This was the first episode this season I thought was well put together.

Story-wise -- this is the first time I have been angry at Carol. Rick and her friends (some of whom she does not even know are dead) are at grave risk. They saved her season after season and now she can't lift a finger when their (and maybe her) survival is at stake? I understand burn-out, but enough is enough already.

Spencer was a jack-ass and they were better off without him, but he didn't deserve to die that brutally. As to Aaron, the unnecessary brutality of Negan's men is over the top and it is surpising that a master-psychopath like Negan would tolerate them unnecessarily beating the slaves into near death or the other brutal shenanigan's the Neganites pull. His evil empire seems tio have grown beyond his ability to control it and beyond the evil-finesse he personally applies. I am so hoping that the second half of S7 is the demise of all of Negan and his followers.

 

Oh YES, I did it, I gave it a 10.

I mean DAMN. That was 90 minutes of awesome.

 

Probably my favorite episode of the season (I will be rewatching the season so hopefully it holds up), it was such a wonderful change. This whole season has been downright depressing, which don't get me wrong I have loved it, but the feeling of hope and that hit to the feels in the last couple of minutes almost choked me up. Our group is back together and Rick has found his fire again, how can I not love it?

9/10 for me.

 

It was a 9 for me. Loved it.

 

I reserve 9's and, yes, the ever elusive 10 to very, very special episodes. This one was pretty damn good in that respect - for a half season finale, no less.

I gave it an 8.

 

I think this was the most special episode we have seen this season. The plot/writing was awesome. The cutter did an excellent job and acting was incredible (just Lauren Cohen and Katelyn Nacon drag the high level a little down - but just referring to this episode).
[h=1][/h]

 

For all the gripes I have with the show and where it's going ever since they walked into Alexandria, this episode was sensational.

 

2.

The climatic sequence just didn't make sense. He KILLS Spencer for insulating that Rick should not be in command. This doesn't necessarily mean he's telling Negan to outright kill Rick. Anyway, he spares Rosita's life despite she directly trying to kill him. He just takes away Eugene despite manufacturing the bullet meant for killing him. AT LEAST a dozen Alexandrians including Rosita and Eugene should've been executed on the spot for that. Simply killing one random citizen for an assassination attempt on Negan himself wouldn't be enough to dissuade future attempts. He needs to make the consequences so brutal that nobody would ever even consider doing such a thing. Case in point of failed lesson, end of episode Rick trying to plan how to take out Negan.

I was a bit on the fence on how I felt about Negan, but this episode he really started to bore the hell out of me. His constant talking is a numbing drone now. The way he handled that assassination attempt really makes it seem like he's a moron than anything else.

I don't know about anybody else but the scene between Gabriel and Rosita was just so bad, so bad on so many levels. The dialogue, the acting. I'm still struggling to come up with why Gabriel is still on the show. He adds nothing but just another unnecessarybackground character the writers have barely bothered to flesh out.

 

That was easily a 10. One of the best episodes of the series. This was a crucial turning point, and I can't wait to see how it all gets resolved. The reunion at Hilltop was one of the most emotionally powerful moments ever in the series.

 

A solid 10 all the way. Awesome from start to finish.

 

Okay going to start my rating with a baseline number of 6 (whoa now, hold on to your funderpants (yes a [MENTION=7785]Neuropyramidal[/MENTION] reference) I am not rating the episode a 6, merely a baseline!!

+1 for the Rick and Daryl hug

+1 for the Rick and python reunion

+.5 for taking me by complete surprise with the death of Olivia, Spencer I was expecting. But damn Olivia's death completely made me gasp

-.5 for JDM shaving - simply a matter of preference but I prefer him with a bit of scruff

+1 for the Rick and Aaron swim in the lake o' walkers

+1 for the moment between Rick and Michonne. Reasons forthcoming in the praise thread

-1 for yet another Negan speech. Ad nauseum

+1 the gates of Hilltop open and there stands Rick and crew - lovely indeed

So that brings me to a 10...BUT WAIT.

All kidding aside about my love for him, I am very disappointed that Jesus did not play a more central role in this episode. Are we to suffer yet again from TPTB not utilizing a great comic character? I rarely bitch, but if this is how it transpires over the back of half of 7, I most certainly will put on my bitching hat and go to town.

So....

-2 for not utilizing the character of Jesus in this episode AT ALL!!

Brings me to a rating of 8

 

he
he's taking Eugene so he can make bullets for Negan, right now, Eugene is a very valuable commodity, who else can make bullets? As for sparing Rosita, he does like to make the defiant break and suffer by killing someone else. Now she has Olivia and Eugene and his situation to feel responsible for.
I'd give it an 8. It's been way better than what we've seen this season, and I am hoping that the bottle episodes are over for a while.

 

JDM's delivery is annoying me more with each episode. Nearly every word has a period on it. We. Are. The. Saviors. Then there's the weird body language he often uses when he speaks. He's becoming like a Zombie Apocalypse Evil Fonzie.

 

While I am not annoyed by JDM as you are this made me laugh out loud

 

I loved the episode! There was no cliffhanger as opposed to last season nor the season before. Alot the events that occurred made me feel nauseated because I'm tired of the group bring bullied and they can't do a thing about it. I didn't like our group was split up...it just became depressing. The "Aha" moment in the episode should of happened along time ago.

1. Michonne and Rick.

2. Them going to hilltop.

3. For everyone to WAKE up.

4. Daryl being set free.

What happened in this episode was a nod to how it should been since the start of the season. The scene at end reminded me of "No Sanctuary" it was a relief to see our group together and "Smiling" for the first time in forever! Can't wait for Carol and Morgan next.

I give the episode a 10!

 

I give it a 6. Good to see they finally showed us every area in a single episode. But the weight of the bottle episodes came into play a lot for me in the finale because the Kingdom felt too distant after last seeing it in Episode 2. Now suddenly Richard is ready to go to war and is depending on Morgan and Carol to help. That would have worked better with some interconnecting scenes somewhere within the mess than connected episode 2 and 8.

The shooting of Denise was silly. The suddenness of it made me laugh too. She died because Rosita is a main character who they don't want to kill yet. But unlike Daryl rushing Negan in the premiere, she actually tried to kill Negan and should not have been left alive. It was also ridiculous that Negan gave some random Savior the choice of who to kill.

We really need a time skip at the mid season break, but they added in that ridiculous scene at the end where someone jumped the fence so it would appear that's where they're going to pick up in the second half with that ridiculous scenario.

I think they're making Negan too unlikable for the general audience, but that's a hard thing for me to gauge since I read the comics and have a different Negan to compare it to.

Overall the episode was "okay" but not spectacular.

 

You would probably understand some of the decisions made on the show if you had read the comics. Not sure how familiar you are with the comics but it says you havn't read them so I'm guessing you aren't extremely familar with comic events.

In anycase that is an issue the show is running into right now. For better or worse (even if it doesn't make complete sense for the story) the show is trying to put as many comic events in as they can.

Spencer was killed in the comics in that same exact way. Rick was actually the one that tried to shoot Negan in the comic (Rosita is for the most part just a background character in the comics mainly just around to be a love interest) and they lined people up (made better sense in the comic though because Negan was going to kill someone again but Jesus and Ezekiel came and started kicking ass).

I agree Negan hasn't been handled very well this season. A lot of the decisions being made though are rooted in the events that happened in the comics. Even if it feels forced at times comic events are being shoe-horned in.

 

There are actually parts of his portrayal that I like. I enjoyed his scenes with Carl in 707. It's a mixed bag for me, but the way he talks is becoming more annoying.