Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 8, Ep 2)

Episode 2: The Damned

Now that is a title I can get behind. Let us begin!

Welcome back to Camp Negan! Everyone looks so severe here. Their business as usual is broken up by Rick’s army who proceed to raise hell. They trap the Saviors like vermin and let their own fallen dead take them down from the inside. Smart!

Season 8 challenge: Can there be a better quote than this from Morgan, “I don’t die.”? That pretty much sums him up. And show-runners, please keep my precious, wonderful Morgan alive. Don’t force me to pull Morgan out of this program and keep him safe and protected on a shelf in my home. When Morgan is not in pacifist mode, he is a brutal beast. He’s way too good at killing people.

King Ezekiel talks, swaggers, and teaches Carol about hope. He is, in general, amazing. Carol, when are you gonna hook up with this lovely man??

This episode has lots of shooting. Bullets are flying! But again, this is war.

I have to say, I’m impressed with all the new recruits from the three allied settlements. They’re holding their own in battle! Well, all accept that one guy. He kinda loses his cool and ruins things in the Tara/Jesus Team Stealth mission. Nice going!  

Tara and Jesus disagree about what to do with surrendering Saviors. A little sibling spat I guess. Tara says Dad aka Rick will side with her, and Jesus thinks Mom/Maggie will back him. I’m with Jesus on this one. I don’t think all of Negan’s worker bees need to die. But do we have a plan for them? Some sort of POW camp until the war is over?!?

Out in the middle of nowhere, the gang finds a slimy walker unlike any they’re seen before. Foreshadowing much?

Rick and Daryl clear a building in the Savior compound. Rick finds a baby. That’s right, a baby. “Gracie” is printed on her painted walls and she has a crib and all the baby trappings. Great, Rick, you killed Gracie’s father. Maybe her whole family is gone now because of your war waging! I guess you didn’t figure these people could have families. His shock is short lived when he finds a gun in his face. Cliffhanger!

Shiva gets to kill someone!

Eric (Aaron’s husband) takes a bullet to the stomach! NOOooooo!!

NOW this episode hit me where I live. I am officially 100% dialed in and ready for what is to come. Just leave Morgan alone. And let Eric pull through.

Twitter: @LilMsMnstr
Instagram: @littlemsmonster

---

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 8, Ep 1)

Episode 1: Mercy

Hi zombie friends! I’m so excited to back in action with our intrepid heroes fighting for their freedom in the post-apocalyptic landscape! Let’s get into it!

Why not open with a rousing speech to inspire the troops? Maggie, Rick, and Ezekiel are the dream team of the new world order. And of course we get a little peek at Shiva, resident tiger. Hey, girl!

So this is interesting, we keep getting these flash-forwards of Rick and his family enjoying the good life in Alexandria. Rick has a white beard that any elder wizard would be proud of. Are these visions of the future? Or just Rick’s dreams?

Rick & The Gang have spent the off season planning and training up their troops. And planning. And more planning. Because MASSIVELY big things are in the works. They’re starting this war and bringing it to Negan. Good thing we still have charred man on the inside, Dwight! Dwight and Daryl pass battle scheme notes via firing cross bows at one another. Adorbs.

Eww, Carl really needs a new patch. This one is looking haggard. A haircut is also a good idea. A stranger at the gas station hides in fear from Carl and Rick and asks for food. He quotes from the Quran, “My Mercy prevails over my wrath.” Rick shoots at the guy (warning shots!), Carl is a grump.

The party splits up. I’d want to go with Daryl, Tara, Carol, and Morgan. AKA The Cool Kids Club. They’re working on herding large numbers of walkers toward the Sanctuary. Obviously, this is gonna take a while.

I’m sad Morgan is not a pacifist anymore. He’s sad too. We’re all sad.

An electrocuted, puffy, half melted walker is tonight’s grossly awesome find!

Rick wants to retire after the war and let Maggie take over ruling the land.  I say Long Live the Queen. Rick and Maggie take their soldiers over to Negan’s house and lure the villain out with some witty banter. Oh, Gregory is there. The disgraced former leader of The Hilltop. Rick’s side drive an RV turned BOMB into the building and start shooting. Chaos ensues!

