BrokenRemote

I could not concentrate throughout the entire episode because I was shouting at Aaron, who has not bothered to tell anyone else about the sewer exit. OK, before I can see him not telling but now, when he knows the town is surrounded and that at any minute the herd could break through and the group will have no way out and could be encircled and chowed down on... There is just not one excuse is my mind for him keeping that a secret. Here's Spencer trying to climb out on a power line (clothesline? some kind of line) to get out and lead the herd away. Here's Rick talking about how he could have used the gap Spencer created to run out and get a car to lead the herd off, and Aaron (and Maggie!) know that there's a better way that a small group could sneak out and get a car and both stay silent? And they both know there's an "emergency exit" if the walls should come down, and they keep that to themselves? Grrrrr! And then I was about to scream at Rick about repairing the walls: "Don't go pounding in nails and making noise!" And I see he's smart enough to use SCREWS so the noise will be less. Go Rick! Right... Cut to a few minutes later, and he and Tobin (that was Tobin, right?) are pounding away on the boards with all their might. From the second Rick said they should all be quiet to keep the herd from gathering near one spot on the wall and gaining enough strength to push through, it seems like everyone, and Rick especially, has been having a contest to see who can be the loudest!

Maybe the virus isn't really a virus but an infestation of microscopic insects or organisms that take over every cell of the host and keep it moving as though it were still alive (basically dragging around this big sack of human shaped food with a shuffling motion), and the queen of the hive or whatever takes up residence in the head to take advantage of the skull's protection. And if these tiny creatures left the body it would just collapse into a pile of assorted organs and bones.... ETA: Or, what rab01 said.

The things like not naming these people, or explaining any of what they're doing, and the guy randomly screaming about having to try and some confusing stuff about burning something down--all together that's what lost my interest in the entire episode. I found myself picking up my phone to read emails and dangling a string for the cat to pounce on in order to entertain myself. I just couldn't get into the story because the show gave me no reason whatsoever to care about these people, their past, their future, their motivation. There was nothing about them to invest in or root against, really. And I could literally not tell someone what happened in that episode except for a random action or line here and there. It was like tuning 11 seasons in to a show I'd never seen before with a couple actors I liked and trying to follow (or care about) what was going on.

I sure as heck wouldn't ship that and It doesn't seem that it's a given that it would be expected for them to get together on the basis of that scene.

Yeah, but who is saying that? Nobody here, certainly. And just because they don't put Michonne with Rick doesn't mean that TPTB for the show are saying that, either. Believe me, I know that there is a history with Black actors being the buddy or the friend or the sidekick, with darker skinned Black actors suffering that fate especially. It's awful, painful and wrong, and still going on today in Hollywood far more than most people would like to admit. I just don't see that as how things are with Michonne. She's portrayed as one of the top characters on the show, one of the most awesome. She's written in a way that makes her look good, appear beautiful, strong and complicated in her emotions and actions. She's got fighting skills that top pretty much everyone, she's compassionate, she's intelligent, she's got a quirky sense of humor. She's got way more than one dimension, and Danai takes it to another level beyond the writing even with her talent. I don't think that not being paired with the leading man means she's not or can't be a leading lady. She is a leading lady. (Lori was paired with Rick, but I don't think she was ever a leading lady.) That's why I just really don't think that there's an unspoken "we can't have her touch a white man" going on here.

I didn't see anything to indicate Heath was Michonne's soulmate, either. I saw two actors with good chemistry. I don't think Jesse is Rick's soulmate, either, for what it's worth. She's there and she's apparently his type. I don't see any real chemistry with Andrew Lincoln and Alexandra Breckinridge, either. And I don't see any more chemistry between Danai and Andrew than I see between Danai and anyone. But I don't care if any of them pair up or not; I just like to see actors in scenes together when they have something on-screen that makes them play especially well off each other.

" I always headcanon that Lori was a Little Miss Harvest Fair Princess and Prom Queen and Head Cheerleader and Junior League Most Likely to Be A Flower Of Our Fair City type." This was something kikismom said a while back in another thread and it stuck with me as such a spot-on description of Lori. And the more I think about it, probably of Jesse as well. I think Rick definitely has a type, and Jesse is it. Yes, things ended badly with Lori, but it is oh so human to keep going back to what attracts you even if you've been burned before. I have a friend (I think most of us have this friend) who has spent most of her adult life going for the "bad boy", who must also be a certain body type, wear a certain type of clothes, have a neatly-trimmed beard. It's meant she's been in no end of very bad, messy situations but when she meets a quiet type of guy or one that doesn't fit her physical preferences she says she just can't feel it and winds up miserable. She's an extreme example but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the same to a lesser extent. It's not a male or female trait, but a human one. There are reasons we want what we want. What I'm trying to say is, it's not surprising to me that Rick likes Jesse. She's similar to Lori in a lot of ways. He can be her protector, she has a certain prom-queen look. It was inevitable.

