S05.E04: Slabtown

[bunnyblue]

I finally got around to watching this episode. I really wasn't looking forward to an episode devoted to Beth and a bunch of unknown people but I gotta admit I kinda liked "Slabtown". 

 

During the escape from the hospital, I was impressed by how much Beth has grown and learned. Noah may have provided the muscle in lowering them down the elevator shaft but the rest was all Beth. I did LOL that the cop's gun had unlimited bullets just like Hershel's magical shotgun. In her panic to escape Beth still knew not to shoot off the gun all willy-nilly; go for the head only. I think she missed only once.

 

Those hospital people need to die. Soon. Their entire operation is stupid and pointless. How the hell can they have lived in the ZA for 1.5 years and still think help is coming?! Because I do think Dawn and the doctor truly believe that. I'm not buying that all those people in uniform were ever actual police officers. They could just be lackey's promoted by Dawn who are enjoying a power trip like Gorman.

 

I also can't believe that these idiots have  survived and continue to survive going out on runs to kidnap/save people. Why do they allow their parking lot to be over run by walkers? There were maybe 20 walkers just hanging around while Beth & Noah escaped. And there was that big gaping hole in the first fence that walkers can squeeze through. Why haven't they closed it off? And why don't they kill the walkers that are hanging out by the huge vent that the doctor showed Beth. Hmm, the more I think about the hospital people the more annoyed I get with this episode. 

 

Well, Beth didn't annoy me. I felt awful that she's getting beat and is now trapped there without a friend now that the doctor is clearly an asshole. I wish Beth had told Dawn to fuck off with her unwanted "help". I wanted her to tell Dawn that she has survived over a year out in the wild; without hot meals, without clean clothes, without a warm bed. That she has seen and endured more horrors than the sheltered hospital people have ever seen.

 

Now that Carol's there I really hope they work together to get out and kill as many as those assholes as possible. Like Hershel once said, "you people are like the plague". Every shelter our gang has ever occupied always ends up destroyed, so I can't see how that hospital and it's inhabitants can survive once the prison gang is through with them. Burn it down!

[kikismom]

Does Beth know the camo trick? Rick and Glenn used it way back in Season 1, and I don't remember seeing it since then, at least until Carol brought it back.

Of course Carol remembers it. She's the one who had to do their laundry afterwards.

But Beth didn't meet them until Season 2.

When Michonne leaves Woodbury, she gets in a fight with Merle and Gargiulio or Neil or whoever and 2 more .

 

The fight is actually broken up by a walker attack.

 

Michonne gets to escape Merle then, and when she comes across more walkers she panics until she sees the walk right by. Easier than pets on chains.

 

She goes in town and hears Glenn and Maggie, sees Merle kidnap them, figures out formula--baby--prison and locates WGC.

 

She approaches fence semi-safely with grocery basket of formula, Rick craps in confusion, the walkers figure out she's not one of them, etc etc.

 

So...Beth was at the prison when they carried Michonne in, covered with gore. Could have just assumed it was the battle at the gate,..but wouldn't you think the others would talk about Michonne's unusual approach in a herd at the fence?

[CletusMusashi]

Well, if Beth gets drunk or Carol gets worried, burnings do tend to happen...

Edited November 4, 2014 by CletusMusashi

[Nashville]

Yea, I wouldn't leave my keys in the car, ZA or not. But they didn't even check. That was what bothered me. They know those cars are in use, not just abandoned. I would have at least given a quick look through the windows, to see if I would have an easier escape method.

 

Noah might know that - but would Beth?  Considering "everything went black" before she ever saw her "rescuers", or their method of transport?  The significance of the Crossmobiles may have been totally lost on her.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Nashville

[GaT]

I'm a little skeptical that every organized group they run into is despotic in some cooky weird fashion.  It's just hyperbolized that every group would have same insane secret, rather than a fair amount of them having your standard run of the mill secrets and harsh realities that our group faces.

This is my big problem with the hospital, they've already done this with Woodbury & Terminus, why are we seeing the same plot again? Is there going to be a new location run by crazies every season? I'm bored with the whole wash, rinse, repeat they're giving us.

