‘The Walking Dead’ – Season 8 - Sundays on AMC

I remember how I excited I was when Gimple got promoted to showrunner, and things did improve at first. But since then, it seems every season of TWD has some type of gimmick. Like the whole is Glen dead or not arc, and now on Fear The Walking Dead, Morgan is going to be on there. I'm tired of it already. I dread how FTWD's quality is going to go down.

As for Carl/Chandler Riggs, I think , they should've just replaced the actor. Killing off such an important character to the story for shock value and wanting to be different from the source is, I don't know, unnecessary. Highly disappointed by this season.

Edit: Though I wonder if that kid that was with Carol will be Carl's replacement?

So Rick's life is kind of lonely and pointless now with Carl gone

RatskyWatsky said:

Spoiler

Carl's relationship with Lydia is one of the inciting factors in the Whisperer War. Assuming the writers plan to do that storyline, that is.

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I wonder if they will give this to Einid

The dumbest part of the show is when Daryl and co. make their own little plans so Rick thinks they're all dead...

I still love tuning in for Rick tho.

kidtamagotchi said:

I remember how I excited I was when Gimple got promoted to showrunner, and things did improve at first. But since then, it seems every season of TWD has some type of gimmick. Like the whole is Glen dead or not arc, and now on Fear The Walking Dead, Morgan is going to be on there. I'm tired of it already. I dread how FTWD's quality is going to go down.

As for Carl/Chandler Riggs, I think

Spoiler

if they are going to go with the time jump

, they should've just replaced the actor. Killing off such an important character to the story for shock value and wanting to be different from the source is, I don't know, unnecessary. Highly disappointed by this season.

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i haven't watched yet but if Carl's dead that's huge! i thought Carl, in the comics at least, would take over Rick at some point and maybe in the show too.

I don't hate Carl like 99% of people do but come on, if you're going to kill him, why couldn't you keep Glenn? Good grief.

Judith is still around, and now there's an extra baby too. Give her an eye patch and it's basically the same thing.

ZiggyPalffyLA said:

I mean, it's an objectively terrible show. Not bad enough to be entertaining m and not good enough to be enjoyable. I don't blame anyone for liking it but you can't act like the hate isn't warranted.

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Do you understand the definition of "objectively"? Liking something cannot be objective. That being said, I've been loving this episode and it has me on the edge of my seat.

dyst said:

ha ha, same here. I really liked this episode and the year for that matter. I think people are forgetting the show always had the same issues.

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I used to be one of the people who defended the show against shitty nit picking on GAF, but there really isn't any defending it now. It's been pretty bad the last couple seasons.

So, what the hell was up with the pacing this season? I'm not a film-making scientist, but several moments I felt that it failed to properly convey the passage of time or omitted occurrences that should have been on screen. At times it was like I was watching an abridged cut instead of the actual episodes.

For years now I have watched this series as a guilty pleasure, it's entertaining for the duration of an episode and then I never think about it again, but this time it seemed especially amateurish.

I'm more annoyed that the audience is being forced to wait two months to actually witness a death and aftermath than the issues with how meaningless and uneventful it is. "Hey, I have a great idea! Let's have people talk all winter about how Carl is about to die and we'll gain massive hype and ratings for when it happens on screen!" ...Sounds like something someone on the show thought was a good idea and somehow got approval for. It's the campfire all over again in terms of frustration, except this time there's no surprise at the end.

This feels like an anime operating on fumes running endless filler that won't end because its ratings are too high despite being way off their peak. Negan will surely die and Rick surely come out victorious, and at the end of this season we'll have had no actual change in the broader setting in 2.5 seasons since we first learned of the Saviors. A few new people, a few killed, and a few houses burned down, just to end up in exactly the same place and situation. I hate, hate, hate myself that I cannot will myself to stop watching for more than a few episodes. There are still too many emotional payoffs I need to have completed to feel properly finished with the show.

