Speculation Without Spoilers

[ghoulina]

I'm undecided on the Maggie thing. But I absolutely think Ron is up to bad, bad things. I mentioned in the ep thread, when he went up on the fence with Rick I immediately thought he was going to push him down. He's pretending to care about Carl and need help from Rick, but there is a nefarious underbelly to it all. Mark my words. 

[lulee]

 I absolutely think Ron is up to bad, bad things. I mentioned in the ep thread, when he went up on the fence with Rick I immediately thought he was going to push him down. He's pretending to care about Carl and need help from Rick, but there is a nefarious underbelly to it all. Mark my words. 

100% with you on that one. I posted about possible parallels to Hamlet in the ep thread. Rick is the man who killed his father and then put moves on Ron's mom. Carl is the guy who alienated Enid from him. Someone will pay for Ron's anger and frustration.

 

$5 says Sam takes a bullet meant for a Grimes.

[DEL901]

Didn't really get a good look at the blood on the fence... my worst nightmare is that it's Glenn's blood.  He got all the way home and then... splat.

 

As for Ron... 100% convinced he's up to no good.  Carl, watch your back.

[Nashville]

[Ron is] pretending to care about Carl

Bullshit. Ron hates Carl. Ron also hates Enid too at this point, too, for (in Ron's mind) choosing Carl, so Ron would be just as happy if Enid stays gone. Hell on earth for Ron, however, would be (a) Carl successfully rescuing Enid and (b) Enid "thanking" Carl - profusely, over and over again. So Ron is totally OK with sacrificing Enid on the altar of his own pride.

[terxav]

Jessie and Rick's relationship is doomed -

 

Carl is going to Kill Ron in self defense

 

Jessie could handle Rick killing her abusive husband Pete, but Carl killing Ron will be more than Jessie can handle.

 

She might go after Carl in rage and get taken out by Rick.

 

Sam will be adopted by Carol.

[Nashville]

Jessie and Rick's relationship is doomed -

 

Carl is going to Kill Ron in self defense

 

Jessie could handle Rick killing her abusive husband Pete, but Carl killing Ron will be more than Jessie can handle.

 

She might go after Carl in rage and get taken out by Rick.

 

Sam will be adopted by Carol.

Are we sure the names involved here are Grimes and Anderson - as opposed to, say, Hatfield and McCoy? Because we sure seem headed down a feud road here, where one family won't be at peace until the other family is virtually eradicated.

[ParadoxLost]

OK, I'm going to speculate that Maggie will miscarry at some point. I cannot see a tv show (no knowledge of the comics) killing off Judith until she's at least an older teenager. Even if it would make sense to the story, I just think that's a bridge too far for a known (baby/young child) character on a show. Conversely, I cannot see having multiple babies on the show- The hilarity of CDB Daycare notwithstanding. So either Maggie miscarries or dies while pregnant and FPP dies in the process.

 

This goes in one of three ways, IMO, because they are not going to add another baby to this show:

 

1) Maggie and baby die, with minimal carnage (see #3 for the opposite), and Glenn survives so they have a tragic narrative.

2) The baby is born and is eaten by Zombies.  I think the show wants to do this but they just knew better to do it with Judith

3) The baby is stillborn and zombifies in utero and eats its way out (I saw this in a Zombie movie once).

[kj4ever]

Bullshit. Ron hates Carl. Ron also hates Enid too at this point, too, for (in Ron's mind) choosing Carl, so Ron would be just as happy if Enid stays gone. Hell on earth for Ron, however, would be (a) Carl successfully rescuing Enid and (b) Enid "thanking" Carl - profusely, over and over again. So Ron is totally OK with sacrificing Enid on the altar of his own pride.

Me thinks Ron totally takes after his Papa....this is spot on.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Porting this over from the Now ep. thread (probably not the best place to have originally put it, but meh);

Not sure if this has been brought up yet, or not, but when Rick said that "Glenn and Nicholas are going to come back, walking through that entrance" - you are aware that could mean that when the wall(s) fall, 'Glenn' is going to walk in as a walker, right?  I could be wrong - happens all the time - but I think that was a moon-sized anvil, personally.

 

Honestly, when they had Maggie speechifying about not being with Glenn when he went out, so not knowing what's happened to him, not being able to see him - I really expected walker!Glenn to be one of the walkers who piled up on the sewer exit while they were standing there.

