The Walking Dead "Monsters" Review

  Welcome back viewers! It has been an unusual start to Season 8 of TWD so far. We talked about the problems in the first episode 2 weeks ago. Last week was so off kilter I couldn't come up with a review that felt halfway right, so after a week off, let's talk about the characters and ongoings of Rick and his war on the Saviors. Negan is still trapped by Walkers at The Sanctuary with his gang and Gabriel. That leaves the frontal assault on the alleged gun hideout and other outposts. There are 3 main groups that have split the team up, bogging each of them down in different ways. Here is a look at what each one is dealing with. The Kingdom: Ezekiel, Carol, good guy Jerry, random warriors, and Shiva  The King has led his group, along with ass kicking Carol, to fight against outposts that have been warned of their approach. Ezekiel has been his Shakespearean best before these conflicts which arise beyond the horizon! Sorry, got carried away. Which I think is the point for Ezekiel. His bravado shown to his troops has truly put their fears to rest as they attempt to take the fight to the Saviors. Waving his sword around, chatting with Carol along the way, even the little conflict last week with the grenade throwing Savior have placed his group in a battle frame of mind. The strategy Carol comes up with works out for the Kingdom, saving them from an ambush. Their first battle appears to be won, but alas! Hark! Scatter! They have a... Yeah, moving across an open field is never a good choice in war. In Carol and Ezekiel's defense, they believed the big gun was at another outpost. Watching the warriors jumping on top of Ezekiel shows how much he means to them in a weird Save The King! way. We shall see if Carol can save the group by infiltrating the compound all by herself. The Hilltop: Jesus, Morgan, Tara, group fighters, and lots of prisoners  This is the group of the show that had Twitter in a tizzy last night. I'll discuss Twitter at the end to not get side tracked, but this was a difficult portion of the show. I don't understand how people can watch a moral debate and crap on it so much. I'll give you some of the dialogue was pretty cheesy, which seems to be an unfortunate theme this season. However, this has always been a part of the show. The debate between Tara, Jesus, and Morgan of what to do with the captured Saviors is the context of this groups portion of the show. Walkers falling down the hill was entertaining. Morgan's insistence on taking out the prisoners led to a fight with Jesus. The fight was actually well done, even with the eventual Morgan leaving the group. His demons have been unleashed again, not in a good way. This group is walking that fine line of morality of kill or be compassionate to your enemy. It really isn't until Jesus says, "We have to live with these people after its all over." that the main point is made. The Apocalypse is a civil war in a way. Every one of these people are 'Muricans by God! With so few people left, every one of them means something for the way forward. Let us just hope Morgan comes back quicker than his 5 seasons between appearances this time. Alexandrians: Rick, Daryl, Aaron, Eric, Tobin, and fighters To someone who has watched the show from the beginning, to have an original season 1 character pop up was cool. Hey Morales! How's it been going? Oh, your whole family died and you suck now. It was a great, quick chat Rick and Morales have. It shows you the that no matter what group you belong to, you can be seen as a monster from a certain point of view. Daryl's thoughts on the whole kill or be kind debate is easily answered. Aaron losing Eric is heart breaking. We should all be that upset over the loss of your partner in life. Aaron clearly has plenty of guilt over the death, especially since it was his idea to join the fight. Taking over care of the discovered baby at the end of the episode was odd, yet it could show his heart is in the fight fo all the right reasons. Rick and Daryl appear to be headed off to save Ezekiel and Carol with the knowledge the guns they believed they were going after are actually at the outpost the Kingdom is attacking. Loose Ends and Random Thoughts  The brief scenes with Maggie and Gregory worked well. Maggie has shown she is the true leader of the Hilltop now. I had no idea pancakes were such a hot commidity at the Hilltop. The Walker eating someone's bald head was the kill of the week. Where are the Heapsters? After being heavily involved at the end of season 7, not a bad haircut has been spotted so far this year. Morales showing up, while brief, was a nice nod to the earlier incarnation of the show. I think he talked more in this episode than all of season 1. Twitter and Trolls  Finally, a quick thought on Twitter and trolls. I know this season hasn't gotten off to the best start for viewers, and something that has become a trend is to totally crap on a show when people think it has jumped the shark. Granted I like having informed discussion about TWD, but last night was a quagmire of hate. To be honest, I didn't watch until this morning, yet I followed on Twitter to see reactions. This may become the new normal for this post, to say I can stay outside of the mob mentality. Was Monsters the best episode? No it wasn't. Was it total crap that viewers said it was? I disagree. There was plenty of action, much better context, and some moral dilemas to hash out. For anyone still sticking with the show, this post will return every Monday! Let me know your thoughts in the comments. We can follow all the differences that we have as fans. Until next Monday, ta ta. You can follow me on Twitter @BradTheMedic02