Season Page

Season --

Episode --

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 16

The Walking Dead – Season 8, Episode 12 The Key

Play trailer

1:12

The Walking Dead – Season 8, Episode 12

The Key

Aired Mar 18, 2018

Drama

Horror

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

Hilltop's leadership faces a difficult dilemma after the arrival of unexpected visitors; Rick comes face to face with an adversary.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

"The Key" injects interesting new characters and action into TWD season 8's ongoing arc of betrayal, though the series sorely needs to break some predictable patterns.

Read Critics Reviews

Fear the Walking Dead

74%

57%

Fear the Walking Dead

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Fear the Walking Dead

Snowpiercer

75%

62%

Snowpiercer

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Snowpiercer

The Walking Dead: World Beyond

46%

32%

The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Walking Dead: World Beyond

The Walking Dead: Dead City

71%

51%

The Walking Dead: Dead City

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Walking Dead: Dead City

Tales of the Walking Dead

74%

50%

Tales of the Walking Dead

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Tales of the Walking Dead

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Andrew Lincoln

Rick Grimes

Norman Reedus

Daryl Dixon

Lauren Cohan

Maggie Greene

Danai Gurira

Michonne

Melissa McBride

Carol Peletier

Lennie James

Morgan

The Walking Dead: Season 8 Episode 12 Featurette - Rick and Negan's Epic Fight

3:07

The Walking Dead: Season 8 Episode 12 Clip - Rick vs. Negan

1:21

The Walking Dead: Season 8 Episode 12 Sneak Peek - They Don't Scare!

1:12

The Walking Dead: Season 8 Episode 12 Preview

0:35

View more videos

View more photos

Noel Murray

Rolling Stone

03/19/2018

As with last week's "Dead or Alive Or," it's a lot easier to sit through The Walking Dead's circuitous dialectics when the characters are actually doing something while they state their respective cases.

Go to Full Review

Laura Bogart

AV Club

03/19/2018

B

The Key is simultaneously a reminder of how mercilessly boring The Walking Dead can be and a tantalizing, frustrating glimpse at another version of the show, one that leans into the inherent surreality of the zombie apocalypse.

Go to Full Review

Charles Bramesco

New York Times

03/19/2018

This episode mixes things up a touch by incorporating a car chase, one of the vessels for action not yet exhausted by a series that relies primarily on hand-to-hand combat.

Go to Full Review

Carolyn Hinds

Black Girl Nerds

08/02/2021

The dynamic between the main characters that fans have loved has been missing for so long that we almost don't recognize it when it's there.

Go to Full Review

Noetta Harjo

Geek Girl Authority

04/23/2020

The first half of the season, Rick was so wishy-washy and it was kind of annoying. This Rick... yeah, he still talked too much, but he was on a mission and was relentless about completing that mission. Go Rick Go!

Go to Full Review

Alyse Wax

Syfy Wire

07/02/2018

Tonight's episode was much better than the last couple episodes. I feel like we are finally moving forward.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Hilltop's leadership faces a difficult dilemma after the arrival of unexpected visitors; Rick comes face to face with an adversary.

Director: Greg Nicotero
Executive Producer: Frank Darabont, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Tom Luse, Scott M. Gimple
Network: AMC
Rating: TV-MA (L|V)
Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date: Mar 18, 2018

More Top TV Picks Netflix