It’s been an up and down season as viewers have deserted the zombie-fuelled epic, so could this season finale deliver some much needed quality? Well, sort of

The stage is now set for the climactic showdown between Negan and Rick after a bloody hour where Simon got his comeuppance and Dwight’s betrayal was revealed

Why are the cast suddenly all bothered about a certain underrated root vegetable? That and more important questions are answered here

This week was a game of three halves which combined to produce one of the most satisfying instalments so far this series

Rick and Negan have a rumble in a basement, Dwight and Simon are buddying up and thankfully it looks like there might be life after the Saviors

Dwight’s allegiances are questioned, Henry is still an annoying little Damian and Dr Carson’s faith is put on the line in a remarkably good ‘filler’ episode

Jadis emerges as a new threat as the gang aren’t given much time to mourn after last week’s loss. The Trash Pandas are back too, but something is amiss

The aftermath of the mid-season finale is still being felt as Rick and the gang come to terms with Carl’s fate and their uncertain future

The mid-season finale delivered its usual plot jolt and cliffhanger – this time it’s the fate of Carl that hangs in the balance as the writers flirt with going off script

After a particularly disappointing episode, the long-running zombie show improves slightly but is still heading in a worrying direction

Disbelief can be suspended, but in this episode, it’s pulled so far it snaps like underpant elastic

After a surprisingly solid start to the season, things start to slip with an episode high on incredulity and low on suspense

A storming episode manages to reinvigorate the zombie behemoth and sees Rick and company have a really bad day, even by their horrific standards

It’s another crash-bang-wallop episode for the show that’s barely paused for breath. In Monsters, the action calmed (slightly) and things got emotional

Morales is back and looking worse for wear, Scott M Gimple’s promised war is hotting up, and there’s a Mad Max mood descending on the camp

The zombie drama is back with another rip-roaring opener. But can it sustain the quality after last season’s bafflingly dull and pointless run?

It was a satisfyingly gaudy ending, with mobile caskets, shots to the gut and the return of Shiva the almighty CGI tiger

Last week’s clunker of an episode is forgotten as Sasha went rogue, Oceanside was attacked, and Hilltop could face a sudden change of leader

We saw a lot of knots and not a lot of action in an episode that might go down as the show’s worst ever. They should rename it The Pausing Dead

A particularly clever episode, with honour killings over melons and twist piled upon twist. But the best news? The war against Negan is coming soon