S05.E04: Slabtown

[ParadoxLost]

I can't tell what the showrunners are thinking half the time.  The fact that they thought this actress is capable of carrying an episode ... I just don't know.

 

To be fair, its tough for any actor to carry an entire episode.  It almost requires that the audience fill in the gaps because there is no exposition because they have no one to trust or talk to.  That is a thousand times harder with Beth because she hasn't been developed the way other characters have been.  She's kind of the 'everywoman" so its harder to fill in the blanks because she's more shallowly characterized.

 

I was optimistic coming into this but I think they could have executed it better.

[MichaelaRae]

I went into this episode expecting to not like it, given the Beth factor. But I ended up rooting for Beth, much to my surprise. The actress is not phenomenal, but I feel like she sold it - at least enough for me to be rooting for her and wishing all manner of bad endings on the people who abused her. So there. 

[blackwing]

This show is starting to lose me. This episode was incredibly boring. Oh look, another group of survivors we have never seen before. Oh look, something seems sinister and creepy. Oh look, they are led by some power mad and crazy psycho. Governor, Gareth, Dawn. All the same. Same old crap over and over.

[Pete Martell]

While I wouldn't want my job on the chore chart to be "Man Candy," I agree that Beth had a lot of nerve saying to the doctor: "You call this living??" 

 

Who would want to be holed up high over the city, wearing freshly pressed scrubs and eating tiny guinea pig T-bones, when you could be out there enjoying the open zombie-filled road?

 

Beth lived on the open road for months. She had the protection of a group, but even then, I think she'd rather take her chances. She was just biding her time in the hospital until she was a shell, until she was killing other young people to make herself more valuable, the way the doctor was doing with other doctors. Dawn didn't like her or trust her and that likely was going to keep her shelf life short. I think she decided to just take her chances.

[Cigale]

Loved that Joan chose to commit suicide in Dawn's office, probably hoping to turn before someone found her and having Dawn as her first "meal".

Edited November 3, 2014 by sisterspoon

[mightysparrow]

I've often wondered what would cure me of my TWD addiction and this episode might be it. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?  Why would anyone with even a tiny bit of taste or artistry honestly think this episode was worth airing. They obviously didn't spend any money on it, even by AMC's bargain basement standards.  And what was the point?

 

If Beth isn't dead by the mid-season finale, I'm done with this show.

[Mu Shu]

It that shit was brilliant, I am Mr. T. If the writers aren't writing for the fans, who the hell are they writing for? Bullshit. That shit straight up sucked. Pis off your fans enough and you won't have a fucking show.

[cal]

 

For Beth, what is her problem exactly? Why can she not just enjoy her stay there for a while, keeps her head down and relax? She has been on the road in high-stress high-alert condition for a while. If she escapes, then what?

 

I think the expectation that she "perform services" for the guards in exchange for the protection they provide might have made the place seem not quite as relaxing as it could have been.  On top of that, you've got the psycho Dawn who likes to be bossy and hit, the doctor who tricked her into killing his competition, the overall strange fucking vibe in the place and let's not forget - being held there against her will.  I don't blame her for wanting out.

[MichaelaRae]

Some fans actually liked it and will keep tuning in. Just sayin'.  

[HolmesUltimateQu]

Okay, I'm going to tell you what -- I was not happy about a Beth-centric episode BUT I'm a naturally curious person and yeah, I needed to know what happened to her. No matter if I like her or not (I don't hate her actually but she isn't my favorite), I NEED to know what happened to her. I was kind of excited about where they were going with this. Since I just KNEW (and by 'knew' I mean I am unspoiled but I hoped with the hope of a thousand butterfly dreams) Daryl was going to come in and save the day. I seriously held my breath the entire last 20 minutes waiting for that sexy bow-hunk (Ha! See what I did there?) to take some people down. I gasped and was thrilled to see Carol (disappointed about the lack of bow-hunk). I agree with everyone else -- this is going to be a damn CAKE WALK for Carol.

 

With all that in mind, I went into this episode with a positive attitude - even though I knew others were dreading it. I watched it with a positive attitude and I didn't hate it. I, too, agree that it's hard to tell such a big story in a short amount of time and I think they needed longer to do it justice.

