SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the Season 8, Episode 8 of The Walking Dead, entitled “How It’s Gotta Be.” Proceed with caution.
In last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, the show went deep (maybe a little too deep) into the mind of the show’s number one coward Eugene — which ended in him becoming a full Savior.
This week, Season 8 arrived at its mid-season finale with this latest episode entitled “How It’s Gotta Be.” This episode brought everything to a massive high as Daryl’s attack from last week put all the communities in grave danger, reversing all the progress Rick, Maggie, and Ezekiel made.
All the Colonies Are in Danger
Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom went under siege as Negan and his forces began to retaliate after the attack on Sanctuary. Thanks to Eugene, the Saviors escaped the walker hordes and each of Negan’s lieutenants decided to pay their colonies a friendly visit.
Maggie and her people were put under pressure by Simon while they were on the road. Simon and his men had Jerry hostage, demanding for Maggie’s cooperation. At the Kingdom, Ezekiel tried to hide from Gavin, who is searching thoroughly for him. Gavin eventually caught up to Ezekiel leaving the once king’s fate unknown. Later, Rick arrives back to Alexandria and finally came toe-to-toe with Negan in his own home. After a brutal brawl, Rick escaped the skirmish leaving Negan alone for the time being.
The damage has been done heavily to each of the colonies, so the question is: will the resistance be able to bounce back from this? Just how will Rick and his forces continue the fight? As of now, things don’t look so good and who knows if they’ll be able to recover.
Enid & Aaron Try to Reach out to Oceanside
After leaving the Hilltop, Aaron and Enid set out to Oceanside to try to convince them to join the fight. Instead of things going smoothly, it lead to Enid shooting Natania on accident because she thought a Savior got the jump on Aaron. This turn of events may have soured things a bit for the negotiations.
Oceanside could have proved to be the resistances trump card when things went wrong (which they already have). However, because of Enid’s rash actions, what could happen to both Aaron and herself? Could they still salvage a possible partnership even after what just happened?
Eugene Shows Remorse
After Eugene’s firm decision that he made to Father Gabriel — telling him he would never go along with rescuing Doctor Carson — he then decides to go back on his word. Eugene offered Gabriel and Carson a way out, which Gabriel thanked Eugene for doing the right thing. However, Eugene didn’t seem fully convinced about whether or not his actions could be considered “right.”
This seemed to come out of nowhere as it’s hard to figure out where Eugene truly stands. Has he truly become a Savior or was it too quick to judge him in the last episode? He did play a role in letting the Saviors escape, so that’s also something to take into account. Eugene still proves to be an enigma and it’ll be interesting to see what fate has in store for him.
Carl Is Bitten
Throughout this whole episode, Carl really pulled through by demonstrating heroic features and leadership abilities. As Negan came right up to Alexandria’s doorstep, Carl decided to take charge, using himself as a decoy as Daryl and the others escaped.
He and Negan then had a showdown where he told the Savior leader that he would offer himself as a sacrifice to stop the bloodshed from continuing. After the others break through Alexandria’s walls, Carl hides away which angered Negen, causing him to rain hellfire onto the town.
Unfortunately, Carl couldn’t escape unscathed as he revealed to his father and Michonne underneath the towns sewage system that he’s been bitten off-screen by a walker. This is a sad reveal as viewers were beginning to see the potential that Carl could have as a leader which could make him a more central character in the series if Rick were to pass on.
He didn’t deserve to die 😔😔😔😔 #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/0ejEaWRFlp
— tini ⁷ 🍉 (@PHOTAEGRAPHV) December 11, 2017
Though it may have ended with him in a bad state, it’s still an unknown if this bite will mark the end of the young hero. It’s possible that some other force could cause him to lose his life, perhaps even by Negan’s own hands.
Fans will just have to keep guessing as what will happen next, as The Walking Dead will be off for a while. After this mid-season finale, it’s safe to say that the series still hasn’t lost its touch by dropping a major shocker to keep viewers thoroughly engaged.