S05.E14: Spend

[mandolin]

Am I the only one who ever wants to yell, "It's "He was BITTEN", and not "He was BIT!"?

Please resume regular programming.

"It's Jim y'all! He's bit!" Edited March 18, 2015 by mandolin

[morgankobi]

"He's dun bin bit!"

 

Excelsior!

Photo Recap is up, and it's a good one!

Edited March 18, 2015 by morgankobi

[Nashville]

Okay - review of Southern tenses:

• Present Active: "He iz bit!"
• Past Active: "He wuz bit!"
• Future Active: "He's fixin' to git bit!"

ETA: Damn Yankee autocorrect....

Edited March 18, 2015 by Nashville

[morgankobi]

Holy Moses, there are some gems in that one.

 

Two episode observations that the screen caps brought-up for me:

1. It seems like they literally built the wall just behind the church, almost touching it, but purposefully excluding it. (I'm sure it's just a production thing, but it's odd.) It's the pic where Gabriel says, "Ew."

2. Eugene seems really at home in that tacky van. I am 98% he had one pre-ZA. The mullet seems at peace there.

 

Okay - review of Southern tenses:
Present Active: "He is bit!"
Past Active: "He wuz bit!"
Future Active: "He's fixin' to git bit!"

 

I believe in some parts "fixnto" is one word.

Edited March 18, 2015 by morgankobi

[editorgrrl]

Excelsior!

Photo Recap is up, and it's a good one!

 

It seems like they literally built the wall just behind the church, almost touching it, but purposefully excluding it. (I'm sure it's just a production thing, but it's odd.)

 

You can see the church in the 360° interactive tour of Alexandria.

[mandolin]

The Saw one and Rick saying he'd bite the throat out of the owl breaker had me almost in tears.

Oh, and I thought about Titanic when I watched it at that part!

Aw, the Noah panels were sad.

Edited March 19, 2015 by mandolin

[NurseGiGi]

The total corpse-devouring is what goes on Now, when the common scenario is one-human-vs-multiple-walkers. Maybe not so much in the early days, though, when the buffet table was a lot bigger:

• Walkers are stimulus-driven, remember (light/sound/fast movement). Back in the Good Old Days when a walker might stumble in a gaggle of respirators, I could see a lot more one-bite-wonders: Walker bites Man A, then gets distracted by Woman B's screaming and goes after her, then gets distracted by Child C's running away, etc.
• Also, people weren't initially cognizant of the mortality prospects of a single bite or scratch. I could see many people suffer what they thought were minor wounds and either ignoring them, or going to other family for treatment/assistance - then passing in the middle of the night, when everybody else is asleep....

An important consideration, however, is this: things are not the same Now as they were Then. More specifically, the Zombie Virus ( for lack of a better term) has either mutated, or has accumulated in prospective human hosts to a critical mass sufficient to change the body's reaction to it. An infected bite is no longer required for the newly dead to turn. Which means in the walker-to-human ratio, ANY human attrition (i.e., death) at the very least decreases the human denominator, and quite possibly increases the walker numerator at the same time (if not "put down" immediately).

So unless humans start breeding like little bunny rabbits to the point live births surpass ALL deaths (natural, walker-induced and otherwise), the degree to which they are outnumbered will only increase. And as the Walker-to-human ratio becomes ever more unbalanced, so also will total body annihilations increase, simply for lack of alternate targets.

 

That's very well thought out and articulated.  Thank you for that....makes a lot of sense!

[Dr.Jacoby]

Wonder if Twin Peaks fans like yourself were savvy to the fact that this particular episode of "The Walking Dead" was directed by Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David and author of "The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer".

Ah I meant to mention that! I don't usually look up the director beforehand but found out she was directing this ep just by accident- seeing her name did give me expectations of a weirder/more dreamlike episode than we got

[poppy-]

"He's dun bin bit!"

 

Excelsior!

Photo Recap is up, and it's a good one!

kill bill siren is the perfect musical cue for that scene. 

[Anela]

Am I the only one who ever wants to yell, "It's "He was BITTEN", and not "He was BIT!"?

 

Please resume regular programming.

No, you aren't. :) 

[vibeology]

I think Deanna is too caught up in what was before, what people were before.  She's trying to create a continuity, a more or less seamless line forward from before to now to later that treats the ZA like this inconvenient bump in the road that can be navigated around with few problems.  We don't know what everybody was doing before but we have a pretty good idea of who they are now.  She doesn't, though, she just seems to think that whatever people did after the ZA started was just necessity and there's nothing to learn from that about what they can do now.  Or should be doing now.  

