S05.E11: The Distance

[ghoulina]

Also, is there a guarantee that the entire group will be accepted into the community? Suppose - for whatever reason - Abraham, Darryl and Tara - don't pass the audition. Are the rest going to face a "do we stay or do we go" decision?

 

Now THAT could be interesting. As suspicious as I still am, I'm leaning towards Alexandria being good, because (as many have stated), we seem to have reached our quota of "bad" places. Plus, as I stated back on page one, they actually seem to be picky about who they let in (unlike Woodbury and Terminus). They are a lot like CDB ala the prison days. So....what are those criteria? Will everyone make the cut? What if Carol is deemed too cold and ruthless? Do they tell their whole stories? Do they lie? Do they lie for each other? Does someone accidentally give someone away? Lots of interesting possibilities here. 

[JackONeill]

Maybe it'll be an age thing. Maybe they only want young people (under 30?).

 

Remember that Michael York movie, set in the future, where everyone over the age of 20 (or whatever) was killed?  Wasn't it because they only so much in the way of resources?!?  Hmmm . . . .

[AndySmith]

I really hope this doesn't turn out be a horrible decision just so that we can have another "Rick is right, Rick is always right, and you should always listen to him" moment. And I hope it doesn't get thrown in Michone's face if it does go wrong, because, heaven forbid if someone other than Rick is right.

 

Still don't see Rick and Michone as anything but good freinds.

[Timetoread]

Plus, as I stated back on page one, they actually seem to be picky about who they let in (unlike Woodbury and Terminus).

 

Yeah.  Although the thing is that Woodbury and Terminus WERE picky about who they let in to the group.  Everyone was welcome physically but then they were vetted.  The ones deemed not acceptable were killed in Woodbury and eaten in Terminus.  That's why I agree with Rick, the welcome mat (like Morgan's joint) is where the spikes are.

I really hope this doesn't turn out be a horrible decision just so that we can have another "Rick is right, Rick is always right, and you should always listen to him" moment. And I hope it doesn't get thrown in Michone's face if it does go wrong, because, heaven forbid if someone other than Rick is right.

 

Still don't see Rick and Michone as anything but good freinds.

 

Rick is not always right.  Rick is wrong A LOT of the time but he at least learns from his mistakes.  The rest don't.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Timetoread

[AndySmith]

I feel like this season they seem to be beating the "Rick is right, we should've listened to him" mantra. YMMV, but that's how I see it.

[JackONeill]

I do like that except for specific forays, TPTB has managed to keep our group together (even if it meant getting Dale's Winnebago out of mothballs).

 

Of course, having said that, a lot of our people wind up standing around and not saying anything.  Oh, well.

[Whimsy]

Assuming because of the cars?

I wonder if the Alexandria folks got stuff from Fort Belvoir just down the road or from the Anacostia joint base across the Eisenhower Bridge? Why would those bases not be secure...but that's a question that this show never really brings up. How would ALL of the military bases go to hell?

My first thought was that they should go to Ft. Belvoir.  I was stationed directly across the street from Ft. Belvoir at the Coast Guard HQ (and lived in Alexandria) and spent a lot of time on that base.  There are high wrought iron fences that go all the way to the ground (unlike that front gate at the Alexandria compound- WTH??).  Sure, the survivor's might have had to clean out some walkers initially- but I'd think any military base would be much better than a gated community.  Military bases are specifically built to keep determined threats out. 

[catrox14]

I feel like this season they seem to be beating the "Rick is right, we should've listened to him" mantra. YMMV, but that's how I see it.

Maybe that's because the beat the Rick is wrong mantra for like 2 seasons and it's balancing out Rick's story?

[pasdetrois]

The thought of walkers down the road from my house is funny.

 

So when Aaron was describing the community's apparently massive, impenetrable walls he spewed out some technical stuff about the walls' composition. How would a struggling group of people, with walkers everywhere, build such walls? Where would they get the materials and the equipment?

 

At one point Rick was holding Judith in the barn and she started fussing. He handed her off to Carl and she immediately quieted. Cute.

 

 

The gay couple bothered me, as well.  Not because they are gay but because the whole scene was about them being gay and in love.

 

Yeah, I'm glad we have them as characters - evil or good - but their scenes together were pandering and entirely too twee. Like the show's in love with itself for having a gay couple in it.

 

The reason I am suspect about the new community is that Aaron freaked out in the car, I think when he saw the flare go off. It was as if his plan wasn't working and he had to bail and save his own skin. I had the strong sense his plan is bad for our gang.

 

Plus, Michonne's quiet confidence and wise words and loving looks towards Rick are meant to throw us off guard.

