The Walking Dead Review: Honor (Season 8 Episode 9)

Carl Grimes is dead.

We all knew it was coming on The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 9 “Honor.” Since this is the episode Carl dies, there isn’t a whole lot else going on.

Like much of the first half of this season, The Walking Dead keeps going around in circles and fighting the same fights.

And it makes for boring television.

Carl is a core character who has been around from the very start, so he deserves a long goodbye. But he also deserved a better goodbye.

At the beginning of “Honor,” we see the exact moment Carl is bitten by a walker when he is in the woods with Siddiq. As Carl later tells his dad, it just happened. It wasn’t the Saviors. He just got bitten.

It’s a good reminder that the dead are still very much a threat.

Carl has been through a lot growing up in the zombie apocalypse. He’s been shot through the stomach, had to kill his mom, lost an eye, saw his dad rip a guy’s throat out with his teeth, and have killed multiple people.

And he gets bitten by a walker in the woods?

Lame.

The cold open is the strongest part of the episode as we see Carl write his goodbye letters and spend some time with Judith. He’s very calm about his impending death and works nicely with the Bright Eyes song accompanying the montage.

But then, The Walking Dead cuts to Morgan who is at the Sanctuary. I had to remember what was going on and who was where but then thought that it didn’t really matter.

The Morgan/Carol part of the episode is good, but it feels disjointed from the rest of the episode. Then again, we need something to happen besides Carl taking forever to die.

Morgan and Carol are awesome fighters, so it’s always fun to watch them sneak around on the bad guys. Plus, Morgan had one of the most disgusting kills I’ve seen in a very long time.

We spend way too much time with Gavin who has a love of monologues in common with Negan. Gavin ends up getting slaughtered by Henry, a kid from the Kingdom who lost his brother last season.

I don’t care about Henry.

Morgan taught him the stick and Carol taught him the gun and he is way too young to have killed a man.

Great, Henry. You’ve just become a reason for Carol and Morgan to have another discussion about morals.

Morgan just needs to move onto Fear the Walking Dead. At least that show is still interesting. Too bad Carol isn’t going with him.

Remember Old Man Rick? Well, he makes an appearance on “Honor.” This is not a flash-forward. It is Carl’s dying hope for the future.

What. A. Rip-off.

The Walking Dead desperately needs a change and a time jump would help or at least inject some freshness onto the show. I have not read the comics, so from purely going by what has happened on the show so far, I cannot see an end game.

Perhaps Carl’s vision will come to fruition although there is no way that Negan should be involved in that future.

Negan and his monologues are insufferable. No one would be able to stand being around him if he didn’t have the threat of Lucille.

Also, um, Negan battered Glenn and Abraham. He doesn’t get to be part of the group.

Perhaps with the death of Carl, Rick will try to change his ways and will seek a more peaceful resolution.

But do I care? Why do I even watch The Walking Dead?

I know that The Walking Dead can achieve greatness because there have been some truly spectacular episodes of the show. However, they need to end this Negan storyline ASAP because it’s making the show unbearable.

Overall, “Honor” is a disappointing start to the back half of The Walking Dead. There are some emotional moments but most of the episode is eye-roll inducing.

The Walking Dead can do much better, but I’m not sure I’ll still be watching.

What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!