[JackONeill]

If I'm running for my ass, probably the last thing I'm going to do is stop and veer out of my line of escape to go over to a car and HOPE the keys are in it, and even if the keys are it, how do I know (assuming Beth doesn't recognize the car) it's going to start?  I'm sure Beth, though not as worldly as Rick and Daryl, knows the chances of a car starting that's been sitting for a year and a half are slim.  I think in a situation like that, with Walkers coming at you, it's best to rely on good old-fashioned foot power. 

[PunkyMouse]

You know what this episode needed? More cowbell.

[Nashville]

In this environment, considering (a) the thousands of dead-and-abandoned cars they've passed by in their travels and (b) the amount of trouble they've had keeping a half-dozen or so vehicles in some semblance of operation, I suspect the default view the survivors have of autos is that of clutter, not transport.  They're something to hide in, hide behind, or run around - not something to drive off in.

[seacliffsal]

One thing that always takes me out of Beth's characterization is that the actress is looking closer to her real age rather than to the character's age.  For a 17 or 18 year old teenager, she may be a bit slower at figuring out things but for a character who looks to be Sasha's or Maggie's age, I start to expect more.  Even though EK looked closer in age to her character when first introduced on the show, she actually looks quite a bit older than her character's age at this point (at least to me).

[ghoulina]

In this environment, considering (a) the thousands of dead-and-abandoned cars they've passed by in their travels and (b) the amount of trouble they've had keeping a half-dozen or so vehicles in some semblance of operation, I suspect the default view the survivors have of autos is that of clutter, not transport.  They're something to hide in, hide behind, or run around - not something to drive off in.

 

Except for Carol. She immediately checked to see if the car outside the church worked. Rick gave her one when he kicked her out as well. Personally, *I* wouldn't be checking cars because I'd assume gas had gone bad by this point. But in TWD they have magical gas, so I wouldn't think they would automatically write off motor vehicles. 

[Rosiejuliemom]

When Michonne leaves Woodbury, she gets in a fight with Merle and Gargiulio or Neil or whoever and 2 more .

 

 

Ah, Gargulio. I loved listening to Michael Rooker pronounce that name. Plus, he was kind of easy on the eyes.

[JBody]

I can't believe that I forgot Tara in the DC short bus road trip roll call (yes I can). So from henceforth, I shall call the winsome trio "Maglennta".

[Nashville]

I can't believe that I forgot Tara in the DC short bus road trip roll call (yes I can). So from henceforth, I shall call the winsome trio "Maglennta".

Rocky Horror flashback commencing: "What's your favorite color...?"

[Rosiejuliemom]

Rocky Horror flashback commencing: "What's your favorite color...?"

 

 

"Show me...Bob!" Or Hershel, Merle, T-Dog, Jim, Lori, etc. Oh, look at that, I made myself sad.

[RedheadZombie]

Carol turning up at the end was a surprise, so I'll give 'em that, but I don't think she's a mole. I honestly can't imagine Daryl being fine with leaving her vulnerable to these people...

 

I agree Daryl wouldn't have liked it, but I also can't see Carol following Daryl's orders.  She's gone rogue before, and even though some like to call her selfish, I think she's proven the lengths she will go to to save her loved ones.  After Sophia, I think Carol vowed to herself that she will no longer stand by passively when someone is in need.  Beth has come far, but to Carol she's a young vulnerable girl, only a few years older than Sophia.  I think Carol would risk her life for Beth in a flash.

 

 

Oh, the "saved from a walker attack" story?  Total bullshit. 

Go back and look at the funeral home evac scene, when Beth was originally snatched.

When Daryl is looking for her, and runs up on her purse laying on the ground?

How many re-deaded walker corpses do you see laying around - you know, the ones the raper troopers supposedly saved her from?

Here's a hint:

 

That was Beth's purse?  Wow, I bet even Lori wouldn't have stopped to fetch her purse while running for her life.

 

I agree. The first time was when they had just cleared the prison yard and Hershel asked her to sing, which was sweet. Maggie joined in as well, if I remember. The second time was IN the prison, later in season three, while the men folk were debating what to do about the Guv. That time it did seem a little bit random, but I like that song a lot and Beth's singing doesn't bother me like it does others. The only other time I remember was her singing to Judith, and that time it was a lot less showy. It seemed very natural, like how I sing to my babies to soothe them. Honestly, while I don't want her to sing every episode, I much prefer EK's singing to her acting. 