Edited February 23, 2015 by pasdetrois

[Duke2801]

I know that Aaron says that their community is protected, but all I can think is a "subdivision in Alexandria, VA, really?" No way that place stays safe long. A herd will take it down

 

 

I know!  Geez at the very least, settle down in Old Town Alexandria where you can just shove the walkers right into the Potomac.  Ooh and hide out in the abandoned Torpedo Factory!

[candall]

I was happy to finally learn Carol's opinion, even though no one else on the team was interested.  The scene where she had saved all their butts and Rick asked if they could join her was silly, even at the time.  But I still consider Carol, Glenn and Daryl the advisory cabinet to President Rick and VP Michonne.

 

 

Good or bad, let's get inside some gates!  I'm just as exhausted by the weary traveler routine as they are.

[RustbeltWriter]

Last week I asked, what would these people want with Rick's group? Well, the answer this week was 'good people' and that's probably the best answer to get. I've been waiting for a settlement like this. There can't just be awful people left in the world. There are probably lots of good people who have done horrible things to survive but I could see them settling a place like this if they got the chance to catch their breath. I was actually encouraged to see the listening equipment. It means they were willing to brave the walkers to find good, strong people and invite them into their settlement. We've seen those rapey idiots in the bar, Woodbury and Terminus. To keep things believeable we're due to see some people who want to hold on to civilization and rebuild what they can.

Edited February 23, 2015 by RustbeltWriter

[RustbeltWriter]

I also liked Aaron's explanation for Alexandria being safe. Steel I beams set into the ground and rolled steel panels set into those braced from inside. I have no idea how anyone would build such a thing as civilization was falling but it sounds good and secure.

Edited February 23, 2015 by RustbeltWriter

[Boofish]

Part of me wish Rick had looked at Glen, Maggie, Abraham et. al. and said "like I'm going to trust the instincts of the people who

 

1. Had two guns and still let Merle get "the upper hand" (literally ONE HAND)

2. Walked in Terminus front door, escaped then refused to go back and kill them

3. Rode off in a special education bus

 

An entire world was built without technology, running water and electricity. People building Alexandria, gathering supplies and making plans before all resources were depleted is not far fetched to me at all

Edited February 23, 2015 by Boofish

[pasdetrois]

 

Ooh and hide out in the abandoned Torpedo Factory!

Fun fact: as a former munitions factory, the structure was so strong that it was cheaper to turn it into an art gallery than to try to tear it down.

[Artsda]

About time people stand up to Rick's dictating, good for Michonne. They shouldn't have let him dictate going at night though, that was just stupid of them.

 

They just put Judith in the backseat to lay down and not move? No strapping her in at least with a seat belt? I get it, if she was sleeping, but she still should have been secured somehow. One hitting of the breaks she would have rolled over and hit the floor. Michonne could have held her in her arms, that would have been safer than just laying her on a seat like that. Stupid.

[Boofish]

Car seat safety should be their #1 priority!

 

My favorite scene is LL Bean walking into the barn and everyone getting up into "whoop ass" stance

 

ETA - Father Pee Pants should have stepped out the shadows and said "dude, DO NOT open with a joke; this crowd does not do well with ZA humor"

Edited February 23, 2015 by Boofish

[diebartdie]

 

The gay couple bothered me, as well.  Not because they are gay but because the whole scene was about them being gay and in love.  They are two people surrounded by a group of armed strangers and just got back from running for their lives but we get a whole beat of them kissing and showing how special and twu their love is.  "Let's not bother with the suspicious dirty people who don't trust us, let's talk about license plates. I love you!"

Ok so Im lesbian and Im always complaining about the lack of regular, normal gay characters being a part of shows (like Tara is a really great example of a character who happens to be gay and her fling with the Woodburian that Lizzie shot was a decent portrayal of two people getting to know each other sexually.....pretty much just like Glenn and Maggie did) but when Aaron walked into that room and there was his sweet nelly (seriously, the stereotypes those two fellows were representing were KILLING ME! Aaron = soft, non-threatening butch, Eric = silly sweet non-threatening nelly), all the soft lighting, the giant smooch.....for me (a lesbian who craves seeing more regular, not special gay characters with regular, not special lives) just made me so uncomfortable. As a different poster said here, that scene was very clearly pandering......pandering to ME!?!? Oh man they coulda just let Daryl be gay and no body even knows until we just randomly see him shacked up with Aaron. Not a secret but not a "thing" anymore either. Seriously, gay people are just people, not special in general so as soon as we start seeing ourselves represented as people FIRST and then people with a different sexual orientation, that will be cause for personal celebration.