 

Call it a 'gut feeling', but I think TWD writers/Gimple basically just outlined what to expect the next time we Glenn in the "right now".

Edited November 13, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[ghoulina]

If Glenn is not indeed alive, I don't think there's any way he could be a walker. The sheer amount of zombies in that alley, they'd chew him to pieces. 

[Nashville]

I think Glenn is alive.

Although not necessarily for very much longer.

Which really grinds my yarbles.

[chlban]

Glen as a walker would piss me off even more than permanently dead Glen. It was effective as hell with Sophia but Glen is too beloved for too long to do that. I do think he is alive and he better stay that way. Hell, if he survived that Zombie pile on, he can freakin survive anything. I know I am the minority but I would rather they kill Rick. I am also not convinced they can't kill Judith. This is a show that went with "look at the flowers" That was pretty bold. I think Carl is safe but not as convinced about Little Ass kicker. And yes Ron is not to be trusted.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I didn't want Glenn dead - I never have - but he can't survived that without even a bite.  There's just no way, not even in "we can make anything work with the right amount of imagination and writing skill" TV land.

 

I'd much prefer not seeing Glenn as a walker either, it just stuck out to me when Rick said that is all.  Like I said, I'm wrong mostly all the time when guessing stuff like this, but for some reason that hopeful statement just resonated in an "uh oh; oh no" way to me.

[morgankobi]

I'd kinda love it if this new, unseen group ended up at the AzzHat's door because, for some reason, a huge herd of walkers just overran their community 25 miles up the road, as FPP dies in the process.

[lulee]

One not-very-far-out-on-a-limb prediction for next week: Daryl, Abe, and Sasha will arrive in the PATTY02wagon and mow down a big bunch of walkers.

[morgankobi]

So if/when Glenn eventually dies, I have a feeling it will now have to be long and graphic so that there is no doubt.

[lulee]

So if/when Glenn eventually dies, I have a feeling it will now have to be long and graphic so that there is no doubt.

And/or with other characters present so there's no doubt for them. Edited November 23, 2015 by lulee

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

One not-very-far-out-on-a-limb prediction for next week: Daryl, Abe, and Sasha will arrive in the PATTY02wagon and mow down a big bunch of walkers.

 

Along with a couple RPGs fired by Sergeant SmoothLikeADolphin.

 

 

Well, I was wrong about Glenn being dead (or dying).  Ah, the magic of television.  Gotta love it when it works in the favor of a character you like. 

 

Now if only we could watch FPP get ripped apart like Noah and David, while (of course) Dying in the Process!!, that would be utterly fantastic.

[ghoulina]

Maybe Ron will indeed try to shoot Carl, but he doesn't know what the fuck he's doing, so he misses and kills FPP?

 

 

A girl can dream, right?

Edited November 23, 2015 by ghoulina

[lulee]

Midseason "finale" + broken fence = deaths

Death probabilities (based on nothing but my spitballing):
See you in the back half (100% you'll be back)
Rick
Carl
Judith
Daryl
Carol
Glenn
Maggie
Heath
Aaron
Enid

Maybe don't study up on alfalfa farming just yet (someone from this set will probably die but no one stands out more than others to me)
Tara
Rosita
Eugene
Abe
Sasha
Deanna
Morgan
Olivia (as long as she stays locked up in the armory and doesn't get too wrapped up in her book and let a whole bunch of walkers shamble in)
Eric
Denise


A you're-badly-hurt-and-an-anxious-psychiatrist-is-the-only-medical-professional-around scenario (highly likely to me that some from this set will die):
Tobin
Spencer
At least 2 of the Jessie/ Ron/ Sam fam
Scott (Denise's patient)
Francine

Off to the great lodge in the sky (g-o-n-e):
Morgan's gnarly-teethed Wolf buddy
Various Alexandria no-names

Did I forget anyone?

Like when most of the group was inside Terminus and Carol helped save them, this time we can count on help from Daryl, Abe (with RPGs), and Sasha riding in a fuel truck. So I expect some crispy critters.
Plus Glenn will join in and maybe Enid. Hopefully no new character(s) showing up with super-good timing to save the day. BTDT.

