S11.E07: Promises Broken

[raven]

Quote

Maggie learns a survival tactic from Negan; Eugene’s group clears walkers; Daryl hunts with Leah.

NOTE:  AMC+ will stream each episode a week before airing on AMC.  Enter this topic at your own risk if you haven't watched yet.

AMC+ airdate: 2021.09.26    AMC airdate: 2021.10.03

Be mindful if you participate in the Live Posting Topic - that topic will follow the show as it airs on AMC, so AMC+ viewers will be one episode ahead.  DO NOT SPOIL those who are watching on AMC.

[OoohMaggie]

This is Maggie’s “survival Tactic” just learnt from Negan, it was hilarious. I don’t know about your average Walker, but she looked identical to a $10 blow up doll I ordered from Lithuania one Christmas 😱

[Mr. Sparkle]

50 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

she looked identical to a $10 blow up doll I ordered from Lithuania one Christmas 😱

Still have that doll? Just asking. 

[Iguessnot]

I was struck by how pristine her skinny jeans were. 

[Iguessnot]

Yumiko is supposed to be an astute lawyer, but she just couldn't shut up talking about her brother being doctor as though it was a matter of his self motivation instead of self preservation. She is being clueless on this front.

Why didn't Stephanie just announce that a walker was approaching instead of tapping.

She's on punishment duty yet whenever someone wants a favor, she just goes off to talk to the higher ups. I don't think she is who Eugene thinks she is.

Ezekiel seemed drugged up after his quick session. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Iguessnot

[raven]

23 hours ago, Iguessnot said:

Yumiko is supposed to be an astute lawyer, but she just couldn't shut up talking about her brother being doctor as though it was a matter of his self motivation instead of self preservation. She is being clueless on this front.

I was thinking the same thing - she's constantly blabbing about it out in the open.  Shut up, Yumiko.

I don't want to live in the Commonwealth with the "don't you know who I am" governor's son who apparently knows nothing about zombies in a zombie apocalypse.

I just can't with the Negan/Maggie team up.    The show just wants us to forget that he's a sadist. 

Daryl and not-Jenna-Elfman having to kill that woman was actually effective.

I liked Gabriel watching that Reaper guy talking to God.  Ooh, maybe we'll have a God face-off or something??

Still don't care about Pope and the Reapers (band!) though if they're actively hunting Maggie and her group, as some have surmised here, that could be interesting.

I'll put this ep in the "mostly liked it" camp. 

[BasilSeal]

18 hours ago, raven said:

Daryl and not-Jenna-Elfman having to kill that woman was actually effective.

Yes, it worked well in that we wonder how far Daryl will have to go, and he's waiting to see how far Leah will go.

In the end she defies Pope and lets the guy and his son go, and baulks at killing the mortally wounder woman, so Daryl does it for her. what was also  significant was Daryl trying to find out from her why Pope hates Maggie so much, suggests he thinks there's something that Maggie isn't telling us, i think he's right.

18 hours ago, raven said:

I'll put this ep in the "mostly liked it" camp. 

Same here. What was good was that finally, after ten years, we see them actually using an idea they've learnt from experience to control / use the walkers, by using the whisperers' tactics to herd them. significant because no one in TWD ever learns anything, they just keep doing the same rolling around in the mud with the zombies rinse and repeat misery porn, i think it's why people are getting fed up with the franchise, there's only so many times our gang can come up against some deranged band of psychos who do bad things, for some reason.

 

18 hours ago, raven said:

I was thinking the same thing - she's constantly blabbing about it out in the open.  Shut up, Yumiko.

Yeah, when he says don't tell anyone i'm a doctor, i thought : bit late for that one old son.

18 hours ago, raven said:

I don't want to live in the Commonwealth with the "don't you know who I am" governor's son who apparently knows nothing about zombies in a zombie apocalypse.

