Don’t open, dead outside.
I haven’t done one of these in a while. When I first started blogging, I recapped The Walking Dead every week, but I always wanted to have it up as soon as possible, and sometimes that wasn’t possible, then I got tired of trying to do it… anyway, this is a special exception.
I wanted to do this because, for months, everyone knew this would be Rick Grimes last season. I was slightly disappointed they told us which episode would be his last. I think, if it were kept a secret, there would’ve been such a big impact as it came out of nowhere, but at the same time, it brought in the views.
I’ll start it off with a quick, spoiler-free review but then get into more of a recap.
And…this is just my opinion. I know lots of people gave up the show seasons ago, some are still going strong. For me, my emotional attachment to the characters outweighed the flaws, but for others, it’s the opposite. Or both. Or neither. Whatever, moving on.
Facing the Past
At the end of the last episode, Rick falls off his horse and through a metal pipe that just happened to be behind him as a herd of Walkers gathers around him. He manages to get himself out, get back on his horse, and ride home, but during all this is bleeding out and fading in and out of consciousness.
During his dreams, he meets with some of the most important people in his life while telling them he needs to find his family. It’s a nostalgic episode as we go back to Atlanta, the hospital, and other big moments in the show.
AMC
At the same time, Maggie comes face-to-face with Negan for the first time since the end of All Out War, prepared to kill him.
To Sum It Up
I liked seeing departed characters and going back to what set the show-off. I wish it showed more, maybe going through the seasons from the camp to the farm then the prison and so on, but it just reminded us what an important character Rick is.
In the end, he wants to save his family, that’s always been his goal, and if he’s able to do just that, then he feels he’s ready to go.
*moving onto spoilers*
Maggie Faces Negan
Apparently, this was Maggie’s last episode as well (for the time being.) Since we didn’t see what happened to her, and I assume it will be addressed sometime, it’s easy to bring her back.
Indiewire
Basically, Michonne stops Maggie at first, but then gives her the keys to Negan’s cell, knowing Maggie needs to make the decision. At first, Negan mocks Maggie, pretending not to know Glenn’s name, but once Maggie gets him out of his cell, he breaks down, telling her he wants to die.
In the end, Maggie realizes it’s not worth it, that his life is worse than death, and is able to move on. It’s what her character needed, but I am going to miss little Hershel.
The Wizard of Oz
It was mentioned on The Talking Dead that the dream sequences Rick goes through mimics that of The Wizard of Oz.
First, he meets Shane in the cop car, who would be his “courage.” They talk like old times, and it really feels like old times, and Shane asks about his daughter, then he tells him to wake up. This happens after each dream sequence as the Walkers near Rick.
Next is his “heart” which is Hershel. It was bittersweet for everyone, seeing Hershel again and knowing the actor, Scott Wilson passed away.
Finally, we have Sasha and her “brain/wisdom.” Many people were confused as to why it was Sasha. Why not Glenn or Carl? Steven Yeun said he would never be back so that leaves him out and we know what happened with Chandler Riggs…but it does make sense. When Rick was trying to make the decision to sacrifice himself, Sasha would be there to tell him it’s alright since she did the same.
And then we have Michonne, who is his “home.” The last dream sequence confused a lot of people because we weren’t sure if it was real. Just when the herd is just about to get Rick, they run across the bridge and stop them…only for Rick to wake up. But, then he gets to the other end of the bridge hoping it will collapse under the weight of the herd.
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I guess they built that thing TOO well.
Just when you think a Walker has Rick, Daryl and the group come out of the bushes and save Rick. They drastically run through the forest to the other side to try to turn the herd around while Daryl hits every Walker heading for Rick.
He Found Them
I liked that, since the beginning of the show, Rick wanted to save his family. It’s always been about that, which annoyed me when Carl died because that was his reason for everything. And in the end, he was able to find and save them by shooting at a stack of dynamite that happened to be on the bridge and blowing it up, sending the herd down the stream, and he with them.
Everyone assumes Rick’s dead, Daryl cries so we all cry, and the last shot is of Jadis and her helicopter…which is what everyone wanted to see after losing Rick. However…
She Has a B
Just as the helicopter comes in Jadis finds Rick on the side of the river, still bleeding out, but alive. She tells them she has a B and says they need to help him. That he’s her friend and she saved him so she wants to return the favor.
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The helicopter flies off and Rick is fine.
Which sucks for everyone else because they think he’s dead.
And just when you think it’s over…
New People
A shot of a tree and grass growing indicates there’s another time jump, but at the moment, we don’t know how long. New people come in trying to fight off a herd, and just when you think they’re stuck, someone shoots enough down for them to get out. A child yells at them and I thought it was someone from Oceanside, for some reason.
AMC
They get into the woods and a little girl (about 9-10) is there with a little sword and gun, puts on the sheriff’s hat, and introduces herself as Judith Grimes.
Overall
If you watched The Talking Dead after this episode then you knew straight away they didn’t kill Rick off, because he’s going to have his own movies. Apparently, Andrew Lincoln didn’t want to leave the character but hated being away from his family for most of the year, so they made a compromise.
I like that Rick went out with a bang…and I like that he survived. Of course, he survived being blown up. Some say it was a cheap shot, but at the same time, I’m happy he’s alive.
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The time jump, which is like 6 years, did get me excited. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to watch after Rick left, but the previews looked good. They got me more excited than the original trailer from Comic Con.
I don’t want to talk much about the show/season as a whole and just focus on this episode. I can’t say I minded this season so far, but I kept thinking, “When is the Whisperers coming in?” I didn’t really care about the fighting between the communities since we got that all last season. I just wanted to move on and I think that is finally happening.
Quibbles and Scribbles 