While this installment does offer a bit more hope for the future than we’ve seen in quite some time, it also serves as the first episode since the season premiere, from my point of view, to fall into the pacing traps that have been a long-standing criticism of the series.  There may be good reason for certain plot elements to be grouped together and given attention, but does that have to mean that scenes stretch out to the point of absurdity?

 

 

I’ll focus on the positive to begin: Maggie’s development in the wake of Glenn’s demise.  How often does the death of a female character serve to push male protagonists to be stronger and more capable?  Quite often, so it’s nice to see the reverse treatment in this episode.  And it’s also very much in standing with the source material, so we can look forward to her taking more and more command of her situation. 

 

That means handling Gregory first and foremost, and once again, we see a fairly faithful representation of the character from page to screen.  Gregory is exactly the pathetic loser that he ought to be, and it’s very easy to see how someone like Negan gained such power in the region when he has “competition” like Gregory amongst the viable communities.  Gregory pretty much begs to get killed in horrible ways throughout the episode, from his insensitivity with Maggie and Sasha to his cowering with Simon the and Saviors.

 

 

Speaking of the Saviors, I love the tactics employed against Hilltop in this episode.  Not only did it allow for an action scene in an episode that desperately needed one, but it also underscored the psychological warfare that the Saviors seem to employ better than anyone else.  Jesus was able to show off some of those combat skills that make him so formidable in the comics, while Maggie’s solution to the problem of the locked car was brilliant.  Music has been used effectively this season thus far, and it lent a certain absurdity to the proceedings that otherwise might have felt a bit stale after seven seasons.

 

That doesn’t overcome some of the weaknesses, unfortunately.  The scenes with Gregory did seem to drag in some places, but the material with Carl and Enid felt ridiculous more often than not.  Carl makes some big moves at this point in the story in the comics, some of which were foreshadowed by his terrible aim early in this episode.  But getting him from point A to point B didn’t need to include a silly “date” with Enid on his way to Hilltop.  He could have snuck into one of the trucks leaving Alexandria in the previous episode instead!  (Though Jesus’ presence may force a change in how events transpire from here.)

 

 

That all said, if Maggie is gaining support in Hilltop and starting to push her leadership skills to the forefront, while Gregory continues to fall apart, this could be setting up something very interesting.  Or, shall we say, it is continuing the somewhat obvious process of getting the various communities in the area to a point where banding together to counter the superior numbers of the Saviors becomes viable.  That shouldn’t be a shocking prospect to any in the audience at this point, but it does mean it will take some time for the pieces to come together.