For those waiting with bated breath for my ratings decisions I went with 8!

 

I'm giving it a 6 which includes 3 points specifically for Gabe:

"Your friend Rick's an asshole."
"You're an asshole."
"What I fear is a fruitless death. What I ask for, after you have given me so much, is purpose."

Gabe believes there was a reason he he saved Gregory- while he thinks it was to hear Negan's confession, could he be faking his illness in order to escape and take Dr. Carson with him?

Negan's obsession with dicks got old his very first appearance in season 6. He can just stop now.

Enough with Negan's faux redemption tour- Rick got Glenn and Abraham killed? Seriously? Enslaving his people is 'economy'? His wives all made a choice?

Just stop.

Rick and Daryl's fight was ridiculous and was staged simply to remind us for the 100th time that the overarching theme of 8a is vengeance vs. mercy. Boy, Gimple really is slow building Rick's eventual sparing of Negan's life, isn't he?

The non-Negan Sanctuary stuff was fine except for the ridiculous allegiance the workers have to Negan. Has he brainwashed them?? I have no idea why they would 'thank god' for that asshole.

Oh and one more thing- Negan's backstory was lame as shit in the comics and it's even more lame on TV.

 

Oops I rated it an 8 right after the show aired and forgot to come back to explain "the because."

I don't really know why I knocked a point or two off - I maybe should have given it a 9 because the only real frustration I had was with the exploding truck and losing those guns while Rick & Daryl rolled around in the dirt.

I think most people already mentioned the highlights - i'm glad they showed us the lead-up to Rick's arrival with the hillbilly armor. I loved Dwight & Eugene's interactions, both verbal & nonverbal. Fingers crossed that they'll be working together. Of course Father Gabriel absolutely killed it this episode. He was so ballsy this episode, not only asking for Negan's confession but also calling him an asshole AND taking a shot at him. The more subdued Negan was a welcome change of pace. I don't feel like he has redeemed himself at all with the story about his wife. Everyone has lost loved ones, and his confession was about his own weakness as opposed to something he really feels guilty for.

One thing I'm glad they touched on in this episode was the dynamic among the saviors at the sanctuary when they thought Negan may have been dead. Simon and Regina especially weren't about to let there be an uprising of the workers. It just goes to show that killing Negan would NOT have been a quick & easy fix like some people seem to believe.

 

I give it a 9. This was the best episode of the season so far.

I really enjoyed the Gabe/Negan scenes. I am still laughing about the punch.

And Xander Berkeley and Steven Ogg both kill it in their roles.

Loved watching Eugene slowly come to realize what Dwight is doing.

And WTF with Gabe? God I hope his time is not at an end.

 

Honestly not half bad, btu wtf is Rick up to?

 

I give it a 6.

It was nice Gabriel and Negan got to have a serious chat, but to me it exposed how poorly the creative team is with writing dialogue.

Rick and Daryl having a bit of a tussle was nice to finally see. I think it's been ridiculous how little in-fighting ever happens with Team Rick.

Big down spot for me was the way the workers worshipped Negan. What in the hell for? He offers them protection and a relatively comfortable life in a ZA setting. But nobody else wonders if things could be better with a different leader in charge? The show hasn't done much to SHOW how he is supposed to be a good leader, his smarts or his organizational skills. The workers bow down to how great he is and the viewer is supposed to just shrug and accept it? If the show put in the effort to relay his leadership abilities and vision, that would create some actual believeability and complexity to the situation. Plus it'll be a lot better than the usual filler that is boring everybody out.

If you take the show SERIOUS, like it always takes itself, I think it's really hard to accept how such a guy like Negan can retain such a loyal following. He is clearly psychotic and unhinged, and with his juvenile potty mouth he better damn well be good at everything else and I don't get that sense at all.

 

One word. Weak. Daryl and rick fighting? Negan not bashing someones head in? I don't even especially remember what happened and I watched it 4 days ago.... Blander then rice cakes. (and ive been watching since day 1, i post on the message board, clearly im a fan. But this sh*ts weak.)

 

I gave it an 8.
I rella loved the dynamic between Negan and Gabriel and it was great to finally see some weak moments in Negans character, especially when he finally confessed.
Theinsight into theSanctuary was nice too. It really looks likes they are only holding together because of Negan.
Eugene and Dwight were great too. I will never like Dwight, he is still a snivelling asshole in my book, but his scenes with Eugene were great.

I kind of hated the fight between Rick and Daryl - it was a bit forced. They've been through so much, but now they fight? I agree with theperson who said, that should have come after Merles death, but not now.
The episode would have been a nine apart from the fight

 

It seems obvious to me that they are trying to force some tension among the members of the group. So, yeah, it looks forced because it IS forced. there was an interview with Tara and Paul on TD after the episode in which they argued over whether or not to kill a person who was trying to to kill them. The way the actor who plays Paul spoke about it, he didn't think it made sense, either.

I've been trying to ignore the fight between Rick and Daryl precisely for that reason. It didn't make sense. Daryl spent half of last year listening to Easy Street while eating dog food naked, courtesy of the Saviors. Naturally he wants to kill them all. And it's an ugly truth about war, but that's what war is. If you aren't willing to kill, you shouldn't be there. Period.

The only interesting thing about Negan's confession was that he had no regrets over the way he treated his wife, only the way she died. Other than that, I could do without seeing him ever again in my life.

I've developed a lot of regard for Dwight. I never thought that possible so kudos to the actor who plays him. I seriously root for him to succeed.

And, I'm really worried about my mullet man. I am. I never blamed him for joining Negan. He took the path of least resistance. That's his life's theme, after all. And he had no reason to believe the group would try to rescue him; they didn't try to get Daryl, after all.

His situation actually does have natural, not forced, tension. Why should he protect Dwight? Negan promised him he'd never have to be afraid again. What has Dwight done for him?

And another thing I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. Dwight is seriously out of the loop. Negan has been looking at him side eyed (and leaned back) since the first attack, when Sasha died. He is so far out of favor that he didn't know the big guns had been moved. That's a pretty big thing to keep from one's right-hand man. So, while he may think he's safe, he isn't. Therefore, if Eugene doesn't rat him out, Negan may become even more suspicious about him than he already is. Telling on Dwight could help smooth over any lingering doubts Negan may still have about how Sasha's death. And Eugene is VERY interested in self survival.

Also, there's this. Rick said any of them could come over to his side, and that included Eugene. But, would he really be welcome? Rosita already doesn't like him.