Eyes High

More importantly, there will be an April premiere date!

I think that after 6x07 we can safely say that the show is building towards something for Carol and Morgan, although it looks at this point as if that something is more likely to be a battle to the death (or, if Morgan wins, at least to a standstill). The show also seems to be suggesting that Carol's killing spree is wearing on her. She seemed tired and out of it when she was rambling to Sam about killing to avoid becoming a monster. She seems to know that Morgan was right when it came to her distaste for killing people. That might lead to a rapprochement if not an actual romance with Morgan, who appreciates her competence and the way she seems "ready to handle thangs" while seeing her as something other than a human weapon. On the other hand, she might harden herself against Morgan even more to armour herself from being infected by his dangerous talk of mercy and thereby becoming the kind of weak, useless creature she hates most.

If you mean in terms of hookups--Abraham/Holly becomes Abraham/Sasha, Rick/Andrea becomes Rick/Michonne, and Michonne/Morgan becomes Carol/Morgan--then yes, it's possible. Do you think that there's a shot, though, that Rick/Michonne could happen in the comics down the road? They do seem awfully close and getting closer in the comics, even if Comic Rick is involved with Andrea. There was a good chunk of a recent issue devoted to Rick and Michonne talking about their feelings. On the other hand, Comic Michonne is only attracted to black guys, so there's that. As for Carol/Morgan, Comic Morgan is actually bitten when the herd overruns Alexandria. So I don't know if there's much time left for that, unless they want to keep Morgan around past his expiration date in the comics, the way they did with Carol. Heath/Denise has been swapped out for Tara/Denise, presumably to create audience buy-in for Denise instead of hooking her up with another new character. I agree Comic Sophia will become TV Enid. Given Glenn's save, do we think he'll be keeping his appointment with Lucille's bat, or whether he'll be spared in favour of someone else getting the chop?

Since this thread is ostensibly for all relationships, not merely romantic ones, I have to say that I love Eugene and Tara's friendship. I would have expected a guy like Eugene to ignore Tara once he learned that there was no way sex would be in the offing, but instead, they've developed an adorable bond based on acceptance and trust. I love that Eugene values Tara so much that he overcame his usually insurmountable fear to save her life, something I don't believe he could have done for anyone else. I love that Tara truly believes that Eugene is capable of being a better person despite being fully aware of his misdeeds. Anyway, they are awesome. BFFs for life.

Carol and Rick do differ somewhat. If Rick considers you one of the group, he will do everything he can to protect you and will forgive you pretty much anything; if you're in, you're in, but if you're out, you may as well be pond scum. Carol will do everything she can to protect the group, with the crucial difference that if you're a group member whose existence threatens the group, she will end you (Karen, David, Lizzie). That's why Rick will try to reason with Morgan, because he considers him part of the group and wants to protect him the same way he protects the rest of his family. It's also why he lost his shit on Tara: she's a member of his family and she endangered her own life to save "one of them." Tara sweetly doesn't distinguish between "them" and "us," so she perceives no difference between saving Spencer and saving, say, Michonne or Eugene if they're in danger. Not only that, but Eugene really only stepped up and confronted his fears to save Tara (it was still relatively safe when he blared music from the van to lure the walkers away from Glenn and Noah), and he loves Tara (as a friend, but he clearly loves her). I doubt he would or could do what he did for Tara in Season 5 for anyone else. If you want to see Eugene be a walker-slaying badass, put Tara in mortal peril. Otherwise, I don't think you can expect that much from him. Rosita knows full well what Eugene is all about. What she is worried about, I think, is his obvious terror spreading to the other machete trainees. By making an example of him in front of all of them, she was attempting to contain his fearful attitude and prevent the others from turning into Eugenes. Her speech to Eugene was for the others' benefit, not his. That's how I read the scene, anyway.

A lot of fans were calling shenanigans on Comic Carl losing a big chunk of his brain and not only surviving but showing no neurological deficits. The "wild scuffle" between Carol and Morgan sounds like it could encompass a variety of things. I'm guessing Carol wants to execute the Wolf, Morgan insists that she can't, and things go downhill from there. Carol depends on stealth and surprise, so I don't know that she would be able to get the drop on Morgan.

