S01.E04: The Wrong End of a Telescope

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate 2020.10.25

Quote

The group seeks shelter from a storm inside an abandoned high school. While re-supplying, they imagine what high school life was once like and encounter new threats both living and dead.

 

[raven]

Reminder:  Don't post the political ad in this forum; it has nothing to do with the episode itself and so will violate the politics policy.  Yes, I've seen it, it has zombies, but that doesn't make it about the show. 

[oakville]

It was very foolish for Silas to punch the emptie with his bare hands. He should have used his big wrench.

The CRM scene after the credits was the most interesting part of the show. They are testing empties. It looks like they are trying to find a cure for the virus.

[Mr. Sparkle]

I will say that this was the best episode yet, which isn't saying that much. Characters are being fleshed out a bit, and the ending was intriguing enough for me to continue. I kind of hate tough-girl Huck's character. 

[CletusMusashi]

I like the dad character, now that he's had some actual screen-time.

[AEJ79]

I’m confused about the timeline. It shows Silas in flashbacks beating someone. But he looks like a teenager. Aren’t they supposed to be like 10 years into the ZA? So how old is he? I thought he was a teenager like the rest of them?

[ctlady]

3 hours ago, Superclam said:

I kind of hate tough-girl Huck's character. 

OMG - THIS!

Her voice - or inflection - is so irritating.  It's like a cross between southern drawl and street swagger.  The only ones I can handle right now are Felix and Elton.  The rest are ill-prepared, angsty dimwits

[Mr. Sparkle]

13 minutes ago, ctlady said:

It's like a cross between southern drawl and street swagger.

Exactly, and it seems like she's doing the southern drawl randomly interchanged with the street swagger, not at the same time. They both sound ridiculous. 

15 minutes ago, ctlady said:

The only ones I can handle right now are Felix and Elton.  The rest are ill-prepared, angsty dimwits

I kind of like Iris, and big doofy kid kind of grew on me this episode, even though they telegraphed the sudden rage from a mile away. Felix is probably my favorite, but I can skip Corduroy Potter. 

[iMonrey]

What a pointless episode in what is increasing a pointless show. Although I guess I missed some post credit scene with the CRM? Probably because I couldn't shut the thing off fast enough once I thought it was finally over. 

I mean, I guess Felix planted the seed with Elton and we found out people apparently think Silas killed his father. But you could literally skip this episode altogether and you would not have missed anything. You could go straight on to the next episode without ever realizing you had missed an episode. That's how irrelevant this was. Just pointless time wasting watching teens dance around and evading "empties" - without much trouble, I might add. Yeah we finally saw the father (and flashback storytelling is so overdone) but again, there was no new information here that informed the story.

I can't imagine the agony of trying to sit through this thing without the aid of fast-forward.

[Nashville]

3 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I can't imagine the agony of trying to sit through this thing without the aid of fast-forward.

A decent-quality gin helps.

[Mr. Sparkle]

16 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Harry Pantsuit

Damn! Good one! 

 

17 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

They keep eating food as fast as they can find it, and they still keep finding food.

I'm no expert, but isn't there a shelf life on most foods, including canned foods? And isn't 10 years past that?

[Nashville]

 

6 minutes ago, Superclam said:

I'm no expert, but isn't there a shelf life on most foods, including canned foods? And isn't 10 years past that?

Uh, yeah.  And yeah.

ETA: I’ll caveat my answer a little.  Yes there are expiration dates, and yes 10 years is almost certainly beyond that - but so long as...

1. The container has remained in its original factory-sealed state.
2. There’s no sign of rust or discoloration around/on the opening seams or edges.
3. There’s no obvious deformity in the original packaging.

...then it’s probably okay to eat in a survival setting, even if it tastes like shit - and for some foods (like sardines), the taste border line between “fresh” and “shit” can be drawn pretty damn thin.

Edited October 26, 2020 by Nashville

[Mr. Sparkle]

18 minutes ago, Nashville said:

and for some foods (like sardines), the taste border line between “fresh” and “shit” can be drawn pretty damn thin.

Lol, I love sardines! I sit at a small table. Anchovies are 🤮

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I'm no expert, but isn't there a shelf life on most foods, including canned foods? And isn't 10 years past that?

Reminded me of the Eating History show on the History Channel.  They would find decades old food and eat it, or try to.  Some things held up fairly well, but most didn't.  And yeah, it seems really unlikely that the soda wasn't flat.  Honestly, at this point I think I'm beyond caring lol.  

[ctlady]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

They keep eating food as fast as they can find it, and they still keep finding food.

