‘The Walking Dead 8×15: Worth’ Review
Now that we have reached the penultimate episode The Walking Dead season 78 it is time to thin out the herd of characters. The question is, who will be left to fight the war that will inevitably end the season?
With Simon (Steven Ogg) unaware that Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has returned, Dwight (Austin Amello) finds he has to work both sides against each other. When Negan reveals his plans to Dwight of how he will handle the Hilltop, can he get the plans to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) on time?
This episode starts with Rick finally reading his letter, and seemingly finding peace with himself. Looking at the fact he has become somewhat of a monster himself, it is hard to just forget what he is capable of, and just see Negan as the big bad guy of the season.
When it comes to Negan though, he moves intelligently to rid himself of a few problems within the Saviours. It comes as no surprise really that he deals with the Simon situation before the final episode, as all focus must be on his battle against Rick.
The final scenes of this episode where Negan also lets Michonne (Danal Gurira) also work to set the battleground for next week’s episode. It is obvious that even though Carl (Chandler Riggs) may have wanted peace, the war must come first. While it is doubtful that either Rick or Negan will die, there will still be a cost from what is to come, and it goes against what Carl wished. In the future will they finally find a common ground? Right now it looks doubtful.
While this is a busy episode that focuses mostly on the Saviours, we still get to see some interesting storylines play out. One of them is Eugene (Josh McDermitt) being his usual self and protecting the only person he thinks matters. While I’ve held out some hope that he may finally fine some redemption, it does look like he has given up all hope himself. This episode proves not only to the audience, but to Eugene himself that the only place he can survive is with the Saviours and under the protection of Negan.
One thing that is obvious from this week’s episode of The Walking Dead is that the Saviours storyline really feels to be coming to an end, though I’m sure the writers could stretch it out further. Negan is a character that still has some life in him yet, but the saviours in their current form are starting to get a little dull. Now maybe the helicopter and Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) can bring in a new enemy to liven things up.
While I’ve enjoyed this season of The Walking Dead, it is understandable why some haven’t. The examination of just how much of a monster humanity can be is interesting, but when the so-called heroes like Rick become morally questionable, just who are we meant to root for? Maybe this year it is both Rick and Negan, and that is what makes for a questionable ending to the season. While we don’t expect Negan to win over Rick, what if he did? Would that be such a bad thing?
A good penultimate episode for the season, setting up next week’s battle well, I’m interested in how it will turn out. Whether the season as a whole will be seen as a success though relies on how well this conclusion pays off and what teases we shall see for the future.
****½ 4.5/5
The Walking Dead airs in the UK on Fox TV, Mondays at 9pm.