I hadn't even thought about the PLL set. That's a very good point. As for the busy cast members--JP, MC, LW, etc.--it depends on the scope of their intended involvement. If all they're needed for is a few scenes--and I really doubt the revival will be The Second Coming of Dean, for example--then it would be pretty easy to film their scenes. However, four episodes that are 90 minutes apiece is a lot of show. That's pretty much the equivalent of eight regular GG episodes. They're going to look pretty threadbare if all these minor characters only make small, one-and-done appearances. Even though you don't strictly need them for the show, assuming you've got the Lorelais, Lane, Luke, and Emily, the show would feel pretty threadbare if everyone else is gone or only making short appearances. I forgot to mention that David Sutcliffe is available. It looks like he's back to doing Lifetime movies, at least for the moment.

Carol and Morgan throw down! Finally!

Daryl has never been set up as the precious cinnamon roll too pure for this world that Glenn has been, though. Glenn's death at Negan's hands really plays out as a loss of innocence in the comics, and I don't see Daryl's death as an adequate substitute; he's not a bad person, but he never had Glenn's sweetness. On the other hand, Daryl seems to be running out of story: Carol has usurped his role as Rick's right hand, being smarter, more strategic, more capable, and 100% philosophically aligned with Rick's methods. Daryl doesn't appear to have any lingering conflicts or ongoing arcs which require his involvement; he's another member of Rick's crew, but that's it. So it could be Daryl, I suppose. Norman Reedus lining up a reality TV show doesn't exactly inspire me with confidence as to his long-term prospects. I suppose Morgan could die instead of Glenn, but it wouldn't be so much a loss of innocence as a brutal last word in the philosophical debate over whether or not Morgan's creed is sustainable in the ZA. It could work, but it would have a different feeling to it. Morgan does die in the comics under different circumstances, though, so they might switch things around. I don't see Carol being Lucille's victim, as a woman dying a violent death at Negan's hands would have a decidedly different connotation. I think it needs to be a guy. Lucille's victim could still be Glenn, although the fandom will be pretty unhappy if Glenn is fake killed off only to be killed off for real at the end of the season. It seemed to me that Glenn's death in the comics paved the way for Maggie to come into her own as a leader, but I suppose there's nothing stopping her from assuming that role if Glenn survives. Spoilers appear to be that Jessie, Ron and Sam will die in the MSF. Given that Carol's over giving Morgan the business when the tower collapses, and that she left Judith in Jessie's care, what does this mean for Judith's prospects? In the comics, she died back at the prison. Carl's life being threatened after getting shot in the MSF would be a bit different if TV Judith is still alive, since when that happens in the comics Carl is Rick's only surviving family. At the same time, I think it would break Rick if he loses Judith at the same time that Carl is almost mortally injured.

Exactly. You know what someone well trained in avoiding walkers and who had just narrowly escaped death at the hands of a walker mob would do? Bumble around yelling for someone, carrying on a conversation with them despite them being several feet away, and knocking around objects that land with a clatter. I love the way he speaks, although I have never met anyone in real life who expresses himself or herself in that fashion. I love that even though Eugene is a coward, he owns that he's a coward instead of strutting around filled with macho puffery.

I think this is very true, although given how Rick seems to view the Alexandrians, a slightly more apt comparison would be a loving parent's reaction to a kid who runs out into traffic to save a pet who's gotten loose. Like that kid, Tara was acting on blind instinct. Like that loving parent, Rick lost his fucking mind on her. We are all Eugene. If laughing at Maggie unintentionally drawing attention to Judith's dubious paternity is wrong, I don't want to be right. On another note, I loved Michonne and Rick's attitude during the come-to-Jesus talk with Morgan. The clear subtext seemed to be "STOP GIVING US A GOOD REASON TO MURDER YOU, MORGAN. JESUS CHRIST. CAROL WILL END YOU."

