Agreed with everything you've said, Severin. :( This has seriously lost its way... it's a huge shame. A lot of the characters have become surreal and are behaving illogically, and the plot at this point is essentially "let's shoot everyone who stands in our way with our endless supply of bullets"*. Boring and stupid. Bleh!

 

* Like, how have they got such a huge supply of guns and ammunition? Did I miss something? Wasn't it just last season that they were resorting to Eugene having the expertise to make bullets? Now they have enough to fire aimlessly at a warehouse's windows (in the first episode of this season).

What should have been a great episode this week was again bogged down by 80s TV show action scenes, clunky dialogue and an ending that Game Of Thrones did far better not too long ago.

 

 

Shiva's a great character but terrible CGI. She reminds me constantly why the wolves are hardly in GOT

 

 

 

 

This article is also spot on

 

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/br...html/?a=viewall

Edited November 14, 20177 yr by Severin

I've watched it from the beginning but I swear to goodness ... I don't know why! Its just awful.

This is so bad.

The best actor in the whole thing! Gone! Poor Shiva!

What a poor episode, this season has been a gunfight and another gunfight each week, shooting each other, its hardly going anywhere, I'm really disappointed, its got no suspense no more it seems to have lose its way. And poor Sheba, I'm hoping a key character will get killed off soon, when the mid break comes in 2 weeks time.

Forgot to comment last week but turns out having Morales back was utterly pointless seeing as he was killed after mere minutes. Why even bring him back if the plan was just to kill him? I guess it ties up loose ends with what happened to him but it was a wasted opportunity.

 

This week was ok I guess - sad to see Shiva go - might be interesting to see how Ezekiel's affected. Still enjoying Carol but even with her there are still too many firefights. I'm so done with the ducking behind cover and machine guns thing. Everyone's still too separate, people surviving as a group was great.

 

That said, looks like the Kingdom's unravelling so maybe the cast will eventually be back together in one place? Idk, I'm still enjoying the show but I miss what I got from it in the early seasons. Also can the walkers become an actual threat again? I don't know how it'd be done but they seem so secondary.

I don't know what you're all drinking but I loved this weeks episode. I feel like it's starting to find it's way again a bit. A few minor niggles like what Jacob pointed out the whole ducking and cover and then firing aimlessly etc... Plus this is the most impact walkers have had for a while.

 

Tbh, bored of seeing the constant negativity towards this show online, BY THE SAME PEOPLE. If you really dislike it that much (and it's usually people saying shit like "I really hate this show"/"they haven't been good since season 4" or whatever) bore off, switch off and let those that still find entertainment in the show enjoy it.

 

P.s. This isn't necessarily aimed at anyone on here (although not everyone here is innocent ). This is the one place where I can come and express what I want without being looked down for it.

 

I just don't understand why you'd continue watching if you really dislike it (and have done for so long) that much? :/

 

Edit: but overall, yeah. There needs to be a mass killing soon. Dwindle the numbers down to a select few.

I don't know what you're all drinking but I loved this weeks episode. I feel like it's starting to find it's way again a bit. A few minor niggles like what Jacob pointed out the whole ducking and cover and then firing aimlessly etc... Plus this is the most impact walkers have had for a while.

 

Tbh, bored of seeing the constant negativity towards this show online, BY THE SAME PEOPLE. If you really dislike it that much (and it's usually people saying shit like "I really hate this show"/"they haven't been good since season 4" or whatever) bore off, switch off and let those that still find entertainment in the show enjoy it.

 

P.s. This isn't necessarily aimed at anyone on here (although not everyone here is innocent ��). This is the one place where I can come and express what I want without being looked down for it.

 

I just don't understand why you'd continue watching if you really dislike it (and have done for so long) that much? :/

 

Edit: but overall, yeah. There needs to be a mass killing soon. Dwindle the numbers down to a select few.

 

It really isn't what it used to be though Jonjo. I still watch it because there are a few characters that I'm still invested in - like Carol, Gabriel, Aaron and oddly enough - Dwight. Some characters are just plain boring now - Morgan and Jesus being the two main ones. Carol and Carl are the only two of the original group that I have any time for - and seriously - what use is Maggie? I'm tired of Jesus constantly singing her praises (has she done something of an immaculate nature off screen that we're unaware of?).

