Mercy (801)

[GateWorld]

THE WALKING DEAD - SEASON EIGHT
MERCY
EPISODE NUMBER - 801

Hopefully of a better day in the future, Rick leads the assembled forces of Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom to bring the fight to Negan by attacking the Sanctuary directly.

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[cosmichobo]

[watches the tumbleweeds roll by]

So many time lines going on in that story!

The most intriguing of course being - who has Rick had to bury... And is the "future" timeline just a dream - maybe it's Karl and Michonne...?

As for the episode itself - given Negan's history to date, I found it quite tense throughout. Whilst it appeared that the "goodies" had put together a well prepared plan, it wasn't the first time things went terribly wrong for them. When Negan talked about not having the numbers, I expected something other than the Hilltop's errant father to appear and attempt to sway "his" people.

The last scene - as good as it was - left me wondering why our priest didn't simply pop a bullet in Negan... Bad for the dramatis I know.

I recently read a review that stated how bad Negan is for the show - ultimately not worthy of the build up he was given, even then with the whole season basically proving how bad he is... Not a slight on the actor per se, but just the way it's been presented, and that to move on and recover the ratings, the show needs to kill him off and move on.

Personally, I think Negan is what the show did need. If we just had another "bad guy of the season" ala The Governor, I think you're setting yourself up for repetition and boredom. Negan at least has been - in my view - far from predictable. I did state at the end of last season that I did NOT want to see the "battle" simple glossed over as I understand happened in the graphic novels... And that hasn't changed - though I do hope they wrap things up mid-season, with a change in pace when the show returns in 2018 for the second half.

[Linda06]

All the timelines, it got a little confusing at times

[cosmichobo]

Yes - I think it was a little over the top. The "speeches" timeline - being so close to the main timeline, I feel could have just been kept inline. That would I think have just left the main timeline, the Rick crying at some point in time timeline, and the Old Rick timeline...