Scaeva

Could Lagertha have been criticizing Kattegat, because she views its prosperous nature as having made its people soft? The ancient Romans had a similar idea about access to luxuries and easy living. They thought poverty and a lack of creature comforts created hard men, and luxury and civilization made them soft and weak. To the Roman mind, only the iron discipline of their legions could counter the diminishing effects civilization had on martial vigor, and they were always paranoid that they might become too decadent and lose their edge. The barbarians, who lacked Roman organization and discipline, could only rely on their bravery, and the Romans attributed their valor (or lack of it, depending on the culture or tribe) to how settled the people had become and their access to luxuries. Although a lot of people are setting out with Bjorn for raids, maybe it has been quite some time since the people of Kattegat went raiding (why raid if you live in a prosperous community?), and Lagertha views them as having become a bit fat and complacent.

Negan killing Olivia instead of Rosita was in character. He did a similar thing with Glenn, after Daryl punched him. That's just how he rolls. It also makes a certain amount of sense. Daryl and Rosita both didn't care about their own lives at the moment they took a shot at Negan. Any reasonable person would expect to die afterwards. Daryl had to expect to be killed by Negan or his goons after punching him, and Rosita had to expect that she'd be gunned down by one of Negan's henchmen if she killed him. So Negan killing either one, wouldn't really be a punishment, as they were prepared to die. Instead he kills someone else, and puts the guilt for that person's death on their conscience. It might be twisted and evil, but there is a certain amount of pragmatism to it. It sends a stronger message, and arguably works as a greater deterrent, than just killing the person who transgressed. There's not a lot with how the writers have handled Negan, or this entire season for that matter, that I'd be willing to defend. I think they got it right with how Negan reacted to Rosita shooting at him, though.

While she was stupid, she's no worse than Daryl. Remember that the season opened with him pulling a similar stunt, thinking it was a good idea to punch Negan, and got Glenn killed for it. Like Eugene, Daryl was also taken as a hostage. Negan was only going to kill Abraham before Daryl decided to think with his fists. If Daryl gets a pass, then so must Rosita.

Didn't William say they were at the edge of the park? I just assumed that William sent him riding off to the closest town.

Amazing finale to a great first season. Westworld might be my pick for the best TV series of 2016.

The actress shouldn't lose work just because she's recently had a baby, and the character carrying a few extra pounds is hardly the most far-fetched element of this show. Nor is she the only character who is a bit too stout to be believable as someone who has been living in a post-apocalyptic hellhole for two (?) years. Hello, Eugene. That said, I do think there is a legitimate complaint about the writing of this show. She's obviously not starving, but we get a scene of her desperately scarfing down food while characters who are thinner than her fuss over how famished she is. It was all a bit ridiculous. Could we maybe not have had that scene? It's hard to suspend disbelief when the writers include scenes that like that one, practically begging the audience to notice her weight. Despite that, I think I'm in the minority in actually liking this episode. It isn't my favorite episode of The Walking Dead but I'd rank it above most of the other episodes we've had this season, which admittedly isn't saying much. The new community Tara ran into is also the most interesting of those they've introduced in the last two seasons. Hopefully Rick & company don't fuck it up. I did have to eyeroll a bit at Tara washing up unconscious on that beach. How and why did that ever become a Hollywood trope? I'm pretty sure an ability to move your arms and legs is an essential element to not drowning.