 

You forgot the impromptu concert she gave in the funeral home.  Since she thought embalming a walker was beautiful, maybe she was trying to soothe the walkers to sleep with a lullaby.

 

I wish the Cannibals vs Our Guys could have been played out a little longer. While I loved the climax of this story arc, I felt it to be too rushed and there wasn't quite enough time spent on the cat/mouse game to build up much dread or suspense. And then this latest episode, right on the heels of the last one felt like it dragged on forever. 

 

I really liked the cannibal SL and it's quick resolution.  BUT, if I knew Hospital Hell was to follow, I would have preferred sticking with the Gareth story.  He is far more compelling than Dawn.

[kikismom]

Noah might know that - but would Beth?  Considering "everything went black" before she ever saw her "rescuers",

If you get knocked unconscious, you wouldn't remember that you were running from walkers (or anything else) right before. You could remember something earlier..."I was sitting with Daryl in the kitchen, and then I don't remember anything after that". But it takes about 20 minutes before information is moved in your brain to the memory storage.

[NoWillToResist]

 

In the end, though, it doesn't really matter; Beth will never get her debt worked off.

 

Oh I realize that they had rigged the game so that you'd never be able to leave (*starts whistling Hotel California*)...I was kind of just wanting someone to play along and push them to list off every single thing and the debt incurred (bite of guinea pig? That's a paddlin'...wait, wrong show.) ;)

 

It just occurred to me that the crossmobiles parking lot may have only recently been infested with walkers. There was that big cut out in the chain link fence. Didn't whatsherface...the Whale Rider chick...get out briefly? Wouldn't surprise me if she intentionally made the compound vulnerable to walkers. After all, allowing walkers into the parking lot just made it more difficult for the cops to ride off and collect up more young women to violate....

[SoSueMe]

So, are the crossmobiles supposed to be the Grady Hospital's ambulance corps? Don't most (all) ambulances use the rod and snakes caduceus symbol?

[kikismom]

So, are the crossmobiles supposed to be the Grady Hospital's ambulance corps? Don't most (all) ambulances use the rod and snakes caduceus symbol?

My town was such a capitol of BFE that years ago we didn't have anything like an ambulance of any description. If you needed to go to the hospital---in "the city" about 30 miles away---the cops borrowed the hearse from the funeral home. I kid you not. Everybody in my family rode in the back of that hearse at least one time or another. I mean, while still alive.

It was always such an encouraging feeling!

 

Of course, at that time, the hospital in "the city" (coughcough) didn't have any doctors after 5:00 p.m. The nurses would call a doctor at home if it was something they couldn't handle themselves.

 

Things have certainly changed--a lot--but in a way I miss those days. We also had a funeral home here that had a drive-thru window--it was in an old converted Jack in The Box (if you'll excuse the expression) and they gave out coupons in the telephone book, with things like "One free casket cover with every funeral served during the month of January!"  and they'd actually have small print at the bottom that said  Limit One Per Family

The post office was in an old, old  "filling station". The postal clerk would sit snapping beans in a chair while the postmistress worked at her sewing machine.

One time I was buying a roll of stamps and I was a penny short and she made me go home and get the penny.

 

Good times.

[Milaxx]

Is it cost cutting that is regulating episodes to one or two central characters?

 

I don't  think it's a matter of cost cutting. It's more an attempt to fully flesh out some of the secondary characters and give them personalities. It's the difference between Jacqui & T-Dawg from season 1 vs Tyreese & Sasha. In a scene with Rick, Michonne, Darryl & Carl, the focus is going to be on them. Remove them from a scene and we get a chance to see what Tyreese, Sasha, etc... can do.

[JBody]

Kikismom, I love your stories. But what is BFE?

NoWillToResist, I just laughed out loud (ok, more of a snort, really) at the paddlin' reference. Jasper is my favourite.

[mandolin]

BFE is Bum F*ck Egypt, aka East Bumble, aka the middle of freaking nowhere.

 

And yes, I asterisked that. :P

[CarpeDiem54]

Holy shit, kikismom! Did you live in the suburbs of Mayberry?

[minamurray78]

Does Beth even know how to drive, have we seen her driving before? I can't recall.

 

Those people at the hospital are making one huge mistake: they're underestimating the people they bring from outside. Despite staying in Atlanta, going out for supply runs, etc, they're still kinda sheltered, in that they've never had to go throught the things the regular cast has: scavenging, living out in the elementes, fighting people who brought fucking tanks over to their doorstep, etc, etc.

