S05.E02: Strangers

[Boofish]

I liked Bob even though he looked and was dressed sorta like a little Rascal

 

Bear with me; my point is coming. I was in the car with a friend on Saturday and he is one of those people who thinks he has mastered the art of "texting and driving" So I was constantly telling him that even if he don't care about his own life, I had things I was looking forward to and wanted to live and I wanted the other people on the road to make it home safely as well. Just like I'm taught at work - I made it personal. I knew he was going to a wedding of a friend later that night and I said "why would you risk your life and the happiest day of her life by texting and driving" and then I said "please tell me how you got all these urgent messages (I'M ON MY WAY, "YES", YOU WANT TO EAT CHINESE FOOD TONIGHT) before technology for which he had no valid answer. My point you ask? Long before the word came to an end there was a time when there was no technology, phones, bullets, factories or processed foods. Herschel had the right idea to farm and grow. I know no one in this particular group (with maybe the exception of Daryl) are used to living without comfort and luxuries but I really wish they would focus on at least trying. Find some tools, cut down some trees. You can't spend the rest of your days risking your life for  a can of corn

 

I'm on the fence with Maggie and Beth. Maggie knows she is alive but I can't imagine in the situation they are in she needs to be talking about and looking for Beth every second of the day. I think if they were focusing on that (she has nary a clue where to even start) it would quickly grow old. I think if Maggie had just the smallest hope, she would be out looking for Beth. If Daryl had sent Carol back in the church to tell them what they saw, I think Maggie would be hot on the trail. As it stands, she can't do anything about it and I'm not sure mourning the entire day and being a sad sack is her best option

Edited October 21, 2014 by Boofish

[fliptopbox]

Well we know cannibalism in this day and age does not mean immortality. But it might make someone delusional, especially if they're doing it out of revenge and punishment.

 

I am still wondering about the Gareth/Bob conversation at the end. It seems they know each other, or at least had met before by the way Gareth spoke to him. I want to know more about Bob's past and his former groups who all "didn't make it". Hopefully somehow they shed light on that, otherwise not much Gareth said made sense. But he's also batshit...so there's that.

[JackONeill]

 

That's why the quote in the church was so appropriate.  Paraphrasing, it said something like "He who eats from my flesh and drinks of my blood shall have eternal life."

 

This reminds me of a great line from The X-Files.  Mulder's trying to get away from a vampire, who's trying his damnedest to bite him.  The Vampire says, "Don't you want to live forever?"  To which Mulder replied, "Not if draw-string pants come back into fashion."

 

I bet Mulder and Scully would have taken care of these Walkers by now.  But then, it would have ALL been about a government conspiracy.  They may have even called Eugene into service.

[Constantinople]

Maybe Rick doesn't know that about Episcopalians either, and just saw a man in the priest garb and figured he shouldn't be getting to know women.

I have a sneaking suspicion the producers are from the Northeast and just assumed that the Episcopal Church differs from the familiar-to-them Roman Catholic one only by lacking a Pope.

 

I may be that Rick doesn't know much about the Episcopal Church.

It may also be that the producers don't either. In The Conversion episode from Seinfeld, the writer wanted a fictitious Christian denomination, so he created Latvian Orthodox.  However it turned about there really was a Latvian Orthodox denomination.

 

But I'm not sure why the producers' ignorance would result from being from the Northeast.  In any case, Robert Kirkman wrote the episode, and I believe he's from Kentucky (born/bred/still lives there).

 

Now that I think about it, IIRC, Kirkman didn't know the CDC was based in Atlanta.

[Armchair Critic]

When I rewatched, everyone's faces when the preacher barfed cracked me up. Though I thought Abraham's comment about not giving two short and curlies (WTF? classy.)  was a bit much.

[lulee]

When I rewatched, everyone's faces when the preacher barfed cracked me up. Though I thought Abraham's comment about not giving two short and curlies (WTF? classy.)  was a bit much.

I am inordinately bothered by the color on the top of his noggin. I heard that line and wondered if he dyes that hair Cheetos-orange as well.

[kj4ever]

I am inordinately bothered by the color on the top of his noggin. I heard that line and wondered if he dyes that hair Cheetos-orange as well.

