Title: The Walking Dead: āThe Damnedā
Air Date: October 29nd, 2017
Network:Ā AMC
Genre: Serial Drama, Horror
The Walking Dead aired it’s all-new episode this past Sunday titled “The Damned” and holy Toledo. Talk about one hell of a curve ball with Morales coming in there. Not only has Morales returned to The Walking Dead but he’s a member of the Saviors. The rest of the episode was packed with action but…it did present some frustrations. Since I’m playing catch up with taking on covering the series last minute, this review will be a little shorter than normal.
The biggest thing about “The Damned” in my opinion was the return of Morales. I was actually in the middle of a crossover theories article when I got to watch this episode. I think it’s a fairly safe bet at this point that Morales will be that crossover character. It’ll provide the backstory to how he got involved with the Saviors after leaving Rick in Atlanta. Obviously, quite a bit could still happen with Morales on The Walking Dead so we’ll have to wait and see. One thing seems certain, his family didn’t survive. It’s possible that loss is what drove him to join the Saviors.
My other favorite part of this episode was Morgan. I mean this guy is teetering on the edge when it comes to sanity. Morgan went straight into full-on kill mode wiping out those Saviors. I thought he was going to end up killing all the Saviors that surrendered. Morgan is a very changed man since the death of Benjamin in season seven. At one point towards the end of his Savior killing spree, you almost wondered if he would ever go too far. Could Morgan wind up in that kill zone again and end up taking out the wrong people? Certainly, something to wonder about as the season moves forward.
Now, there were some things that I didn’t like. I was not fond of Jesus’s whole “That’s not who are” business. I suppose I could get behind him not killingĀ the guy in the closet initially. He had his hands up, he peed himself and he was convincing. Ok…fair enough. When he ended up trying to kill him and Tara, however, all bets should be off. Yet, Jesus knocks him out, hogties him and prevents Tara from making the kill. Not only does that happen but he then spares an entire group of Saviors. Don’t get me wrong, part of me gets it. With a name like Jesus, you’d obviously have to have a strong moral compass. Jesus has been around the block though, he knows who the Saviors are. I just wasn’t digging those decisions at all.
I’m certainly enjoying the ongoing action against the Saviors. It would seem that a few episodes will arc over this attack. I’m really hoping that it’s not too drawn out. My opinion would turn negative if the majority of the season was just a compilation of this single attack spread out. I really liked the brutal touch of pinning those Saviors that kill box until the dead ones turned into walkers. Although, it seemed like a plan that would waste quite a bit of ammunition. All the members of Alexandria also did not escape that siege unharmed. Tobin appears to have taken around in the shoulder and Eric (Aarons boyfriend) took a round in the stomach. Team Rick is still ahead in terms of body count but some of our known cast members are starting to take some hits.
Verdict. The Walking Dead continued with the action for in its second episode of season eight. Rick not only faced a heart-wrenching situation but came face to face with Morales who he last left in Atlanta. The return of Morales was a shock and exciting enough to shake off the poor decisions Jesus made this week. Morales, as it turns out also, happens to be a Savior.Ā
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