Edited February 23, 2015 by diebartdie

[Cheetosandchoc]

Everyone who thinks Rick and Michonne would make a great couple......I cannot imaging wanting sex when I am in constant fear of my life, am starving, exhausted, probably in pain from the rigors of their lifestyle. There is also no privacy, and well, they are filthy and stink horrifically. Not to mention the risk of pregnancy. Getting it on would be the last thing on my mind.

[ghoulina]

Yeah.  Although the thing is that Woodbury and Terminus WERE picky about who they let in to the group.  Everyone was welcome physically but then they were vetted.  The ones deemed not acceptable were killed in Woodbury and eaten in Terminus.  That's why I agree with Rick, the welcome mat (like Morgan's joint) is where the spikes are.

 

I don't think we ever really saw anyone IN Woodbury killed. Except when the Governor went crazy and mowed them all down. Clearly he WAS killing people, as we saw with the National Guard and all the heads he had. Did he let people in and then later kill them if they were questioning things too much? Maybe. But there was still a difference in the initial meeting with him and the one with Aaron. Aaron seemed genuine and forthright and had some sound reasoning. The Governor was immediately ass kissing left and right in a way that was obviously phony to me - and obviously to Michonne as well. Which is why she knew right off the bat not to trust him. 

ETA - Father Pee Pants should have stepped out the shadows and said "dude, DO NOT open with a joke; this crowd does not do well with ZA humor"

 

There was one point when they were all surrounding Aaron in the barn, and a couple of people voiced their opinions to Rick, then the camera flashed to FPP. I was all, "Do NOT say a word, man, you haven't earned it yet". And, thankfully, he didn't. I was afraid he was going to start some impassioned speech about how they should be forgiving and compassionate towards their fellow man. But he seems to be learning well. 

[Boofish]

Not to mention binding their hands and covering their eyes so they couldn't see where they were going, Merle as the greeting committee president and walkers hanging from trees at the entrance. Once you were in, you couldn't leave. The red flags at Woodbury should have always been flying at half mast

[AndySmith]

Last week I asked, what would these people want with Rick's group? Well, the answer this week was 'good people' and that's probably the best answer to get.

 

I guess they're on Jacob's list? ;)

 

like Tara is a really great example of a character who happens to be gay

 

Yeah, that is one thing I like about her character. Being gay is part of who she is, but not the only thing that defines her, ie, she isn't just GAY TARA.

Edited February 23, 2015 by AndySmith

[chlban]

I hope it's okay to ask a question here. I am a recent convert to the series which I thought I would never watch, having been lured in when they started a marathon immediately after their re runs of all Mad Men episodes (well played, AMC). 

 

At any rate, I think I am mostly caught up. It's amazing how quickly you come to care about these people and I was really afraid Genn was a goner last night, I thought that Walker that came from behind had bit him. 

 

There is one thing I don't get though, (well there's a few, really, but....) I gather they have avoided large cities because there are too many Walkers, but what I don't get is how there came to be so many? I mean these clearly aren't dead people digging themselves out of graves, they can't climb out of shallow open trenches. So where did all the dead come from? How many undead, unburied were just laying around? If it was some type of virus that infecfted the living,and we know all of the survivors are infected, why have we not seen any of our group, or the other groups they have been around turn (without beng bitten). 

 

I don't know if this was covered, it's just something that has bothered me. Along with why there weren't more secure locations like the Hospital. Locations that were already set up to be secured in the case of an attack of any kind.   

Edited February 23, 2015 by chlban

[Boofish]

I hope it's okay to ask a question here. I am a recent convert to the series which I thought I would never watch, having been lured in when they started a marathon immediately after their re runs of all Mad Men episodes (well played, AMC). 

 

At any rate, I think I am mostly caught up. It's amazing how quickly you come to care about these people and I was really afraid Genn was a goner last night, I thought that Walker that came from behind had bit him. 

 

There is one thing I don't get though, (well there's a few, really, but....) I gather they have avoided large cities because there are too many Walkers, but what I don't get is how there came to be so many? I mean these clearly aren't dead people digging themselves out of graves, they can't climb out of shallow open trenches. So where did all the dead come from? How many undead, unburied were just laying around? If it was some type of virus that infecfted the living,and we know all of the survivors are infected, why have we not seen any of our group, or the other groups they have been around turn (without beng bitten). 

 

I don't know if this was covered, it's just something that has bothered me. Along with why there weren't more secure locations like the Hospital. Locations that were already set up to be secured in the case of an attack of any kind.   

