Season 8 of 'The Walking Dead' started off really badly and most of the first half was not good at all. It did pick up a little in some of the second half, with some episodes being good and showing signs that the show hadn't completely lost it. Overall though Season 8 is probably 'The Walking Dead's' worst season, with all the flaws of Season 7 present but worse and more flaws along the way. As someone who loved most of Seasons 1-6's episodes, that's disappointing indeed.
"Still Gotta Mean Something" by Season 8 standards is pretty good. It is very flawed and is nowhere near one of the best episodes of 'The Walking Dead', but it is so much better than all of the season's first half and in the high middle category ranking the second half of it and the season overall actually. Can totally see the praise that "Still Gotta Mean Something" has garnered from some here with there being a lot to like, while also understanding the criticisms and agreeing with a few respectfully.
It is a long way from being a perfect episode. It is an unevenly paced episode, with the first quarter with Jadis and Negan being too dragged out and long winded and the ending being on the hasty side.
Like many of the episodes from Season 8, "Still Gotta Mean Something" is a bit too talk heavy, some of the worst of it being with Negan which was in serious need of a trim. Some decision making is mind bogglingly dumb for reasons that are very vague, like with Morgan. Some of it goes round in circles and doesn't really build upon what is already known.
However, a lot is good about "Still Gotta Mean Something". Photography isn't disorganised or self-indulgant in the way that it was in some episodes of Season 8, such as the first three and strictly speaking most of the first half. 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, particularly in the more emotional moments. The direction has momentum while having enough breathing space.
The story has a good deal of dark tension with some well staged and often enthralling action in the middle. Conflicts are resolved, ones that were long overdue (both conflicts involving Henry for example), and the more emotional parts (so Rick's anguish and the reading of the letter) are genuinely heartfelt. The death is satisfying, it is not a cop out, abrupt or a cheap way to kill off someone unpopular. The acting is very good, particularly from Andrew Lincoln and Lennie James.
Overall, liked it a good deal while not loving it. 7/10.