I want the walking comic book characters gone.  At least Gareth seems like a real person as opposed to Phillip who was also a walking comic book character.

 

Gah I wish they would just forget the comic books from now on go orignal.  A lot of the comic book crap just doesn't translate to the screen.

[HolmesUltimateQu]

It was also Shane who kept the ENTIRE group together in check, a group that included Merle, before Rick even got there. It was Shane who beat Ed to a pulp for victimizing the worlds biggest victim, Carol, and let it be known that he would not tolerate the menfolk acting a fool with the women folk.  It was Shane who saved Rick's raggedy ass family in the first place AND saved Rick.  Shane wasn't this indiscriminate killer that people have built him up to be - he wasn't the Governor.  He wasn't a Termite.  He killed Otis (who shot Carl), Randall (from the marauding band of rapists) and attempted to kill Rick (and I believe he was far gone by this point from grief and jealousy) - but he never harmed ANYONE in their group and went through it all WITH them, not against them.   I don't have enough time to count up Rick's body count, including Shane. "I killed my best friend for you people!"  "I killed Shane because he was undermining my authority."  Whatever.  Rick's no freakin Saint and Shane wasn't Satan's little brother.  Both are/were flawed.  Both made good and bad decisions.  Both did the best they could.  And both had HORRIBLE taste in women (looking at you Lori).  I see why they were best friends - two sides of the same coin. 

 

Took response to the Shane thread.

Edited October 21, 2014 by rachel is awesome

[AngelaHunter]

I don't believe cannibalism is the only option.

 

 

Cannibalism may not be the only option, but it's certainly the easiest and most reliable one. In Terminus, the Termites didn't even have to hunt for their food - it came to them. Scavenging, as Rick's band does, provides meals for a day or two if they're lucky and their lives now center around the perpetual quest for food. There's no more livestock or vegetable crops and although fruit trees may still produce, the yield is negligible.

 

People have the ability to become accustomed to nearly anything and have resorted to cannibalism before when faced with starvation. It's true that there are people who would rather die than partake, and in Terminus those people became the dinner and not the diner.

Edited October 21, 2014 by AngelaHunter

[Bryce Lynch]

Looks like Bob's final and greatest victory in the "Good outta bad" game might be, "Roasted and eaten alive by psycho, Termite cannibals - I was bitten in the food bank so those bastards are gonna turn!"

[fliptopbox]

I am inordinately bothered by the color on the top of his noggin. I heard that line and wondered if he dyes that hair Cheetos-orange as well.

I wonder about that too. It seems he is naturally a ginger from his facial hair so why dye his hair that ridiculous orange?

[JackONeill]

It's funny, I miss Shane too.  As much as I like Daryl, Rick and Shane really were brothers.  It would have been interesting to see how that would have played out without all of the Lori drama.

Speaking of hair: Is that Eugene's hair this season?  It was a wig last season, but it looks different now.

[Bryce Lynch]

Questions I have about Shish-Ka-Bob: How did they keep him from bleeding out after cutting his leg off? And why didn't he immediately have intense pain in his leg when he first woke up? And why can't they just eat squirrels like everyone else?

Eating too many squirrels can lead to "rabbit starvation" from a lack of fat.  Humans provide a better balanced diet. :)

[Bruinsfan]

I just can't see how anyone could be this far into the ZA and NOT know. Maybe Father Gabriel, if his story holds water. But for people who have been on the road and lived through some rough stuff, surely they've had a moment like the one with Shane....you thought a dude was dead and he pops back up. 

Yeah, I would think that anyone who's survived in a group of people would have lost at least one to infection or lethal wounds by now, and also survived the unpleasant surprise of them returning a few hours later. Living solo in isolation like Father Gabriel is about the only likely way to avoid having learned that everyone rises postmortem.