 

BUT after reading all the comments (because I didn't see the review) about an Abraham+the Others-centric episode, I am so upset about it. Weirdly enough, I do not care about Abraham and his weird group -- not even if they have Maggie and Glenn with them. I honestly don't care. I need to know what is happening at the hospital, I need to know is happening at the church. I do not care about Abraham or Eugene or any of the short bus crowd and my attitude going into it next week will NOT be positive.

 

(Also, one thing you all can take away from my post is that I did not properly learn the difference between a 'need' and 'want' growing up...)

Edited November 3, 2014 by rachel is awesome

[magpye29]

So if they have to have an episode featuring only one character, why is it always Beth?

[Pete Martell]

It that shit was brilliant, I am Mr. T. If the writers aren't writing for the fans, who the hell are they writing for? Bullshit. That shit straight up sucked. Pis off your fans enough and you won't have a fucking show.

 

Some fans are pissed off when every scene isn't about Daryl. Some are pissed off when Carol is gone for long periods of time. Some are pissed off because Carl is still alive. 

 

No show can write for fans. Fans have too many disparate opinions.

 

They should listen to fans, yes, and I think they generally have, but only to a point.

 

Certainly if they were listening to me I would shout that I don't want Abraham and Eugene taking up even more airtime and I'm sick of Abraham and it's going to take a lot to get me to accept him and see him as this vital character who deserves the focus he gets. 

 

Yet I saw someone on tumblr saying they are only watching because they want to see Abraham next week. So clearly, there are fans who are totally different from me and want things I would never want.

[Boofish]

Well for someone who constantly complained about "sucky camps" with Daryl I saw no legitimate beef until Officer Morningwood showed up. Not for him, I would be eating, drinking and showering up 10 years worth of debt.

[Pete Martell]

So if they have to have an episode featuring only one character, why is it always Beth?

 

I think this is the first with just one. Last season had two (Beth/Daryl) and four (Tyrese/Carol/Lizzie/Mika).

[Iguessnot]

Okay, thanks for bringing that up, because was Beth going to kill the doctor? How would that better her situation or anyone else's? It was a wrong, cowardly act of self preservation but he never harmed Beth and tried to protect her. He wasn't the one trying to imprison and/or rape her. I'll have to rewatch, but was she walking towards him with a visible weapon in hand with other people roaming the halls? Real smart.

[dohe]

So if they have to have an episode featuring only one character, why is it always Beth?

This is a first.  Maybe because the writers are more fascinated by Beth than other characters.  Writers often find themselves purposefully pandering using certain characters and storylines while being far more interested in other characters and storylines. 

Edited November 3, 2014 by dohe

[Disraeli Ears]

Ugh. This episode was Tedium with a capital Boring. Bugged out eyes and flared nostrils everywhere! There were only two good performances on this show and I bet you can already guess which ones: Keisha Castle-Hughes's five total minutes or so as Joan and Tyler James Williams as Noah.

I thought maybe Noah was using her to escape, but when they ran down Beth, I think I saw him look angry and shake the fence, so I think he was legit. I'm thinking that Daryl is gonna pop out of the woods with him; they'll get more people to go rescue Beth/Carol. Maybe? Although I really don't care if they rescue Beth. I kind of wish the zombies in the parking area had taken her down.

The hospital: how in the wordl do they have power? A solar-powered generator? I don't think any other kind of generator would still be online this far along. And they sure aren't drawing power from any defunct power plants, which would be completely broken down by now (thanks, Life After People!). I noticed some panels on the roof, but I thought those had plants on them.

Carol's appearance was the only thing that got me interested in this episode...in the last 30 seconds. I watched it, though, because I'm apparently this show's bitch.

And next week doesn't look promising.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Disraeli Ears

[magpye29]

I think this is the first with just one. Last season had two (Beth/Daryl) and four (Tyrese/Carol/Lizzie/Mika).

 

You're probably right.  I was just indulging in a little hyperbole.  I don't think there was anything in this episode that couldn't have been broken up and woven into other episodes.  A little Beth goes a long way.  I don't hate Beth, but a Bethisode is just too much time away from the characters I actually want to see.

