S01.E02: So Close, Yet So Far

[econ07]

 

The cops obviously know to shoot the walkers in the head. But I couldn't tell if the homeless guy lying in the street had been shot in the head. I kept waiting for him to get up and scare the crap out of the protesters but he never did. So I guess he was most sincerely dead?

 

I think his wound was through his eye.

 

Travis: Please sir, let us in so I can protect my family?

Barber:  Come in.

Travis:  So what's back here, huh ... what are you hiding ... and what's upstairs ... who's up there ... why are you being such pricks and not letting us back there ... what's wrong with you ... you have any food ...yada yada yada.  

 

Dude you have to earn some trust before going guns-a-blazing on the questions.  And no sincere thanks and not one mention of a zombie??? (as others have noted).

[Lord Kira]

Good episode. Much better than last week. I liked seeing the fall of the city.

 

Madison is so dumb. Can she please die? In this episode alone she:

* asked if Travis tried contacting his ex-wife and son at their house. Nooooo, I'm sure he never thought of that.

* called out to someone she knows is "sick" and violent, and almost got Tobias killed.

* didn't bother stockpiling any food when Tobias advised her too.

* didn't bother telling Alicia what was going on .

* didn't secure the house. Board up the doors and windows or something. Block the door with furniture.

 

While they're at it, they can kill off Liza and Chris. The writers can't honestly expect me to want to see more of them, can they? 

Edited August 31, 2015 by Lord Kira

[ParadoxLost]

I find it ridiculous that they are "heading to the desert' at this point.  I doubt anyone really understands what is happening enough to decide to head for low population areas.  People would react to this like an outbreak of disease or an earthquake.  They would stock up, fortify, and hunker down where they have shelter and supplies.  The people heading out of town would be the ones that had a place to go or family they were meeting up with.  I could see the cities emptying but I don't think people would decide to flee the suburbs that fast.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I just remembered a nitpick I had while watching... maybe this is how it really is, but I found myself wondering;  'does a school counselor really have a set of the 'key(s) to the kingdom'?!'  And if so, 'why?!?!'.  Again, maybe that's the way it is everywhere, but it just stopped me cold for a second. 

 

Any chance there's any teachers/school counselors out there who can comment on the veracity of that nitpick I've noticed?

[Irritable]

I don't fear anything that may happen on this show more than the very real possibility that Nick might not shower and change clothes before he no longer has the opportunity to do so. 

 

I'm so pissed that sweet Matt died.  What bullshit.  I felt horrible that they just left him there to die alone, suffering, even though I don't really know what they should have done differently.  Maybe cared more? Felt worse about it?  Something.  And I agree, why did no one ask him who bit him, and where that person is now?  Walkers don't just wander around taking little snacky nibbles out of people, and then jet off looking for the next bite.  Where did Matt encounter the one that bit him? Why would they not want to know that???

 

Why was the principal alone in the school?  Where was the walker that got him?  Again, THEY DON'T JUST BITE ONCE AND LEAVE, so why are they treating this show like we haven't all been watching the other one for years and know how this shit works?  Insulting.

[Nashville]

Much better episode. The panic on the streets feels real, but the lack of the federal government's presence, specifically the CDC does not. There should be constant reports on the the emergency broadcasting systems.

CDC won't be called unless the county health department reports specific indications of a communicable agent, and the county health department won't make such a report unless they're receiving reports from multiple hospitals/medical centers.  Cops plugging homeless people in the streets won't rise to that level of reporting  unless the county ME reports something in his/her postmortem - and I think we can all guess how THOSE autopsies are gonna go.  :)

 

I understand that Madison and Travis are in shock and are not sure what is really going on, but not warning their respective family members is negligent and endangers their lives.

 

They've seen what happens, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're mentally prepared to acknowledge it - not immediately, anyway.