Edited November 23, 2015 by lulee

[rab01]

I'd drop Aron's odds down one notch and Eric's odds down one notch as well.  I really would not be shocked for one to die trying to save the other. Or even both to die tragically. I'd like to see them both make it but since they would be in the only ASZhat death scene that could make me cry .... uh, oh.

 

Spencer (unfortunately) should move up a notch and Deanna drop down to the almost dead pile. She's on-board with team Rick but is acting selflessly so there's nowhere else for her character to go so ... uh,oh

[JBody]

There is no TL;DR version of this.

 
I was thinking about the ending of The Walking Dead.  I don’t think Kirkman has an ending for it: for him, that’s not an insignificant part of the horror.  I find that an unfortunate thing for a television show.  He never seemed all that interested in the beginning or end of the apocalypse, just the big old squishy middle of it.  I tend to think that there may be something supernatural going on here anyway –never mind it’s zombies— but there isn’t a supervirus responsible for this.  These things break the laws of physics anyway.  The fact that Kirkman is involved in a new comic, Outcast, about demonic possession, kind of sealed it for me.  Zombies being mere meat puppets for demons makes as much sense to me as anything.

 

Now, I will get to what could have been a possible ending to The Walking Dead, under Darabont’s helm.  Yes, yes, that’s ancient history, allllll the way back to 2010-2011, but I maintain that Darabont’s contributions have been minimized deliberately by AMC because of ongoing legal proceedings and I think it’s a travesty, to be honest.  But there is consolation knowing that there are a lot of people out there who feel the same and hope he will be vindicated.  Anyway, I think it would’ve been similar to The Mist (2007), directed by Darabont and starring his favourites: Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale), Melissa McBride (Carol), Sam Witwer (dead soldier in the tank from Pilot), and Laurie Holden (Andrea).

 

Do I think this would be a good idea?  Not necessarily.  Not everything Darabont did was gold.  And to be honest, I hated the ending of The Mist.  But my point is, it HAD an ending. 

 

The synopsis, cribbed from wiki & imdb: “After a violent thunderstorm, David Drayton (Thomas Jane, who was supposed to play Rick Grimes -- rather glad Andrew Lincoln got it), a graphic artist, and his wife Stephanie (Kelly Collins Lintz) check the damage [….] David goes to a grocery to buy supplies, bringing eight-year-old son Billy  […] They see a convoy of military trucks. As the town's tornado sirens go off, a panicked man with a bloody nose, Dan Miller (Jeffrey DeMunn), runs into the crowded store warning of something dangerous in the oncoming mist. A man disregards his warnings and is attacked when running to his car. The mist envelops the store, making it impossible to see outside, and a violent, earthquake-like tremor hits.

 

Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), a religious fanatic, believes that this is the beginning of Armageddon. A shaken woman (Melissa McBride), against objections from the others, leaves the store to get her children, who she left at home alone. David and others investigate the loading bay generator and find that the exhaust vent is plugged. […] That night, enormous flying scorpion-like insects land on the windows and pterodactyl-like animals devour them, eventually causing the glass to break and allowing the insects to enter the store, where they kill two and badly injure one. […]

 

Two soldiers commit suicide, and a third, Private Jessup (Samuel Witwer), reveals that the local military base was filled with rumors about the Arrowhead Project, the government's attempt to look into other dimensions, and the scientists responsible for the experiment may have inadvertently opened a doorway into a dimension containing the creatures that are now invading the town. […] David, Billy, Dan, Amanda, and Irene (Frances Sternhagen), make it to the car, retrieve Amanda's gun, and leave.  Driving through the mist, David finds his house destroyed and his wife dead.

 

Heartbroken, he drives the group south, seeing destruction (including a school bus and one of its occupants wrapped in webbing) and a gigantic multi-legged, tentacled beast. When they run out of gas, the group decides there is no point in going on. With four bullets left in Amanda's gun and five people in the car, David shoots the others rather than have them endure horrifying deaths. Determined to die, David gets out of the car. However, the mist recedes, revealing that the U.S. Army has killed the monsters and restored order. Among the survivors is the woman (Melissa McBride), who left the store at the phenomenon's onset, accompanied by her two children who she left to save. Realizing that they were only moments from being rescued and had been driving away from help the entire time, David falls to his knees screaming while two soldiers look on in confusion.”

