I admire Rick's determination, the sheer amount of will power that he is possessing to be able to drag him out from the life threatening situation, even if it hurts. Most of the people I know would not be able to ignore that there was is half a meter of rebar sticking out from their guts, because it really, really, really hurts when you are wounded in that way.
I get why he starts to hallucinate as a sepsis is a very likely outcome from landing in a place like that. Like so many survivors before him, he pushes through the pain until he feels safe. But when the hallucinations starts, it feels like he is dying and recalling the past moments.
I loved seeing Shane talking back, telling him that he's done and that it should have been him, instead of Rick who survived. However, if I speculate for a minute, I still think that Shane wouldn't have survived the reign of the Governor, the horrors of the Terminus, or the fight with Negan. If he had made it at the end, I believe Shane would have killed Negan to be able to stay as the dictator of the Shanenation.
He tells Rick to dig deep to find the rage to be able to push through the moment of death. The pain makes you know that you're alive, while the hate and rage builds up the adrenaline level to push through it all. So, know that if you're hurting nobody will look you wrongly if you curse like a drunken sailor.
There are people who has crawled, walked, ride and driven long distances, because they had a reason to live. If you don't have one, you are most likely to give up. Hershel showed him a paradise, a way out into the Heaven, instead of being cast down in Hell with Shane. But he also told Rick that his place isn't in the Heaven, but his place is to be at the Earth, because he still have a role to play.
It was great that they next showed that the way to the Purgatory goes through the TWD's famous doors. I don't really understand why Sasha was there, asking him to stay, to give up on his life, that there is no reason for him to live. Why did she then told Rick to wake up?
They didn't needed to show him slumbering forward as if he was part of the dead. For the amount of blood he had lost, he should have been long lost. I cried when he blew up the bridge. They could have left it there and everyone would have been happy.
What made Rick B? And what happened to Gabriel after Jadis lifted Rick off from the ground? Are they all now in the same place?
I was more skeptical that the episode would also bring an end to Negan. I feared that Negan's broken man death wish was all an act, and that Maggie was about to leave the series when she let him out of his cell. Her confrontation with Michonne to gain access to Negan also made me wonder if little Judith would soon be an orphan.
Michonne and Maggie scene was necessary as it has been on the cards for over two years. We all hate Negan for what he did. But in Michonne's defence I can say that she's right, because marder will only open another door for the cycle of death. They all need closure, because keeping Negan alive, only reminds them about the failures in the past.
I liked that the at the end Maggie saw the reason in Rick's decision, as weeping, begging Negan is like seeing a castrated dog, whining after his lost balls.
The voice in the radio, who talks to Jadis, somehow reminded me about the Fear characters, even though I'm certain that there hasn't been characters like him in the series before.
On the plus side, the flaming walkers raining into the river, was pretty cool.
I agree. One of the best scenes in this season and almost as epic as the twister full of dead. I still like twister better, as it brought some true horror episodes in the show. Not just survival tales.