the fresh maker

The Old Lady Sewing Circle is probably my favorite reveal on this show so far. I felt like the episode last week strongly hinted at Donna knowing about the review and poisoning Ben. She's an attempted murderer, but she didn't finish the job. I think it will end up being Cliff. "It's someone in the cast" was an early misdirect, and the show literally told us to look at The Producers through Mel Brooks. Norwegian red herring... Oh, show.

Not likely. No way to prevent people reposting on Twitter / Facebook. Unless she set up a life insurance policy on Ben, Donna would not recover any costs and the show would still be a failure. Came here to make both of these points! Donna was way more upset about Maxine being there than she was about the cops. How could someone that well connected not know Maxine was going to pan the show? She stated this episode and in an earlier one that this is Cliff's first show, and she doesn't want to ruin his career before it can begin. She could get rid of Ben, recoup some money, and save Cliff by ending the show before anyone else could see how horrible it was. I thought I saw Donna shifting a wig too. If she's dying of cancer, she might try to do something desperate to make sure Cliff has a future after she's gone. I watched the episode again and noticed a couple of interesting things about Loretta's confession. She says she poisoned Ben's protein drink. Williams only mentioned that he was poisoned; she didn't say how. If it wasn't the protein drink (and maybe cookies), the cops would know that. Williams was rather subdued while she was arresting Loretta, not her usual, fabulously snarky self. And why, indeed, was Gregg released even after he kidnapped two people and tied them up?

Definitely thinking Donna tried to murder Ben as well, especially with the lipstick and the bathroom mirror speech. But it would also be fitting if it was actually Dickie who pushed Ben down the elevator shaft. Besides the two murder attempts, the other big "twist" this season could be the trio proving Loretta's innocence against her wishes. And I'm thrilled to have Williams back! I was afraid she was only going to be mentioned in passing.

Wait a minute... Aren't the lyrics to Charles's song "Which of the Pickwick Triplets did it?" That would make one of the triplets the murderer (Dickie), if we're dealing with literal triplets. It could be that old trick of putting the answer right in front of the audience (or in their ears).

So, I wasn't misrembering the episode in which that all-important scene aired. That's pretty inexcusable on Toonami's part, especially if they never air it at all. I shouldn't be surprised, though, since they've never aired Levi's gaiden, which is fundamental to understanding the Erwin/Levi relationship. I understand they cut content for more advertising space, but sheesh.

OMG I can.not with that ending.

This is how they end the episode? Rick gets Jadis ex-machina'd out of there? For serious, show?

That was a much better sequence/send-off than I was expecting.

The Walking Dead! Amirite?

<eye roll>

The show's now asking us to remember when it used to be good.

Dumbest. Death. Ever. ETA: Wait, he ain't dead?

Anybody here actually reading the manga?

Oh, hey, everybody! Haven't been here in a while, but I'm all caught up with the manga, and I don't want to say too much. I do much, much, much prefer Titan-form Eren voice in the original Japanese. He sounds almost rabid in English, and it's sometimes hard to understand what the heck he's saying. The swearing doesn't bother me, but there's a lot less of it in the original. Interesting that they're translating it this way. I've seen the name in Japanese ("Shinzou wo Sasageyo"/"Dedicate Your Hearts"), which refers to the literal heart. Erwen yells "Shinzooooou sasagaeyo!" a couple of eps back, and it's not as powerful a line in English (which is natural, I suppose). I hate the "we've gotta shorten the credits for more ad space" that Toonami does. "Shinzou wo Sasageyo" is the most anthemic of all the themes.

Oh, hai, cheap cliffhanger!

Negan's jacket is immaculate for apocalypse threads.

Well, Rosita and Daryl did walk off without her.

With the appendages sticking out of the sides or her head and the tail, the character design puts me in mind of a cat...cuz, you know, gotta have a cat girl--even if she's a robot.

Wright was perfect in the role. Too bad he was a one-off character. How many guild members does "Rusty" take out next week? Three, building on this episode, or even more?

Which makes you wonder how Daryl and Beth survived a wood full of walkers when they burned down that shed...

The show forgot her for several seasons.

These guys already bore me. EDIT: Well, that was quick!

No. The manga is a real thing:

I forgot to mention last week that the opening is super spoilery. I'm not sure who that it was a good idea to have a lingering shot on Annie. Let's see; she joins the MPs. She hardly appears in the story arc and isn't mentioned. Let's make a point of focusing on her in the credits. Nobody will think that's relevant, right? Yep, that was it.

Unless I'm misremembering, I'm pretty sure there was a not-insignificant moment edited out of the dub (or the Toonami version). I'll put it in spoiler tags just in case it shows up later (although that wouldn't make sense): Yes, the psycho laugh was a huge misstep. There's a good reason why the manga editors cut it. It was completely out of character for Annie, and it clashed with the tension and atmosphere of that scene. Plus, I think it also goes against the portrayal of the psychological complexities these characters have demonstrated, Annie included. The laugh reduced her to simply being crazed, and it's a bit more complicated than that.