 

Deanna is clinging to "the way things were before" in large part because if what you did before matters, then she gets to be the boss. And that doesn't mean I'm convinced she's evil. Its a crazy situation and when faced with that sort of crisis, people like to feel like they are the ones in control. If Deanna can just get everybody to fall in line, she can be the boss of the community and have that sense of control that allows her to rest easy.

 

But I agree with everyone who has mentioned that people in the community need to diversify their skills. What if the abusive jackass gets sick? Who is going to doctor to him? I don't go so far as to say that people need to be constantly at work because I think the downtime is key to people getting mentally well and in a big community there is room for everyone to have some time off if everyone is also pulling their weight. But, these people aren't doing enough. Its like they're stuck in the early frame of mind where something will come along and undo what's been done and make things normal again. That's not going to happen, so there needs to be real long term planning within the community. Teach skills, encourage baby making, create sustainable water and food sources and have a plan for when someone dies within the walls. I don't think CDB needs to get violent to take over; present the community with a plan to survive based on their experiences with the prison and their time on the road. People have gone along with Deanna because its familiar, easy and "normal" but, like we saw with Francine and even Aiden a little, if you give the ASZ a reason to change, they will.

[kj4ever]

Deanna is clinging to "the way things were before" in large part because if what you did before matters, then she gets to be the boss. And that doesn't mean I'm convinced she's evil. Its a crazy situation and when faced with that sort of crisis, people like to feel like they are the ones in control. If Deanna can just get everybody to fall in line, she can be the boss of the community and have that sense of control that allows her to rest easy.

 

But I agree with everyone who has mentioned that people in the community need to diversify their skills. What if the abusive jackass gets sick? Who is going to doctor to him? I don't go so far as to say that people need to be constantly at work because I think the downtime is key to people getting mentally well and in a big community there is room for everyone to have some time off if everyone is also pulling their weight. But, these people aren't doing enough. Its like they're stuck in the early frame of mind where something will come along and undo what's been done and make things normal again. That's not going to happen, so there needs to be real long term planning within the community. Teach skills, encourage baby making, create sustainable water and food sources and have a plan for when someone dies within the walls. I don't think CDB needs to get violent to take over; present the community with a plan to survive based on their experiences with the prison and their time on the road. People have gone along with Deanna because its familiar, easy and "normal" but, like we saw with Francine and even Aiden a little, if you give the ASZ a reason to change, they will.

I think you're right.  I'm betting every person on the construction crew would follow Abraham if he said "Screw Deanna" (and I heard that in Abraham's "Who's Deanna" voice in my head)

 

I mean seriously, this dude went to bat to save someone's life that he didn't even know.  I know that's who I'd want to be aligned with in the ZA.

[English Teacher]

"Mullet powers activate ". Can't stop giggling.

[morgankobi]

I loved the GTA joke, as well.

[AngelaHunter]

"I've always wanted an Asian son." teehee....

 

 

[Hava]

I just want to follow up on what some people have posted regarding the community's apparent nonreactions to the deaths of people in their community. Thank you so much for bringing it up because it MAKES NO SENSE. If deaths on runs and on the construction site are routine, should the community really be that oblivious to the realities of the world outside and so relaxed?

[CletusMusashi]

I thought barracuda were salt water fish.

Yes, well, ah... they probably escaped from a zoo.

[Dodginblue]

But I agree with everyone who has mentioned that people in the community need to diversify their skills. 

 

Deanna's a politician so she's good at talking ideas and making it sound like it's all easy and doable and then settling for the parts that are easy and doable while making everyone feel good about themselves for whatever they've accomplished, however short of the mark it might be.   Not that it's her fault.  It's hard to push people out of their comfort zones.   People change when they have to change.  Usually.  

 

Sure, she could be proposing various cross-training ideas, having people learn how to do multiple things, preparing for contingencies and so on.  But that stuff can be difficult, you have to make hard choices. You have to tell people what to do.  Maybe the woman who would be good at medical stuff would rather cook meals for the elderly.  Or the guy who could learn plumbing wants to be in charge of the armory.  

