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The cast & crew are hoping the 100th episode is how The Walking Dead gets its groove back. Andrew Lincoln has called season 8 his "favorite season in a long time," a season that brings "the swagger and the mojo back," and one that's "reminiscent of seasons 1-4." This is exactly what fans want to hear after the slow, slow slog that was season 7. (The group's main mission in the second half was lớn acquire guns, and what happens in the season finale? They. Lose. Their. Guns!)&#x
A0;But it's also something we've heard before with previous seasons that never paid off that hype.
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The show's recent panel at thành phố new york Comic nhỏ became a time lớn air some of those frustrations. Moderator Chris Hardwick would ask the cast a question and, in many cases, the actors would have khổng lồ sit and smile for a bit as they'd be drowned out by fans shouting their own comments. Lennie James was musing about Morgan's hesitation khổng lồ become violent when one audience member shouted, "Just bởi it!" and before Austin Amelio could get a word in about Dwight, another tín đồ bellowed, "I hate that guy."
When we finally pick up with Rick Grimes in "Mercy," we vày get a sense that the old Rick (and the Old Man Rick) is back. He's more militarized, more brutal, & he's ready khổng lồ relinquish his command of the group once this is all done — và thank God for that because he's not exactly the best strategist. While we shouldn't start judging this season as the best yet, the opening makes one thing perfectly clear, and it's something else the cast members have been saying ad nauseam:&#x
A0;The gang is ready for war.
It's difficult, however, lớn discern when some of the moments glimpsed before the credits take place. We can figure that Rick's rousing speech lớn the troops is happening in real time. The same goes for Daryl's secret arrow relays with Dwight, và Carol and Tara tracking a herd of walkers. (Side note: Did you catch that drawing of a flower on the side of the overpass next lớn Carol? Is it, lượt thích Daryl once said of the Cherokee Rose, a sign of hope for these dark times?) The same goes for the montage of Hilltoppers assembling their armored cars, the blacksmiths forging weapons, và the assembling of all three rebel colonies before the fight.
But there are also moments lượt thích the scene of Rick standing over Glenn and Abraham's grave at the Hilltop (also likely in the present), & a quick close-up of Rick's eyes, red from crying, that flashes on screen after he và Ezekiel address their army. We get another piece of this scene further on in the episode, and we see a stained-glass panel dangling above him. He seems to be wearing the same shirt he had on at the start of the attack, so one would think this is a flash-forward to signal that their plans don't go exactly as planned.
Then there's the one that fans have been hoping to lớn decipher: Old Man Rick. We see a full-bearded Rick wake in a bed at the start of the episode và more snippets are revealed throughout the hour. It's a vision of some kind — perhaps of the future, perhaps of an alternate reality where there's peace instead of war, perhaps of a dream sequence. Whatever the case, it's of Rick limping around his home in Alexandria. Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" is playing in the background, while Michonne and Carl are playing hooky. They turned off Rick's alarm so he could sleep in. The final moments of the episode bring another extension of this scene, where we see a more grown-up Judith run khổng lồ her dad lớn say a giant owl has been built for the party. Michonne remarks that the people are "taking this festival very seriously." They walk outside khổng lồ reveal a freshly built stone house across the street as Alexandria is readying for a celebration.
It's reminiscent of a moment from issue #127 of the Walking Dead comic series. (Spoiler warning for anyone who wants to skip the remainder of this paragraph.) A time jump brings readers two years after the war with Negan, & Rick is similarly hobbling around with an injured leg. That's not to lớn say the Old Man Rick scene on the show is also a time jump because, frankly, that'd be so un-Walking Dead-like. The war with Negan hasn't even begun and a flash-forward would spoil who survives it all, whereas the powers that be have lined their pockets by letting fans dangle — sometimes lớn the point of narrative frustration.
On this scene, executive producer Scott M. Gimple said we'll know what it all means about halfway through the season.
When we snap back to lớn the present, Carl rides up to a gas station to get more fuel, but he hears a voice: a man nervously rambling about how he was shot at and needs help. It's a scene that was meant as a "shot-for-shot" remake of the very first scene on the show: Rick, also looking for gas, stumbles on a zombie child in bunny slippers. Carl finds, instead, a young Middle Eastern man hoping for at least some food. From a distance, Rick fires shots in the air to lớn scare him off, thinking he could be one of Negan's spies. Carl stands before him as the man Rick once was: sympathetic towards others, willing lớn forgive, willing lớn assist. His father, however, is more suspicious, more feral, and merciless. Maggie had mentioned in her speech khổng lồ the Hilltop that as long as they hold on to "hope" in each other, the world is theirs. But with this attitude, Carl doesn't see enough hope to go around.
(Carl's one line here, by the way, marks a long-running pet peeve of mine. "There's not gonna be enough, Dad." "Enough what?" "Hope." I hate it. Hate what? I hate it when characters assume others know what their incomplete sentences mean and are then forced to lớn explain themselves — when it would've been faster for everyone lớn just say what they mean in the first place.)
