[S04.E09: The Mitigation of Competition]

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Maybe. Why were they created? Who would benefit from their creation? If they were created to cure cancer for everyone, for instance, and the fact they are resisting means thousands of people die a month while there is no cure, would you still feel that way? 

Josef Mengele, is that you? 

Full disclosure I work in oncology research (clinical trials), so this is close to my heart. The sestras are autonomous beings, so yes, I would still be on their side even if they somehow could cure cancer (not that cancer is one disease or this would ever be realistically possible). Any possible medical gains that could come of holding them, monitoring them, etc against their will are completely irrelevant. Medical research involving human beings is governed by some basic principles, including that consent to participate must be freely given, the rights/welfare of the people participating in the research take precedence over anything else, and that research will be overseen by independent ethical review boards. We have internationally accepted documents that guide us when doing medical research. In the US we also have federal regulations and further protections in place for vulnerable populations, like children, inmates, those with special needs, etc. Granted the show takes place in Canada, but Canada likely has its own laws pertaining to research, and would be on par with the US. 

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment is one of the best known instances of "doctors" unethically experimenting on people, but it's unfortunately not the only instance. Usually when this happens, it's to a vulnerable population, like incarcerated people or those living in poverty. Looking at OB in the context of the real world, the clones would be a similarly vulnerable population as Dyad literally created them. 

It's interesting that the show chose to set some of the clones in Helsinki specifically, because the Declaration of Helsinki is basically THE guidance document on ethics in medical research. Maybe the show was being clever with that. 

[S04.E17: Put A Ring On It.]

 

I don't know what the homeless kids stat is for, but I will say I think the portrayal of Michael's parents is moreso representative of what many people think homophobic parents are like rather than what many of them are actually like. I don't say that to argue the exact antithesis of what they were on the show, but just that people with bad ideas aren't necessarily bad people. People...are complicated. Most parents wouldn't say something like that to their kids, gay or straight. And the ones who would probably wouldn't show up regardless if you paid them off or not.

 

There are that many homeless LGBTQ kids because they literally have parents who throw them out on the street. Yes, there are parents who are as you've described, not accepting but not spending 100% of their time spewing vitriol at their children. There are also parents who are just like these people and unfortunately, their attitude here was not a stretch of the imagination whatsoever. I think we also have to remember that they seem to be aware of Michael's profession. They're already anti-gay, now add fuel to that fire by making him a gay sex worker.

[S05.E11: The Distance]

 

Also, an organized community is scouting for other survivors and they send two people to spy on and collect a whole group?

 

Which makes me think that there aren't that many people in that so-called community.  I would think they would have sent scouts that looked strong and tough. Instead these guys look like they couldn't handle a weapon, let alone kill a walker.

 

Aaron clearly could handle a weapon, and did, saving Rick's and Michonne's lives with Glen. If you want to recruit people to join your community, which you want them to believe is peaceful and on the up and up, would you send someone that looks like Rick? Or Daryl? If I saw either of those two, I'd run for the hills. I think it's smart to send someone who looks less threatening but is actually able to take care of themselves. If it were our group recruiting people to join, I'd want to send Carol. She looks non threatening but she will seriously take you down if you mess with her. Also helps to not look like a giant bad ass, because if the scout is wrong, and this group would take advantage of weaker people, better the community find that out by losing one scout than by letting in a group of people who take them all out. It could very well be that they are a small group/don't have any real muscle as you speculated, I just think there might be an advantage to sending people that don't look super strong.

 

 

This has probably been mentioned by why did he even has applesauce if he doesn't like it?

He said he wanted people to know they had apple trees/could make applesauce. It was to show Rick's group.

[S05.E11: The Distance]

 

I don't think that is it at all.  I would be just as annoyed (and actually HAVE been) if say Maggie and Glenn, in such a tense situation with people of unknown intent, paused to have an inappropriate for the moment romantic interlude.  The scene would have worked just fine if dude (can't remember his name) ran to his partner and hugged and kissed him and the partner assured him that he was fine and then they turned to deal with the problem at hand.  No hiding their sexuality or running from it.  Also didn't we get an actual sex scene of Tara and her girlfriend?