 

There is a fatal nervous system disease called Kuru that is caused by eating diseased human brain or contact with open wounds or sores. It was discovered in a people called the South Fore in New Guinea. They would eat the internal organs of their dead (no, they did not kill them). Kuru has a long incubation period (as much as 30 years) so it would take a while for an individual to present with symptoms. If you want to know more: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kuru/kuru.htm

Kuru is limited to a tiny part of New Zealand, though. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a more widespread similar prion disease with an incubation period of 4-5 months that causes dementia and other psychiatric problems prior to death, but even that is pretty rare and might be wiped out entirely by the death toll of a zombie apocalypse. I'd think that things like parasitic infections and common communicable diseases being left in meat that wasn't thoroughly cooked would be a bigger danger to cannibals.

 

On the general survival front, while large game would probably be far more scarce thanks to predation from zombie hordes, I'd expect the opposite to be true of fish in lakes and streams that are no longer being overfished, particularly bottom feeders like catfish that would benefit from parts sloughing off passing zombies into the water.

[NurseGiGi]

The group has seen, and done, some truly horrible things and the cannibalism is just the icing on the cake.  I wish someone would give a shout out to Jackie by wondering if perhaps she had the right idea back at the CDC.

 

Their lives are so grim and the only time I've seen them have any happiness was in the prison for a brief time. For me to continue living in this world I would have to have some glimmer of hope and moments of happiness or else what's the point?  I think the only reason they keep going is because they have each other.  I really miss Herschel because he seemed to be the moral glue that kept everything together.  Which makes me question, again, why no one but Daryl and Carol seem to care about finding Beth (I'm looking at you, Maggie).

 

And Father Gabriel is just bad news.  The scripture that's over the archway at the church really has me wondering.  I won't say anymore about it because I saw it on TTD and I'm afraid it would be a spoiler.  And I don't know how to spoiler tag.

 

ETA: I hope they don't feel the need to show us a human extremity being roasted over the campfire each episode.  That's the worst thing I've ever seen on TV and I don't want to see it on a weekly basis.

 

ETA Part 2:  I didn't realize someone was already discussing the archway so I apologize.  :)

Edited October 21, 2014 by NurseGiGi

[Seawolff]

In terms of wildlife to be hunted, let's not forget that the walkers will eat any creature that is alive, so the supply would not be as abundant as you might think.

Talk about locusts! And just like locusts, the walkers (live and dead) are exhausting a food supply, running out their lifespan (by being either obnoxious dangerous or weak) after which a moderate population and food growth will once again ensue. Said population will then either overcome the flaw with adaptation or mutation, or become extinct.

Of course cannibalism is not required to survive unless you are trapped in a place where there is NO source of food or escape. Examples such as environments of snow on an isolated mountain, or being in a lifeboat come to mind. Even then, it's really your own bad luck if you outlast your fellow trapped persons and are strong enough to have an ability to eat them. From what has been shared throughout modern experience, most people who have been in that position feel pretty bad about it and wouldn't do it again. Then again, it may be that those who liked it just aren't sharing.

Terminus had plenty of food growing. Those guys are just sick, and lazy.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Seawolff

[callmebetty]

If I had to sit and listen to Gareth drone on in his hipster doofus way, I would be taking a knife to MYSELF and cutting away chunks. Being eaten by cannibals isn't the torture, it's Gareth. Even his name makes him douchebaggy.

[NoWillToResist]

 

Carol isn't so much selfish as self centered. Like this episode when everyone else was wondering about DC or focused about survival she was worried about what people thought of her.

 

I can't disagree with this enough. People kept coming to HER and trying to reassure her, not the other way around. Anytime someone approached her, she REBUFFED their praise and redirected it either to someone else or said they got lucky. She was not being disingenuous and trying to get more praise; she honestly wasn't comfortable around them anymore. IMO, a woman who was worried about what people thought of her would do her damndest to talk to everyone and get them to see her side of it...to sympathize with her or whatever. But instead, she withdrew. Hell, she could probably milk the Lizzie/Mika situation for lots of tragic sympathy but she hasn't taken that route. That, to me, is not someone who is focused on how others see her; I think she's too busy being depressed to give much of a shit how others view her. Throw in that she was apparently about to leave a group which clearly welcomed her back and I'm not seeing a woman who worries what her gang thinks of her. I think she's currently miserable because of how she now sees herself (post Lizzie) and doesn't think she deserves to be around people. Her struggle is internal, not external.

