This week’s episode flips the show on its head and opens with two girls killing walkers on a beach. They discover Tara washed up on shore and the older one, Cyndie, instructs the younger one, Rachel not to kill her. Rachel storms off and Cyndie leaves supplies for Tara, who wakes up and follows Cyndie to a camp full of women and children.
One of the women, Beatrice, spots Tara and shoots at her as she flees. Tara takes one of the women out but is cornered by Rachel, who holds her at gunpoint. Cyndie stops her (again) and Tara becomes surrounded. The leader of the Oceanside community, Netania, arrives and Tara apologizes for trespassing.
Flash back to Heath and Tara arguing about when they should return to Alexandria after being gone for two weeks. They decide to make one last supply run by exploring a bridge. They immediately get surrounded by sand walkers (that’s new) and Heath seems to disappear.
Flash forward to Oceanside where Tara tells the women she’s been surviving with her friend for the last few years. They’re skeptical but later allow her to eat dinner with them. Netania reveals she wants Tara to stay and explains the men in their camp got wiped out by another group. That’s when they decided to create a new community in the woods to hide. After more heavy questioning Tara comes clean about Alexandria that’s threatened by a similarly dangerous group (hmmm). She proposes their groups work together and Netania agrees to send out a guard with her back to Alexandria.
The next day Tara heads out with the guards and makes a run for it while they’re distracted by a walker. Stuck in a ditch, Tara sneak attacks Beatrice, who gets the best of her and holds her at gunpoint. Beatrice explains it was the Saviors that wiped out the men in their community and she can’t risk having Tara expose their whereabouts to them. Suddenly, Cyndie tackles her and Tara once again escapes. Cyndie makes Tara SWEAR (episode title!) she won’t tell others about her camp. She agrees and they head to the bridge.
On the bridge, Tara and Cyndie kill some of the sand walkers but are quickly overwhelmed when more wake up. They dash across the card hoods onto the other side but get separated. Beatrice and Cathy show up to escort Cyndie away. Tara discovers RV tracks, which implies Heath got away safely. She holes up in an abandoned sunglasses store and the next day finally finds her way back to Alexandria. Eugene fills her in on Denise and the others and later, Rosita questions if she saw any communities in her travels. Tara sticks by her word to Cyndie and tells Rosita she hasn’t found any such community.
What did YOU think of this very different episode of The Walking Dead? Do you think we’ll see Oceanside again? Tell us in the comments!
Intrigued by a new group of people but really wasn’t feeling this ep otherwise. Probably would’ve been better if Tara wasn’t portrayed like an 8 year old. Eugene stole the ep.
Since there is so little people at the Hilltop in the Tv version, they’re going to have to create more groups like this one for All Out War buildup. It wasn’t filler.
For people that read the comics and watch the show. Has anyone been screwed by another group more than Tara? She lost Glenn(the person that pulled her out of the prison/oblivion), Abraham(the person that pulled her and Glenn off the road) and her girlfriend, Denise.all to the saviors.
I’m having a hard time thinking. Maybe Rick vs the governor in the comics. Losing his hand, His wife and her kid
As far as the show, they have all suffered great losses; maybe not to the same group. Maggie lost her father, sister and husband. Sasha (not in the comics) lost her brother and her love – twice!
Interesting that they have introduced the Kingdom and Seaside so quickly at this point. I love that the show is evolving into its next stage with all of the communities. I’m curious to see how they keep us engaged with so many characters. GoT does it so…
This episode wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. Honestly, this episode is way better than that Morgan episode last season. The only thing I’m really disappointed about is the reveal to Tara about everything that has happened. They brushed over it like… whatever. Denise, Glenn, and Abraham meant just as much to Tara as they did to mostly everyone else. They really should have taken a second to go over it.
Also, I’ve been hearing a lot of rumors that the writers are going to push off the War for a while or that they are going to skip it entirely and introduce the Whisperers. What do you guys think?
Yes, I too dislike the way the they’ve glossed over the Glenn/Abraham demises. I want to see Rick and the group go to the hilltop, check on Maggie and have some kind of proper goodbye for them.
Honestly, I do like Tara, but she is not my favorite. I was all excited about tonight’s episode wondering if we were going to see how Carl and Jesus ended up. I waited all week just to find out that neither Carl nor any of the other important characters were in this episode. Now I have to wait yet another week. It’s kind of depressing, but yet again no one died in this episode.
