Pradipa PR

The best part of this episode is its beginning and its ending. Rick, reading Carl's letter, finally have a change of heart after being touched by his son's vision of society. Meanwhile, Negan, already fell too deep--not to mention just finding out betrayal from his two top right-hand men--remains unmoved by Carl's plea for peace. Someone said that Carl plays more important role exactly after his death, and I agree: he acts as the bridge between the two spectrum (Rick and Negan).

Rick, who believes in the capacity of people to build things together; and Negan, who believes he has to tie those knots all by himself, being the one bigger than anyone else. As @andrewbloom said in his review, Walking Dead has attempted to show that Rick, too, can be cruel and unforgiving; while Negan is not a cartoon evil, he too has good intention. But this episode shows the contrast between the two through Carl.

That is the best part of this episode. The other sequences... are done rather very clunkily, especially the part with Aaron and Eugene. @AndrewBloom laid out this better than I could do, so I suggest you read his review here: https://trakt.tv/comments/178084

Dense episode with "just right" pacing. Plot moves fast, bringing attention to the finally revealed antagonist Amahl Farouk with him finally meeting face to face with Haller. The interaction was great - not just it steers the plot towards clear direction, but also helps revealing the condition of Oliver and Lenny. Like the previous episode, there are some of weaker parts - again with David and Syd interaction (on how easy Syd is convinced that David is not making up the Syd-from-the-future, especially since in the previous episode it was established that Syd is a bit reluctant to trust David) - a bit distracting but doesn't disturb the pace. Navid Nehgaban did stellar performance as Farouk, establishing the character hard and fast. At the same time the story introduceslooming threat in the shadows while still plays Legion's hallmark mind-battles (as shown in Season 1). Flashy images but not too dragging that it keeps me engaged until the episode ends. Great start for this season.

Bad episode. Every time Walking Dead has its lead character planning the next big thing, other major characters are always there to ruin it. Daryl has been guilty of this multiple times and I wonder why Rick never kicked him out of the community. Michonne does this too, but always with the "I have to see it myself for some reasons" reasoning. Even Rick himself seems to ruin his big plan by running towards The Scavenger hideout all by himself, only to get him tied up nude in a container.

Also let's not mention the part where Rosita uses that RPG... the scene is very horrible. Is that how rocket launcher actually work?

This is a big let down after two decent episodes prior. It's like Walking Dead is never able to maintain its pace. This seems to be especially true with Season 8, with a lot of ups and downs - but more downs.

Possibly the most engaging episode so far, with the best visual styles and narrative combined. It has the spectacles of pilot episode and plot progression of episode 4 and 5 (sorta). The episode throws up most kind of visual styles possible - black and white, silent film, animation - depicting the chaotic mind of Haller wonderfully without repeating the same style in episode 1. In the same time, the plot progresses a lot - revealing Haller's parents (that Prof X's wheelchair was great), Oliver's presence, and the fate of secondary antagonists.

It's a bit shameful that The Eye and the telekinetic mutant went out too soon (we don't even know the name of that telekinetic guy), as we don't seem to get enough narrative about them. But it returns the setting to the still on-going "war" between Melanie's group and Division Three. While the story is about personal life of Haller and people around them, Legion kickstarted the series with the context of this situation of war. Hopefully they would stay and appear in next season.

Just the right amount of dream sequences and narrative. Some scenes actually get pretty thrilling to watch, as if you're watching a thriller/horror with that right atmosphere. Legion in this episode has maintained the illusion/reality quite well. So far this might be one of the better episodes where the fascination of the pilot episode can be maintained with actual plot progression.

I understand that this episode tries to portray the crews being lost in dreams/illusions, but a whole episode for such event seems rather forcing it. There are a number of subplots that seem to bear little significance too (what's with Walter chasing down Kerry, and Melanie's depression on his husband), making this feels a lot more like a filler episode. The edits are stylish though, with Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) dancing to that music, if we disregard it (and a couple of other scenes) coming up from out of nowhere.