 

It is hard to believe that in this day and age with all the different sources of news over the Internet that the high school kids who are so plugged in had no clue and weren't panicking and warning their parents and teachers like Tobias tried to.

 

That's where being in the planet's most advanced technological age to date can work against you, because like Felicia - excuse me, Alicia - the vast vast majority of people seeing a YouTube video or something similar which outrageously opposes their notions of reality will immediately assume it's fake.

 

I tend to cut the writers a lot of slack, and I can fan wank with the best of them, but I laughed every time Travis told Madison to go to the desert without him - he'd meet her there. You know - in the parking lot. Ha! Could we be just a little more specific about a meeting place in the freaking desert? Maybe: the third prairie dog village past that ant hill that looks like a volcano. Or something.

 

From Travis' delivery of the line and Maddie's nod of assent, I surmised Travis was referring to a common point of reference they both immediately recognized - a regular site for family camping trips, for example.

 

The entire time they were talking to dying Matt, I wanted someone - anyone - to ask him how he got bit. 'Cuz that shit just doesn't happen everyday and if someone I knew had a huge bite mark on their chest, I'd be wondering WTH happened.

 

Yeah, I thought at least a "What happened?" wouldn't have been totally outside the normal parameters of etiquette, given the circumstances.  ;)

 

The cops obviously know to shoot the walkers in the head. But I couldn't tell if the homeless guy lying in the street had been shot in the head. I kept waiting for him to get up and scare the crap out of the protesters but he never did. So I guess he was most sincerely dead?

Shot through the right eye, it appeared to me.

 

And I'm calling it now: Mama Barber Shop isn't gonna last long. Praying to the Virgin Mary isn't going to save you, lady.

Belief in a higher power screws you over in the ZA. No exceptions. 

Reference FPP.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I don't fear anything that may happen on this show more than the very real possibility that Nick might not shower and change clothes before he no longer has the opportunity to do so. 

 

I'm so pissed that sweet Matt died.  What bullshit.  I felt horrible that they just left him there to die alone, suffering, even though I don't really know what they should have done differently.  Maybe cared more? Felt worse about it?  Something.  And I agree, why did no one ask him who bit him, and where that person is now?  Walkers don't just wander around taking little snacky nibbles out of people, and then jet off looking for the next bite.  Where did Matt encounter the one that bit him? Why would they not want to know that???

 

Why was the principal alone in the school?  Where was the walker that got him?  Again, THEY DON'T JUST BITE ONCE AND LEAVE, so why are they treating this show like we haven't all been watching the other one for years and know how this shit works?  Insulting.

 

That's what I hate about both WD shows, when it comes to stuff like this.  We're always left holding the bag, as in not knowing what the hell happened and how.  Without re-watching the scene; did he get bit, or shot or stabbed?  I know there was no blood - other than some wipe-age - on the front side, but I don't recall seeing a tear in the shirt to indicate a bite wound.  If he got bit, where's the other walker?  And if it was a walker/bite, why just the one bite and didn't keep eating??  If the Principal "killed" the walker after getting bit, why didn't Madison & Tobias come across the body?!

 

And to add to the above, was the whoever setting off the metal detector the zombie!principal?  The dead person who bit him??  The live person who stabbed/shot him?!   ARGH!  *pulls at hair*

 

ETA:  I'm assuming the walker that M/T listened to, over the PA system thingy, was the principal (referenced by his carrying it & speaking into it before his 'death').  But I liked how that walkie talkie/radio stayed 'keyed on' even without a finger or hand on it to do so, and laying discarded on the floor.  Pretty convenient, that.

Edited August 31, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[bagatelle]

This is a very unlikeable group. I hope Tobias winds up safe, but I don't care at all what happens to the rest of them.

 

Metal detectors and contraband lockers? I find that the most depressing thing in the show and that is coming from someone who taught in a high school for a decade.