*WARNING COMIC SPOILERS AHEAD AVOID POST IF NECESSARY*
Hello everyone! First post here! Totally enjoyed this episode introducing the seaside? Community. You all know that they are building towards a huge war, everyone revolts against the Saviors lol. The closest thing in the comics that this compares to is the fisherman that Michonne hermitted with. But that dude lives in the Kingdom right?! Anyway I believe this Seaside people haven’t been formally introduced yet in the comics. They could just be strictly a show creation like terminus at the end of S4 and the first episode of S5.
QUESTION! When did Heath and Tara go out scavenging?! I thought Tara already knew Denise died in S6? At the first encounter with Dwight on the railroad tracks where they were looking for medicine. Have they been outside for that long? They were both at the Negan lecture in ep S7.1 right?! Ahhhhh getting mixed up lol! Thank you so much if anyone can clarify!
This episode was sooo boring I don’t need someone to die each episode or action but I thought wow negan is finally here let’s show as much of him as possible learning how he has survived. This episode and last week’s are kinda lame. We won’t see This new group till next year and dedicating a whole episode to Tara not the best move they should have made this episode into webisodes during the break and not waste a long episode on her
I love The Walking Dead. Both the show and the graphic novel. I want only the best for both, but let’s not lie to ourselves. After a phenomenal and best in the series season opener, the season has fallen off the tracks. It’s no secret viewership is down. This episode I’m sorry to say exemplifies why. I don’t care about Tara. Sorry. Not at all. I don’t care about the Enids either.
I care about Rick, Michinne and Negan. I care about Ezekiel, Jesus and how they fit in, as well as Maggie, Eugene and Rosita. They need to stop focusing on the lesser characters. It distracts way too much. The graphic novel doesn’t even do that. This season needs to be more like the comics. Focus on Negan and Rick. Rick and the Kingdom, etc.
Carol is past her prime. I don’t care about her inner struggles. Daryl is slowly becoming a lost cause. Carl is an Emo train wreck.
Seriously, it’s like the farm all over. But worse. There weren’t nearly as many characters.
This show needs to get it in gear quick. I can only suspect certain actors cost more than others and limiting screen time is to mitigate costs. If that’s the deal, it’s unfortunate. Get us back in line with the season opener and stop trying to make us care about Charachters we don’t want to.
Sorry, my thoughts and anger. Tired of sugar coating it.
Seems quite a bit of us DO care about the not-so-main characters; they support everything about the main characters. They not only give meaning to who the main characters are, what they do, and why they do it but they also provide a nice deviation to help with anticipating what comes next, oftentimes being the bulk of umpredictability that the comic doesn’t have… that’s the most enjoyable part for me! I think they also make the show endure without speeding past the comic, which is something that would no doubt ruin the show. I see them as the parts that make the idea of the show whole. Without them, the concept of community & survival loses some of its value, to us & to the main characters.
You should never sugar coat anything. That always results in meaningless responses.
I agree but I do think we might not care as much about the 2nd and 3rd string characters storylines as much as the main ones. This is why the need to make sure the episode is as engaging as possible. Would also help if they checked in on some of the other characters within the episode for balance. And since they claimed Glenn’s death was necessary for the character development of the others, I’m all in favor of them getting on with that because it seems to be taking a long time.
I definitely don’t care as much for Tara’s story as I do Rick’s, but I still wanna keep up with her. Somewhere down the line, she gives meaning or cause to someone else’s story & that, in turn, may have a substantial affect. And she was pretty cool up until this ep. Same for Enid. Who knows what kind of effect she’ll have on Carl? Meanwhile, giving me the story over an entire ep instead of interjecting bits & pieces of everyone in every ep works better for me as it gets me deeper into each story & holds me in suspense for the next week’s round (makes the anticipation for Negan sweeter!). Then when they throw them all together in those major eps, it just makes everything work. See, that’s the thing… what’s engaging to one may not be engaging to another & because the show doesn’t really hold to one particular format for a certain length of time, all of us are covered. So I think they’re doing a great job on the whole, even when the dial hits on an ep/character that’s not Grimes status.