 

It is still fairly entertaining - but whereas once I'd eagerly sit down with a glass of wine and watch it with undivided attention - I find myself half watching while I'm playing online Scrabble or Word Feud.

 

I don't know what you're all drinking but I loved this weeks episode. I feel like it's starting to find it's way again a bit. A few minor niggles like what Jacob pointed out the whole ducking and cover and then firing aimlessly etc... Plus this is the most impact walkers have had for a while.

 

Tbh, bored of seeing the constant negativity towards this show online, BY THE SAME PEOPLE. If you really dislike it that much (and it's usually people saying shit like "I really hate this show"/"they haven't been good since season 4" or whatever) bore off, switch off and let those that still find entertainment in the show enjoy it.

 

P.s. This isn't necessarily aimed at anyone on here (although not everyone here is innocent ��). This is the one place where I can come and express what I want without being looked down for it.

 

I just don't understand why you'd continue watching if you really dislike it (and have done for so long) that much? :/

 

Edit: but overall, yeah. There needs to be a mass killing soon. Dwindle the numbers down to a select few.

I guess the walkers were actually quite prominent (still bitter over Shiva x) but what I mean is they're not really "the enemy", they're either a mildly dangerous inconvenience most characters can deal with fairly easily or tools used by either side of the conflict. Still, they were used well enough in the last episode with Ezekiel being vulnerable and seeing them take out unwitting saviours. Like I say I'm still enjoying it, and you're right there's no point watching if you're not going to be constructive or even mildly optimistic about the show's future- it does irritate me seeing too much destructive criticism too, no idea why you'd watch something you hate. I'm enjoying all the episodes (except for episode 2 - I think it was 2 - the one with literally just firefights for the entire episode) and I look forward to it every week. That said, while it's still a good show it has declined so I'm probably being critical because of the previous higher standard.

Agree with jonjos point about a killing leaving a small group again!

I'm still watching partly because I feel invested in it (I mean, we're 100+ episodes & 7 years deep into this, that would be a hard habit to break!), but also because I think it still has some entertainment value. I don't hate the show! Criticism =/= hate. I think a viewer sharing what they believe to be weak spots in the show is worthy of discussion.

 

I actually do think the most recent episode was one of the better ones in a while! Mainly because it was the first time in ages that the walkers felt like a threat, rather than an inconvenience (Ezekiel was vulnerable and I actually felt anxious for him). Thumbs up for that! I would cite Rick & co randomly becoming superhuman and seeing off every last walker in Alexandria as being the moment the walkers lost their impact. In Season 3, while the Governor became the group's first major human enemy, the presence of the walkers still felt extremely formidable alongside that. So it'd be cool if the walkers could gain some of that "power" back.

 

I wasn't into the long and drawn out gunfights in Episode 1 & Episode 2, and (I know I’m repeating myself) the never-ending supply of bullets (which in my view is a sign of lazy writing). So, I prefer the "running out of bullets at an inopportune moment" occurrences of the past two episodes, because it feels more realistic and increases the tension.

 

Admittedly I'm ok with Shiva being written out; I wasn't too keen on the cartoon-y nature of her presence and the implausibility of her being able to tell who she should and shouldn't attack. Nevertheless, it made for sad viewing to see her demise.

 

I had grown somewhat tired of Ezekiel's shtick. (I completely get the explained reason for his persona, I just thought it was becoming way too exaggerated... he reached peak annoyance with the repetition of "And yet I smile" :kink: ). The traumatic events he's experienced should hopefully steer his character in a fresh and interesting direction, hopefully that of guilt & wanting to redeem himself / avenge the loss of his people (which was his fault really, because he brazenly lead them in the wide open when approaching an enemy's outpost... his misplaced overconfidence and them completely trusting in his theatrics, was their downfall).

