I so very much appreciate anytime a long running show, in a genre that is very formulaic, takes a massive swing and tries to completely and utterly floor you with something so unexpected and (at times) bizarre. It's subjective, of course. And some will hate this type of episode. You'll get no judgment from me.
There are instances of this type of "Experimental" episode in many classic shows. Some swung and whiffed, while others connected in a way that you never would have thought possible coming from (insert show here.)
For me, this was the latter, one hundred percent. I thought I had it all figured out. I thought it was a clever plot framing device with interesting cinematography that would fade by the mid-point of the episode. I was so, so wrong. Instead, I was more invested in these long running characters and the promise of the new that showed itself throughout. And I had a great sense of genuine suspense, joy, sorrow, relief, fear, empathy... In every single minute of the runtime. And when it ended, I literally had to remind myself to breathe as I was trying to watch the final seconds through a torrent of tears.
A bit dramatic? Yeah, guilty as charged I suppose. But that's my honest experience and reaction to it. It was easily my favorite ever episode of FTWD. And it probably earns a place in my list of top All-Time "Emotionally Poignant and Tragic" episodes of television.
Bravo to everyone involved, truly.
Review by KuhnBlockedParent2022-03-09T21:15:08Z
I'm usually a big fan of reality-altering episodes, like what they did with Tyreese's death or Michonne tripping in TWD, but this one just felt off to me. Wasn't my least favorite episode my any means though. Most frustrating part to me honestly was Riley and his goons; they've clearly been searching for Morgan, so why would they not come with guns from the start? Plot convenience is the answer, and it's also the answer to why Riley didn't just shoot them both upon his return even though Morgan had just killed all of his goons AND stabbed Riley himself in the arm/shoulder. This guy was literally just about to kill four of this group in the previous episode, and his group has clearly killed a lot more from their other attacks, so it's just incredibly not believable that he'd leave them to survive. Only reason I'd maybe give it a pass for is if we find out that they struck some deal with Alicia and they promised they'd try not to kill any of her people, but I don't really have faith in these writers to think that far ahead/that in depth about something that most fans will just forget about the next episode anyway.