Decent, yeah, but they could have done more in the back half and capped the arc off there, without necessarily leaving it for the finale.
As I said at the time, I quite liked the ep itself. I just feel like they wasted it in the mid-season finale.
Another way to 'shock' the audience? Well, we were all expecting someone to go out, right? So here's the surprise: no one dies. The finale scene could have been a cliffhanger instead - maybe have ol' Limping Gabriel lead the walkers back to the church at that point, then place the kiddiewinks in peril with Michonne and Gabriel looking on, afraid. Roll titles. Suck on that for a couple of months, people.
That might have allowed for more to come out about the folks at the hospital (fleshing out characters, making us see them more sympathetically, and so on) in the penultimate ep, with the mid-season finale itself seeing Rick and co on what was their part of the story in the penultimate ep.
Fast forward to February, and Carl and Judith could have been saved (or not) by Gabriel Doing What Needs To Be Done. A bit of redemption, a way in with Rick upon their return (to be betrayed at a point down the road? Mebbe), and then we're back to see what's what in the Big Smoke.
Just MO of course, but the story wouldn't suffer for characters being fleshed out a little more and dynamics established. Otherwise it's just 2D Baddies in an endless stream, and we all know it wouldn't be like that at the end of the world (as we know it). There still has to be a motivation. The Claimers were a-holes because that's how they were before the ZA; fine. But the Termites? There wasn't enough about them and now I think there won't be any more. It'll be the same with the hospital mob, then we'll roll on to the next crew, and the next. Nothing wrong with that, as long as it's remembered that they are still people, with motives and (possibly) agendas, and while Our Group has internal dynamics, so will every other group out there. These can be shown. Tension can be better and more easily generated. We, the audience, can even be made to feel for these folks and question our sympathy with Rick and co when the brown stuff hits the fan (as it will). What could be more tragic for both groups than there being shared ideals, which we are privy to but that never get aired, that are lost in a conflict because someone does or says something stupid?
Basically, what they're doing is good, but it could be even better. (IMO, and we all have our own ideas, so...)