A commentary on The Walking Dead

[Rmac81]

Just a side note…

My goodness, you covered the whole thing in a couple of weeks? How are you sleeping?

My husband loves the show. I had heard so much good stuff about it that I decided to swallow my angst of gory/horror type shows and watch it with my husband.

The first episode did me in, I was officially spooked and would rather not watch another one, thank-you.

Interesting commentary though.

Every other day my brain would would let go of the intensity and let me sleep. Otherwise, it was just ridiculous. I have never looked forward to watching something on TV at it’s normal time slot before. The show is not near as intense now as it was the first two seasons. There’s still gory stuff though. I cover my eyes and my husband tells me when I can watch again.

 

[Rmac81]

Um…the video game sounds very interesting. But I really don’t think I can dedicate my life to that after the two weeks I spent only watching The Walking Dead. I can’t imagine the dreams I would have…
Maybe I just need a break…maybe next summer…

 

[Rmac81]

I also love the walking dead!! I was hooked right after the first episode, but now I wait to watch it on DVD as I cant stand to sit thru commercial breaks every 10 minutes!

Anyone else remember when they were in the CDC building and rick was asking the guy there about why he thought this was happening and one of them said something along the lines of " And then theres the bible, when it mentions the dead coming back" and the other one agreeing, but no really knowing if this is what is truly is. You could see they both kind of believed this was the real reason, but neither wanted to admit it to each other, or didnt want to even speak it!!

That is the scariest part IMO, a situation like this is very possible, not only the biblical version, but a type of engineered virus could turn a person into a mindless killing machine fairly easily, all it would take is some rouge scientist and a group bent on destruction!!!

Id like to think I would be able to survive such a world, but the more I think about it, the tougher I think it would be.

I don’t remember that part…I’ll have to go back and check that out again.

You’d be able to survive that kind of world–there’s kind of mindless killing machines now. God is always with us, even during tragedies. Shows like this just show you what it’s like when you don’t have God, so I think we take on those feelings. But we would feel differently bc we would be praying, talking with our guardian angels, talking with Saints, praying the rosary, etc. God wouldn’t leave us alone and without spiritual strength to persevere such a thing.

 

[edwest2]

My husband and I finally jumped on The Walking Dead bandwagon. In two weeks, we got completely caught up–not something I recommend, watching The Walking Dead all in one go, because the intensity of the show stays with you making sleep difficult to come by.

Anyway, one thing that kept bothering me was the intentional pushing away of religion, in particular, Christianity. The show, particularly through the first couple seasons, was filled with despair and hopelessness while the writers seemed to only know how to show people losing their faith rather than the other way around. And when religion was written in, it seemed that it was because the writers wanted an easy way to add depth.

Last week, I was praying the morning prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, while this thought about The Walking Dead was tumbling around my mind. And then it occurred to me, or rather God told me, that what I see from the people in The Walking Dead is what people without God feel today. In the show the tragedy is pushed together in one heap that the whole world is experiencing at once, but tragedy isn’t something foreign to us here in reality.

I was filled with such compassion, and then with gratefulness for this glimpse into how people, who don’t know God, feel when tragedy hits. Rather than being irked and a little grumpy about how religion is weaved into storyline, now it just reminds me of those that are lost and need my prayers.

If you have any comments about religion and The Walking Dead, I would love to hear them.

First of all, it is a horrible show. Knowing about the comics that spawned this other version of dysfunctional living, the writer’s premise is having a common cause to fight, like fictional living dead people, unites us. Uh, I’d rather be entertained than sickened by mutilation and other scenes of gross, graphic violence. I mean, show after after show after show - kill the zombies. The end. It is not entertainment in any way, shape or form. It is a lesson in how to desensitize people to graphic, blood and guts literally all over the place and bashing a human’s skull in - close up - that tells me those involved have gone too far.

Religion? Just a side note to all the graphic stuff. No one should relate to zombies.

Peace,
Ed

 

[mikekle]

First of all, it is a horrible show. Knowing about the comics that spawned this other version of dysfunctional living, the writer’s premise is having a common cause to fight, like fictional living dead people, unites us. Uh, I’d rather be entertained than sickened by mutilation and other scenes of gross, graphic violence. I mean, show after after show after show - kill the zombies. The end. It is not entertainment in any way, shape or form. It is a lesson in how to desensitize people to graphic, blood and guts literally all over the place and bashing a human’s skull in - close up - that tells me those involved have gone too far.

Religion? Just a side note to all the graphic stuff. No one should relate to zombies.

Peace,
Ed

I understand what you are saying and truth be told, I could do without the graphic blood and guts, I usually turn away when I see something like this coming, but that is done to attract the younger crowd. the overall premise of the show is a group of people thrown into the same situation and how they react, and they choose to form groups as a means to better chance of survival.

