Series Issues: The Walking Dead 6×08 – Start To Finish

Mid-season finale, spoilers will turn up.

This season’s The Walking Dead 6×08: Start to Finish is a cliffhanger. That should not be a surprise. As a matter of fact, it’s business as usual in TWD universe. Contingency plans be dammed, it’s time to improvise. Alexandria just got invaded by the herd. We being exactly where we left last week. The tower came down, so did the wall and we got walkers all over the place. The only thing that remains is pulling back and seeking some walls.

Rick has his hands full, but a gun is certainly not going to be enough. Deanna is going to get a lot of hate for just jumping into the frey with a gun and discharging half her revolver without downing a single walker. Nobody can be a crack shot. The problem is she quickly stumbles onto a saw and starts bleeding all over the place. It’s like jumping into shark infested waters already bleeding. Rick has to pull her along. He receives help from Michonne and Carl. Gabriel and Ron follow their lead. Jessie appears as they’re about to get surrounded, firing and clearing a path to her house.

Ron and Carl have their own mini-drama going. Ron was apparently about to pull something, but now he’s all but useless. Well, not quite. He’s ready to kill Carl. Fortunately, Carl does wise up quick and they wrestle for a while. As they break a window (I blame Ron for this one) the passing walkers decided to take a look and they have to scramble out of the way. They’re saved by Rick and company, who have to break down the door that Ron locked. The moment they’re safe, Carl pulls out his gun and takes the gun away from Ron with one parting shot: “Your Dad was an asshole.” Carl better watch his back. Either Ron will bide his time until another attempt or he’ll pull a Nicholas and we know how that ends up.

Morgan has to help Carol as she gets hit in the head while running away from the walkers. They end up holed up in the house above the makeshift cell where the lone wolf and Dr. Denise are also trapped. Carol refuses to let Morgan help her with her wound. Morgan goes to check on the injured wolf man and ends up in a confrontation with Carol. Morgan knocks Carol unconscious, the wolf gets free and knocks Morgan unconscious. By the time Tara and Rosita get there with Eugene in tow, the wolf has Denise at knife point and demands the weapons. Of all screwed up situations this one is in the top ten.

Meanwhile, at Jessie’s house, it’s obvious they can’t contain the walkers anymore. Deanna is too weak to walk. She commends her people to Rick. “They’re all your people, Rick.” Talk about pressure. There’s only one way out. Do the whole smear blood on ponchos and walk without noise. Talk about a messed up situation. Deanna stays behind, ready to take her own life before turning when she hears the walkers coming. She fires.

Outside on the porch, the remaining survivors, covered in blood and guts, start walking. I don’t see a way this one would’ve ended differently.

Highs/Lows/Messes:

Maggie almost gets overwhelmed by the herd, but manages to climb onto a ladder to the top of a lookout platform. A temporary respite. Glenn catches sight of her from a tree that he and Enid climb to look above the wall.
Morgan and Carol’s confrontation ends in the worst possible way. The lone wolf now has the upper hand. The only doctor they have is a hostage at knife point.
Eugene was the voice on the radio answering to Daryl’s call, first mumbling then calling for help.
Deanna tries, but boy is her inexperience dealing directly with walkers shows. Still, she gets a sad ending. Is she done for? I don’t see a way for her to come back from this. She gets one moment with Michonne in which we learn Michonne doesn’t know what she wants yet. She also gets one moment with Rick in which she crawls to see Judith and Rick almost kills her thinking she has turned. “It’s still me,” she tells him.
Ron is the new Carl from the first seasons. Inexperienced, moody and getting everyone in trouble. Carl, this is what you used to be like.
Sam is…. Ok, let’s face it, a lot of us might behave like Sam and Eugene and Ron… Ok, not Ron. Forget Ron. But Sam wants to stay in his little world and just not think about the world outside. In a way, he’s Alexandria personified. But he has to shake himself awake soon. I fear he’s just going to call attention to himself and die – or get someone killed in his place. I really don’t want to wish him harm, but it’s so hard to empathize with him.
The promo for the next chapter after the mid-season break: