The Big Scary U

After the first few Season 8 episodes of stilly comic-book like shoot 'em ups, human drama, fragility and conflict returns to The Walking Dead last week and especially this week. At last.

Last week and this week were centred on character. It has been these character-centric episodes which have helped make this show one of the best ever. Father Gabriel has never been one of my favourite characters despite the great performances, but this episode contrasted strength and weakness beautifully using TWDs most powerful performer right now, JD Morgans' Negan, with the difficult and haunted Father Gabriel.

Great drama and emotion in this episode. And the near-unravelling of the Saviours was also well played and makes for interesting times in the coming episodes.

Hope there's' more like this for the rest of the season. 8.5/10

Well, we finally got the return of Negan this week as he's been locked away with Father Gabriel in that small building for 4 weeks (but likely only a few hours in the show's timeline). Either way, it was nice to get him back, and we got quite a few nuggets of information based on his life before the outbreak. Before Robert Kirkman spilled the beans on Talking Dead last week, I wouldn't have predicted the show would ever divulge such info. Some things are better left unsaid right?

With that said, I really enjoyed Negan's back and forth with Gabriel (or as Negan calls him, Gabe(e)), it was something both characters needed. We needed to see Gabriel in a situation where he can stand up to someone in power, it's not something we have been able to get from his awkward and even creepy character. And it was also nice to see Negan in a different light. The tidbits of information he gave to Gabriel about having a wife and not being able to put her down when the time came was interesting. Not exactly something stunning or anything we haven't heard before with other characters. But it did feel a little bit more interesting coming from Negan.

Rick and Daryl had another episode where they shared most of their screen time with each other. Again, I like the fact that we are getting these moments with the two of them because it feels like it's been a few years since we have. However, the two of them ended up on the wrong side of their punches, breaking out into a small scuffle after they disagreed on tactics towards taking out the Sanctuary. It's hard to really pick which one is right in this situation. I understand why Rick wants to think about the innocent lives considering from the beginning that was always their motto of taking people in from the outside. But how can you not think about the consequences of NOT using full force towards the Sanctuary? You know that it's going to come down to a big decision and Rick will be on the short end of the stick. It always has to get a little bit worse before it can get better again.

Even though we did have to endure another Walker escape while being covered in Walker guts, tonight's episode was a good one. Things are escalating at the Sanctuary with Dwight edging closer and closer to meeting his end, while Gabriel all of a sudden got really sick. So while I don't think this season is moving as fast as they marketed it to be, I still very much enjoyed the dialogue tonight. It's far from filler.

8.4/10

Excellent comeback to season 8. I really loved this episode. It was certainly an improvement over the episodes before it. Big scary U was pretty good, I liked the ominous vibes of this episode.

After really disliking the first three episodes of Season 8 (especially "Monsters"), "Some Guy" turned out to be a big improvement and shed some hope. Didn't care for Season 8 as an overall whole, but it was not devoid of good episodes. Expectations were a bit mixed on first watch, despite being pleasantly surprised by "Some Guy" that "The Big Scary U" was going to focus on two characters that have not been that interesting in a long time concerned me a bit.

"The Big Scary U" was another Season 8 episode that was better than expected. It is not one of the best episodes of 'The Walking Dead', Season 6's "Not Tomorrow Yet" was the last "great" instalment of 'The Walking Dead', but its handling of the two characters that are not favourites of mine by any stretch was surprisingly well done. Flaws and all, "The Big Scary U" definitely to me is one of the better episodes of Season 8 and in the small group of instalments that weren't disappointing.

Sure, "The Big Scary U" could have been better. Again the action is somewhat messy and more silly than thrilling, especially in the final third. The ending felt a bit abrupt.

Felt too that some of the dialogue did ramble, especially some of Negan's. Which was not surprising, as long-winded dialogue is a common problem with Negan's character. Also Eugene is annoying and he is another character who has never been a favourite of mine.

However, "The Big Scary U" does very well with the development of Father Gabriel and Negan, both characters progressing and given more nuance than usual. It was great to see a more conflicted (without it wallowing into excessive self-pity or anything) and humanised Father Gabriel and Negan has more menace than he has done in some time while having more nuance to usual. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Seth Gilliam do fine jobs in their roles, Morgan particularly.

It never bothered me that "The Big Scary U" was a slower paced episode and not the taut action-packed sort of episode of 'The Walking Dead'. It is more character driven than plot driven, it succeeds on that front because the characterisation is interesting and illuminating in the case of Negan. While the story isn't perfectly executed, it still compels and not only does it feel like things are progressing it also does a great job with filling in the gaps the previous episodes had. Particularly in regard to the backstory of Negan.

Photography isn't disorganised or self-indulgant in the way that it was in the first three episodes of Season 8. The lighting has a foreboding atmosphere to it. The music similarly is suitably ominous and while the script is not perfect either it provokes thought.

On the whole, not great but by Season 8 standards it was good. 7/10.

Season 8 wasn't the best season but it has had some memorable moments which makes this episode stand out

this episode also showed that it doesn't need action to be entertaining and mostly focused on Negans point of view

definitely worth watching