Start to Finish

"Start to Finish"
The Walking Dead episode

Deanna faces the herd before letting out one last defiant scream.
Episode no. Season 6
Episode 8
Directed by Michael E. Satrazemis
Written by Matthew Negrete
Original air date November 29, 2015 (2015-11-29)
Running time 43 minutes
Guest actors

"Start to Finish" is the eighth episode and mid-season finale of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on November 29, 2015. The survivors flee from the walkers that have invaded the Alexandria Safe-Zone.

Plot

The church tower smashes three panels of the wall, and everyone scrambles for whatever shelter they can find as hundreds of walkers pour inside Alexandria. Eugene (Josh McDermitt) finds a walkie-talkie on the ground and yells "Help!" into it, before being rescued by Tara (Alanna Masterson) and Rosita (Christian Serratos). Maggie (Lauren Cohan) is forced up the ladder to a lookout post and lies back on the platform, trapped but out of sight from the walkers.

The home of Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge) hosts a group of Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Carl (Chandler Riggs), Judith, Michonne (Danai Gurira), Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh), and her own sons Ron (Austin Abrams) and Sam (Major Dodson). They discover Deanna was bitten while saving Rick. Later, Carl checks on a distressed Ron who blames Rick for what's happening and lashes out at Carl, breaking a garage window and drawing the attention of walkers. Rick breaks down the interior garage door to get the boys out as the walkers enter; Carl covers for Ron but confiscates Ron's handgun.

Meanwhile, Carol (Melissa McBride) runs with Morgan (Lennie James) to take shelter in Morgan's house. Carol feigns a concussion in order to have Morgan drop his guard, and she attacks him and breaks into the basement. Denise has been locked down there treating the captured Wolf (Benedict Samuel). Carol bursts in and threatens the Wolf with a knife, but Morgan interposes himself between them. They fight and Morgan throws Carol to the concrete but Carol has created an opportunity for the Wolf to blindside Morgan.

Eugene picks the interior door lock of a garage to gain entry to the attached home. He, Tara and Rosita end up walking in on the Wolf who holds Carol's knife to Denise's throat, taking her hostage. They surrender their weapons to him, and the Wolf escapes with Denise.

Outside the wall, Glenn (Steven Yeun) convinces Enid (Katelyn Nacon) to enter Alexandria and help the others. They climb the wall opposite the breach and spot Maggie trapped atop a lookout post.

The damage Rick had caused allows the walkers to break through into Jessie's house, forcing everyone to retreat to the second floor. Knowing they will soon be overrun, Rick decides to make a desperate attempt at escape: he kills and guts two walkers, hoping they can camouflage themselves with their insides and pass through the herd. They slowly make it to the porch while Deanna, left behind, kills several walkers but gives up an easy death for herself. Holding hands to stay together, the group enters the walker-infested street, quiet but for a frightened Sam who repeatedly calls out for his mother.

Reception

Critical reception

The episode holds a 32% positive rating with an average score of 6.3 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The critics' consensus reads: "'Start to Finish' fails to live up to The Walking Dead's potential with a midseason finale that is both dull and frustrating."[1] The episode received worse reviews than any previous episode of the series.[2]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave it a 7.3 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict: "'Start to Finish' gets points for keeping Alexandria around and in the mix, but loses a bunch for dropping us right as things started to get exciting. Especially since the rest of the episode was filled with conflicts we hoped we wouldn't have to see in the midst of a giant walker invasion (Carl/Ron, Carol/Morgan)."[3]

Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave it a C+ grade and wrote, "Sure, a bunch of cliffhangers sounds like a smart way to close things out for the year, but none of this is promising us the sight of anything new. All we have to look forward to now is clean up work, and while I’m sure the back half of the season won’t just be Rick and the others making their way to the armory, precious little in this episode suggests otherwise. The only scene tonight that sets up a new storyline happened after the credits—happened, in fact, ten minutes after “Start To Finish” had actually ended. But judging this hour on its own terms, it’s full of clumsy, stupid people doing clumsy, stupid things."[4]

Ratings

The episode received 13.98 million viewers,[5] an increase from the previous episode, which had 13.22 million viewers overall.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Start to Finish". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Walking Dead's Midseason 6 Finale Is Worst Reviewed Episode Of Series". Comicbook.com. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ Fowler, Matt (November 29, 2015). "The Walking Dead: "Start to Finish" Review". IGN. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  4. ↑ Handlen, Zack (November 29, 2015). "Walking Dead shuffles through its midseason finale". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Porter, Rick (December 2, 2015). "Sunday cable ratings: ‘Into the Badlands’ gets a ‘Walking Dead’ bump". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ Porter, Rick (November 24, 2015). "Sunday cable ratings: ‘Walking Dead’ rises with Glenn’s fate revealed, ‘Into the Badlands’ down in week 2". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 24, 2015.

External links

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