JaneAusten

My biggest problem with Clara has always been why is she there. I've never gotten a real sense of that. Clara's initial reaction to the regeneration and the "new" Dr. is a perfect example of this. I found her shock, if you want to call it that I guess, very strangely played. But I kind of agree with Vee in that the banter with Capaldi was better than the banter or flirtatiousness she had with Smith, something that, while I adored Smith, never really worked for me.

Capaldi is terrific. And this coming from someone who was lukewarm on Tennant and loved Matt Smith. But I have always loved Capaldi so no surprise. The constant reminders of his age, well I started wondering if it's because the younger part of the Who fanbase in GBr are still sort of freaked out with an older Dr. Who. I think Capaldi will win them all over in time and like you I am thrilled that the romance aspect will be taking a backseat, if not disappearing in it's entirely. That's never really been what the Dr. has been about and I sometimes wonder if the shift towards that with Tennant and Smith had to do with not only the youth of the leads, but the show's growing appeal in the US. I think the problem with Clara IMO has always been her motives. It's never been clearly established why she's on this journey with the Doctor outside of a possible romantic interest I guess, something that I never felt was lacking in his prior companions, and frankly I am really looking forward to her departure.

Excellent episode. Honestly the last couple of episodes have been really good. Add that to that first episode with Michonne's backstory and Rick and Carl and I'd say overall it's been a decent season. And they actually gave Rick IMO a real character arc this season that is more than poor broken Rick they've tended to be drawn to the last couple of seasons. I think the use of the flashbacks particularly with Hershel and his "idealism" in a sense were interwoven really well. And I feel Michonne is finally a fully realized character. Carl while I think it's always interesting to read about how others see things, I don't pay much attention to the constant whining on other sites because I think the show in general has tried to satisfy all the viewers, those who like the zombies and gore and those who seem more in tune with some of the more emotional subtlety. AV Club is one place that IMO is too fanboy driven. When I read their review of the episode with Carol, Tyrese, and the girls, I had to shake my head. Part of it tells me some are in this show for things other than what I like. I like the cliffhanger of sorts and there was all sorts of symbolism here. When I saw the railcars, it immediately made me think about the Nazi's sending Jews to concentration camps, and I am sure that was intentional. Looking forward to next season, unfortunately it's too far away.

This show is such a rollercoaster. Last week and the first week of the season were so good. Everything else has just seemed so disjointed and disappointing. The season they spent on the farm(while I know a lot of people hate it) is still my favorite. I've really lost interest in Glenn, Maggie, and Daryl to an extent. I know each character has their own trajectory, but these three interest me the least at this point. I feel like they are really pushing the character of Rick out of the limelight and for those who wish him gone, I suspect next season he'll be gone, but who knows. It's really strange that the season's on cable television shows tend to be so much shorter, lessening the need for filler episodes, but that's what I have come to feel this show has become even with their shortened seasons.

McBride was absolutely excellent but Chad Colemen did a great job also. That scene with McBride in the clearing was crushing. I think he is probably the most underrated actor on this show. And the 2 little girls did such a great job also. As has been noted, this has been expected to happen at some point, but it was portrayed pretty viscerally and the emotional resonance worked so well. And so many things we have seen in past episodes sort of came together here. Like when I thought Lizzie smothered Judith but she really didn't, well it turns out she probably wanted to and was this close. I know some have asked what will happen to Carol. She's one of the few characters who really has gotten a real character arc, but I do think there will always be some sense of dread for her because you never know when someone in the group may just decide she's expendable. I think that fear is something she will carry with her. But I do think that protecting Judith is probably going to win her some favor with Rick and she'll ultimately be accepted, not embraced, back in. I just hope she doesn't fall victim with this show's tendency to want to make the female's stupid. It's something the writers seem to love doing.

This week was better than last week and I feel it's because they spread the focus around. I agree with you I really like Sasha and I actually like Bob too. I hope they stick around. And I am much more interested in seeing Maggie with these two right now than back with Glenn.