People dying of something and or getting bit. Since only a shot to head can kill , people were zombified. Don't know if you remember the CDC episode but the doctor told Rick everyone was infected so it didn't matter how you die. You die and don't get a shot to the head, you come back. In season 1, the government pretty much dropped a bomb on all of Atlanta; which means no shots to the head so probably millions of people turned. And more than likely it was not the only city they tried to wipe out. They also showed the military assassinating an entire hospital; not everyone got a shot to the head. People in hospitals on ventilators or life support no electricity, they die, they are now zombies and they are now biting and roaming the streets. Not to mention the lawlessness that left many people dead

 

Most of the secure communities they have run into are run by and inhabited by psychos  

Edited February 23, 2015 by Boofish

[catrox14]

I though seeing Aaron kiss his boyfriend was just to establish unequivocally that Aaron is gay and that he's in a relationship. I don't think it means the show is all patting itself on the back. I also think it puts it out there and then the relationship is treated the same as the others.

[diebartdie]

I hope it's okay to ask a question here. I am a recent convert to the series .......

 

I don't know if this was covered, it's just something that has bothered me. Along with why there weren't more secure locations like the Hospital. Locations that were already set up to be secured in the case of an attack of any kind.   

Check out the "I am not a crackpot..." thread, the all seasons thread and the survival guide threads :)))

 

Now one thing that bugged me about last night's episode and it is very much related to the complaint about easily heard children, the front gate to Alexandria was a JOKE! It was not going to keep anyone or anything out, it was just an electric (functioning electric gate, they must have solar) gate with burlap thrown over it, there was a HUGE gap under it, large enough any number of crawlers could slide right under, the gate itself was freaking flimsy as hell, a herd would smash it down after untold numbers of dead ones squished themselves between those stupidly wide-spaced bars and dont even think about being safe from human raiders!!!

 

Edit to add, Catrox14 I wish you could see I thumbed up your post, this website never keeps my up votes but yeah, I hope things just go back to normal it was just a bit much to me is all but at the same time, Im glad for more gay folks!

 

Second edit....Ive got to be remembering that front gate wrong.....somebody get a screenshot stat!

Edited February 23, 2015 by diebartdie

[candall]

This week's episode felt "off" to me, like I was watching Bizzaro Land WD.  I didn't find it, any of it, to be believable. The most glaring thing to me is: when did Rick become somebody they couldn't trust? Because he is rude to strangers?  I'm sorry Rick is a cop traveling with his two minor children - you best believe that he will wear his suspicion like a suit of armor.  I see no reason for him to apologize for that. 

Well, they do trust Rick, but the man's not getting his intel straight from The Burning Bush.  His needle has been in the red zone for so long, he's grinding up acorns for babyfood when a jar of applesauce and a taste tester are both sitting right there--he can't even see the applesauce anymore.

 

This episode was a great showcase for Rick.  He's only about one click away from autocrat--hello, Route 23--and he's teetering on the edge of Heart of Darkness territory.  Slugging a prisoner unconscious, maybe a shattered jaw, who's already surrounded by a dozen weapons?   Would he have knifed the guy's brain at the 60 minute mark and shrugged it off when the team turned up two minutes later to say the cars were there?

 

I'm glad/surprised we didn't have to sacrifice a week and a team member for Rick to be reachable.

Let's see what's inside those gates!

[ghoulina]

Now one thing that bugged me about last night's episode and it is very much related to the complaint about easily heard children, the front gate to Alexandria was a JOKE! It was not going to keep anyone or anything out, it was just an electric (functioning electric gate, they must have solar) gate with burlap thrown over it, there was a HUGE gap under it, large enough any number of crawlers could slide right under, the gate itself was freaking flimsy as hell, a herd would smash it down after untold numbers of dead ones squished themselves between those stupidly wide-spaced bars and dont even think about being safe from human raiders!!!

 

I'd have to rewatch, but I thought there were two gates - one with the ridiculously wide-spaced bars, but then another one that was a solid sheet of metal? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[mandolin]

This episode got me. I loved it. First time in a long time I had actual feelings about things. I was anxious at times, happy at others. I laughed and clapped and cried. For me, this ep was a LONG TIME coming. I loved the call backs to stuff like Glenn and the RV. It's like a reward for those of us who were around from then and cared. Loved Rick and Michonne. And his eyes. The show has used eye shots for many different things, and it usually works for me.

 

 

I'm on the fence about Rick/Michonne being a couple because writers have a tendency to change characters when they are in a relationship. I mean if Michonne/Rick were a couple, would the type interaction we saw tonight happen? Would Michonne have felt the need to stay loyal to Rick, therefore, keep her mouth shut despite the fact that she disagree with him? Would she have felt free to disagree with him the way she did or would she have feared what it would do their romantic relationship ?

 

I would hope that nothing would have been different about tonight, but I don't trust the writers. So I'll take friendship and the great interaction we have tonight over a romantic relationship.

See, I think they could be in a romantic relationship, and it wold pretty much play out like their ship does now. They don't have to be all lovey-dovey schmoopy all the time. I think there is already respect and care, and to add sex to it wouldn't be such a big leap.