It isn't an impossible idea at all. If Rick had an OP watching the road there would be advance warning of any approach by Negan's group. You know Negan is going to come and the route he has to take to get to Alexandria, whether or not he sticks to the exact time he said he's going to come. That predictability leaves him wide open for an ambush. Rick isn't military, but knowing the rough time table of an enemy's approach, how many men they have, and the route they are going to take would be any small unit commander's (or an insurgent's) wet dream. Numbers also aren't an issue with you've caught an enemy unaware, in the open, and on the flank. Military history is rife with examples of smaller forces defeating much larger ones under similar circumstances. That Negan's group aren't military professionals, but rather a loose mob of civilians held together only through desperation and fear of Negan, makes it rather likely as well that the response to the chaos and violence of an ambush would be panic. They're not going to respond with any degree of discipline or tactical precision, they're going to panic and become the unruly mob that they are. Those that aren't killed outright on the road, are going to try and make a run for it on foot, every man and woman for themself. Negan actually blundered in going to Rick's group for the loot. A smarter move would be to have them come to a meeting at a place and time dictated by him, where he had complete control of the situation and could not be ambushed on the route. The drawback of course is that it leaves an opening for Rick's group to squirrel away some supplies or resources in Alexandria rather than pay in full, but from a pure security perspective it's better. Opting for the greedy plan of going to Alexandria to search it, ran the risk of ambush. It would have been smart for Rick to have a rotating watch on that road 24/7 , with plan in place to ambush Negan's group on their approach. It would at the very least have been smarter than simply rolling over and allowing him to reach the gate and completely disarm the group when he arrives. Daryl's life would probably be forfeit if Rick sprung an ambush, but that is a risk he should have taken. Rick had a greater responsibility towards all those who aren't hostages. By allowing Negan to disarm them, their survival is now entirely dependent on whether Negan is feeling magnanimous on the days he makes collection runs. The people that Negan left at home wouldn't be much of concern, because the herd would have been greatly thinned on that road. If Negan was among the dead on the road and didn't manage to escape on foot, it's likely that group fractures anyway with him out of the picture. Even if he does survive he's lost a lot a people and has been given a serious blackeye. He's now less of a threat than he was before, and the defeat he suffered would be a powerful signal to every other group in the region that is being extorted by Negan, that the Saviors are not invincible and their rule over the region not absolute.

Shane is by the far best antagonist the show has had. Both the Governor and Negan feel like comic book characters, which fails in a TV show. They're too cartoonish.

It would actually be very easy to take out Negan's group. Rick being cowed by Negan's superior numbers is almost as implausible as the zombies. Negan may have a manpower advantage but his extortion racket makes him vulnerable. In order to collect his group has to follow some semblance of a schedule. A schedule opens you up to being ambushed. Granted, Negan came early...but you know he is eventually going to come rolling up to your front gate. Rick knows they're coming, where they're coming from, and the route they're going to take. He also knows they're going to be taking vehicles and travelling the road rather than bushwacking, because they need to transport whatever they steal from Alexandria. That was the perfect opportunity. If Rick's group was smart, and unfortunately they've long ago established that they're not, they would have posted an OP (observation post) watching the road to Alexandria. The group would have had a drill where a radio warning from that OP would send the Alexandrians scurrying with their weapons to a prepared ambush site along that same road. Meanwhile they'd have already blocked the road at the ambush site with a downed tree or parked vehicles. When that convoy inevitably stops because the approach is blocked, you fire that RPG at the rear vehicle in the convoy and completely box them in. The convoy is now trapped on an open road in a blocked ambush, taking small arms fire from heavily armed people in cover and concealment in the woodline. Numbers don't count for much when you're caught in the open and taken by surprise. It would be a Turkey Shoot. Game over for Negan and his merry men, sparing us from having to hear any more of his blathering.

In retrospect Mike or Lucas from last season were a lot better at being Jose™ than Jose. For all Jose's talk about thriving in nature and native skills, he never really delivered and the boat he spent so much time building both caused him to miss the salmon run it was built for, and tap when it dunked him. Mike's boat may have been a lot less aesthetically pleasing, but it was far more practical and effecient, being thrown together in a single day and the outriggers so stable that you could dance on it without capsizing. Granted, Mike was somewhat blessed by the debris gods, but then his camp also looked a whole lot better than Jose's, and he seemed to be doing a lot better with food. He was thriving, while Jose never quite got there, despite lasting longer in the game. We've now had four contestants build watercraft of some kind between the two seasons, with Jose's being the only one to cause a tap, despite taking the longest to build. I liked that Jose realized he had blundered by trying to impose his will on nature by taking so long to build the canoe, but then he later allowed a similar mistake to cause his tap, by taking his flimsy canoe back out onto the water instead of just waiting for the tides.

Regarding people not making preparations for winter, like smoking fish... I wonder if they went into it knowing they weren't going to stick around long enough to tough out a winter. A year is a very long time to be away from family, friends, and real world responsibilities like working and paying off a mortgage, so I wouldn't be surprised if most have personal goals that are well short of going the distance. Even if this series were to last a decade, I seriously doubt we'll ever see anyone go more than three months. I don't have the skill set to be a contestant, but if I did, I don't think I'd plan to tough out the winter. You know food sources are going to be more scarce and by that point you've probably already been there for two months and lost a lot of weight, and now have to deal with being miserable anytime you're not in your sleeping bag or next to a fire. TAP! I wonder if the show runners would impose more stringent rules on contestants who make it to winter, like not being allowed to take their makeshift boats out on the freezing water.