The show seems to be trying to maintain its grip with this episode. We're back with Haller's hallucinations and memories. This time it only happens in Haller's head, so there's nothing as confusing as the pilot episode. However the episode seems to reuse similar editing technique with voiceovers haunting the scenes and flashes of scenes that glimpses us into Haller's memory. Some are executed very well, some others are... like a faulty Chekhov's gun, with them being there for no reason (like the intro of Melanie making coffee).

Surprisingly a nice and very different pilot from other series to date. Taking a diagnosed-as-mentally-ill David Haller as the main character, we are brought to view the events unfold in the episode through the eyes of Haller himself: where reality bends with dreams, vaguely remembered memories, and hallucinations. The hallucination which might serve as an important plot point in the future, as Haller questions himself thorough the episode, is it really just a hallucination--suppressed with medication--or is it actually real?

The visuals and editing in this pilot episode makes us tread--and gazed--confusedly just as Haller experiences his life, until the final moment in the climax that everything suddenly becomes clear, in the same moment as Haller realizes what has caught into his life.

However, it should be noted that this might not be a pilot to watch if you're expecting a "superhero TV series" like Agents of Shield, as it's not readily obvious. It's what Noah Hawley (the director) wants to avoid: people who only watch this as such instead of focusing on the characters or story.

The jazz music when Guts reminisces of Griffith is kinda out of place even for a while. The Hai-Yo track that plays only for a few second is also not too fitting, since the high spirited song is used rather blandly (only to show Guts being thrown). However the battle scene is done decently despite of shaky cam. Pace is okay-ish. Not bad but could be better.

Ezekiel was presented as over-the-top, comical character at first - we got that much from trailers - but the episode reveals how he's such a humane character, with self-awareness what's going on around him. This episode portrays Carol and Morgan adjustment in the Kingdom, more into characterization which is nice. The thing that kinda disappoints me is how the writer portray Morgan's change of mind (of his pacifism) in a kinda in-your-face, not-so-subtle way.

The climax on the tower ends too abruptly. Well, it is in the manga, but in the anime it really left no impact--no wondering, no confusion, nothing. Only a short, "what happened?" from the characters and then that's it. I guess because of the rushed pacing. Silat and the Kushan also went very fast. A considerable amount of time is instead dedicated to Nina, which might have gained significant development, but not enough for us to care in the anime. Last, the soundtrack doesn't fit the scene. The music director did a bad job here--again.

We're going to have next season in Spring. I hope the studio learned a lot from their first experiment here.

Terrible music directing. It cuts and plays in odd timing. The battle is too difficult to follow and too short at that - a shame since it's supposed to have one of the best in this arc. The hand-castle and the brand reveal isn't too obvious, making it lacking impact. Things are decent on other stuff.

If you can get past the CGI, this episode is pretty enjoyable to watch. Finally. The only thing which seems odd is the battle scene near ending. It feels a tad disorienting with the soundtrack not matching the action scene. But I guess we'll see more on this in the next episode.

The battles aren't the best, but it still looks good choreographically. Except a few scenes (Puck around the tower and Nina with Casca), no one blurts out speech anymore. SFX gets better. Generally consistent with eps 7, which was also a good episode. Significant improvement from episode 1-6 indeed!

Much improvement from previous episodes. The pacing gets better: the characters no longer feel like they have prepared a speech when they're having conversation; there were more moments of silence between scenes; and they apparently fixed the weird sound effect of the sword. The episode still tries too hard to portray Guts' action scene as "badass", but at least it's not as cringey as before (no more loud, irrelevant generic metal music).The CGIs, however, look worse than before. The difference between 2D and 3D animation is really jarring.

The characters talk too much. This is very notable in the battle: instead of trying to kill each other, there were about a minute the episode trying to portray the antagonist's background by a lot of talking. And Guts there just stand still (while being wounded!) and listen to his mumbling.

The episode still has this terrible pacing where every characters machine gun every line without any pause. From one talking to another one talking. It makes some supposedly important scenes to be off and forgettable because the episode just glances it over with the pacing.

A lot of stuff is crammed in this episode, and instead focusing on the available scenes, it dedicates a lot of time with a build up for the next episode. Making this one feels like a filler episode.