 

My dad and I practically howled, we thought it was so funny. And we loved how no one thought anything of it, while Rick was being so crazy!

I loved it too, but I was afraid Glenn and Maggie might be weird like they were when Rick, et al hacked up the cannibals.

 

My favorite scene of the last few episodes was the simple, powerful shot of Rick's eyes as he heard the kids. Amazing.

Like I said...so good.

 

From the "Where the Hell Did That Come From?" case files.... did I miss a scene or implications of Rosita being scared or wary of Abraham after his knocking out Eugene (when he admitted he wasn't a scientist/no cure)?  I know there was the scene at the beginning of the ep. about her unenthusiastically agreeing to go with the 'greeting party' for Aaron's "friend", but the whole little scene between Abe/Rosita on the camper about her maybe being afraid kind of came from out of the blue - for me anyways.

I thought Abe was afraid that Rosita feared his response, the way his wife feared him enough to run off and get herself eaten.

 

I so wish the previews had shown Rick shaving. Part of his attractiveness to me is his mouth, and it's getting not so slowly eaten by that thing on his face.

I'd have to rewatch, but I thought there were two gates - one with the ridiculously wide-spaced bars, but then another one that was a solid sheet of metal? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

And we aren't sure what precautions they had already removed before they showed us the gate, or what extra precautions they might have at night.

Edited February 23, 2015 by mandolin

[Captain Asshat]

Ok so Im lesbian and Im always complaining about the lack of regular, normal gay characters being a part of shows (like Tara is a really great example of a character who happens to be gay and her fling with the Woodburian that Lizzie shot was a decent portrayal of two people getting to know each other sexually.....pretty much just like Glenn and Maggie did) but when Aaron walked into that room and there was his sweet nelly (seriously, the stereotypes those two fellows were representing were KILLING ME! Aaron = soft, non-threatening butch, Eric = silly sweet non-threatening nelly), all the soft lighting, the giant smooch.....for me (a lesbian who craves seeing more regular, not special gay characters with regular, not special lives) just made me so uncomfortable. As a different poster said here, that scene was very clearly pandering......pandering to ME!?!? Oh man they coulda just let Daryl be gay and no body even knows until we just randomly see him shacked up with Aaron. Not a secret but not a "thing" anymore either. Seriously, gay people are just people, not special in general so as soon as we start seeing ourselves represented as people FIRST and then people with a different sexual orientation, that will be cause for personal celebration.

Welcome to Lesbian Point-Counterpoint. (Gads, I'm old)

 

OK, so I'm also a lesbian and I don't feel I was pandered to. Here's how I see it: Aaron saw the flare. Judging by his reaction in the car, the flare is their signal that something is horribly, horribly wrong. I don't think Aaron rushing to Eric's side, and then kissing him upon seeing him hurt yet OK, is a different reaction than we'd see from a similar straight couple in the same circumstance -- one partner expects to find out the worst about the health/well being of the other, and is overwhelmingly relieved to find them neither dead, critical, nor turned. As for the joking? Many couples, gay and straight, downplay serious things, and even joke about trivial things, in tense situations.

 

While I agree that Eric is a stereotype, I don't know if Aaron is. If he was, most of us would have pegged him has gay when he showed up, rather than waiting until he was reunited with Eric. Are they, in reality, so nelly? The stereotype is a man who is weak, scared, squeamish, not outdoor-savvy. Would a community of survivors, who wants or needs others to join them, send people like that into walker-infested territory to stealthily stalk, and then recruit, strong potential members of their community? Why send out recruiters who you don't expect to be strong or savvy enough to come back? I'm willing to give the characters the benefit of a doubt and hope that, now that the showrunners have established "Gay Couple," they'll just be Aaron and Eric, just as Tara is just Tara.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Captain Asshat

[diebartdie]

So we totally agree then, yay more gay folks!!

[SometimesBites]

• Was delighted to see Glenn being Glenn again.

Wonderful call back to Dale (I loved that old fussbudget) and REALLY loved that they didn't explain or even linger on it. That's some fan love, there.

Friggin Chekhov's-gun-in-a-blender. That'll be back.

Agree that the Aaron/Eric reunion was a tad heavy-handed and treacly. If they'd written a straight couple into the same scene, I'd be rolling my eyes, too. I do think Aaron's cute as a speckled pup, though.

Not only would the fortifications Aaron described imply a massive workforce, but saying "We've cleared 16" also implies a lot of people.

If the show perfectly attended every minute detail ("We have to put the baby in a seatbelt!") I think the tidiness would become mind-numbing. And sometimes perfect logic has to be tampered with for the sake of story (or a darling close up of L'il Asskicker rolling around).