And, yes, I'm gonna go there because I can't keep quiet any longer......what goes in, must come out.  Where do these people who go on these long journeys during the ZA go to 'relieve' themselves?  One provision that I hope they brought along is either TP or wipes.  And what about when these young girls come upon 'that' time (again - sorry for the TMI, but this oversight just bugs me)

If I were walking from NE to NY wearing pants as tight as Iris (and let's face it - so do the ladies on TWD, which can't be too comfortable to fight off zombies in) with limited access to showers and toilets I'd be a walking yeast infection before I officially hit the east coast

Okay - I'll shut up now

[tennisgurl]

This was at least an improvement over the last few episodes, they did better work with the characters and were at least trying to do some more unique things this week, but it still struggles with feeling like a more boring version of the original show. This show has a unique premise, but they aren't doing much with it yet. They seem to be stuck indulging in some of the mother shows worst traits, when it was just people hanging around talking about random pseudo philosophy, or walking. 

I like the dad in his flashbacks, and Felix is definitely my favorite character so far, but I do wonder if they plan on doing more and more of these flashbacks all season long. Its turning into Lost with zombies. 

So are the flashbacks Silas keeps having supposed to be in the settlement, or in the pre zombie era? It wouldn't be in the pre zombie era, because we established that was when he would have been a little kid right? Isn't the whole premise of the show about kids who have spent most of their lives in the ZA but in this nice little slice of civilization? 

Edited October 27, 2020 by tennisgurl

[Mr. Sparkle]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So are the flashbacks Silas keeps having supposed to be in the settlement, or in the pre zombie era? It wouldn't be in the pre zombie era, because we established that was when he would have been a little kid right? Isn't the whole premise of the show about kids who have spent most of their lives in the ZA but in this nice little slice of civilization? 

I got the feeling that they were at another settlement (Omaha?) where Silas killed his father. I'm speculating his father was abusing him or his mother and Silas snapped. Then they moved him to live with his uncle & grandmother at this settlement. This is what I've pieced together, so I could be wrong. 

[txhorns79]

On 10/26/2020 at 4:21 PM, Superclam said:

I'm no expert, but isn't there a shelf life on most foods, including canned foods? And isn't 10 years past that?

Yes.  They did this in the last episode too where they found canned ravioli and ate it like it was just fine.  

And of course the happy purple haired teenage girl we kept seeing in the flashbacks ended her days as a nerd zombie forever stuffed into a locker by the cool zombies.        

[Nicmar]

I don't understand why they will not kill the "empties" they just kinda shove and hit or dodge? Makes no sense...

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, Nicmar said:

I don't understand why they will not kill the "empties" they just kinda shove and hit or dodge? Makes no sense...

[rmontro]

On 10/27/2020 at 11:34 AM, tennisgurl said:

I like the dad in his flashbacks, and Felix is definitely my favorite character so far, but I do wonder if they plan on doing more and more of these flashbacks all season long

It's a little grating.  Everybody has to have a dark past that haunts them, and everything is so heavy and serious.  It's a little tiresome, frankly.

[Peanut]

I could do without many of the flashbacks as well.  I don't mind a couple of them, but some of them just go on and on and on...

 

I really liked the first two episodes, and hope they get back to some of that.  I teach high school students, so the teen angst doesn't bother me too much, but there comes a time (when out amongst zombies, for instance) when that shit just needs to go.  

 

I, too, am confused by Silas' flashbacks. I'm guessing there is another colony in Omaha (where I live, so I'm curious what it will be depicted like should they ever get there), or he is supposed to be older than a teenager.  But then they were trying to get him to enroll in school.  I dunno.

[diebartdie]

On 10/26/2020 at 4:21 PM, Superclam said:

Damn! Good one! 

 

I'm no expert, but isn't there a shelf life on most foods, including canned foods? And isn't 10 years past that?

https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/How-long-can-you-keep-canned-goods

(short answer, canned goods last indefinitely)

On 10/26/2020 at 4:25 PM, icemiser69 said:

I have no idea.  I was a bit surprised that the soda they found and drank in the gym wasn't flat.  They didn't even bother to give their friends the unopened cans of soda.

Those cans of soda had to be completely filthy.

Edited October 29, 2020 by diebartdie

[Mr. Sparkle]

4 hours ago, diebartdie said:

(short answer, canned goods last indefinitely)

Good to know for the impending zombie apocalypse. 

4 hours ago, diebartdie said:

Those cans of soda had to be completely filthy.

I always either use a straw to drink from a can, or at least wash off the top. Think about what has probably crawled across your can when it sat in a warehouse for the last few months or longer. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Candy corn is made of wax and sugar. It'll last forever. I'm a big fan, actually. 

47 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

And lets be honest, there is no way those kids are going to be convinced to go back home.   That just won't happen, so why the writers are going there, I haven't a clue.  And the more the writers push that issue, the more annoying it will get.

Of course not. This is a road trip show. Their return to the University would be pretty interesting at this point. 

Edited October 31, 2020 by Superclam
I used "of course" 3 times.

[theredhead77]

"Home" (Campus Colony) is gone, right? My prediction (100% guess) is that Felix and Huck have planted enough seeds to go "home", they find out CC is gone and then they head for wherever, the new CDB vs the CRM