The Good And The Bad Of ‘The Walking Dead’ Episode 8×13

The Walking Dead aired the thirteenth episode of its eighth season on Sunday night, bringing the fight to the Hilltop with Simon leading a Savior charge.

Maggie Rhee slipped into General mode as her community won the fight but would ultimately have a body count climb later on. Though several characters would die, none were of incredible substance, but that didn’t stop the episode from creating what might be a major impact on the final three episodes of Season Eight.

Episode 8×13 is titled, “Do Not Send Us Astray,” and was an absolute roller coaster ride for viewers. Let’s take a look at some of the good and the bad of The Walking Dead‘s latest episode in this week’s review…

The Lighting

The Walking Dead often films at night and these moments are hit or miss when translated to television moments. 

Much of The Walking Dead Episode 8×13 took place over night, providing a terrifying element we will get to later, but sometimes preventing viewers to properly interpret the action sequences. As Simon and Dwight raided the Hilltop community, much of their surroundings were a dark blur as the show failed to brighten them up for audiences.

Even the moments which saw Dwight making a move to save Tara’s life were a bit confusing as they unfolded quickly, in part due to the rapid-fire editing and in part because of the dark screen. One might say the cinematic design was… “as plain as Hilltop potatoes.”

Result: Bad.

The Characters

Production notes aside, Episode 8×13 was written by Angela Kang, who becomes The Walking Dead showrunner beginning with Season Nine.

If Kang can make entire seasons feel like as much of a roller coaster as Episode 8×13 did, The Walking Dead is in great hands. Do Not Send Us Astray proved The Walking Dead is a thrill ride for its characters and the audience. What started as a Hilltop victory and should have called for revels quickly turned to the Saviors getting the upper hand and besting Rick’s group, yet again. 

With characters like Carol, Morgan, and Maggie facing serious moments of self-reflection and development within the action-packed episode, Kang has proven once again that she is equipped with the ability to balance character and action.

Plus, Episode 8×13 gave us the photo above of four Walking Dead characters from Season Two or earlier all together. 

Result: Good. 

The Plan

Much of the war between Rick and Negan has been attack after attack with little explanation to the audience regarding the plan. For example, Rick’s initial attack on the Sanctuary just kind of happened back in Episode 100, with no one being very clear on what the next steps were either. They unfolded, as time went on, for the most part.

In Episode 8×13, though, Maggie Rhee revealed her grand plan to have Negan attempt to attack the Hilltop only to get her shot at him. Unfortunately for her, Rick Grimes deviated from the plan and ended up going after Negan himself, causing the villain to change course and not make it for the attack.

Maggie’s plan was well-written and planned throughout the season, though, as it began with her sending a body back to the Sanctuary as a secret invitation to attack. Furthermore, seeing Maggie in General mode and taking clear charge of the Hilltop with a plan playing on her enemy’s weakness (haste), was exactly what fans of the few remaining original cast members (Season Two or earlier) want to see.

Result: Good. 

The Arrow

With how much The Walking Dead has been straying from its comic book source material, it was nice to see a crucial moment adapted to the TV series, at least in some form.

In the comics, Negan was present for the Hilltop battle. While there, he orders Dwight to take a shot at Rick, expecting the Alexandrian leader to die after becoming infected by the walker muck. Dwight does shoot Rick but it is later revealed he used a clean arrow, sparing Rick’s life.

The TV show decided to bring a varied version of the moment to life for Episode 8×13, seeing Dwight save Tara from Simon’s axe by shooting her, rather than being ordered to do so.

Perhaps The Walking Dead learned from its mistakes with the backlash Glenn’s dumpster dive in Season Six, which is why Dwight shot Tara instead of Rick, but they still wanted to have the comic book moment in the TV series. It’s a wise choice and, while predictable, proves Dwight’s loyalty to the group for an important thread going forward.

Result: Good. 

The Sleepers

Perhaps it’s just a trope of all horror-genre titles, but characters sleeping through a walker invasion is a wild notion. 

Shortly after Tobin turned into a walker, not only did the doctor creep back into the infirmary on an apparent whim only to get snuck up on by the stealthy reanimated Alexandrian native, but she was also the only person awake at the time apparently.

Inside the Barrington house, a dude literally tumbled down the stairs before rising again with the zombie gargle sound spewing from his mouth. Did a single person in the Hilltop slumber party buffet line wake up to the sound? Nope, not one. No one was keeping guard, either — not even little Henry and his big gun, who was out accidentally freeing the Savior prisoners which no one was watching either. 

The Hilltop people deserved to get eaten for those choices.

Result: Bad. 

The Terror

It’s been a while since The Walking Dead used its world to be scary outside of human to human conflict. The walkers have faded into the background as characters evolve into survivors who can eliminate them with ease.

In Sunday’s Episode 8×13, the Hilltop characters were largely unprepared for the walker attack from within. As much as audiences questioned how these survivors slept through all of the noises and allowed the dead to creep up on them, it was the first time the AMC show used the reanimated to be truly frightening in years.

As Tobin and others ripped through the flesh of Hilltop citizens, fans were taken back to moments from Season Three’s prison-clearing days or even Season One’s journeys through Atlanta when the dead were terrorizing Rick Grimes.

The brilliant creation of tense terror and genuine horror, accompanied by true screams from terrified victims, took the drop of Episode 8×13’s roller coaster to impressive speeds.

Bonus: the shots of the time passing through the night on clocks was a nice added touch for the horror junkies. 

Result: Good.