Was meh on Carl over the years but certainly did hate him, and wow he deserves better than this miserably pathetic death. Survived many hopeless situations, only to die of the zombie apocalypse equivalent of a damn paper cut.

aspiegamer said:

I'm more annoyed that the audience is being forced to wait two months to actually witness a death and aftermath than the issues with how meaningless and uneventful it is. "Hey, I have a great idea! Let's have people talk all winter about how Carl is about to die and we'll gain massive hype and ratings for when it happens on screen!" ...Sounds like something someone on the show thought was a good idea and somehow got approval for. It's the campfire all over again in terms of frustration, except this time there's no surprise at the end.

This feels like an anime operating on fumes running endless filler that won't end because its ratings are too high despite being way off their peak. Negan will surely die and Rick surely come out victorious, and at the end of this season we'll have had no actual change in the broader setting in 2.5 seasons since we first learned of the Saviors. A few new people, a few killed, and a few houses burned down, just to end up in exactly the same place and situation. I hate, hate, hate myself that I cannot will myself to stop watching for more than a few episodes. There are still too many emotional payoffs I need to have completed to feel properly finished with the show.

Was meh on Carl over the years but certainly did hate him, and wow he deserves better than this miserably pathetic death. Survived many hopeless situations, only to die of the zombie apocalypse equivalent of a damn paper cut.

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It's more than a papercut if hes infected. I thought that whole scene was incredibly powerful. Seeing Ricks face, all the soldiers and civvies laying in a sewer like Russian soldiers during WW2 was moving. The zoom out at the end tied the scene up perfectly. Rick was just worried about the people he loved.

People keep mentioning Carl but this show managed to achieve the dumbest piece of writing in Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead history.

The scene being where Daryl and Tara show up telling people they did it and it worked.

You did what? Why are you out bragging and not finishing the job you started? Did you kill all the snipers that were watching over them too? Seriously what are you doing back at Alexandria?

It is not possible for someone to be that dumb, did crashing the truck give them brain damage? What is going on? Why did they return? Are they secretly working for Negan?

Their actions make no sense to have no follow through, they literally made it easier for Negan to escape and didn't hang around after to at least try..... arrrrrrrrrr

Andrea and Carl were my two favorites in the comics. I am done with the show...but will stick around until Eugene eats it hard.

BitByDeath said:

People keep mentioning Carl but this show managed to achieve the dumbest piece of writing in Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead history.

The scene being where Daryl and Tara show up telling people they did it and it worked.

You did what? Why are you out bragging and not finishing the job you started? Did you kill all the snipers that were watching over them too? Seriously what are you doing back at Alexandria?

It is not possible for someone to be that dumb, did crashing the truck give them brain damage? What is going on? Why did they return? Are they secretly working for Negan?

Their actions make no sense to have no follow through, they literally made it easier for Negan to escape and didn't hang around after to at least try..... arrrrrrrrrr

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they don't have enough people to go in and finish off the walkers/saviours. If him and Tara went in alone they would have lost on numbers alone. He probably figured killing that many walkers wasn't possible (and wasn't), but didn't account for Eugene or anyone coming up with a plan to lure them away because hubris/naiveté I guess.

I also don't mind them waiting until the (again 90 minute) midseason premier to show the death of carl. Regardless of whether or not you liked the character and regardless of whether or not you like chandler Riggs, this is maybe the most significant death the show has had to date. It shouldn't get rushed and then everyone is just sad. It will probably play out in a way that sticks with the characters and I do think we need to see the grieving/next steps right after rather than waiting months in between.

-Pyromaniac- said:

they don't have enough people to go in and finish off the walkers/saviours

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They obviously shouldn't have crashed the truck if they couldn't finish it. All they needed to do was keep troops/snipers on standby for any action and starve them out.

Knocking a giant hole in the wall so walkers are less gathered on a single entry point makes no sense.

I can't imagine how Rick could bounce back from this. It would now make sense for him to go out in the season finale in a suicide mission of some sort.

Bored to death for an hour, the last minutes were ok though

RatskyWatsky said:

It is true. The show had what most would consider filler* half way into the 6 episode first season. Characters making baffling decisions, stealth zombies, off screen bites, the works. Every single season has been littered with those things. It's just that after 8 seasons worth of that, it's starting to become harder for people to put up with (which is what I meant by "longtime watchers").