The Lance character, and possibly Mercer, set that up didn't they? with the idea  that Eugene would go to spoilt bastards rescue, thus  winning favour with the fragrant Pamela Milton. Not realising that Eugene is a seasoned member of team fucknut, with an innate ability to fuck things  up. if Stephanie is a double agent then she's a bit shit, maybe shout a bit louder when spoiled bastard's girlfriend is about to get chomped steph. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Not a bad episode, but plenty of "that seems unlikely" as par for the course with this show. 

[OoohMaggie]

On 9/26/2021 at 11:16 PM, Superclam said:

Still have that doll? Just asking. 

Unfortunately not, brings back some memories though 🤪

 

On 9/27/2021 at 1:15 AM, Iguessnot said:

Ezekiel seemed drugged up after his quick session. 

Yeah Doc, I’ll have double what he’s just had.

 

I just watched the show again, concentrating properly this time. Apart from the usual handful of niggles I thought it wasn’t too bad.

Despite the foundations on which it was built, I liked the interaction between Mag & Neg and the fact that the Satellite massacre was brought up. Elijah finding his Sister was well done, it’s this sort of writing the show has missed so badly for so long, it stands out due to its rarity.

It appears to be the same old same old with The Commonwealth, go to the right school, have the correct surname and you’ve got no worries. Would people go back to that BS way of life so readily? Let’s hope the reason why is explained by this big secret that people are hiding, the leader’s PA was certainly trying to say something. 
 

Elijah made Maggie promise that “The One” responsible for his Sister’s fate was left to him alone, I wonder if “the one”will turn out to be Leah, rather than Pope. That could create an interesting situation.

Edited September 28, 2021 by OoohMaggie

[Nashville]

20 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

Unfortunately not, brings back some memories though 

 

Does Lithuanian plastic squeak differently?

[OoohMaggie]

On 9/29/2021 at 5:55 PM, Nashville said:

Does Lithuanian plastic squeak differently?

Not with sufficient lubrication 🧴

[Nashville]

14 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

Not with sufficient lubrication 🧴

You need to get some of the stuff my urologist uses when he does a prostate exam; you could park a Cadillac in a doghouse with that shit.

[heisenberg]

An episode with something going on,  I liked it but they have to keep moving.. 

On 9/28/2021 at 4:04 PM, OoohMaggie said:

It appears to be the same old same old with The Commonwealth, go to the right school, have the correct surname and you’ve got no worries. Would people go back to that BS way of life so readily? Let’s hope the reason why is explained by this big secret that people are hiding, the leader’s PA was certainly trying to say something.

And some people are more "equals" than others,  no thanks. 

Without spoiling I think this was the closest to the comics since a long time ago (Negan killing Alpha maybe?).  That rich kid is a real pain in the ass,  I hope we will see him suffer... I mean a lot.  Finally someone i'm rooting for.😈😄

Edited October 1, 2021 by heisenberg
spelling

[GustavMahler]

A few notes: In this day and age of script writing, a rather innocuous conversation between Yumiko and the Secretary has me thinking, "yup, they are going to lock lips at some point." Secondly, I guess they could not figure out how to portray the Governor's son so they lifted Robin Arryn from GoT and finally, during Maggie and Negan's fireside chat, I would have liked to see Negan remind Maggie, that his intention was only to kill one member of their group (Abraham) but if it wasn't for her buddy Daryl deciding to jump the line and foolishly attack him, Glen would probaby be alive today. True, it still would not make it right, but she needed to be reminded that Daryl's reckless behavior did have a part to play. 

Edited October 4, 2021 by GustavMahler

[TVMovieBuff]

I am more fascinated by Eugene's story than I have by anything in TWD for quite awhile now. Last night when the other stuff was on I drifted, but with the Commonwealth I was alert. 

[iMonrey]

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I was struck by how pristine her skinny jeans were. 

Speaking of which . . . is Gabriel constantly making or finding new priest outfits? You know that clothes eventually wear out, right? He's been wearing the same clothes for over ten years now. And it's not the least bit practical for what he's doing right now.

