“How It’s Gotta Be”
Rick, Jadis, and the Scavengers arrive at The Sanctuary, where it’s clear Negan and his crew have escaped Suddenly, they come under fire and Jadis and her crew retreat. Carol and Jerry show up in the nick of time to save Rick. Meanwhile, we cut to another time where Carl argues with Rick to find a better way through the war. We then see Negan, who’s out of The Sanctuary and in his truck whistling cheerily.
Elsewhere, Enid audibles and drives her and Aaron to Oceanside. Aaron nearly gets killed but Enid kills Natania to save him. They get surrounded by Oceanside soldiers while Cyndie mourns her grandmother. back at Alexandria, Carl preps supplies for Siddiq and Michonne questions what he’s doing. Before he can explain they hear a banging at the gate. Negan’s voice rings out on a megaphone beyond the wall and warns them they have three minutes to open the gate before he starts ‘bombing’ them. Elsewhere, Rick and Carol speed back to Alexandria while Jerry gets blindsided on the road.
At The Kingdom, Ezekiel sits alone in his throne room reading a note from Jerry, who tells him they had to leave for Alexandria to watch them win. Suddenly, he hears a bang and hides as the Saviors crowd the room searching for him. Outside, Savior Gavin informs the Kingdom residents that the Saviors will be moving in now that The Sanctuary is overrun. Elsewhere, Maggie and Jesus get stopped by a tree roadblock as the Saviors show up behind them. They open the back of a truck where they’re holding Jerry hostage. Simon arrives and asks Maggie and Jesus to surrender their guns or Jerry gets shot.
Back in Alexandria, Carl quickly forms a plan to trick Negan into thinking they left. He then appears alone at the gate to inform Negan that Rick isn’t home and to not attack them because of the families and kids inside. “None of this shit’s fair, kid,” Negan responds. Carl asks Negan to kill him instead, and when Negan questions him Carl explains he’s going to die anyway. Suddenly, Rick and Daryl plow through a blockade. Dwight chases after them with a Convoy while a pissed off Negan instructs his people to fire grenades into Alexandria.
Carl injures his leg while hurrying down from the gate but limps away and sets off smoke grenades as he goes. He’s surrounded by explosions – the church, the car, everything seems to be burning. At The Kingdom, Gavin demands the people to give him Ezekiel or it’ll be “Negan’s way.” Back on the road – Simon reassures Maggie that The Hilltop will be kept intact to keep producing for the Saviors. To get her to agree, he kills the Hilltop blacksmith and threatens to kill Jerry. Maggie asks for the coffin he brought to bury the blacksmith, and Simon agrees.
Carl limps through Alexandria and stops at a house to take a breather. He clutches the JSS note, hears a noise, and then leaps from the balcony as the house explodes. Outside of the walls, Michonne, Daryl, Tara, and Rosita ambush Dwight and The Saviors. Dwight helps them by taking out some of the Saviors himself. All of the Saviors are dead except for him and Laura, who now realizes Dwight’s a traitor. She shoots him in the shoulder but the gunfire from Daryl forces her to run off.
Negan plows his truck through Alexandria’s gates and instructs his Saviors to bring him Carl alive while they continue burning the town to the ground. Some of the Saviors locate him but he sets off a smoke bomb and hides in the sewer. Back at The Sanctuary, Eugene gives Father Gabriel and Dr. Carson keys to an escape vehicle. Gabriel tries to get him back on their side, but Eugene refuses. At The Kingdom, Ezekiel sets off his own explosion and drives a bus into some Saviors. Carol arrives to find Ezekiel, who closes the gates on her and tells her to save his people.
Maggie and Jesus return to The Hilltop, where they pull a prisoner Savior from his pen. Maggie kills him and explains she did it as retribution for killing one of her own. She then instructs her people to fortify the gates and prepare for The Hilltop to make the last stand. On the road Dwight tells Daryl it was him who set this ambush up perfectly and vows not to go back to The Saviors. Daryl takes back his vest as Michonne, with the Saviors’ weapons in hand, tells them they need to get back to Alexandria. At The Kingdom Gavin beats up Ezekiel and tells him it didn’t have to be this way.
Back in Alexandria Daryl, Rosita, and Tara hide in the sewer while Michonne goes solo. Rick also returns and is blindsided by Negan in a house. They dance around each other, exchanging blows. Rick bludgeons him and tries to beat him with Lucille, but Negan throws him out of the window while Rick escapes. Meanwhile, Michonne slices through walkers and Saviors to find her family. One of the Saviors grabs her but she kills him and slices him over and over. Rick finally finds her and asks where everyone is.
Michonne takes Rick to the sewers, where they find their friends and soldiers hiding. Rick walks among them until he reaches Carl, who reveals he HAS BEEN BITTEN! NOOOOOOO!!!! Rick and Michonne are understandably in shock, but tend to him in his final moments.