Edited March 19, 2015 by Dodginblue

[Michell3]

randomness:

 

- so when one of the wall-building dudes said, "i'm going to send a fax to cleveland," i was like WHAT?!?! they have a working fax machine? and someone in cleveland does too?  and they're communicating?!?!? major plot point? haha i'd obviously never heard this colorful euphemism for droppin' the kids off at the pool.

 

- anyone wonder why sam insists on hanging around carol who threatened his life rather psychotically in the last episode?  is he so afraid of his dad that hanging out with batshit carol seems safer somehow? wouldn't ANYWHERE be safer than either of those two?  or is he just a dumb kid who wants to follow around the cookie lady at any cost? OR maybe he's actually smart and realizes he has a piece of info to blackmail carol with and use that to get cookies and protection and maybe his own gun?  so he's either really smart or really dumb.  

 

- the ASZhats have been living together for a long time, and it's a pretty small community.  does anyone think that maybe everyone knows that pete beats his wife and kid, but they're all putting up with it because he's the only doc in town? they are all cowards, after all. i think someone might've mentioned this earlier.  or worse, maybe jessie is "taking it for the team" to keep him happy because he's the only doc in town.  ugh.  

 

- which brings me to my next point....i love that the the ASZhats big evil secret (so far) has been that they're all too cowardly to live.  their code of honor seems to be, when the shit hits the fan, every man for himself!  nice.  sheesh.  no wonder deanna sought the badassery of CDB.  if she's thinking long term, she has to know her cush little community wasn't going to make it with these stay puft marshmallow men/women.  

[Raven1707]

here's a refresher: Amy---1 bite on neck, Sofia---one bite on shoulder, Jim---1 bite on stomach

 

One of the very first corpses we saw was that nurse in the hallway of the flickering lights...she was pretty well eaten through her entire midsection. And bicycle girl was basically a torso. Even Ed's substantial girth had been nibbled to the point he looked a tad hollow from the ribcage down.

 

Anyway, I think it depends on the circumstances. Amy's walker was quickly dispatched, but remember he tore a chunk out of her arm before he got to her neck. Would he have eaten more if he'd had a chance? I think so. Obviously it's easier to evaluate any given walker's voraciousness when the attack is witnessed.

 

Since we weren't privy to the attacks on Jim and Sophia, well...your guess is as good as mine, but Jim was an adult male in pretty good shape, so I can believe he could get away after a single bite. Sophia's a harder call, but the walkers were a bit sparse down in the woods, so maybe one came up on her, got a bite, and her adrenaline kicked in, allowing her to run away and find a place to hide (and eventually turn).

[tennisgurl]

That recap is amazing.

 

Cheerful Constable, that's our Rick! Here for all your throat ripping needs! No owl smasher shall go unpunished! 

 

Doug Dimmadome reference FTW! 

 

I also love the look on Maggie`s face when Deanna is all "It seems like your group is taking us over". It looks like she`s about to be all "Yeah, we pretty much are. But its not to be mean. Its only because we are stronger, tougher, smarter, more competent, and quite frankly, much cuter than any of you idiots. Just ignore Eugene`s mullet." 

 

For real though, it would probably be in their best interest to let Team Family take over. When shit inevitably hits the fan, I know who I want to follow, and its not the people who turn and run every time they see a cockroach. 

Edited March 19, 2015 by tennisgurl

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Photo Recap is up, and it's a good one!

 

-  "I am one handsome Motherdicker"

-  "Did someone call the police?  Cause you're a hot mess"  /  "What?"  /  "IDK.  I heard it on a porno once and figured it was a worth a shot" 

-  "Eugene, u ok?"  /  "I shit my pants"

-  "Phew....  At least no one important is dead"

-  "I thought I told you to quit playing Harry Potter in my cupboard"

-  "Gabriel, you little bitch"

 

The whole thing was hilarious as usual, but those above were the cream of the crop (+  a few already mentioned).

[Dodginblue]

randomness:

 

- which brings me to my next point....i love that the the ASZhats big evil secret (so far) has been that they're all too cowardly to live.  their code of honor seems to be, when the shit hits the fan, every man for himself!  nice.  sheesh.  no wonder deanna sought the badassery of CDB.  if she's thinking long term, she has to know her cush little community wasn't going to make it with these stay puft marshmallow men/women.  

