Having come through seven hell-ridden seasons of dead men walking and innocents being robbed of their last wholly quality, “The Walking Dead” is nowhere near slowing down this eighth season.

Is that necessarily a good thing though?

After suffering through brutal murders of fan favorites, heart-wrenching scenes of loss, and characters pushed to their limits, it’s time for “all out war”.

The season premiered Oct. 22 with promising trailers of something bigger than fans have ever seen before.

With scenes previewed at San Diego Comic Con months before the premiere date, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), the beloved sheriff turned apocalyptic-leader, seems to have a hopeful outcome from the suffering the show has pulled its viewers through.

However, those clips couldn’t have been more misleading.

Now that Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his group of Saviors have really hit home with their kills and threats, Rick has prepared to end things once and for all for the sake of good overcoming evil.

The opening scene of the season consists of lights reflecting over a tormented and disturbed Rick. His red-rimmed eyes and shaking features are soon replaced by a new clip of him before battle, silhouetted by the sun.

Following are quick scenes of main characters preparing for battle, suiting up their gear, and giving motivational speeches; the typical pre-war routine to build suspense.

However, this is a slow beginning for a show like “The Walking Dead” and, unfortunately, it doesn’t pick up.

The rest of the episode’s hour is filled with flying bullets, close saves of character lives, and the whole deal fans are used to.

There is nothing that viewers have not seen before in this war of wars despite what the trailers and previews seemed to suggest.

With a boring beginning enough to infuriate a dedicated fan, it doesn’t get much better with the other episodes that have aired so far.

Attacks are made with little surprise. The ambushes are mediocre. The warfare is similar to the Governor villain days which leaves fans like me wondering where that hellish Negan vs. Rick punch is.

After a series of bullets are shot aimlessly at the Sanctuary (the home of Negan and his Saviors), Rick and his group evacuate without one of the beloved characters, concluding the season premiere.

Months of anticipation for the all out war are wasted with the boring, uneventful premiere.

As a longtime fan, I was speechless with disappointment at the creative and talented people producing and writing this show.

I was left to only hope that the next episode would live up to expectation the show has built.

Unfortunately, I found myself hoping for that fulfillment the next episode, and the next episode, and the next.

Instead, fans are presented a repeating of the past. The same routine of villain, battle, loss, and recovery is being told here in season eight despite the hopes of something more with the Saviors vs. Rick, something unlike anything else the show has seen.

The devilishly delightful gore is all there though.

This season has been one for special, bloody effects, making it the most interesting part of the season so far.

Now with the mid-season finale coming up, fans like myself are left disappointed in the start of the season, with no hope towards it possibly taking a turn for the better.

Overall, I give the season a C for the lack of originality and disappointing start to a plot with so much potential.

As fans wait for the mid-season finale, the only thing to do is hope for a little something that will keep us on our seats… and make us want to keep watching the show.