Skip to main content

The Walking Dead (Volume 21) All Out War Part 2 by Robert Kirkman.

"The Saviors and Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom have their final showdown."

4 Stars

Pros:  It wrapped everything up well pretty much. So now we just wait for the next bad guy to come along. 

Cons: Rick's whole "hero" monologue of "we can fix this world, together" gets real old, real fast. Though, his terms did come with a "surprise." 

Full Review: 

Rick makes a full recovery after suffering a concussion from the grenade blast. And he has to move quickly to get everyone gathered together and over to the Hilltop. While waiting to see if the commotion has died down, the group in the ammunition workshop are overrun by zombies and have to flee. They're caught by Negan and taken prisoner. 

Negan, of course, threatens Eugene but he doesn't give in. And when he's gone, Dwight explains that he's doing what he can from the inside to make sure Negan fails. One of the Saviors overhears Dwight but it turns out that he wants to leave as well. So they start making their escape. 

Once Rick et al are at the Hilltop they combine their forces and await Negan's arrival. He comes, as expected and a firefight ensues. But he's brought in a new equation to the situation. He's had all his men infect their weapons with excretions from the zombies, so that even a scratch from one of their weapons will turn the victim into a zombie. In the fray, Rick is shot in the back by a bolt from Dwight's crossbow. And others who are injured start to fade fast but Rick shows no signs of illness. He's sure that means that Dwight's on their side. 

So he takes a huge gambit and goes out to meet Negan face to face. He explains to Negan that he doesn't want this. That he wants to work together with him to make this world better. To make everything better. He wants to rebuild, not destroy like Negan does. And for a moment it seems as if Negan agrees, that he thinks perhaps it could work. Then Rick cuts his throat and says that the Saviors can either accept Rick's terms, they'll let Negan live and can continue to exist in peace together, or they can continue this senseless war. 

Dwight takes up Lucille and asks the Saviors to follow him the same way that they followed Negan. While everyone's thinking this over, Negan, who isn't quite down for the count, tackles Rick. A fist fight ensues, Negan breaks Rick's leg but collapses soon after. Once Negan's down, it seems that the Saviors have decided not to fight. That they'll accept Rick's terms. 

Once he's all patched up, Rick talks his plan over with Andrea, Carl and Maggie. And though they're not all in agreement, they eventually come to terms with what Rick has in mind. When he goes to visit Negan's bedside, who's alive, he tells Negan that he's going to fix what Negan broke, that he's going to make this a better world and Negan will rot in jail for the rest of his life, forced to watch as Rick does what he couldn't. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

"High Fantasy with lots of interwoven threads of fate getting all knotted up together, as they do. Though Shannon's ambition is incredible and inspiring, in the end it all felt a bit off pace and quickly fell into "information overload."  Pros: High fantasy, true and brilliant world building. You have different kingdoms with their own customs and beliefs, Shannon has truly created something incredible. But this is both a Pro and a Con . Cons : Too many characters to remember/Too many countries/histories/legendary figures to keep track of.  Full Review:  It all starts when Tane breaks her seclusion, wishing to swim in the sea one more time before choosing day. In the morning she'll see if she's earned the revered title of Dragon Rider. But just tonight, she wants to swim and feel free. She's horrified when she runs into a man named Sulyard, who begs for her help.  She helps him asking a childhood friend Susa to take him away and she does, allowing Tane t

A Spark of White Fire (The Celestial Trilogy #1) by Sangu Mandanna

"Similar to "Game of Thrones" only in space, there was a lot going on with a lot of different people and they were all important and connected but my tired, overworked brain had trouble keeping up. " 2 Stars  Pros:  I liked Max as a character, I'm all for the tall, dark, mysterious supposed bad boy with a heart of gold cliche, but the kissing cousins thing just made it weird.   Cons:  It felt like Game of Thrones, only in space, so there was a bit of a kissing cousins vibe going and I wasn't feeling it/The book tried to have these big, shocking moments I was just non-plussed, unaffected./The presence of the Gods irked me as they did in The Illiad, it's all terribly convenient to have divine intervention for your MCs. I feel like it's the cheapest fake-out cheat of all time 👍🤣 Full Review:    My co-worker, who has recommended some amazing reads such as, A Man Called Ove ,   The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse,  and I'll Give You The Sun,  r

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

"The classic tale of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up and his adventures with his Lost Boys and the Darling Children, Wendy, John and Michael. At times fun and whimsical and other times surprisingly dark, it was an interesting read as an adult." 3 Stars  Pros:   There is something appealing about flying away to a mysterious island where you can play all day and never have to grow up. The thrall of Neverland is a constant for this dreamer.  Cons: Peter Pan is truly the most arrogant little brat and very much in need of a mother/I was surprised at the bloodshed because I always thought this was a children's book, it was rather dark at times.  Full Review Mr. and Mrs. Darling are the proud yet rather dismissive and negligent parents of three children. Wendy, John and Michael. All three have flights of fancy and dream of an island, with mermaids and pirates. Mrs. Darling dismisses these as the whimsy of childhood but she herself remembers when she too dreamt of the very