So, here's what I enjoyed...

1. Seeing Eugene bop his head to Easy Street was funny
2. Liked seeing Eugene realize what the game is when it comes to surviving Negan and the Saviors
3. Liked seeing Eugene own his intelligence
4. Eugene's scene when he told the women in the harem that they are expendable -- that was great
5. The opening when you see Negan's back and he's holding Lucille while Dwight is being beaten -- that was amazing--very intimidating.
6. The doctor trying to show compassion to Dwight
7. Dwight refusing to look at the doctor's fate
8. The murder of the doctor - I don't like that he got killed or how it happened, but the shock of it --- that really caught me off guard
9. Dwight's scene in the house when he finds Sherrie's letter
10. I liked that now I don't like Dwight (that doesn't seem to make sense, but let me explain)...I love when TWD can make you feel all kinds of feels for a character: love, loyalty, admiration, revulsion, hatred. It's the human aspect of TWD that I love best.

 

Really liked the complexity of the characters and the ambiguity of their status the depths of the psychological and moral issues for all the characters.

Is Eugene going to become a turn-coat? How is it that Eugene gets more respect and things to do at Negan's in one day than he has at all his time with Rick's crowd and Alexandria?

Will Shari get caught (as I don't really think Dwight killed her). Why did Dwight rat out the doctor -- was it because he thought the Doc helped Shari escape or because he was just looking for a way out from further punishment by Negan?

Like the undercurrent of dissent at Negan's place, but also the fear of rebellion and being turned in. Were the 2 Negan wives who were urging Eugene to produce a poison pill for the third one setting him up -- a test Negan put them up to?

 

I missed watching it. Now I feel especially bad because it sounds like it was a good episode.

 

Eugene rocks. He knows his own weaknesses well, but he knows his strengths even better. This is going to be great. The way he smiled when he turned his back at Negan after playing the scared puppy, the way he is playing Negan (and is fooling the women in order to not get them involved and punished for their involvement) -- fantastic! I can't wait to see how this is going to end. I have a bad feeling that his assassination attempt will go wrong, but at least he is trying. He has successfully infiltrated the enemy's base camp in less than a day and win Negan's trust -- who else would have been able to achieve that? Way to go, Eugene!

As for Dwight, he is still an a-hole. Sherry wrote that she believes he was the better person, but she used past tense for a reason. He could have sacrificed himself instead of having the doctor killed, but he only cares for his own survival. His only weak spot is Sherry, but that's about all that is left of him. He is Negan's puppet and a selfish jerk.

Agree with your whole list, but this statement in particular.

 

ShaneFan, HI! Wasn't trying to quote you agree with your points. Wanted to say, though, thank you for your encouragement and support and I love the video clips of Shane that are part of your postings. I so wish Shane were part of the present Season - it seems to be a season made for his character. The most recent episodes, in particular, have highlighted, have hi-lighted, in an indirect way, why Rick needed Shane.

Negan, an irredeemably evil human being, has been able to build an effective (albeit enslaved and somewhat rebellious) society which is not starving. Whereas our hero Rick has not been able to build a society that can even feed itself, much less meet the demands of the evil Negan empire. A Rick who doesn't seem to know or care where is daughter is, or whose care she is in, because he's too busy chasing guns and chasing Michonne tail. (I used to love Michonne but now I hate her for domesticating and distracting Rick). If Shane were alive, at least there would be a voice nagging Rick into better choices than those he's made.

As it is, I'm glad ASZ still holds Rick in high esteem, but one has to wonder how long that is going to last. Rick is a good military commander (most of the time), but he sucks as a leader of a society. Hence: Carol defected, Morgan defected, Eugene, although captured has had more freedom in one day with Negan to use his smarts than in one (?) year with Rick and Alexandria. Michonne's advice is compromised by her libido and love for Rick. And, why doesn't she care who (if anyone) is watching Judith, anyway. And why doesn't Rick or Michonne or anyone else anticipate that Negan will be at their doorstop, destroying and killing because of Darryl's escape? Shane would not make these mistakes.

On a totally separate point, have you ever watched Homeland, in particular the character of Peter Quinn. He so reminds me (in a totally different context) of Shane.

 

This was a really great look into the personalities and inner workings of the Sanctuary. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.

Also... I like Dwight, I just do. He's very complex and this episode shows how well TWD consistently does character development in it's own unique way.

 

@westwingnut -- It was a terrific episode. When you see it, share your thoughts with us!

@DocCovington - thank you! And I really agree with your assessment of Eugene. He really was amazing in this episode. I have to say Eugene grew on me. He knows what he has to do to survive and I'm looking forward to seeing what else happens when he's in the Sanctuary. He really is playing Negan--and usually Negan can spot that stuff a mile away as he did with Spencer. I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt him.

