Bad Example

To me, they were all filmed as if they had meaning. She wasn't just giving him a basket- she was cute and perky and it had "meet cute" written all over it. The haircut seemed a little handsy with a little extra scalp massage. As for holding the baby? The shot was framed as if the pose had significance (she practically had an aura of the Madonna around her). In general, I don't like the cheating spouse thing, so we'll see where this goes. It's easy to judge her as "not good enough" because she hasn't been tested by this world. She might be tough enough and lucky enough for it, but in comparison to the other women we know, she does seem weak.

No! I found NurseGigi's ambien-fueled post very entertaining, and it's all about me me me! (I loved that a point she really dwelled on was that they needed to prioritize some winemaking and moonshine production. More ambien for NurseGigi!)

My impression was that Rick told him in order to stop him from following Carol, since Rick knew exactly why Carol shouldn't be followed. The problem was that he didn't keep the kid away long enough for Carol to disappear before the kid could trail her. But I agree with the previous poster. The timing of it does seem off.

THIS. Yep, I love Carol, mistakes and all, and resent like hell that women are so dismissed. Carol, River Song, and Laura Roslin... my badass fictional role models.

I don't think she made an ass out of herself at all. She didn't want to act like that, she wanted to think she could be normal and get through something that once would have been completely mundane. She wanted to make the effort. She just couldn't. And not in a "oh, I have to keep it real and I'm free to create drama because I have to speak my truth" kind of way, but because her stress disorder is out of control. And while we're speaking of Sasha, I don't remember her history? Was she some sort of sharpshooter before the ZA, or did she discover she's got a talent for it while at Woodbury?

I wondered about that, but if what Carol thinks is true and they rarely even look at them, I'm not so sure. If it's not something you're paying attention to and you're NOT suspicious, you'd think, "I thought that had more in it? Eh, maybe not." Another thought on the guns: We've seen that it's fairly casual. Wouldn't it have been easier to grab a few extras when no one was looking when you're going out "legitimately", and then when you're very responsibly returning those guns, you just happen to forget a few you've hidden about your body? It would take a little longer, but not much. On a similar note, I do wonder if that extra chocolate she snagged is really what's going to get her into trouble. They're rationing, and keeping the amount posted on the chalkboard above the freezer. Someone might look into the missing chocolate.

This is the sort of paranoia that I fully support. Nothing is good in the ZA! Nothing! I want to believe this, but if it's the case, I don't think TPTB are doing a good enough job conveying it. It doesn't need to be spoon fed, but I need to see a little more evidence that this is taking place. So many times I want them to be smarter than they are and to have a plan, and that just so rarely seems to be the case.

I'm going to worry all week about that Scarlet A handstamp. I refuse to believe that it's just a kid thing. My paranoia is cranked up high, and everything is sinister.

But then he noticed his napkin and used it, so at least he tried! Actually, Daryl *trying* in a situation like that is pretty monumental, come to think of it.

Yes. And YES, PLEASE!

The only thing I have to say in his defense is that he seems like he is being set up for this at every turn. Last week it was the overly touch-feely haircut. This week Jessie practically posed in the doorway with a ray of light around her head while she held Judith, looking like every dream Rick has to have for a normal family life. I don't hate Jessie. I just don't trust her.

The difference to me is that Michonne earned the right by knowing what she's gone through. Right now, Deanna has known Sasha a few days and she and her clean house and comfy bed and "why worry about walkers?" can just go right to hell. You may be right about Sasha needing an outsider to really see what's going on with her, but I don't think Deanna is that person.

Aaron had better NOT be fucking with Daryl. We all know how much acceptance means to Daryl. I'm thinking Rick better remember that, too.

Dear Glenn: You were wrong. I *have* been out there with you too long. The only reason I had for Carol not killing that kid is that it would cast suspicion on the group and she didn't have a place to hide the body. I wasn't having a problem with it otherwise because of the importance I place on protecting the group. I'd ask you to be my voice of moral authority, but I don't want to get you killed. Thanks, Bad Example

