Hava

Yeah, this is so true. I can't imagine that Kate didn't have kids of her own.

I can now say that I do not understand the raves about season 2. It felt like an incoherent, mystical mess to me. There were shades of Lost season in there, which, IMO, is not a good thing. I've posted this before, but season 1 was just so much more gripping and beautiful to me. This season was just confounding and weird just to be weird. The Meg stuff made no sense and felt out of place.

Could it be?? Another person who actually liked Matt and Carlotta??

Eek. Did not like. I don't really like dream-state scenarios. This episode reminded me of a cross between Inception and the final season of Lost. And the whole "well" thing realllllly reminded me of Lost...and not in a good way. I'm one of the few who loved season 1 way more than the first season. Season 1 was depressing as hell and also confusing, but I think I connected to it more than this season. This season is just...weird. I liked the show better when it was dealing with the "realities" of the aftermath of the departure.

I agree that Matt's episodes are just so much more depressing than the others. His episode last season was one of my favorites, but it is just so difficult watching come upon one obstacle after another. The structure of this episode was so similar to the one last season. With things going his way, and then it all falling to pieces. I liked it up to the last scene, which just seemed crazy for crazy's sake. Like, who are these campers and why haven't the authorities stepped in to stop them from putting someone in that torture contraption. Just too weird for me.

I think it would be a huge cop-out for Glenn not to be dead, even though I don't think he will be. I just hate the fact that our heroes are always making it out of impossible situations while random red-shirts happen to get killed by one walker walking at a glacial speed. Lol. I think what would be interesting would be for Glenn to live, but to have been bitten. And then he will make it back home to say goodbye to Maggie, in a way that other guy wasn't able to.

Oh, I thought that was because Kevin was talking to himself.

So I wasn't hallucinating! When Patti told Kevin those details about her husband, that convinced me, for some reason, that she isn't real and is just Kevin's own subconscious. It seemed like that was something Laurie had told Kevin during their marriage.

Is it possible that part of the reason that Laurie is "better" now is because Tom hugged her?

I thought this episode was great, for the most part. I actually didn't realize how much I cared about Laurie and Tom and wanted them to be ok. It was such a relief to see her outside of the GR and moving forward. The rape scene left a bad taste in my mouth, beyond the obvious reasons. It just felt as though there was an attempt to make it "sexy" and titillating, with how it was shot. It doesn't help that Damon Lindelof, in post-ep interviews, has refrained from calling it rape and has been saying some weird stuff about it. I really felt like Tom was lying at the end until I remembered that he hadn't hugged Jill and he must be telling the truth. But something about the way he was telling the story felt fake and I really really really don't want Laurie and Tom to start their own cult. I just want them to go back to their normal lives, dammit!

I don't like the new opening credits. The previous ones were a tad overdramatic, but I think they matched the tone of the show. The new one? Not so much. It takes me out an episode, to be honest. And I felt the opening scene of this episode was clunky. The conversation and confessional nature of it did not feel natural, even though it was supposed to be a huge moment. As for answers, this is how I feel about them. I am not expecting any answer to the "why" of the departure and I am ok with the mystery of it. But I do feel like I need answers to the smaller mysteries of the show, like Kevin's visions, Kevin's dad's visions, etc. If we don't get answers to those things, I feel like the show will have been a waste.

Better Call Saul should win over Mad Men and bob Odenkirk should win over Jon Hamm at the Emmys.

Exactly. It was confusing to see their relationship go from 0 to 100 over a span of a few episodes. And it really irked me how Olivia acted like a teenager in love for the first time and the show acted as though this was the first time Olivia had opened up to anyone--it totally erased the fact that she was in love once before with John Scott. I thought it was a real disservice to her character. And I completely agree with you that Walter and Peter's love should have remained as the show's central love story and Peter/Olivia should have been just a sweet side relationship.

I had no idea about this. I always thought that people were referring to the fact that the WORD "zombies" doesn't exist in the universe, not the very idea of people coming back to life. Intersting. I wonder if it will color my perception of the show in the future.

Kim Dickens is the weakest link for sure. She is just so "blah" and the fact that she has NO sense of urgency is grating.

