A commentary on The Walking Dead

[meteoric]

Holy moly!

Mid-season finale. Jeepers.

I didn’t cry until “Talking Dead.”

I didn’t see “Talking Dead”, so I’m hoping they answered a few questions –

Are Rick and Carl going to rejoin the group?

Did the children who killed the attackers get away? It seemed that the bus left before they showed up, but I may be remembering things in the wrong order.

At the end, when the walkers were overrunning the prison, they focused on some zombie woman, but I couldn’t recognize her (damn face-blindness). Was she someone from earlier in the show?

The outcome for a lot of people is up in the air. Did the after-show give any hint that their stories will be shown/discovered?

And finally, for fun, a comic book’s look at the comic book:
the-gutters.com/comic/120-jeff-mccomsey/

Thanks!

Tom A.
In many post-apocalyptic world, chainmail would be a really useful thing to recover. Won’t stop a bullet, should stop or slow down a zombie.

 

[Sarabande]

At the end, when the walkers were overrunning the prison, they focused on some zombie woman, but I couldn’t recognize her (damn face-blindness). Was she someone from earlier in the show?

The outcome for a lot of people is up in the air. Did the after-show give any hint that their stories will be shown/discovered? .

I think the female zombie they focused on was that Irish woman who Rick met in the woods in one of the earlier episodes. She was trying to survive on her own and getting food for zombie husband’s head. She and her husband got stranded in the airport on their way to their honeymoon and the group fbey were eventually decimated by the zombies, includjng her husband. She tried to kill Rick, but ended up killing herself. Rick didn’t shoot/stab her in the head because she said she wanted to be with her husband once she turned.

The after show didn’t give away much. Maggie and Hershel were on and I got a little emotional because Maggie was getting emotional. You could tell that they formed a little “family”.

Spoiler for those reading the comics as well: I don’t if they’ll be following close to the comics (Andrea, for instance, is actually still alive in the comic, as well as Carol’s daughter, Sophia. Carol, I believe, also commits suicide and doesn’t ohlive her daughter, but I can’t remember when she did thaf) so it’s all up in the air. I’m wondering if we’ll see Carol again.

 

[Robyn_p]

Anyone watch last Sunday’s episode? This was the first episode in a while where I was genuinely on the edge of my seat. (Besides that crazy finale obviously)

I admit after the mid season premiere I was a little disappointed. I was about to give up on the show. (Been thinking of doing it since season three, Hershell dying almost sealed it for me since he was my favorite.)

Glad I gave it another shot though, this episode was more of the kind of thing I enjoy in the show.

And of course the best part:

JUDITH SURVIVED!!! :extrahappy:

 

[Rmac81]

I agree, the first episode of this spring season felt incredibly short. This one was really packed with all kinds of stuff.

So glad the baby survived! idk if anyone watches The Talking Dead, but we did Sunday because Jim Gaffigan (really funny comedian, and he’s Catholic) was on there. They had a poll, Who were you most glad to see back?, with the choices being Carol, Baby Judith, Tara and someone else. I thought Judith would just win hands down; she got 46%, which is more than anyone else (Carol came in second with around 30%).

On the show they asked the actress that plays Tara (Alanna Masterson) if she would save a baby if in a zombie apocalypse. She said no–she implied something like, “Sorry baby, you need to be taken care of, you’ll cry, etc.”

I was kind of shocked. It seemed so cold to me. But then I wondered–is the result of the culture we live in? Is this what happens when we decide that “wanted” babies have a right to life, but “unwanted” babies (and it would be understandable that in an apocalypse situation you would think about the risks of having a baby with you) can just be discarded?

And the fact that Carol, a murderer, was almost chosen by more people for the poll. On the show, when they introduced the poll, I thought for sure one of the guests or the host would say something like, “Oh clearly, Baby Judith runs away with it,” but no!

 

[Sarabande]

I was really happy that they didn’t follow the comic book when it came to Judith, since she does die along with Lori when they are shot by the Governor’s people. It does make it more interesting with how people can survive when they have a baby in a zombie apocalypse. There will only be so much formula around unless they find another woman who is nursing. How do you keep a baby from crying or making noise when trying to escape a zombie or another person with evil intentions?