[shanndee]

Well. That happened.

 

They desperately needed some compelling actors in positions of authority in that hospital. Everyone was so bland and monotone that I didn't feel a sense of threat or urgency at any time. This is the first episode in the entire series that I checked the clock while watching, and I checked 3 times.

 

On the positive side, I actually liked Beth at 2 points in this episode. The first was when she smiled as she saw Noah escape. In that moment she actually conveyed some emotion that I believed. The second was when she was striding towards the doctor with the scissors, ready to take her fate into her own hands. It was awfully hard work to get to those 2 moments though.

 

I'm trying to work with you, show! Please don't make it so difficult for me to care what you are doing!

[ParadoxLost]

With all that in mind, I went into this episode with a positive attitude - even though I knew others were dreading it. I watched it with a positive attitude and I didn't hate it. I, too, agree that it's hard to tell such a big story in a short amount of time and I think they needed longer to do it justice.

 

I was positive too.  Don't know why but I was actually looking forward to it.  I was bored and disappointed.  I think ultimately it will be a good story and how they executed it was not that great and made this episode feel like filler.  I think it would have worked much better if they were actively using the rest of the storylines to underscore what was going on here.  I kept thinking that Doctor/Dawn weirdly paralleled Eugene/Abraham.  That they could have done something to parallel the difference between Sheriff Rick against these officers.  Eventually I think they will but I think the story will be remembered as starting with Carol which is too bad for Beth because I think it was more the execution than the acting,

 

I've never been fond of the episodes that focus only on one character.

[Valny]

Ugh. Boring as hell.

I see EK's still completely dropping every. single. G. "He was seizin'!"

I noticed that too, as in " no one's comin'." I thinking it's supposed to be part of her southern accent?

 

Second half definitely better than the first, especially that reveal with Carol, but this is an episode that won't be on my rewatch list. I was chatting on FB with some friends while watching and I was saying midway, what the hell is happening?! And that I have a feeling most fans won't like this one. But it's nice to see some here who do.  It's just not me.

I was really hoping we'd see who came back with Daryl. Damn you show making us wait.

 

Lollipop scene, yep, not too sexual.

[Madding crowd]

I was expecting something way more creepy and that it would somehow tie into the funeral home. It makes no sense to me that these people would go on long scouting expeditions to find people to save when they clearly didn't like people or care that they recovered. If they made it more clear that they were seeking out young women so the male police officers could rape them, it would make more sense. Obviously it would be dangerous to go out searching and we are supposed to believe they go miles and miles away just to have more "staff"? Nothing about it makes sense to me.

 

I don't blame Beth for wanting out pretty early on. If I woke up somewhere and was immediately threatened in more ways than one, I would be looking for the door. Emily's acting didn't bother me in the episode, but the storyline did. I did like the scene when Beth and Noah were in the basement because it reminded me of a haunted house I saw advertised for Halloween.

 

And I suppose this is an unpopular opinion, but I continue to think that the majority of people in a ZA would not be power hungry psycho/s but normal people who would be wary of outsiders and protective of their group, but without master plans for world domination. 

[Pete Martell]

Okay, thanks for bringing that up, because was Beth going to kill the doctor? How would that better her situation or anyone else's? It was a wrong, cowardly act of self preservation but he never harmed Beth and tried to protect her. He wasn't the one trying to imprison and/or rape her. I'll have to rewatch, but was she walking towards him with a visible weapon in hand with other people roaming the halls? Real smart.

 

I think Emily Kinney said Beth wouldn't have killed him (I can't remember). I guess Beth was just in the moment and so desolate she was trying to take whatever power she could.

[Emily Thrace]

I liked it. I always liked Beth and this episode showed a lot of why. I like that of all the women on the show Beth feels the most real and the least flat and tropish of all. She feels like someone I might know and like. 

 

I also like when the shwo gets into world building and surviving beyond just running from walkers. There was something really interesting about the pristine setting with a creepy vibe. It was different and unsettling, there was a neat tension running through the episode.It was also nice to see a female leader for once, even if she's just nuts in different way than the governor.

