Season eight, Episode three of “The Walking Dead,” “Monsters,” proved to be an interesting but lacking conclusion to the events of the previous episode. With the constant fighting now between Rick and Negan’s forces, viewers are kept constantly on the edge of their seats. But much like previous seasons, storylines and actions that should take up only part of an episode are dragged out over several.

One seemingly promising cliffhanger at the end of episode two when a past season one character appeared had left many fans excited to see what would happen next. However, with the character soon being killed off with only minutes of screen time his presence was inconsequential. By bringing back an old character only to immediately get rid of him, many fans will be upset about the abrupt conclusion.

Furthermore, with three or even four different competing storylines in any one episode many of the events in season eight are hard to keep track of. The constant changes during episode three from following Rick and Daryl to Maggie at the Hilltop and then back to Carol and the Saviors have the viewers constantly changing storylines.

While this is often times confusing, it also is realistic as the war with the Saviours is large and happening in many locations at the same time. However, while allowing the viewer to see what is happening to multiple different groups, it also stretches out each storyline across multiple episodes.

While many of the shifts in point of view can be abrupt, season eight of “The Walking Dead” is also full of character development in the couple of minutes the viewer gets with each group. From Morgan once again seeming to slowly lose his mind and give into his anger, to Rick facing the young child of a parent he unknowingly just killed, many characters have gone through drastic changes in their personalities. This seems to flow naturally as a continuation of many of the characters’ arcs.

Ultimately, while many fans will enjoy the constant action and suspense that season eight holds, some will be disappointed at the snail’s pace each separate storyline progresses. Still, for fans who have been invested in the series for all eight seasons the promise of seeing the possible end of Negan and the Saviours will be more than enough to keep them tuning in each week.