I think it is rather factual, should an event like this actually happen, I could see 95% of what is portrayed in the show, happening in real life (given the same situation). I think alot of people would have the same reactions and instincts kick in. They are not out to just kill zombies in every way possible, they are trying to find a safe place to live, so they dont have to watch their back when walking down the street, in fear of being eaten alive, but to make it a tv show, they must make it fairly dramatic for people to watch it.

The bible even says at the end times, the dead will walk the earth again, although I dont think those dead will be out to literally attack the living, but we dont know for sure what they will be like, it is possible they could be exactly like the show portrays them…??

 

[SurlyMermaid]

Anyone watching?

Loved last week’s episode with You Know Who. More of the style I prefer and the story was not prison-centered.

SM

 

[Rmac81]

SPOILER

Yes, we’ll be watching. Bringing the Governor back in was interesting. I saw a little bit of The Talking Dead, and the actor that plays the Governor was discussing his character being back. He talked a little about redemption, how being with this new family will help him in that way.

This whole show deals a lot with redemption and forgiveness. And how forgiveness doesn’t always mean letting someone back into the group–sometimes you forgive and that person isn’t allowed back. And obviously we get to see some people who refuse to forgive and their struggle as well.

 

[Viki63]

I watched some of it, but had to quit. It’s fine for adults, but I think it’s really a bad idea for anyone young and impressionable. We don’t need more kids desensitized to violence and killing. There is way too much of it as it is.​

 

[colliric]

Any fans of the game series looking forward to “Season 2”?

 

[meteoric]

I can understand your point of view…my wife won’t even watch the show…same with Doomsday Preppers…she says if it’s the end of the world…why are these idiots digging a hole in the ground…the bible says there won’t be anyplace to hide.can’t argue with that I guess.

Not that I care too much about the show or the ideas, just wanted to point out that none of the preppers say they are trying to survive the end of the world – just the end of civilization. Some of the causes of that end are silly, and most possible. I just don’t think they are that likely. But civilizations have fallen in the past, and, eventually, ours too will end (because all things end. It just doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world).

And you can tell an interesting story after the fall of civilization. Probably read ten or so back in the 80’s.

In the bible it says that the second coming will be like a bolt of lightning from the east to the west. I always figured this meant that it was something that couldn’t be ignored and couldn’t be misconstrued.

Tom A.

 

[RosarysBaby]

Holy moly!

Mid-season finale. Jeepers.

I didn’t cry until “Talking Dead.”

 

[Rmac81]

Holy moly indeed.

Quite the mid season finale.

The show was getting a bit “small”–dealing w/zombies was natural, setting mostly at the prison or nearby. I’m looking forward to something new, like it’s time to “level up”. I want something besides deaths of main characters to really blow my mind. Kind of like when they went to the CDC early on, or first found the prison.

My husband made an interesting point last Sunday–The Walking Dead isn’t just zombies, but the people as well. They’re all the Walking Dead.

Made me think about our society today being somewhat like that too.

 

[colliric]

Holy moly indeed.

Quite the mid season finale.

The show was getting a bit “small”–dealing w/zombies was natural, setting mostly at the prison or nearby. I’m looking forward to something new, like it’s time to “level up”. I want something besides deaths of main characters to really blow my mind. Kind of like when they went to the CDC early on, or first found the prison.

This is the reason why the Video Game is such a fantastic experience… every “Episode” feels like you’re on a knife edge and consistently running from place to place(as you try to get from Atlanta to the city of Savannah… which is kind of the CDC of the video game).

Perhaps this is the first season(and possibly also the specific episode) of the TV show produced after the outstanding critical success of the Telltale Studios game became clear, and maybe they’re shaking it up a bit for the new fans of the show that were introduced to Walking Dead via the relentless “Never let up” Video Game.

As a fan of both, I certainly found that the first Season felt the most like the Game does, and that latter seasons seem to have settled into “22 episode-itis”(they have to produce 22 episodes, and as a result the “seasonal story arc” seems to get stretched over them).

 

[Sarabande]

Holy moly indeed.

Quite the mid season finale.

The show was getting a bit “small”–dealing w/zombies was natural, setting mostly at the prison or nearby. I’m looking forward to something new, like it’s time to “level up”. I want something besides deaths of main characters to really blow my mind. Kind of like when they went to the CDC early on, or first found the prison.

**My husband made an interesting point last Sunday–The Walking Dead isn’t just zombies, but the people as well. They’re all the Walking Dead. **

Made me think about our society today being somewhat like that too.

Yes, exactly. My husband, sister and brother-in-law have been reading the comics as well and they all say that it’s really less about the “walkers” and more about the “walking dead” - those who have not yet become zombies. They figure out how to deal with the zombies fairly quickly. It’s how they deal with those who have not yet turned that is very tricky. All the rules and moral codes that have kept people behaved have gone out of the window. The struggle and battle to keep to a moral code and even to your faith is what interests me in this show.

