This season adapts material from issues #115–126 of the comic book series "All Out War Part I & II" and introduces notable comic book character Siddiq (Avi Nash). The season continues the story of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of survivors in their fight against Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the Saviors. Rick, along with Maggie (Lauren Cohan), leading The Hilltop, and King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), leader of The Kingdom, unite forces to start a rebellion against the tyrant leader of the Saviors, initiating a war for the freedom of the communities.[2]
Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, the series' protagonist, a former sheriff's deputy and the leader of Alexandria, who is leading a new alliance to fight Negan and the Saviors.
Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Rick's right-hand man, the group's primary hunter and a recruiter for Alexandria.
Kerry Cahill as Dianne, one of Ezekiel's top soldiers and a skilled archer.
Daniel Newman as Daniel, one of Ezekiel's top soldiers.
Carlos Navarro as Alvaro, one of Ezekiel's top soldiers.
Macsen Lintz as Henry, a resident of the Kingdom and younger brother of the deceased Benjamin, who wants revenge on the Saviors for the death of his brother.
Briana Venskus as Beatrice, one of Oceanside's top soldiers.
Nicole Barré as Kathy, one of Oceanside's top soldiers.
Mimi Kirkland as Rachel, an aggressive young member of Oceanside.
The Scavengers
Sabrina Gennarino as Tamiel, a leading member of the Scavengers.
Thomas Francis Murphy as Brion, a leading member of the Scavengers.
Miscellaneous
Avi Nash as Siddiq, a mysterious vagabond survivor who befriends Carl.
Jayne Atkinson as Georgie, the leader of a mysterious humanitarian group.
Production
The Walking Dead was renewed by AMC for a 16-episode eighth season on October 16, 2016.[4] Production began on April 25, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia.[5] On July 12, 2017, production was shut down after stuntman John Bernecker was killed, after falling more than 20 feet onto a concrete floor.[6] Production resumed on July 17.[7] The season premiere, which also serves as the series' milestone 100th episode, was directed by executive producer Greg Nicotero.[8]
In November 2017, it was announced that Lennie James who portrays Morgan Jones, would be leaving The Walking Dead after the conclusion of this season, and would join the cast of the spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead for its fourth season.[9] The eighth season also features the departures of series regulars Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes), Steven Ogg (Simon), and Austin Amelio (Dwight). Riggs' final episode is the mid-season premiere where his character is killed off, which is a deviation from the comic book, where his character is still alive. His death received negative reactions from critics and fans.[10] Ogg's final episode is the penultimate episode of the season, where his character is killed by Negan.[11] Amelio departed the series after the season finale, and in January 2019, it was confirmed he would join the cast of Fear the Walking Dead.[12]
Rick, Maggie, and Ezekiel rally their communities together to take down Negan. Gregory attempts to have the Hilltop residents side with Negan, but they all firmly stand behind Maggie. The group attacks the Sanctuary, taking down its fences and flooding the compound with walkers. With the Sanctuary overrun, everyone leaves except Gabriel, who reluctantly stays to save Gregory, but is left behind when Gregory abandons him. Surrounded by walkers, Gabriel hides in a trailer, where he is trapped inside with Negan.
Rick's forces split into separate parties to attack several of the Saviors' outposts, during which many members of the group are killed; Eric is critically injured and rushed away by Aaron. Jesus stops Tara and Morgan from executing a group of surrendered Saviors. While clearing an outpost with Daryl, Rick is confronted and held at gunpoint by Morales, a survivor he met in the initial Atlanta camp, who is now with the Saviors.
Daryl finds Morales threatening Rick and kills him; the duo then pursue a group of Saviors who are transporting weapons to another outpost. Gregory returns to Hilltop, and after a heated argument, Maggie ultimately allows him back in the community. Eric dies from his injuries, leaving Aaron distraught. Despite Tara and Morgan's objections, Jesus leads the group of surrendered Saviors to Hilltop. Ezekiel's group attacks another Savior compound, during which Kingdom fighters are annihilated while protecting Ezekiel.