 

I think some are cowards, like Nicholas, but not all of them.  It's interesting to think about.  I mean, I don't think that people should try and save someone else if it's going to be a suicide mission.  So you have to make split second decisions.  Like Glenn and Noah.  They're trying to help Aiden and then they run out of time and have to leave him.  But because they stopped and tried to help him, which was futile, that maybe put them in a worse position to try and get out of the building safely themselves and Noah ended up dead.  

 

I rewatched most of this last episode tonight and at the construction site when the walkers appeared they immediately went to their system, which is apparently to get to the trucks and shoot from a distance.  That's not cowardice, it seems sensible to be near the means of transportation so you can get out of there fast if you can't stop the walkers.   But then when Francine falls and she's got walkers heading towards her, I don't know if they were willing to sacrifice her so much as they panicked and made the split second decision, I guess, that there was nothing they could do except save themselves.  But Abraham's had a lot more experience with killing walkers up close and personal, he was able to judge distance and time and have some sense of what he could do very quickly and he reacted to try and save her.  

Edited March 19, 2015 by Dodginblue

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I think its interesting that Deanna has to know that CDB are the people that should be doing the bulk of the work beyond the walls - just because they know what its like out there and have lots of experience with it - but most of them seem to be kept inside the safe zone (unless specifically needed to identify technical targets on specific runs, ie Eugene).  And her "cowardly crew" are the 'defined' leaders of the groups.

 

Will that observation become something before its all done, or what was the real point of bringing CDB in if you are going to purposefully under utilize them or put them in jobs/areas where they are basically worthless puppets.   Wait a second... what if CDB are meant to be the 'sacrificial sheep'??  If she knows her original core group are cowards, then the CDB additions to these groups/job areas;  then maybe the hope is that if something happens, its all 'her people' who make it back.  But now that Aiden was one of the ones to die on a run..........?

Edited March 19, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[AndySmith]

Excelsior!

Photo Recap is up, and it's a good one!

 

Now, every time Eugene does anything that is half usefull, I'll be thinking Mullet Powers, Activate!

 

Best (and most accurate quote): "The hospital arc was pointless"...yes, it was. Very very much so.

[Michell3]

 

But then when Francine falls and she's got walkers heading towards her, I don't know if they were willing to sacrifice her so much as they panicked and made the split second decision, I guess, that there was nothing they could do except save themselves.  But Abraham's had a lot more experience with killing walkers up close and personal, he was able to judge distance and time and have some sense of what he could do very quickly and he reacted to try and save her.

 

This reminds me of something I was thinking earlier....the ASZ folks are like our CDB crew was the 1st season, really.  Soft, civilzed folks, ex-suburbanites maybe, not used to getting their hands too terribly dirty, certainly not used to having to be heroes and save each other's lives on almost a daily basis, like our intrepid CDB crew.  This first occurred to me when Aiden had strung up a walker because it killed one of his crew.  How long has it been since anyone on any episode has taken a walker's attack on a live person so, for lack of a better word, personally? That perception of walkers seems so 4 seasons ago.

 

As a side note, I'd like to say I'm pretty impressed with Glenn, overall.  I didn't think much of his character in the beginning, his role seemed more of an errand boy ("go get me a pregnancy test! dangle at the end of this rope and fish this bloated rotting walker out of this well!") than anything else, but I think the writers have done his character right and his growth into a semi-badass has seemed natural.  

[Watcher0363]

I just want to follow up on what some people have posted regarding the community's apparent nonreactions to the deaths of people in their community. Thank you so much for bringing it up because it MAKES NO SENSE. If deaths on runs and on the construction site are routine, should the community really be that oblivious to the realities of the world outside and so relaxed?

Walls, great big walls,allow you to vacation on that Egyptian river much longer than any one should.

[Lii]

I despise Deanna. Have since she was introduced. If some bloody coup doesn't start going down next episode I swear to god I can't any more with this show, these people are the worst and it's far past time for them to get humbled old country way.

[Pete Martell]

I really like Tovah Feldshuh, and sometimes I like Deanna (especially when she saw Judith at the party, her pride in d-bag Aiden before he left for his fatal run), and she's very interesting, but at times I've disliked Deanna more than I ever did the actual villains. I guess it's because I never gave a crap about The Governor one way or the other, I just saw him as a screenhog, and Gareth was, thankfully, not around that long so I could just enjoy his presence while he was there. Maybe it's easier to dislike someone who seems real. They never did.