What did you think of this intense Mid-Season Finale? Is Carl done for? Can Alexandria be saved? Tell us in the comments!
… omg… !
I was sure thinking Judith would be the one we’d lose! Love when the show totally throws it like this every now & then!
Ever since the a little past tje first episode of season 8 spoilers were out and they just did not move out of my mind. We knew Carl would die it sucked. But Carl should be the reason the group keeps moving forward and defeats the saviors. Also this episode is great and should at least drag back 3oo thousand fans I would estimate. Hopefully it will revive the Walking Dead. Overall I am excited for what is in store for The Walking Dead
This is a significant departure from the source material, and more importantly, may signal the end of the series is closer than most thought.
I’m a bit taken back by this episode. Yes it was great, yes it kept me on the edge of my seat. But I’m also upset and disappointed and sad. We heard the rumors about Chandler, I just didn’t want it to be true. OK, if it really was realky his plan to leave the show & he had to be killed off, then fine. But how dare y’all let him go down like that! Would’ve been better if he went down with a bang or heroic like Abraham. Y’all gave him a terrible, simple death. He deserves better. Definitely a major plot twist from the comics. If they can deviate from that and have Carl killed off, then Negan better get killed off too. If Carl really is a goner, his death will bring out the ultimate rage in Rick and hopefully he’ll finally get the job done. Sad to see Carl, go.
Not every death should be a heroic bang, but Carl actually was a hero in this ep & the fact that it’s Carl we’re losing is a bang all in itself.
True. I’m just still upset 🙁
Yeah, 809–or whichever one he actually goes out in–is gonna be a rough one!
Carl is not dead yet he is going to be in the midseason premiere to be given justice and show Rick to show mercy over his wrath. That is the whole reason for his death.
Also find it weird that in the trailer for the next episode in February, Rick seems unbothered.
Even though it was a sinking feeling, I still didn’t want it to be true… In those moments, I thought of my own two boys and I felt my heart break. Chandler, delivered such a performance throughout this entire season and out did himself in this mid season finale! February is too far away – I’m not sure how I’m going to get through the episode in which Carl actually dies. This show for so many reasons is my Favorite ever. The characters/actors have pulled me in but it was this episode when I saw Carl dig in so deep with Negan, leading up until he reveals the bite…. It became real for me in that moment. I can’t say I’ve ever felt something so real and over all, emotionally consuming than Chandlers performance. This includes throughout the series as well but even so, I never felt it like I did tonight. Chandler/Carl well done. I’m also never letting my kids out of my sight again! I feel like I watched him grow up.. /end cheesy emo mom stuff.
Well done, everyone.
Johnny, in your first paragraph, change “Morgan” to Jerry. It was Jerry and Carol who showed up to save Rick when he was pinned down very early in the show.
I hate to see Chandler go because, to me, the show felt a bit like his story. We’ve watched him kill his dad’s best friend’s reanimated corpse, help deliver his sister, killed his mom, almost get raped by a disgusting Claimer, etc. He’s grown up before our eyes and it’s going to feel like losing a little brother when he goes. I like that his death has meaning since he was bit helping Saddiq. His speech to Negan about his death making a difference can come true if the others put in the work. Since Carl’s death is a huge departure from the comic, I wonder if they’re considering ending the series soon. If not, I wonder who will have Carl’s storylines that are essential to the plot? Daryl maybe since he doesn’t even exist in the comics.
I SO was wishing Daryl would bite the dust. Love him but too many important deaths have been because of him.. I don’t know how I could move on with him on my side if he was the cause of my son’s death.. however, I don’t see him taking Carl’s comic book place. Curious to who that will be as well.
Não gostei dele morrer assim mordido, vou sentir falta dele, tinha tudo pra ser líder depois de Rick, sinceramente espero que seja um pesadelo do Rick e que Carl esteja vivo, amo você meu menino ?❤??
My heart was breaking as soon as the episode started… I just had a feeling something was up with Carl. The teaser photo of the bite mark made me think of him with the pail skin and when your in the last few minutes of the show it makes your heart drop. Chandler did an amazing job. Idk how I’m going to get over this. ?
tbh, its sad. I mainly read the comics. Sometimes ill watch the show. But any who, i wonder if they will do the Whisper War. Carl was kinda a big part of it. Oh well. I hope the show ends with a bang.
I had heard the rumors that Carl was going to be killed off the show and I was upset by that but I assumed that the actor wanted off the show and had asked for this. Then I found out from an interview that Chandler Riggs did that that wasn’t the case; Carl’s death came as a total surprise to Chandler. He was shocked when he found out. As it turns out this was all Scott Gimple’s idea. A huge departure from the comic that I am not happy about at all.
