Those displeased with the delaying tactics of the mid-season finale will be more than happy with this return, as the moments deferred at the very end of “Start to Finish” come to fruition in this installment.  It’s about as close a straight-up adaptation of the source material as we’ve seen in a while, and considering the events in question, that’s a very good thing.  After all, there are still fans sore over how Glenn’s fate was handled, and pulling another bait-and-switch would have been a horrible idea.

              

 

At first, it seemed like the writers might do exactly that; in the original story, things went sideways almost immediately out of the front doors of that house.  And I’m not sure that Sam’s crying out at the end of the previous episode was explained away well enough; it seems like the Walkers were given a bit of hearing loss.  Initially it left the impression that the writers were backing away from the plot twists that all the “initiated” couldn’t wait to see, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

 

Even if the events played out in ways that were a bit different, the end result was the same: Jessie and her kids were Walker Chow, and Carl had a nice chunk of his face blown off in the process.  Carl’s injury was pretty brutal, even if it wasn’t quite as extensive as what could be done in the comic-book format.  It doesn’t matter, though; they will push the physical expression of his injury as far as they can.  As long as the psychological ramifications are explored thoroughly, any slight differences should be more than amenable.

 

 

Much like the source material, Carl’s injury and the loss of Jessie and her family sent Rick into a mode that was glorious to see realized.  It would be all too easy to assume that Rick will have it easy as the new leader of Alexandria going forward, but for now, his decision to take the Walkers head-on was the kind of rallying cry everyone needed.  It took everyone working together to rid the community of the incursion, and the death toll was horrific, but when dawn broke, there were survivors.  More than that, there was a greater sense of community than ever.  Watching everyone band together and slaughter countless Walkers was a joy to behold!

 

That said, it’s not going to be easy going forward.  The tensions and conflicts that were present before are still there now.  Carol and Morgan may have put their issues aside because of the greater immediate threat, but sooner or later, they are going to have a reckoning.  (And when they do, my money’s on Carol!)  Similarly, Rick may be the one who saved them now, and he may have silenced critics like Gabriel, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t have to deal with dissent in the ranks in the future. 

 

Because that future means Negan, and members of Team Grimes just took out a bunch of Negan’s henchmen.  And I tend to doubt that rebuilding and resupplying is going to mean avoiding the Saviors for very long.  These are the first hints of a much bigger world beyond the walls of Alexandria, and whatever isolation the community might have enjoyed is over.  Viewers should anticipate a few episodes of setting up that larger context between now and the season finale; after a huge spectacle like this installment, there’s a reasonable chance of feeling let down by more typical fare.

 

One item that bothers me is the penchant this season for putting Glenn in the crosshairs, only to pull back at the last minute.  Yes, the audience as a whole is now aware that Glenn didn’t last much longer in the source material; it’s been spoiled to the hilt since the sixth season premiere.  That said, the writers are using that way too much to mess with the audience.  It’s getting tedious, and that’s true even if it’s one big red herring.  Which I think it is, because who doesn’t see it coming now?  And would they really be stupid enough to kill off Daryl in Glenn’s place?  I don’t think so, and actually have an idea who the unlucky replacement will be (hint: someone else prominent is killed around the same time in the original), so it would be nice if the writers would stop playing these games and just let the events themselves deliver the horror of the situation.