Father Gabriel being the kindly soul he is, stops to help stupid asshole Gregory to safety. Surprising no one, Gregory betrays and leaves the pastor to hide in a storage container. Stranded, with Negan. Outside is swarming with walkers. Yikes.

But let’s not end on a negative note! Let us hear another inspiring speech!

Thoughts? Feelings? Emotional outbursts? I’m happy with this season opened. I’m not thrilled. But I like that a tone has been set. And what is up with bearded Rick and his delusions/glimpses into the future?

Twitter: @LilMsMnstr
Instagram: @littlemsmonster

---

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, Ep 16)

Episode 16: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Okay, time to stop prolonging the inevitable and get down to it. The Walking Dead is gone until October, and life is now officially hard for us fans. However, I am really happy with how things wrapped up. So let’s get down to it. First off, Negan is not dead. This makes me really happy because I am not ready to be done with this character and any plot surrounding him. He’s just too juicy to only give us one season of story! I was obviously happy with The Walking Dead before he came along, but he definitely brought a new energy into the mix that has changed things up for the better. We did have a pretty good battle at the end of this finale, and clearly the war is coming. I loved how even in the middle of this guns-blazing showdown, Negan still had time to make quips! He is truly unhinged and it’s wonderful.

It looks like Dwight is truly on the side of Rick & the Gang. He was only being “Negan” to keep his wife alive. And now that she’s escaped, he wants to kill his former Dictator. Not to mention, he’s got some pretty solid plans on how to help out. He even apologized! And admitted he wasn’t aiming for Tara’s girlfriend when HE SHOT HER THROUGH THE EYE and killed her that one time! Dwight is part of the team for now, but Daryl and Tara are probably gonna whack him before long.

In a heartbreaking flashback, we see Sasha and Abraham’s last conversation before he met with the wrong end of Lucille. Sasha had a dream that he died, and didn’t want him to go on the ill-fated mission to get pregnant Maggie to Hilltop! After some beautiful dialogue, Abraham reminded her that this is what they do as good people. They fight the good fight and are willing to die for it. ☹

How cool was it to see Carol as the new leader of King Ezekiel’s knights?! Go, girl! The Kingdom is officially in with Alexandria. The handsome monarch we all love, reminds Morgan that this is not a mission of vengeance, and to not lose all of his former peaceful, compassionate self in the process. We all know I’m obsessed with Morgan, so I’m hoping he doesn’t have another complete mental breakdown and go feral again.

Here’s where things got really fucked up. Negan and The Saviors are supposed to show up in Alexandria, and the exact reason why isn’t known to Rick/Gang. We as the audience know that he is bringing Sasha along as a bargaining chip. His mole, Gregory, has told him everything. Negan likes teaching lessons to his puppet people when they stray, so Sasha negotiates to only have one person die for the crime. More on that in a minute.

Jadis and her super cool trash people show up in Alexandria in DUMP trucks to help kill The Saviors. For a cost, remember. In an epic twist I 100% did not see coming, The Scavengers double cross the Alexandrite’s and turn their weapons on them! Jadis shrugs off the betrayal, Negan offered a better deal. I can’t even be too mad at her. She’s doing all this to keep her clan alive. They’re still a badass matriarchy and I’m here for it.

Sasha spent the ride to Alexandria in a coffin, symbolic of Rick having to choose between her and another member of the fam needing to die for his rebellion. Sasha flips the script and takes Eugene’s suicide pills on the drive over; so when Negan pops open the casket, her killer undead self shambles out and attacks! Surprise, bitches! Mayhem breaks out, Rick gets shot (he’s ok), and before you know it, Negan has Rick and Carl (haven’t seen him in a while), kneeling before him. Carl is going to die, and Rick is going to be tortured. Before Lucille can be fed, Shiva the tiger comes to the rescue!! I cheered, almost cried, to be honest. I’m a cat person, so I love it when a cat saves the damn day. Obviously The Kingdom storms in followed by Maggie leading The Hilltop! Rosita gets shot, but Tara drags her to safety because she’s awesome like that. Much firing of guns ensues. The Scavengers bust out smoke bombs and Ninja-vanish along with The Saviors. Michonne got the stuffing beat out of her by a Trash person, but it looks like she and Rosita will both pull through. The season ends with both sides addressing their troops to prep for war.

