DRW50

People on message boards, review comment sections like AV Club or IGN, social media in general. There are only a few places (this and Previously TV) where I haven't seen a lot of that type of comment after Sunday's episode.

I think if the story continues on the current path then she's going to be pushed into a default wife/mother position to Rick, and given how many fans seem happy to accept a woman in that role (as long as she remembers her place and is white and attractive), then that makes it less likely Michonne will have less and less of a role in his life. And I'm OK with that if we get more of her with good stuff on her own (like what she had with Sasha and Rosita), but if she is still there in Rick's story mostly just to be some type of prop or crutch for him, it will bother me. I've already seen too much fan hate for her after this episode - if she's getting hate because she knocked out a man who was ranting and raving and waving a gun around, what will happen when it's not as clearcut?

Isn't it getting a wrapup? I finished the first season a few weeks ago, and while I liked it more toward the end, I still think the writing and casting for Patrick was a critical error. I never cared about which man he should be with (I thought he was horribly patronizing and dismissive of Ritchie and I hate to think this was someone's idea of true love), and that seemed to be the only real storyline the show had.

Welcome! I guess I can see his point, but ultimately it was pointless.

I'll always believe GL can easily be revived, but I'd feel unclean reading anything by that man.

I think Samir was something of a fantasy for Deirdre, in that he died before the relationship could further decay or he would sour toward her, but she had so little happiness in her life I can understand why she clung to him. I was watching this old bit, yet another variation of the "let's laugh at sad middle-aged women" trope that odious Collinson loved to roll around in, but I always think this type of thing fit Deirdre better than Gail. Mostly because that fun girl in Deirdre had to be suppressed very early on, so as she got older and she stopped caring so much about what she was "supposed" to be, she had a bit more fun. It never felt as forced as some of the Gail "comedy" sometimes does (speaking of Gail - nothing against Helen Worth but I think the fact that Gail continues to get major storyline sort of tells you just how bare the cupboard is with viable female characters on Corrie these days).

I think for the most part Michonne's material since the back half of season 4 has been about Rick and his family. That's why it concerns me what her role will be now that "the new Mrs. Rick Grimes" is around. It would be easy for the show to define her in that realm, because that's where many people already put her anyway.

The show is really bending over backwards to make us pity Chrissie and Lachlan, to the point of having Lawrence tell Robert what if Chrissie turns against you (AKA don't forget that Robert and Katie is as bad as Lachlan sexually assaulting and harassing three women), and having Alicia convince Chas that she has no right to judge because of Aaron (essentially saying Aaron is just like a rapist, and that Chas would shout vile abuse at his rape victims in the street). Alicia is the victim here, not Chrissie or Lachlan. And making Alicia hurt herself emotionally for Chrissie's pity parties just makes me dislike Chrissie even more.

I think Lori was written out earlier than planned because of fan negativity. I think "Caryl" and "Bethyl" were baited for fan reaction too. In the case of Michonne, it's not just about whether or not she will be with Rick, it's why she needs to be defined by his story or being his protector. This is creating a negative situation where she is some type of enforcer compared to noble victim Jessie. It redirects people from thinking of Michonne on her own terms, and instead seeing her as Rick's betrayer, or Rick's keeper. It limits her significantly. If he's still there after years of nothingness, I think he will be there until Norman wants to go.

James Baker traumatizes the Bushies by telling the truth. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/james-baker-blasts-benjamin-netanyahu-116338.html?hp=r2_4_b1 And Ted Cruz is truly, utterly, always a bad, bad self-parody. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ted-cruz-to-sign-up-obamacare-insurance

Unfortunately I feel this audience ultimately has the sway. People who blindly love this Jessie story and Jessie and Rick as a couple, who go around comments sections talking about Michonne is a c*** who has forgotten her place. It reminds me of Talking Dead, how they blanch (aside from Yvette Nicole Brown) at the idea of Michonne being acceptable for Rick, how they have guests on the show who talk about how "scary" Michonne is and how that means she can never be anything to Rick or Carl. This Jessie story is pandering to that element. Rick saying he would choose her over anyone and this being sold as a true love connection is pandering. It's saying any basic blonde cipher (and she is the biggest cipher I have ever seen on this show) is good enough, as that means there's no risk. I really think Rick has been decimated and yet I mostly see people rooting for him and wanting him to just kill everyone. And that's the problem with endless ambiguous, hazy storylines and variations on "who is the real monster." By setting up this story where action figures Rick and Carol want to kill the abusive husband, it just makes it easy for many viewers to side with them and shoot down any idea that it's supposed to be bad or wrong.