They see some meek looking girl like Beth, or someone with a fragile appearance like Carol, and they think they'll have no problem subduing them. Well, that might've worked at the beginning, when people were soo terrified of the walkers they would be paralized with fear, that they would rather stay in the hospital in those conditions (like the doctor), but now, after what, almost 2 years? I'd be weary of any person I'd would find out there, you know? even if they were surrounded by walkers, like Beth at the funeral home, still, you gotta consider they made it so far.

Anyway, whether Carol's arrival at the hospital was planned or not, I hope those people get their comeuppance. Dawn can't bite it fast enough for me. And the doctor too, honestly. He's so scared of getting his hands dirty with zombie goo, but he had no problem washing his hands of the blood of the oncologist he murdered. Oh wait, he didn't do that himself, he sent someone else to do his dirty work. Beth is right to want to escape that place, the living are far worse than the walkers.

[kikismom]

Holy shit, kikismom! Did you live in the suburbs of Mayberry?

I don't know---did the Mayberry folks get mad at the mayor and go break into his house and drag his furniture on to the front lawn in a big pile and set it on fire? And did the fire dept. (4 volunteers) refuse to come put it out because they were watching a tv movie and wanted to see how it ended?

In fairness, however, our mayor had Alzheimer's for 7 years (and got re-elected twice during ) before anyone noticed.

 

Andy and Barney would be SOL around here.

Hell, Rick and Shane might not be able to deal with it.

Edited November 5, 2014 by kikismom

[Anela]

And then they pan to the two little chihuahuas! Ahhhh, I need some of that old humor mixed back in. 

 

I was just going to reference the same bit! That's one of my favourite scenes. I guess it was the cannibals, and Rick's tearing out that man's throat, that really brought in some viewers, but I also want more scenes like the one you mentioned.

[SoSueMe]

Kikismom, you really should get these memiors all down on paper and submit them to a reality tv network. I'd watch whatever developed (a la Town of the LIving Dead). It had to be a hoot growing up in your town. lol 

[CarpeDiem54]

I don't know---did the Mayberry folks get mad at the mayor and go break into his house and drag his furniture on to the front lawn in a big pile and set it on fire? And did the fire dept. (4 volunteers) refuse to come put it out because they were watching a tv movie and wanted to see how it ended?

In fairness, however, our mayor had Alzheimer's for 7 years (and got re-elected twice during ) before anyone noticed.

 

Andy and Barney would be SOL around here.

Hell, Rick and Shane might not be able to deal with it.

LOL! Sounds like you're already living in an Apocalypse.

[Boofish]

Even those of us who dont like Beth very much seem to care more than Maggie

This episode reminds me of a bunch of M Knight I'm not going to even try and spell his last name-lan movies I used to get sucked into watching - I had to come home and google so someone could explain to me what the heck just happened

[Rosiejuliemom]

Kikismom, you really should get these memiors all down on paper and submit them to a reality tv network. I'd watch whatever developed (a la Town of the LIving Dead). It had to be a hoot growing up in your town. lol

 

 

Real Housewives of Wherever the Hell Kikismom Grew Up.

 

Even those of us who dont like Beth very much seem to care more than Maggie

 

 

True. Aside from one mention in the premiere, it really doesn't seem like Maggie gives much of a shit where Beth is. One would figure that she might be a little more concerned, considering that Beth is the only (known) member of her family that is still alive since they watched their father die in the not-too-distant past.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Rosiejuliemom

[ParadoxLost]

I don't  think it's a matter of cost cutting. It's more an attempt to fully flesh out some of the secondary characters and give them personalities. It's the difference between Jacqui & T-Dawg from season 1 vs Tyreese & Sasha. In a scene with Rick, Michonne, Darryl & Carl, the focus is going to be on them. Remove them from a scene and we get a chance to see what Tyreese, Sasha, etc... can do.

 

Good intention.  Bad execution.  5.02 and 5.03 did a better job of fleshing out (sorry) Bob as an example.  He had solo performances and connections to other secondary and main characters.  It brought a lot of depth to his characters and to others.  Some scenes with the characters that the audience is more attached to is necessary to forming a connection to the secondary character.  Bob didn't fade into the background because Rick came on the scene. 

