Well, the Season 7 finale has aired, analyzed, re-watched, digested & regurgitated for dissection.
My opinion: "It was good."
Reasons:
1- No real payoff except for the "run & gun" parts. Which, it seems, are the parts TWD writers try to avoid. We knew Sashas fate episodes ago. No surprises there. Shiva was the highlight of the episode.
2-Negan, in one of the most out of character moments since his introduction, makes an error in judgement that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. For a man who covers his bases, he didn't in the one instance that mattered.
3-There's a "surprise twist" & then there's a "cheat". The Scavengers betrayal of Rick was a cheat. No subtle forshadowing. Plus, the Scavenger culture is simply ridiculous. Their speech, their mannerisms...it's just too silly. A Scavenger kicked Michonnes ass, really? An UNKNOWN scavenger too. Are we to believe they're awesome warriors by their creed & their junkyard life? Another cheat.
4-Flashbacks can be a useful tool to help further a story narrative but when used for ret-conning is totally unnecessary. Fluff & padding.
5-Red shirt syndrome. Lotta deaths, just no-one we really cared about...or knew who they were in the first place.
6-Repetitive Storylines. Negan is only different from the Governor in a few ways. Same shit, different guy.
7- Zombies relegated to few & far between gags. They're not much of a threat anymore. Hell, where our characters at one time had to remain silent to avoid attracting walkers now, it appears that entire speeches can be loudly yelled without interruption by those pesky undead.
8-Run time too long. Too many commercial breaks. Finale ratings are usually higher, so ad rates go up. Longer run time means more breaks which means more money.
TWD should take some lessons from the "Ash vs Evil Dead" playbook. A 30 minute episode mandates a brisk, active pace without sacrificing character development at all.
It was good. "The best episode ever!" - No.
Issue #2 continues the movie storyline and seamlessly adds depth to it with new elements.
Fulci films are an acquired taste and sometimes his films defied certain horror movie storyline sensibilities but that's the core of his film style.
These comics are the of the highest quality and they are created with the Fulci fan in mind.
In a word: Awesome.
Well, the TWD finale for season 6 sure raised the ire of more than a few fans!
Yes, I was one of them.
That was a 90 minute set up for the biggest chicken shit move they could have done: cheat.
There were at least two deaths filmed for Negans introduction for sure. The probability of a third is high. The three (according to various confirmable sources) were Glenn, Daryl & Eugene. Fair enough.
SOME of the blame goes to a well known TWD spoilers site as to why we got the shaft on who actually was murdered. By releasing the audio, that site brought down the wrath of AMC & they had those guys shut down on FB, the web...hell, EVERYWHERE!!
They deserved it too. Drones, stealth & clandestine deals with someone in the studio... for real. That level of spoiling is damn crazy.
So, TWD cheated us. Instead of knowing that Daryl is murdered - they made it like it is...ambiguous.
Now the exec producers can gauge fan reaction to it & put any character in Negans death slot by season 7 filming!
If it weren't for fans spoiling the production to the level they had, we very well could have had a very different & definitive answer as to who bit the big one.
It should be Daryl.
In all honesty, Scott Gimple, that episode was weak. The build up for Negan took a whole season & to pull a 90 minute snooze fest just to be handed a handful of nothing was a shitty thing to do.
All I know is that Daryl Dixon better die now. Anyone else would further cheat the viewers.
Don't give me a Rosita death or even a Eugene...oh hell no, after this fiasco, I better get a big pay off! You know, like the ones you always say are coming, but never do?
Quit punishing the audience & give us a main character death already.