 

There's something incredibly passive-aggressive about Deanna that makes me itch. I noticed it here with Maggie, but looking back it has been there all along. 

 

I will say she is a very believable politician - woefully incompetent while seeming competent, paranoid, prone to nepotism, obsessed with appearances, utterly lost, only surviving because of the hard work of other people who don't get the credit. 

 

She's probably one of the most realistic politicians I've ever seen on TV.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Pete Martell

[kikismom]

randomness:

 

- so when one of the wall-building dudes said, "i'm going to send a fax to cleveland," i was like WHAT?!?! they have a working fax machine? and someone in cleveland does too?  and they're communicating?!?!? major plot point? haha i'd obviously never heard this colorful euphemism for droppin' the kids off at the pool.

"droppin the kids off at the pool"

Bwahahahahah!

Outstanding!

[JackONeill]

I would hope that Ricks first plan would be trying to change the community, without taking it over through violence. The way I saw the scene where he said they could take the place over if it came to that, was more of a "just in case" sort of thing. They didn't want to get compliant, which we see that the Alexandians clearly have. 

I totally agree with this. I don't see why we need to have teams. Not yet. Both sides have made mistakes. Okay, Fine. Both sides offer things that the other doesn't have. But, of course, this is T V, so there WILL BE a showdown.  In a way, it's so very trite, so very predictable.

 

A coupe of other thoughts. I know many have said this, but think about what Maggie's been through, all that she's lost, all, in a way, because of following Rick. Now, I don't blame Rick and I don't think Maggie does. But look at the history. She had a shower and clean white walls before Rick came along; the shower and the white walls went away; now she has a shower and white walls again.

 

Noah's death. It was so over the top and for such a secondary character (sorry, Noah), what are they going to do for really big deaths, like Rick (not that it will EVER happen) or Daryl or Michonne. 

[Pete Martell]

Noah's death. It was so over the top and for such a secondary character (sorry, Noah), what are they going to do for really big deaths, like Rick (not that it will EVER happen) or Daryl or Michonne. 

 

I don't think they'd ever have a death like that for a major character. There would be too much backlash.

[morgankobi]

Characters like that get taken down by other people, not walkers. (If ever they go down, of course.)

[flutist4fun]

think about what Maggie's been through, all that she's lost, all, in a way, because of following Rick. Now, I don't blame Rick and I don't think Maggie does. But look at the history.

I agree. The Greenes probably would have lost the farm eventually, b/c look at everyone and everywhere else...sooner or later the walkers come through. And I can't help loving the human-and-totally-flawed Rick, even when I don't really understand him, like right now. Noah may disagree, of course.

 

[Thought bubbles over their heads as they were lined up at the Termites' Trough of Hell:]

Daryl: Never mind. I'mma survive this and pretty soon I'll getta shiny new leather jacket and a kickass bike...

Glenn: And I'm going to be vewwy sad, sniff, about Noah, a guy I haven't met yet, so...

[silence.]

Bob: I'll be dead no matter what.

Rick: [Flashing his ice-blue stare] And I'm going to solve the Mystery of the Smashed Owl Sculpture. Heck, maybe I'll hack up Gareth into little pieces too, if there's time. So, cool, life is good. Ahh, sorry Bob.

[Meanwhile, in a land called Grady, a sweet young man called Noah folds laundry and dreams of a release from drudgery with his gal pal Beth. Who knows what our future might hold, he wonders, if only someone would save us from this place...]

[Madding crowd]

I agree that using Father Gabriel as a nut case is a waste of opportunity. It was be so interesting to see a man of faith who was not crazy, and see him trying to believe in God during such a difficult time and to try to get others to believe in God. I think if anything, more people would be trying to keep or find their faith in the event of a ZA.

It would be interesting for example, to see which if any of the CDB people would be interested in praying or in talking to a minister. Now, I would think FPP will be somehow banished or killed. I would rather have a surprise twist where he ends up having to kill someone to save on of our group and he understands what they have been through.

[Boofish]

One of the very first corpses we saw was that nurse in the hallway of the flickering lights...she was pretty well eaten through her entire midsection. And bicycle girl was basically a torso. Even Ed's substantial girth had been nibbled to the point he looked a tad hollow from the ribcage down.