[SimoneS]

CDC won't be called unless the county health department reports specific indications of a communicable agent, and the county health department won't make such a report unless they're receiving reports from multiple hospitals/medical centers.  Cops plugging homeless people in the streets won't rise to that level of reporting  unless the county ME reports something in his/her postmortem - and I think we can all guess how THOSE autopsies are gonna go.  :)

 

While the CDC does rely on state/city/county health departments to report diseases, it also actively monitors disease transmission once an epidemic starts. Tobias said that the infection had hit several cities. The show is trying to say that none of the these health departments reported the flu spreading to the CDC or that the local medical communities did not notice that there were people going to the hospital with the flu? This makes no sense.

 

The show is trying to sell an unbelievable tale. Apparently, all these people are getting sick and staying home so no one in the medical community knows that there is a "flu" spreading to sound the alarm. Yet , the Internet is abuzz with the news that there is a flu-like infection turning people is several cities into walkers. 

 

All I am saying is that the show should have stuck to one narrow version of events and not try to do too much. The show could have made the LA the epicenter of the disease which would explain why everyone was caught off guard or they could have had the medical community raise the alarm, but some people not believe the seriousness of the disease because it is so implausible. 

Edited August 31, 2015 by SimoneS

[natyxg]

That's what I hate about both WD shows, when it comes to stuff like this.  We're always left holding the bag, as in not knowing what the hell happened and how.  Without re-watching the scene; did he get bit, or shot or stabbed?  I know there was no blood - other than some wipe-age - on the front side, but I don't recall seeing a tear in the shirt to indicate a bite wound.  If he got bit, where's the other walker?  And if it was a walker/bite, why just the one bite and didn't keep eating??  If the Principal "killed" the walker after getting bit, why didn't Madison & Tobias come across the body?!

 

And to add to the above, was the whoever setting off the metal detector the zombie!principal?  The dead person who bit him??  The live person who stabbed/shot him?!   ARGH!  *pulls at hair*

 

I think there was a ton of blood on his back. I think he was bit from behind.

Bit in the neck from behind, I mean.

[Auntie Anxiety]

Didn't I see this same mob goes crazy plot line in the first season of The Strain? Yeah, I stopped watching that one too.

 

And Matt, I apologize, but you are always going to be Randall from The Wire in my eyes.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Auntie Anxiety

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I think there was a ton of blood on his back. I think he was bit from behind.

Bit in the neck from behind, I mean.

 

I know there was quite a lot of blood from the area of his shirt that covered his shoulder blade down to his lower ribs, but I don't remember seeing any torn or hanging shirt pieces - or noticeable hole(s) in the shirt - to definitively indicate it was a bite wound.  

 

(but then again the PQ has been quite subpar so far on this show, so I might have not seen it due to that as well)

[Zanne]

I just remembered a nitpick I had while watching... maybe this is how it really is, but I found myself wondering;  'does a school counselor really have a set of the 'key(s) to the kingdom'?!'  And if so, 'why?!?!'.  Again, maybe that's the way it is everywhere, but it just stopped me cold for a second. 

 

Any chance there's any teachers/school counselors out there who can comment on the veracity of that nitpick I've noticed?

 

I'm a teacher and I have teacher friends who work for different districts and it's been the same across the board. Yes, we have keys to get in, but we don't usually have the alarm code. You cannot tell me an LA school would not have an alarm, especially one with a metal detector. They don't want kids destroying property, spray painting, stealing, or homeless people going in to raid the cafeteria or use the gym showers before falling asleep in the principal's office.

 

However, maybe the principal deactivated the alarm or had not set it before he was bitten (on his back near his neck) so the mom was expressing surprise the alarm didn't go off when she unlocked the door.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Didn't I see this same mob goes crazy plot line in the first season of The Strain? Yeah, I stopped watching that one too.

 

Funniest thing  I got out of all that;  "Crazy cops shot and killed a homeless dude!"  "Ok, so great idea... let's get off this 'safe haven' and run TOWARDS the crazy cops and their bullets!!"