Yeah, it’s just that when I’m not as into the character they are featuring, I’m not as engaged in the episode. I didn’t think this episode was bad, I found the other group kind of interesting but Tara just has never struck a chord with me (although she did gain points after helping Glenn after the prison situation). Anyway, I too think all of the other characters are needed (whether or not we like them) for the same reasons you mentioned, but in some cases an entire episode evolving around one character can be too much.
I appreciate your maturity, your kindness, & ability to have a discussion with an obvious understanding of opinion in mind… although you & I haven’t had much difference in opinion. When I browse this site, I look forward to what you have to say.
“maturity, kindness with well thought out responses” what the hell has happened to this site !
I’m so displaced now, aren’t I, Stu? Maybe I should go back to being a bitch. I had more fans then.
also with a username of sevenofnine I assume they are a Star Trek fan, who are much nicer than us jaded walking dead lot.
As someone who once called themselves a TWD fanboy, I have to agree with this. This season has been so painfully slow and drawn out that it is really starting to aggravate me. I don’t care if an episode is slow, or a set up episode. I care about whether or not the show has good/interesting story telling, and so far this season is falling flat on it’s face.
I care that they actually give the viewer the feeling that the story is actually progressing. Just make good episodes with good story telling and people will watch. This show has felt like it’s been at a standstill since the end of 701. I shouldn’t have to sit through several episodes of stagnation just to get one episode of payoff – “build up episodes” and “stagnation” don’t need to be mutually inclusive. Game of Thrones does build up all of the time, and it manages to stay interesting throughout the entire season.
Wow, I already like this season better than last season.
And again, I get down-voted for my own expression of what I like… not even an opinion of what I think the season is. It’s becoming a challenge to have a discussion as Intelligence has really been thinning out on this site for a while. smh
Don’t feel that way. You’re entitled to your opinions and I think they speak for others as well. The Walking Dead is an highly unusual show and sometimes that means not everyone can understand and/or like it’s own unique “unstructured” format. The show also seems to bring out very strong emotions because people become extremely attached to these characters, plus some are comparing it to the comic version. Don’t take the criticisms to heart, I think we’re still trying to recover from the season premier.
I, too, love TWD. However, I appreciate some of the excursions. I liked meeting new survivors; new people for whom to care. Also, I think those kinds of episodes (chances) – that focus on one or two characters – sets this show apart. It also helps us to get to know these characters better, more personally. Of course, I like Tara and her spirit.
If Tara knew that Denise was dead would she have stayed at Oceanside?
I don’t think she really had a choice to stay… those chicks were gonna kill her, regardless. But to answer your question, I like to think that Tara loves more than just Denise. She chose to go back to family over staying with strangers.
I just watched the Talking Dead so I didn’t know that the question was asked but in a different format. I don’t think she would have stayed either she loves to fight with the group too much.
I don’t stay tuned to Talking Dead anymore. The never-failing raunchy comment(s) each ep just got to me. I don’t mind some fuckery but it can be played out.
I certainly have to agree with you on that one. I really want to tune into Talking Dead so I can gain additional insight and perspective on events but Chris Hardwick is just too annoying for me. His whole persona just seems very forced but that is certainly just my opinion.
This show has got to take a note from Game of Thrones. I mean, WHY are they splitting each person’s stories into a WHOLE episode?? Why can’t they cover every character (or most) in every episode?? We’d still be in the same point of the narrative, but getting there would be so much more interesting! Like, what are they thinking?? I really hope they change this format going forward.
It wasn’t surprising for me. It was boring. The entire episode. Can we stick to Rick, Carl, Negan, Jesus, Michonne or Carol? Season 5 bored me to death with Beth, too. The ONLY time Beth was interesting ws when she was around Daryl. After that, I was over it. I never thought it could happen, but the way “The Walking Dead” has split up the characters, I’m now less interested in Daryl — and he was one of my favorite characters. There is absolutely nothing even slightly interesting to me about Tara or Heath. I don’t watch “Game of Thrones,” but it would be so much better if they showed each character in their own living space and split it up. Even in the comic strip, we got a little of Rick, a little of Negan, a little of Crazy Carl and then a bit on King Ezekiel and Michonne. Everybody’s favorite character was introduced. Dedicating entire episodes to second- and third-string characters just doesn’t make any sense at all to me.