Ezekiel's group is overwhelmed by the Saviors, who kill all of them except for Ezekiel himself and Jerry. Carol clears the inside of the compound, killing all but two Saviors, who almost escape but are eventually caught by Rick and Daryl. En route to the Kingdom, Ezekiel, Jerry, and Carol are surrounded by walkers, but Shiva sacrifices herself to save them. The trio returns to the Kingdom, where Ezekiel's confidence in himself as a leader has diminished.
After confessing their sins to each other, Gabriel and Negan manage to escape from the trailer. Simon and the other lieutenants grow suspicious of each other, knowing that Rick’s forces must have inside information. The workers in the Sanctuary become increasingly frustrated with their living conditions, and a riot nearly ensues, until Negan returns and restores order. Gabriel is locked in a cell, where Eugene discovers him sick and suffering. Meanwhile, Rick and Daryl argue over how to take out the Saviors.
Rick visits Jadis in hopes of convincing her to turn against Negan; Jadis refuses, and locks Rick in a shipping container. Carl encounters Siddiq in the woods and recruits him to Alexandria. Daryl and Tara plot to deviate from Rick’s plans by destroying the Sanctuary. Ezekiel isolates himself at the Kingdom, where Carol tries to encourage him to be the leader his people need. Maggie has the group of captured Saviors placed in a holding area and forces Gregory to join them as punishment for betraying Hilltop.
After learning of Dwight's association with Rick's group, Eugene affirms his loyalty to Negan and outlines a plan to get rid of the walkers surrounding the Sanctuary. With help from Morgan and Tara, Daryl drives a truck through the Sanctuary’s walls, flooding its interior with walkers, killing many Saviors. Rick finally convinces Jadis and the Scavengers to align with him, and they plan to force the Saviors to surrender. However, when they arrive at the Sanctuary, Rick is horrified to see the breached walls and no sign of the walker herd.
Eugene's plan allows the Saviors to escape the Sanctuary, and separately, the Saviors waylay the Alexandria, Hilltop, and Kingdom forces. The Scavengers abandon Rick, after which he returns to Alexandria. Aaron and Enid are ambushed by Oceanside soldiers, and Enid inadvertently kills Natania. Ezekiel ensures that the Kingdom residents are able to escape before locking himself in the community with the Saviors. Eugene aids Gabriel and Doctor Carson in escaping the Sanctuary in order to ease his conscience. Negan attacks Alexandria, but Carl devises a plan to allow the Alexandria residents to escape into the sewers. Carl reveals he was bitten by a walker while escorting Siddiq to Alexandria.
Realizing his time alive is limited, Carl writes several letters to his loved ones. After the Saviors leave Alexandria, the survivors make for the Hilltop while Rick and Michonne stay behind to say their final goodbyes to a dying Carl, who pleads with Rick to build a better future alongside the Saviors. Morgan and Carol launch a rescue mission for Ezekiel and successfully retake the Kingdom from the invading Saviors; their lieutenant, Gavin, is killed by Benjamin's vengeful younger brother, Henry.
Aaron and Enid try to convince Oceanside to join the fight against the Saviors, but they refuse; Enid returns to Hilltop while Aaron opts to stay at Oceanside until he can convince them to join. Upon learning of the Scavenger’s siding with Rick, Negan orders Simon to kill only one of Jadis’ people. Rick and Michonne travel to the junkyard to try to regain help from the Scavengers, but they are too late; Simon had ordered the Saviors to slaughter the entire group; Jadis, who managed to escape lures her reanimated comrades into a waste shredder to protect herself.
The Saviors hunt the surviving Alexandrians as they make their way to the Hilltop; Dwight affirms his loyalty to Rick's group as he distracts the Saviors and helps lead the group to safety. Eugene leads a crew of Saviors in crafting bullets at a new outpost while Negan plans to taint the Saviors' weapons with walker blood, in order to make the others "turn" instead of killing them. Doctor Carson tries to help a feverish and nearly blind Gabriel to safety, but the Saviors eventually catch up, killing Carson and recapturing Gabriel.
