The Walking Dead: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-dead-why-hasnt-maggie-749109

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-dead-carols-back-story-749130

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/10/walking-dead-alanna-masterson-harry-potter/?ew_packageID=20622701

[quartermainefan]

Yeah, maybe they are cutting back on light bulbs to save money or something. Other than that I liked the episode. Daryl and Carol are two of the pillars of the show and an episode featuring both of them together is a treat. They were going to be the romantic couple it seemed like and I don't think they shared two minutes worth of screen time in the past year. She has been saddled with waste of time Tyrese, and he had pretty light story and airtime. They wasted a week on Abraham and mullet man when the show would have been better showing more of Daryl and Carol, or checking in on Carl and Michonne.

They make a formidable team, and neither one has to carry the weight for the other and each one can take out walkers and people. It seemed briefly like Daryl and Beth was a direction the show might take but this week reinforced that Carol is the one for Daryl (or should be). I am just slightly miffed that they need Rick's help here, because he will now steal all the glory and cool killing scenes when it should be Carol, Daryl and Beth.

[DRW50]

I thought it was a good episode. I've heard a lot of criticism of the flashbacks, but they were short, and a good way to get into Carol's head during some key moments of the last few seasons. I thought the episode in general was a good look at Carol the real person, eaten up by the idea that being a killing machine is the only way to get past her mistakes and survive. I liked that she was turning a corner, that we saw her weaknesses. The character needed this in order to remain viable. I was also happy to see more of an edge for Daryl again, along with some hints of him trying to understand himself more (taking the child abuse book). As someone who doesn't "ship" Caryl, and feels that the focus on that has damaged the characters and made fandom look like dumbasses (and sadly I include the people on Talking Dead last night, who made it all about shipping wars and led to the guy who plays Noah barely getting a word in), I'm really glad the show didn't do any ship teasing or baiting, and instead focused on the characters.

My only real complaints are that the ambulance crash scene was just silly and hokey (I like the idea of Carol and Daryl trusting each other even in probable death, but the miracle of the crash really almost made me chuckle), and I wish they had introduced them to Noah another way - it just sets people up to hate Noah, or wonder how he managed to have no injuries from that bookcase fall.

I can see why some people are tired of the solo focus episodes, and three in a row may have been too many. Still, overall I've appreciated them. I just hope we get more of characters like Michonne soon.

I doubt it's going to be BAMF Rick to the rescue. If they cared that much about this then he wouldn't have been helpless at Terminus.

Edited November 17, 2014 by DRW50

[Vee]

I had read something from a source claiming to know about this season that Daryl would be revealed to have been abused and thus not be paired with anyone "any time soon". I dismissed it as fanfic, until now.

Interesting episode. Wonderful work by both actors.

[DRW50]

They revealed Daryl's abuse back in season 2 or 3.

I do think they're going to stall pairing him with someone as long as they can. The longer the better as far as I'm concerned. Daryl tends to shape his personality based on who he's around, and he really wants to give and help (and when he can't, he turns dark very fast). This is interesting to watch, but I'd rather keep him out of romances.

[Vee]

That part I know, but this was very specific information that I don't think they've mentioned yet. Maybe they won't.

[DRW50]

Article on TWD conventions.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/zombie-fans-stagger-through-walking-dead-conventions-1416263460

[Juliajms]

As soon as they listened to Tyreese, I knew the plan would go to hell.

[quartermainefan]

What a dull episode, it was like a who's who of who is depressed. Tyrese was bad enough, but his sister seems to be dumber than he is. That's his sister, right? I honestly don't know why Rick would recruit these two losers and leave Carl and Michonne home. Then we have to cut to dull as dirt Abraham, who apparently has very durable knees. His pain is ridiculous. Then if that isn't bad enough it's time to check in on the perpetually on the brink of suicide priest and his bullshit. Not a single one of these characters offers anything to the show except Readers Digest depth one dimensional faux-angst. I still don't know what Tyreae babbles on about this great love he lost--a great love who appeared in one episode and got a dialogue and a half tops. The sister knew Bob maybe four episodes and yet this is her defining moment. Meanwhile, Carl shot his mother and you don't see him yammering on boring everyone he meets.

I really hope all four die so the show can get to showcasing exciting or interesting characters, not refugees from some ersatz Oprah self analysis symposium of crap.

Edited November 24, 2014 by quartermainefan

[DRW50]

In the show's time, Karen only died a few weeks ago. Lori has been dead in the show's time for 5-6 months, not that that makes losing her any easier for Carl, obviously. Carl did have an extended mental breakdown after she died.

[quartermainefan]

Does it really matter? We got to watch Lori, Andrea, Merle and whoever for two years or longer so their deaths and the characters reaction to them resonate. One of the best scenes of the entire series was Daryl seeing zombie Merle. You say Karen died a few weeks ago? I don't even know who Karen is. Is that Tyrese's phantom girlfriend, the under five role? Be honest, do you remember anything about her?

So, since the role was so inconsequential, it is foolish to devote so much time to characters reacting to her not being here anymore. She wasn't even here when she was here.