 

By the way, the look on Melissa McBride’s face is devastating.  I will never watch this movie again because of what Thomas Jane had to do – I just can’t go there, being a parent now.

 

So, it’s a simple idea and it’s been broached before, at this site and others, and in films like 28 Days Later, but The Mist overlay worked for me because of Darabont and the actors. 

 

The rest of the world is fine.  North America is quarantined.  Eventually it will end, and the real horror begins.  I remember Bob telling Rick, “nightmares end, but they don’t have to end who you are,” but I’m not so sure.

[Mu Shu]

Poor father pee pee. Every time someone predicts a death, He gets tossed in as collateral damage. Seriously, it's time to shit or get off the pot with that one. Keeping him around as a punching bag is getting on my last nerve.

I don't see two babies on the show, either. Maggie will probably miscarry. As if she hasn't had enough shit to deal with. Might as well call her Job.

[ghoulina]

Great post, JBody. I actually quite like that ending, but I have a weird love of tragic and depressing endings. 

 

I do agree that Kirkman likely has no idea how this will end. I think that is a horrible mistake and is likely starting to contribute to the downward slope the show is taking. A TV show is not the same as a serial comic. You cannot just go on and on and on just because a bunch of young people think Daryl is hot and get off on the zombie kills. They may keep ratings for awhile to come, but the integrity of the show won't hold. I have never written a TV show, so I may be talking out of my ass - but I think you should go in knowing exactly the story you want to tell, from beginning to end. It doesn't have to be set in stone, but by God, have a general idea in mind.

[ghoulina]

Great post, JBody. I actually quite like that ending, but I have a weird love of tragic and depressing endings. 

 

I do agree that Kirkman likely has no idea how this will end. I think that is a horrible mistake and is likely starting to contribute to the downward slope the show is taking. A TV show is not the same as a serial comic. You cannot just go on and on and on just because a bunch of young people think Daryl is hot and get off on the zombie kills. They may keep ratings for awhile to come, but the integrity of the show won't hold. I have never written a TV show, so I may be talking out of my ass - but I think you should go in knowing exactly the story you want to tell, from beginning to end. It doesn't have to be set in stone, but by God, have a general idea in mind.

[rab01]

JBody - I don't think Darabont was heading towards the rest of the world being fine because he said the opposite in the CDC episode. But he might have been heading toward that sad twist ending of Rick Grimes killing his friends and family right before the government restores order.

 

I think Kirkman's ending might be that the world recreates civilization despite never curing the zombie plague. Society gets all the way back to democracy and electricity if maybe not as far as the industrial revolution. The sad twist is that by then Rick can't function inside a law and order society and ends up imprisoned for a semi-justified vigilante style murder. His sentence is commuted because he's still a hero to a lot of people and then he goes over the edge again, realizes it, and kills himself rather than endanger others. On that version, Rick is like a ZA-Moses; he can lead his people to the promised land of peace and restored civilization but can't enter it himself.

Edited November 27, 2015 by rab01

[Nashville]

Yall need to read (or re-read, as the case may be) 1984 a few times to get your doublethink caps tuned up in working order, then repeat after me:

1. There is no Darabont; there is only Gimple.
2. There has never been a Darabont; there has always been a Gimple.

 

Hey - it apparently works for the writers.

[Ohwell]

Nevermind

Edited November 27, 2015 by Ohwell

[chlban]

Great post, JBody. I actually quite like that ending, but I have a weird love of tragic and depressing endings.

I do agree that Kirkman likely has no idea how this will end. I think that is a horrible mistake and is likely starting to contribute to the downward slope the show is taking. A TV show is not the same as a serial comic. You cannot just go on and on and on just because a bunch of young people think Daryl is hot and get off on the zombie kills. They may keep ratings for awhile to come, but the integrity of the show won't hold. I have never written a TV show, so I may be talking out of my ass - but I think you should go in knowing exactly the story you want to tell, from beginning to end. It doesn't have to be set in stone, but by God, have a general idea in mind.

Great post and there is no doubt my mind that you are correct. One word sums it up pretty well "Lost".