My husband tells me that the first episode after the winter break followed the comic pretty well in regards to Carl and Rick. It was really focusing on Carl because it was a turning point for him in gaining confidence in himself and his father gaining confidence in him.

If it wasn’t for the Governor, that group could have survived and thrived at the prison for a long time. It’s a shame. That said, it wouldn’t be much of a story if they did that.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

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.

Herschel was definitely religious, he made that clear. As to no priests, well, there aren’t really that many priests compared to the overall population and we’ve only met a few hundred survivors, so you might not ever meet one.

 

[mikekle]

Herschel was definitely religious, he made that clear. As to no priests, well, there aren’t really that many priests compared to the overall population and we’ve only met a few hundred survivors, so you might not ever meet one.

I seem to remember someone mentioning praying in one of the earlier episodes, but another person suggested God was probably not accepting prayer at the moment, or God was not watching right now,(or something similar to that…cant remember what was exactly said)…and to be honest I could understand that point of view in such a situation.

The lone scientist at the CDC also admitted to Rick the whole thing could be an act of God.That is kind of scary, because the bible tells us at a certain time the dead will rise and walk again, so that kind of world WILL eventually happen, but the question is, whether the ‘zombies’ will attack the living or not.

 

[Robyn_p]

I agree, the first episode of this spring season felt incredibly short. This one was really packed with all kinds of stuff.

So glad the baby survived! idk if anyone watches The Talking Dead, but we did Sunday because Jim Gaffigan (really funny comedian, and he’s Catholic) was on there. They had a poll, Who were you most glad to see back?, with the choices being Carol, Baby Judith, Tara and someone else. I thought Judith would just win hands down; she got 46%, which is more than anyone else (Carol came in second with around 30%).

On the show they asked the actress that plays Tara (Alanna Masterson) if she would save a baby if in a zombie apocalypse. She said no–she implied something like, “Sorry baby, you need to be taken care of, you’ll cry, etc.”

I was kind of shocked. It seemed so cold to me. But then I wondered–is the result of the culture we live in? Is this what happens when we decide that “wanted” babies have a right to life, but “unwanted” babies (and it would be understandable that in an apocalypse situation you would think about the risks of having a baby with you) can just be discarded?

And the fact that Carol, a murderer, was almost chosen by more people for the poll. On the show, when they introduced the poll, I thought for sure one of the guests or the host would say something like, “Oh clearly, Baby Judith runs away with it,” but no!

I know, it was a little disturbing to me also. I’d like to think maybe it was because Judith, while cute, isn’t much of a character, so they’re not as attached to her as they are to Carol. I hope anyway.

But yeah I’m with you. Innocent baby, or cold-blooded murderer? I’m picking the baby!

I was trying to remember, does Tyrese know what Carol did? It’ll be interesting to see what happens between them now that they’ve been forced together. I do hope Carol gains something of her humanity back. Her whole “survive at all costs” philosophy is downright scary to me. I agreed with Rick I don’t really think I trust her around Judith.

Though she does seem to genuinely care for those girls so maybe there’s hope.

 

[Rmac81]

Tyrese does NOT know what Carol did. So, that should be an interesting situation when that comes out. “Oh, by the way, I kinda killed your girlfriend bc I was afraid she was going to get other people sick. I mean, yeah, people still got sick, and then we found a way to cure them, but, yeah.”

I wonder how they’re going to fill the hole left by Hershel. By the end of his time on the show, they had done a really good job of showing him as a christian, and as a result, showing him with faith and hope during dark times. In various traumatic situations (walkers, fatal flu strain, the governor) Hershel had a peace about him. And as christians, as St. Paul says, we’re to be content in all things.

Early on they weren’t great with the religious stuff, but that was something they got right.

 

[Robyn_p]

Yea I miss Hershel. I hope they do find someone to fill his shoes. Not sure if they will, but that would be nice. Maybe a priest or a nun?

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

Yea I miss Hershel. I hope they do find someone to fill his shoes. Not sure if they will, but that would be nice. Maybe a priest or a nun?