David was kind of interesting in that he was sort of the opposite of every other contestant from both seasons. Usually everyone starts off in high spirits and then gradually gets morose the longer they stick around. David started off as a sad sack but seemed to get increasingly upbeat the longer he stayed.

I was starting to pull for Larry to win, but am not disappointed with the outcome. David looked like he could go a few days and was still catching the occasional fish. Larry was this year's Sam...on the brink of starvation but white knuckling through to second place on sheer determination. Hopefully the experience allows him to make the changes he wants in his life, and to be a little less hard on himself. So the wolf charge was stock footage that wasn't even used in the actual show?Did I miss something or was the only wolf we saw the one that was just calmly checking out the camera from a safe distance? Biggest and lamest fakeout yet. We don't need fake animal attacks to hype the drama, particularly when wolves historically have been the victims of human persecution based on misconceptions of them being vicious, indiscriminate killers. Here is better footage of a close encounter with wolves. I think this photographer is getting too close and pressing his luck, but still definitely cool to see such close interaction. Can the producers recruit this guy for Alone?

Patagonia has feral cattle that I believe you're able to hunt. I vaguely remember an episode of Survivorman in Patagonia where Les Stroud had a rifle for that purpose. Assuming next season's contestants get dropped off near a point where there is a feral cattle population, it could create some interesting food possibilities that aren't present on V.I. A single cow or bull would last a very long time if they're able to hunt one and preserve and store the meat. A bow might be worth taking as one of the 10 items, assuming that firearms of any kind will be strictly off limits. On the other hand feral cattle are not to be trifled with, and can injure or kill if provoked, so I wonder if the show runners would put them as off limits even if they can be legally hunted.

I don't doubt that people who say they're tapping because they miss family aren't sincere, at least for those who stick around for a few weeks. As interesting as the survival stuff is, it really isn't the biggest challenge for the contestants that manage to last a month or two. Anyone who lasts that long has the survival bit down for the most part, and the solitude is the biggest challenge. Humans, even introverts, are social creatures. Cut anyone off from human contact long enough and it is going to negatively affect their mood. Hell, in extreme cases it can even lead to mental illness. On top of the solitude they're probably not getting a full night's sleep, might spend some days cold or wet, and may not be getting enough calories. It's not too far-fetched to see all of those combining with the 'alone' aspect of Alone to cause people to get a bit morose, miss home, and start being tempted by the tap button. It is interesting that the first we've time we've seen Jose be introspective or give what sounds like a pre-tap speech, was after he was done building Noah's ark. He may have missed the salmon run, but I wonder if having a major project for so long enabled him to last as long as he has. Im convinced at this point that we're not going to see anyone have a close encounter with a wolf, and it just another in a long list of fake-outs in the advertising for upcoming episodes. It's probably just something captured by a stationary camera set up by the show runners, much like some of the footage of eagles and otters and that obviously wasn't filmed by a contestant.

Nicole hasn't had it easy. Each drop off site has its own disadvantages and advantages. While she lucked out a bit in being positioned near a stream where the salmon were plentiful, the drawback to that is that it means a fuckton of predator activity. She's had to deal with living in close proximity to bears more than any of the other contestants, and over the last two seasons we've had multiple people tap from close encounters with bears or other predators like wolves.

Sansa should take Littlefinger up on his offer. Once they're married and Littlefinger is no longer useful to her, arrange for Brienne to shove him out the Moon Door. She'd control the Vale, get revenge for Ned, and out Littlefinger Littlefinger. It would be really dark turn for the character of course, but would make for entertaining TV.

It may be also that some people went into the show with mental tap dates, and aren't planning to endure winter. Their goal might be 60 days, for example. That might explain why Nicole set the fish free rather than trying to preserve and store it for later.

This season had all the hallmarks of a decision to end it being made midway through shooting it. Too many loose ends left untied, and some of those that were tied up felt rushed, like Lily's radfem terror cell disintegrating as soon as Dorian declaried it dreadfully dull, or Jekyll becoming Hyde through inheritance of a noble title. What was the point of Dorian if the series was always intended to wrap up after three seasons? He had some great moments this season, but remained mostly disconnected from the rest of the cast and the main goings on. What was the point of Jekyll? Or Catriona, who was barely introduced before taking part in the final battle?