 

 

Or when she insisted Mika learned to hunt so she could be reassured that she wouldn't lose her.

 

Or...so the kid wouldn't get herself killed?

 

 

Carol has trouble seeing beyond her own feelings a lot of the time it seems. //  Carol has trouble seeing beyond her own feelings a lot of the time it seems. She can do empathy but I think its harder for her than most.

 

And yet she was friendly and supportive towards all the ladies in the group, she cooked and cleaned for the group, she comforted Lori during her pregnancy, worked her ass off to help with Judith, kept an eye on Daryl and made sure that he didn't withdraw from the group back at the farm, welcomed the Woodbury crew to the prison...I just...I can't see her someone who is self-centred, self-absorbed or selfish. Her personal history would have required the exact opposite. IMO, you can't have an abused wife who is all "my stuff is more important than yours".

 

To weigh in on the whole Bob debate, I did notice that after his encounter with the walker, the actor appears to be affecting a slight limp of sorts which I took to mean that he'd been scratched or bitten...

Edited October 21, 2014 by NoWillToResist

[JBody]

The fact that we have to fanwank away Maggie's interest/disinterest in Beth makes me think it's a bit of an oversight by the writing staff (but I'm not an expert, just a snarker).

[JBody]

Or a deliberate dismissal of the character in order to make her return more shocking, or something like that.

[JackONeill]

 

Or a deliberate dismissal of the character in order to make her return more shocking, or something like that.

 

I've wondered about the whole Maggie-Beth thing, but here are so many people on this board that could care less about Beth.  But even if you don't like Beth, I think it's poor (and sloppy) writing if you don't at least throw out a sentence or two to explain it.  Yes, they had a lot to cover with all the reunions, but they're sisters (I don't care if it is only half-sisters).  We saw how committed Maggie was to finding Glen.  Yet, all last season Maggie asked not ONE question about Beth.  Now, this season, except for the hurried sentence by Daryl in the boxcar, there's again no interest in Beth.  I'm sorry - it makes no sense.

 

So, maybe, like you say, it's some deliberate attempt to make her return more dramatic.  Except I have little confidence in the writers.

[Dobian]

I like Beth and the writers haven't forgotten, they obviously are putting Daryl and Carol hot on her trail.

[mightysparrow]

I've wondered about the whole Maggie-Beth thing, but here are so many people on this board that could care less about Beth.  But even if you don't like Beth, I think it's poor (and sloppy) writing if you don't at least throw out a sentence or two to explain it.  Yes, they had a lot to cover with all the reunions, but they're sisters (I don't care if it is only half-sisters).  We saw how committed Maggie was to finding Glen.  Yet, all last season Maggie asked not ONE question about Beth.  Now, this season, except for the hurried sentence by Daryl in the boxcar, there's again no interest in Beth.  I'm sorry - it makes no sense.

 

So, maybe, like you say, it's some deliberate attempt to make her return more dramatic.  Except I have little confidence in the writers.

 

I have even less confidence in EK.  If tptb think that she's capable of carrying an important story line, I think they're going to be very disappointed.  One of the reasons that so many people don't care about Beth's whereabouts is because the character hasn't made any impact outside of being a potential resting place for Daryl's penis.  That's all the character has going for her.  On Sunday night the writers gave Carl Beth's line 'not everybody is bad' and Chandler delivered better than EK could ever dream of doing.  I thought it couldn't be a coincidence that Carl is becoming the 'hopeful' one just before Daryl and Carol go looking for Beth.  I think they want the storyline to be important but not the character.  I think Bethie's days are numbered.

[Nashville]

And how does Mr Mullet know that the clowns he was talking to on his satellite phone aren't just part of a bigger and badder Terminus trying to lure people in? We are talking about DC here - not the most ethical bunch pre-ZA.

Have we determined (by seeing it) that Eugene and Abe are actually talking to anyone in DC? They can all corroborate each other but til it's seen or overheard, til then it's bullshit. And it's pretty easy to fake a phone call. Walk away and talk to yourself. I still call the DC trip as a waste except for the good it could do to get them out of the Atlanta area.