[JBody]

Thanks to everyone who read or even skimmed that long-ass post (slow day at work). I think the Moses comparison is apt. The ending of The Mist is true horror to me now but back when I watched it, pre-kids I thought it was devastating but good (especially seeing MMB reunited with her kids --total burn). I'm lost with the whole Lost thing because I never watched it but I understand the fandom was disappointed with its conclusion. Oh and yes to the Ministry of Truth thing. I hated when Glenn mentioned Jim in season 5 after the whole clusterfuck with Eugene's mission and nary a mention of the CDC --what an insult.

[JBody]

I have noticed too, reading comments from the GA and just observing my husband, as a casual viewer --people seem to be complaining about the repetitiveness of it now, its predictability, and appear to be losing interest. I think the Glenn fakeout was a mistake, and how it was handled has turned people off. Time will tell with the ratings. Of course they kept Mad Men going with a comparatively small viewership but it was the critics' darling and TWD ain't that.

Edited November 28, 2015 by JBody

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I completely agree that any story needs a starting and ending point.

 

I think it all depends on how long they plan on playing the series out... I mean, its only been something like 450~ days TWD-time (or even less) between Days Gone Bye and now, right?  [doesn't really explain the growth/aging transition Carl made from TIttF to now, but hey that's TV, right?]

 

Are they going to keep compressing the amount of time passed so that [if the ratings hold up] the show can go for 1x or 2x seasons?   I can't imagine watching a show in its 26th season (these days), personally, but one never knows.  How many of these 'original' cast members would still want to be on TWD 20 years from now - assuming their character survives that long?  If they do that, then this story can go on for a very long time yet, with putting off a 'clear' resolution. 

 

But if they ever speed up the passing of time (on the show), then yeah, a 'final' resolution needs to be in the back of their minds.

Edited November 28, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Going by the preview and discussion of it on TD, this Negan and the Saviours seems another 'Governor/Terminus/Gareth-Hunters' type of situation.

 

I've never read the comics - and honestly don't plan too, at least while still watching the show - and I also know that direct comic-to-screen translation is probably hardly ever actually done, but going by what was said on TD, it seems like Negan & these Saviours are a very bad group in the comics.  Wonder how much of that will make it on-screen.

Edited December 1, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[ghoulina]

This group honestly reminds me more of the Claimers than anyone. The Governor, I believe, was probably some regular Joe who was driven a bit mad my trying to keep his daughter safe and failing. He wanted a sense of order, so he wouldn't lost his shit entirely. Gareth and co. were actually good people who were tortured and starved and raped over and over until they went stark fucking mad and began to get revenge on society at large. 

 

We've only seen 2 minutes of this new group, but their overall look and demeanor makes me think of Joe and his group. They seem like people who were probably pretty rough around the edges pre-Apocalypse and are now living out their dreams since all law and order has broken down. I don't know if they're on the crazy side, more of just ruthless assholes. 

 

I haven't read the comics either, but you can't avoid rumblings unless you avoid the internet entirely. Time will tell if this group is all that much different, but right now I'm just getting strong Claimer vibes. 

[Dobian]

After the Governor and Terminus, I'm really not interested in yet another community run by evil guy plotline which is coming with Negan.  They're just recycling the same story over and over.

[Irishmaple]

I'm pretty much there too. My only reaction to the Negan owns your stuff was "not another effing psychopath".

Darryl, Sasha and Abraham drove their portion of the herd twenty miles or so. I'll add a few for the search for Darryl in the town so they maybe travelled twenty-five miles from home base. That's within Aaron's search radius, isn't it? How did he miss the Wolves and this new crew? And how have they all missed Alexandria? They all seem to be operating in the same geographic area yet none of these violent, acquisitive groups made it there before Rick and crew showed up. I'm also over the whole CDB shows up and that's why we can't have nice things. Rick and his group are (plot necessitated stupidity aside) fucking competent at this ZA Survival gig. Things should be going to hell before they show up.

[Dobian]

I played the 'Walking Dead" Telltale video games too, which at one point has a "community run by evil guy" plot.  Oh well.

[lulee]

I'm pretty much there too. My only reaction to the Negan owns your stuff was "not another effing psychopath".

Darryl, Sasha and Abraham drove their portion of the herd twenty miles or so. I'll add a few for the search for Darryl in the town so they maybe travelled twenty-five miles from home base. That's within Aaron's search radius, isn't it? How did he miss the Wolves and this new crew? And how have they all missed Alexandria? They all seem to be operating in the same geographic area yet none of these violent, acquisitive groups made it there before Rick and crew showed up. I'm also over the whole CDB shows up and that's why we can't have nice things. Rick and his group are (plot necessitated stupidity aside) fucking competent at this ZA Survival gig. Things should be going to hell before they show up.

