The Walking Dead

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

I'm not criticising the episode itself, in fact I guess the point is that it's so much better than what passes for standard TWD fare that a return to 'normal programming' next episode will be a bit of a let down.

Generally speaking there are too many characters who aren't really interesting enough to care about, and it all gets lost a bit in the mulch. (To the extent that at the start of Season Six I had a genuinely hard time remembering who had fucking died in Season Five to start with.)

Morgan's story is an interesting one, but back in the present day I fear he'll just go back to be a rather underwritten and underwhelming character like so many of the others are.

(A lot of folks seem to think that the season that spent all that time on the farm was boring, but whilst it was quite slow I really liked it, as it gave a smaller roster of characters a lot more room to breathe and be human.)

On top of that there are some characters I'm really fed up with too, Snarling Rick is just dull now, he really is.

That's all part of what made the last episode really great, even if it wasn't perfect in and of itself.

The other thing is that TWD as a whole isn't really going anywhere, I read this piece the other day and whilst I don't agree with all of it, I do think the guy makes some very valid points.

http://www.pajiba.com/the_walking_dead/ ... g-dead.php

Quote:

Since the Doctor whispered into Rick’s ear at the end of the first season, there has not been a single new fact introduced about this world. There has been no direction, no gradual learning of more, no story development. So when the producers say they already know what happens in seasons ten through twelve? That’s no triumph of long term storytelling. The show will be in the same place it is now, regardless of who happens to be alive, or where they happen to be. All the physical moving around is just the illusion of story to mask the fact that there isn’t a story being told at all. The show isn’t going anywhere.

The Walking Dead has so far aired 70 episodes. The last time any actual plot development happened was in episode six. The next 64 have just been slowly cutting away the characters you love. And that’s not any kind of story.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14356

What a load of old bolllocks. If you want to watch a zombie film where they look for a cure then you can watch the myriad of shitty (and some not so shitty) films that do just that. Next he'll be complaining that Eastenders hasn't advanced its story since the Well 'ard died.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2015 1:11

Whilst ultimately a dead end, the 'Get to Washington' thing was a genuine plot point, as was the attempt to create a genuine agrarian community at the prison. Not sure what they really want out of the show (though I agree it probably has a limited shelf life).

asfish · **Joined:** 5th Dec, 2010 **Posts:** 3353

What makes the show so good (and tense) is that it doesn't have any long plot with a magic cure or trying to get to mega city where everything is safe and normal.

It just shows what it would be like if this happened and you were trying to survive

It would be nice to have a little more understanding of what has happened now and again though.

RuySan · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 3542

The last episode was one of my favourites in a long while. It reminded me of the governor episode, and for me these are the most interesting ones. Lately TWD has became a blurry mess of noise and boredom, and this was a nice break.

And that bald man might have been the best person on earth.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

Yes, there hasn't been a very obvious overarching story arc, and there's no defined end for the series. The thing is, of course, that the source material didn't either. Basically, it's a soap opera. Yes, it has guns, and zombies and shit, but it's a soap opera. A very good, very astute soap opera exploring human behaviour.

MaliA · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2015 22:27

I really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure at first, but it really pulled through well.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

There was a name missing from the opening credits

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

He/she/it wasn't in the episode? Or they're winding viewers up

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2015 22:31

Do zombies shit?

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

That undigested human flesh has to go somewhere.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

Wow. Very, very, very good episode. Best one for a long while.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2015 23:23

Lennie James is great.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2015 23:24

RuySan wrote:

The last episode was one of my favourites in a long while. It reminded me of the governor episode, and for me these are the most interesting ones. Lately TWD has became a blurry mess of noise and boredom, and this was a nice break.

And that bald man might have been the best person on earth.

Apart from the whole...

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

... chaining up that guy in his house and starving him to death for kicks.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

It wasn't for kicks though, was it. Even a little bit.

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

So not a great episode then. As suspected Morgan is reduced to effectively a non-existent character for the duration (he got to scowl a bit at Rick), and as for the other stuff....

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

Rick gets back into town, him and his group having inflicted more damage to the community THAN THE ENTIRE ZOMBIE OUTBREAK THUSFAR, but he still sees fit to give them a bit of a speech to tell them all how shit is. Said speech, we should note, is about being super-quiet and super-stealthy, in the hope that the zombies will move on and forget all about them. He gives this speech quite loudly, just inside the walls.

