Kevin's Watch

It was a good episode. I think it might have worked better as the season finale for last season, because of the sense of closure it brings to that storyline. They can go anywhere, now. Everyone is back together, their immediate problem has been solved. I suppose the only thing left to drive the plot is the government dude with the alleged cure. That's good, because this show desperately needs a Big Picture storyline to break out of its rut. As much as I like this show, I'm beginning to get bored with the "walking around, running into trouble, dealing with trouble, walk around some more" plotting. I hope the focus is no longer getting to a Place, whether that's the CDC, farm, the prison, or Terminus. We need a purpose, not another place.

Zarathustra wrote: Everyone is back together, their immediate problem has been solved.

Where is Beth? Who took her from the house?

I like that they wrapped up the Terminus thing in a single episode....That means that we have a whole season for something other than being trapped in a single place (farm, prison, Woodbury).

sad to see Hippie Sam die.

Wow, Carol is lost. She's become an empty vessel. I hope they give her a redemption story. Right now, she's a terrible person and out of step with the rest's answer to 'who are we?'

And, that episode was gruesome. I squealed, screamed and squirmed through the whole thing.

I've not read the comics, or even watched the previous season of the show (but it's up next on the Netflix watching), but I'm with Z that it would be nice if the show had some unexpected variety with a Big Picture reason to live. Such as actually finding a cure. Going out distributing it would be a good energizer for the show, despite the fact that it would still potentially be "walking around, running into trouble, dealing with trouble, walk around some more" plotting. And could still involve a Place that might get overrun. But it would be cool to see them clear out Atlanta and reclaim it. Plus, the characters could feel moody about some of the decisions they had to make before the cure in light of that there is now a cure.

Ananda wrote:Wow, Carol is lost. She's become an empty vessel. I hope they give her a redemption story. Right now, she's a terrible person and out of step with the rest's answer to 'who are we?'

how is she terrible? she saved everyone. she did what she had to do. rick was correct when he said all the termites needed to do.

what actions did carol take that were unnecessary?

Ananda wrote:Wow, Carol is lost. She's become an empty vessel. I hope they give her a redemption story. Right now, she's a terrible person and out of step with the rest's answer to 'who are we?'

And, that episode was gruesome. I squealed, screamed and squirmed through the whole thing.

I think that was her redemption story.

Killing and Burning the infected, training the grils in how to kill and survive and then being exiled, and then having to deal with the fallout from training the girls to kill, and facing Tyrese. (Questionable decisions that turned out either useless in the case of the infected or horrible in the case of Lizzie and Micah)

Then she saves the whole gang from death, single handed (As well as possibly saving future people by at least disrupting the Terminus Operation) and reunites Baby Judith with Rick and Carl. I can't imagine who would think she hasn't been redeemed. This time, she did what she had to do, and it was the right choice for everyone she loves.

sindatur wrote:

Ananda wrote:Wow, Carol is lost. She's become an empty vessel. I hope they give her a redemption story. Right now, she's a terrible person and out of step with the rest's answer to 'who are we?'

And, that episode was gruesome. I squealed, screamed and squirmed through the whole thing.

I think that was her redemption story.

Killing and Burning the infected, training the grils in how to kill and survive and then being exiled, and then having to deal with the fallout from training the girls to kill, and facing Tyrese. (Questionable decisions that turned out either useless in the case of the infected or horrible in the case of Lizzie and Micah)

Then she saves the whole gang from death, single handed (As well as possibly saving future people by at least disrupting the Terminus Operation) and reunites Baby Judith with Rick and Carl. I can't imagine who would think she hasn't been redeemed. This time, she did what she had to do, and it was the right choice for everyone she loves.

Redeemed? She said it herself when she let the zombies eat the woman alive, 'I am not here and neither are you.' Carol, the human was not there nor was the woman the other used to be. They had both become the walking dead, Carol even dressed in the blood of the zombies as her fellow creatures shuffled by her and ate the other woman. When they returned to the cabin, she was ready to go kill their captive without a thought. No, Carol is not longer home in my opinion. Yes, she found her way back into the group and saved the day, but that doesn't change what she has become. All that said, she is my favourite character as I think she's the one who has traveled the furthest and I've enjoyed her journey. I hope she finds her way back to herself.

Okay, that was a shocking episode!

I was worried we were going to have a flashback to the forming of Terminus. Glad we didn't.

Something Stookey said last night reminded me about the discussion of the overall story-line.

The overall story-line, to me, is about humanity vs survival. Which is probably pretty obvious. But you can't float this story-line if there is any kind of hope. Everything changes when you think that things will one day get back to normal. Decisions are affected. This is the very notion that Stookey optimistically brings up to Rick (the Everyman) in passing - that decisions need to be made taking into account that things might be normal again one day.