[Pete Martell]

I was expecting something way more creepy and that it would somehow tie into the funeral home. It makes no sense to me that these people would go on long scouting expeditions to find people to save when they clearly didn't like people or care that they recovered. If they made it more clear that they were seeking out young women so the male police officers could rape them, it would make more sense. Obviously it would be dangerous to go out searching and we are supposed to believe they go miles and miles away just to have more "staff"? Nothing about it makes sense to me.

 

I don't blame Beth for wanting out pretty early on. If I woke up somewhere and was immediately threatened in more ways than one, I would be looking for the door. Emily's acting didn't bother me in the episode, but the storyline did. I did like the scene when Beth and Noah were in the basement because it reminded me of a haunted house I saw advertised for Halloween.

 

And I suppose this is an unpopular opinion, but I continue to think that the majority of people in a ZA would not be power hungry psycho/s but normal people who would be wary of outsiders and protective of their group, but without master plans for world domination. 

 

I don't believe they'd go as far out as they did either, just to get people, but I can believe that Dawn would want them to keep finding new people to feed her complex. I also imagine finding people like Beth who are able-bodied is also something rare, so they take it when they can find it.

 

In real life, many people are manipulated and controlled by a powerful, insane leader, so seeing it on TWD over and over doesn't surprise me.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Pete Martell

[HalcyonDays]

Not a bad episode, though the moment Cop Dawn said "you owe us", my slapping hand got itchy.

Then that Gorman guy - creepy, creepy person. So glad he was dinner for poor Joan, though he should have suffered more.

 

What is it with humanity on this show? Is Rick's group the only one who can maintain a modicum of sanity. Everyone else goes off the rails and abuses the other humans around them? I mean, I know humans in general are questionable a lot of the times, but really? Crazy Dawn and her new world order. Yes, I want to live in a society where I am forced to stay at a place I don't want to, have to work off things I didn't even ask for, get routinely beaten and if a woman, raped. Seriously? I was praying for Beth to grab a syringe and stab Dawn in the eye.

 

Liked Noah - and oh did he resemble a young Orlando Jones. I had to do a double-take.

 

What I didn't understand was their escape plan. Beth should know better. No change of clothes, no food, no supplies, no weapons of any sort. What was she thinking. She should know better.

 

Also, I didn't like how every scene she just stared silently at the other person whose face I wanted to punch. I mean, I get not revealing too much info, but when Dawn and the doctor were going on and on about life being good here, I was dying for Beth to say, "I've managed to live a life outside - it can be done and done well. THIS is not the only option." Instead, nothing. Silence, which really disappointed me.

 

Carol!! Oh my god, please tell me she is going to be using Dawn as shooting practise? So glad to see her. You people better not hurt Carol....

[Zanne]

Okay, thanks for bringing that up, because was Beth going to kill the doctor? How would that better her situation or anyone else's?

 

 

She has some (albeit minimal) vet/medical training helping her dad at the farm and then helping him at the prison. If she killed the doctor, she might be the next best thing they have to a medically trained "expert", which would offer some sort of limited protection until they found a replacement.

[Madding crowd]

I think if you back over history, the sane leaders far, far outnumber the insane ones. And these were police officers, who were trained to deal with life and death situations. Obviously no one can be prepared for the ZA, but to enslave other humans takes a special brand of crazy, especially since they clearly had food and shelter and only needed the slaves for ironing and other useless jobs.

[Adam]

Beth can bore holes into me with her eyes, I wouldn't complain on the off chance Emily Kinney might see something redeemable in me--other than my staggering masculine allure and unimaginable successs... Sing on! Sing on, my flaxen songbird, before the time when I too must stare at Lizzie's flowers.

What does irk me is the possibility of artless torch-passing from Carol to Beth. Where else does Carol's character have to go from here on but to die? A romance would seem outright pandering to the fan faction who buzzed about its possibilty since the Sophia days. I'd dislike for Carol to meet an ignoble demise but would respect that writing decision for its faithfulness to the premise that these characters are still at the mercy of chance.