Then later on he stands IN FULL VIEW OF ALL THE ZOMBIES LITERALLY JUST A FEW FEET AWAY FROM THEIR GNASHING ZOMBIE MOUTHS, saying he's watching out for a sign from Glenn. This is the same Rick who EARLIER THE SAME DAY said they should turn their lights off at night to assist in not letting the zombies know they were there (inside a community behind solid steel walls, a material which is not renowned for its transparency or translucency), but hey yeah, I'll just stand here and chew the fat with a teenage lad, and indeed encourage him to point an unloaded gun at one of the zombie heads, because that doesn't interest them all.

Still, on the plus side, nascent lesbians.

Enjoyable enough fluff I suppose, but for every quality episode like 'Here's Not Here', we get three or four duffers like this.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2015 23:08

I think it was downbeat, but necessary.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

The ending, with the blood. Is that her son's blood?

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

Downbeat is one thing, ignoring the events of the previous episodes and indeed the major characters who really need to be chipping in right now is quite another.

Sunday night’s episode of The Walking Dead was an absolute mess.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2015 23:25

Fair to say I couldn't really disagree with you more, or the muppet who wrote a rubbish write up that amounted to, "WHY AREN'T MY FAVE GUYS IN THIS? I NEED TO NOT HAVE ANY NEW CHARACTERS IN THIS BECAUSE I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM!".

How can someone complain that not every conversation in the universe is included in the screen time? Rick clearly shows that he has debriefed with Carol. Why would someone demand that this absolutely has to be on the show?

I just don't really understand how people can ask for a show to be more intelligent whilst then needing every little detail to be spelled out. Maybe next week we'll see what Carol was up to? Maybe next week it'll just be Daryl et al? Maybe they regularly do this?

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

The issue for me is (as per my previous moans), that there are too many 'main' characters and they get little enough screen time as it is, without chucking in a pointless filler episode which is pretty much all Episode 5 amounted to.

In effect there was only one piece of 'news' in the entire episode, everything else was twaddle.

Plus when it can't even be consistent in its own universe, and not even for so much as ten minutes of screen time, it stretches my patience somewhat.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

Rick's speech about Alexandria being all quiet and dark and hoping the zombies would move on (which is a reasonable suggestion), only to then stand a few feet away from them, in the middle of the day, and damn near get a teenager to goad them with a gun. We know that the sight of tasty edible humans gets the zombies all riled up, so what a stupid fucking thing to do. And this is from the self-styled SAVIOUR OF ALEXANDRIA.

It was a crap episode that did nothing and went nowhere, and wasted time on 'non-characters' when there already isn't enough screen time to go around.

Very disappointing after the excellent previous episode. Sometimes less really is more.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14356

Curiosity wrote:

I think it was downbeat, but necessary.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

The ending, with the blood. Is that her son's blood?

I'm paraphrasing what I read on the TWD subreddit but this spoiler is about the ending to the episode.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

it was supposed to show a crack forming in the wall. It's been confirmed on the internet somewhere

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14356

Curiosity wrote:

Fair to say I couldn't really disagree with you more, or the muppet who wrote a rubbish write up that amounted to, "WHY AREN'T MY FAVE GUYS IN THIS? I NEED TO NOT HAVE ANY NEW CHARACTERS IN THIS BECAUSE I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM!".

I don't know whether you'd seen the writer's edit at the bottom of the article (or even if it was there at the time you made your post) but he basically says exactly this. Waaah, where's Glenn, waaaah.

Anyway, as much as I disagree with AE's constant moaning or the way which people are nitpicking now about logical consistencies (or lack thereof) but I agree with him that this was a terrible episode.

It was all filler. It may set up some other scenarios later in the season (it better or "teach me to shoot" "nah, he's looking after the baby" "I'll just draw this map and put on some pretentious Latin" and "IM STABBING A ZOMBIE IN THE CHEST BECAUSE IVE LEARNT NOTHING" will be all rather pointless and truly will be 'filler') but it was all terribly done throughout.

