The Walking Dead: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I tend to remember lots of lingering shots of somber, sorrowful faces in very dark lighting. And endless blathering from ponderous twits like Baltar, which was apparently supposed to be profound. By the end there was also extensive airtime devoted to Starbuck solemnly staring into space every time a piano played, which made me feel like I was watching Lawrence Welk on downers.

Edited March 13, 2014 by DRW50

[quartermainefan]

I have seen every episode twice and to my recollection there was exactly one episode with Starbuck and a piano, and I believe one episode that flash backed to that.

[DRW50]

Thanks. I guess it seemed like more to me because that show made me space out like few things ever have.

[nightstar]

Damn it looks like Norman reedus and his character have experienced their first taste of hate and backlash in the fandom. and its looks like its coming from the episodes Still and Alone.

and its looks like NR is pissed about it from reading his interview in the daily beast. i get what he is saying about the shipping crap. but he is one of the biggest trolls when it comes to the shipping crap.

[DRW50]

Apparently they've never heard of Rick/Michonne.

You're right though - he fanned those flames for ages (and he openly pushed for a Daryl/Michonne pairing). Can't have it both ways.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/13/norman-reedus-daryl-doesn-t-need-romance-the-walking-dead-isn-t-about-erections.html

The haircut stuff is hilarious. He is obviously very rattled about that. I get what he's saying, but his hair looks like [!@#$%^&*].

[nightstar]

He's hair looks like crap but that show wants him to fit the emo twilght look for the fangirls.

I don't feel sorry for norman he has been using the media forum for years now. he knows exactly what he is doing. it was only a matter of thim before it backfired on him.

he is all for shipping when it paints him in a good light but the moment he is givin bad feedback he complain to the media. he isn't the only actor on the show to get hate Melissa mcbride has been getting it for years from his fans yet she never complains about it.

If the feedback for Still and alone was good this interview won't have happened.

I think the comments about Daryl being to old for beth and how fans where refering to Daryl as a pedo prevert creeper has hurt hits ego and it hits alittle close to home for him.

Daryl's last 2 episode looked like some teen scene movie or bad fanfiction story. the writers messed up.

Edited March 14, 2014 by nightstar

[DRW50]

Looks like Sunday's episode was accidentally released in the UK. A Carol fan liveblogged it (there is no video or screencaps, just a description). If anyone wants the info, PM me.

[Antoyne]

Best episode this season.

[ChitHappens]

Certainly much better than the past few eppies we have gotten.

Carol certainly did what needed to be done. There is no time or energy to watch Lizzie, and they could not just leave her there.

[DRW50]

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This was a very strong episode, almost too much for me at times (Lizzie's bloody hands). There's such a bitter irony in Carol's constant fear of Mika not being willing to kill humans, because Carol wasn't able to see the biggest human threat to Mika.

There were a lot of little touches here I liked - the deer that reminded me of when Carl was shot. Mika's doll, like Sophia's doll. The walker they passed at the end, the one Lizzie had been feeding. The water they dropped, similar to when Carol dropped the water right before she told Rick about killing Karen and David.

I hope the episode wasn't trying to say Mika was too weak to live. I don't think it's that simple.

They keep using Judith to scare us. I keep worrying this time they mean it.

Wonderful work from everyone involved. The little girls had the most difficult role in this and their work was first-rate. Melissa McBride was at her best. I'm not sure if anyone else in the cast could have pulled this type of episode off the way she did, with Carol's mix of hardness and vulnerability. Chad Coleman was very effective in his supporting role. After all the ugly crap the character got from some fans (like calling him a "thug") after he found Karen's body, I'm glad we got to see her softer side here, yet not too soft.

The only part I couldn't entirely believe was that they'd contemplate staying there, but that's a small complaint.

I still think having Carol as the killer was a mistake, and I'm not sure how much longer she will be on the show, but Melissa is amazing.

On Talking Dead they said that the puzzle Tyreese and Carol were doing was of Sophia.

[Vee]

Ohhh, this is good.

And of course, the incredibly self-conscious hipster critic at the A.V. Club hated it, which is always good news for me. Fortunately he's being raked over the coals.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Vee

[Vee]

A few errant thoughts that I have collected:

The girl playing Mika was awfully good with Melissa McBride early on. She called Carol on her take on the new world and she was, up to a point, right - each of them, child and woman, represented a different extreme.

I had a feeling since their introduction that Lizzie and Mika would go the way of Ben and Billy from the comics and teach Carol the weight of her sins and her new ethos, but I wouldn't have minded if they'd thrown me another loop and let Mika win out while Lizzie was offed. Still, this was an excellent episode. The last scene at the table between Chad Coleman and Melissa McBride was unbelievable - the look in his eyes, the intimacy between the two (not romantic, though who knows if that's entirely impossible in future). I loved when he said they couldn't stay there - because though he forgave her (with some sort of astounding grace), I thought he would kill her if they did, alone.

I have no idea if Carol has a future with the show, as they didn't do the reveal I expected here - some sort of big, big moment where she sacrifices herself. That may or may not happen, but either way, they did a great job here.

I laughed when they showed the Talking Dead check-in before the preview for next week and the room was dead silent with everyone clinging to each other. Poor Yvette Nicole Brown.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Vee

[DRW50]

I hate when people just say Lizzie was a bitch. She had such problems. I hope the actress doesn't get hate. One of the reasons the episode resonated with me was because I felt so sorry for both girls. I wish little girls had more of a chance in the TWD universe.

[DRW50]

I could see why they saved Yvette for this. I wasn't thrilled with the whole regurgitation about how could Rick banish Carol, and the shipping stuff was a little out of place, but most of the time she was just what was needed. Funny, insightful, but in perspective.

I was impressed by Melissa McBride too, as she clearly loves Carol, but she could see other perspectives.

Like you, I'm not sure what they can do with Carol now. Maybe she will sacrifice her life for Judith? I don't know. I hope they may find a way to keep her around.

I read a review at, I think, Wetpaint of all places, which pointed out that women usually don't have this kind of story arc in genre shows - making choices, some of them not very good choices, and then having to take the consequences. That this is what Rick, or Daryl, or the Governor had to face. You could say Lori and Andrea had this but ultimately it wasn't entirely about them and it ended in their death.

Edited March 17, 2014 by DRW50

[Vee]

Yeah, that's really a good point. Carol's arc in Season 4 - this kind of moral road and the consequences therein - is the sort of thing you generally see given to men on major primetime dramas, a Bryan Cranston on Breaking Bad, a guy on Mad Men, whatever. A woman, certainly not a woman of a certain age, less so. And also not one given what are often seen as the conventionally 'masculine' traits Carol has been imbued with - her lethality, her strength, her resolve. I get that on Game of Thrones, but Game of Thrones is a very, very different show with a fantastical context.