Dang. You beat me to it. I fully expect Eugene/MulletMan/Joe Dirt:

1. Fully recognizes he has all the personal survival capacity of a whelk in a supernova.

2. Came up with a lame-ass story he HOPED would be plausible enough to convince some group somewhere to let him ride its coattails.

3. Was damfool lucky enough to find someone (a) stupid enough to swallow story hook, line and sinker (HI ABRAHAM!!!), and (b) strong enough to keep him alive to date.

Speaking of which - HEY BRAINIACS!!! EXACTLY WHICH ONES OF YOU ARE STUPID ENOUGH TO BELIEVE A SATPHONE CHARGE LASTS A YEAR OR MORE!?!?!?

[JackONeill]

I was happy that Rick took the initiative to tell Tara "no hard feelings."  I normally don't like the fist-bump, but it worked for them.  I hope she makes it (for awhile).  There's something about her -- she knows she's not superwoman, but she tries hard.

 

I was somewhat confused (only because I couldn't remember) about the Maggie and Tara conversation.  I faintly remember Glen telling Maggie (when they found one another) something that we all figured would come back and bite him in the ass.  What was it?  I could tell as Tara was talking to her, Maggie was adding two and two and not coming up with four.

[Boofish]

 

I faintly remember Glen telling Maggie (when they found one another) something that we all figured would come back and bite him in the ass.  What was it?  I could tell as Tara was talking to her, Maggie was adding two and two and not coming up with four.

He told Maggie they met on the road and when he told her what he was doing she knew she had to help

 

Rick and Cutie Judy are my favorite father/daughter team currently on television. I know he's acting but his face lights up when he sees her

 

Oh Father Fraidy-Cat - let me know if I am completely out of line. I am not trying to be or offend anyone but there is no gentle way to put this. I think for some people, him being Eugene Light is painful because he is black. All the other black men on this show have been strong and helpful. Now comes this docile nerd in priest clothing and everyone (myself included) is all Liz Lemoning "WHAT THE WHAT" Like I said, if I'm out of line or offensive to anyone, I would like to apologize in advance

[JackONeill]

Yeah, but I think the padre hides something dark and sinister, if only in omission (and that's a sin too).

[ghoulina]

To weigh in on the whole Bob debate, I did notice that after his encounter with the walker, the actor appears to be affecting a slight limp of sorts which I took to mean that he'd been scratched or bitten...

 

I noticed it when he was in the woods, walking around before getting knocked out. He definitely seemed to be walking with a bit of a limp, or as if he was in some sort of pain. Someone on here mentioned his shoulder bleeding? I rewatched and still didn't see that, but he did have a red patch on his jacket. So maybe that's what they saw?

 

I've wondered about the whole Maggie-Beth thing, but here are so many people on this board that could care less about Beth.  But even if you don't like Beth, I think it's poor (and sloppy) writing if you don't at least throw out a sentence or two to explain it.  Yes, they had a lot to cover with all the reunions, but they're sisters (I don't care if it is only half-sisters).  We saw how committed Maggie was to finding Glen.  Yet, all last season Maggie asked not ONE question about Beth.  Now, this season, except for the hurried sentence by Daryl in the boxcar, there's again no interest in Beth.  I'm sorry - it makes no sense.

 

I agree. I'm not in the "I could care less about Beth" camp, but I don't love her either. She's a sweet girl played by a very mediocre actress. Yet despite my lukewarm feelings, I am very bothered about Maggie's nonchalance over her sister (and yes, I don't care about half-sisters either because I was raised with 3 half-sister, ranging in age from 3 years younger than me to 11 years younger, and I'm super close to all 3 of them).

 

And I even get why she went looking for Glenn first. She knew he got on the bus, she knew what general direction the bus went, she found out he was off the bus, etc. She wouldn't have even begun to know where to look for her sister at that point. But okay, she finds Glenn - and now all of a sudden she's smiles for days. I get being glad you found your husband, but shouldn't you be quite torn up over the loss of your sister? Again, I get not knowing what to do. Beth was taken in a CAR. She could be hundreds of miles away by now. In any direction. I could understand her deciding the search would be worthless....MAYBE....if she were just a little bit upset about it. Show some scenes of her breaking down over it, being withdrawn and sad, something. Not laughing and cutting up with everyone as if she hasn't a care in the world. Sheesh. 