I’m sorry this was a long wrap up, but there was some serious stuff to unpack here.

Top 4 Moments of the Night:

1. Um...all of it. But let’s start with saying goodbye to Sasha. We knew it was going to happen, but it still sucked. This woman is amazing & will be missed. It was kinda awesome to see her in Walker makeup, though.
2. The Scavenger’s betrayal! Before they turned on them, Jadis asked Michonne if Rick was her man. She then announced that after the fight she would be taking him as a sexual prize. God, I love that lady.
3. Shiva the Tiger. I think she actually killed two people. Good kitty.
4. Maggie as the new leader of The Hilltop. Like, officially. It was awesome to see her standing there with Ezekiel & Rick at the end.

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, Ep 15)

Episode 15: Something They Need

WE ONLY HAVE ONE MORE EPISODE LEFT BEFORE THE FINALE! Okay, sorry, had to get that out of my system. Well, looks like they got Sasha - those bastards! So much for the one-woman suicide mission to assassinate Negan. Instead, she finds herself thrown in that same damn closet they always keep prisoners in. I guess this isn’t too shocking, since we are clearly counting down to a final battle. She can’t just cut the line and kill the monster ahead of schedule. Instead, she actually gets SAVED by Negan from the aptly named asshole, “Rapey-Dave”. Negan doesn’t allow sexual assault, (we’ve noticed before, Negan does seem to have some kind of weird honor code) so Dave has to go. Yay! Thanks, Negan! He then offers Sasha the chance to join them. He admires her “beachball-sized lady-nuts” and thinks she would make a good Savior. Of course there is a twist. A “little birdie” has alerted him that Rick is up to something, and he needs Sasha has a bargaining chip, or some nefarious fate will befall her, no doubt. Since the alternative is clearly death, she reluctantly joins. Her plan for Eugene to smuggle her a weapon to “kill herself” backfires after he gets her pills, and not a knife, to kill Negan. I wish she would just claim to be all in on joining The Saviors. Why has no one tried to infiltrate them and take them down from the inside yet??!

My money is on Gregory, the booze-soaked flailing leader of Hilltop, as that little bird tweeting to Negan. Gregory knows he’s losing his grip on the community. It gets even worse after he tries to butter-up Maggie and contemplates knifing her. Then a couple of walkers come along, and Greg is fully emasculated when the pregnant lady needs to save his ass. A group of scouts see all this. Maggie tries to help him save face by announcing he’s never had to kill one before. Apparently he’s been lying to everyone and claiming he’s a walker killer extraordinaire...yikes, that’s awkward. Maggie is so nice! She’s willing to work with this jackass and saved his life! I love her. My husband says I’m as nice as Maggie, so that makes me happy.

Tara, Rick, and the regular crew pay the women of Oceanside a visit. Tanya, their leader, isn’t happy to see them. The Alexandrite’s make it a peaceful affair and no blood is shed. They want the female community to help them fight Negan but either way, they’re taking their armory. Stupid Tanya almost ruins the whole damn thing and nearly gets Tara (and probably others) killed. Good thing her granddaughter, Cindy, is there to serve Grams a nice right hook to the face. Some water-logged walkers show up and the entire crew needs to band together to take them out. Nice teamwork, gang! Sadly, the Oceanside ladies can’t come to an agreement on whether to fight or not; so they won’t be coming along. But we can tell that Cindy and some others are happy that SOMEONE is going to battle.

Last but not least, there are a couple of surprises waiting for Team Rick when they get home. Rosita is back, and she’s got Dwight with her! That was definitely him in the shadows watching her last week. And now he claims he wants to help kill Negan. Do we dare trust him?!?

Top 4 Moments of the Night:

1. This is a Maggie two-parter. Firstly, Maggie winning friends and influencing people at Hilltop. The girl is a natural leader! And secondly, Maggie saving that idiot, Greg. (Who runs the world?!)
2. David, the would-be rapist, getting a knife right through the throat from Negan.
3. Oceanside walkers covered in moss and barnacles. SO cool.
4. The Oceanside standoff. We got a couple rather intense moments: when Tara tried to sway them, and then, once again, when Rick finally did. And it really was cool to see them all work together for a minute there to fight the mossy undead. And of course, Tara’s quote to Tanya & Cindy, “the world can belong to good people.” UGH, my heart!! She just nailed the whole reason why we need to fight The Saviors. I have a sneaking suspicion the Oceanside gals may ride in to help save the day in the end.

