Warning: Spoilers Ahead.

The writers of “The Walking Dead” used their one free pass for this season far too early. 

Though there were very exciting parts to the episode and the writers left it on a pretty good cliff-hanger, nothing could compare to the thrill of whether or not Glenn was still alive. The writers used the most suspenseful episode too soon, in my opinion. Compared to last week’s episode, where we finally saw what happened to Glenn, the mid-season finale had little left to offer. 

In this episode, the Walkers break into Alexandria, where the citizens try to fight them off.

One of my first problems with the episode was with Sam. One of the younger characters who is suffering with PTSD from the events of this season, he must protect himself from the Walkers by remaining quiet and pretending to be brave. This was the one thing he needed to do, and he failed. During the last minutes of the episode, he starts repeating “Mom” when he is trying to avoid the Walkers. As a result, we all know what’s going to become of the group because of his loud mouth. While I understand he was messed up because of his dad and he basically had been up in his room this entire season, he failed at his one task. This was extremely frustrating. 

Secondly, Morgan and Carol’s fight irritated me. After seeing Morgan’s flashback episode, I understand his fighting style and why he decides not to kill anyone. But this has made him selfish and a very unlikable character. The member of the “Wolves” that he has kept alive in the basement has only been a ticking time bomb waiting to attack at the right moment. Unfortunately for the group, this is during the break-in of the Walkers. When Carol finds out and tries to kill the member, she and Morgan begin fighting, causing the “Wolves” member to attack the doctor, Denise. The writers just put one of the most valuable members of this society into a very bad predicament. While this scene adds to the suspense of the show, it takes away from a key character.

One of the only positive things that I loved about this mid-season finale was with Deanna’s character development. She has grown from a small, weak leader of a town that didn’t quite understand the outside world or what it had become to a great leader who went out in a blaze of glory instead of taking her own life. I enjoy seeing the strong women of the Alexandria group and how they stand up for themselves — they don’t crumble under the weight of the new world. She also opened Michonne’s mind, questioning Michonne about what she wants for the future and pushing her to act on her dreams. Michonne had never really thought about the future — instead, she was just surviving. Deanna gave the torch to Michonne to keep living with a purpose and not just allowing this life to pass her by. I’m very excited to see what will become of Michonne’s character in the rest of the season.

The last scene gave me chills. It was one of the only redeeming pieces of the finale. Daryl and the group are stopped by a biker gang and told that all of their belongings are now “Negan’s,” introducing the much-anticipated villain. I’m really excited to see how the writers will use Jeffery Dean Morgan in the part and how he will play up one of the most demented villains (according to the comics) in the series. 

Either way, I will continue to watch the show and love it from start to finish. However, this was not one of the best episodes I have seen and it failed in comparison to past episodes. 

Collegian Reporter Dallas Head can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @water4rams.