 

I'm half expecting Daryl and Carol to come back with Beth and Maggie will be all, "Who?" and start subjecting her to the Three Questions. 

. All the other black men on this show have been strong and helpful.

 

*Cough*Tyrese*cough*

 

Okay, Ty has the strength....just not always the helpfulness. 

 

Yeah, but I think the padre hides something dark and sinister, if only in omission (and that's a sin too).

 

I think he's hiding something, but I'm not sure how much. I mean, he vomited after seeing CDB take out those walkers. Who can fake something like that? I think he really is weak and cowardly, but that doesn't mean he's not hiding something (see my post on him in the spec thread).

[lulee]

*Cough*Tyrese*cough*

 

Okay, Ty has the strength....just not always the helpfulness. 

Hey now! It can be really tiring carrying/wearing a baby on walks. That's been super helpful.

[Boofish]

I read the comics and I know what he's hiding but perhaps for the show it will be bolder

. All the other black men on this show have been strong and helpful.

*Cough*Tyrese*cough*

 

 

HA! Touche' - however if I'm facing down walkers, I'll take Tyrese over Father Fraidy Cat

Edited October 21, 2014 by Boofish

[JBody]

Yup, that's what I'm talking about. All this speculation about Maggie re. Beth. Was that the intention? Because it sure doesn't put Maggie in a good light.

Oh, while I'm here, is there a thread for random thoughts? I have some I'd like to share with all you lovelies (lucky you!).

[JackONeill]

I don't know about everybody else but I put random thoughts (the few that come to me) in the Speculation without Spoilers basket.

[Muffyn]

I wonder about that too. It seems he is naturally a ginger from his facial hair so why dye his hair that ridiculous orange?

I've always seen Michael Cudlitz with sandy blond hair, not this godawful dayglo orange monstrosity.  He also doesn't normally have what looks like the worst man perm since The Brady Bunch.  I usually find him very sexy.  Abraham is destroying my crush on MC.

[AngelaHunter]

Okay, what I loved - that disgusting mess in the food bank and the hideous zombie wearing glasses.

 

The only thing in that scene that bothered me is the way everyone ignored the clothes hanging up. You'd think they'd be desperate for new clothes, no matter how unstylish, considering the stinking, rotting mess of their own duds now. I shudder to think of the odor on everyone's drying clothes after they crawled out of the zombie soup.

[NoWillToResist]

 

The only thing in that scene that bothered me is the way everyone ignored the clothes hanging up. You'd think they'd be desperate for new clothes, no matter how unstylish, considering the stinking, rotting mess of their own duds now.

 

Seriously. If I'm not mistaken, when Beth and Daryl were on their own in a country club, she plucked out a pretty yellow cardigan in the golfing pro shop. I think that has been the only time I have ever been impressed by that character. ;)

[Seawolff]

Yeah, the clothes. Surprised they didn't spare 4 second of someone in the background sweeping a rack of clothes into the trolley. Maybe they planned to go back. I'm not in an apocalypse, just had three days of hurricane weather and now the sheets in the laundry basket have mold on them. These people's clothes should be moldy, and shredded.

[lawless]

Regarding Gareth talking to Bob like he knows him -- I think he referred to him by name when our guys were kneeling in front of the trough about to be slaughtered. Bob tried to reason with Gareth then about how they don't have to do this, they can get things back to the way they used to be, and I think at some point Gareth referred to him by name. I think Gareth probably found out his name when that part of the group initially arrived at Terminus, and that's probably it.

Regarding Maggie's lack of reaction to losing Beth - I agree there's nothing she could do to find her, so I don't hold not looking against her. But I agree the show should have given Maggie something to do to demonstrate grief or angst about losing Beth as well as her father, and finding out that she seems to have been kidnapped.

Regarding Father Gabriel. I also think he panicked and selfishly locked out his parishioners for the safety of his church. Surviving two years that way seems unlikely though, so I wonder if he has gone along to get along with someone stronger, like whoever took Beth. I don't think he's linked to Terminus though. Just a feeling.