Phaedra looks more and more like the secretary on Becker.

Yes. Not long enough, sadly.

I think some fans want one thing and are then unhappy when they get it. Some fans want the group to be together. They get upset when that doesn't happen. Then when the group is together, they get upset because their favorites aren't getting enough airtime due to the group format leading to piecemeal storytelling, and they say that means the group has to be pared down, and "boring" or "useless" characters (AKA anyone not named Daryl, maybe Rick, maybe Carol, maybe Michonne) have to die. And I get it, I get that Daryl has been around from the start and he's integral to the show, but this type of fan would rather watch an entire episode of Daryl self-harming than watch 95% of the cast. I have spent two whole seasons watching Daryl's tumblr blog, complete with black and white photos of a Vampire Diaries character saying, "I'm not dead but I'm still dead inside." If I had to choose, then yes, I'd happily choose Sasha over this. I think you are right about the idea of the hospital and how it compares to Terminus (I think the show is genuinely trying to sell "Jessick" as a love story and Rick as simultaneously noble and scary, that yes, it's bad, but look how much he does when he finds a woman he needs, and so on), but I think the hospital material was oddly paced and marred by a poor final episode. I don't think the execution was there. That often seems to be the case with Gimple's broader themes. It's the parts of the show that most people hate, like the broader supporting cast and split format, that keep me involved at this point.

Kal is going. It doesn't just hurt US soaps - it hurt Ken and Deirdre quite a bit. I liked Kevin and Sally more than Ken and Deirdre as a couple, but I agree that they shouldn't reunite.

To me, Rick, Daryl and Carol all feel very isolated from the group, and oddly inconsequential. Rick's story is hamfisted and makes it clear that he cares about no one, including his kids. Carol has been isolated from the entire group for nearly two full seasons and I'm not sure it will change. Daryl isn't close to much of anyone outside of RIck and Carol, and even that is now fraying. I feel like they're on different shows. Sasha's PTSD story is heavy-handed but it is more believable to me than Rick's current variation of that story, and it's a good way to show some group dynamics. And I'd say Sasha has had as many storylines as Daryl has had in recent seasons. It's just that Sasha can't get away with emo woe, because she's not a white guy with a bad dye job and bulging biceps. If it weren't for characters like Michonne, Sasha and Tara and Glenn I'm not sure I'd still be watching. I do think Carol's a great character, with consistently interesting stories, but Daryl is just taking up space (although I like his partnership with Aaron), and Rick has been all but destroyed.

What a random group that was with Mickey, Maggie, Miss Peach, Abe, Tod, and Patch. Many of the people in there wouldn't make it to 1987... John de Lancie looking a bit full in the face compared to how he usually looks. I never knew Mike was with Ivy. Beautiful photos.

This is so bizarre and terrible in a wide variety of ways. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Wmg0eQUSI

That's some of the most awkward pandering of all time. Not to mention that many in rock are extremely conservative. I guess he just lost Alice Cooper's vote...(what a loss that is)

Oof. Long knives already out at Faux News for Ted Cruz. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-gutfeld-birther-cruz I think his endless stunts and giddiness in crippling the government (thus costing Murdoch and Ailes types real money) sealed his fate. He is a sideshow, even if he can't admit it to himself.

Never saw this. What an odd story, but what an interesting villain. Never happening on what EE is today. (although Phil fight scenes are still rubbish)

Pretty good interview on the fight scene. (as always try to ignore the comments) http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/22/walking-dead-star-andrew-lincoln-talks-epic-fight-scene My favorite part of this episode was the Sasha/Michonne/Rosita sequence, which many others, of course, dismiss as pointless. I like that it wasn't just a "girl power!" scene, but a way to show how broken Sasha is and how Michonne is struggling to cope herself, trying to reconcile who she is in Alexandria to the colder person she was for so long. Nice to see Rosita integrated into the group as well. I also liked the opening montage, and for whatever reason I thought Deanna was much more believable as a leader and as a struggling wife and mother than she has been in her other episodes. The Enid/Carl stuff - eh. That cheesy, cheesy slo-mo run took me out of their scenes (well that and her having dialogue that read like a middle-aged man trying to write teenagers). The run did remind me of this...

I would agree if not for moments like Jessie making sure Rick only wanted to save her and would not just help anyone. If that isn't supposed to show that this is a romance of some kind, what was it there for?

Don't give Pratt any ideas.