Quote

What was good was that finally, after ten years, we see them actually using an idea they've learnt from experience to control / use the walkers, by using the whisperers' tactics to herd them.

Which makes no damn sense, whatsoever. Honestly, I'm torn here because I do like the idea of using a horde to their advantage, but the "tactics" of the Whisperers is something I wish they would just sweep under the rug because it never made a lick of sense. Explain how wearing a mask and shuffling around actually controls them. Please.

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Despite the foundations on which it was built, I liked the interaction between Mag & Neg and the fact that the Satellite massacre was brought up. 

It still makes me stabby when they try to do this false equivalency thing though. Rick's group was trying to protect their communities from a sinister gang of thugs who were extorting supplies from those communities by force. If they hadn't been engaged in these tactics they wouldn't have been attacked in the first place. You reap what you sow. 

Quote

Yumiko is supposed to be an astute lawyer, but she just couldn't shut up talking about her brother being doctor as though it was a matter of his self motivation instead of self preservation. She is being clueless on this front.

In her defense, her brother is being awfully cagey about why he doesn't want to be a doctor. Clearly there is something going on he's afraid to tell her about, so that's on him.

Quote

Why didn't Stephanie just announce that a walker was approaching instead of tapping.

This was really, really dumb. All she had to do was yell "Hey kid, look behind you." Instead she stood there going "Eugene? Eugene? Eugene?" while Eugene was talking to the Governor's son. Bad writing, bad direction.

Edited October 4, 2021 by iMonrey

[Mr. Sparkle]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Which makes no damn sense, whatsoever. Honestly, I'm torn here because I do like the idea of using a horde to their advantage, but the "tactics" of the Whisperers is something I wish they would just sweep under the rug because it never made a lick of sense. Explain how wearing a mask and shuffling around actually controls them. Please.

Also, as we've seen many, many times, the walkers are attracted by smell, which is why the classic gut smearing thing works. How does wearing an old, dry mask hide the human smell? 

[SharonH58]

26 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Also, as we've seen many, many times, the walkers are attracted by smell, which is why the classic gut smearing thing works. How does wearing an old, dry mask hide the human smell? 

I was wondering the same.  Zombies aren't that dumb.   They only thing that would hide you from is another human.   But they finally had a good plan and I don't see Maggie thinking of it as she wasn't around during the Whisperers.

I am bored with Commonwealth.  What makes them think their group would want to come there?   And how do they have all the supplies for that big a group?   Do they have a big fences to keep walkers out?     Course I don't see how the Reapers are such a big deal unless they have more people than we've seen.

[Iguessnot]

That train depot is so strange. Everybody with their purses and briefcases constantly meandering back and forth; but for what?

[madmax]

Probably in the minority, but Negan was right.  I said that when Rick & Co first killed the Satellite group.  They just did a bad thing, maybe for what they thought was a good reason, but it was still murdering people while they slept.  It's like shooting someone in the back as they're walking away.  I thought Negan's line about killing every one of them if he had the chance again was good.

It was a decent episode for a change.  

 

[Craft Cocktail]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

This was really, really dumb. All she had to do was yell "Hey kid, look behind you." Instead she stood there going "Eugene? Eugene? Eugene?" while Eugene was talking to the Governor's son. Bad writing, bad direction.

I agree, but Asshat Entitled Son would have said, "How dare you interrupt me when I'm talking?", and Stephanie would have ended up in the clink along with Eugene. I will be praying for a major comeuppance for this little snot; the tap on his face from Eugene does not qualify!

[madmax]

2 hours ago, Craft Cocktail said:

I agree, but Asshat Entitled Son would have said, "How dare you interrupt me when I'm talking?", and Stephanie would have ended up in the clink along with Eugene. I will be praying for a major comeuppance for this little snot; the tap on his face from Eugene does not qualify!

Yeah, he's written to be a major douchebag that everyone is afraid of/bows down to because he's the leader's son.  Kinda like Spencer in Alexandria.