This season has been a dumpster fire all season. They took one of the best storylines from the comic and took a shit all over it. All out war has been a bust on tv. Last nights mid season finale was a let down. You couldnt even tell what the hell was going on half the time because it was so dark. Killing carl was the dumbest thing they could have done…its almost like they did it just to say there will be a shocking moment in this episode….please tune in!!! If they wanted to kill of a major character it should have been Carol, Daryl or Morgan…..They have all out lived their comic presence and Daryl doesnt even exist in the comics. On top of that if you are gonna kill Carl off DO IT IN A BETTER WAY……..What a lame death for one of the best characters on the show. I have lost faith in the show….even the comic has had a string of crappy issues until this months masterpiece. Cmon Walking Dead…you are better than this
30 minutes of frigging commercials!
Honestly I’m pretty pissed. Yeah Carl could survive if he got bit by a Whisperer but I’ve read the interviews and stuff and I’m pretty sure they’re deadset on KILLING HIM which is a horrible mistake in my opinion. HUGE deviation from the comics that messes up the whole storyline. They did Carl AND Chandler so wrong, I’m mad. Chandler literallt bought a house in Georgia and took a gap year from school to focus on acting (after being promised another 3 seasons) and then was just fired like THAT. I was excited for Carl’s future in the show but, yeah.
Well they promised a shocking episode and they did deliver this time. A lot of comments here about the crappy death for Carl and I guess I didn’t even think about that until now, but yeah, it is a crappy way to go and he deserved so much more. But he is not dead yet so who knows what amazing things he may accomplish in the short time he has left. I really liked his conversation with Negan, and the way Negan listened to him. It made me think of the comic “moment” maybe it will be Carl face to face with Negan instead of Rick. That would be his swan song, and a hell of a way to go out with a bang.
I don’t want Negan to die, but if Carl did orut, I world be ok with it.
Wow. Beth drama all over again.
Bastet I think it’s more of hiding under a dumpster drama all over again. Drama nonetheless. At least it’s not the I’m done with this show! No riots. Is that still a thing? If Daryl dies do we still riot?
BWAHAHA!
You know, killing Carl was right up there with The Three Things the Show Will NOT Do (Kill Daryl is #1). I’m intrigued!
Hey, Andrea, Carl is going to join you. Yep, this is not a comic – actors may want to leave, like Chandler wanted to. Sometimes it is like that, but Rick still got Judith, despite probably being Shane’s. Quite a fine episode,
Maggie is a badass, already embattling the Hilltop and sending the coffin to the Saviors with a warning to keep off. Holy hell, when Simon killed Neil, I really thought she wanted the coffin for him. Nope, she already had a plan. Sometimes even seemingly wrong things – Jesus’ captives – may turn into good things. 30+ captured Saviors is way too many for Negan to just ignore and let them die in burnt Hilltop. Not for Simon, but I guess he will happily deal with traitorous Junkpeople.
With Natania dead, I suppose that Oceanside will join the cause.
Chandler didn’t want to leave, and neither did Laurie Holden (Andrea). Laurie was asked to sign on for another eight years right before she was killed off, she even bought a house in Atlanta. Chandler did the same thing, he was offered at least another three years and he had also just bought a house in Senoia.
Scott gimple needs to go. His way of telling my favorite story is going awry. Please Robert kirkman, step in and make a change. Does this mean fear the walking dead is gonna go down the tubes with him in charge? Please make a change. Thank you.
Fear went down the tubes at the start of Season 2. Gimple could only do that show some good.
Without even getting to the final scene and the big reveal this episode didn’t make any sense. It was horribly written this whole season was a disaster. The comics are really well written they gave a great guide line but they fail miserably. The Sanctuary and the Saviours were besieged completely overran by Zombies at the conclusion of last episode. 10 minutes into this episode and the same night as the Zombie invasion when they should be on the defensive. The Saviours complete a full Offensive strike in 3 different areas. It is completely unexplained. On 1 set of their Offensive plan they block the road with a tree and come from behind on a +15man military force that doesn’t put up any fight. Even though they were relatively evenly matched. At the conclusion of the fight they kill some guy and send them home.
I can’t really go through just how horrible this episode was. Everything was really poorly written. No part of this episode was done right. The whole season was just a bunch of pointless plot lines to insure they could make an 8episode plot line last 16 episodes. One of my favourite things about The Walking Dead(Comic) is the logistics. It’s all very well thought out. There is no gas , Ammo Pre Eugene was hard to come by and things like food and electricity are scarce. In the TV show nothing is scarce especially not gas and ammo. Cars drive guns shoot its what they do why explain.
Everything just seems so lazy. Robert would never openly say it but it’s really hard for me to believe someone who puts so much thought into the logistics could be happy with this.