To be fair, that is not all that happened. She shared what the struggle has been for those not lucky enough to have been in Alexandria. He eventually saw what she meant. They worked together. And it's not because they're both black, and I don't necessarily think they need to hook up. It's just that I saw more chemistry with the two actors in their short time together than I've seen with Danai and Andy. Danai has chemistry with everyone because she's amazing, but I don't see any extra chemistry with Andy like I did with the actor playing Heath. Yes, they both happen to be black, but that is not a factor in what I saw. Everyone has their own view on things, of course, but it is really not a matter of opinion that there was more conversation and interaction than him throwing shade and her saying "shut up".

If this were a Hallmark Channel movie or a romance novel it would stink. If TPTB focused on pairing up everyone I don't think this would be the same show. I don't think I'd enjoy it, either. And I liked this episode. I'm not a Richonne shipper (or a TWD shipper of any kind though I did notice that Michone and Heath had good screen chemistry) so I was able to sit back and enjoy. I thought the pace was good--and welcome after last week which I did not enjoy, I can also see the narrative benefit of Glenn's fate being so up in the air. As a fan I want to know NOW, but I can see the impact they're going for. If this was a movie, Glenn would show up at the end and it'd be a super twist in the storyline. But because it's a show that we fans pick through (not a bad thing in and of itself) it's harder for the show runners to pull it off without seeming like it's Shenanigans. I missed the boning. I only saw a kiss.

Where I'm from we call them "storm sewers".

Here's the thing, though: I feel like in this kind of world where you've watched so damned many of the people you loved die in awful ways, when you could be next tomorrow and even if you aren't things look pretty bleak, in that kind of world people would be turning to each other for comfort and fourteen days would not be a short time to know someone before you're in his or her pants. Because if you don't seize the day today they could be eaten tomorrow and you'd have missed your chance. I think it's strange that there isn't more of this type of "I just met you and this is crazy--let's do it".

A couple things: If the sewer walkers were falling apart so badly that Maggie's hand sunk into one, how are their limbs cohesive enough to exert any force, let alone pin Maggie against the wall without falling apart? Am I the only one that just kept wondering how bad Rick must smell right now and how Jessie could stand to get close enough to kiss him without choking? He could have at least changed into a clean shirt! Oh, yeah, that was the other thing. Did any of them make even the slightest attempt at quiet?

We also saw Michonne go outside the gate to cover Rick's entrance, hand on her katana and ready to defend if need be.

What I don't get is when the Countess lost her money to Madoff, and it became obvious she couldn't get it back, why did she let him live? It seems like he'd be a prime target for bloodletting, no?

Exactly. It bothered me when, on Talking Dead, Lennie James was asked if Morgan made the right decision not killing the wolves, even knowing now that it lead to people being killed and possibly more dying down the line. He replied that, yes, Rick's way gets people killed too, so even knowing he put peoples' lives at risk Morgan did the right thing. Eastman's way was fully possible in that isolated cabin, but where he is now Morgan cannot choose a path where he is not causing someone to die. By taking no action he's still absolutely killing I'm also getting weary of the same moral dilemma repeating time after time: Back at the farm Dale wants to let the kid (Rusty?) live, Shane wants him dead; Father Gabriel doesn't want to kill the Termites (or anyone else), Rick and the rest take them out and absolutely horrify Gabe in the doing; Deanna doesn't want anyone armed in town but Rick knows that he has to not only be armed but kill humans to protect the (again horrified) group; Morgan doesn't want to kill anyone--including the Wolves--Rick and the group know they must... Over and over it's one character adamant about not killing humans versus a person or group who believes that living now now means kill or be killed. I'm sure that this dilemma would logically present itself and probably more than once; it's a poignant, very human conflict at its base. What does it mean to be human in a world where such things happen? But I wish they'd at least find a new way to present it, or let there be some breathing room between the same story spinning out again and again. For example, at the very end of last season Gabriel was telling Deana that Rick and his group were bad people (based on their killing ways). And then we saw him do a 180 in what was about one day of story time and deciding out of the blue that he'd been wrong and was fine now about the killing. In fact, he now wants to learn to fight. It's as though TPTB had to resolve Gabriel's moral dilemma as quickly as possible so that they could bring in Morgan's moral dilemma. Let it play out and let the audience process it before telling it again! (On another note I've been gone for a while for health reasons and I've really missed you guys and your smarts and stuff! It's so nice to come here and find some intelligent discussion to help in digesting each episode!)