[bryan20]

To be fair, its tough for any actor to carry an entire episode.  It almost requires that the audience fill in the gaps because there is no exposition because they have no one to trust or talk to.  That is a thousand times harder with Beth because she hasn't been developed the way other characters have been.  She's kind of the 'everywoman" so its harder to fill in the blanks because she's more shallowly characterized.

 

I was optimistic coming into this but I think they could have executed it better.

I have to agree with you here. it would be hard for any actor to carry the whole episode especially when it's an underdeveloped character. (we only saw her character's ideals and perspective in the episode after the prison was destroyed. this current episode only proves that it could've done much better. but kudos to her since i was rooting for her character the whole time and i think emily kinney did her character a great job.

Edited November 3, 2014 by bryan20

[Disraeli Ears]

I just feel like not everyone had to be a 'badass' and it doesn't make sense that Beth is suddenly one. With Carol there was a progression (yes, she learned a lot in the 6 months between seasons but at least there was a time gap to help explain it). This felt shoehorned. Beth is the one who always said 'everyone has a job'. Her job may not be 'killing machine' and I would be more than ok with that.

I'm totally with you on this. I saw that the writers are "trying to show how Beth is so much tougher than all these wimpy hospital people because she has been out in the REAL world with her badass friends...blah blah blah." But seriously - they don't need to. Not everyone who needs to be a Daryl/Rick/Carol/Michonne. And bad asses don't always survive, either (see Andrea, Shane, the Governor, Merle)*.

I mean badasses in the sense that they could fight for themselves, whether they "deserved" to live or not.

And Beth with all those head shots in the dark and while running? Please.

[Milaxx]

Meh! I appreciate that the writers are trying to make sure each character is fully realized, but Beth subplots always bore me to tears. EK is a mediocre actress at best. This episode was a snoozefest until the last 15 mins. Count me in as one who hopes Noah meets up with Darryl & Carol. I also hope he's the one coming out of the woods with Darryl. On the other hand, it would be nice to think that Carol got herself taken in order to try and get Beth out, but I can't imagine Darryl leaving them in that hospital. 

[HolmesUltimateQu]

I was positive too.  Don't know why but I was actually looking forward to it.  I was bored and disappointed.  I think ultimately it will be a good story and how they executed it was not that great and made this episode feel like filler.  I think it would have worked much better if they were actively using the rest of the storylines to underscore what was going on here.  I kept thinking that Doctor/Dawn weirdly paralleled Eugene/Abraham.  That they could have done something to parallel the difference between Sheriff Rick against these officers.  Eventually I think they will but I think the story will be remembered as starting with Carol which is too bad for Beth because I think it was more the execution than the acting,

 

I've never been fond of the episodes that focus only on one character.

BBM - I kept thinking about how Rick would handle that situation. When Dawn was talking her crazy talk about people coming, I thought, "She really has no idea what she's talking about..." and Beth didn't even say anything about it until the end.

Oh, maybe the parallel to Rick was supposed to be Beth (since she had a similar 'waking up' scene).

 

I only mentioned my positive attitude because I'm NOT feeling positive about the Abraham episode next time. I'm actually disappointed -- and I hope they somehow intertwine another storyline (from the hospital or church) because I do not want to watch it. I think Eugune is a liar -- and I think Abraham is ridiculous/stupid for believing him and I think they're all dumb for trying to go to DC.

[Turtle]

I came in to this episode expecting to hate it if it had a lot of Beth in it, but I was pleasantly surprised!  I like seeing how other groups are surviving, because I figured everyone can't be like our heroes, and so I found the hospital stuff interesting.  And the actress did a much better job than I anticipated.  So, while it isn't my favorite episode, overall I liked it.

I thought Noah's intention was to leave with Beth, but he freaked out and saw an opening and went for it.  My guess is he hasn't had a lot of experience fighting off walkers since it seemed like he'd been in the hospital for a while, so I thought he just made a break for it when it got dicey.  Not the most noble of acts, but also somewhat understandable.  And better for one of them to get away than neither of them, right?

I could do without an Abe-centric episode next week.  I don't care what happens to them, or to Glenn and Maggie, really.  I was never a huge Glenn fan.  Don't hate him, he just never really resonated with me like other characters do.

