The Walking Dead
Episode 8.8 “How It’s Gotta Be” (Mid-Season Finale)
Directed by Michael E. Satrazemis
Written by David Leslie Johnson & Angela Kang
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Christian Serratos, Tom Payne, Khary Payton, Austin Amelio, Alanna Masterson, Katelyn Nacon, Steven Ogg, Pollyanna McIntosh
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, December 10, 2017

Warning – SPOILERS for AMC’s The Walking Dead…

On last week’s The Walking Dead, Eugene had some tough choices to make whether to stay loyal to Negan or to reveal that Dwight is the mole; Tara, Daryl, and Morgan decided to deviate from Rick and his allies’ plan to take down Negan and the Saviors; Rick actually managed to finally get Jadis and the Scavengers to join their fight against Negan. Unfortunately, when they rolled up on the Sanctuary, Rick’s plan was not in motion; instead, the walkers surrounding the place were gone and so were the snipers. It was bad, and Rick was understandably shaken.

On this week’s episode, 8.8 “How It’s Gotta Be,” it gets worse. It really does. Not only has Rick’s plan gone south, but a beloved character is going to die. Since this is the mid-season finale, you know there’s going to be pain, suffering, and death.

The Walking Dead
Episode 8.7 “Time for After”
Directed by Larry Teng
Written by Matthew Negrete & Corey Reed
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Christian Serratos, Tom Payne, Khary Payton, Austin Amelio, Alanna Masterson, Katelyn Nacon, Steven Ogg, Pollyanna McIntosh
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, December 3, 2017

Warning – SPOILERS for AMC’s The Walking Dead…

On last week’s The Walking Dead, the Allies (Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom) continued on with their plan to take down Negan and the Saviors, which included Rick returning to the untrustworthy Scavengers to try to make a new deal with them. Instead, he’s captured by them. Meanwhile, at the Hilltop, Maggie decided to keep the Savior POWs for future use as a bargaining chip; Michonne and Rosita left Alexandria and got into it with two Saviors, who Tara and Daryl then took down; King Ezekiel was still in seclusion at The Kingdom after losing his battle with the Saviors; and Carl allied himself with a stranger named Siddiq.

On this week’s episode, 8.7 “Time for After,” Eugene is faced with a tough choice that seems to have no good outcome either way; Negan stays calm in the face of death around him; Rick still wants to win over the Scavengers to his side; and Daryl moves forward with his rogue plan, and has Tara, Michonne, Rosita, and Morgan along with him, but what does that mean for Rick’s ultimate plan?

The Walking Dead
Episode 8.6 “The King, the Widow, and Rick”
Directed by John Polson
Written by Angela Kang & Corey Reed
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Christian Serratos, Tom Payne, Khary Payton, Austin Amelio, Alanna Masterson, Katelyn Nacon, Steven Ogg, Pollyanna McIntosh
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, November 26, 2017

Warning – SPOILERS for AMC’s The Walking Dead…

Last week’s The Walking Dead focused a lot on Negan and Father Gabriel as they were trapped and surrounded by walkers, while Negan’s lieutenants were bickering amongst themselves at the Sanctuary trying to figure out what to do next. While in captivity, the holy man confessed his sins, and eventually got Negan to do so too. They ended up working together to fight their way to safety back inside the Sanctuary, where the priest witnessed how much the workers there believe in and rely on Negan to protect them. By the end of the episode, Eugene not only figured out that Dwight is the rat amongst them, but he also found how why Father Gabriel was there (he wants to bring the doctor there back to pregnant Maggie at the Hilltop).

On this week’s episode, 8.6 “The King, the Widow, and Rick,” the mysterious “plan” to defeat the Saviors is still in place; Rick once again tries to strike a deal with the Scavengers; the recovering Michonne and Rosita at Alexandria are antsy to see the Sanctuary; Tara and Daryl both still want Dwight dead; Maggie makes a decision about the Savior POWs; Carol wants King Ezekiel to rule again; and Carl goes looking for the young man in need he met a while back.

The Walking Dead
Episode 8.5 “The Big Scary U”
Directed by Dan Liu
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Christian Serratos, Tom Payne, Khary Payton, Austin Amelio, Alanna Masterson, Katelyn Nacon, Steven Ogg, Pollyanna McIntosh
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, November 19, 2017

Warning – SPOILERS for AMC’s The Walking Dead…

Last week’s The Walking Dead marked a turning point for King Ezekiel, the zookeeper turned royal ruler of The Kingdom community. After an ambush by the Saviors killed off many of his soldiers, injured him, and led to the death of his beloved tiger Shiva, Ezekiel had a meltdown of sorts, telling his right-hand man and bodyguard Jerry “I ain’t no King, I’m just some guy.” Meanwhile, Rick and Daryl managed steals the guns from the Saviors they were after, and backstabbing Gregory made his way back from the Sanctuary to Hilltop, where Maggie miraculously let him return.

On this week’s episode, 8.5 “The Big Scary U,” we finally return to Negan and Father Gabriel, who were surrounded by walkers; the Saviors struggle to figure out “what went wrong,” and Rick and Daryl come to blows over what to do next.

The Walking Dead
Episode 8.4 “Some Guy”
Written by Dan Liu
Directed by David Leslie Johnson
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Christian Serratos, Tom Payne, Khary Payton, Austin Amelio, Alanna Masterson, Katelyn Nacon, Steven Ogg, Pollyanna McIntosh
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, November 12, 2017

Warning – SPOILERS for AMC’s The Walking Dead…

On last week’s The Walking Dead, the All Out War theme of Season 8 dragged on, as the united armies of Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom continued their assault on Negan and the Saviors. During the fight, Eric was shot and eventually died of his wounds, leaving his love Aaron to mourn. Rick came face to face with Morales, a survivor he knew from Season 1 who is now a Savior; Morales was ready to waste Rick, but Daryl put him down before he could do anything. There was a lot of indiscriminate killing going on, although Jesus seemed to want to keep all the highly dangerous Saviors — the ones who really deserve to die — alive for some bizarre reason, and brings them as prisoners to the Hilltop to go before Maggie. At Hilltop, Maggie takes in Gregory, even though he repeatedly has betrayed them — and unbeknownst to her, has left Father Gabriel for dead. The episode ended with King Ezekiel’s group being ambushed.

On this week’s episode, 8.4 “Some Guy,” we see that most of the soldiers of The Kingdom were killed in the ambush, but first a flashback to right before they headed out for the fight with King Ezekiel giving another one of his motivational speeches, which ended with a chant of “We are one!” Honestly, and I think I said this last week, I’m getting really tired of his speeches, especially since they are so cocky. Any time someone is cocky on this show, they ended up getting theirs and that’s what happens here, because when we see Ezekiel for the first time in the present, he’s crawling out from under the now-dead bodies of his subjects, who had shielded him during the ambush.