@Zvivor - thank you and you are very welcome! On WalkieTalkie forum, one of the members made me the Shane banner. Yes, I definitely miss Shane and wonder what he'd be like in this season. I'd love to see how he'd approach the whole Negan situation. Rick definitely needs Shane now more than ever, so I'm hoping he will at least consider the stuff Shane tried to teach him -- making hard choices, ensuring others survive.

At the same time, I wouldn't fully blame Rick on Carol and Morgan leaving the group -- Carol wanted to leave after struggling with all the killing she had done to survive. This is interesting, considering how Shane struggled after Otis' death -- it was subtle, but when he underwent his transformation, it affected him too, just as it affected Carol -- and Carol has killed more people than Shane -- and for very understandable reasons (such as with Lizzie, Terminus, the Saviors on the road, and even Tyrese's girlfriend). I haven't seen that movie, I should check it out. (Also: maybe Tobin is watching Judith). Maybe Michonne fills an emptiness that Rick has and he needs that support.

I'm intrigued by Negan's character and I find the Saviors to be sort of a cult. The members have lost their identity for the sake of survival. Act out of line and you get the iron, Lucille, or tossed into the fire.

@Expat-N-America - you're right: Dwight is very complex. The decisions he's making now, to turn in the doctor, to follow Negan even after being brutally beaten...there's definitely more to him. I don't want to dislike him, I want to empathize with him, but I felt so awful for the doctor. I agree with you that TWD has an amazing way of developing the characters. I look forward to seeing more of Dwight's story unfold.

 

Thoughts of mine about the episode I shared on another site:

Parts of this episode were excellent, and for me those excellent parts revolved around Dwight.

When the camera was focused on Negans back as he stood in the doorway while Dwight was getting the shit beat out him - well placed. Sometimes not seeing is more powerful than seeing.

Then we find Dwight in the cell. I am sure Dwight never thought he would end up back in that cell. He had become a great player in Negan's game. He knew the rules, he knew how to work a situation to his benefit and now he finds himself in the place that his victim just escaped from. That voice of Negan's, that fear inducing soft and almost whisper like tone "Dwighty boy was it you" - unnerving. And then his bangs on the door with Lucille. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is at his Negan best (IMO) when he is allowed to portray Negan as a "real" villain rather than the comic counterpart. He was chilling when talking to Dwight about Daryl not being like him, that Daryl was emotional. That Daryl was either headed home or on his way back to kill more saviors, probably himself (Negan) and Dwight. The tightness of that shot, the lighting, the cold look on JDMs face - perfection.

The first time that Eugene is to meet with Negan we catch the tail end of a conversation Negan is having with someone (off camera)in regard to finding Daryl. Negan states "we'll send Simon over to take a peak, he can sort good cop this thing first, see how far we get" I thought this was a nice touch and a clever way to tie the previous episodes to this episode, to give some fluidity.

And then we get to the scene of Dwight back at his home he shared with Sherry. I thought this was the most powerful scene of the episode. And although Dwight/Austin did not speak, his facial expressions, body language said a great deal, conveyed his emotions. My heart hurt when she wrote about how frustrated he would get knowing that he would be unable to remember the good days, the special days due to his inability to retain moments to memory. I found this to be a very sad statement because all they have left of before are their memories.

And then the part where she states that she wanted to wait for him but she couldn't because she did not know what would happen. Would he leave with her, would he bring her back to the Sanctuary or would he kill her. I cannot imagine having such deep seeded doubt in regard to someone who loves me. To doubt someone like that, that is a hard truth to acknowledge. That the person you love is so far gone, so entrenched in this world of Negan that she cannot rely on him to protect her, that he just might willingly send her to her death.

Add to that fear she also carries the burden that she blames herself for Dwight becoming the man she is afraid of, the man she doubts. "I love who you were. I'm sorry I made you into who you are". She blames herself for who Dwight is. Dwight blames himself for driving her to the point where she helps Daryl escape just so he will not have to face who he (Dwight) once was. So he will not have to see his old self in Daryl each and every day. And I think even deeper, so that Dwight would not have to watch Daryl slowly become who he (Dwight) currently is.

Suffice it to say, I liked this episode and upon my second viewing I would say that I enjoyed the hell out of this episode. I think it is also pretty clear that parts that had the biggest impact on me were the scenes that involved Dwight. Say what you will about the character, like him, hate him, confused by him - but the actor Austin Amelio is doing a damn fine job of bringing the character to life. I would even venture to say that Dwight is one of the most complex characters the show has had in a very long time, possibly as far back as Shane.

I look forward to watching (hopefully) a change in Dwight. I look forward to more of those layers being peeled back. I look forward to what the writers have concocted for us as the audience to not hate him at the end of the season. Maybe they will have us wanting him to change, maybe they will have us pulling for his redemption.

 

@Dnae -- Wow. That was beautifully written about Dwight. As much as I want to be mad at Dwight for throwing the doctor under the bus...you're right, he is such a complex character. There's so much about him -- his situation with Sherry, the way Negan builds him up only to emasculate him, his interactions with Daryl. I look forward to watching Dwight's journey to see how he ends up.