 

I just didn't get the point. Why were they saving people? Just to put them to work? Is it really that hard to iron nurse uniforms? I was just expecting more - experiments, trying to impregnate women and repopulate the earth, something. I wasn't getting a clear motivation behind this group of people and their setup. Nothing that was interesting anyway.

 

They were saving people because they can't survive on their own.  So, yes, just to put them to work.  They were keeping the lights on, feeding themselves, managing to go out on runs (apparently), and weren't 100% safe from the walkers, considering how close they were.  And people are going to die, rather from accidents or illness or old age or walkers, and you're going to need to replenish your population. And, like Pete Martell said, at least some part of Dawn believed that help was eventually coming, and maybe part of the "saving" (kidnapping) was originally intended to help as many as possible until that help got there, and got mutated as time went on.  Plus, power trips.

 

I enjoy seeing how other people are surviving, whether it's the empty but fully stocked funeral home or the priest in the church or the folks in the hospital, or even the Terminus people.  The aspect of all the different ways people can react to the zombie apocalypse and try to stay alive is part of why I find this show so intriguing.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Turtle

[Iguessnot]

She has some (albeit minimal) vet/medical training helping her dad at the farm and then helping him at the prison. If she killed the doctor, she might be the next best thing they have to a medically trained "expert", which would offer some sort of limited protection until they found a replacement.

Well if Beth was going to do that, she wouldn't be shaking her finger at his actions. Anyway I thought she had lost her mind. Was that what Ms. Emily was trying to portray? Anyway I'll have to watch the over again because I can't for the life of me remember what happened between Beth being recaptured and her wandering the halls freely.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Iguessnot

[Pete Martell]

I'm totally with you on this. I saw that the writers are "trying to show how Beth is so much tougher than all these wimpy hospital people because she has been out in the REAL world with her badass friends...blah blah blah." But seriously - they don't need to. Not everyone who needs to be a Daryl/Rick/Carol/Michonne. And bad asses don't always survive, either (see Andrea, Shane, the Governor, Merle)*.

I mean badasses in the sense that they could fight for themselves, whether they "deserved" to live or not.

And Beth with all those head shots in the dark and while running? Please.

 

Even Beth said she would never be Carol or Michonne or Maggie, so I don't think the show was trying to make her into them.

 

For me the message wasn't so much, "Beth is a badass" as it was, "What will Beth become?" She really wasn't a badass in the action hero sense. She tried to escape, but she failed. She was Dawn's punching bag. Noah took a beating for her. The doctor tried to protect her. Her biggest bad-ass moment was enabled by a woman committing suicide, and that was just enough for her to save herself, not to change anything in the hospital.

 

Beth, in a way, died when she couldn't escape from the hospital. Noah got away, so that was the best she could do. After that she stopped caring. She mouthed off and got another beating. She confronted her quasi-protector, the doctor guy, and may have tried to kill him. If she had, she might have just replaced him. She likely would have stayed there and become what she hated - dead inside, resentful or wary of other people who might endanger her place. 

 

It reminds me of the story they're doing with Rick and the story they did with the Terminus people. 

Edited November 3, 2014 by Pete Martell

[kelnic86]

 

Some fans actually liked it and will keep tuning in. Just sayin'.

 

Yep. I actually enjoyed the episode. It did start off kind of slow but it picked up as it went along. I know Beth has her haters. But she also has a lot of fans too, and I know they were loving this episode for her. But obviously, you can't please everyone. Every character has their share of fans and haters. But I think this episode was good for Beth and I look forward to seeing where her character goes.

[Greta]

I didn't think it was perfect, but EK did have a couple of good, subtle acting moments: I swear I saw the thought of pulling an Otis on Noah cross her mind (which made her smile at his escape better because it wasn't from a one-note purehearted heroine); and I thought she was reacting to Joan's arm amputation with a bit of an association to Hershel's leg amputation.

 

Speaking of Joan, is KC-H a fan of the show? It seems like a random part for an Oscar winner to choose as her warmup for Game of Thrones. If so, I didn't have an opinion on KC-H before, but now I love her fangirly ways. (If I was an Oscar winner, I'd be on the phone with the Walking Dead setting up my guest starring role, too.)