[Crashcourse]

I was surprised the little snot's girlfriend was oblivious to the walker that was coming up behind her.  She should have been a walker snack just for being stupid and worrying about blood on her clothes.

[Starchild]

Remember when a herd of walkers took down the fences around an actual prison? None of those guys would have been held back by a couple of ropes. Good times.

[nodorothyparker]

Can we just skip to the end on whatever brand of crazy/dysfunctional the Commonwealth is? They're not even doing the usual no see, really, it's all good thing they normally do before they pull back the curtain on heads in fish tanks or barbequed traveling companions or whatever and I frankly just don't have the attention span or interest this late in the game to try to suss it all out. Guys, if you want to appear normal, maybe don't have people dressed as stormtroopers clomping around everywhere dragging people away for no discernible reasons. Either the governor's ridiculous son is the worst example of parental neglect of duty in equipping a kid to survive in this world since poor headless Henry or that was dinner theater level of setup.

Crazypants Head Water Boarder needs to pick an accent. I know English actors love to do Southern accents on American TV, but he's just all over the place. We're also going to need a motivation for why he's gunning so hard for Maggie sooner or later beyond I'm a crazy psychopath and I kill people because that's what I do.

 

7 hours ago, madmax said:

Probably in the minority, but Negan was right.  I said that when Rick & Co first killed the Satellite group.  They just did a bad thing, maybe for what they thought was a good reason, but it was still murdering people while they slept.  It's like shooting someone in the back as they're walking away.  I thought Negan's line about killing every one of them if he had the chance again was good.

This is where I end up too in thinking about it. We said all along when the satellite station story was happening that the only real reason to still be rooting for Rick and crew at that point was because we'd been following them all the way along and were used to seeing them as the good guys of the series. Granted,  the show made it easy by writing Negan so cartoonishly evil and the Saviors as such unrelenting assholes. Given the amount of destruction and number of people killed Rick and crew ultimately caused, Negan isn't wrong in saying that it would have been the smarter thing to kill every last one of them as soon as he realized what he was dealing with instead of dicking around and playing with them the way he apparently had every other community under the Saviors' boots. But of course Maggie manages to be shocked, just shocked, by this like she hasn't been tiresomely drawling around threatening to kill Negan every single episode so far this season. Maggie apparently also doesn't remember the episode she and Carol spent with the Savior wives and girlfriends learning that gee, they were people too anymore than she remembered who Negan fundamentally is. The show's magical redemption bus aside, Negan didn't reform because he sincerely wanted to be good guy now. He made the best of the hand he was left with after Rick destroyed everything he'd built and locked him up to rot for several years because it was preferable to being punted out alone in the world.

[Nashville]

Finally, TWD discussion into which I can interject somewhat quasi-intelligently; I stopped watching the series sometime around when God got so sick of the survivors He started chucking space junk at them in a vain attempt to rid Himself of them, but I still remember the preceding stuff pretty damn well.  😎

 

On 10/4/2021 at 11:16 AM, iMonrey said:

Which makes no damn sense, whatsoever. Honestly, I'm torn here because I do like the idea of using a horde to their advantage, but the "tactics" of the Whisperers is something I wish they would just sweep under the rug because it never made a lick of sense. Explain how wearing a mask and shuffling around actually controls them. Please.

Okay - a quick Zombie 101 review:

1. TWD-style zombies are totally unintelligent corporeal husks, by which I mean there is absolutely nothing approaching critical thought processes going on up there - zip, zero, nada.  Forget not going all the way up to the top - this elevator ain’t making it out of the basement, folks.  They didn’t have to be this way - Darabont’s original vision was of zombies which retained at least a minuscule degree of functional memory and cognitive ability - but that vision died with Darabont’s tenure, and we’re left with carnivorous perambulating plant life as a result.
2. That being said - zombies do have at least a majority baseline of operational sensory organs and the ability to respond reactively to sensory stimuli; that response is 100% equivalent to pure instinct, however, and not an execution of conscious thought.
3. Zombies respond most strongly to stimuli from - in decreasing order - sight, sound and smell.
4. The zombies’ strongest sensory stimuli instinctual response - vision - is also their most developed; zombies can distinguish between mobile and immobile objects and are stimulated by evidence of mobility (which is why they don’t go around gnawing on trees or the furniture), and they can also identify key prey characteristics at a distance (which is why they don’t go around gnawing on each other).
5. A zombie’s primary stimuli response kicks in when prey has been identified; they approach it, and they attempt to eat it.  Killing the prey isn’t even a specific goal (Zs just want to get in as many bites as they can), but is generally an unavoidable result of the feeding.  Failing primary stimuli/response, Zs fall back to their secondary response - waiting and/or casting about for sensory stimuli indicating the presence of prey - which also includes registering/recognizing the significance of the actions of other zombies. If one Z isn’t receiving significant prey indicators of its own but sees another Z start moving in a particular direction, the first Z will follow the second on the chance the second Z is receiving stimuli the first Z simply hasn’t picked up on yet; this is the herd instinct kicking in.  Failing primary or secondary stimuli/response, and eventually the walkers will simply quit walking until something triggers them enough to start moving again.

With regards to how/why the Whisperer herding technique works, #s 3-5 are key.  Don the mask and imitate the zombie sounds, and a Whisperer has already stymied the two strongest stimuli (sight and sound).  That leaves only smell, the weakest sensory stimuli - but that works in the Whisperers’ favor; the Zs will be sensually engaged in their secondary response to locate prey, but at its lowest (and most manageable) level.  The Zs will be low-key aroused by the scent, but lacking any clear directional indicators to prey - until they see another zombie (or Whisperer) move off in a particular direction, that is, at which point they’ll start walking in the same direction in case that moving zombie (Whisperer) has picked up on something good.

 

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It still makes me stabby when they try to do this false equivalency thing though. Rick's group was trying to protect their communities from a sinister gang of thugs who were extorting supplies from those communities by force. If they hadn't been engaged in these tactics they wouldn't have been attacked in the first place. You reap what you sow. 

Er… not exactly.  When Rick & Company attacked the satellite station, they did so solely as mercenaries - in response to Gregory’s claims of persecution (by a group called “the Saviors”), and in return for supplies from the Hilltop community stores.  At the time CDB had zero real information about the actual size or capabilities of the Saviors; Gregory (mis-)represented the satellite station’s staff as the entirety of Hilltop’s problem, and Rick was foolish enough to accept Gregory’s word on the subject as factual without further verification - but none of that changes the basic fact that CDB essentially agreed to kill people for pay in the form of supplies.  Call them mercenaries, or hired guns, or murderers for hire - it all equates to the same.

[iMonrey]

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With regards to how/why the Whisperer herding technique works, #s 3-5 are key.  Don the mask and imitate the zombie sounds, and a Whisperer has already stymied the two strongest stimuli (sight and sound).

Fine, let us assume this works (and does not contradict Season 1 attempts to "fool" the Walkers). It's not rocket science. And it's not magic. Why, exactly, were the Whisperers such a threat? They weren't doing anything the people of Alexandria or other communities couldn't do themselves. So they control a big herd? Big deal. Don your own mask and just shuffle them off in another direction. 

I also don't get why Maggie has to "practice" this technique. It's just mask up and shuffle, right? Negan said he 'learned' it from the Whisperers. I don't see anything particularly tricky about it.

[tennisgurl]

I like that they are finally learning and utilizing different techniques to deal with Walkers, like using the Whispers method to hide from them, but I think they kind of missed the point. I thought the whole point was to cover yourself in Walker goop so that walkers cant smell you? So why should the Walkers care about your Spencer's gifts Halloween mask? That's this show though, it almost has a good idea but it falls apart in the execution, fumbling right before the end zone. 

