The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 8 Review: Good Start But Weak Finish

"Start To Finish" is the mid season finale of "The Walking Dead". Given the show's previous track record I expected to see 1. some deaths; and 2. for the core group to flee to a new location. To be honest, we didnt get much of either in this episode. The setup was good but not a whole hell of a lot happened.

The episode began with zombies pouring into Alexandria after the collapse of the tower. Everyone scrambles for cover. Maggie climbs a ladder on the wall. The zombies chomping at her heels was quite effective. Let's be honest though. Since she's preggo, the odds of her "biting it" (pun intended) are very low. At about 40 minutes in, Glenn (and Enid) climb a tree outside of town and see her laying on the platform. And that's it. I was hoping for at least a reunion between Maggie and Glenn.

As everyone else flees for the nearest house, Morgan and Carol end up in the house where the wolf is being kept. Poor Dense is left alone in the cell with him. I was afraid the guy would kill her before they got back. Carol thinks now is a fine time to kill the guy. Morgan disagrees. A fight ensues. Morgan knocks Carol out. Wolfie knocks Morgan out. Seriously you two! What did that accomplish? Nothing! Save your bickering until AFTER the zombie crisis has passed. Thus begins the pattern of people taking stupid asides and ignoring the fact that there are LOTS of zombies outside.

Rosita, Tara and Eugene end up in a garage. Eugene takes time out to learn about world history. Seriously? He finally picks the lock on the garage door. They end up in the room with Carol and company. But they arrive just in time for the wolf to take Denise hostage and run outside. Poor Denise! And why did they give up their guns so easily? Tara could have shot him in the head. On a side note, apparently the wolves dont offer dental coverage. That guy needs a serious cleaning.

Rick, Deanna (who has been bitten), Michonne, Carl, and Ron all hide in Jessie's house. Ron initially tries to shoot Carl. Sam is upstairs listening to "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". Jessie has two of the weirdest children I've ever seen. Deanna (who is near death) has an inspirational talk with Rick and Michonne. She says they are "all your people now". She also really likes Rick's beard. There is a scary moment when we think Deanna has turned and wants to eat Baby Judith. It's a fake out though. That was fun. In the end Deanna goes out in a blaze of glory but using all the bullets in her gun on the walkers. At least, we think she's dead. We dont actually see

Carl manages to talk some sense into Ron (by finally telling him his dad was an asshole). Again, wait till AFTER the crisis is over people! Everyone tries to block the windows with sofas but that doesnt work well. They finally remember that they can use zombie guts to hide their scent. I personally would have walking around with walker guts all over me since day 1 of the apocalypse.

Everyone puts on their gut ponchos and heads out the door. There are zombies everywhere. It looks like they might make it when Sam starts calling for his mother. Uh oh, this isnt going to be good. I know Sam is a kid and all but what the hell is wrong with him? Has he no sense of self preservation? I'm not usually for killing kids but Sam has got to go. Where is Carol? She has previous experience in this department.

And in the final scene (which aired during "The Badlands"), Daryl, Sasha and Abe are stopped in their gas truck but a bunch of motorcycle dudes who are blocking the road. They say everything they have is now the property of Negan. There's a new baddie in town. And if rumors are correct, he's worse than the governor ever thought about being.

Grade: 3 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). The rest of the season has been excellent but I found "Start To Finish" lacking. I'm used to cliffhangers but this is the weakest midseason finale I can remember. Deanna's demise did have some effect but we've known she was zombie bait for some time. Let's hope the show starts back next year with a bigger bang.