The wakeboard task pissed me off to no end. I'm not entirely sure it would have been possible for anyone to succeed. I'm a waterskier and I've done a little bit of wakeboarding, but most importantly, I have experience driving a boat for wakeboarders. For this task, I was watching the rope, not the teams. The way the ropes were jerking, starting and stopping, I don't know anyone who could be successful under those circumstances. I love it when the tasks are hard, but that didn't even look possible. (I wonder if the guy running it was doing that so there could be "funny" falls, and I also wonder if the rope was moving a lot more smoothly when they tested it.) I only saw one run that looked legitimate to me, where Jackie had some success then fell because of her form and her inexperience, not because of inconsistent pull. Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod... I saw the pillows and wondered, "Hey, why do they----OH. EEEUWW. EEEUWW. EEEUW. DO NOT THINK ABOUT IT." That was my favorite part, too! So cute. So...real life and normal. I was glad to know the score since people were curious and I'm always interested in those sorts of logistics, but I didn't need to see anyone get cutesy about it, Jackie. Also, if that had been me and my husband, seeing the size of those beds, I'd be all, "Um, excuse me? Mr. & Mrs. Bad Example are going to need separate rooms, too." Screw romance, I want to get a good night's sleep when the opportunity presents itself. I had the same thought. Still don't care about their proposal, and I'm still never going to recognize them. But then I had to get all sentimental when B&K gave them the date night. Class move. Also, once B&K said "not each others' type" I started liking Bergen and Kurt a lot better. Finally, with their names and blondeness, I can't help but to think of them as the Swiss Boys. So happy J&H didn't get eliminated. I was hoping for an NEL. I think they're my favorites.

Michonne has decided that it's going to no matter what Deanna's intention is, and good for her. The more you all talk, the more I see all of these tiny little control measures.

Thank you. Also, if people from this group are around when the ZA starts, we'll stop that nonsense immediately. We're not going to be messing around wondering what to do about them. Head shot. HEAD SHOT! (Slightly OT but related to your comment. There's a thing around here called "Trapped in a Room With a Zombie", a sort of interactive performance where you're, well... trapped in a room with a zombie who is chained to a wall. You have to solve the puzzle of how to get out of the room. As time passes, the zombie's chain is released further out until you escape, or the zombie gets to you. I want to do this so badly... but I'm also afraid of how hard it might be NOT to attack that poor actor playing the zombie. Because of all of the strategies and paranoia that I soak up around here, I *know* what to do when there's a Walker in the room with me... yikes! Oh, I worry about my sense of reality.)

This was pretty much all I was interested in during the whole episode. "Wow, he looks old. That's probably why he's wearing the knit cap, to help hide a receding hairline. Wow, nobody who is anywhere near 18 has that many forehead wrinkles..."

You and me both. I finally realized that when I watched this show the way I watch nearly everything else, I missed absolutely everything. It's not that I think this show is too smart for the masses, it's just that you just can't turn it on and zone out. Oddly, I don't have any visceral reaction to the Phillip/Kimmie situation. I'm just waiting to see how it plays out, and hope it does so in the most interesting way possible...and I don't know what that would be.

Yeah... I worried way too much about the chair, too.

The name gave me pause, too, but I decided not to read too much into it. After all, I know a six year old named Gladys. Just because most girls Enid's age are Kelsey or Caitlyn doesn't mean there aren't outliers. I didn't get the rapey/abusive vibe with the boys and Enid. I got the idea that she was there with them because they were the only game in town and she didn't have anywhere else to go. The boy might have interest and designs on her and wanted to convey that to Carl, but I don't think Enid gives a damn WHAT that boy wants, OR what he wants Carl to think. I suspect she could take those boys out much the way Glenn took out Aiden... as if it doesn't even require much effort.

I was doing a lot of shouting that they were just giving them up: "No. Um... NO. Hell, NO." I understand wanting to make a show of following their rules... but... NO. A couple of things: I think when your world changes, your taste might change. Perhaps not when it comes to a hook up. For long term, though, I think competence and the ability to protect the children would shoot to very high on the list. As for Rick and Michonne, I love them together, but don't necessarily ship them. It could go either way. In the family side of things, I really see them more as co-parents to Carl--much like you said, a working partnership. And frankly, it pisses me off in general that there's a school of thought that thinks that having Michonne express a maternal side somehow diminishes her. She's allowed to have facets.

Gotcha. Thanks. It's just that she seems to be into extreme nesting! I completely agree. Oh, sure, they were *saying* to Glenn that "we heard you're good at making runs", but you know they were looking at him and thinking, "Yeah, we can take him. Same with the girl and the gimp kid." Nice catch. I like that, too. But also, considering how many times Daryl has probably fed them, they'd be ungrateful asses to start complaining about where he's eviscerating the meat. It's not like he was inside on the hardwood. <g>

I thought that Maggie smelling the clean sheets in the background made it clear that she thinks she's got time for sexytime ahead of her! Sure, it's about the luxury of clean and the scent of soap, too... but at this point, for Maggie and Glenn, sex on a bed in a totally private space is a downright kinky novelty. Kidding aside, I don't think it's about time. It's about desperation and death being so commonplace--why not feel good for a few minutes because it's so easy to believe it'll be your last opportunity. Like Simones, I'm also perplexed by the lack of sex.

While I disagree about the "asexual robot creature" and I don't think there's a chance in hell she's pregnant, this is exactly the sort of crazy-ass speculation that I love. Because I think you're so right- that's exactly how Michonne is acting.