[katiepotatey]

I am still wondering about the Gareth/Bob conversation at the end. It seems they know each other, or at least had met before by the way Gareth spoke to him.

 

I thought that Gareth using his name so much and acting familiar with Bob was because Gareth wanted Bob to know that they'd been watching/hunting the group. He also would've remembered Bob because of his speech right before Carol and her army of burning walkers came to save the day at Terminus.

Edited October 21, 2014 by katiepotatey

[Malaprop cocktail]

Oh Father Fraidy-Cat - let me know if I am completely out of line. I am not trying to be or offend anyone but there is no gentle way to put this. I think for some people, him being Eugene Light is painful because he is black. All the other black men on this show have been strong and helpful. Now comes this docile nerd in priest clothing and everyone (myself included) is all Liz Lemoning "WHAT THE WHAT" Like I said, if I'm out of line or offensive to anyone, I would like to apologize in advance

 

This doesn't offend me, but I don't agree. I think it's just super suspicious at this stage in the zombie apocalypse to find someone--especially someone who is alone, and doesn't appear to be relying on others for protection like Eugene--who can't defend himself against a few walkers. There has to be an explanation for how he's survived so long, besides the timing of a canned-food drive. It has "trap" written all over it. The joke he made about stealing their squirrels seemed downright sinister when not long before he'd seemed so helpless and desperate. Remember the last time the gang tried to help someone who shouldn't have survived this long, and she tried to feed Rick to her husband "Heady"? Circumstances like this have trained our group to be suspicious--and the story has trained us to feel the same sense of skepticism when we see something that just doesn't seem right.

 

So, yeah, I don't think people's issue with Gabriel has to do with his being black, but just with his being so ill equiped to deal with the ZA yet claiming to have survived on his own. It doesn't add up.

 

The church is all wrong, too. It doesn't make sense that people were trying to cut their way in with a knife, and carved words in the window trim, but didn't break the windows. I have to think this was an aesthetic choice on the part of the director/visual team to make the church look so pristine, but if there's not an explanation for it, it really takes me out of the story.

 

I am starting to like Bob so I really have trouble believing he would let the group go to Terminus (and go there himself) if he knew what was in store for them. Maybe more will come out about his background and a previous run-in with Gareth somewhere other than at Terminus, but I think it's plausible that Gareth's talk was just in reference to the group's being at Terminus and Bob's plea for their lives when he was at the trough.

 

Eugene, man. Twice now people have quieted down to hear him tell about the cure that awaits in D.C. (once in the train car and now in the church), and both times it was SO anticlimactic. Eugene's powers of persuasion are of a FUBAR magnitude, yet our hapless heroes are going along?

[Nashville]

The walker virus that makes you turn does lie dormant in people before dying switches in "on", right?

Exactly. Remember the EEG maps they were shown at Atlanta CDC? After the subject died, the brain scan display would go black (indicating no electrical activity) - then, a few minutes later, the flashes of activity would start up again....

Wouldn't surprise me a bit if the operative theory is the electrical activity of a live body is sufficient to keep the virus from switching on (infected, but dormant until dead) - unless the virus is already active when it enters the system (like from a zombie bite).

[Mu Shu]

I figure Bob will tell them about his tainted flesh next week.  Or maybe he's hoping he'll turn and get to become the snacker rather than the snackee. If he's going to die, he might as well take one of them with him. But I agree, there will have to be some kind of confrontation down the line.  

This is what I'm hoping.   They think Bob is nodding off from their travelling Termite anesthesia, he turns, and takes out at least one of them in dramatic fashion.   Bob was a good dude, he deserves to go out in a big way. 

[AngelaHunter]

(Beth) plucked out a pretty yellow cardigan in the golfing pro shop.

 

Yes, and a nice shirt too...well, nice until Daryl used a golf club to beat the daylights out of the zombie and spattered gore on her new clothes. I didn't understand why she didn't go and get another shirt and cardigan after that and pack a few more spares in their bags.

[Madding crowd]

I think it's because the writers want us to always see the characters with a certain look, so they don't change clothes like ever. But if I can deal with three people who look like full on cartoons I can handle Rick in a polo shirt or Maggie in a v-neck.

