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Posted: |
Feb 27, 2018 - 11:07 PM
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By: |
joan hue
(Member)
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Lots of SPOILERS AHEAD. DON’T READ IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE START OF THE SECOND HALF OF SEASON 8.
I did use the search engine and found discussion threads, but not our LAST one that covered our discussion of the first part of Season 8. I kept finding older ones or ones that were on the music side, so if someone wants to post our last discussion, I'll move my assessment of Sunday's episode to that thread, or we can just go on with this one.
I thought Sunday night’s episode was well done with interesting parallels. I knew the whole episode would drag out Carl’s death, wringing out every possible tear, and that was okay with me. Obviously, the zombie virus took a very long time to take Carl compared to past infected people. Call it dramatic license.
What I liked was the parallel stories of Rick learning lessons from his son about the need to stop being a mass killer. Carl wanted Rick to NOT WIPE out all of the survivors but to imagine a new world that integrated groups together. (Yeah, hated the future scene where Negan was integrated. He just needs to die.) The other story tracked Morgan who has turned (like Rick) into a killing machine with Ezekiel and Carol trying to reason with Morgan. In this story, another kid plays a part like Carl did only this kid kills a survivor which may have awakened some personal insights in Morgan. Perhaps it is children who can teach adults. We saw this in both stories.
I’m grateful that Rick was not forced to kill his own son.
I hope the rest of the season is as good as this episode was. We’ll see.
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Posted: |
Feb 28, 2018 - 9:56 PM
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By: |
MikeP
(Member)
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Lots of SPOILERS AHEAD. DON’T READ IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE START OF THE SECOND HALF OF SEASON 8.
I did use the search engine and found discussion threads, but not our LAST one that covered our discussion of the first part of Season 8. I kept finding older ones or ones that were on the music side, so if someone wants to post our last discussion, I'll move my assessment of Sunday's episode to that thread, or we can just go on with this one.
I thought Sunday night’s episode was well done with interesting parallels. I knew the whole episode would drag out Carl’s death, wringing out every possible tear, and that was okay with me. Obviously, the zombie virus took a very long time to take Carl compared to past infected people. Call it dramatic license.
What I liked was the parallel stories of Rick learning lessons from his son about the need to stop being a mass killer. Carl wanted Rick to NOT WIPE out all of the survivors but to imagine a new world that integrated groups together. (Yeah, hated the future scene where Negan was integrated. He just needs to die.) The other story tracked Morgan who has turned (like Rick) into a killing machine with Ezekiel and Carol trying to reason with Morgan. In this story, another kid plays a part like Carl did only this kid kills a survivor which may have awakened some personal insights in Morgan. Perhaps it is children who can teach adults. We saw this in both stories.
I’m grateful that Rick was not forced to kill his own son.
I hope the rest of the season is as good as this episode was. We’ll see.
Well, my reaction was not as positive as yours  . We keep watching the series because we tell each other "OK, this is going to be a good episode...they'll get back on track this time" , the wife and I want it to be good again. But Sunday's episode - for me - was one of the worst ever.
Yes, worse than when we met the Goth Mopey Hippie Clan last season 
Please keep your tongue in cheek during the following...
It seems the showrunners finally listened to the overwhelmingly negative reaction to how they fumbled Glen's last episode and were determined to not let it happen this time. However they just made it worse by trying to be so sincere and trying so so hard to wring out some tears. It isn't that they drew out Carl's death to a comical length in the end, but every time they cut back to his "really soon we promise he's gonna die" thing, it was for another badly written speech. Another IMPORTANT AND SAD moment. The low point was when Carl and Judith had their heart to heart talk...that toddler has suddenly morphed into a curly haired Shirley Temple clone with angelic lighting. Carl's speech to her...another speech..felt like forever. And is she even old enough to understand what was happening? But as Carl bravely acts , well, brave, the little moppet has turns away as her frightened crying is poorly dubbed in post-production. I'm being a little smartass yeah but that scene was just awkward beginning to end, not just the writing but the direction and editing was slack and the moment when she turns away squealing - it took me completely OUT of the moment. SO Carl is brave and decides to end his own life, we cut to outside...and hear a ridiculously soft "poof" ...I guess he had a silencer..? A loud BANG would have been proper, to drive home what just happened, to drive another nail in. But... "poof" is what we got.
And don't even get started on the ridiculous image of Morgan literally pulling a guy's guts out. It was so crazy over the top...I mean we've just watched him stab a dozen dudes, we get the idea he is no longer a pacifist... but no, we needed the someone's insides literally ripped out of their bodies. There were so many wrong creative choices made in this episode it was heartbreaking. Again a major moment was fumbled by the creative team.
And Carl's Future Happy Vision with Negan and Eugene alive and well and living with Santa Rick felt like it was written specifically to be a WTF moment for the audience, not anything that Carl or anyone from Alexandria would actually wish for. "Ok Pa, I'm a dyin', but let's bring Eugene back even though he betrayed us, oh and you know the dude you've been promising to kill for 2 seasons...but you never use any of the 563 opportunities you've had to do so, that guy who actually turned Glen and Abraham's heads into F*CKING MUSH, yeah that dude...you guys just shake hands and make up. That's my dyin' wish, Pa".
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