The kích hoạt picks up further as the group continues preparations for the ensuing battle. There's a list of lookouts for the Sanctuary, & they take turns taking out the men guarding them. Morgan, for one, is no longer held back by his monk philosophy. He brutally plunges his staff straight through the chest of a Savior. (Imagine how much force must've been needed to vì chưng that.)
As Father Gabriel is reminding Rick at Alexandria how this whole fight isn't just about him, Daryl rides lớn meet Carol, Tara, và Morgan on the highway, where they're waiting for the herd khổng lồ arrive và hope Tara's calculations on their movements are accurate. They are — at least, they are "good enough." Everything seems in place as Rick kisses Judith & Michonne goodbye. "This is the end of it," he tells Carl, who's left as the man in charge.
As Rick leads the convoy of cars out of Alexandria, we get a glimpse of Rosita, who's also left behind — và she's not too happy about it. She was shot in the season 7 finale, & we see a bandage on her chest. The real reason she's probably not coming is because actress&#x
A0;Christian Serratos gave birth on the first day of filming season 8. Gimple told EW she'll be back in kích hoạt "pretty soon," but prefaced "there will be a notable sort of Rosita-lessness early on."
The need for a surprise assault gives credence lớn more brutal forms of attack. Rick takes out another Sanctuary lookout by driving a blade into his gut. A walker is tied lớn a telephone pole close by, & when the Savior starts saying things like, "Your son is gonna die," Rick cuts the chain lose & allows the walker lớn feast.&#x
A0;Rick signals for the cars khổng lồ approach, và they meet up with their Hilltop và Kingdom allies in an xuất hiện field for the full Braveheart-style pep talk.
In a single shot, the camera weaves through the meet-and-greet until landing on Ezekiel, Jesus, Maggie, & Rick. While I live for those moments when the Shakespearian king proclaims, in a booming voice, "Yes, Jesus!" the more important moment comes when Rick whispers lớn Maggie how, after the war is waged, he'll be following her. This moment brings khổng lồ mind something Lincoln said, about how there's "absolutely" a possibility for The Walking Dead to continue without Rick Grimes. Not saying this will happen. It certainly doesn't this episode. But it's something to lớn consider.
Meanwhile, Team Daryl is helping to lớn lead the herd khổng lồ the Sanctuary. As the dead approach on the highway, they retreat further down the road, while the camera lingers on a nearby car. Soon it explodes, directing the walkers in their direction. It also signals Negan's Saviors, who drive out to investigate, unaware of the new trap the group is laying for them.
The cars, adorned with sheets of metal khổng lồ block bullets, ride into the Sanctuary. Rick & the troops rush out and fire into the air to get the boss khủng man's attention. Negan strolls out with his generals — Dwight, Eugene, Simon, Gavin, và Regina — and swings his bat và ego around with some trash talk. But Rick serves it right back. The generals can walk away & be guaranteed safety, but not Negan. No, Negan is going to die by Rick's hand if he has anything lớn say about it.
Negan, however, warns Rick may not have the numbers for this fight. That's when Gregory emerges because of course he went to lớn the Sanctuary. He threatens to oust any member of the Hilltop and their families from the colony if they don't stand down, but they go unheeded because, as Jesus says, "The Hilltop stands with Maggie" now. Simon, annoyed over his faulty investment, shoves Gregory off the ledge, but their attention is soon drawn khổng lồ smoke rising from the trees in the distance.
Barring the slight snag of a stray walker — which was quickly dealt with — the trap laid by Team Daryl triggered an explosion and left the Saviors out on patrol out of commission. Rick starts giving the generals a countdown to comply with his offer, but he opens fire when he gets to lớn six and the assault begins. His forces miss Negan (he leaps for cover) & the generals (they rush inside), though they shoot out all the front-facing windows of the Sanctuary. Now it's time for the next phase.
Carol hugs Daryl before going off with Morgan and Tara, leaving the crossbow-slinging renegade khổng lồ lead the walker herd on his motorcycle by setting off a series of explosions. The forces at the Sanctuary start retreating before the dead make their way to them và to make room for their final blow. An armored RV rolls towards the gate, & when it reaches, Rick presses a detonator that causes the vehicle to lớn explode, taking out the line of walkers guarding the fort.
Gabriel sees Rick firing at Negan, who has taken cover behind some debris, so he rushes back khổng lồ remind him, again, that this fight isn't about his personal vendetta. Rick rides out before the herd arrives & Gabriel is supposed khổng lồ follow when he sees Gregory pleading for help. He rushes out to lớn help, but Gregory is a coward. As soon as he sees the bullets are getting a little too close to lớn his head, he sprints off and takes the oto for himself, leaving Gabriel in the thick of the chaos.
Carl, blissfully separate from the hellfire, walks back to lớn the gas station lớn leave a "sorry" lưu ý and some canned food for the man he saw earlier, who's watching him from the bushes. Ezekiel's forces rendezvous with Carol at a meeting spot, while Daryl goes to lớn wait with Rick for Gabriel. Too much time has passed, however, và they have lớn leave him behind.
