"The writers took the day off": All the best (and worst) reactions to The Walking Dead season 8, episode 2

The Walking Dead season 8 got off to a promising start with its premiere and then… episode 2 happened. The show has been an easy punching bag for a few seasons now, case in point: that CGI deer, but this feels like a watershed moment. People are abandoning the undead ship – and not without a just cause. See all the reactions below but, be warned, there are spoilers ahead.

You’d think an episode with a giant shootout, a tiger mauling someone and a shocking return would be a lot of fun. But this is The Walking Dead we’re talking about; a show that seems to shamble along season-upon-season.

The return of wait, who?

Some returns are signposted way in advance. Morales  – from way back in season 1 – showing his face and revealing he’s now part of the Saviors, had people scratching their heads.

Tiger, tiger burning bright

One of the more positive moments in the episode was Shiva going to town on some guy’s face. Hey, don’t let it be said that The Walking Dead still can’t be a lot of fun.

Pew-pew...eww

Gunfights are a blast in The Walking Dead… sometimes. This one was just a barrage of bullets pinging about and narrowly missing characters that no one really cares about or has any connection to.

Morgan and Jesus

The few characters in the episode that you’ll actually want to survive – Morgan and Jesus – have undergone dramatic shifts recently. Jesus is now trying to save everyone, even those who literally tried to murder him seconds earlier, and Morgan has ditched the stick to become a member of a spec-ops unit, eliminating people on a whim.

Time to give up?

I’m not saying you should definitely give up on The Walking Dead (though I’m certainly hate-watching at this point), it’s just a tough task to gee yourself up every week for a thoroughly disappointing show.

Then again, there’s always the Carl memes.

Image: AMC.