The characters will be sorting through the aftermath of this episode for weeks to come, because once again, it takes the death of a child to wake up the leathery-tough adults to all the collateral damage their war games have wrought.Īfter tentatively bonding with Carol and Morgan over the past few episodes, a surefire sign that the boy is doomed, Henry joins Carl in the juniors section of the afterlife this week. Difficult as Carl’s death might have been, it left a bruise on Rick still present even in this episode, and the protracted nature of his pain makes it feel real. This week’s episode brings several long-percolating situations to a head, making the kind of lasting, substantive changes that a show struggling to create a sense of permanence badly needs. A related proposition is also often true: The more irritated an audience is with the setup, the more satisfying the release. But regardless of whether a viewer appreciates the buildup or just wants everyone to get to the darn fireworks factory, the climaxes in this model of storytelling must eventually create a catharsis so satisfying that it retroactively validates all the narrative heel dragging.
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THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 8 EPISODE 1 REVIEW TV
That ‘The Walking Dead’ has chosen to be a largely anticipatory TV show, building to a single climactic conflict at a slow-burn pace, has been agreeable to some and agonizing to others.
Season 8, Episode 13, ‘Do Not Send Us Astray’