I think Carol showed again in this episode why she's the smartest one of Rick's crew. She saw Morgan taking Denise out of her makeshift clinic, and she instantly realized that that meant that Morgan was harbouring a Wolf.

I am inclined to cut Eugene more slack, because he seems very realistic to me. Even in his most heroic moment--carrying Tara to safety--he looked as if he was ready to vomit from fear, and his show of heroism didn't magically transform him into an instant badass impervious to fear...Also, I know that in the ZA I would be just as cringing and cowardly as Eugene. I like Carol's established skills of observation. It makes a lot of sense that an abused housewife, who would have trained herself to be hypervigilant regarding her abuser's moods, would be exceptionally observant and would instantly see things others miss.

As I said in the live chat thread, Glenn effortlessly snatching the gun from Enid was incredibly hot. I half-expected Enid to tell Glenn "You're not my dad!" How badass does Carol have to be to not only spy, but spy effectively on someone while carrying a baby?

Glenn effortlessly snatching the gun from Enid was incredibly hot.

Carrie Anne Moss as a lesbian Claire Underwood is everything I ever wanted.

This article says that the plan is to start production in early 2016. I don't know whether Alexis Bledel's pregnancy would throw a spanner in the works to the point where they would move everything around. There has been no confirmation or denial from Alexis' reps as to the pregnancy. Assuming Alexis Bledel is pregnant, she might have been sufficiently advanced in her pregnancy for them to feel comfortable telling family and friends (which is presumably how the rumour got out), meaning she was out of the first trimester. So assuming she's about four months into her pregnancy, that would put the birth in April 2016. If she's already at four months, she's going to be huge in 2016. If filming is shifted to accommodate that, she probably wouldn't be in any shape to shoot anything until a few months after giving birth, so we'd be looking at midsummer 2016 at the earliest, which would be right around when all the actors committed to regular series would be ramping up filming for the fall. The later her due date, the more likely they can get it done in early 2016, I think.

I wonder if the revival will take advantage of the fact that it's shown on Netflix and get a little raunchier--language, sex, etc.--or whether it will preserve the more family-friendly tone of the show?

When you put it like that, it doesn't sound so terrible, especially when compared to the other major characters who are played by actors tied up in other projects: Lauren's starting a new film, Milo has a pilot, Liza's a series regular on HTGAWM, Melissa's a big-time movie star and also a series lead on Mike and Molly, Matt's a regular on The Good Wife, Jared Padalecki's a lead on Supernatural, Danny Strong's screenwriting career is on fire and he's a co-showrunner for Empire, Sean Gunn's working on Guardians of the Galaxy 2... To be fair, it seems like Lane, Luke, Lorelai and Emily's actors are all free. Assuming that Alexis Bledel either is not pregnant or pregnant and that they can work around it, really, that's all they need. It would be nice to have Jess, Logan, and Dean back, but they're not strictly necessary (unless one of them is the guy ASP wants Rory to end up with, I suppose). Dean disappeared from the show in Season 5. Jess' last episode in the show provided a nice amount of closure. It's plausible that Logan could appear in Rory's life, via her grandparents' connection to the Huntzbergers, but it's plausible that he would keep his distance. Paris and Doyle would be nice to have, but I don't view them as indispensable to the revival.

I think the character of Dodd is repulsive, but Jeffrey Donovan's a good-looking man, and he's wearing the crap out of the 1970s fashions.

Speaking of things which might affect the revival: Milo Ventimiglia's been cast as the lead in a pilot for a new NBC show.

