkers, on their own. Based on the Negan-centric episodes from the first half of season eight, it's clear that while he may run a tight (and violent) ship, Negan’s people genuinely appreciate his leadership and continued ability to keep them safe.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

But, cracks are starting to take hold within Negan's formerly well-oiled machine. Rick's vive la résistance is the most obvious threat to his power, but it’s looking like a layer of internal dissension is about to settle in amongst the Saviors’ upper echelon, starting with Negan’s right-hand man, Simon. I love that we’re getting to see more of Simon, particularly his disagreement with Negan over how they should handle the Hilltop. Out of the two, Simon is the one, who somewhat surprisingly, takes the low road, arguing that they should completely wipe out the Hilltop for killing and capturing his men from the satellite outpost. Negan, meanwhile, stands by his “people are a resource” mantra, and wants to bring the Hilltop back into the fold, believing that once they kill Rick, everything else is “aces.”

This unyielding loyalty that Simon shows to his captured men, even when it means disagreeing with a direct order from Negan, adds an interesting human element to the character that’s been missing from the characterization of the rest of the Savior lieutenants. Will Simon actually turn on Negan, though? My guess is probably not since the show has already built up Dwight as the double agent, and Simon defecting would detract from this character development a little bit. But, if Simon were to Rise Upä against Negan, it would certainly be a lot more explosive, and arguably more exciting, than Dwight’s covert betrayal. While Dwight is just one person, Simon has, what appears to be, the healthy loyalty of the group he took to clear out the Scavengers, as well as his men being held at the Hilltop. If Simon were to defect, and bring all of his troops with him, that would certainly make the rest of this season more interesting, especially if his group ends up as a de facto third faction, creating chaos for both Negan and Rick. Simon doesn’t have a comic book counterpart, so his fate isn’t written in stone. And, while you could say that this makes him expendable, it’s not uncommon for seemingly minor, show-only characters to gain steam and take on a life of their own, like Daryl and Sasha.

(Photo Credit: AMC)

At long last, the ridiculous garbage pail kids subplot can be brought to a merciful close. It truly feels like this episode is setting up Jadis and co. with yet another opportunity to be recruited and trusted by Rick or Negan, despite looking like, quite literally, the shadiest characters that have ever been on The Walking Dead. It's pretty baffling that Rick and Negan continue to insist on going back to the Scavengers, even after Jadis reneged on deals with both of them. Rick, especially, has no reason to trust them after they turned tail during the attack on the Sanctuary, in the midseason finale. Besides, the Scavengers live in a literal trash dump. If that's not the clearest sign that they should probably just be left alone, I don't know what is.

For all their shortcomings as fully fleshed out characters, the Scavengers had the potential to be a pretty interesting player in the All Out War story arc. An oddball community of survivors, who in their isolation, reverted back to a more primitive, tribal state, are the type of unique characters that The Walking Dead should be exploring. However, the writers fumbled in their execution, instead giving us a silly, uninspiring group of characters, whose strangeness borders on outright parody. Alas, the Scavengers have seemingly come to an unceremonious, though enjoyable to watch, end. There were “whispers” of a larger role in store for Jadis, though, it seems like those (warning: major spoiler alert!) rumors have been officially debunked. However, even if she isn’t destined for a grander role, Jadis is clearly still going to have some effect on the rest of the season. And, considering she’s the best thing to come out of the whole Scavengers subplot, I have some hope that what remains of her storyline will be, at the very least, entertaining.