It was intense, to say the least. This episode is good in that it can maintain the action while still doing several character developments: Fr. Gabriel, Heath (the eye-glasses Alexandrian supply-runner), and of course Carol. While everyone is focusing on Carol, I'm hoping Morgan to have more interesting development in the future, especially when his pacifism finally has to face The Survivors' brutality.

It started a bit slow but once it gets into the action it plays really nicely. Some people were seemingly presented to be cannon fodders, on the other hand some scenes make you wonder if one of the recurring cast is going to survive this season or not for their way of life in Walking Dead's post apocalyptic world. Especially with one Alexandrian holding the gun.

Carol once again takes the spotlight for being a badass. And the cold-blooded Carol is contrasted nicely with Morgan's peaceful approach. In the middle of conflict, there's also this little bit of drama of some Alexandrian still holding resentment to Rick's group. Good episode.

Another attempt at playing with "god is boredd" trope. Nothing really new here. Just a good set design.

A rather slow series, and I've watched Altered Carbon, which I liked better. It's only after Eps 4 that we see a stake and the plot starts to move; the first three episodes were spent to kind of world-build and develop the characters, but it falters here and there. Unlike Altered Carbon, which was filled with intricate details that you might miss if you're not paying attention, I feel like i could've watched this series while doing something else. I guess this is a soap opera sci-fi thriller of the 2010s.

Teenage drama in a world of The Boys. This episode emphasizes that in a sense Gen V is still that teenage drama focusing on youngsters involved in a bigger problem that they can handle. But as a part of The Boys world those youngsters, as supes with impunity, come with their own selfishness, indifference, and cruelty - as shown with the scene of exploding dick (and the attempted assault that preceded it).

I think it's quite an interesting angle. Albeit the episode moves a little bit slowly with the teenage drama sequences, it still delivers The Boys typical uncertainty, anxiety, and... strange sex fetish. The ending is a very abrupt cliffhanger/jumphanger(?) though.

What a very strong start for the series. This is what The New Mutants (the failed X-Men spinoff) should've been.

Enough world-building that it feels in the same world as The Boys, enough The Boys bloody mess and infallible supes where anyone can die at anytime, while at the same time having its own unique touch with its high-school/university kids drama and a kickstart to some twisted mystery that made the supes as crazy as they are since a young age. Every character is established really well and efficiently. Looking forward to the next episode.

As a sci-fi episode it's OK. Even with the double-bluff the finale of the episode resorts to the usual sci-fli cliche. It's not really clever, not suspensful, nor is it an emotional roller-coaster.

What makes the episode really works is treating it as a drama-comedy: the charming chemistry between the two leads - unlike San Junipero - and how the subject matter of the episode is something that relates to its intended audience. An automated dating system until we find the perfect match. Would we want that? The episode doesn't ask the question, but you can't not ponder that yourself as the credit rolls.

A much better take at the social media frenzy era than Black Mirror's The National Anthem. This episode smoothly transitions from a murder mystery to a Candyman-esque horror to a crime thriller, standing on a better ground in the balance between surveillance and sousveillance. Unlike The National Anthem, which often felt one-dimensional by portraying a government slow to adapt to technological changes, this episode effectively weaves together today's surveillance capitalism with the cyber-bullying tendencies of the social media era.

For me, the episode could have been even more impactful if it had maintained a smaller scale. The complete system shutdown feels overly dramatic to drive home a point and somewhat deviates from Black Mirror's typically grounded approach to technology.

And the episode can't quite shake off the crowdphobic feel reminiscent of The National Anthem, occasionally portraying the masses as a thoughtless mob of bullies. It seems to lean towards apologism in its condoning of government surveillance. You can already see the episode earning nods from proponents of big government and figures like Elon Musk. Nevertheless, the well-interwoven plotlines and the teasing of a possible sequel in the cliffhanger crime thriller-like end make this episode a thrilling ride.

Certainly not the most novel concept out there, but the thrill and horror in the last 20 minutes of the episode makes up for it. The screams and frustration in the last minutes give the episode of a sort of claustrophobic feel until we found out the climaxes in the last minute. It kept me guessing and on my seat until to the very end. Great horror episode.