The shot of Rick's face when he heard the children playing was wonderfully affecting. Andrew Lincoln's subtlety in that moment was powerful.

[AndySmith]

 

So we totally agree then, yay more gay folks!!

 

As long as they are well written, sure.

[meep.meep]

 

They just put Judith in the backseat to lay down and not move? No strapping her in at least with a seat belt? I get it, if she was sleeping, but she still should have been secured somehow. One hitting of the breaks she would have rolled over and hit the floor. Michonne could have held her in her arms, that would have been safer than just laying her on a seat like that. Stupid.

When the car was moving, Carl was holding Judith.  He left her on the seat when they stopped and he got out of the car. 

 

I still don't get why Aaron looks like the LL Bean catalog and his boyfriend doesn't.  And the applesauce thing was supposed to convince us that he's so well fed that he can be picky?

[Constantinople]

Why did he travel so far from his community to find Rich's group?

 

 

I wondered about the audition, too. I was surprised that no one asked the question, "what is the audition."

 

 

The gay couple...

Do I really need to spell it out?

[Whimsy]

Check out the "I am not a crackpot..." thread, the all seasons thread and the survival guide threads :)))

 

Now one thing that bugged me about last night's episode and it is very much related to the complaint about easily heard children, the front gate to Alexandria was a JOKE! It was not going to keep anyone or anything out, it was just an electric (functioning electric gate, they must have solar) gate with burlap thrown over it, there was a HUGE gap under it, large enough any number of crawlers could slide right under, the gate itself was freaking flimsy as hell, a herd would smash it down after untold numbers of dead ones squished themselves between those stupidly wide-spaced bars and dont even think about being safe from human raiders!!!

 

 

 

Second edit....Ive got to be remembering that front gate wrong.....somebody get a screenshot stat!

That's also what I thought the gate was- a HUUUUGE gaping hole at the bottom!  I am glad that it looked like it had more reinforcements to others because I was incredulous about that gate!

[Turtle]

I'm hoping Alexandria is a relatively safe and good place. I think it will be interesting to see our group try to acclimate to an entire new group of people, especially after all this time and have been burned so badly before. Will they fully become a part of the new community, or will they prefer to stay somewhat isolated within that community? And I'm very interested to see how everyone but especially Rick adjusts to Rick no longer being in charge.

Why was Rick so sure there weren't any cars? Questioning their location, I could see. Or thinking that there were 50 guys with machine guns waiting out there. But his words were "There aren't any cars." Emphasis his. So how exactly did he think Aaron carried all those bottles of water around without breaking a sweat?

I took it as Rick meaning "There aren't any cars waiting to take us all to a safe happy place" rather than meaning that Aaron didn't actually have any cars.

Extra people are a burden, but at some point new people become necessary to maintain a community. It's a hierarchy of needs- the Alexandria folks seemingly have food and shelter, a sense of safety, and possibly some luxuries (or what are considered luxuries in this word), so now they can start thinking big picture and long term. Our group, however, is still focused on tending to basic physiological needs and just surviving, so the idea of "What do we 10 years from now?" isn't something they have brain space for. In Alexandria, folks could be thinking about repopulating or expanding their landholding or any number of things. And for that, you need more people, preferably a strong and biologically diverse group of them

I wonder if the Alexandria folks got stuff from Fort Belvoir just down the road or from the Anacostia joint base across the Eisenhower Bridge? Why would those bases not be secure...but that's a question that this show never really brings up. How would ALL of the military bases go to hell?

It's possible that military bases didn't last long in the ZA because there usually so many people living in extremely close quarters. Even with guns and military training, I think an unexpected zombie outbreak in a barracks could be devastating. If the bases did survive, surely they would have been first targets for everyone else seeking safety, whether good guys or bad guys. Alternatively, when the outbreak first started, maybe a lot of military personnel attempted to get to their families and were never able to make it back?

Edited February 23, 2015 by Turtle

[myname2use4now]

Everyone who thinks Rick and Michonne would make a great couple......I cannot imaging wanting sex when I am in constant fear of my life, am starving, exhausted, probably in pain from the rigors of their lifestyle. There is also no privacy, and well, they are filthy and stink horrifically. Not to mention the risk of pregnancy. Getting it on would be the last thing on my mind.

Thankfully, our collective ancestors didn't share your concerns, otherwise, the human race wouldn't have made it this far! LOL!

[RedheadZombie]

I don't know if it was a montage or not, but Judith getting quiet as soon as she was in her big brother's arms was just adorable.

 

I thought it was very realistic that Judith would sense her father's high emotion and begin crying.  It looked like she turned and reached for Carl.  It was adorable, except I was wondering what they did to the poor baby actress to make the scene work.  Maybe she was reaching for her mother out of camera range.

