I forgot the letter P

On top of watching the episode twice I have also watched some key scenes from the episode multiple times

 

Yeah well I am paying the price for having NO ONE to chat with about the episode.

My own damn fault for being impatient

 

I mean this thread has two pages and the episode, outside of premiere, has yet to air LMAO

All because I want to talk about it

 

PAGE 1

A “few” of the reasons I thought episode 909 was a great way to kick off the back half of the season.

Not an action driven premier but rather a character driven episode with some great dialogue. It did an exceptional job of laying the groundwork for the remaining 7 episodes of the season.

Change is never easy. But change can prove to be invigorating, renewing, fresh. As fans of the show we have certainly and will continue to be challenged with the inevitable changes of our favorite characters exiting the show in one fashion or another. Yet we also have new characters who have given us hints of becoming fan favorites for future seasons.

Here we go - the reasons I loved this episode

• The voice over opening, rather than the tried and true “previously on AMCs The Walking Dead” was such a unique twist. I was taken off guard and had to rewind to make sure I had not missed anything.
  
  
• There are several moments in this episode that I loved, these small blips stuck with me immediately. So much so that I have watched those “moments” over and over this past week. My first re-watchable moment - Yumiko saves Michonne. It was so quick that if you blink you almost miss the beat of her arrow being the one that saves Michonne from the same fate of Jesus. Thought it was a quiet, subtle, yet completely kick ass way to further drive the point home that this new group is worthy of becoming part of the family.
  
  
• Speaking of blinking and missing. Aaron plunging a knife in Jesus’ head so he does not turn. This was moving because while it served the obvious purpose I also saw it as a moment of forgiveness for Aaron, by Aaron himself. He was not able to prevent Eric from turning and unable to bring himself to go after Eric and end his walker existence. But in the moments following Jesus’ death he would be able to prevent the same fate befalling Jesus.
  
  
• Michonne and Daryl sharing their regret, sadness over not being able to find Rick’s body. It was a welcome change to see Michonne sharing a close moment of friendship with someone rather than distancing herself from her family
  
  
• Moment #2 is a silly one but dammit I giggled out loud. We still have Eugene-isms and this one was hilarious. When they are on their way to bring Jesus back to Hilltop and they happen upon a small grouping of walkers and then Eugene says “the living kind or original recipe?”
  
  
• Negan’s midnight stroll. At first I thought Negan had the shovel so he could search for and dig up Lucille. Yet his journey takes him back to the Sanctuary and we saw no attempt on his part to seek out and find Lucille. I am hoping that Lucille is gone. If we are to believe (which I suspect is the goal) in a changed Negan, or a Negan in the throes of change, then the stark reminder of what Lucille represents needs to remain buried.

 

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• Judith to Negan as he is about to make his escape - “Nothing out there for you, for anyone”. Later we hear Aaron concede that Michonne was right. Staying behind the walls is the only way to remain safe. That the communities only need to concern themselves with the care of their own. He mirrors the same sentiment that Judith has been taught by Michonne and subsequently shares with Negan. Now we wait to find out what caused such a change in the belief of living for one another, of bringing/bridging the communities together.
  
  
• Moment #3 - This one moment left me speechless. Negan finding himself, on his knees, in the wooded opening where Team Family first met Negan on that fateful night back in season 7. When he stands up you could see the sudden realization of where he was standing. I do not know if it was a look of regret per se, but there was something going on with him internally. At the very least there was something that gave him reason to pause for a moment as he realizes he is in the same spot that would prove to be the beginning of his end
  
  
• Jesus returns home- Tara laying her hands on Jesus. The Hilltop residents reaction, Enid seeking comfort w/ Aaron. Each resident hammering a nail into the coffin. I thought it was a beautiful way to say goodbye to a beloved character. More importantly I am so thankful that Angela Kang chose to take the path of this death being the catalyst for healing rather than the two communities deepening the chasm that had developed over the last 6 years. It would have been easy to write this as Tara blaming Michonne for the death, since Jesus was out there trying to find Eugene who resides in Alexandria. Relieved she chose not to take this path but rather she gave us a glimpse of both Tara and Michonne having that moment where they remember that through it all they are still family.
  
  • The overhead shot entering Hilltop was visually stunning and Bear’s music during their arrival (and honestly the entire episode) was exquisite. It has been awhile since I have felt the music as being part of the narrative, but tonight’s episode brought me back to those times when his music was so deeply part of what was being played out before us.

• The failed interrogation with Lydia laying the groundwork for Henry’s offering of sympathy. **Someone pass me a plate of crow**. Daryl. Okay @Sebrebc take note!! Daryl. Finally, FINALLY he is thinking before reacting. He is formulating a plan. He is being smart. We NEED him to be smart. Using Henry...he knew that by prodding the teenage boy enough to defend the teenage girl that it would afford him the opportunity to eavesdrop on what may prove to be vital information. I have to do it. I have to give some degree of kudos to Daryl (and therefore kudos to Angela Kang and Corey Reed, the writer of tonight’s episode.)
  
  
• Negan’s shopping spree. The set design here was amazing. It really did look like an old west ghost town. I love that we are seeing the “old world” structures in a state of decay and being taken back by the natural progression of nature

 

PAGE 3

• Sigh. I do not want to like Luke because I am afraid for him. But dammit, I like him. It is not that the character himself is anything special but rather it is the choices Dan Fogler has made for the character that has me enamored. It is the speech pattern, the body language, those nuances that have me hoping he survives the season.
  
  
• Michonne to Daryl - “keeping her here is a risk. You know that. We both do.” Is this a glimpse/clue to the X marks on their backs? It certainly came off as cryptic, as something to take notice of
  
  
• Sanctuary - The failed crop fields, water drenched, deserted save for the walkers and rats. Negan’s attempt at giving it a semblance of life by setting up stray pieces of furniture to resemble a home yet still surrounded by the remnants of what once was. His only companion is walker Big Ritchie. Judith was right - there is nothing out there for him.
  
  
• Judith sends Negan skidding across the road. Her stance while waiting for her moment, the way her hands tremble while attempting to keep that gun steady. I love this!! I love the Negan and Judith scenes. If it were Carl having these moments with Negan the vibe would not be the same. There is an air of innocence in the interaction between Judith and Negan. She has no real memory of Negan’s bad deeds. She only knows what she has been told and that is juxtaposed by what she herself knows of Negan based on her interactions with him. And while it may be an unpopular opinion I really do like her character and am excited where her journey takes her. I suppose die hard comic fans will forever moan and groan about missing out on the Negan Carl exchanges. The deed is done, stop beating the proverbial dead horse. Embrace the change and find the silver lining. *soapbox moment: if I can come to terms with the death of Jesus then by god anyone can adjust to comic to tv changes* And let’s face it, at her young age she is already a better actor than Chandler Riggs. My favorite line of the entire episode comes after Negan is cursing from his wreck and she is pointing the gun at him and says “LANGUAGE!! I’m a kid asshole!” BAH HA HA
  
  
• As creepy as the cemetery scene was in 908 I found the end scene of 909 to be equally as creepy. Daytime Whisperers just standing there. Motionless. Speechless. Empty. Waiting. And how their reveal was filmed as individual shots rather than one wide shot amped up the creep factor IMO. We, as the viewer, were seeing them one at a time just as Luke and Alden were - slowly.

• Alpha - I love her already. I loved her walker stance, her bent posture. Standing motionless just long enough for Luke to realize that something is just not quite right with the walker. Then she makes her purposeful approach, tossed Yumikos arrow at Luke’s feet, reached behind her, pulled out that sawed off shotgun (Sarah Connor would be proud of that presentation) and she speaks for the first time, “the trail ends here”. She has the makings of being damn scary and intimidating AF.