*even though the vast majority of the show has been that

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Disagree. The show has gotten worse. There were always stupid decisions and plot holes and stuff, but there was also some great stuff that made up for it. Now it's nothing but the bad stuff. The whole Negan arc has ruined the show.

Fuck. Forgot an episode aired last night and now everything is ruiiiiiined! lol.

MisterR said:

The whole Negan arc has ruined the show.

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Which is a shame because it had the potential to be the best arc. It was handled poorly.

Carl leaving for college seems kinda.....stupid? Isn't the show done in 2-3 more seasons? Might as well finish and make that money. You started with the show, don't die like that.

How did Daryl ruin everything? Even Dwight says it was Eugene who got them out of their jam......

I think the thing that most annoyed me about this show is that they didn't even show how the Saviors escaped. Which means that plot point is going to have to be covered somewhere in the next two episodes. Not enough time for that in the finale, yet they still had time to show us End jerking around at Oceanside.

HeySeuss said:

Why not kill the long haired dude everyone hates

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They did that at the end of the episode, it turns out.

So Coral is gone huh, I thought that big ass hat would protect him.

So the back half of the season perhaps will be this:

- A Farewell to Carl
- How Eugene Saved the Saviors
- New leader at Oceanside
- A King Dethroned
- Negan / Saviors perspective
- A Farewell to Morgan (not necessarily death)
- Hilltop final stand

That leaves one episode for messing around with stuff - like maybe Rick and Daryl rematch or Maggie / Jesus or something.

I hope Rick at least takes his hat back.

soooo ..... i felt like there was going to be a build up of things for carl / negan relationship. lol

im so lost now and idc what happens to the characters anymore. as long as rick gets in his vengeance then im set. forget the rest at this moment.

I find it hilariously fitting that the first time Carl is put in charge, he wonders off and gets bitten for the dumbest reason. And why did Rick leave him? To go negotiate alone with the Trash people of all reasons

Wonder how they adjust the plot going forward:

Prologue said:

Carl leaving for college seems kinda.....stupid? Isn't the show done in 2-3 more seasons? Might as well finish and make that money. You started with the show, don't die like that.

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Gimple was the one who decided to write Carl out, the actor says it wasn't his decision and there's no clue how many more seasons are yet to go.

So why didn't Rick just bash Negan's head with Lucille instead of trying to knock him out with the handle

Prologue said:

Carl leaving for college seems kinda.....stupid? Isn't the show done in 2-3 more seasons? Might as well finish and make that money. You started with the show, don't die like that.

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Chandler Riggs says it wasn't his decision. The interview has spoilers for the comics though, and in turn, the show, probably. Here are some snippets (with a few spoilers removed):

The Hollywood Reporter said:

You recently were accepted to college. Was it your decision to leave The Walking Dead?

I'm taking a gap year right now to focus on acting for a while. Leaving Walking Dead wasn't my decision. It was all story related. It made sense story-wise for it to happen for Rick and Michonne and all the other characters.

When did you find out?

I was planning on going to college until I found out. I found out when I was doing rehearsals for episode six back in June. It was quite the shocker for me, Andy and everyone because I don't think anyone saw it coming. It's definitely not a bad thing because it has been awesome being on the show but now I get to go and do a lot of other stuff that I haven't gotten to do before. Scott wanted to meet in person because it was such a big deal. We had just finished rehearsing for a scene in episode six and he wanted to meet with me and my mom and dad and talk about what's going to happen.

How did you respond to Carl being killed off?

It was devastating for me and my family because the show has been such a huge part of my life for so long. For a few days, we didn't know what to do; I just bought a house in Senoia [near where the show films in Georgia]. That was a big deal that I wouldn't be on anymore. I decided that I wanted to not go to college for at least a year and move to L.A. and focus on acting and music. It ended up being a great thing because now I get to do all kinds of other stuff that I haven't been able to do in the last eight years.

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BitByDeath said:

People keep mentioning Carl but this show managed to achieve the dumbest piece of writing in Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead history.

