Sunday was a huge night for fans of "The Walking Dead." There was the end of the war with Negan and the Saviors, and then we saw Morgan travel to Texas and meet the group from "Fear The Walking Dead" which is an article for another time.
"Wrath" was an episode that probably pissed some fans of the show off, since some people have wanted Negan dead since he brutally murdered beloved characters Glenn and Abraham. The episode saw redemption for characters such as Eugene and even Negan. One of the things that really caught my eye in this episode and the whole season for that matter, was how they portrayed Eugene. They portrayed him as an actual traitor to Rick's forces. Eugene, who is able to create bullets, was captured by Negan and the Saviors during the Season 7 finale "Hearts Still Beating." He was greeted with accommodations and was even offered to lead his own outpost in Episode 6 or 7 of Season 8. The writers lead fans to believe that Eugene had really turned on the group, but that all changed in the season finale when the Saviors went to fire their guns and the guns backfired and exploded, killing some and wounding many. Which gave the Alexandria, Hilltop and Kingdom alliance the upper hand. It was unexpected and awesome to watch, especially on the big screen.
The Hilltop portion of the episode was short but awesome. Once the Saviors start rolling up to Hilltop, everyone makes a dash for the tunnel leading away from the Hilltop. Tara is ready to defend the place from the treeline when Alden, the cool ex-Savior, offers up help which is when we finally get confirmation that the ex-Saviors can be trusted. When the Saviors start running around the perimeter, who saves the day? Aaron and the Oceanside girls. This was another moment where everyone lost it in the theater. I found this segment to be really cool since Oceanside has been against joining the war for the past one and a half seasons. They finally decided to join for the conclusion of the war. It was just really awesome stuff.
Back at the battlefield, most if not all of the surviving Saviors surrender to Maggie. Rick is to busy chasing down Negan and they engage in a small fight. One thing is for sure, Rick is not a good fighter. We have seen this with The Governor and now with Negan. Once he is on the ground and his opponent gets a few kicks in, Rick is pretty much done. Negan did cut him a break to let him talk about Carl for a minute, which made Negan cry a little bit and at this moment, Rick slashes Negans throat. When I say I flew out of my seat and cheered, I mean that. It was done almost panel for panel out of the comics. For a second, I actually thought they killed Negan though and excitement quickly turned to anger. Then Rick says "save him" and I breathed a sigh of relief. I really liked Maggie's emotional break down when she saw Siddiq the doctor helping Negan.
The rest of the episode was basically tying up loose ends, such as Daryl telling Dwight to scram and "If I see your face around here anymore, I will kill you myself." One thing I found interesting was that Dwight returns to his old home where he used to live with Sherry, who left last season. There is a note that says "Honeymoon," then an infinity/ouroboros symbol, which is something that is on Alpha's belt from the Whisperer arch. This should be next in the TV series. So, Sherry Alpha? Is she associated with the Whisperers? I am so excited to see where this leads.
It is then revealed that Negan will spend the rest of life rotting in a cell, like in the comics, and Maggie is not happy. She wants to kill Negan once Hilltop has recovered and rebuilt. Morgan also goes to meet Jadis, who reveals her real name is Anne. This just adds more mystery to her character. I can't wait to see where they take her character going forward. Morgan decides to stay at the junkyard as he feels it's best to be alone. The episode ends with a flashback scene of Rick in his Sheriffs outfit walking with a 4-year-old Carl on a road. Overall, this episode was phenomenal and I loved it. It really got me amped up for Season 9.
