I don't mind the slower paced episodes from time to time. Robert Kirkman (creator of the series) has basically said the Walking Dead is Carl's story (even moreso than Rick's) and I think this episode was an attempt to show the particular struggles of Carl. He's going through the struggle between boy (chocolate pudding) and man (breaking away from his father) that all teenagers go through, but he's doing it during a time when he's also lost his mother, all of his friends, and his entire way of life.
I dig the concept. I just don't particularly like the actor portraying Carl, and I don't like how the character has been written to date. So, when you take a largely unlikeable character, and try to rehabilitate him by building an episode around him, it can make for a rough episode.