The scene being where Daryl and Tara show up telling people they did it and it worked.

You did what? Why are you out bragging and not finishing the job you started? Did you kill all the snipers that were watching over them too? Seriously what are you doing back at Alexandria?

It is not possible for someone to be that dumb, did crashing the truck give them brain damage? What is going on? Why did they return? Are they secretly working for Negan?

Their actions make no sense to have no follow through, they literally made it easier for Negan to escape and didn't hang around after to at least try..... arrrrrrrrrr

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This might have been my biggest WTF moment last night. They did this very risky thing to finish off the Saviors (and go against their boss's orders), and then instead of staying to see if it worked, they just .... left? Makes zero sense.

I've basically been watching this year to make snarky comments online about it and out of inertia, but I might be done. Most of the episodes this half-season nothing at all happens, and then when things do happen (Rick getting the trash people on his side, Daryl's plan, oh and the Saviors have lost all these people yet they can still set up three simultaneous ambushes/attacks, one of which is on a random country road) they don't have any internal logic to them at all. It's just "LOOK AT THESE TWISTS!" for 90 minutes.

VenomousCoffee said:

This might have been my biggest WTF moment last night. They did this very risky thing to finish off the Saviors (and go against their boss's orders), and then instead of staying to see if it worked, they just .... left? Makes zero sense.

I've basically been watching this year to make snarky comments online about it and out of inertia, but I might be done. Most of the episodes this half-season nothing at all happens, and then when things do happen (Rick getting the trash people on his side, Daryl's plan, oh and the Saviors have lost all these people yet they can still set up three simultaneous ambushes/attacks, one of which is on a random country road) they don't have any internal logic to them at all. It's just "LOOK AT THESE TWISTS!" for 90 minutes.

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Also, I feel like I missed an episode. Why were Jerry and Carol suddenly at the Sanctuary to get Rick? Why were Maggie and Jesus driving in a convoy? Jerry and Carol were together but in the next scene, all three are in different cars, since Jerry gets attacked but Carol reaches the Kingdom?

Accidentally saw spoilers that Carl's gonna die, so there went that surprise. Going into the finale, I figured dude would turn out to be immune to the virus, but nah, the kid's a gonner. I'm pretty shocked and kinda mad? Carl wasn't the best, but I wanted to see him grow and see more of his relationships with Enid and Negan. His thing he had going with Negan was gold, but there goes that.

RatskyWatsky said:

It is true. The show had what most would consider filler* half way into the 6 episode first season. Characters making baffling decisions, stealth zombies, off screen bites, the works. Every single season has been littered with those things. It's just that after 8 seasons worth of that, it's starting to become harder for people to put up with (which is what I meant by "longtime watchers").

*even though the vast majority of the show has been that

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I disagree.

The past two seasons have been noticeably worse than the six prior. It isn't simply just a case of people getting tired of it. The writing is worse than it used to be, the direction is worse than it used to be, there are less likable characters, etc.

The show has always had problems. The issue is that it used to be entertaining while having problems. It no longer is.

ZeoVGM said:

I disagree.

The past two seasons have been noticeably worse than the six prior. It isn't simply just a case of people getting tired of it. The writing is worse than it used to be, the direction is worse than it used to be, there are less likable characters, etc.

The show has always had problems. The issue is that it used to be entertaining while having problems. It no longer is.

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Agreed. Season 6 was the best season IMO. The show was getting better with each season.

I don't know what the hell happened with Season 7 and 8.

Episode 3 is the only episode I'd consider good. That director needs more work on the show. It had narrative focus, concise pacing, good character moments, effective stakes and moved the story forward. Carol killing the guys through the ceiling was such a clever and brutal moment. Ezekiel being broken seemed like some actual character development.

jwk94 said:

Accidentally saw spoilers that Carl's gonna die, so there went that surprise. Going into the finale, I figured dude would turn out to be immune to the virus, but nah, the kid's a gonner. I'm pretty shocked and kinda mad? Carl wasn't the best, but I wanted to see him grow and see more of his relationships with Enid and Negan. His thing he had going with Negan was gold, but there goes that.

