The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 10 Review: The Lost and the Plunderers

| March v, 2018 |

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This Walking Dead review contains spoilers.

The Walking Dead Season eight Episode 10

An episode that should accept been endemic by Rick Grimes after the untimely death of Carl last calendar week is actually made more than interesting by a couple of supporting characters who take the lead of "The Lost and the Plunderers." 1 of my problems with the midseason premiere is that Rick's reaction to Carl'south imminent doom seemed a bit tempered. Perchance it'due south everything he'southward already lost along the manner or maybe it's the fact that at to the lowest degree he still has Judith, but I'm of the opinion that Carl'southward expiry should accept totally pushed the dude over the edge.

I know what you're saying, "Rick Grimes over the edge" is not really unexplored territory for The Walking Dead , because seasons 5 and 6 were all near a more than feral Rick trying live among the civilized people of Alexandria. Notwithstanding, past episodes accept established – and at peachy length – that Rick'southward been busy trying to build a improve world for his son all along. Everything he'd done up to this signal, whether it be scavenging or stabbing Saviors while they slept, was so that Carl could one solar day live in a practiced world. Heck, there's a whole speech communication at the end of the midseason premiere of season 6, "No Manner Out," devoted to this – not to mention that Carl basically regurgitated said speech back at his dad in his farewell, along with some selection lines from Lori.

So why isn't Rick more than torn up this week? His reaction seems so odd and against his grapheme that it's almost like we've entered a foreign alternating universe where Carl never existed on the show to begin with. The strange air of "moving on" creeps into "The Lost and the Plunderers" likewise speedily for my taste.

The episode attempts to bear witness Rick and Michonne's grief through symbolism, like when they effort to extinguish the burn down on the gazebo Carl evidently liked to sit down in, but it comes off a bit heavy-handed. Information technology doesn't assistance that Rick and so decides to but motility on to the next gamble to the junkyard, as if on car-pilot. Peradventure this is the way he's chosen to grieve his dead son? Only at that place'due south not much in Rick's actual story this week to back up that he's trooping on to go along information technology together. Hell, he's barely in the episode.

By the time Rick gets to trolling Negan on the walkie, it'due south the villain who has the more powerful reaction to Carl'due south death – and it's another shining moment for the bad guy, who'south been exponentially better this flavour than last. Maybe it'due south considering we don't often see Jeffrey Dean Morgan'south character break the facade of consummate badass, just information technology'south undeniable that Negan seems to have more than of a soul this flavor than Rick, and that'south more evident than always in this scene, which might exist the all-time of the dark.

But this episode isn't really most Rick or Carl at all. It's virtually Jadis, Simon, Enid, and Aaron. They accept center stage in a series of short vignettes that intersect throughout the episode. The episode'south construction is actually kind of odd, too. There'southward near no reason for those title cards announcing we're going to switch to a different character'southward perspective except peradventure every bit an effort at something more loftier forehead? Why couldn't the episode but cutting to the adjacent scene and character like every other 60 minutes of The Walking Dead ? The world may never know.

The time we spend with Enid and Aaron is then tedious that the women of Oceanside probably let out a sigh and relief when they were finally rid of the ii and their struggling side quest. While it makes sense that Enid and Aaron would try to convince Oceanside to fight aslope the remainder of the settlements, the storyline has been groan-inducing thus far. Information technology doesn't help that the Oceanside's leader, a grapheme flavour 7 took the time to flesh out, was killed in virtually a second of screen time in the midseason finale, without any real reason but to create "tension" and movement the subplot forward. It's only so very bad, and inspires the same conversations about standing up and fighting or doing nothing we heard all of concluding flavor.

Meanwhile, Simon and Jadis get the all-time subplots of the night. Simon, who is played by the marvelously unhinged Steve Ogg (I'm a large Grand Theft Motorcar V fan), continues to unravel amid all the chaos, and this week he'southward signed his death warrant. When Negan finds out that Simon's slaughtered the Heapsters, well…I'm guessing there volition be more an iron waiting for him. It'due south non hard to run across Simon's insubordination coming, especially after Negan's plan for the Hilltop has seemingly backfired.

The actual massacre plays out quickly. There isn't much of a conversation before Simon orders his men to fire on the unarmed Heapsters. I have to say it's sad to encounter this settlement fall in such a brutal way and without ceremony. These weirdos provided some of the better moments in the latter half of flavour seven and were utilized way too little this season.

Seeing Jadis unravel, then pick herself up, and grind her sometime people into sloppy joe was a powerful moment for the graphic symbol. I don't think we've seen the final of Jadis, and I similar the fact that she doesn't just end up joining Rick's people and condign another one of the characters in the background of the Grimes drama. My hope for Jadis, who's finally embraced proper English language again (admittedly, to my disappointment), is that she gets back at both of the men who screwed her. Negan killed her people and Rick refused to aid her. Mind you, Jadis did some fucked up shit in her mean solar day, simply didn't Carl preach mercy before the finish? Were I a betting man, I'd say we'll come across Jadis again, simply perchance not until season nine – and this time, she'll be dressed in walker flesh…