The Walking Dead Season 7 Episodes 2-4 Reviews: Structural Problems

After the tragic events of the premiere, "TWD" follows up with three bland-ish episodes. It's not so more the stories are off. It's the structure of the show and how the characters are portrayed. Here's a few examples:

Pacing- Each of these three episodes focuses on one group. Episode 2 is Morgan, Carol (man, she recovered from her near fatal injuries quickly), Ezekiel and the Kingdom. Episode 3 focuses on Daryl's blight as a captive of the Saviors. Episode 4 focuses on Negan's visit to Alexandria. He takes all their stuff and humiliates Rick some more. Next week focuses on Maggie and Sasha at Hilltop. I think the show would be better served if it intercut the stories. I want to see a little of my favorite characters each week. I dont want to wait a month or more in between.
The Big Bad- Yes we know Negan is a baddie but how much longer do we have to listen to him blab on? The longer he talks the LESS menacing he becomes. Show it, dont say it.
Dumb Decisions- If it were you, wouldnt you try to escape before Negan comes calling again? Are the Saviors guarding ALL the routes out of town? You dont have that many people to try to move. It's better than being a sitting duck.
Too Long- Why do the episodes have to be so long? This weeks was 90 minutes. I know "TWD" wants as much ad revenue as possible. But the show could have easily been trimmed. The extra time was spent on trivial scenes that we dont care about.
No Closed Captioning- I've said it before but why no closed captioning AMC? Some of us prefer to use it in order not to miss any vital dialogue. Fox does the same thing and it drives me crazy.

Having said all that, we do get one reveal this week. Rick acknowledges that Baby Judith is really Shane's. Remember that crazy dude? It seems like ages since we saw him. Speaking of babies, Father Gab digs a grave to conceal the fact that Maggie is in Hilltop (and not dead). Luckily Negan didnt make him dig up the grave. You can bet there will be hell to pay when Maggie comes gunning for Negan in revenge for Glenn's murder.

Grade: 3 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). I love you "TWD" but you're losing viewers due to slow-as-molasses story telling. I know you have to stretch it out but a brief weekly check-in with each group would do wonders. Am I off base? Let me know in the comments below.