 

The other thing that bugs me is I can almost see a thematic development in the season where we are seeing a number of characters, Gabriel, Dawn, Tyreese, and Abraham, not coping with the ZA or expecting to be saved but I can't quite put it together because the storylines are disjointed.  Compare that to another Bob example where they used Bob's time alone in flashback (in "Alone") as a comparison to Daryl joining Joe's group.  That fleshed out both characters and wouldn't have anywhere near the impact if it was in separate episodes.

 

Maybe I'll see the DC episode and decide there was no point doing a contrast of the two groups that think the ZA can be ended but I'm not there right now.

Edited November 5, 2014 by ParadoxLost

[Milaxx]

I'm not disagreeing, but until they started splitting the group up we never got this type of character development.

[morgankobi]

Holy crud, kikismom, that's hilarious!

On a side note: I grew up saying "Bum F*cking Egypt" (asterisk because of OP :) Wonder if that's regional or I always had it wrong.

 

This episode reminds me of a bunch of M Knight I'm not going to even try and spell his last name-lan movies I used to get sucked into watching

Ha! M Night-Shama-Lama-Ding-Dong is also acceptable.

Edited November 5, 2014 by morgankobi

[Anela]

Moving my post to another thread...

Edited November 5, 2014 by Anela

[Nashville]

I don't know---did the Mayberry folks get mad at the mayor and go break into his house and drag his furniture on to the front lawn in a big pile and set it on fire? And did the fire dept. (4 volunteers) refuse to come put it out because they were watching a tv movie and wanted to see how it ended?

In fairness, however, our mayor had Alzheimer's for 7 years (and got re-elected twice during ) before anyone noticed.

 

Andy and Barney would be SOL around here.

Hell, Rick and Shane might not be able to deal with it.

 

So exactly which Tennessee town do you call home?  :)

[kikismom]

So exactly which Tennessee town do you call home?  :)

You must live in our sister city!.

One of my co-workers used to play with a pig bladder as a child. Like in Little House In The Big Woods.

Except this isn't the 1860's.

That's just how we roll!

Edited November 5, 2014 by kikismom

[GreyBunny]

If there's a ZA, send the zombies to kikismom's town.  They wouldn't last 10 minutes and the ZA would come to a swift end.

[Trek]

Additional random thoughts:

 

Many posters have expressed some jadedness at seeing yet another group of psycho baddies. This might have been mitigated if the writers had not forgotten that not all threats/villainous groups need exposition. The highway gang acted as a threat for CDB for the entire second half of s02 and all we saw of them really was around 15mins at the bar without ever running into them again. We didn’t need to know highway gang's backstory, their motivation nor their organizational hierarchy.

 

Besides, the hospital arc is actually exactly the same as how the modern sex trafficking/sweat shop racket works today. Only that the starting point is not a ‘rescue’ but with a pitch of taking people to America (or the UK or some other rich country) and providing guaranteed work. This then becomes “You owe us $20,000 for bringing you here and you need to work it off” all the while having additional debt for everything from room and board, cost of condoms, deductions for days off for that period of the month etc. making sure it never gets paid off. It didn’t need an episode to explain.

 

This episode could have been half as long, with the other half being Daryl and Carol’s road trip, culminating together in the same ending we had of Carol arriving on the gurney (but us knowing how she came to be on it). This would have also alleviated the burden of Beth having to carry the whole episode and stopped it from being the drag that many people seemed to feel it was.

 

Now I fear that (after the sidebar to Team DC), a whole episode will be dedicated to Daryl and Carol’s drive to ATL (a 15 min story at best) to get the stories to meet up and then another one toward the actual rescue before we even get back to Team Church. People assume that Daryl coming out of the bushes was him (with Noah) going back to get reinforcements. I think that is far from certain. IMO, there is at least a 50% chance that Daryl has a mini-train of people behind him with the rescue already affected.

...  ...  ...

 

I am perhaps in the minority that's looking forward to next week. When the gang broke up last season, this group was in the top 3 most interesting for me, in order it was:

1. Team Lizzie (and yes, before Carol joined them Lizzie was definitely wearing the pants not Tyrese).
2. Team Michonne (the scene of her looking in the window and knocking on the door was priceless).
3. Team Glenn & Tara (which of course later included Abe’s crew)

 

For me, Team Rick & Carl (before Michonne joined them) and Team Maggie/Bob/Sasha were middling episodes while Team Daryl & Beth were easily the worst of the entire season (including the Team Governor episodes) so I’m fine with seeing (3) again.