You're right, irishmaple. We tend to joke around here about things going to hell once CDB shows up, but really - was CDB really at fault? The Greene farm wasn't going to be secure forever. The prison falling due to Brian wasn't their fault. Terminus was clearly its own mess. And Alexandria was improbably untouched.

 

Then when more shit hits the fan in Alexandria, the CDB folks are making it through but not necessarily making good decisions. Frustrating.

... to be more on topic for this thread, how are they going to get themselves out of this mess? In the Red Rover line of Michonne-Gabriel-Rick-Car/Judith-Jessie-Sam-Ron (not 100% sure of the order) the foreshadowing is that they're soon to be in peril, but maybe it's a fakeout. I expected a high bodycount from this past episode, but only Deanna died. The timelines are fuzzy, but maybe the Walker Poncho gang and Denise & the Wolf will emerge out on to the street simultaneously and then a bit of hell will be unleashed. Only Tara and Rosita (and Eugene) would be available to help, unless Carol and Morgan are study recovered from their respective smackdowns.

Glenn and Enid will be focused on Maggie, and I'm confident that that will work out.

Darryl, Sasha and Abraham will have the B plotline, either being left empty-handed to walk back to Alexandria or, more likely, taken to the motorcycle gang's HQ.

[Mu Shu]

My guess is that Daryl and co are kidnapped. Sam sleeps with the fishes. Glenn is outside and pulls something if a Carol at Terminus maneuver to save our group. Sorry Deanna andMichonne, I have not two shits to give about tha ASZhats who have stolen valuable screen time. Many ASZhats will die. Aaron will survive, but his husband will die tragically. Perhaps in the melee Aaron will lead a small band out the sewer route. They will be split up yet again and we will have several episodes of the assholes on motorcycles Gradying it up. And Father PeePee will cap some asses. I am rooting for him.

This is based on pure speculation. I am speculating the guys on motorcycles are bad because people who threaten to split you all the way up your sinuses are usually not Jehovah Witnesses stopping you to hand out pamphlets.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I understand the dislike of repeating storylines - just different characters/groups - but honestly, how else would you display morally corrupt or evil people as being the real threat on the show?  Just having it so that they invite someone(s) into the main group, who turns out to be bad and playing the others until the big reveal, would get tedious after a while too.

 

And all the people/groups they meet can't be good, or that would take all the suspense and drama out of it.  And let's face it, unless a herd sneaks up on them, the walkers are just nuisances more than anything now, rather than an actual true threat.

 

So, (IMO) its kind of a "what can you do?" situation for the writing staff & showrunners.  Don't envy them for it.

 

The only thing I would think they could possibly do - especially with still encountering groups of bad people - try to branch out from the same general area of the US [KY/GA/VA].  Why not make a plan to try for Texas [still keeping to the South, etc] or somewhere further west or not quite as far west as Texas, ie Louisiana, etc?   Without getting to get to further locations on the map, then continually running into groups of evil people will become ultra tedious.

Edited December 2, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[Mu Shu]

They can run into bad groups, but having hardly any break is tedious. I would rather they run into ambiguous weirdos for awhile, like those people Daryl met, fruit hippies, vatos, and even the creepy Toni Colette look a like who tried to lure Rick into becoming her walker husbands lunch.

[ghoulina]

I agree, it's the having too many bad groups in one season that wears thin. Season 5 had Termites, Lollicops, Claimers, and kind of Wolves (not seen, but alluded to). We're only halfway into this season and have had both Wolves and Negan's group's appearance. Not to mention that random group in the woods that was after the double-crossers.  I think there are other interesting things they can do within the group - the flu at the prison was cool. Mentally ill pre-teen girl = very interesting. I surely don't have all the answers, but I also think in the sixth season they should really consider winding this down. Given that they've shown us very similar storylines several times over, I am not confident they have enough to sustain this as a compelling TV show. I think they should move on to the next phase - some very serious world building and the end of the series. But I'm sure they'll drag it out until Reedus is in a wheelchair. 

