All hell breaks loose in The Walking Dead: Season 8

My relationship with The Walking Dead has been an emotional one. Throughout its eight seasons, I have felt everything from horror, sadness, anger.

My relationship with The Walking Dead has been an emotional one. Throughout its eight seasons, I have felt everything from horror, sadness, anger, frustration, betrayal, and everything in-between. I’ll be honest, after the mid-season finale of Season 7 I fell off The Walking Dead wagon. Too many people were up-in-arms over Negan’s infamous kill and the show was becoming something reminiscent of Grey’s Anatomy, except with zombies.

When Season 8 aired, I had heard many of my contemporaries complain about the direction that The Walking Dead was headed. Deciding at the time not to watch it, I turned off my brain until I was offered an opportunity to review the season. After taking this past weekend to binge the entire eighth season, I walked away with a better appreciation for the acclaimed television show. Trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are. (FYI: If you haven’t watched Season 7 or Season 8 of The Walking Dead I suggest you stop reading now as this review will contain spoilers).

Season 7 ended with the surprise death of Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the war between The Saviors and Alexandria/Hilltop/The Kingdom in full swing. Whereas the last few episodes of that season were jam-packed with action, the eighth season beings more on the slow side, taking its time to flesh out the opposing sides as they prepare for an all-out war. As usual, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) are at the forefront in their quest to show, as Negan eloquently puts it, “Who has the biggest dick”.

As they yell and insult each other there is the constant danger of bullets flying and, you know, zombies, both which narrowly avoid taking their lives. As much as I love Negan, and believe me when I say I LOVE Negan, this tit-for-tat game between him and Rick is beginning to get old, which is why I really appreciated how this season also focused on other characters such as Dwight (Austin Amelio) and Simon (Steven Ogg), as well as Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh).

(L-R) Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in The Walking Dead (Photo: AMC)

Let’s start first by addressing the elephant in the room: the death of Carl (Chandler Riggs). I had never been a fan of this character and though I understood that we were watching him grow from a kid to a teenager during this zombie apocalypse, he always managed to get under my skin and be annoying AF.

However, this season I was finally able to get on board with Carl and it actually made me somewhat sad to see him go. Now, there are all these theories as to why he was taken off the show before his prime, but that’s not what we are here to discuss. Carl, in the end, was hopeful for peace, specifically between his dad, Rick, and Negan. Throughout the series, we have watched as these opposing groups have ripped each other to shreds all in the name of… what? That’s the question that races to the forefront of Season 8 and Carl is the one to remind everyone, both in life and death, that in a world run by zombies, the last thing we should be doing is fighting with each other.

(L-R) Simon (Steven Ogg) and Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) in The Walking Dead (Photo: AMC)

The other theme that was very apparent centered around morality. I found this topic to be the most compelling aspect of the season, and though it’s been touched upon in the past, I felt like it was really brought to the forefront in Season 8. Most notably at the Hilltop where Maggie (Lauren Cohan) has taken over the Hilltop as their leader, much to the relief of those who reside there.

When a group of Saviors are captured, Jesus (Tom Payne) pleads with Maggie to show mercy since these people have surrendered. What ends up unfolding is quite fascinating as we watch Maggie struggle with what course she should take. This theme also plays out rather well with Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Tara (Alanna Masterson) as they make the decision to go against the plan that Rick has put into place in regards to capturing and killing the Saviors.

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Morality is a fine line to ride when the world has been taken over by the undead, and as each season progresses, we watch how these characters that we love become monsters by the actions they take. The show ends up becoming more about the monstrosities that we are capable of, especially when no official law is in place, as opposed to a horror series that focuses on zombies. It’s these moments, and these themes, that are responsible for pulling me back into a show that I thought was long dead (no pun intended).

All in all, I really enjoyed what Season 8 brought to the table; however, I can understand the frustrations people had while watching it week after week as it’s more of a slow burn that doesn’t take full effect until near the end. Though many may have been upset with how the season ended, I for one am looking forward to seeing how the strained relationship between Rick and Maggie plays out as well as where Negan will go from here.

I still think Eugene is THE WORST, mostly because he resembles what so many of us would do in his situation, but I’m glad to see he redeemed himself a bit towards the end. It’s hard to leg go of a show that I’ve spent 8 years watching, and if anything, this season has brought me back into the folds; so much so, that I look forward to seeing what Season 9 will entail.

The Walking Dead Season 8 is now available to own on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.