I don't think they ever will. I think the story-line necessitates that. Not if you want to explore the humanity vs survival conundrum deeply. In fact, my prediction is:

Spoiler

They will find the cure, but it won't matter, because it won't change anything.

When they came upon the priest in the woods and he claimed to have a church, I thought, "Oh god, I hope this isn't the plotline for the entire season." This show has gotent to the point where I cringe anytime they arrive at a location, worrying whether that will be the place the story gets stuck for a year.

However, the speech by the tank-top guy gave me hope. That's exactly what I was talking about last week, the prospect of kicking this story up a notch to the Big Picture. Simply surviving isn't enough. I think the writers must have read my post.

I'm SOOOOOOOOO glad they resolved that plotline!

They're really not screwing around this season. I'm somewhat sorry that wrapped up so quickly.


And WTF was up with next week's previews?!?

"Nightmares end, but they shouldn't end who you are," was a great line for this show. But is it foreshadowing?

I really wanted to find out what happened if they ate tainted meat.

[Syl] wrote:I really wanted to find out what happened if they ate tainted meat.

I thought maybe nothing happens since they are all infected already anyway. Plus, they did cook it. I thought the way they slaughtered their meat people was odd if infection was an issue. Why not kill the brain first then bleed them? And definitely do one at a time if they aren't brain stabbing first.

A woman with a clipboard just knocked at our door.
She asked me if we would have an Ethiopian child for Christmas.
We normally have a turkey but, fuck it, I'll try anything once.

Ananda wrote:

[Syl] wrote:I really wanted to find out what happened if they ate tainted meat.

I thought maybe nothing happens since they are all infected already anyway. Plus, they did cook it. I thought the way they slaughtered their meat people was odd if infection was an issue. Why not kill the brain first then bleed them? And definitely do one at a time if they aren't brain stabbing first.

A woman with a clipboard just knocked at our door.
She asked me if we would have an Ethiopian child for Christmas.
We normally have a turkey but, fuck it, I'll try anything once.

No refrigerator to keep the uneaten meat fresh. if you kill the victim, straight off, that's a lot of meat that would spoil. If you keep the victim alive, and just hack off what you're going to cook and eat that meal, the rest is still alive, and would therefore not spoil. The problem with their plan, was they didn't check him to ensure he wasn't bit (If that makes a difference)

sindatur wrote:

Ananda wrote:

[Syl] wrote:I really wanted to find out what happened if they ate tainted meat.

I thought maybe nothing happens since they are all infected already anyway. Plus, they did cook it. I thought the way they slaughtered their meat people was odd if infection was an issue. Why not kill the brain first then bleed them? And definitely do one at a time if they aren't brain stabbing first.

A woman with a clipboard just knocked at our door.
She asked me if we would have an Ethiopian child for Christmas.
We normally have a turkey but, fuck it, I'll try anything once.

No refrigerator to keep the uneaten meat fresh. if you kill the victim, straight off, that's a lot of meat that would spoil. If you keep the victim alive, and just hack off what you're going to cook and eat that meal, the rest is still alive, and would therefore not spoil. The problem with their plan, was they didn't check him to ensure he wasn't bit (If that makes a difference)

Sorry, I was referring to the mass slaughter they were doing in the first episode, not Bob. Where Rick, Glenn, the hilliebillie and the redshirts were getting clubbed and throats slit.

Ananda wrote:

sindatur wrote:

Ananda wrote: I thought maybe nothing happens since they are all infected already anyway. Plus, they did cook it. I thought the way they slaughtered their meat people was odd if infection was an issue. Why not kill the brain first then bleed them? And definitely do one at a time if they aren't brain stabbing first.

No refrigerator to keep the uneaten meat fresh. if you kill the victim, straight off, that's a lot of meat that would spoil. If you keep the victim alive, and just hack off what you're going to cook and eat that meal, the rest is still alive, and would therefore not spoil. The problem with their plan, was they didn't check him to ensure he wasn't bit (If that makes a difference)

Sorry, I was referring to the mass slaughter they were doing in the first episode, not Bob. Where Rick, Glenn, the hilliebillie and the redshirts were getting clubbed and throats slit.

Oh

Since they're all infected already, why does a bite turn one into a zombie? You have an infection. It is triggered when you die (as if that makes sense). It's also triggered by bites ... but not any bite, rather a bite from a zombie. But how is a zombie's bite any different from a normal bite, if everyone carries the "disease"? Is it like ebola, where you can only get sick from someone who already shows symptoms?

Also, there must be something in a zombie's bite that activates this latent "infection." Is it their saliva? Do zombies still produce saliva? And if zombie fluids can activate the infection, how can Carol smear zombie blood all over herself, and have no worry of turning?

Is it something like you can't catch "the zombies" on a bus, but you can transmit "the zombies" on a bus? OMG, half the group just left on a bus!!