The Walking Dead returns on Sunday to kick off the second half of its eighth season and the monster hit has already been renewed for a ninth. Boy, were we ever.
– I liked the fact that after all this time, Carl is still reflecting on random decisions he made in the heat of the moment, years earlier. It was very fitting that Siddiq (Avi Nash), the man who Carl rescued, told Carl that he would spend his life honoring Carl’s mission.
One by one, everyone has their moment with the dying Carl, even Saddiq, who we find out is a doctor.
I’ve never actually seen the show This Is Us, but I follow enough people on Twitter who love it to know that it’s basically sadness porn seemingly created to wring tears from the eyes of anyone who happens to stop the dial on the channel.
As Carl hinted to Judith, he tried to show his father the way. He remembered the words his mother spoke to him as she was dying – “You’re going to beat this world” – and passed them along to his sister.
One fan said: “I’ll say it again Gimple you f***** it up!”
And then there’s the Barbara Walters-filtered version of the future with Old Man Rick. Via his somber deathbed pleas, Carl urged Rick to suppress his hate and go back to being a merciful man.
“He knew that they were going to have to bury him anyways and that was definitely going to suck, but he figured that was the least he could do to help out”. Sobbing doesn’t quite describe the emotions.
This episode’s dream sequence ends with a new, disturbing inclusion: the last person older Judith greets, smiling and gardening among the Alexandrians, is none other than a plaid-wearing Negan himself. Jerry (Cooper Andrews) is there, as is Eugene (Josh McDermitt). This is what Carl hopes for the future. Carl’s character changes stem directly from his dad’s character changes. It’s hard to say, as Rick usually has plenty of reasons to look incredibly sad. Rest in peace, Coral. Michonne and Rick bury Carl as the episode comes to a close with Carl’s vision ending on a reformed Negan living among Rick’s people, while back in the real world, Rick lies bleeding under a tree.
After Ezekiel failed to get bad guy Gavin to switch sides, Carol and Morgan rolled in – guns’ a blazing – and blew everyone away. I want to see that little girl in Rick’s sheriff hat, sooner rather than later. Carol and Ezekiel tried to talk Morgan out of killing him, before little Henry came out of nowhere to do the deed instead. What you did then, how you stopped fighting, was right. We’ve all killed to survive…we’ve hurt so many who wanted to do us harm.
Rick’s response: “I will make it real Carl, I promise”. Negan. Could it happen? That brief moment aggressively reminded us there aren’t as many demons populating the Saviors as it appears. Watching Rick try to keep it together is gut-wrenching. Oh god, is this what we have to worry about now? You’ve got to understand the relationships Carl had with all these people, and how each one will react to his death’. Carl having a last heart-to-heart with Michonne (“You’re my best friend, Michonne”) …