 

Dawn was actually a really good, very well-played character and I hope we see more of her. Her corruption into aiding and abetting this system after starting out in a well-meaning place seems more interesting and plausible than Gareth's hipster do-gooder to cannibal story.

 

I inexplicably hated Noah on sight.  I kept waiting for him to turn out to be the real creepy, rapey power behind the whole place.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Greta

[kj4ever]

This episode is too surreal for my liking.

 

However, some technical question, how does the hospital survive? What about supplies, energy, clean water, even food? Surely the hospital did not store a year's worth supply of guinea pigs, did it?

 

For Beth, what is her problem exactly? Why can she not just enjoy her stay there for a while, keeps her head down and relax? She has been on the road in high-stress high-alert condition for a while. If she escapes, then what?

 

Well I would think being slapped around, and then being told part of your job is to keep the men happy would make me want to leave stat.

Officer Dawn really just annoyed the hell out of me. She seemed so damn surprised that Beth would actually defend herself from being raped. If Dawn wanted to keep the menfolk so happy, why wasn't she taking her turn showing "appreciation" for their contributions? I mean, I know Dawn had no grasp on reality.

 

But, really? Joan killed herself. Beth fed Gorman to Joan. Dawn doesn't see a pattern there. She must have been a lousy cop.

I almost think the show was trying to show us how things would have went if Shane Killed Rick with the Dawn character.  She killed "the good guy" because he got a bunch of them killed, and let horrible things like rape happen to keep the men doing the runs/protecting their environment happy.  Then there was the parallel of her escape with Noah vs. the Shane and Otis escape.

 

Well. That happened.

 

They desperately needed some compelling actors in positions of authority in that hospital. Everyone was so bland and monotone that I didn't feel a sense of threat or urgency at any time. This is the first episode in the entire series that I checked the clock while watching, and I checked 3 times.

 

On the positive side, I actually liked Beth at 2 points in this episode. The first was when she smiled as she saw Noah escape. In that moment she actually conveyed some emotion that I believed. The second was when she was striding towards the doctor with the scissors, ready to take her fate into her own hands. It was awfully hard work to get to those 2 moments though.

 

I'm trying to work with you, show! Please don't make it so difficult for me to care what you are doing!

 

I also liked that smile.  It seemed really in character for Beth.

 

I liked this episode and found it interesting.  Like I said it really brought me back to Shane, his belief of what the new world needed to be.  I could totally see him going all Dawn and him and Carl and Lori would be all safe and sound.  I don't think EK did a bad job at all, and I'm pretty sure I'll find this episode much more interesting than next week's The Walking Comics.

[natyxg]

For Beth, what is her problem exactly? Why can she not just enjoy her stay there for a while, keeps her head down and relax? She has been on the road in high-stress high-alert condition for a while. If she escapes, then what?

 

Because she was basically a slave. In the prison, for example, everyone had a job but there was a family vibe. At the hospital everyone but the cops were slaves with no autonomy, no chances of leaving, they could get a beating at any moment and if they were women like Beth they were bound to be raped over and over to keep the male cops happy.

[mightysparrow]

I was expecting something way more creepy and that it would somehow tie into the funeral home. It makes no sense to me that these people would go on long scouting expeditions to find people to save when they clearly didn't like people or care that they recovered. If they made it more clear that they were seeking out young women so the male police officers could rape them, it would make more sense. Obviously it would be dangerous to go out searching and we are supposed to believe they go miles and miles away just to have more "staff"? Nothing about it makes sense to me.

 

I don't blame Beth for wanting out pretty early on. If I woke up somewhere and was immediately threatened in more ways than one, I would be looking for the door. Emily's acting didn't bother me in the episode, but the storyline did. I did like the scene when Beth and Noah were in the basement because it reminded me of a haunted house I saw advertised for Halloween.

 

And I suppose this is an unpopular opinion, but I continue to think that the majority of people in a ZA would not be power hungry psycho/s but normal people who would be wary of outsiders and protective of their group, but without master plans for world domination. 