Gimple has lost his edge and sent the direction of the show into the abyss. Sadly, the damage is done. Replacing him won’t fix the irreparable harm he’s done. I give the show two seasons, three tops, and that would be two or three seasons too long at this point.
Agreed. His skilled-touch has certainly died out. Just bad storytelling now.
Out of the 90 minutes for this episode, I cannot believe there were 30 minutes of commercials!
It’s standard television protocol to have 8 minutes of commercials for every 22 minutes of productions so my guess is this episode had 24 minutes of commercials which is what there should be. I just turn it on at 9:30 and ff through the commercials.
I think Gimple isn’t paying attention anymore. The editing is all over the place and there are huge holes in the narrative that aren’t explained, glossed over, or just ignored. Like Rick, Carol, and Jerry are in a car…then teleport time jump everyone is separated in different storylines without explanation? A 20 second cut scene could have fixed this narrative. Or jumping from kingdom to alexandria to hilltop without any shots to frame the setting or visual cues like landmarks was confusing. Also, blowing time and budget on garbage people, killing seaside grandmas, etc instead of showing Eugene remove an epic herd of zombies? That would have been good zombie action in a show that needs more zombies…instead they just talk about it? I don’t know maybe they lost the budget to do the show right, maybe Gimple is checked out or out of touch, but it’s been a sloppy season.
You know… I used to post first thing after every episode. I just haven’t had it in me this season. I’ll keep this short…
Somewhere in between Oceanside, the Trash People and .50 Cal rounds bouncing harmlessly of jeeps this show lost its way. Really, the writing has been sub-par.
While some left when Glenn died, I smiled. Just like the comics. It. Was. Perfect. But things went downhill after that.
The culmination was this… Carl’s death sentence. A shock even to Chandler Riggs. And why? Theorize what you want. The show may be nearing its end. Fine.
Yeah, the show has deviated from the comics. Andrea was a big one. But, it was early on. I got over it in time.
This however is just plain stupid. Really, I’ve lost faith in Gimple’s show running abilities.
Thank god I still have the comics…
I cant stand the trash people and the way they talk. So the world goes to shit and all of a sudden they cant speak in complete sentences? You are spot on with the 50 cal rounds bouncing off the jeep…..One of those rounds would destroy the vehicle….on top of that King Ezeikal got shot in the leg with a 50 cal round…..and yet he can still walk/limp around? That round would have taken his leg off….
It’s lazy. 100% lazy story telling. Everything is now a macguffin device..
“I smiled”……..just plain hurtful; disrespect!
Just when was Carl bitten??? After he and Siddiq fought the walkers,sure both were out of breath. Carl seemed to be OK when directing the Alexandrians out of the refuge. No sweating,shakes,etc. like previous folks we’ve seen. Oh well,this is terrible. I look next for his girl friend to really break down(if the Oceansiders don’t kill her first!) So what does Rick have to live for?? The little girl probably isn’t his. He truly must use Carl’s death as a motivator to eliminate Negan and the Saviors.
Extremely disappointed in Gimple. Truly ruining the show now. Came in to save it years ago, and now the show needs saving from him. This death is completely idiotic and pointless. It’s even worse when you stop and realize that he did this just to make a decision Rick made in the comic, make more sense in the show. Lame ass excuse. I’ve loved this show since it began and would watch until the very end, but they are pushing me away. Would hate to see the show end, but at this point I think it must end to preserve what it was. This great series should die a great series before it dies a rubbish one.
Also, they have made me hate Daryl. This character should have died in the season 7 premiere. They have made him unkillable and that is not something that they can come back from. I have been slowly disliking him since the whole BS Beth storyline he had. It is quite clear that they only care about this character now. I bet if they could, they would restart the series with Daryl as the main character. If killing off Carl is their way of making Daryl the main character and leader after Rick dies, I’ll lose my shit. Daryl is ruining the series, it is time to cut him loose… or send his ass to Fear instead of Morgan… bet that would boost Fear’s ratings significantly.
Judith is Rick’s daughter, biology be damned. Judith is Carl’s sister, in this post civilization world, you don’t discount family.
I just keep wondering who Carl gives his hat to.
Will it be Enid? Could it be Siddiq? Will he put it on the “little ass kicker.”
Will he bestow it on Eugene or Dwight to say something to the Alexandrians, that they have his stamp of approval.
Or will it mark his hero’s grave?
Yeah how did Carl just barely get bit in the midsection? You would think if a zombie gets his teeth in you he’s ripping out a chunk of flesh, especially in the midsection where your probably preoccupied in the first place to allow it to reach that spot.
Scott you’re ruining the show AMC need to pay Robert and get so new writers
Gimples gotta go. Save the walking dead.
Pass it on.
I’ve always said, Negan is so good. very interesting character, and Jeffrey’s performance is fabulous !
Episodes with Negan are the best. So, Negan have a heart.
please fire gimple