Is that the reason? This show has to be making AMC a ton of money with it's ratings. And they siphon it all into overrated Madmen.

I thought the episode was ok, but I do think they are in danger of losing some of their audience with these "specialty" episodes, particularly when they seem to be doing these more and more. I was a fan of the season they spent on the farm, I know many are not. But it they want to do further character exposition, I prefer seeing more character interaction. Now I say that and contradict myself, because I loved the first episode of this season. But it's incredibly frustrating how they leave what I consider cliffhangers in some sense for 4 to 5 episodes. I understand it's an audience retention tactic, but at some point I have to think viewers will wise up to it.

I agree with you about the Koch brothers but they did back several senate candidates in the last election, Murdock from Indiana is the one who sticks out, over incumbents like Richard Lugar, a longtime conservative republican senator from Indiana who apparently was too willing to work with the other side for them. Lugar was staunchly conservative but had a reputation as a problem solving and as one willing to work with democrats as warranted. Murdock backed by the Koch brothers ran a nasty campaign against him and Lugar lost in the primary Murdock was a real piece of work, and made dumb statements about rape victims and how being gay was not normal and an unacceptable choice. So while they may not be backing these people for their social beliefs, it doesn't mean they don't exist. But you're right in saying that there is likely some organization that is pushing for this. According to the articles, this bill in Arizona is being pushed by the Center for Arizona Policy. I guess you'd have to see who their major backers are.

Max this isn't about Romney or McCain. Whatever their personal beliefs, they pushed the agenda of their party at the time. McCain in particular I personally lost a lot of respect for. But rather than making this about those 2, you might ask yourself how in the world some Jim Crow like legislation got passed? Do people in the republican party even ask themselves how something like this happened or really even care that it did? Does this not disturb the republican party members at all? Barry Goldwater who many were afraid of in the 60's due to his extreme conservatism at the time, would hate all of this. Because unlike today's republican party, he believed heavily in the separation of church and state and felt some things, including abortion and gay rights, should not be legislated because neither are the business of the government. It's the one thing I can't understand the so called Tea Party contingent justifying. In a place where national health care is unacceptable(even if every other western nation has it) because it's not the governments business, how is it the business of the government to legislate our reproductive rights and who we choose to love.

I don't know to me there was always potential with Michonne because of the character and the actress. I don't get the Daryl fascination, although I know he has a ton of tans, but Beth? I guess it's not fair to judge since they really haven't done much with her up to this point. So far the only solo episode that has worked IMO has been the first one of the season with the focus on Carl, Rick, and Michonne. All the rest going back to when the series started just haven't clicked for me. But I am likely an exception.

An entire episode of Daryl and Beth next week? Sounds like a must skip to me.

To me that's a clear example of a part of the audience they are trying to appeal to. It's ridiculous and she looked like a 1960's hot pants model. I am getting the sense I am going to lose interest at some point again this season as I did last season with the over focus on the governor story then. I don't really understand the pacing and continuity issues this show seems to have consistently since I think season 2 or 3. But I guess it must just be me because the ratings for the show are consistently strong.

The best stuff is clearly the Rick, Carl, Michonne stuff. The rest of the episode didn't do a thing for me. And I know many love Glenn and Maggie, they are the love story I guess, but I'm just not into them anymore. The one thing about this show that bugs me is continuity and that so much of what they start in one episode is not carried forward to the next and sometimes is several weeks before it's revisited. And by that time I find I lose interest a lot.The stuff with Tyrese, Carol, Judith, the girls should have been touched on yesterday. Heck even Daryl and Beth (I think that's her name) should have gotten something. And while I really like Rick, his escapes from death just keep getting harder and harder to believe but I don't think the show can really afford to get rid of him at this point. I think Michonne has the ability to step in and take over as the main protagonist at some point if they keep the momentum up with her, but she's not there yet.

Lol Glenn looks like Robocop.

^ Last week was one of the best weeks of the entire series. I think it would be hard to top that. But yeah it would be nice to see the individual groups making some headway. So far the only interesting part has been Tyrese and the girls finding Carol and a potentially safe haven.

