Bury Me Here

When starting watching season 7 I had some fear it wouldn't be as good as previous seasons taking all negative reviews in account. So far I still don't get it. This was again a great episode focused on Morgan and the kingdom. It had tension and surprised, yes they are subtle and less action packed, but still these kind of episodes are so necessary to give the story depth and meaning.

At this point of watching twd, we should all know how slow paced this show can be, but to make up for that we get some surprises and even great character writing. Morgan's character is one of the most intriguing things about this show right now and that continues to reign true for me. Unlike other characters, he continues to glue eyes to the television screen, along with Carol. With two surprising deaths and how they were laid out, this episode helps build more for the plot, but with the lack of good pacing, this is simply a good episode for me that I would gladly watch again occasionally.

This was the walking dead. This is what we want to see when we turn on the TV every Sunday night. Especially Morgan stood out this episode, and while he is one of the most criticized characters last season, this was his comeback. A tense trade between the Kingdom and the Saviors becomes a problem causing multiple deaths and frustrated characters. The acting was great, especially the actors who played Morgan and Richard stood out for me. (Brilliant Speech from Richard) But also the saviors made this episode really tense and everything seems possible when they're on the screen. Great episode. This is how a bottle episode should be done. Only a conversation between someone from the Kingdom and Ezekiel in the beginning felt a little weird and wasn't necessary, but that was one scene.. so.. 9/10

Aside from the fact that it took another full episode for Ezekiel to come to grips with the fact that they need to fight the Saviors, tonight's episode worked really well for me. Occasional zombie action with plenty of human drama made for an eventful trip to The Kingdom.

I didn't agree with Ezekiel's decision at the time to not join Alexandria, but I understood that it would take a little more motivation for him. I figured Benjamin's death would be the one to put him over the edge, and I was right. Only, I did not expect Richard to be the one to stage the death and consequently die at the hands of Morgan. That was certainly a welcomed unexpected twist. Even though his plans for Carol a few episodes ago and his plan tonight that got him killed were deeply flawed, I thought Karl Makinen did some really nice work here. His back and forth with Lennie James' Morgan was easily the highlight of the night.

Speaking of which, I love when Morgan has moments of desperation. James is so good in the role that he can make walking down an abandoned road and kicking a crate seem devastating. The character has been frustratingly subdued in the past, but after tonight, I'm not sure there's any chance of going back for Morgan. Similarly, Carol seems to be returning to blood as well. It was only a matter of time before a life of solitude wasn't going to suit her and hearing what really happened to Glenn, Abraham, and company was the final straw. Am I the only one craving a scene between her and Negan?

So the episode as a whole was very self-contained, but it felt deservedly self-contained. Personally, it didn't feel filler, but I can see if people see it that way. The actual war isn't going to start until next season, so I've accepted that by now. This episode served as one more reminder as to what can happen when people aren't fully transparent with their allies. Richard paid the price for his plan, and I think we can assume the same will happen with Rosita & Sasha. Knowing The Walking Dead, Sasha will be the one to bite the bullet, not Rosita.

+Emotionally driven

+Love it when Morgan goes off

+Ezekiel agrees to fight

+Carol's back

-Richard's plans are so flawed

9.0/10

I can understand how difficult it would be to keep up with the series. I've been binge watching this last 6 weeks. It's truly a brilliant series. Even the episodes that aren't truly focused on the plot are great! Not many shows are as character driven these days. This was a big episode for Morgan, almost as big as the cheese maker episode.