RustbeltWriter

I'm loving this season because changing the show runner and sidelining Rick allow Angela Kang and company to do new things. It felt like we were mired in Negan's tar pit of suckery forever, but now they can move on and allow some of the other characters to have some air. I like Rick, and the idea that we'll get him in little doses seems like a good one. I'm actually excited to see what comes next.

My heart broke when Donna put on Dire Straits So Far Away. I don't know who selected that song but it was perfect.

I really enjoyed Jessica Jones using her investigatory skills to figure things out instead of just punching people.

So Nikki's best trait was strategy and she decides to gun down a state trooper? I'm calling shananigans on that. It seemed like the writers couldn't decide what to do with her so they just slapped a bow on her and called it a day.

You put some Pepper on that comment. ;) I enjoyed it but Mrs. Rustbeltwriter caught something. The doctor told Alex's dad that there were signs of sex but no violence so they couldn't be sure she was raped. Just being drugged and unable to give consent means she was raped. Hard to believe that was written that way. I'll be tuning in next week.

The Saviours are boring. They're just jerks with guns and now we've got a whole season devoted to them. I've actually enjoyed the last two episodes because Negan hasn't been seen. The junkyard people were interesting because of their salvage yard schtick. I assume their cheesy green screen special effects have helped hide them from walkers and the Saviours. It was entertaining to see Rick narfle the Garthok from Coneheads.

Can I just say I've been impressed with Rosita? Took a shot at Negan and disarmed the explosives.

Years?! Oh no. Oh please, no.

Negan continues to be a dick, and to Olivia! seriously, how has no one shot him?

I enjoyed this one. First, no Negan, so it gets points. Second, it was nice to see Maggie and Sasha mourning Glenn and Abraham. The pacing was slow enough that we got some character development from everyone. It was great that Enid went to help Maggie and the balloons on the grave were a nice touch. The showrunners could have set up the attack on the Hilltop a little better. After all, are we supposed to think there are no lookouts and that the Saviors can stroll right through the gate with a Gremlin and light a bunch of bonfires after locking everyone in their houses? That seemed choppy. Although, I did enjoy Maggie taking care of business with the tractor. It even set up a plotline for Maggie to run Hilltop which will be good because Gregory is just so awful at it. Oh, and at some point Simon is going to get his and I can't wait to see it. Someone up thread mentioned that it's tiresome to see Negan and his minions doing this thing where they try to be charming one moment but menacing the next. I just hope his end is painful and long.

The show really missed a chance to bring in James Robinson's Shade from Starman. Too bad.

I am loving this line of thought because it encapsulates every problem I have with this show. This ridiculous 90 minute episode was centered around Negan and his visit to Alexandria and it was just too much service to fans of the source material. The showrunners are just cramming Negan down our throats (no pun intended) and the ratings clearly show that viewers aren't impressed. I, too, stopped reading the comics when they became torture porn and I can see Kirkman and Gimple making the same mistake because violence drives internet articles, which drive clicks and they obviously think any press is good press. In reality I think they are trashing a show that should be about people surviving in the remnants of civilization just so they can have people tune it to see whose head gets bashed in or what witty quips Negan will spout this week. By the way, that last line of Negan's to Rick? Completely unnecessary because the show is not a comic and it played horribly. The ratings seem to imply that people are finding it easier to watch other shows on Sunday night.

I just watched the series on Netflix and now I've got "Frasier Crane's humongous ass contest" rattling around in my head. I know the show went on a long time but the quality held up much better than other shows. I think the chemistry of the cast just really meshed well, especially David Hyde Pierce. As the show went on he became better and better.

I think the showrunners and fans of Negan are blind to the fact that while the character insists he is having consensual sex with his "wives" and that he forbids his thugs to rape, he himself is raping these women. If Dwight's wife Sherry bartered herself to save his life, then she's acting under duress and intimidation. I'm watching closely to see how they treat this issue because Negan outlawing rape while he commits it is not a virtue. The show needs to be honest about what's happening.

I wonder if we can look into Kirkman's middle school past and see a Coach Negan hollering at him to climb the rope.

The more I think about this episode, the less sense it makes to me. Rick's group kills an entire outpost of Saviors at the radio station, takes out the motorcycle gang on the road, kills a few more in that factory where Carol was being held and somehow they still have the advantage of numbers. The Rick who was willing to risk everything in Terminus to free his group, who made a stand against The Governor when he showed up with a tank is now willing to roll over and let Negan take their guns even though he had plenty of time to prepare for his arrival. This just seems like poorly written material that is servicing the comic book readers.

These two episodes were where the show really found its groove for me. Their portrayal of holiday temps was exaggerated but not by much. That line about it being easier to do it ourselves rather than clean up after them made me laugh. Black Friday was awesome, especially Cheyenne's announcements at closing. We would routinely have people hang around throughout the closing announcements and then scamper to the front only when the lights started going off. Retail is always more fondly looked upon when you are looking back at it.

The more I hear Negan talk the more I'm reminded of Dennis Hopper's character in Waterworld and man, that is not a good thing.

You are spot on WEIGHTYGHOST. It's bad enough that Abraham and Glenn had to die so callously but now we have to watch 90 minutes of Negan strutting around Alexandria preening like a peacock while he and his goons act like a bunch of frat boys. They're clearly going to twist that knife in Rick's side every chance they get and we've seen how they treat the Kingdom and Hilltop. The Saviors are sadists and while I don't doubt their kind would exist in an apocalypse, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't self destruct. Spencer could have shot through the fence and killed Negan. Carl could have shot him in the house. Hopefully all that swagger does him in at some point.

I guess I can buy Negan as being a gym teacher. He seems like the kind of guy who is sort of smart but unwilling to apply himself to any job that requires long pants.

I refuse to believe anyone would name their child Negan. I think it's as much an affectation as his Fonzie costume and his baseball bat.

I think it would be interesting to see what kind of life this knob was freed from that he considers having his own cult where he gets all the women and men have to bow to him to be the height of ecstasy. He's like Harold Lauder in The Stand only not nearly as empathetic or interesting.

My biggest problem with Negan is that we haven't seen his back story so he's completely cartoonish as a villain. Over the years we've gotten a look back at everyone so you can kind of see where they come from but when it comes to bad guys like the Governor or Negan, it's like they just sprouted fully formed. If the audience doesn't see what turned them into the repugnant characters they are, it's hard to for us to empathize with them. Even Garreth & Mary had enough backstory to tell us why they became cannibals. Negan's got nothing but a costume and a bat.

I just can't get behind this Negan character. His whole thing about "allowing" Dwight to have sex as long as he can find a woman to "say yes" smacks of an effort by the showrunners to give him the redeeming quality of not being a rapist. They completely gloss over the fact that women who are sleeping with Negan are being coerced and intimidated into the act. "Oh, he has a code." Well, not really. He's just a bully. I think it's telling that we get so few origin stories on this show so the creators just get to drop a jerk like Negan on us and don't have to explain where he came from or why he is the way he is. I enjoyed that last week with Ezekiel but so far it's like Negan just sprouted from the ground wearing a Fonzie costume.

Fun episode. I enjoyed Coulson using the invisible quinjet to end the chase. Ghost Rider can stick around a while.