~ Sandra (@LilMsMnstr)

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, Ep 14)

Episode 14: The Other Side

Hilltop prepares for war! Maggie and Sasha lead the motley crew in “how-to-kill-people” drills while the community’s drunken leader, Gregory, continues to down brown liquor and sneer at everyone. Jesus opens up to Mrs. Maggie Rhee and tells her she’s made this place home for him, and also subtly drops that he’s gay. It’s not long before Negan’s #1 henchman, Simon (played by the AMAZING Steven Ogg), comes calling on ol' Greg. The sloppy bastard manages to not rat out our Alexandria crew, while Daryl and Maggie hide in the fruit cellar. When only moments before, teenage Enid was going to tell Maggie the truth about Sasha and Rosita’s plan. Meanwhile, the rogue ladies sneak out on their suicide mission to assassinate Negan. By the way, that cellar scene was intense!! Was that random Savior dude gonna find them lurking behind the potato barrels?! Or was Daryl just going to spring forward like a vengeful jack-in-the-box and knife the guy?! Luckily, neither happened.

Well, it turns out The Saviors are calling on Hilltop in order to procure their doctor since theirs is dead now. Sadly, the two docs were brothers! I’m glad that this nicer and more awesome Dr. Carter didn’t have to be there to see his sibling get shoved into a furnace. In a desperate attempt to keep their doctor, Gregory tells Simon he thinks the people will revolt against him with this new development. Clearly, Simon loathes this man, but since they’re good little workers for Negan, he actually gives Gregory a map to the compound, in case he needs help ending a mutiny...interesting.

Sasha manages to get Rosita to warm up to her (eventually) whilst on the road to Negan. Remember, Abraham left Rosita for Sasha, so there’s been some misplaced anger going on there for a while. I liked seeing the dynamic with these two capable, kick ass women. They steal cars, kill walkers, and make it look easy. Rosita has become so knowledgeable and useful after years of dating handy guys, learning & perfecting their talents as her own, and then moving on. They bond, make peace, and swear to have each other’s backs in the end.

The end comes a little sooner than expected. After not being able to get a clear, distant shot at Negan, it’s time to move in. They run into a panicked Eugene, who flees the scene, and then the shocking conclusion; Sasha tricks Rosita and locks her OUT of the gate in order to complete the mission solo. As she smiled and cried, Sasha insists that it’s not Rosita’s time to die yet and heads in. BEAUTIFUL. SELFLESS. HEARTBREAKING. I DIE INSIDE.

---

Top 4 Moments of the Night:

1. I already mentioned the cellar scene, but it really was a highlight. Not only because of the danger, but because afterwards, Maggie and Daryl cry it out together over Glen! Of course she doesn’t blame him for the death of one of his best friends! Silly Daryl, stop beating yourself up over that.
2. Simon! I’ve been a fan of the comedy/scariness he’s brought to the show for a while now. A great edition, and a great casting choice. Steven Ogg plays this character with such commitment that he is on the right side, and that he has a job to do, damn it.
3. Trust. The invisible co-title to this episode. Sasha -> Enid & Jesus, Jesus & Enid -> Maggie, Maggie -> Daryl, Rosita -> Sasha, Simon -> Gregory...are you seeing it yet?! All good relationships are built on it, and it’s how we’re going to win the war against Negan!
4. ALL THE SASHA AND ROSITA FEELS FOREVER. I know I said I was ready to say goodbye to them, because they’re off on this crazy plan, but I LIED. I love them too much! Sasha seems ready to fold her hand. She lost her wonderful brother Tyrese (one of my favorite characters EVER), then she lost her beloved boyfriend Bob (after he’d been partially cannibalized by those Terminus freaks), and then she found true love AGAIN with Abraham, and we all know how that ended. Rosita is still finding her place. And every damn character on the show has said how important she is to the group, and how much they need her. But are either Sasha or Rosita going to make it out of this season alive? Doubtful.

---