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That's the most frustrating part. Gimple made this decision, deciding to get rid of one of the most interesting aspects of the comic. It's just a poor move. Did Gimple just decide to kill Carl off rather than working around the actor being part time? The main cast is basically only in half the season anyway since there are so many damn characters.

The people in charge of this show should be fired. Up until this season i really loved it always sticking up for it ect but now man. The things that are happening are so dumb now. As a massive fan of the comics i find it to be stupid as shit for them to kill Carl off in the show and Carl is someone i don't even like in the TV show.

Aw well i guess i will continue to watch it but will probably wait till the full seasons are out now and not watch it week to week.

MisterR said:

The whole Negan arc has ruined the show.

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Well, awful show running, writing and directing has ruined the show. The fact that it has all come to fruition over the last couple seasons is just happenstance. This arc is one of the high points of the source material.

Finale started well but when they went back to the broken timeline storytelling I checked out. Double when Joey got t-boned into commercial break lol

VenomousCoffee said:

I've basically been watching this year to make snarky comments online about it and out of inertia, but I might be done. Most of the episodes this half-season nothing at all happens, and then when things do happen (Rick getting the trash people on his side, Daryl's plan, oh and the Saviors have lost all these people yet they can still set up three simultaneous ambushes/attacks, one of which is on a random country road) they don't have any internal logic to them at all. It's just "LOOK AT THESE TWISTS!" for 90 minutes.

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That's about where I'm at. I've still been watching the show out of rote, but last night's episode was so bad and disjointed (not to mention how removed from the previous seven episodes it felt like it was) that I'm not really that interested in seeing what happens next. I may just sit out the back-half of S8 and check back in here afterward to see if things improved, and maybe binge it then. It's nearly impossible to get invested in anything that's happening right now.

More_Badass said:

Agreed. Season 6 was the best season IMO. The show was getting better with each season.

I don't know what the hell happened with Season 7 and 8.

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I thought Season 5 was very strong, and there's been a noticeable decline since. I hated S6 because of all of the gimmickry that was going on, and because the first half of that season was absolutely dreadful. I actually preferred S7 as a whole, but that's largely because of how entertaining JDM is. Though when Negan and Simon (the villains) are the best part of your show, you done goofed.

It's really bad right now, all across the board. I can't remember the last time an episode ended and I was like, "Oh man, I can't wait to see what happens next week!" It's been a while...

Latvian Hitman said:

Well, awful show running, writing and directing has ruined the show. The fact that it has all come to fruition over the last couple seasons is just happenstance. This arc is one of the high points of the source material.

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Negan's portayal doesn't help. His introduction was great. He seemed powerful, smart, psychologically poking and prodding Rick

Now? All he is the Negan lean, the one-liners, making stupid decisions like walking out in front of an entire enemy army with guns aiming at him like he's invincible. He's an incompetent one-note villain that the show keeps trying to tell us is effective and threatening

lol what a joke. I hate Carl and am glad he is dead/dying but the way everything has happened so far is just so unsatisfying and stupid.

I don't think the show's been as good since they stopped having the characters be on the move and encountering other groups and societies. I know it could've got a bit repetitive but there was something really appealing about seeing the different ways people had adapted to the world around them.

The unconventional structures really ooze arrogance. They keep trying to tell their stories with confusing timelines. They've done it for the past few seasons, ever since they left the prison. It's like they want the show to feel intelligent but it's just annoying and leaves a lot of holes. Such a frustrating show. I've been following along just to see how they follow and/or deviate from the books, and while the books aren't perfect the show is far worse. I actually think they should just consider finding a way to wrap it up in like seasons.

Goddamn. Every year I consider watching this series and every year I see nigh-unanimous revulsion for its writing on the internet. Maybe I'll give it a whirl in 2038.

Wait, Carl is dead/dying???

lol what. Missed the last few episodes and didn't think they'd actually do that.

What are the chances the show is getting cancelled?

Strafer said:

What are the chances the show is getting cancelled?

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None. It was already renewed