I've decided that I dislike fandoms (I think that's an unpopular opinion, anyway). I love that people are passionate about TV shows and I love reading and interacting with other TV-obsessed people, but once a fandom develops around a TV show, my love quickly subsides. In my experience, fandoms take shows way too seriously, to the point that they take any attack on a show as a personal attack. I hate being in a forum where my criticisms of a show are quickly excused or downplayed as me being "nitpicky" or a "hater." It's just not fun when you can't love a show but also point out its faults where they exist. Another UO is w/r/t Fringe. I'm on the fourth season, and I am finding myself disliking the Peter/Olivia relationship more and more. I was rooting for them early on, but once almost everything about the show became about them being DESTINED to be together and Olivia being not whole without Peter, it just became too much. I always when it feels like a show is forcing me to like something or root for something.

YES! I came on here just to see if other people saw the resemblance, as well! Especially in the first scene. I actually liked the first episode and I wasn't even on planning on watching this show. The characters and the world (the city) felt more real to me than in the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead, especially in the second season, did not feel real to me. I don't know how to describe it, but it just felt very staged. I also like that this episode focused on the normalcy of pre-ZA life. That's something I wanted to see more of in Walking Dead through flashbacks. The Nick character is my favorite so far. The actor is very, very good. But, I'm still cautious that the poor writing of Walking Dead might infect this show, too. Particularly in the scene a lot of people here have pointed out--what a lackluster and unrealistic reaction to witnessing a zombie!

As I've gotten older, I've come to find angst-filled, will-they/won't-they relationships on TV to be a tad juvenile. I loved Jack/Kate on Lost back in the day, but now that I think back on it, it strikes me as unrealistic and kind of rather dumb how long it took for them to get together. In the real world, when two adults like each other they're pretty clear about it and act on it. Don't get me wrong--I understand that TV is fantasy and the build-up of UST is fun and exciting. But, at some point, it gets ridiculous. And I am finding myself wanting the UST not to be resolved by an in-the-moment kiss or hook up, but by an actual date! I'm watching the first season of Fringe, and I know that Olivia and Peter will eventually get together. But what I'm really hoping to see if Peter just ask Olivia to go on a date (or vice versa) and see a romance develop in the more traditional sense. Does that make any sense?

I agree with both of these. Dale was one of my favorite characters and I was devastated when he died. I never found him annoying. I cared more about him than I did about Hershel. I really liked Andrea too. The writers made her too stupid to live during the Governor storyline, but I was really rooting for her to reunite with the group.

I'll start with the biggest one first: Matt Saracen from Friday Night Lights. I literally have not found more than one person who disliked Matt Saracen (and, trust me, I searched!). His accent annoyed me, I was not taken with Gilford's acting, I didn't think he was "OMGZ the sweetest guys ever!!!111!!!!" All in all, I just didn't get the hype. And don't get me started on Matt/Julie. Ugh. Honestly, since his character was such a big part of the show, I can't even say I loved the show like most people did. I really want to know if anyone agrees with me on this one! Mad Men: Rachel and Peggy. Just completely overrated, in my opinion. Walking Dead: Carol and Glenn.

I agree, her reactions were sooooooo good. I just wish her character were better in the rest of the movie. Channing Tatum's body, moves, swagger, and personality are what make him sexy to me. I used to think he had a beautiful face, but something looked off about it in the movie. And someone brought up Channing Tatum and his wife--this is completely OT, but they are one of my favorite celebrity couples and if they ever break up I will be devastated. I hope his fame doesn't go to his head!

I love the moments that you list--those were great. But I think the worst part about the mini-arc is that it didn't lead anywhere. We were teased with information about the mysterious Others and given even more mysteries (the Sheriff, "we're here to watch," etc.) and all for nothing, in my opinion. As the season went on, the Others became less and less important and by the fourth season, if I am recalling correctly, ceased to be a major player at all in the story. So disappointing. And I completely agree with the poster about Sun and Jin. Their story was so repetitive.

I didn't say they were not also cliched. I actually stopped watching the first season because I found the show too try-hard.

Oh, I totally agree. her character feels far too cliched to me.

Does anyone think this season feels like Law and Order? The visit to the film set felt particuarly Law and Order-ish to me.