 

 If it was some type of virus that infecfted the living,and we know all of the survivors are infected, why have we not seen any of our group, or the other groups they have been around turn (without beng bitten). 

 

Both Shane and Randall turned in season two without being bitten.  Several people from the prison turned after dying from the flu.

[Watcher0363]

Okay, I did not see it right away, but with the auditions and the Friday night dance offs. The entertainment at Alexandria is going to be a far cry from the Thunderdome like atmosphere of the Governor's Woodberry.

So without further adieu, I give you the reigning Friday night dance off champions, Aaron and Eric,the Zombie Apocalypse Gay Sheik Mafia. Aka Z.A.G.S.--M

Beth would have loved Friday night dance off. Oh she could have sung and play her guitar all night long.

[diebartdie]

Beth would have loved Friday night dance off. Oh she could have sung and play her guitar all night long.

Cue ghostbeth cameo in 5......

[aliceinwonderbra]

 

OK, so I'm also a lesbian and I don't feel I was pandered to. Here's how I see it: Aaron saw the flare. Judging by his reaction in the car, the flare is their signal that something is horribly, horribly wrong. I don't think Aaron rushing to Eric's side, and then kissing him upon seeing him hurt yet OK, is a different reaction than we'd see from a similar straight couple in the same circumstance -- one partner expects to find out the worst about the health/well being of the other, and is overwhelmingly relieved to find them neither dead, critical, or turned. As for the joking? Many couples, gay and straight, downplay serious things, and even joke about trivial things, in tense situations.

 

Another lesbian co-signing. Gay characters kissing after being separated and thinking the other one could be hurt or dead is a perfectly natural reunion scene. Numerous heterosexual characters have had on-screen sex, but two men have an emotional reunion and share a kiss and welp, it's pandering? And to compare them to Tara, and say why can't these characters be like Tara? You know, gay but not reminding us all the time by having a relationship, or well, lines on the show? It's just offensive. It's basically saying have gay characters but only if they're never sexual in any way. If Aaron's field partner had been his girlfriend and he'd have gone in and kissed her, no one would say boo about how he was written or complain that he was being reduced to his sexuality.

 

[Timetoread]

Well, they do trust Rick, but the man's not getting his intel straight from The Burning Bush.  His needle has been in the red zone for so long, he's grinding up acorns for babyfood when a jar of applesauce and a taste tester are both sitting right there--he can't even see the applesauce anymore.

 

This episode was a great showcase for Rick.  He's only about one click away from autocrat--hello, Route 23--and he's teetering on the edge of Heart of Darkness territory.  Slugging a prisoner unconscious, maybe a shattered jaw, who's already surrounded by a dozen weapons?   Would he have knifed the guy's brain at the 60 minute mark and shrugged it off when the team turned up two minutes later to say the cars were there?

 

I'm glad/surprised we didn't have to sacrifice a week and a team member for Rick to be reachable.

Let's see what's inside those gates!

 

I don't think this is fair to Rick at all.  They trust him up until something seemingly better shows up or they are out of the situation he was pivotal in getting them out of and then he can't be trusted .  That is until seemingly better turns out to be cuckoo with fangs and then they trust Rick to be on the front line swinging - to be the one the Big Bad points his guns at.  To me this mutiny was a slap in the face.  He is definitely hard core but he's never done one single thing to harm or abandon ANY of them so he doesn't deserve to be treated as if he's some psychotic rage monster who needs to be caged.  If I were Rick, I'd have nothing left to say to this ungrateful bunch of losers.  Let them walk straight into hell.  Even Michonne - who is my favorite.  Now Rick can't be trusted?   Ok.                  

[HalcyonDays]

The gay couple bothered me, as well.  Not because they are gay but because the whole scene was about them being gay and in love.  They are two people surrounded by a group of armed strangers and just got back from running for their lives but we get a whole beat of them kissing and showing how special and twu their love is.  "Let's not bother with the suspicious dirty people who don't trust us, let's talk about license plates. I love you!"

 

Oh man - I didn't see it like that during the conversation between Aaron and the boyfriend (forget his name). I took it as a way the show decided to show Rick (and the audience) that Aaron was not trying to deceive them and really wanted to help them. If he was setting up CDB, the conversation would have indicated something shady, like mentioning others that are around, or something that indicates to Rick that he should be wary of them. So by having the conversation be sweet and fluffy, it showed Rick and the audience that Aaron could be trusted. That's how I saw it.

 

Same with the previous scene when Glenn couldn't get the Cadillac to start up again. They see the flare gun, and Aaron's like "forget this, I gotta get out of here." I took it as he knew that his partner was in danger, and wanted to leave to help his boyfriend. When that part first went on, I took it as Aaron being shady, but once he was reunited with his boyfriend, that's when I thought back to the flare gun scene and realized he just wanted to help boyfriend.