This was a decent episode, we did actually move the plot along and it had some actually intense scenes. Even the whole bit with Darryl and Leah, a story that I normally do not care about very much, was pretty good. The Commonwealth might seem fancy, especially compared to even the nicer communities, but there is clearly a darker underbelly here, even beyond their annoying bureaucracy and indulging in spoiled brats. There has to be a reason Yumiko's brother is being so cagey about being a doctor, it makes me think that there are engaging in some sketchy medical practices or something. Also, come on Yumiko, play things closer to the chest! Your supposed to be the subtle one in the group! Still, I vastly prefer the Commonwealth over all of the "lets just roll around in our own feces and kill people because some jackass told us to" villains we have had over and over. It would be interesting if the Commonwealth, like a lot of the earlier versions of The Kingdom or Alexandria, is not really an evil place but an alright place with people who have good intentions but have some big secrets and major flaws. The gang doesn't really have to fight them, just figure out to navigate them. Or take them over. They do that a lot. 

When the Walkers were going after the bratty trust fund kid, I was fully team zombie. 

Stephanie, a simple "hey, look out" would probably have been about a billion times more efficient then sending a Morse code to any Walker in the area.

Edited October 5, 2021 by tennisgurl

[iMonrey]

Quote

It is really hard to give two shits about Eugene.  If he wasn't thinking with his penis, he and his pals wouldn't be in the position they are in now.

I don't think I've ever cared about Eugene. He annoys the crap out of me.

[madmax]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Fine, let us assume this works (and does not contradict Season 1 attempts to "fool" the Walkers). It's not rocket science. And it's not magic. Why, exactly, were the Whisperers such a threat? They weren't doing anything the people of Alexandria or other communities couldn't do themselves. So they control a big herd? Big deal. Don your own mask and just shuffle them off in another direction. 

I also don't get why Maggie has to "practice" this technique. It's just mask up and shuffle, right? Negan said he 'learned' it from the Whisperers. I don't see anything particularly tricky about it.

No one in that group THOUGHT about herding the walkers. 

I equate it to how they learned about walker guts in season one then conveniently forgot for a bunch of seasons and "thought" about it again. (I wonder if Rick still remembers that first camouflage walker's name)

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

No one in that group THOUGHT about herding the walkers. 

Well when they saw the Whisperers doing it, shouldn't that have given them the idea? Or were they all like "ooh, magic?"

[nodorothyparker]

The point is it really didn't give them the idea that this was something they could also do. We saw Daryl briefly try it out a time or two to look around, but none of them took the initiative until Negan did a crash course internship with the Whisperers and got the inside scoop, so to speak. Up to that point they mostly sat around wringing their hands about how they just had no choice but to coexist with these psychopaths next door because they had that giant walker herd pointed at them.

[Nashville]

What I would dearly love to see?  One group coming in to Whisper-herd a large group of walkers, only to discover the herd is already being led by an antagonistic group of Whisper-herders.  
Then we get to see the opposing groups try to fight each other to the death - while simultaneously trying NOT to rile up the herd they’re both standing in the middle of….  😁

[heisenberg]

20 hours ago, madmax said:

No one in that group THOUGHT about herding the walkers. 

I equate it to how they learned about walker guts in season one then conveniently forgot for a bunch of seasons and "thought" about it again. (I wonder if Rick still remembers that first camouflage walker's name)

 

Add also the fact that they discovered that if you get in contact with the walkers fluids you die, to finish to a point of "Nah, it does not matter, you can shower with it!" 

[heisenberg]

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

What I would dearly love to see?  One group coming in to Whisper-herd a large group of walkers, only to discover the herd is already being led by an antagonistic group of Whisper-herders.  
Then we get to see the opposing groups try to fight each other to the death - while simultaneously trying NOT to rile up the herd they’re both standing in the middle of….  😁

Without anyone watching, You throw stink bombs on the enemy side.🤢😝🙂

[Smad]

On 10/5/2021 at 3:33 AM, nodorothyparker said:

Given the amount of destruction and number of people killed Rick and crew ultimately caused, Negan isn't wrong in saying that it would have been the smarter thing to kill every last one of them as soon as he realized what he was dealing with instead of dicking around and playing with them the way he apparently had every other community under the Saviors' boots.

