The callbacks this season are just reminding me how much better the show used to be! I am so, so bored of Gimple's trick of leaving a cliffhanger (Negan and Gabriel) for umpteen episodes - yes, it was powerful the first couple of times but I wish he had something new up his sleeve.
Rick's confrontation with Morales didn't bring us anywhere new. They've been wrestling with the same moral dilemma for ages now and there was nothing revealing or insightful in bringing Morales back.
I keep thinking about what a fantastic antagonist the Governor was and how Negan is so one-dimensional and pantomime in comparison. When he locked Andrea away with Milton, that was terrifying and suspenseful and genuinely shocking. Nothing they've done with Negan parallels it.
I feel like the battle scene now are flat because the main guys are in no real danger. In the Wolf attack on Alexandria, I was convinced Carol was going to die - taken out by one of our guys when she was disguised as a Wolf (I'm glad that didn't happen!) so I was totally on the edge of my seat. Now I know that the main cast aren't in peril and the deaths of minor characters are so clunkingly signposted - Aaron and Eric got so much screen time, it was glaringly obvious that Eric was going to die.
I really love this show but I'm wondering if it has just gone on too long now, or if they can actually pull something fresh and new out to get me gripped again.