“The Walking Dead” Still Going Strong After 100 Episodes

The long awaited 100th episode and Season 8 premiere of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” aired last Sunday at 9:00pm Pacific Standard time. The show picks up shortly after last year’s hopeful conclusion, where The Hilltop, Kingdom, and Alexandria, finally joined forces to fight against Negan’s army of Saviors. WARNING, spoilers ahead!

The episode features an attack on Negan’s base, the Sanctuary, by the newfound alliance of Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom. The main plot of the episode revolves around the long awaited confrontation between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as the fighting commences. However, there were a few other subplots, such as the herd of walkers guided by Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Carls’ confrontation with a mystery person at a gas station. Overall, the episode took some time to build up to the climax of the confrontation, but by the middle, the pacing sped up and the action grew exciting: a step in the right direction from the mostly sluggish pacing of Season 7.

One of the common complaints of Season 7 was that the show divided the survivors into too many groups, creating several subplots, distorting the focus and taking time from the main story. The premiere, however, united the groups, and even though there were mini teams with different tasks, all of the plots converged by the end of the episode. The episode also kept a more hopeful tone, which was a very refreshing change from last season’s constant negativity. As always, the acting was all around solid, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan stealing the show as the charismatic villain, Negan.

However, the episode still had a few problems that must be addressed in the coming episodes. To start, the episode was constantly jumping around different periods of time, which was meant to keep things interesting, but ended up making the episode choppy and somewhat confusing. As the 100th episode of “The Walking Dead,” fans were hoping for a epic story with exhilarating action and a memorable conclusion. However, the episode moreso took time to set up what is to come, leaving many disappointed. In the end, the episode is still a strong start to the new season, and a step in the right direction for the series.

There are still a lot of questions that remain to be answered this season. First off, who is the man that Carl meets at the gas station? Secondly, what will happen to Gabriel and Negan, who end the episode trapped inside the Sanctuary? And lastly, what is the significance of the sequences featuring Old Man Rick?

Although the man at the gas station might become a recurring character, it seems more like his purpose was to illustrate that the group is still righteous. While Rick did not take the chance to help him, Carl showed mercy and provided him much-needed food at the end of the episode.

As for Gabriel and Negan, tensions are high because not only are they members of two opposing groups, but also surrounded by the herd of walkers. It is unlikely that the show would kill off Negan so early in the season, so it seems like the duo will have to work together to make it out alive. Still, things could go down a completely different path.

For the Old Man Rick sequences, many believe it was a dream sequence, while others theorize that it is a scene from the future. Both of these seem equally likely, so it is hard to predict at this point. One thing is for sure, though: this is not the last we will see of Old Man Rick. These sequences will likely be a common appearance this season, and their meaning should become clear as time goes on. The next episode airs Sunday, October 29th, and 9:00pm Pacific Standard time; hopefully it will shed some light to these questions.