Whoops better spoiler some moans:

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

The chest stabbing the very large guy who was overpowered by this little woman. Didn't like it at all.l and it wasn't done particularly well neither.
Sewer zombies overpowering preggo didn't adequately demonstrate that she was caught up in all the ribs and couldn't free her hands.
Guy getting drunk two scenes from not being drunk. Too quick. Didn't adequately demonstrate the passage of time between scenes.
New character: lesbo doctor has a very annoying face. Ok, this is just a personal slight but I'm not keen on her character at all. In particular when hot blonde babe stabs the zombie in the eye she's in the background breathing ABSURDLY heavily. Maybe because she's out of breath from being unfit but I didn't see her running in from anywhere.
I didn't get Glenn's missus change of heart from "I must go get Glenn" to "Glenn is dead" to "Glenn isn't dead." I swear I was fervently paying attention and I had the sound right up too but I just didn't get it. I don't think it was done well in that basis cause I'm sure I would have followed her range of emotions otherwise.
I didn't really understand why there was a panicked raid on the food supply either - one entire AFTERNOON since the raid and being surrounded by zombies who, at this point, are quietly standing outside the wall. Why do they think they're doomed again? No one mentions the raiders; it seemed to be about the zombies who aren't even in the premises.
Anyway, it all just seemed like a terrible 45 minutes after the awesome of every other episode this season and TWD doesn't really do terrible.

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

Not an amazing episode this week but better than the last one at least. Albeit not massively better.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

More new characters, woohoo! I suspect Daryl will bump into them again at some point. Then again, remember when they dedicated the entire pre-credits chunk of an earlier episode this season to Enid? We haven't had had any payoff on that yet.

Sasha and Abraham aren't two of the best characters either, but they got a lot of screen time. (I like Abraham well enough but he's best with Eugene and the others and Sasha doesn't really seem to 'do' much for the show as a whole, I can't even remember much of her backstory or where she came from.)

Overall I'd say it was watchable and not annoyingly bad.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2015 23:11

I love Abraham.

One thing that annoyed the fuck out of me was:

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

This far into the zombie apocalypse, and characters are still wandering into zombies and dying. I mean, what the fuck? Surely some selection bias should have cut out the idiots by now?

First the guy as part of a seemingly competent crew wanders into an obvious zombie (I know he was distracted, but DUH!). Though the guy's boss telling him to walk off having his arm amputated was funny.

Then the cute diabetic girl deciding to have a nice little lie down with some corpses... YOU FUCKING KNOW THEY ARE ZOMBIES!

Gah.

Rest was entertaining enough. Not the best ever, but clearly setting up for the next major arc (IMO).

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

Curiosity wrote:

I love Abraham.

One thing that annoyed the fuck out of me was:

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

I've just come to accept it now. The truth of the matter is that this far into the zombie outbreak anyone left alive is going to know how to handle zombies, and yet time and time again we see people get taken out in the most ridiculous circumstances.

Like in the Eastman/Morgan episode I knew Eastman was going to cop it at some point as we know Morgan gets back to Alexandria alone, but even then I was like 'Really, he got bitten in a one-on-one situation just 'cause Morgan didn't take the kill quick enough - yeah OK'. Well actually, it was two trained killer humans against one fucking zombie, and they lost a human. Good stats guys!

As for Abraham yes I like the character but (a) I think him and Eugene bounce off each other nicely and (b) Sasha is a dull character IMO and the two of them don't gel at all. Their dialogue sections have been, quite frankly, rather boring. At one point I sort of lost track of what the hell it was they were waffling on about.

The real problem I have with how this series is panning out is the scattering of the main characters all over the place into different situations and different areas and different times, it's not doing it all any great favours in terms of a cohesive narrative.

I'm sure I remember the prison/farm/governer seasons holding together a lot more tightly. We're seeing so little of some of the characters that it can be hard to pick up the thread of what they were up to the last time we saw them, and that makes it harder to care.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:52

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

RPfuckingG!

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

Latest episode was solid enough I thought. And it had a decent amount of Maggie and Tara in it, which is nice. I think Tara is my favourite.

I'm a bit tired of Deanna popping up at the end of conversations looking like one of those Star Trek aliens to say something though.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14356

Just in case anyone downloads this, you'll probably miss the post-credits scene.

But fear not, uncle Ian has got you covered. Well, someone else on the internet but I'm sharing with you, init.

Post-Credits: http://youtu.be/yJPnFdkJtyw

Telly box watchers might just want to wait until the credits finish. That's right, I'm telling you how to watch telly. You can thank me later.

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

Credit where it's due that was a good episode, and overall this season has put me in a 'looking forward to seeing what happens next' frame of mind, despite one awful episode and one poor one - so it's clearly doing something right.

