As part of our celebration of the end of the war arc, we decided to look back and discuss how things could've been improved.
If you've followed our coverage of season 8, you know we loved it! But even so, it doesn't mean things couldn't have been done differently. Here are 5 ways we think All Out War could've been better.
5. The Pacing Could've Been Sped Up Significantly
Going by Maggie's lack of a baby bump, we can conclude the war took place over a much shorter period than many fans thought.From the beginning of season 7 with Abraham and Glenn meeting Lucille to the finale of season 8 with Negan being imprisoned, only a month or two could've passed at most. That's a pretty radical pacing change for a show that used to move things along quickly.
Squeezing 32 episodes into such a short span helped us meet a lot of new faces and explore the bigger world the show is trying to focus on, but it also made it feel like things dragged at points. Speaking of which...
4. The Cast of Characters Could've Been Reduced
Every show needs new characters, especially eight seasons in. But the war brought in so many fresh faces it got a little overwhelming at times.
Again, we understand the point behind it - the show is moving from the hunter-gatherer phase to the world-building phase. But sometimes less is more, and the quality of character development wins out over the quantity of characters on screen.
The Sanctuary, Alexandria, the Hilltop, the Kingdom - in our opinion, focusing on these communities would've been more than enough. Did we really need the scavengers? What about Oceanside? It seemed like their presence didn't add a ton to the story.
3. We Should've Seen the Massacre at Oceanside
Oceanside's arc wasn't too eventful. They had their guns stolen and their leader killed, both demonstrating how Rick and the others were determined to protect their own and win the war - things we already knew before.
The payoff with Oceanside lobbing explosives at the Saviors was cool, but was it worth it? Their entire arc just didn't seem to add much to the show in terms of excitement.
One way this could've been fixed would be to show the scene where Simon and the Saviors massacred the males of Oceanside. It could've been a flashback, and it would've added the type of exciting, gruesome moment that made the Walking Dead must-see television in the past.
2. The Saviors' System Should've Been Explored More Thoroughly
If you're going to focus on world building and character development, put the focus on the main antagonists!
Rather than showing us glimpses into random communities, it may have been better to help the viewer learn more about the Saviors hierarchy and philosophy. Sure, we got the gist of it, but they could've gone much further.
Delve into what makes good people obey evil orders, why productive people remain in oppressive arrangements, and how fear of the unknown drives people to oppose change even when it could be good. We'll be expanding on this in an upcoming piece titled "In Defense of Negan & the Saviors."
1. More Main Characters Should've Died
Wow, that's a grim headline huh? But let's be honest - this is an apocalyptic show, during a war, where one side uses killing as a way to force compliance. How were there not more deaths?
We hate to see main characters go, but at this point it feels necessary to keep the show realistic (given the circumstances) and engaging. Especially in season 8, with the fight fully in motion, we expected more losses.
Sure we lost big antagonists like Simon and longtime Alexandrians like Tobin. But, other than Carl, there were no major deaths. These moments used to give the show shock value, and not just because of the gore. While the group is obviously valuing life more than they did before, we still believe there should've been more fatalities.
It wasn't perfect, but we really enjoyed All Out War! Be sure to follow us on Facebook for more content celebrating the conclusion of the arc and speculating where the season will go next!
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