The Positive Thread

BTW I did not bother making a complaint department thread because I thought that the few small bits here and there that MAYBE could qualify for a wee bit of pissing and moaning was not worth the waste of forum space

Needless to say that from a personal standpoint this episode was damn perfect

 

• Liked that they added flames/fire to some of the trees in the opening sequence
• Liked the flames at the bottom of the opening logo/title card
• The musical score as always - spot on
• I LOVED the opening. Thank you Angela Kang for not seeing it as necessary to spend two episodes about killing wave after wave of walkers. Thank you for giving your audience enough credit that we can digest the urgency, the fear, the exhaustion of our characters
• My heart breaks for Lydia. Sitting in that meeting, being questioned for intel; knowing that the majority in that room would welcome her demise. How awful to feel so alone in a community where you are seeing others bonded to one another. No wonder she is open to conversations with Negan. I hope that is remedied soon and we see more Lydia/Daryl moments. She is such a strong character but I want to see her give back a little of what she has been receiving
• Negan - "amped to 11" Nice shout out to Spinal Tap
• Negan and Aaron: Aaron pointing out to Negan (walkers) "3 coming". I found it interesting that his next sentence was "they're on your side". Anyone else and Aaron would have just taken it upon himself to kill them. Instead he has created an imaginary "border" line that he has set between himself and Negan. Us versus Him. A nod that Negan has still not earned his place nor has he earned the trust of Aaron. His (Negan's) ghosts still follow him.
• Meeting at the border - The way Alpha walks like a guardian/walker then seamlessly stands upright while removing her mask. It is a sight to behold. As though she is dancing. It is 2nd nature to her, moving between the two worlds.
• Alpha and Carol - Great scene. The tension between SM and MM was amazing. Both having nerves of steel, not flinching, not giving either an indication of weakness. Carol refusing to bow to Alpha. Alpha then challenging Carol with a mental game. It was perfect. Another scene from this season to be added to my all time favorite scenes
• "Screamed your name just before we took his head" - THAT shook me to my core. All this time I was going with the notion that the pike victims were killed first then decapitated. I did not want to think otherwise. But now we know that they were alive, watching as each were killed in that graphic manner. That is evil, pure evil. Look, I love SM and I love what she brings to the table as Alpha. But Carol is right, "bitch has to die". But before that happens we need more scenes between these two
• Negan sitting in the chair, just watching Aaron struggle. Very ominous, so very Negan. He enjoyed those brief seconds of seeing Aaron scared, vulnerable.

 

And isn't that how Negan should be? A bit unpredictable? At least that is how I think Negan should be. I never want to be comfortable with Negan. I want my Negan with a bit of bad boy thrown in, a hint of unpredictable behavior, a smidgen of brat for good measure