We don't have lớn wait till next episode to learn their next move, though. Morgan and Tara are planning lớn assault another Savior outpost, as Daryl & Rick invade another. Ezekiel's squad reaches an abandoned medical facility where a Savior takes cover behind a car. The man throws a grenade at a door, which has been muffling the sound of snarling walkers trapped inside. We have khổng lồ put a pin in that as the kích hoạt cuts back to lớn the Sanctuary, where Gabriel finds refuge inside a construction trailer. Though the walkers are banging on the door khổng lồ get inside, he finds he's not alone. Negan emerges from the shadows và warns the good father is about khổng lồ s— his pants.
The episode ends with a similar collection of scenes cut from various parts, as it was in the beginning. One of them shows the same Rick in front of the stained glass, uttering, "My mercy prevails over my wrath." It's a phrase from the Quran, which was mentioned earlier by the man Carl encounters at the gas station. He was nervous that Carl might think him hostile for making the Islamic reference, but now it's providing a moment of reflection for Rick in this scene.
The last is of Rick hopping down from the back of a truck during the same rallying-the-troops speech. "I don't want to wait for it anymore. You don't either," he says as if directly lớn the fans. Unlike last season, we don't have khổng lồ wonder when the war with Negan will finally come. It's here, & at least that much brings us hope as we head into the uncertain future.
We've got a spoiler miễn phí The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 1 đánh giá for you. The show celebrates its 100th episode in style!
It’s not often that a TV drama series gets khổng lồ celebrate its 100th episode, especially when the show in question has lost some momentum in the past few years. Fortunately,The Walking Dead doesn’t thua trận sight of this major milestone or of its past mistakes in its stylish season 8 premiere, which feels lượt thích a return to size for the show. It’s intense, action-packed, and heart-warming in all of the right places. Most importantly, it puts Rick Grimes back in the captain’s chair where he will hopefully stay.
It’s no secret that I wasn’t a big fan hâm mộ of season 7, especially its painfully slow & tonally miserable first half, which made me hate Negan not in a loving way but in a wholeheartedly contemptuous way. Negan, who is a fascinating juggernaut in Robert Kirkman’s comics, never clicked for me on television. It wasn’t the lack of F-bombs (the show is only allowed two “fucks” per season, the cast & crew will jokingly remind you) or Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s acting, which I’ve always been a fan of, it’s the fact that the boisterous villain comes off as a cartoon character on the small screen. He just doesn’t fit the tone of a series that has for the most part taken itself very seriously. So when Negan và the characters around him became the main focus of 7A, I lost pretty much all excitement for this show.
7B began the process of putting the focus back on Sheriff Rick và his extended family. Most importantly, the second half of the season picked up the pace, exploring multiple characters in an episode instead of slowing things down to lớn a death crawl in order lớn show us Daryl eating several dog food sandwiches.
If the back half of season 7 was about treating the wound, then the season 8 premiere is finally about healing. We have a main character in Rick again, và Andrew Lincoln is better than ever in the role. When the camera is trained on him, Lincoln can go from intimidating to loving, from remorseful khổng lồ inspiring, and the actor gets to lớn show all those facets of his character in episode 100. He’s the absolute star of the hour.
There’s a sense that showrunner Scott Gimple và director Greg Nicotero are trying to bring the show back to lớn basics.At heart, The Walking Dead has always been the story of Rick Grimes. A point is made in the show’s 100th episode lớn remind fans that none of the other characters we know và love would be a part of this story without Rick. “Mercy,” as the episode is called for a reason I won’t divulge here, feels as much a celebration of Mr. Grimes as the show itself.
Last month, Lincoln teased that the Old Man Rick bits from the SDCC trailer would become “somewhat clearer after the October premiere.” I don’t want lớn say too much about that except that the episode does begin to address the myriad questions surrounding this much older Rick, but I finished “Mercy” with the sense that this particular storyline will continue to be teased out through the rest of the season. It feels like The Walking Dead is borrowing from Lost here.
As for the other characters, virtually every thành viên of The Walking Dead family (who is still alive) makes an appearance. The episode puts most of its cast lớn work, as the combined armies of Alexandria, the Hilltop, & the Kingdom begin khổng lồ plan their attack on Negan and his forces. “Mercy” also gives us just the right amount of the bat-swinging villain, which is to say just enough for him to vì his trò chơi host bit before moving on to lớn something else.
But as much as the episode is about moving the story forward – và it does in a big way – it’s also a nostalgic look at the show’s past. There’s a particularly interesting scene with another character that plays lượt thích an homage of The Walking Dead‘s very first episode. It’s a nice cảm biến without overdoing it.
I should say at this point that I’ve loved every Walking Dead season premiere since I started reviewing this show for Den of Geek, including last year’s “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” which is the closest the series has ever come khổng lồ straight torture porn. And every year I say the same thing: if the rest of the season is as good as the premiere, then we’re in for quite the ride. That’s never really happened, as past seasons have tended to thua kém momentum a couple of episodes in. But it seems that I’m a hopeful idiot.
“Mercy” leaves me cautiously optimistic that season 8 won’t be a trainwreck lượt thích 7A, but will instead usher in a triumphant return to size for a show that captivated us all those years ago. Episode 100 is certainly a good start.
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John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek US. Find more of his work on his website. Or just follow him on Twitter.