Maggie, Enid, Michonne and Rosita encounter a seemingly benevolent woman named Georgie, who gives them food and documents in exchange for phonograph records; Georgie claims the documents to be "a key to the future". Negan leads the Saviors towards the Hilltop to send a warning via their newly tainted weapons; Rick pursues the Saviors and chases Negan into a building. Negan eventually escapes, only to be captured at gunpoint by Jadis. Unable to find Negan, Simon instructs the Saviors to attack the Hilltop and "expunge" the community for good.
The Saviors attack the Hilltop with their tainted weapons, leading to a battle in which both sides suffer heavy casualties. Tara is injured by Dwight in an effort to prevent Simon from killing her. Overnight, the injured die from their tainted wounds and attack the sleeping survivors after reanimating. Henry tries to take revenge for the murder of his brother, leading to the breakout of Jared and other Savior prisoners and the disappearance of Henry. Having seen the Saviors' callous attitude for themselves, Alden and several other Saviors choose to remain at the Hilltop rather than return to the Saviors.
Carol and Morgan search for Henry while Rick hunts the escaped Savior prisoners; Morgan abandons Carol and joins Rick. The prisoners help them fight off an attacking horde of walkers, but Rick and Morgan massacre them anyway. Jadis tortures Negan until he informs her that he had nothing to do with Simon massacring her people; a helicopter flies nearby, but Jadis fails to catch its attention. Daryl and Rosita plot to stop Eugene from crafting ammunition for the Saviors. Carol finds Henry alive in the woods and they return to Hilltop. Upon Rick and Morgan's return, Michonne encourages Rick to read Carl's letter to him.
Negan returns to the Sanctuary and regains control of the Saviors. Dwight secretly prepares notes to Rick about Negan's plans, and later sends Gregory to deliver the notes. Daryl and Rosita capture Eugene from his outpost, but he manages to escape and continues pushing his workers to craft bullets. Dwight lures Simon into a meeting where Negan accosts him for going against his orders with the Scavengers, and kills him in a fist fight. Negan then reveals that Laura informed him of Dwight's siding with Rick, and that his planning was a ruse upon knowing of Dwight's disloyalty. Negan is contacted by Michonne - who reads Carl's letter to him at the request of making peace; Negan remains intent on killing Rick and his allies once and for all.
Rick's group follows the false plans given to them by Gregory, leading them into a trap. As the Saviors fire, their weapons backfire due to their ammo being sabotaged by Eugene. The surviving Saviors surrender, while Rick chases down Negan; the two brawl and Rick manages to slice Negan's neck, but immediately has Siddiq tend to the wound, knowing that Carl wanted Negan to survive. Meanwhile, an attack at the Hilltop is stopped with help from Aaron and the Oceanside soldiers. The survivors regroup and rebuild their communities, but Rick's decision to spare Negan angers Maggie and she vows to take action against Rick in the future.
Release
The first trailer for the season was released on July 21, 2017 at San Diego Comic-Con. The second trailer was released on February 1, 2018 for the second part of the season.[29]
On March 15, 2018, it was announced that the season finale and the fourth season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead would be screened at AMC, Regal, and Cinemark theaters across the United States on April 15, the same day as the TV airing, for "Survival Sunday: The Walking Dead & Fear the Walking Dead". The episodes marked the first crossover between the two series. The cinema screening also included an extra half-hour of exclusive bonus content.[30]
Reception
Critical response
The eighth season of The Walking Dead received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a score of 65% with an average rating of 6.65 out of 10 based on 447 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "The Walking Dead's eighth season energizes its characters with some much-needed angst and action, though it's still occasionally choppy and lacking forward-moving plot progression."[31]
The Walking Dead(season 8): Critical reception by episode
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Season 8 (2017–18): Percentage of positive critics' reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes[31]