[PunkyMouse]

Of course cannibalism is not required to survive unless you are trapped in a place where there is NO source of food or escape....Terminus had plenty of food growing. Those guys are just sick, and lazy.

 

Yes! At the very least they were growing sunflowers, great for seeds and the petals are edible. Couldn't really tell what else, but there are lots of edible flowers, plants and weeds (pansies, dandelions, purslane) that grow wild, not to mention nuts, berries and fruit trees. Hell, in a pinch they can boil up some bamboo, which grows wild in the south. The Termites became cannibals out of revenge and never stopped.

 

Not to go off on too much of a tangent, but it kind of irks me that the whole time they were in the prison, which had a library, nobody bothered to read a book of edible plants, not even Hershel. While they were all waiting for Rick's little garden to produce, they could have fed themselves without having to rely solely on scavenged canned goods and whatever Daryl could hunt down. The thing about a hunter/gatherer culture is that you can't just hunt... you've got to gather!

[Nashville]

Yes, and a nice shirt too...well, nice until Daryl used a golf club to beat the daylights out of the zombie and spattered gore on her new clothes. I didn't understand why she didn't go and get another shirt and cardigan after that and pack a few more spares in their bags.

Color clash.

She's a Summer, and most of the clothing shades were for Winters.

Didn't complement her at all.

And the incidental unavoidable future walker juice stains would've stood out like a sore thumb.

[ParadoxLost]

This doesn't offend me, but I don't agree. I think it's just super suspicious at this stage in the zombie apocalypse to find someone--especially someone who is alone, and doesn't appear to be relying on others for protection like Eugene--who can't defend himself against a few walkers. There has to be an explanation for how he's survived so long, besides the timing of a canned-food drive. It has "trap" written all over it.

 

Actually when you start thinking about it there are some parallels between Gabriel's church and the funeral home that Daryl and Beth stumbled onto.

 

The too clean to be real.  The cross on the back of the car that took Beth.  The car showing up in both locations.  Yes, they are in the same vicinity but how likely is it that whoever took Beth just avoided Gabriel all this time.

 

But then I think back and its been a couple weeks and its really weird that Gabriel, Bethnapper, Governor, Terminus, and Ricks people are all in such a small area.

[Nashville]

Actually when you start thinking about it there are some parallels between Gabriel's church and the funeral home that Daryl and Beth stumbled onto.

 

The too clean to be real.  The cross on the back of the car that took Beth.  The car showing up in both locations.  Yes, they are in the same vicinity but how likely is it that whoever took Beth just avoided Gabriel all this time.

 

Probably choice more than chance.

Beth might have value for the Cross Cruisers, if only for entertainment and/or breeder purposes.

What value is presented by this cowardly cleric?

[natyxg]

Probably choice more than chance.

Beth might have value for the Cross Cruisers, if only for entertainment and/or breeder purposes.

What value is presented by this cowardly cleric?

 

That was my first thought when Beth was taken. That some sicko is taking young women with the excuse of needing to repopulate the earth. Rape could very likely follow, if thats the case. I hope they get to Beth soon.

[PunkyMouse]

Oh, and one more thing: I live in the south. There's practically a church on every corner, and you can usually see them from the road. Why are the churches on TWD in the middle of the forest?

ETA:

Rape could very likely follow, if thats the case. I hope they get to Beth soon.

Um... What?

Edited October 21, 2014 by PunkyMouse

[Cosmocrush]

I've been thinking (probably way too much) about Gareth, the Termites, and the discussion here about their canibalsim.   I wonder if Gareth wasn't a butcher in the pre-ZA and thus his comment last week about "being the butcher or butchered" and his seemingly expert skills at butchering bodies?  

 

I don't know how the actual decision to eat their captors first came to pass but I'm thinking that the [dormant] virus inside everyone, including the eaten, might be the reason these gross fucks continue to feast on human flesh even when unnecessary.   So when they consume another person that virus, while not turning them into a full on zombie, does give them a taste for [more] human flesh in a lighter version of the zombies hunger for flesh.   I hope that makes sense - it does in my head but I'm not sure I'm articulating it very well.  

Edited October 21, 2014 by Cosmocrush