Thanks for the tip there too Ian, for some reason my 'broadcast episode' didn't include the post-credits scene, despite it being a standard 'broadcast episode'.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

So the 'wrap a sheet around yourself and spread zombie guts on yourself' thing still works eh? I can think of FUCKING MILLIONS OF TIMES when they could have used that since the first season, or was it the second season when they did it first? Either way, Rick could have remembered that shit earlier.

Still a decent episode though.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14356

Those pale heads though, it just looked ridiculous.

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

Saturnalian wrote:

Those pale heads though, it just looked ridiculous.

See now I didn't pick up that in case you accused me of MOANING ALL THE TIME.

But yes I did think that too. Zombies don't see too good, apparently.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 23:14

Bastard ending just as it was getting all aargh!

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

PTSD-Boy is gonna get someone killed

MaliA · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2015 23:27

If

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

she was going to top herself

, then why

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

give her a gun with more than one bullet in it

. In fact, why not say "

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

Here is the gun you can use

" and then

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

stab her in the head

so you don't

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

end up 6 bullets and a hand gun

down.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

Just caught up to the end now.

FUCKING CHILD, HONESTLY

Dr Zoidberg · **Joined:** 15th Oct, 2010 **Posts:** 5148

And why nobody had accidentally shot Eugene is a mystery.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

I'm amazed he didn't cut off his own head, frankly.

Mr Dave · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2015 8:06

LeChris wrote:

Just caught up to the end now.

FUCKING CHILD, HONESTLY

Paedo.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14356

Dammmmmmn.

Shit gut gud.

ApplePieOfDestiny · **Joined:** 17th Dec, 2008 **Posts:** 8293

Not enough action and the zombies aren't decayed enough.

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

Thoroughly average episode, surely?

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

So it ties up the loose ends from the mid-season cliffhanger, which it had to do of course, and then basically sends THE ENTIRE CAST out on a suicide mission which would indeed have resulted in them all dying unless Abe and his mates had turned up within a really specific 15 second window to save the day. And none of them were co-ordinating any of that in any way whatsoever so it was just blind luck.

Even the ZOMBIE HACK HERO FACE MONTAGE stuff managed to be rather dull.

HACK SLASH QUICK SHOT OF CGI ZOMBIE X 99999 VERY DULL.

It'll get 45 minutes a week out of me when it's on air, but even that's just because I really like zombie stuff. The show is pretty crap, in all honesty. (I stopped watching Dexter because that got boring and samey and crap and it turns out I won't watch serial killer entertainment just for the sake of it, but zombies get a pass, so I'll stick with TWD. FTWD is the better bet out of the two at the moment I reckon,)

asfish · **Joined:** 5th Dec, 2010 **Posts:** 3353

Thought last nights episode started well

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

The bit with the rocket launcher and the bikers was funny and a surprise, I had forgotten they had one of those and was wondering how they would get out of the biker issues

Then later on..

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

Given they killed off a load of characters in the usual random way, how does Glenn get another pass? He was all but eaten by the fence then help arrives with machine guns! That crazy guy who took the nurse hostage was bitten with far more space between him and the zombies

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

I should probably get round to watching the previous episode at some point so I can pick up with the new one. I really enjoy TWD when I sit down to watch it but, for some reason, I often find myself lagging behind and not feeling like firing it up.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

YES!
That stupid fucking

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

kid got et!

Woot!

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2016 21:42

Spoiler

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

Whoops, thanks.

Hearthly · **Joined:** 11th May, 2008 **Posts:** 13382

[spoiler]It's just not that good, really.[/nospoiler]

Compared to the towering majesty of, for example, Breaking Bad - TWD is thoroughly average at best of late.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

the anti-aliasing is good though.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

I thought BB was great, although it got a bit baggy towards the end.

TWD is on the whole very good. Maybe I'm biased, as I love the comics,but it's still every bit as much worth watching as it ever was.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2016 22:12

MrChris wrote:

the anti-aliasing is good though.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Sun Feb 21, 2016 10:53

I thought that was a cracking episode. The time absolutely flew by.

Some surprises too, especially with how quickly certain people got eaten.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14356

This watched episode 10 and all I'm saying is "DAYYUM."

Be Excellent To Each Other

The Walking Dead
Fuck Yeah!

Who is online

Be Excellent To Each Other

The Walking Dead Fuck Yeah!

Who is online

The Walking Dead
Fuck Yeah!