 

If you watch the web shorts on AMC, it shows how bicycle walker came to be; it's pretty sad

 

I too had never heard "sending a fax to Cleveland" but I have been known to say

I'm dropping friends off at the pool

Baptizing a Baby Ruth

And the ever popular "The browns just won the super bowl"

Edited March 19, 2015 by Boofish

[kj4ever]

If you watch the web shorts on AMC, it shows how bicycle walker came to be; it's pretty sad

 

I too had never heard "sending a fax to Cleveland" but I have been known to say

I'm dropping friends off at the pool

Baptizing a Baby Ruth

And the ever popular "The browns just won the super bowl"

I have never seen those....Are they still on the AMC site?

[mandolin]

I have never seen those....Are they still on the AMC site?

Yep!

http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead/tag/videotype/webisode

[kikismom]

I totally agree with this. I don't see why we need to have teams. Not yet. Both sides have made mistakes. Okay, Fine. Both sides offer things that the other doesn't have. But, of course, this is T V, so there WILL BE a showdown.  In a way, it's so very trite, so very predictable.

 

Noah's death. It was so over the top and for such a secondary character (sorry, Noah), what are they going to do for really big deaths, like Rick (not that it will EVER happen) or Daryl or Michonne. 

True, both sides have something the other lacks. In a world without the infection and some chance of human chaos stopping, there would be an expectation of cooperative union. But when you have no hope that things will be restored and start being produced again---well, cooperation just means both sides bring things the others don't have...being divided out between twice as many people. What did Allan and Ben say at the prison? It was simple math, if we take it all for ourselves, we can live longer.

 

I agree that using Father Gabriel as a nut case is a waste of opportunity. It was be so interesting to see a man of faith who was not crazy, and see him trying to believe in God during such a difficult time and to try to get others to believe in God. I think if anything, more people would be trying to keep or find their faith in the event of a ZA.

It would be interesting for example, to see which if any of the CDB people would be interested in praying or in talking to a minister.

Taking this to Speculation thread.

[KarateKate]

I've been thinking about the scene - just between Construction Guy headed off to "send a fax" and when the walkers crash the party - when Abraham pensively looks out on the world, sees the birds disturbed and flying up, leans in and almost-but-doesn't grab the gun as he thinks about life, then goes into action when the walkers break into the clearing.

Why didn't he warn the work crew? Is this a sign of him/them getting soft? That sign that at the very least would have put them on alert is somewhat tamped down, until it actually turns out to be something?

Or was he bracing for the attack, knowing calling out would have just caused a problem? 

Was he gearing for combat, or trying to dismiss it as possible PTSD?

[kikismom]

I too had never heard "sending a fax to Cleveland" but I have been known to say

I'm dropping friends off at the pool

Baptizing a Baby Ruth

And the ever popular "The browns just won the super bowl"

Abe had previously used the term "drop a deuce" on the road with Glenn and Tara; he is obviously fluent in toilet terms.

Or effluent, as the case may be.

[JackONeill]

Abe had previously used the term "drop a deuce" on the road with Glenn and Tara; he is obviously fluent in toilet terms.

Or effluent, as the case may be.

 

Wait, is that why I'm watching TWD? To learn toilet terms? Well, then, I have a much higher appreciation of the show now.

[morgankobi]

I've been thinking about the scene - just between Construction Guy headed off to "send a fax" and when the walkers crash the party - when Abraham pensively looks out on the world, sees the birds disturbed and flying up, leans in and almost-but-doesn't grab the gun as he thinks about life, then goes into action when the walkers break into the clearing.

Why didn't he warn the work crew? Is this a sign of him/them getting soft? That sign that at the very least would have put them on alert is somewhat tamped down, until it actually turns out to be something?

Or was he bracing for the attack, knowing calling out would have just caused a problem? 

Was he gearing for combat, or trying to dismiss it as possible PTSD?

 

I don't think he saw birds flying way up high over very tall trees as a sign there were walkers coming. I think he was just simply having another anxiety attack (or whatever it was) like the one in the morning. I also think something like a walker attack snaps Abraham out of any haze, not puts him in one. He's a man of instinct and action/reaction.

 

The birds could also be the opposite, a sign of calm and peacefulness. CDB doesn't often get the chance to pause and look up into the calm sky. It could mirror the peace and calm in the house, which is where he had his first breakdown.

Edited March 19, 2015 by morgankobi

[kikismom]

I don't think he saw birds flying way up high over very tall trees as a sign there were walkers coming. I think he was just simply having another anxiety attack (or whatever it was)

The birds could also be the opposite, a sign of calm and peacefulness.