[lulee]

I suspect that the random group of baddies that were after the crossbow-napping couple (and greenhouse-walker-devoured young lady) are affiliated with Negan. It would be confirmed if we see a guy missing a good portion of his left arm.

Edited December 3, 2015 by lulee

[Mu Shu]

I hope they keep the wolf around. He's a real creeper, and I'm hoping Morgan's benevolence comes back to bite him in the ass with an "I told you so" speech.

They've had a lot of actors in small parts I wish they had kept.

[lulee]

Quoting myself...

Midseason "finale" + broken fence = deaths

Death probabilities (based on nothing but my spitballing):

See you in the back half (100% you'll be back)

Rick

Carl

Judith

Daryl

Carol

Glenn

Maggie

Heath

Aaron

Enid

Maybe don't study up on alfalfa farming just yet (someone from this set will probably die but no one stands out more than others to me)

Tara

Rosita

Eugene

Abe

Sasha

Deanna

Morgan

Olivia (as long as she stays locked up in the armory and doesn't get too wrapped up in her book and let a whole bunch of walkers shamble in)

Eric

Denise

A you're-badly-hurt-and-an-anxious-psychiatrist-is-the-only-medical-professional-around scenario (highly likely to me that some from this set will die):

Tobin

Spencer

At least 2 of the Jessie/ Ron/ Sam fam

Scott (Denise's patient)

Francine

Off to the great lodge in the sky (g-o-n-e):

Morgan's gnarly-teethed Wolf buddy

Various Alexandria no-names

Like when most of the some crispy critters.

So no bloodbath in the midseason finale. Deanna was the only named character who died. But logic says they've got to thin the ranks now. Alexandria is overrun, a bunch of characters are in imminent danger, and new characters have already begun to appear (the gang Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham met). So who goes?

I think Jessie and both her sons.

Olivia

Tobin

Tara

Spencer

Maybe Enid

Eric

[Dobian]

My speuclation for how the whole thing ends is that they eventually discover that Judith is immune.  Why is she immune?  Because she was conceived in someone who had the strain, and she developed antiboddies against it in the womb.  So they'll have a plotline to get Judith safely to a doctor or medical facility where someone can develop a vaccine from her blood.  Maybe this is where they can finally bring the military into it.  It's kind of ridiculous that you see all these gangs running around and taking over everywhere, but you don't see even a hint of best trained and equipped force there is.  You know that miliary bases would have gone on lockdown and established quarantines. They would have tons of food, supplies, and weaponry.  So CDB would need to make their way to one of these bases carrying the cure with them along with her teddy bear.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Dobian

[Irishmaple]

More of a question than a speculation but is Spencer ever going to get with the program? The actor is seriously cute but the character is annoyingly uneven. He was the only one with the brains to man the watchtower when times were good but it's been downhill from there. He got his shit together last night and went out to hack zombies with the same degree of reluctance I'd show for the activity but he didn't embarrass himself or get anyone killed. In the preview though he was all whiny again. Don't waste the cute here, Show.

[maplebrew]

It's kind of ridiculous that you see all these gangs running around and taking over everywhere, but you don't see even a hint of best trained and equipped force there is.

 

 

Given the size of the U.S., CDB has only travelled within a small portion of it. It could still be that CDB has the misfortune of being in the part of the U.S. experiencing the worst and most violent anarchy. Meanwhile, one could still speculate that military bases could still be in operation elsewhere as you suggest. It's interesting that Abe isn't pushing for travel to one of those bases since he might be the only one with the best idea as to where bases are in that part of the country. 

[ghoulina]

41 minutes ago

My speuclation for how the whole thing ends is that they eventually discover that Judith is immune.  Why is she immune?  Because she was conceived in someone who had the strain, and she developed antiboddies against it in the womb.  So they'll have a plotline to get Judith safely to a doctor or medical facility where someone can develop a vaccine from her blood.

 

This sounds good, but I'd wager it's far too sciency for Kirkman.

[lulee]

Do you think there will be any fallout from Carol shooting Wolfie (only Denise knows) or Michonne slicing Ron? (only Rick and Carl know)?

 

I'm guessing probably not, but after the conversations that Denise and Wolfie had, I wonder if Denise would be on TeamMorgan and insist that she should have had a chance to try to save him.