The Walking Dead Mid-Season Finale: 4 Ups & 4 Downs From 'Hearts Still Beating'
The Walking Dead enters its Season 7 hiatus with neither a bang nor a whimper.
After some painfully slow build-up across the previous few episodes, The Walking Dead mid-season finale had to provide a satisfying conclusion. Loosely wrapping up the arcs that have played out across the first half of Season 7, and setting the stage for what's to come next, it had a lot to accomplish. But would it go out with a bang or a whimper?
The answer lies somewhere in the middle. Not as explosive as other mid-season finales, nor the level it needed to be, but not abjectly bad or as dull as much of this year. Hearts Still Beating is largely an improvement on what's come before, which isn't saying much, but it's better nonetheless.
Continuing the focus on Negan's time in Alexandria, it also starts to bring various plot threads together, which has been a long time coming. But it's another episode that runs at around 75 minutes (including adverts), and another one that feels like a bit of a slog at times.