[ghoulina]

True. Aside from one mention in the premiere, it really doesn't seem like Maggie gives much of a shit where Beth is. One would figure that she might be a little more concerned, considering that Beth is the only (known) member of her family that is still alive since they watched their father die in the not-too-distant past.

 

No kidding. I've said this before, but even if she thought searching was pointless, at least act all torn up about it! But, really, why is searching so pointless? When Rick came out of his coma he didn't have the foggiest idea where his family went, but he went off in search of them anyway. Granted, he really lucked out in running across them, but if he hadn't stumbled across Glenn and them, I bet he'd still be searching. But Maggie's all, "Meh. I found Glenn. I'm good". Are the writers TRYING to make us hate Maggie???

[JackONeill]

I admit I missed parts of the show (because of boredom), but was it shown how they bring people (and supplies, for that matter) into the hospital and to the floor they're on?  I mean, they showed Carol on a gurney.  The elevator isn't working.  So, what'd they do, walk/carry Carol on the gurney up, what, three flights (or more)?  And where did they park?  The area we saw with the crossmobiles seemed to be overrun with Walkers, so . . . .

 

Color me curious!

[AngelaHunter]

This episode could have been half as long, with the other half being Daryl and Carol’s road trip, culminating together in the same ending we had of Carol arriving on the gurney (but us knowing how she came to be on it). This would have also alleviated the burden of Beth having to carry the whole episode and stopped it from being the drag that many people seemed to feel it was.

 

So agree with this. Each time a scene ended, I was so hoping the next would open with Rick and the gang, or Carol/Daryl. But no, and the episode was, for me, a big drag. Not even watching Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS chewing up the scenery piqued my interest.

[Nashville]

You must live in our sister city!.

One of my co-workers used to play with a pig bladder as a child. Like in Little House In The Big Woods.

Except this isn't the 1860's.

That's just how we roll!

Your description was reminding me of a small TN town about an hour away from me; a simple dispute over water rights ended up with the mayor's SUV getting dynamited in his driveway. I was sensing... similarities. ;)

ETA: Oh, and my grandparents' town? Same thing with the hearse/ambulance. Big-ass Oldsmobile with a 454 and the bubblegum machine on the roof. One of the three fastest cars in the county. :)

No kidding. I've said this before, but even if she thought searching was pointless, at least act all torn up about it! But, really, why is searching so pointless? When Rick came out of his coma he didn't have the foggiest idea where his family went, but he went off in search of them anyway. Granted, he really lucked out in running across them, but if he hadn't stumbled across Glenn and them, I bet he'd still be searching. But Maggie's all, "Meh. I found Glenn. I'm good". Are the writers TRYING to make us hate Maggie???

I'm guessing the writers are portraying Maggie in denial. Her sister has been kidnapped, they don't have anything even resembling a clue for where to start looking for Beth, and their last bunch of captors were Jeffrey Dahmer meets Julia Child. So it's not inconceivable to me that on the subject of Beth, Maggie may be in a place where it's easier to pretend Beth is alive and ok SOMEWHERE - but only as long as she doesn't discuss it with anyone. It's a very fragile construct, and talking about the all-to-real possibility of Beth being dead - or worse - would only serve to smash it to smithereens. Edited November 5, 2014 by Nashville

[Bruinsfan]

Wait a minute; that's unfair and demeaning to Judith. Let me try again...

LORI could've hit them at that range.

Hey, remember that in her car crash episode Lori revealed a Buffy-esque ability to offhandedly put the undead down without breaking stride. Apparently she was always more than capable of defending herself and others, she just never bothered to do so while anyone else was around to do it for her.

 

(e.g. Hyperactive animals like guinea pigs would consume well over 10 times the amount of calories to rear for every calorie it provides in meat).

If they had access to fields of grass or something else guinea pigs can live off of and people can't their high birth rate, short gestation period, and lack of defenses other than those two things would make them a pretty handy food animal. But if they're getting all their vegetable food from those rooftop gardens it would make a lot more sense to just grow it directly for human consumption. (My late lamented Scooter ate more plant matter in a day than I did despite weighing about 3 lbs. But on the flip side I wouldn't be as happy as he to eat banana peels and alfalfa.)