Herschel was great. If you think about it though, the reason Herschel was so good was not because he talked about God all the time or anything like that. It was the way he behaved. His behavior was impacted by his faith. His faith wasn’t pharisaical–he lived his faith by doing not by saying.

So taking a step back from the situation, I think that Rick is arguably Herschel’s greatest legacy. When they first met, Rick was a good leader and a pretty good man. But I think he has become an even better leader but more importantly a better man because of Herschel’s example.

I also think that Glenn and Maggie’s relationship is part of Herschel’s legacy.

 

[mikekle]

While I do like the show, I wish they would focus more on the larger picture, as in what is really going on and what caused all of this to happen, the sort of started down this road when they showed rick seeing a military helicopter and attempting to follow it, then at the CDC, when the guy there admits the french were close to stopping this ‘disease’.

I realize the show is mainly about this particular group of people trying to survive, but it would be nice to occasionally be given a larger glimpse of things, maybe showing what the US Govt is trying to do, or what has become of the Govt, something along these lines.

 

[Rmac81]

Yes! I have been wanting to see the bigger picture for quite some time. If you saw the movie 28 days later, they had a great scene where all of a sudden the viewer was taken from the small picture to the big picture in a single moment. It was mind-blowing.

 

[mikekle]

Yes! I have been wanting to see the bigger picture for quite some time. If you saw the movie 28 days later, they had a great scene where all of a sudden the viewer was taken from the small picture to the big picture in a single moment. It was mind-blowing.

Yes, I remember that 28 days later scene…ya know, if some kind of zombie event like this happened, the ‘28 days’ zombie would probably be a better depiction of what they would really be like, and that is scary, because they are fast, smart, and not easy to kill!

I once read an article about zombies and some doctor actually claimed if you studied the human brain and how it works, a man made virus or something else could easily turn a normal human being into a mindless, cannibalistic killing machine, he said it would not take much for this to happen and spread very quickly!!

Now imagine some terrorist group hiring a team of scientists to create such a virus and unleash it upon a major US city…!!!

 

[Rmac81]

Yes. The 28 Days Later zombies are ridiculously scary. I like my zombies slow and easily thwarted by mud and water.

 

[punisherthunder]

Abraham!!! Finally!!

 

[Rmac81]

Yes, Abraham.

Now I haven’t read the comics so I don’t know this character, but I heard a lot about him on The Talking Dead last week. There seemed to be some question as to whether or not the show will have the character be exactly the same.

On The Talking Dead, they said that the scene where the camera shows Abraham and the two other people matches the cover of a particular comic book EXACTLY. I wonder if that speaks to keeping the character very close to the same as well.

 

[punisherthunder]

Yes, Abraham.

Now I haven’t read the comics so I don’t know this character, but I heard a lot about him on The Talking Dead last week. There seemed to be some question as to whether or not the show will have the character be exactly the same.

On The Talking Dead, they said that the scene where the camera shows Abraham and the two other people matches the cover of a particular comic book EXACTLY. I wonder if that speaks to keeping the character very close to the same as well.

Essentially he is a military guy who is on the side of good. He is very bullheaded though. I imagine the Ricktatorship days would be over for a bit. The show doesn’t exactly follow the comics, so I have no idea where they will take the characters though.

 

[mikekle]

Yes. The 28 Days Later zombies are ridiculously scary. I like my zombies slow and easily thwarted by mud and water.

Out of all the zombie movies and shows, Return of the Living Dead had the scariest zombies IMO, (but not parts 4 and 5…they just got ridiculous in those movies), the first one actually was quite scary to me, second one was ok, but really meant to be a comedy/zombie movie and then number 3 was back to scary.

If you dont know the ROTLD zombies, they CANNOT be killed, you cut them up in pieces and the pieces come after you!! shooting in the head or damaging the brain does nothing to these zombies!, plus most are quick as a living person! The scariest part in ROTLD part one was the freaky scary music thru out and the part where the ‘trash’ character gets exactly what she fantasized about…shows her slowly rising from a muddy pit, rain washing all the mud off leaving a terrible killer!

However, I cannot watch ROTLD anymore, the intense gore just became too much for me.