Edited November 24, 2014 by quartermainefan

[DRW50]

I liked Karen, for the tiny amount of airtime she got, but I do see what you mean. I guess I don't mind because I think it's always good to see people remembering and struggling. I do think sometimes the show overdoes this with Tyreese and makes it his whole characterization, so I understand your point.

[Vee]

I'm usually kinder to quieter episodes than most - I thought last week and Beth's episode were both excellent. This episode was not quiet, but it was filler and relied largely on people being deeply stupid. Tyreese's weak-ass plan is borne out of his own fear of this world, and Daryl is feeling his feelings and going too far off his own instincts. It will not work. And Sasha was an idiot - who didn't see that [!@#$%^&*] coming? I just pray she doesn't buy it next week.

I still barely care about Abraham or Rosita but I guess we're stuck with them for the moment. And I love Seth Gilliam but I just do not care about the cowardly preacher. Weakest episode I can remember in a very long time. Not as boring as last year's Daryl/Beth two-hander - Beth has come a long way this year, BTW - but far more stupid.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Vee

[DRW50]

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this episode, and after watching it, I'm still not. My basic problem with it is a well-crafted episode can't hide basic idiot plotting.

The good:

- I'm not a huge fan of their multi-strand storytelling, not after the way Woodbury stopped huge portions of the show dead. So I was pleasantly surprised that the 4 strands worked here, didn't seem disjointed.

- Overall I think splitting some of the group off to the failed DC mission has proven to be an increasingly wise decision. Maggie still seems aimless (although she was a lot better this week), but there's been some terrific character development for Tara, Rosita, to a lesser degree Eugene and Abraham, and I much prefer Glenn chilling with friends to angsting with the Rick group. It was nice to see him in extended scenes with two women and not have to worry the show was setting up any romance or cheating. Rosita getting to know them more, the slight tension between Tara and them over Eugene, Tara's light moments (I loved "GREATM" - it's one of those stupid, silly things some people do in real life that rarely makes it on TV), Maggie and Rosita trying to help Abraham get over himself. This is what many would call "filler" but it's one of the everyday type of sequences that help keep me a fan of the show.

- I liked that some of the characters got to have believable reactions. Even if the show feels that Abraham is good at heart, I like that Rosita still flinches when he snaps, and that Maggie took no chances and held him at gunpoint. I liked that Gabriel (a very sheltered man) is repulsed by the group and can't see them as being any better than those they slaughtered.

- I'm still really disappointed at how little they're using Michonne, but otherwise I thought the church scenes were very effective. My favorite part was the use of sound to help us see Gabriel's tattered mind - Judith's constant crying, the hacking away at the church, Gabriel's nails on the floor. I thought Seth Gilliam was great in the scene where Gabriel was, instinctively, going to kill the walker, until he saw the cross around her neck. The nail in his shoe reminds me of Aeon Flux (the Liquid Television shorts, not the later stuff) - probably one of my favorite and most frustrating resolutions to anything ever.

- I could swear Rick was flirting with Michonne a little. Not that it means anything to the story, or that I ever think it will happen, but I'll take what I can get.

- I liked Tyreese trying to help Sasha move on, even if that turned out to be a terrible idea.

- Medical realism aside, the hospital scenes did manage to show Beth navigating a confusing place, with no one she truly trusts, to try to save Carol's life. Some of the fans of these women tear each other apart, tear the actresses apart, so onscreen, it was good to see just the opposite, to see that women can be there for each other, and that Beth and Carol don't exist via shipping wars.

- The guy who played Bad Bob did exceptionally with what could have been very basic material. A part of me almost hopes he stays around, but this show has enough morally ambiguous brooding guys already.

The bad:

- I just don't buy that Daryl would agree to Tyreese's plan. It's bad writing. I don't know if the idea was that Daryl and Tyreese were supporting the idea of goodness and humanity, and Rick was going with basic brutality (and were we supposed to agree with him? Are we supposed to want the characters to be killing machines? I have no idea), but this was about common sense. Don't they remember The Governor's "trade"? Or how they refused to negotiate with Gareth at the church? The idea that these may be good people and let's give them a chance is something I don't quite believe most of the group would support at this point.

- Sasha letting Bad Bob near the window with her. Again, bad writing.

- I'm not all that interested in the power struggles of Dawn and her cops. I feel like I should care a lot more about Dawn than I actually do.

[DRW50]

I have mixed feelings about Bad Bob. I can see why Noah trusted him - he was trying to be gentle with Noah when they were taking him back, he knocked Sasha out but didn't take the time to kill her - although that might have just been him wanting to get the hell out of there, his face during that whole scene did make me think he had some sorrow over what he was doing. Yet we saw moments where he was more of a jerk, like his attempts to kill Daryl and his obvious displeasure when he didn't get the job done.

I thought the actor, whoever he was, did a good job with some of the ambiguity. He also reminded me of Shane, for some reason. For all the parallels of Rick and Dawn, this guy actually reminded me more of Rick, especially when he said that he wasn't a cop anymore because all the real cops are dead.