WTF Glenn is still at the prison?

^Amen to that.

I have to say I don't care that Carol killed Karen.

Holy crap Carol

Ok so who was dead and getting eaten or doing the eating? I couldn't tell. Not sure about Beth and Daryl. I can't see that dynamic working for long.

I love Rick and I think Andrew Lincoln is so incredibly underrated. Rick has evolved or devolved as a character in a sense. I think he's an unwilling leader and he has sort of taken on that role now by default. And I think he can be self righteous and a hypocrite. But I think those are things combined with his indecisiveness and perceived weakness at times, that makes him such a complex character. I like how it was I think Carl pointed out to him how he allowed them to just sit at the prison waiting knowing the Governor and his group were ultimately going to come after them and how all he cared about was growing vegetables. I think that prison was a safe haven for all of them and Rick just wanted some sense of normalcy. And FINALLY after what 3 seasons, Michonne is finally coming into her own. I feel we learned more about her in that one episode than we did all the prior seasons. She was just incredible. And Carl, I have gone from hating the kid to actually appreciating the growth he's shown. His realizing he really needed his dad despite everything, was a huge moment in the episode.

I haven't been thrilled with Obama despite voting for him and I blame him for not doing a better job of selling the Affordable Care act to Americans, but I wish people would quit harping on aspects of the rollout that really are irrelevant. He didn't lie. I don't even get how this is comparable to the weapons of mass destruction nonsense, which we know was not true. The law as written allowed people who had policies in place that were effective before the Affordable Care Act was passed, to keep them. The part of all this that is missing and I wish the President spent time selling this, is the plans people are saying they cannot keep are worthless. And if you were allowed to keep something you had that was a plan purchased following the passage of the ACA, the premiums would have likely risen due to the lifetime cap being removed, the pre-existing condition removed and so on. And before you harp on Obama for this, my nephew purchased a plan in 2011 and when he purchased the plan, the policy indicated changes coming in 2014 due to the passing of the ACA that could impact his policy. All insurance providers were required to provide this disclaimer. Are we saying Americans are too dumb to understand this? I think the Affordable Care act is a poor compromise(we should have a single payer system like 99% of the countries in the western world do by the way), but the fact is the people complaining are the same ones who had NO solution and were completely satisfied with status quo where healthcare costs were out of control to the point where people could not afford it. The supposed greatest country in the world where 30% of the population couldn't receive or afford healthcare. I wish the morons complaining about the ACA would n have to choose between going to a doctor and paying for their next meal.

These bans are for one reason only. To take away women's reproductive rights and to at some point, sway more public opinion in their direction, with a hope that one of these bills will be contested and goto the Supreme Court, with the ultimate goal of reversing Roe vs. Wade. It's all nonsense. Nate Silver had a posting on his blog yesterday showing public opinion on abortions and the majority of Americans don't support them after the first trimester except in the case of medical endangerment to the mother and of course rape and incest. But the kicker part is that only 1% of abortions that occur today happen past the first trimester. So the agenda and objectives surrounding this legislation is crystal clear to me. There is so much hypocrisy, particularly in Texas, where they are so Pro Life you have people waiting and begging to see inmates on death row executed. I wish there was as much focus on the voting rights legislation or lack of it and what had happened in the past few weeks related to that.

http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2013/01/03/chairman-of-illinois-gop-endorses-gay-marriage/ Head of GOP in Illinois supports gay marriage. And this is why I can't totally discount the republican party because the state of Illinois overall has prospered under republican leadership(barring our last GOP governor who's in prison). Jim Edgar and Jim Thompson were both GOP moderates with fairly progressive social viewpoints who both did the state a service while there are a long list of democratic leadership from our state in prison. The cronyism of the Illinois democratic party in the state legislature especially is despicable. Now as a catholic who thinks the legalizing of gay marriage in the state is not a decision that should be influenced by religious factions, I need the church and Cardinal George in Chicago to back off, along with all the other churches and ministers who see this as some sort of morality barometer.