Entirely possible.

For the sake of argument (which I love) though, a guide from Alaska said if you're in the mountains or the woods or trails whatever...and you see see a whole bunch of birds suddenly take off, then turn around and head in the opposite direction in a highly rapid fashion and don't stop till you get to, like, Arizona.

Because a big nasty creature has just started bombing through there and even they don't want to be around.

 

I always think of how many people saw birds, animals, (even elephants) suddenly start booking for the hills an hour before that tsunami in Thailand.

Edited March 19, 2015 by kikismom

[morgankobi]

Here's another fun bird tip: If you are ever on the beach and see a cute seagull, do not throw him any food whatsoever. There's no such thing as just one seagull. The moment a seagull gets food from you, hundreds will appear out of nowhere! Every time.

 

Did we actually see Abraham's birds fly up and away, or did we just see them fly overhead? 

[KarateKate]

Did we actually see Abraham's birds fly up and away, or did we just see them fly overhead? 

Without rewatching I'm not entirely sure, but I'd wager a steak dinner we saw them come up and out of the woods a couple hundred yards away, and then fly away. 

I'm pretty sure he knew the fax was about to hit the fan, but have been mulling over his response to the pending threat.

[kikismom]

Here's another fun bird tip: If you are ever on the beach and see a cute seagull, do not throw him any food whatsoever. There's no such thing as just one seagull. The moment a seagull gets food from you, hundreds will appear out of nowhere! Every time.

Oh no! We were in a hotel one time on the fourth floor, and after eating lunch, we decided (like morons) to throw the bread crusts etc off the balcony to these seagulls.

Not only are you correct that it's like poking a hornets nest and hundreds just come swarming---but some of the stuff we threw was heavier like tomatoes and stuff and just as it was falling some guy pulled up on the street under us. In a new Volvo. Just awful what happened to that car.

[Yolapukka]

I read the birds as a sign that walkers were coming before they shambled on screen, so I am in the camp that believes Abraham took it as a sign of that. His moment was (to me) an "oh fuck, no break from this shit" bit of PTSD, like he really was knocked for a loop that he had to handle walkers so soon, he might have even been questioning his own reaction that walkers were coming as paranoia. However once he was dealing with them and recognizing that he had skills above and beyond the rest of the crew, he seemed to love it. He's very purpose driven and has been a bit lost since learning about Eugene's lies, plus the paradigm shift of adjusting to such a normal safe place, instead of being on alert all the time. 

Edited March 19, 2015 by yuggapukka

[kj4ever]

Oh no! We were in a hotel one time on the fourth floor, and after eating lunch, we decided (like morons) to throw the bread crusts etc off the balcony to these seagulls.

Not only are you correct that it's like poking a hornets nest and hundreds just come swarming---but some of the stuff we threw was heavier like tomatoes and stuff and just as it was falling some guy pulled up on the street under us. In a new Volvo. Just awful what happened to that car.

We had a horrible boss and work next to the Chicago River.  We covered his car with 3 loaves of bread.  His car was one big bird poop.  He was way nicer to us after that :)

[ghoulina]

A coupe of other thoughts. I know many have said this, but think about what Maggie's been through, all that she's lost, all, in a way, because of following Rick. Now, I don't blame Rick and I don't think Maggie does. But look at the history. She had a shower and clean white walls before Rick came along; the shower and the white walls went away; now she has a shower and white walls again.

 

See, I don't really look at it that way. I don't think that shower and white walls would have lasted very much longer, even if CDB hadn't come along. Hershel and his group were woefully naive about the realities of the ZA. And, in fact, I think they were damned lucky that the group who DID descend on their farm was the kind of group it was. Say Carl had never been shot, Sophia never lost, and CDB went towards Ft. Benning....and then say Dave and Tony came across the farm. They WOULD have taken it over. And the women would have rued the day. Also, Maggie appears to have been a pretty independent girl from the get-go, but she nearly lost it after what happened on the farm the night it burned down. Glenn was able to pull her together. I think through being a part of this group, and largely her relationship with Glenn, she has learned to become even more of a fighter. 

 

So, honestly, I see Maggie having gained a lot more than she potentially could have lost if Rick had never come along. But I do think she is ready for some damn peace already. We'll see if diverging priorities cause a shift in our group.