Despite the fact that “After” will likely not be a universal favorite, it was exactly the episode needed to bridge the gap between the destruction of “Too Far Gone” and the individual on-the-run storylines that will likely dominate much of the second half of the season.

Flaws aside, “Too Far Gone” was a great TWD episode. It struck a balance of action, plot, and character development, and—unlike with the midseason finales of Seasons 2 and 3—there’s really no predicting where the second half of Season 4 will pick up. The wait for the next episode will not be an easy one.