The Walking Dead: Monsters (8x03)

I'm going to kill somebody. Spoilers under the cut.

Cons:

They fucking killed Eric. I mean he wasn't even that big of a character, and they did this whole dramatic send-off where he gets more screen-time than ever before and then dies and it's super depressing, and do you know what my problem is?! Eric. Is. Queer. And. This. Show. Kills. All. The. Queers. I swear to God if Aaron and Tara do not live through to the end of this damn show I'm going to... well, burst into tears. I don't know what else I can do. And here's the thing... not only was it atrocious for a show with a really messy track record in this area to kill another LGBT+ character, but the death was so predictable and cheesy.

Eric gets more screen time in this episode that we've seen from him yet, so it seems pretty obvious from early on in the episode that he's going to die. He and Aaron get a tearful goodbye scene, a kiss, and then Aaron goes off to help the rest of the group. We don't even really see him contributing or doing anything important in this fight, so it seems pretty clear that he just went off to help so that Eric could die by himself and be a zombie by the time Aaron came back. And... sure enough. It's just so uninspired. This show has done the same thing several times - they build up a minor character and try to convince you you're supposed to care about them as much as the leads, just in time to kill them so you feel the full impact. It usually doesn't work, and in this case it did work, but against the show's favor, because STOP KILLING THE GAYS.

That's not the only thing I disliked about this episode, although it did overshadow a lot of my other concerns. Take the Jesus vs. Morgan fight, for example. Here's where I have some trouble - this show has spent seven seasons systematically desensitizing us to the sight of death. We see our heroes cut down Walkers like it's nothing, and there's no real attempt to grapple with the lost humanity anymore. And all of these people have murdered humans all over the place. We've already done multiple subplots where one or more characters grappled with the morality of killing humans... we've seen it most notably with Morgan and Carol. And here, we've got a rehash of the same thing. Jesus is all about saving the people who surrender, while Morgan has gone off the deep end and wants to kill them all.

I'm sorry, but there's a limit to how many times I can watch these guys wrestle with the same issue. Maybe the point is to show how nonchalant we've all become about death when watching this show, but this challenge to their central premise is leaving a lot to be desired. And Morgan and Jesus' hand-to-hand fight was just weird. I know we've seen why Morgan would know how to fight like that, but Jesus? It looked too... choreographed.

Pros:

The ironic thing here is that there is a plot thread in this episode that deals quite nicely with the morality of murdering the Saviors, and it's the one with Daryl and Rick. Morales and Rick monologue at each other for a while, discovering that they've both lost people and contemplating the paths they've chosen. Morales is all anti-Rick and ready to take him in, when Daryl shows up and kills Morales. Rick is horrified, and Daryl says he knew exactly who he was, but that it doesn't matter. Later, Rick promises a scared young member of the Saviors that he can have a car and escape, as long as he gives them information. The young man emerges, tells them all he knows, and then when he asks if he can leave, Daryl shoots him.

There wasn't a bunch of speechifying, Rick didn't have to explain to Daryl that killing people is wrong... we just see Rick getting profoundly uncomfortable, as we see Daryl do what he has to do to get ahead. This completely silent commentary was a much more effective way of examining the question of killing than anything we saw with Morgan and Jesus. As a small side note, I absolutely love Daryl and Rick's relationship. We see Rick get a bit squeamish over Daryl's actions here, but when it comes down to it they've got each other's back. As they prepare to separate towards the end of the episode, Daryl tells Rick he's coming after him if he's gone too long. True friendship!

The Kingdom has a mighty victory and mows down dozens of Saviors, but as the episode ends, they in turn get hit by gunfire from a fortified position, and it looks like really, really bad news for Ezekiel, Carol, and the others. This is the cliffhanger we leave off on. I'm starting to wonder if we're going to have a whole half-season just covering this one fight. I'm also starting to wonder how I'd feel about that if we did. The Kingdom stuff has never been the most interesting to me, but I was viscerally effected by the moment at the end when the members of the Kingdom started getting shot down in droves. I'm so scared for Carol!

Jesus, Morgan, Tara, and the others arrive at the Hilltop with their prisoners, and Maggie makes the decision to keep them alive. Maggie shows a lot of mercy in this episode, letting Gregory back in after he begs for his life. I loved Maggie here. She is so in charge of the Hilltop at this point, and I'm living for it. Even after she lets Gregory in, she shuts down his bullshit quickly, not letting him have a say in what to do with the Savior prisoners.

Finally, let's turn to the Aaron and Eric thing. I've already expressed all of the ways in which this is CRAP and it should not have happened. But the acting? Man. I really, really felt for Aaron in these scenes. He tries to keep a positive attitude as he brings Eric to a tree and looks at his wound, but quickly he's in tears and apologizing, and Eric is telling him to leave him there and go back to the fight. Neither one of them says it, but you know they're both aware that Eric is going to die. They kiss, they say "I love you" to one another, and when Aaron gets back, it's to see a distant Walker shambling away from the tree. Aaron gets something of a consolation prize for his boyfriend's death - Rick gives him baby Gracie, the infant he found in the Savior's house. Aaron cradling that little baby to his chest was just the perfect way to dig the knife in a little bit further. I'm not saying I approve of the narrative decision to kill Eric, but at the very least it looks like it might elevate Aaron's role in the story even more. I do like him a lot, so maybe there's a silver lining in all of this.

I'm not really sure if The Walking Dead has enough of a beating heart to sustain itself for further seasons. I feel like we're starting to retread a lot of ground. The speeches, the shootouts, more speeches, the lack of answers as to what Negan and Gabriel have been up to this whole time... I'm sensing some pacing issues, which is something this show has struggled with maybe since the very beginning. Still, there are multiple characters whose fates I feel very invested in. Carol! Don't get killed, please!

6.5/10