(On a separate note, I still can’t fathom why they’re holding onto that braid wig on Heath for so long. It looks like somebody snatched it off of Shemar Moore’s head in “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.” Who in the world is oiling his scalp and braiding his hair during a zombie apocalypse? Even Rick has cut his hair off at this point. Let Corey Hawkins wear his fade.)
Seriously, try Game of Thrones some day. I used to think TWD had the best writing of any show, until I watched GoT. And they actually manage to move the story along while covering several different narrative points per episode. The best part is that there is a constant sense of progression – something TWD has failed to live up to this season.
I respect the diversity and story lines on “Game of Thrones” equally. Nothing about “Game of Thrones” looks diverse. I see a handful of minorities on IMDB. But let’s say I watched it anyway. Nothing about medieval times and knights sounds interesting to me at all. What I like about “The Walking Dead” is even if you exclude the zombies, this is still a cast, couples and backstory I’d be fascinated to watch.
The biggest disappointment of this episode is that I was not one of the men from Oceanside who was put out of his misery before watching this.
Seriously, I’d rather watch a 50-min loop of Glenn getting his head beat in than see another minute of Tara and her pointless adventures.
Keep it up though AMC, I’ll never stop watching but hopefully putting out this garbage week-to-week will cause some people to lose their jobs in time for a fresh slate for AOW.
#DrainTheWritingRoom
Hello board! As someone above pointed out it appears there will be a mix of episodes big main character ones like E7.4 and then last night’s about a side character. And isn’t having that mix, that variety good?! Having read the comics I think it’s great they are being explored, I do really like pretty much all of the characters lol, and the show is building up towards the coalition that will fight Negan. There are a lot of moving parts that have to come together. It is all coming together, even the smaller characters you could do less of lol!
So many people underestimate Tara! She is a true survivor. She has been in every impossible situation and lived through it, and still remains positive and unjaded. I think I might have made that word up, but you get me. Think of her story line: duped by the Governor (and btw, no matter what Negan did, the Governor is the absolute most evil villain in the show, forever), her dad dies, her niece dies, her lover dies, her sister presumably dies. She is alone and afraid, and feeling worthless for assisting the Gov in killing innocent people at the prison but puts Glenn’s mission to find Maggie ahead of her own life. She saves so many people. She befriends and comforts Eugene. She is constantly extending herself, permeating the fear and death surrounding everyone with humor, reasoning, and kindness. She does what must be done without complaint. Now she has lost her best friend and the woman she loves, plus Abraham, and learns Daryl is captured and the group lives under Negan’s rule. If anyone could relate to Tara, it’s Maggie. I’m curious to know how she handles all of this, if she will continue to carry Denise and Glenn’s guidance and humanity. She has suffered so much loss and keeps going, which makes me feel that she is one of the strongest and most underestimated members of the group. I love that she is getting her chance to shine.
It can’t be all about Rick or Negan. If the show focused solely on one conflict like that, the show would end pretty quick and I think you’d be even more bored. Sit back, relax. Don’t get so antsy about whether each individual episode keeps you as enthralled as a premiere or a finale would. Judge by the season or story arc, because that is how this show is written. If people continue to analyze and debate their viewership over episodic content and refuse room for character/plot development, they are going to have a hard time appreciating and enjoying the show as a series. I’ve never seen a single episode, character, or detail that wasn’t important or useful somehow in propelling a story arc further and making it more meaningful. I trust the producers and writers and I’m all in to see where this story goes. And I’m really happy that this episode was not reflected in the comic…gotta keep some stuff a surprise!
Well said Jayleedances! Good points.
(Possible comic spoilers… though not really anything to spoil) The guns didn’t exist in Oceanside in the comics and the residents were presented much later after Negan confrontation.
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I think they are simply fleshing Oceanside more for the TV series purposely. Where the guns and actually residents will assist in the war against Negan. (while in the comics they avoided any such battles)
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I think the numerous bullet shells might be a point to return to that bridge (they will need a large supply to make new bullets) at some point and Cyndie who is obviously rebelling against the rules of Oceanside might seek out Tara and her group and bring with her the marksman skills she obviously flaunted on the bridge.
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I also think Heath and his situation will become clearer later as will the PPP. Which might likely be explained in a Flashback discussion Tara had with Keith that identifies what the PPP actually represented to him.
Hey, you reading the comic now?
*cough* *The Walking Deadpool* *cough*
Never mind. The answer is on the “What is Oceanside?” post.
Ok… this episode is still irking the living hell out of me. After consulting with my wife, another die hard fan, we have indeed decided this is probably the worst episode in the 7 season run. I respect everyone’s opinion, and those of you that feel differently are welcome to disagree. That’s fine, and I completely respect that. There are plenty of other episodes in other seasons that were fairly horrid, or on par with the “Fly” episode of Breaking Bad. For me, this was it.
First… Tara and Heath. Two characters that I really just don’t care about. Heath hasn’t been developed much at all. I rather it had been him that got lost so we could develop his character more. Have him find the all female commune. That would have been a good dynamic. Instead, we had an episode focused on Tara with very poor acting. Her attempts to lie didn’t come off as good. It was more, hey, I’m going to lie, but pour it on so you know I’m lying. It was just bad.
Now for another thing that irks me. I live in Virginia. I used to live in Alexandria. I live a few miles South now. It’s a four hour drive to the Ocean. But the improbability of them having gas to get there and back is not what bothers me. It’s the bloody vegetation. I’m still watching the show as if it takes place in Georgia. Nothing about the show looks like Virginia. NOTHING. Small compared to the issues with this episode.
The all female commune. Ok… we got an explanation for it. Fine. I get it. Negan killed all the men. Saviors suck. Then you found your way four hours to the sea killing anyone on sight. Where’s Carol to tell Rachel to look at the flowers. Something about the all female compound just seemed… weird. Even though we got the background story later on, it just was silly. To me. I mean, do you really need to find another community to fight? You’ve got the Kingdom and Hilltop. Or are they established as the one’s with the weapons now? All this means is more characters getting introduce cluttering a show that already has too many.
I want the focus to be on Rick, and Negan. Someone already said if Spencer’s not dead by the end of the mid season finale, they are done. I’m not at that point, but last night was painful. It’s almost as if the budget has gotten too large to pay for Lincoln so they are limiting his screen on time so they can shell out less money for lesser actors. Just my theory. I really don’t know. This season started with one of, if not the greatest episode in the entire series and has fallen flat. Absolutely flat. Just like last season and the Morgan only episode. But at least I care about Morgan to an extent because of his connection to Rick. Tara is a non comic character that I have never grown attached to and never will.
There are two many other more important characters. Hell, I would have taken an entire episode of Jesus on the road, infiltrating the Savior compound, getting caught and escaping like in the comics. This episode was a waste. I could have not watched it and it would have had little impact on the season for me.
I’m done talking on my soap box now.
I thought Morgan’s ep last season was the best one of the whole season.
Bring on the down votes.
It wasn’t nearly as bad as this episode was, but its still killed a little momentum. Walking Dead has fallen into a very planned sequence.
Start with great opener. Slow down the action and introduce a few new characters. Have an episode on one character only, get the key players back in the mix and tease something interesting might happen. Have a dynamite Mid Season or season finale.
And there you have it. Same formula every season now.
I understand what you’re saying but it’s enough mix up for me not to be tired of it. I like the in-between parts too, so they’re giving me what I want. Except for Daryl’s immunity & driving force of the show.
Now see I didn’t care for Tara’s episode as much as Morgan’s. I suppose that’s because I like Morgan a lot more than I like Tara and I was also curious to find out how Morgan went from bat-crap crazy to Jedi master. In general though I don’t prefer the single character episodes UNLESS they pertain to one of our main people. I don’t mind the planned sequence so much but this season there’s too much slow down. I realize we have a lot of new characters to meet and development of existing ones, but I day let’s get on with it already and get back to the fun stuff!
You love Negan, don’tcha nine. >:)
I’ll say it again: I love TWD! I love Robert Kirkman’s style and look forward to every episode and all the little nuggets hidden therein. Some I see; some I don’t. I like that he doesn’t follow the comics precisely. He has said he likes the opportunity to rewrite and make things better. It would take a lot to disappoint me!
It’s one of those love-hate situations w/Negan. I do love JDM though.
To view this post on my cell phone where the animations aren’t showing up is to totally miss out on the awesomeness that is Greg Nicotero!