[CletusMusashi]

Large bags of dried guinea pig food were probably not something that people looted much of.

Hey, maybe Daryl is coming out of the bushes with a guinea pig. 

"I couldn't find Beth, but this is just as good. Show 'em how you can hit those high notes, Lord Fluffington!"

[ladyrott]

As someone who actually DOES live near Mayberry (real name Mt. Airy, NC), I think kikismom's hometown has got that place beat.....even with Floyd's Barber Shop (2 chairs, no waiting sign in the window and all).  LOL

 

Someone posted earlier (sorry, to lazy to go back and check who and my lunch hour is almost up anyway) why would the hospital people not have cleared away at least some of the walkers, like the group that appeared when the good doctor hit the bars on the window.  Unless I am much mistaken, I imagine the walkers are kind of like the water surrounding Alcatraz.  It would be much easier for the "employees" to wander off without paying their debt if they didn't have to contend with a huge amount of walkers surrounding the place.  They are using the walkers in the basement as a handy dandy garbage (aka bodies) disposal system which is keeping them around like stray cats who found a sucker to put out a bowl of food on the back steps.  They are not only NOT trying to get rid of the walkers, they are encouraging them to hang around with things like that.  While a part of me believes Dawn really does think help is coming (she truly is an idiot), I think that the fact that she is using walkers as guards to keep her prisoners IN says something about maybe not being quite as sure about it as she lets on.

 

Large bags of dried guinea pig food were probably not something that people looted much of.

Hey, maybe Daryl is coming out of the bushes with a guinea pig.

"I couldn't find Beth, but this is just as good. Show 'em how you can hit those high notes, Lord Fluffington!"

 

 

OMG!  That mental image just made me shoot soda out my nose.  Bwaaaaa!

Edited November 5, 2014 by ladyrott

[Captain Asshat]

When Michonne leaves Woodbury, she gets in a fight with Merle and Gargiulio or Neil or whoever and 2 more .

 

The fight is actually broken up by a walker attack.

 

Michonne gets to escape Merle then, and when she comes across more walkers she panics until she sees the walk right by. Easier than pets on chains.

 

She goes in town and hears Glenn and Maggie, sees Merle kidnap them, figures out formula--baby--prison and locates WGC.

 

She approaches fence semi-safely with grocery basket of formula, Rick craps in confusion, the walkers figure out she's not one of them, etc etc.

 

So...Beth was at the prison when they carried Michonne in, covered with gore. Could have just assumed it was the battle at the gate,..but wouldn't you think the others would talk about Michonne's unusual approach in a herd at the fence?

I can't recall if anyone's mentioned this, but in all these camouflage cases, the people were covered in walker gore, not dead people gore. The elevator shaft wasn't full of walkers. It was full of the people who died in the hospital, who were then brain stabbed to prevent them from turning, and then tossed down the shaft for disposal and to be Walker Chow <tm>. I think the camo only works if you use walker gore. Otherwise, I think it's tantamount waving around a steak in a lion habitat.

 

That said, they *might* have been able to use the blood n' guts of the walkers they killed on the way out, but it seems to me their first goal was quick, not stealthy, exit. Their most urgent enemy was Dawn n' Co. If they'd stopped running in order to camouflage, they'd both have been caught. We also don't know if camo still works if you're running. Everyone who's used it has done so and shuffled along with the walkers, which would not have saved them from Dawn n' Co. So, if they'd applied camo, and then started running, they might have outrun the Dawn n' Co., but still have been noticed by the walkers. If that's the case, it's better not to slow down for camo, but just run.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Captain Asshat

[mandolin]

Good observation!

[CletusMusashi]

Also, there's still the confusion about how dangerous an infected wound is. Beth had at least one fresh cut on her. Might think twice about wallowing in zombie goop.

Plus, it's Beth. Yeah, Beth is going to put a whole bunch of zombie guts in her hair on purpose! Even Rick doesn't like to do it. Yes, even Rick generally considers the zombie gut technique to be beneath his standards of personal grooming. 

[Boofish]

I'm assuming at this point they all smell dead

[shanndee]

Everyone, I'm feeling really stupid and out of the loop. What does CDB stand for? (shuffles off, hanging head in shame...)