I like the idea of Carol/Morgan, because I love hardass lady/nurturing dude pairings that mess with conventional gender roles. In Carol/Morgan, the warm, expressive, arguably weak, hippie-dippie "All life is precious" partner would be the dude, while the cold, reserved, pragmatic "Of course we have to kill people" partner would be the lady. Also, both Carol and Morgan are occupying arguably unsustainable positions at the moment. Carol is struggling with the psychological cost of being ruthless and pragmatic, and Morgan's kill-no-one philosophy will in all likelihood prove a luxury he'll have to dispense with to protect the group. They seem to be opposed in philosophies now, but maybe they'll inch closer together as they quietly accept that they can't go on as they have been. I also like the idea of Morgan softening up Carol, since in conventional narratives it's usually a nurturing woman softening up a man hardened by combat. Morgan definitely took an interest in Carol in 6x01, to the point where he remarked upon her hypervigilance. Whether it was a romantic or sexual interest, we don't know, but he definitely noticed her, and he does see her; he is right that Carol doesn't like killing. However, to Carol, Morgan's remark, as complimentary as it might otherwise be for someone like Carol who prides herself on being "ready to handle things," sounded like a threat and confirmed that her useless housewife persona wasn't as flawless as she thought it was, which would have been a significant blow to her pride. Thus her "Fuck you," which came out as "Aren't you sweet," but was pretty much a "Fuck you." I also think it's likely Carol has at this point already written off Morgan as yet another useless weakling; she recruited him in 6x02 not for his combat skills but to serve as a dummy hostage to get her to the armory safely, and she blew away Morgan's captive without so much as a "By your leave." Morgan's got his work cut out for him if he wants to get back in her good graces, let alone put the moves on her.

Are you? Jess was a horrible little ball of anger in his relationship with Rory, true, who unlike Luke was not only angry but could also be truly malicious, but he grew up. He mellowed out. He became a peaceful, even kind person, the kind of person who thinks of other people, who sincerely asks Luke how he's adjusting to being a father and having April in his life. There's virtually no trace of the taciturn, unpleasant, and spiteful human disaster Jess was in his teens. His sense of humour is still barbed but the gleeful nastiness is gone: he lightly teases Luke about whether or not he confirmed paternity (when Luke says April's a brain), but there's no malice behind it. He lets things go: he leaves the dinner with Logan after sufficient insult but refuses to allow himself to be provoked into a fight and he lets Luke's vocal grumpiness about abstract art at the gallery roll off his back. He doesn't lose his shit on Rory when she admits that she's still with Logan even though she came to Philly by herself; he quietly accepts it when she says that she's in love with him, ignores her apology ("It is what it is."), and graciously suggests that she can lie to Logan about cheating on him with Jess to make herself feel better. He's upset at first, sure, but he takes it in stride. I suppose I'm the hypocrite, because I acknowledge Jess' awfulness both as a person and a boyfriend in his teens while admiring the person (and potential romantic partner for Rory) he became, while I can't get over what a horrible shit Logan could be, even as he clearly matured over the course of the show and certainly had his moments. ASP kind of cheated with Jess, because we saw the end product of what was no doubt a lot of soulsearching and tough inner work on Jess' part to deal with his many issues and to get over himself, but we didn't actually see him do the work. How did a snarky, nasty teenage asshole with a ton of baggage turn into a kind, decent human being with his shit together? Assuming the answer isn't "The love of a good woman," I want to see that transition happen; I want to watch that show.

According to the SpoilerTV teaser blurb for this episode from someone who's seen it, someone flips Rick the bird. Better yet: it's a female character. Bets?

I agree. There were no so-gorgeous-it-almost-hurts-to-look-at-them types of the Matt Bomer, Henry Cavill, or Jensen Ackles variety. It sounds weird, but all of Rory's guys had precisely the right physical look for who they were supposed to be. Going purely on appearances as opposed to acting ability (and seeing the acting from these guys, sorry to say it's pretty clear which of the two the casting people prioritized), the casting people nailed it: 1. First boyfriend Dean: Tall, floppy-haired, great smile (as timimouse said), strapping build (even before he bulked up on Supernatural). Perfect for a heartthrob teen crush who works at a grocery store. They called him CuteDean in the old GG recaps on TWOP for a reason, is all I'm saying. 2. Brooding intellectual Jess: Shorter and less physically dominant than Dean (who had turned into a bit of a hulking brute at this point), piercing dark eyes, handsome but not model-pretty, looks "flawed" by lips set in a perpetual half-sneer (thanks to Milo Ventimiglia's congenital dead lip nerves). 3. Privileged douchebag Logan: Good-looking, blonde, great teeth, supremely punchable face, smile that always looks like a smirk.