I actually thought this was a great episode. I felt the tension from beginning to end. Loved the way they portrayed Rick's realization that he had finally come across someone who was just as, if not more able to lead others in this world. Unfortunate for Rick this particular leader has a far different philosophy than Rick. Yes, Rick has done his fair share of killing and no doubt this season he took it to another level. With each of Rick's kills it was to further protect his people, a preemptive strike. Whereas Negan kills for show, for dominance, for control. Yet not with any regard to any other's well being but his own. His people are merely there to serve him whereas I truly believe that Rick sees himself as there to serve his (Rick's) family. I am on a tangent....focus.

I think that while many people are upset over the cliffhanger the vast majority of fans are okay with it and dare I say a fair number actually liked it. Over the course of the last months I have seen several polls and they all seem to lean towards the majority of fans being either okay or better than okay with the ending. Yes those that did not like the ending are far more vocal than those of us who are not miffed. The squeaky wheel gets the grease so to speak.

Everyone has an opinion. And with this fandom the fans do not appear to be a meek bunch. If they (fans) do not like something they are going to voice their viewpoint. And more power to them - that just speaks to me of the level of passion that this series (comic, tv, games) encompasses. Will the tv verse lose a few viewers? Probably, but overall I think those numbers will be a drop in the proverbial bucket.

 

After giving a lot of thought I finally gave the episode a 5. I am not angry about the cliff hanger. As I said, most all shows routinely end on cliff hangers. Meh.

For me the big problem with the episode was the ineptitude of our group constantly looking for new driving routes. Once blocked. Okay try another route. But blocked a second time? Seems we should start to think there is something much larger going on here. Third block. Freak out time. These guys are everywhere. It's time to head for home and regroup, which would have been the sensible thing to do.

But noooooo. We'll try sneaking through the woods until we get caught. I understand what the show was aiming for. The ever increasing fear that the group is falling into a trap they cannot escape. That all routes led to the same dark end. And if the route back home was also blocked, then I could see the desperate last move to sneak through. But after any of these stops they had the option to go home. Which kills that sense of desperation the show was aiming for. Instead it comes across as silly, avoidable and frankly idiotic.

Sure the point was they wanted to get medical help for Maggie and took more chances to try and get her that help. There comes a point though where anyone with some intelligence should see that it just is not going to happen. Not at this time. This more than anything else really soured the episode for me.

Not to mention the irony, if I am right and Maggie gets the bat, that all this effort to get her help got her killed!