The Walking Dead Season 8 Premiere/ 100th Episode – “Mercy.” To Hope or Not.

Season 8, Episode 1

Air Date: Sunday, October 22, 2017 at 9PM E/P on AMC.

Rating: ★★★★★

“May my mercy prevail over my wrath.” – Rick Grimes

As with many of The Walking Dead’s season premieres, the highly anticipated 100th episode “Mercy” is no different, being both cryptic and befuddling. Dotted with odd flash-forward sequences of a seemingly aged, crippled, and gray-haired Rick (Andrew Lincoln), many disjointed scenes going back and forth between the big pre-fight pep rally, and seeing a present-day Rick sporting red-rimmed eyes alone in a forest, I found myself absolutely confused yet I couldn’t look away. I needed to know what the actual fuck was going on.

<i>The Walking Dead</i> Season 8 Premiere/ 100th Episode – “Mercy.” To Hope or Not. 2

L-R: Rick, Ezekiel, and Maggie talk to their people as they prepare to take the fight to Negan.

Despite my 3-star rating, I actually enjoyed “Mercy,” with some caveats. “Mercy” doesn’t seem to pick up immediately after the events that transpired in the season 7 finale, “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.” It does, however, pick up very soon after that with Rick, Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) standing above the group of volunteers ready to go to battle with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). One thing that keeps repeating is the appearance of time. Starting with the final scene of the season 7 finale where Maggie holds a pocket watch showing 4:30PM, to future Rick’s alarm clock showing 8:20AM, and Tara (Alanna Masterson) looking at her watch counting down to the showdown with Negan, time plays a role in “Mercy.”

<i>The Walking Dead</i> Season 8 Premiere/ 100th Episode – “Mercy.” To Hope or Not. 3

Michonne and Carl sit this one out as Michonne is still recovering from her fight in the season 7 finale.

Throughout the season premiere, I watched with my head tilted and a scrunched-up look on my face. The flash-backs and flash-forwards really started to throw me off. I didn’t know if something was going to happen in this episode or not, but I know something will happen and fans probably won’t like it. This plot tactic is slightly infuriating, to say the least. Why is Rick so sweaty and why are his eyes so red? My immediate thought was that he was turning into a “walker;” although that didn’t make sense after watching the entire episode. The other perplexing thing is the time jump in the flash-forward. Why does Rick look so old and gray? It seems like only a few years have passed as Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) don’t appear to have aged as much, and little Judy (Kinsley Isla Dillon) only looks to be about 6-years-old. In the present day, Judy is a 3- or 4-year-old toddler. Again, despite the confusion, I had to keep watching; I was so intrigued and frustrated at the same time.

<i>The Walking Dead</i> Season 8 Premiere/ 100th Episode – “Mercy.” To Hope or Not. 4

Gabriel and Rick’s conversation seems to have a double meaning.

One conversation I found quite interesting is when Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) asks Rick if he’s “ok” before their departure to Negan’s compound.

Rick: “It’s one person who brought it to this. One person.”

Gabriel: “It always starts with one person. This did, what we’re doing here now.”

Rick: “This? This isn’t about me.”

Gabriel: “Yes. It isn’t; you made it like that.”

For Rick to say “this isn’t about me” is kind of a big deal because, let’s be honest, a lot of times Rick does make it about himself when he shouldn’t. And to add further, sometimes that “one person” who starts shit is Rick. Of course, Rick’s past successes in dealing with opposing factions have given him a swelled ego that has hindered his judgment from time to time. But when Rick finally confronts Negan, that’s when my ears perked up and I started to pay even closer attention to what was being said. Negan has some of the best lines. “I care about my people. I don’t want to just march them into the line of fire because I want to play ‘my dick is bigger than yours.’ It is. We both know it.” Wow. Just. Wow.

<i>The Walking Dead</i> Season 8 Premiere/ 100th Episode – “Mercy.” To Hope or Not. 5

I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan but I loathe Negan. It’s a struggle.

I wasn’t sure how this scene would play out, for obvious reasons. Morgan does such a fantastic job of playing Negan as a completely self-absorbed asshole. Negan stands his ground, delivering his lines with conviction. But Rick, despite what looks like a slight glimmer of hesitation in his eyes, doesn’t flinch. Even when Negan brings out Gregory (Xander Berkeley), the traitorous so-called leader of Hilltop, spewing his cowardice lies, Rick and his crew, including Maggie and Jesus (Tom Payne), stand their ground, especially when Jesus shouts to Gregory, “The Hilltop stands with Maggie.” Hell yeah they do! Maggie is running Hilltop like a boss.

Observations:

It seems every season we meet a new stranger and season 8 is no different. Carl encounters a young man who appears to be asking only for food, but Rick is skeptical. Is the new stranger a friend or foe?

The massive amount of ammunition wasted on shooting holes in the abandoned factory where Negan and the Saviors are holed up seems outrageously excessive and quite stupid, frankly.

When I heard Negan’s voice in the darkness of the trailer, I feared instantly for Gabriel; then again, both men are trapped together with a horde of walkers surrounding them. Sacrificing one to buy a head start probably won’t end well for either.

Overall

The final scene of “Mercy” is another flashback to the pre-fight pep rally where Rick says, “If we start tomorrow right now, no matter what comes next, we won. We’ve already won.” The fight they bring to Negan is a mighty effort to be sure, but I wouldn’t say they won…at least not yet. I am excited for the new season to roll out and find out what the meaning is behind the weird future scenes of ‘old’ Rick. I’m also curious as to how Negan and Gabriel handle their situation because there are a lot of damn walkers outside.

What did you think of “Mercy?” Comment below and tag me on Twitter @judybopp to chat.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.