 

Also, the White Caddy plowing through the Walkers, and being entirely red at the end of it, and Michonne pulling body parts from the grille and Glenn wiping off guts from the caddy- Damn, that was gross. Also, The flare gun in a walkers head? Awesome! (but again, gross)

[diebartdie]

Gay characters kissing after being separated and thinking the other one could be hurt or dead is a perfectly natural reunion scene.

We agree then, more gay folks, yay! Seriously, some people saw that scene as treacley, others didn't but overall it really seems like it's a positive development. In no way do I dislike those characters so far and I hope they get to be full-fledged characters but for all we know, they could be the new black guys of the series...

[ghoulina]

Same with the previous scene when Glenn couldn't get the Cadillac to start up again. They see the flare gun, and Aaron's like "forget this, I gotta get out of here." I took it as he knew that his partner was in danger, and wanted to leave to help his boyfriend. When that part first went on, I took it as Aaron being shady, but once he was reunited with his boyfriend, that's when I thought back to the flare gun scene and realized he just wanted to help boyfriend.

 

Yea, I feel the need to rewatch that entire scene, because it all happened so fast. I was confuzzled as to who set off the flare, why, why did Aaron all of a sudden panic, how did Eric wind up with the remainder of CDB, etc.? In hindsight, more of it makes sense, but I still need to go over the entire sequence again. 

[Constantinople]

Beth would have loved Friday night dance off. Oh she could have sung and play her guitar all night long.

 

 

Cue ghostbeth cameo in 5......

Or Daryl belting out the following to the tune of Goodbye England's Rose, to the tune of Candle in the Wind:

Goodbye Georgia's Peach.

May you ever grow in our hearts.

You were the grace that placed itself

where lives were torn apart.

You called out to our country,

and you whispered to those in pain.

Now you belong to heaven,

and the stars spell out your name.

And it seems to me you lived your life

like a candle in the wind, never fading

with the sunset when the rain set in.

And your footsteps will always fall here,

along Georgia's reddest clay;

Your candle's burned out long before your legend ever will

[Timetoread]

And I'm very interested to see how everyone but especially Rick adjusts to Rick no longer being in charge.

 

Rick adjusted just fine to being Farmer Rick who wouldn't even take his gun out on runs and was not a member of the Council.  That's when half the group started begging him to lead again.

 

 

Another lesbian co-signing. Gay characters kissing after being separated and thinking the other one could be hurt or dead is a perfectly natural reunion scene. Numerous heterosexual characters have had on-screen sex, but two men have an emotional reunion and share a kiss and welp, it's pandering? And to compare them to Tara, and say why can't these characters be like Tara? You know, gay but not reminding us all the time by having a relationship, or well, lines on the show? It's just offensive. It's basically saying have gay characters but only if they're never sexual in any way. If Aaron's field partner had been his girlfriend and he'd have gone in and kissed her, no one would say boo about how he was written or complain that he was being reduced to his sexuality.

 

I don't think that is it at all.  I would be just as annoyed (and actually HAVE been) if say Maggie and Glenn, in such a tense situation with people of unknown intent, paused to have an inappropriate for the moment romantic interlude.  The scene would have worked just fine if dude (can't remember his name) ran to his partner and hugged and kissed him and the partner assured him that he was fine and then they turned to deal with the problem at hand.  No hiding their sexuality or running from it.  Also didn't we get an actual sex scene of Tara and her girlfriend? 

Edited February 23, 2015 by Timetoread

[Ouisch]

The thought of walkers down the road from my house is funny.

 

So when Aaron was describing the community's apparently massive, impenetrable walls he spewed out some technical stuff about the walls' composition. How would a struggling group of people, with walkers everywhere, build such walls? Where would they get the materials and the equipment?

 

 

I worked in the steel industry for 20 years, so it caught my ear when Aaron mentioned that they had cold-rolled steel beams supporting their walls. An odd way to describe the beams if you're not in the industry. And, by the way Aaron, hot rolled steel is used to make I-Beams. Cold rolled is more expensive and is used in applications where a very good surface is required (like exterior painted automotive parts). Also, he worked in Niger and pronounced it "NI-ger" with a long I. Certainly in all the time he was there someone must've told him it is pronounced "nee-ZHER". So I don't know if those were two things the writers threw in to tip us off that Aaron is making stuff up, or was it just a case of the writers not doing their homework.

[BrokenRemote]

At the end when they were all like "who's first?" and Rick said "Sasha", then she turned and killed a walker through the gate, I assumed that was the audition, or the start of it.