fitzfrog

I thought this was okay, but was very confused by Craig (the guy who survived the fire) and his dad, and I'm wondering if I missed something somewhere about them. Craig's dad seemed to know exactly what happened that night. Yet he went on living in that neighborhood without ever saying anything to anyone (including the police)? And why did he (the dad) go to see Bobby at the club? I feel like I missed a crucial scene at some point.....

I liked Abe early on in his relationship with Peggy. After he turned into Frank Zappa, not so much. Always fondly remember them dancing (hey, they were doing the twist, albeit ironically) at Don's birthday party.

The one whose mom smacked him on the head all the time??!! Thank you for making that connection for me!!

Another connection I just noticed in the marathon: When Roger takes LSD for the first time, he's a little out of sorts when the drug kicks in. The host tells him not to look in the mirror, but he keeps staring at himself. Then Don appears behind him and seems to calm him down, at least in part by saying very emphatically "You're okay"--exactly what Roger said to Don in the bar a few weeks back.

My attention was not 100% on the TV when this aired, so I'll have to catch one of the re-runs this weekend, but I did enjoy this episode much more than last week's, and I don't think that's just because I wasn't paying attention fully. I agree with all the common themes expressed here: like that Branch's recovery is being portrayed as "gradual" (by TV standards, at least), liked this week's mystery much more, like Matthias because he's a realistic foil for Walt (and not a one-dimensional, twirling mustache antagonist). I was paying 100% attention during the scene where Vic blunders her way across the arena. My gut reaction was that they were playing that for laughs ("Oh, that Vic!"), but upon two seconds' worth of reflection it struck me as a completely disrespectful act on her part. I can't see the writers giving her truly "unlikable" traits, so was this just a miscalculation on their part?

I agree very strongly with you about this. The opposing argument that always seems to come up with regard to TWD is that "This is a zombie show! Everyone must die! That's what makes this show special/cool/different/etc." I kind of get this perspective, but at the same time, I'm not sure I can stick with the show if the only long-term survivors are Rick and Carl. There's already too much hype in the media around "who will be next?" and too many viewers looking for clues in the episodes about who will die next (e.g., sudden character development -> death; redemption death arcs, etc.). I know it's the ZA, but I want the show to be about more than the eventual death of every character. (But maybe I'm just watching the wrong show, then--?)

"Rehoming" is a real thing. I remember reading a couple articles about it last fall or winter; I think NBC also did something on the topic. It's pretty disturbing. I remember thinking last night that whomever wrote that episode had probably seen or read the same things I did!

LOL--but I know exactly what you mean about the CoW. I love the book series because of the characters, and that's what brought me to the TV series. I do have two "issues" with the books, however, and it pains me to see the TV show following suit first with one of my "issues" and now--presumably--with the other. (I don't want to spoil anything for people who might read the series someday.) I've continued to read the books because in them I feel the positive still outweighs the negative, but I'm not so sure the TV series will hold me that much longer, especially if, on top of everything else, it "goes there" with Walt and Vic.

Add me to this chorus. I do kind of like them as friends/colleagues, but going the romantic route is just too predictable, and I can't see the show or the actors pulling it off. (And, yeah, I've read the book series.) One of my issues with the show is the balance between the long-term story lines and the mystery-of-the-week stories. Some of the broader story arcs are getting lost and it seems with each episode one or the other feels shoe-horned in. I find myself forgetting which plots have been resolved, and which are still out there (presumably to return in future episodes).