The Walking Dead: Faith (11x22)

Y'all, we are so close to this show being over. The end is in sight. I can hardly believe it.

Cons:

I knew we were in trouble when I saw how Negan-heavy this episode was. I just don't feel invested in him and his new wife and the baby on the way. I keep saying it over and over, this is never going to be super compelling to me, unfortunately. There are little sparks of interest with Ezekiel, which surprised me, but ultimately no. This whole plot thread with the work crew standing up to some random evil minion of the Commonwealth whose name I don't even know, just feels like time wasted. There were so many turns here where at first we're supposed to think Negan is going to betray Ezekiel to save his own skin, but of course he doesn't. Then we're supposed to think Negan is going to be killed by firing squad, but of course he isn't. Our other heroes show up just in time to save the day, and I found myself yawning. Shouldn't there be more tension here?

Meanwhile in Alexandria, Maggie is reunited with Hershel but all the other children are still missing so we have to drag out this rescue operation for next week. Again, I'm sorry, I know I sound awful but - I don't care about Hershel and Maggie that much. Maggie has been gone from the show for so long, and honestly it doesn't feel like she ever quite came back, does it? I don't know her anymore. I don't feel connected to her and her emotional journey. I want Judith back, honestly.

I similarly felt absolutely no joy or spark of enjoyment with the Oceanside crew. Aaron and the others randomly find Luke and Jules (I had to look up their names, it's been so long), and we learn that Oceanside is no more, taken over by the Commonwealth. Okay... that's not exactly a plot twist at this point, is it? I'm so tired.

And then we've got Eugene's trial. When you know the whole thing is rigged, spending time in the actual courtroom part of things feels like a real waste of time. I'm normally such a sucker for a courtroom drama, and as I've said, Eugene has really grown on me as a character in recent seasons, but even so, I could not make myself feel invested in this. I knew how it was going to go: things would get real tense, all would seem lost, we'd see Eugene resigned to his fate, and then a last-minute intervention from someone would change everything. Turns out that intervention comes from Mercer. I like him, I'm glad he's helping, but man, couldn't his turn have been at the midpoint of this episode, instead of dragging things out even further?

Pros:

The thing about this show, the thing that the writers should have realized years ago, is that the only people still watching who actually give a shit, are here for the character moments. The things we've been waiting a decade plus to see. I continue to be frustrated and annoyed at how little of the characters I personally care about are being highlighted, but in this episode as in most episodes of late-game The Walking Dead, it was the character moments that I liked. Not all of them, not even most of them: if you couldn't tell, this was not my favorite episode. But still, there were some tidbits.

Connie and Kelly reuniting was really sweet, as was Daryl getting the kill on that random bad guy to save Kelly's life at the last second. As bored as I am of Negan, I did kind of like Ezekiel's bad-ass moment of walking in front of the would-be executed, trying to make a play for peace. I liked the character beat of Rosita realizing Coco was still missing, I thought her whole vengeance killing was really intense and the only visceral reaction I got out of the whole episode was watching her use a Walker as a weapon to kill the man who is keeping her from her daughter. I also liked Carol and Maggie's conversation about whether or not it's selfish to bring kids into this world. I've already said I'm bored with Maggie, but I'm not bored with Carol, so I thought that worked pretty well. And I like Eugene. I like Yumiko. I like Max. The plot was stupid, but I am endeared to these characters fighting for a better future, all the same.

So that's that. This was not a strong episode, I'm tired, I'm bored. Two weeks from now, I shall be free at last.

6/10