 

I agree that the cast is very bloated at this point. Like, I genuinely didn't give a damn that Aaron's partner died, because we saw him maybe twice? I barely care about Aaron in all honesty. :lol: I agree with Jonjo that a mass killing of a lot of lesser characters would be a good call at some point (although I assume that won't happen too soon, because they'll need to keep the majority of their "army" for a showdown with Negan?). Characters I've previously really cared about have become subsidiary... like Michonne. I miss her! :(

 

Unfortunately I'm still finding the pacing to be a little on the slow side. It's already been a month since we last saw Negan and Gabriel, I'd say that's too long a gap for a cliff hanger. I'd also appreciate some episodes that are presented in a chronological order. I agree with this, from the Forbes review:

 

The sloppiness of the first three episodes of this season have severely hurt our notion of what's going on. Bizarrely, the show has left out any discussion of "the plan" and because of this, we lack any sense of urgency while Rick and Daryl look for these guns. When we learn they're at a different outpost, we don't think to ourselves "Oh crap, they're at the outpost where Ezekiel and Carol are at!" But that's the kind of reaction we should have. We should understand the stakes, the threat, and the need to capture these guns, as well as the consequences of failure, at least a little bit. Since we have been given no narrative anchors this season, we're left mystified by what's going on which in turn diminishes our sense of surprise or fear. We lack anxiety because we lack context.

 

Imagine, instead, if we had fully understood what Rick and Daryl were after. Maybe a conversation with Dwight about these huge machine guns and where they were kept and how much damage they could do. Some map that showed which outposts each group was traveling to, so that we could latch onto the geography of this war. Then, when we learned that the guns had been moved to outpost X from outpost Y, we might feel dread and trepidation, just in time to see Ezekiel's forces laid low. Maybe Rick could have even said "That's where Carol's at. We need to warn them." Or something to that effect. Make these events matter rather than just happen. Without all this context, viewers can't fully appreciate what's going on. That's been the main problem with this season, though admittedly just one of many.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/...d/#594c4d8b56c0

 

~~~

 

Rotten Tomatoes scores for the first 4 episodes of Season 8:

 

Episode 1: 88%

Episode 2: 50%

Episode 3: 52%

Episode 4: 88%

I'll admit I've been critical lately and I think viewers should be if a show suffers such an obvious decline in quality. Therefore I will continue to do so because if people don't the show will continue to tread water in the same manner and it will continue to go downhill. I'm still watching because ultimately I hope it can reclaim previous glories and there's a certain amount of investment now.

The problem the show has (as the article I posted a link to points out)is an across the board dip in focus, quality, plotting and cohesion. Characters that we know are smart frequently behave erratically or are sidelined for long periods while the show has ceased to have any kind of real insight into it's core question - how would we cope in the aftermath? It's finally started being explicit about the question of whether Rick is the villain in his own story but most viewers have known that for so long it's now a redundant question. And Negan has the potential to be one of TVs greatest ever villains but as great as JD Morgan is even he can't bring nuance and depth to a character so poorly written.

 

There is hope - many of the main characters have great depth and a strong arc but it's all being ignored lately and right now the show seems mired in its own history - cursed to repeat the same cycle of events over and over. Andrew Lincoln's performance is the shows greatest strength - even when making irrational decisions he sells it totally, but Rick's continued presence is also holding the show back in many ways. Until the show does a Ned Stark on him it will struggle to moved forward purposefully.

That and a streamlining of the cast is becoming more necessary every week. TWD was at it's best when there was a tight familial unit struggling together and big A-Team style gunfights and hours of action sequences is leaving the show feeling hollow and bereft if any human element.

I want this show to be great again, I really do but right now Fear The Walking Dead is finding it's feet and a purpose and the parent show just needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and tweak its many small flaws to regain its footing. Right now Ezekiel could just be the character to do it

Off to the Walker Stalker convention in London next year :D Has anybody ever been?

A much, much better episode this week. Not perfect but going in a direction at least

A much, much better episode this week. Not perfect but going in a direction at least

 

Best episode since season 5, easily.

Yeh did he actually see a helicopter??

Episode 6 really good as well!

Yup it's definitely improving!

Basically because we are past the ALL OUT WAR phase!