Hershel was the first character I teared up for when he died. He was the moral rock of that group.

Spoiler…

Now they throw up in the air the outcome about Judith. In the comic both Lori and Judith are killed by the Governor’s people during the battle. Lori was shot and the bullet went through to the baby while she carried her to escape. The show did things differently where Lori dies during childbirth, although still at the prison. If Judith was killed, they tastefully did it, so that no one had to see what happened. If they decide to deviate from the comic, I think someone picked her up and out of the car seat because he/she was probably too badly wounded to carry the car seat (which can be very heavy to run with).

 

[punisherthunder]

I understand this rationale. In the first episode of season two, the group finds a church. You expect more to come with it, but you don’t get anything. There was a difference on LOST, where characters (Mr. Eko ) were religious or there were various connotations.

With the Walking Dead, I seem to wonder every few episodes about religion. Why don’t the characters pray more? Where’s a priest? Then I think that a religion angle at the moment would complicate things as we are seeing humanity still coming to terms with the situation around them. Yet, not every character is devoid of faith, look at Hershel, you see him reading the Bible often.

 

[Rmac81]

That is very interesting in regards to walkers vs. the walking dead. And I agree, it is interesting to see a take on what people do when there’s not an instituted moral code (government) & how they struggle.

The fact that there is a struggle would point to an inherent moral code, which leads us to CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity (and most likely other works).

I was hoping there would be line drawn re: Judith.

 

[mikekle]

I understand this rationale. In the first episode of season two, the group finds a church. You expect more to come with it, but you don’t get anything. There was a difference on LOST, where characters (Mr. Eko ) were religious or there were various connotations.

With the Walking Dead, I seem to wonder every few episodes about religion. Why don’t the characters pray more? Where’s a priest? Then I think that a religion angle at the moment would complicate things as we are seeing humanity still coming to terms with the situation around them. Yet, not every character is devoid of faith, look at Hershel, you see him reading the Bible often.

It seems I remember one of the characters saying something about praying in the first season and Rick said that he thought God was not really paying attention to whats going on right now, so they better stick to what is keeping them alive…killing as many walkers as possible!

I also remember the CDC scientist, who when talking to Rick about what caused all this, said at one point…“and then there the God theory”, resulting in both of them left speechless, not really knowing what to say, as I probably would be in that situation!

 

[Rmac81]

Yes, exactly. My husband, sister and brother-in-law have been reading the comics as well and they all say that it’s really less about the “walkers” and more about the “walking dead” - those who have not yet become zombies. They figure out how to deal with the zombies fairly quickly. It’s how they deal with those who have not yet turned that is very tricky. All the rules and moral codes that have kept people behaved have gone out of the window. The struggle and battle to keep to a moral code and even to your faith is what interests me in this show.

Hershel was the first character I teared up for when he died. He was the moral rock of that group.

Spoiler…

That is very interesting in regards to walkers vs. the walking dead. And I agree, it is interesting to see a take on what people do when there’s not an instituted moral code (government) & how they struggle.

The fact that there is a struggle would point to an inherent moral code, which leads us to CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity (and most likely other works).

I was hoping there would be line drawn re: Judith.

 

[Rmac81]

I understand this rationale. In the first episode of season two, the group finds a church. You expect more to come with it, but you don’t get anything. There was a difference on LOST, where characters (Mr. Eko ) were religious or there were various connotations.

With the Walking Dead, I seem to wonder every few episodes about religion. Why don’t the characters pray more? Where’s a priest? Then I think that a religion angle at the moment would complicate things as we are seeing humanity still coming to terms with the situation around them. Yet, not every character is devoid of faith, look at Hershel, you see him reading the Bible often.

I don’t know…We started watching Fringe a few weeks ago, and seeing how they dealt with religion, in particular Catholicism, makes me wish shows would just not deal with it if they don’t know anything about it.

Early on with The Walking Dead, the writers showed they that know very little about religion (a crucifix & altar rail in a Baptist church), so I’d prefer they stay away. They did well having Hershel maintain his faith though.

In reality, I think most people would call out to God in an end-of-the-world situation, so it does seem odd to not have more of that in a show like this.

 

[Robyn_p]

That is very interesting in regards to walkers vs. the walking dead. And I agree, it is interesting to see a take on what people do when there’s not an instituted moral code (government) & how they struggle.

The fact that there is a struggle would point to an inherent moral code, which leads us to CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity (and most likely other works).

I was hoping there would be line drawn re: Judith.

Like another poster here, I’m keeping my hopes up that she might still be alive, but since everything that could go wrong almost always does go wrong on this show, it’s not looking good.