I think it is part desperation as well, though not stupid. He knows after all that the decision to retreat ends disastrously, and results in Culloden. Continuing towards London offers the possibility, however remote, that they may outfox the armies facing them and succeed in capturing the capital. At worst it ends in a disastrous defeat on the scale of Culloden, just on a later date and further south. Jamie really has nothing to lose by suggesting the more aggressive plan. He knows the only alternative fails. It is good to see Bonnie Prince Charlie portrayed with some redeeming qualities in the last couple episodes. He's still a bit of an ambitious, arrogant ass of course, but he's also brave and has a humane side. I like that BPC and Dougal, who I get the feeling we're not supposed to like, have moments (if fleeting) where you almost want to root for them.

I'm looking forward to that just because I think wolves are beautiful and interesting animals. I'm expecting that to be History Channel fakeout of some sort though, both because that's how History rolls, and because IIRC the camera never moves or shakes during the wolf's charge. I think it was having a go at a stationary camera rather than a human. I caught part of a documentary about bears two weeks ago that was filmed in British Columbia, but there were parts that focused on other animals in the region. One was a subspecies of wolf known as Coastal Wolves, that are smaller than the big bison and elk hunters from places like Yellowstone. I wonder if that might be the animal in the footage, since someone thought it looked more like a dog than a wolf in an earlier post in the thread. If so they're apparently almost like a marine animal. The narrarator in the doc said they've been spotted swimming 10 or 12 miles out to sea between islands, in search of food.

Nicole got a lucky draw with perhaps the best campsite of the bunch, but her lasting as long as she has isn't due to just luck. Her camp may border the salmon superhighway, but with that also comes a lot of predator activity. There are a few contestants from both seasons who if they had Nicole's site, would have panicked and tapped at the first encounter with bears, or they would have relocated to a farther site where food resources might be more scarce. She also seems a bit more knowledgeable about the wild edibles of the region than the others, and from what little we've seen of the shelters it looks she may have the best. Speaking of campsites... Has anyone who recently watched Season 1, noticed whether any of the camp sites were used in both seasons? I'm also wondering now whether the Day 1 taps from both seasons, might have been dropped off in a site where food was plentiful, but we didn't see that because the bears that attracted spooked the contestants.

They need to put Nicole's footage on after David for the comedy factor. David: Dear Diary, day 30 and still no fish. I've dropped three belt sizes and am beginning to have hallucinations that I'm in line at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I need the money and can't quit so I've prayed to God to transform these logs into ham hocks. So far, no response. Nicole: Wow! Another fish in my gill net! Golly, you're a big fella! Good thing I don't need to eat you sweetheart, I'm still full from that huge fish and salad I ate this morning. Let me set you free. Go little fishy, go! Swim! Be free! Happy spawning! *waves goodbye*

The irony is that Lily's hand collection is probably going to create more prostitutes. This is Victorian London, before governments provided an adequate safety net for the poor and disabled. How many of those hands belonged to working class men, who now can't work a decent trade? So these working poor men are now going to be reduced to appalling, abject poverty, and with a lack of opportunities for women...it probably condemns some of their wives or daughters to sell themselves on the streets of places like Whitechapel out of pure desperation. Great job, Lily. Dorian isnt the only one now bored with your antics. As completely scummy as Victor, Jeckyl, and Dorian are...it was really difficult to muster any pity for Lily.

Sorry to see Mike go as he was a favorite. He was not just surviving, but thriving, in that environment and probably could have lasted a year, if only he was partnered with Barbara. It was always interesting too see what new thing he had MacGuyvered with each episode. Not a surprise to see him tap before the end though, as I think most here predicted the loneliness and homesickness would eventually do him in. He is this season's Lucas. Both had no problem surviving, but tapped once they ran out of projects to keep their minds occupied. Justin's mountain climb seems risky both in terms of the potential for injury and time lost that could be used finding a new and dryer camp, but using it to try and draw attention to the 22 veteran suicides a day is really cool. I hope it works out for him both in lifting his own morale and having some impact beyond the show. I would not be disappointed with Justin, Nicole, or Jose winning at this point. I'm also rooting for Larry, as I find his grumpy cat routine more amusing than disturbing. It was sort of weird to see him relatively happy this week though. What have you done with the real Larry, show?