The Walking Dead Season 8: 5 Ups And 4 Downs From 'The Damned'

The Walking Dead returned to our screens last week, and the Season 8 premiere represented something of a return to form for the series.

Mercy wasn't a special episode by any means but, after the turgid Season 7, it was a refreshing change of pace and tone, and represented a definite step back up in quality.

The episode kicked off the All Out War storyline with some style, including one big action sequence, while it also brought its main characters back together, briefly introduced a new one, and offered hints (and hope) for a future that may or may not ever happen.

Episode 2, The Damned, is charged with picking up that ball and running with it. Now that we're in open warfare, it was on this episode to continue the action, bring us another battle between Rick's militia and the Saviours, and maybe address some of those loose threads as well. As for the episode synopsis, we were promised a plan unfolding, and there was also the intriguing tease of "a familiar face".

So, is the episode damn good, or damned to be forgotten? Let's take a look at how it all stacked up. (Warning:Contains spoilers for Season 8 Episode 2.)