 

I agree with you. There were rumors of medical experiments but instead we get a bunch of sleazy cops, who roam around the Georgia countryside looking for injured people they can take back to the hospital, patch up and then force them to...DO LAUNDRY!!!!!!

 

Are you fucking kidding me??? 

 

To date, Emily Kinney has had more screen time than Danai Gurira.  On what planet does that make a lick of sense?

[Pete Martell]

Well, Emily started a full season earlier than Danai, but yes, I do want to see more Michonne.

[NorthstarATL]

I think if you back over history, the sane leaders far, far outnumber the insane ones. And these were police officers, who were trained to deal with life and death situations. Obviously no one can be prepared for the ZA, but to enslave other humans takes a special brand of crazy, especially since they clearly had food and shelter and only needed the slaves for ironing and other useless jobs.

Sane leaders are often chosen. What we've seen of the power mad leaders thus far on Walking Dead seem to be opportunists who filled a void that no one probably saw as needing filling, and they managed to create a self-perpatuating system. Police officers are just as likely, if not more so, as the average individual to be power obsessed and/or control freaks. There are real life examples.

[peach]

Okay, thanks for bringing that up, because was Beth going to kill the doctor? How would that better her situation or anyone else's? It was a wrong, cowardly act of self preservation but he never harmed Beth and tried to protect her. He wasn't the one trying to imprison and/or rape her. I'll have to rewatch, but was she walking towards him with a visible weapon in hand with other people roaming the halls? Real smart.

I think tricking her into MURDERING a person she was trying to help was harming her.  Not to mention that her punishment for that would have been a sound beating, only Noah took it for her.  Or possibly getting murdered, since Dawn doesn't like her.  Dawn is a dangerous bitch, but the doctor is worse, because he pretends to be a friend, but is a sneaky user.

 

Edited November 3, 2014 by peach

[Turtle]

Upon further reflection, I think this episode also showed us that Beth does want to live.  I know they've touched on it in the past, but this was the first time I remember seeing her independently fight for her own life, rather than leaning on others, or fighting when she *and* other people were in danger.  She was being proactive in trying to figure out how to live, and how to get away, and presumably back to her people.  

[Nashville]

Razor or piano wire to cut off limbs? Necessity is the mother of invention, I suppose.

 

Actually, I believe that was a Gigli saw.

 

 

 

ETA: typo correction

Edited November 3, 2014 by Nashville

[MrWhyt]

 

Pis off your fans enough and you won't have a fucking show.

pander to your fans enough and you won't have a story of your own, you'll be running from one extreme to another trying to satisfy every pet cause out there.

[Elais]

 

I don't hate Beth, but a Bethisode is just too much time away from the characters I actually want to see.

 Beth hasn't been seen in since last season, so from my viewpoint, she has had no screen time for a fair nuimber of  episodes.  This is the first time we've seen her this season. 

 

While personally would prefer to see a lot more of Michonne, I dont' caculate how many minutes of screen time she has compared to other characters and complain how she should have 20 more minutes of screentime over all the other characters.   Beth is not my favorite character, but I don't see how she has more screentime than any other character on the show.

[Nashville]

Wow, back to Grady! I actually got into the show because I related to Rick's first scene, having spent a month in a coma at Grady! It IS a potentially scary place, zombies or no.

 

Agreed; Grady is a scary, horrifying nightmare maze.  And that's just the billing department.

[RedheadZombie]

You can sense the writers are far more engaged in Beth's character than most of the female characters which feel one note. 

 

I don't sense that - at all.

 

although she did look pretty silly holding up her IV needle as a weapon.

 

Does she look even sillier when I tell you her IV wasn't a needle, just a thin pliable plastic tube?

 

Did anyone else notice how weirdly she delivered the line "no one's coming, no one's coming"? Like Hal's chips were being pulled.

 

EK to self:  "Ok Ems, this scene calls for a wide-eyed look and blank expression - which is my strength.  And don't forget - use a Southern accent.  You know, drop the g off of the word coming, and talk slow."

 

 

ETA-- how does Beth know what 'Clozapine' is or how to give a shot?

 

She didn't know how to give a shot.  She probably jabbed the needle through the back of his arm.