 

I don't believe so, but I will readily admit that having to watch the Governor have sex AGAIN may have made me forget things from that arc. They did kiss in the episode where they attacked the prison.

 

I would hardly call that scene a romantic interlude. I liked this interpretation of the scene also:

 

 

Oh man - I didn't see it like that during the conversation between Aaron and the boyfriend (forget his name). I took it as a way the show decided to show Rick (and the audience) that Aaron was not trying to deceive them and really wanted to help them. If he was setting up CDB, the conversation would have indicated something shady, like mentioning others that are around, or something that indicates to Rick that he should be wary of them. So by having the conversation be sweet and fluffy, it showed Rick and the audience that Aaron could be trusted. That's how I saw it.

 

In a show where I can remember seven different hetero pairings having on-screen sex, I see zero issue with this scene, or with any continued scenes of them displaying that they're a couple.

 

I see what others are saying about the writers possibly screwing up Richonne if they do go there, but I was still chomping at the bit for a hug while they were talking by the car. Episode before last, Rick touched Michonne's arm when they were in Noah's town, and in this episode she touched his hand in the car. I'm trying to think of instances when I see people touching Rick other than his children, or emotional reunion scenes, and I'm not coming up with too many. I think the writers must want us to be shipping this, haha.

[S05.E11: The Distance]

 

OK, so I'm also a lesbian and I don't feel I was pandered to. Here's how I see it: Aaron saw the flare. Judging by his reaction in the car, the flare is their signal that something is horribly, horribly wrong. I don't think Aaron rushing to Eric's side, and then kissing him upon seeing him hurt yet OK, is a different reaction than we'd see from a similar straight couple in the same circumstance -- one partner expects to find out the worst about the health/well being of the other, and is overwhelmingly relieved to find them neither dead, critical, or turned. As for the joking? Many couples, gay and straight, downplay serious things, and even joke about trivial things, in tense situations.

 

Another lesbian co-signing. Gay characters kissing after being separated and thinking the other one could be hurt or dead is a perfectly natural reunion scene. Numerous heterosexual characters have had on-screen sex, but two men have an emotional reunion and share a kiss and welp, it's pandering? And to compare them to Tara, and say why can't these characters be like Tara? You know, gay but not reminding us all the time by having a relationship, or well, lines on the show? It's just offensive. It's basically saying have gay characters but only if they're never sexual in any way. If Aaron's field partner had been his girlfriend and he'd have gone in and kissed her, no one would say boo about how he was written or complain that he was being reduced to his sexuality.

 

[Rachel Duncan: Straight Out of Cold Bitch Digest]

I don't blame the others for not reaching out to Rachel. In fact, I assumed they were going there and I dreaded it. I was pleasantly surprised that she remained villainous. Helena was redeemed by her love for Sarah. She wanted that relationship so much that she turned her back on all the lies she'd been taught. Rachel gives the impression that she finds them beneath her and she isn't interested in having a relationship with them.

I also think that while Helena and Rachel were both raised in abusive situations, Rachel sets herself apart from Helena because she is more vicious than she really needs to be. Helena did what she was told by Tomas, but Rachel goes beyond Leekie's methods. She answers to others up the chain of command, but it seemed at least to me that most of her decisions were hers. And she almost always took the approach of threatening, manipulating, or hurting. Others have commented on her offering to help find Kira, but that was only after Sarah wasted valuable time she could have been searching for Kira because they wanted her to think they had Kira. I completely understand Sarah knocking her out just for that, but Sarah may also have thought she'd be detained if she didn't. I think Rachel is jealous, not just of Sarah, but of Alison and Cosima, and any others who had families and real lives because they didn't know they were clones. Helena would have equal reason to be jealous or bitter, but that only seemed to manifest with anger at Emilia, not at the other clones. She seems to have a core of compassion and goodness that Rachel lacks. I don't think that's been a bad decision by the writers. I've liked what we've seen so far.