"Biggest waste of 16 Sunday nights in the history of modern television"– The internet reacts to The Walking Dead season 8 finale
Was it REALLY that bad?
Phew. The Walking Dead season 8 finale has been and gone. We finally got some closure: the Rick/Negan war is over; Eugene finally showed his true colours, and, yep, I think everyone is sorta done with the show now. Spoilers follow…
The war is over...
Who won? Rick (kinda, we’ll get to that later). Negan fell for the ol’ stalling routine instead of introducing Rick to his old pal Lucille and got a slit throat for his troubles. And then he survived. As you do. And, no, because this exact thing happened in the comics isn’t an excuse. Stop. Dragging. Things. Out.
That shit was trash. They been building up Negan for how many seasons? Killed Glen and Abraham in epic fashion, waiting for Rick to get revenge and wat does he do? Decides to let Negan sit in a cell to watch the community have bonding moments. Satisfying? Speak for yourself.16 April 2018
So let me get this straight: Negan ambushed Rick's ambush on his ambush but Rick ambushed that ambush too. #TheWalkingDead16 April 2018
Glenn and Abraham in heaven when Rick said "save him" #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/n8RyLKCsBZ16 April 2018
Back in the hospital. #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/iYvtGKcwox16 April 2018
Eugene saves the day
At least we got some half-decent character development. Yay for competent writing! Eugene turned on the Saviors in a move so telegraphed that the ‘previously on…’ segment should’ve just been ten seconds of flashing text letting us all know Eugene isn’t on Negan’s side. It gave us some cool visuals at least, with the Saviors all dropping one-by-one.
My face when Eugene came through in the clutch #thewalkingdead pic.twitter.com/SQgaXHjxGG16 April 2018
Dear Eugene.I take back all the terrible things I said about you last week. Okay. I still meant like 50 percent of them. Love,Me #TWDxFearTWD #FearTWD #TWD @TheWalkingNews @WalkingDeadArmy @WalkingDead_AMC @AMCTalkingDead16 April 2018
👊🏼 “That was for the puke.” -Rosita to Eugene #TheWalkingDead16 April 2018
Morgan's gone for good?
He’s on Fear the Walking Dead (which premiered its fourth season on Sunday) now, but is everyone’s favourite stickman actually gone for good in the main TWD-verse? Probably. At least he went back to his pacifist roots before we waved goodbye to him.
One thing that bothers me about the Walking Dead crossover is that Morgan didn’t say goodbye to Rick and the group. #TheWalkingDead #FearTheWalkingDead #TalkingDead16 April 2018
When the writers think putting Morgan on fear the Walking dead gonna make us watch it... #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/FYE9hCNNrd16 April 2018
Maggie's a baddie
One of the few interesting things to come out of the finale was Maggie going all Boardwalk Empire and turning the tables on Rick. Along with Daryl and Jesus (why does Jesus hate Rick? Find out in season 33!), Maggie seems to be leading the charge against Rick.
The walking dead should just end. Nobody wants a coup of the original cast v Rick.16 April 2018
How is Jesus on the council of "pissed off at Rick" with Daryl and Maggie, when he was just preaching to Morgan about sparing and not killing enemies???#TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/7DT0FHlXuT16 April 2018
Because this is what we all wanted right...#TheWalkingDead #TWD pic.twitter.com/Bm8iwrYe0z16 April 2018
We're all back for season 9... right? Guys?
Because I’m not. Bye.
Wowwwww okay!! The Walking Dead SUCKS! Finale was terrible. 2/10. Get some new writers16 April 2018
ive never seen Fear The Walking Dead but i assume it's about people that watch The Walking Dead when they realize it's sunday and they're going to have to sit through another hour of this shit16 April 2018
If Rick and Negan are both alive at the end of this episode, this season was the biggest pile of steaming sh*t waste of 16 Sunday nights in the history of modern television. #TheWalkingDead #TWDSeasonFinale16 April 2018
It’s so sad to see such a great show become so terrible and anticlimactic. Each season since 5 has lacked in some form or fashion. Now this season 8 finale is the last straw. You build up this war for almost two season, and it’s over in less than 10 minutes? #TheWalkingDead16 April 2018
Now that The Walking Dead season 8 is over, you're going to need something to fill that void. How about some of these new TV shows?
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I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.