Only problem with that is, if Negan didn't have nuclear resistant armor, he would be dead one way or another. He might prefer that to having spend 10 years or so imprisoned but that's what would have happened. Because even if he had killed the entire line up, Carol and Morgan would have still been alive. And if they had gotten wind of this, I don't see how Negan would have survived that.

Besides as long as Negan was employing sadists like Simon, long haired freak and his biker gang and sending them out to deal with people/communities, eventually that would lead to war. Because not everyone you meet out there is going to take oppression laying down. Or you know, Negan could have approached others for alliances like Alexandria/Hilltop/Kingdom/Oceanside had instead of subjugating other because he and his are too lazy and stupid to work themselves. And lets not kid ourselves, every person in that satellite station would have killed on Negan's say so even if it was just out of fear of being killed themselves by their dictator.

On 10/5/2021 at 3:33 AM, nodorothyparker said:

Maggie apparently also doesn't remember the episode she and Carol spent with the Savior wives and girlfriends learning that gee, they were people too anymore than she remembered who Negan fundamentally is.

Yes they were people too but so were the people Negan and his Neganites killed. Every person who Negan lucilled probably had a family. Same goes for the people his Neganites killed. What Maggie should remember is that she was the one who set it all in motion because she was the one who made the deal with Hilltop in the first place. That Daryl was the one running off half cocked after Dwight which is how Glenn ended up in Negan's hands. That she was the one who went with them when they attacked the satellite station despite being pregnant. And that that's how she ended up a captive, kicked in the stomach because she refused to listen to Carol who wanted them to leave as soon as they got free which lead to complications with the baby and the trip to Hilltop. It's really on Maggie and Daryl when you get down to it. But I guess it's human nature to blame other people because that's easier.

[heisenberg]

6 hours ago, Smad said:

Neganites

Lol!🤣

I miss that show so much...

[Smad]

4 hours ago, heisenberg said:

Lol!🤣

I miss that show so much...

Looks like a typical Savior to me...

[Nashville]

On 10/5/2021 at 2:34 PM, iMonrey said:

Fine, let us assume this works (and does not contradict Season 1 attempts to "fool" the Walkers). It's not rocket science. And it's not magic. Why, exactly, were the Whisperers such a threat? They weren't doing anything the people of Alexandria or other communities couldn't do themselves. So they control a big herd? Big deal. Don your own mask and just shuffle them off in another direction. 
 

Initially the Whisperers were a threat simply because they were outside the experience - or conceptual comprehension, if you prefer - of the sane survivors still running about; nobody knew or even suspected a Whisperer type was something you needed to watch out for (reference the late great Jesus).

As to later…?  The Whisperers were still a threat, albeit a different kind; they could blend in and move with a herd in a way non-Whisperers could not readily detect, or counter without taking on an entire herd on the off-chance a few Whisperers might be mixed in.

 

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I also don't get why Maggie has to "practice" this technique. It's just mask up and shuffle, right? Negan said he 'learned' it from the Whisperers. I don't see anything particularly tricky about it.

The only thing I can think is there must be a studied non-pattern or such about the way one has to walk within a herd without drawing their attention; if you’re familiar with the Dune books/movies, something akin to the specifically non-rhythmic shuffle the Fremen had to adopt when crossing the sands to avoid attracting sandworms (which were drawn to repetitive vibrations like regular footsteps).  Maybe anything approaching a semi-normal walking cadence is one of the visual stimuli “prey” indicators which trigger walkers…?

(I dunno - just spitballing here….)

Edited October 13, 2021 by Nashville
This editor suuuucks