[morgankobi]

I just remembered a nitpick I had while watching... maybe this is how it really is, but I found myself wondering;  'does a school counselor really have a set of the 'key(s) to the kingdom'?!'  And if so, 'why?!?!'.  Again, maybe that's the way it is everywhere, but it just stopped me cold for a second. 

 

Any chance there's any teachers/school counselors out there who can comment on the veracity of that nitpick I've noticed?

Her keys got her in the front door, then she got keys to the other room from the Principal's desk (she was putting them back again when she heard the noise from the large, eavesdropping machine). In non-LA schools, many teacher's have codes to get into the building during off-hours (I did), but in a high school, off-hours are sparse. Many school don't officially lockdown until after 8 because of after-school activities. Besides, it looked like it was early afternoon. Perhaps it was a school day, but no one had showed up (principals aren't often roaming the halls on weekends).

 

It seems like they may be done with the High School. What a waste of a potential location while people started turning. Other than making them teachers/counselors-which is probably about to become totally irrelevant- what really was the point of the HS?

Edited August 31, 2015 by morgankobi

[bunnyblue]

There towards the end of the episode, they showed a car parked in the driveway of the boyfriend's house with the trunk popped open, with luggage inside. No sign of whoever got out of that car. My guess is Mom & Dad provided a Vegas-style buffet of their own.

 

Oooh, you're right. At first I thought that was Madison's car and I wondered why she just left her luggage in the driveway knowing what she knows. But on re-watch I noticed that the car was indeed parked in front of Matt's house. I guess the roads from Las Vegas to LA are all clear if his parents made it back okay. Sucks they got taken out by their walker son.

 

While Alicia was much improved this episode, I hated that she was strolling in the middle of the street wearing earbuds in the beginning. I was kinda hoping she'd get hit by a car for her stupidity.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Thanks for the corrected info about the key(s), teachers/counselors, and schools.  Good to know it wasn't a writing gaffe.

 

 

But I do wonder how sweet Tobias got in without a key..... (it wasn't explained and I missed it, was it?)

[catrox14]

Oh this is so not good. I don't care about ANY one here. Not even Clifton Collins.    How do you not alert your neighbors that have a bouncy party about the weird shit? I mean sure , take care of you and yours but geez just say something! And let them figure it out.

 

The dialogue is awful. It's cliched and trite and bad acting IMO.  Sigh. What a disappointment.

 

 

ETA: And by Clifton Collins, I meant Cliff Curtis.  Clifton Collins couldn't even save this mess.

Edited August 31, 2015 by catrox14

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Oh this is so not good. I don't care about ANY one here. Not even Clifton Collins.    How do you not alert your neighbors that have a bouncy party about the weird shit? I mean sure , take care of you and yours but geez just say something! And let them figure it out.

 

The dialogue is awful. It's cliched and trite and bad acting IMO.  Sigh. What a disappointment.

 

The only thing I can think is the writers must really want us to dislike Madison, or something.  They clearly showed her going over to chat with the 'party' neighbor, so we know interaction was had.  But yet the party and clean-up afterwards still must have went on as planned.  How can you not hate a person who had the means and moral right to let people know WTF is going on, but doesn't?  A case could be made that she did, and they chose not to believe her.  And ok, but nobody they invited called to tell them what is going on or never talked about it once at the party!?

 

Just a big cluster of non-sense, all around, really.

[cynic]

Calvin, Matt, and the principal?!? The producers have to be messing with us now.

[HotForBacon]

It's always the weird loner who's ahead of everybody else about what's going on.

I appreciated Madison being stoic until she got home and washed the blood off her pack. I didn't appreciate no one telling Alicia what was going on.

 

This. So this. I wish if there was a zombie apocalypse happening that people I care about will let me know so I can avoid doing stupid things like Alicia. What is up with the whole "I'll tell you when I get there?" to the kid's mom? Tell her NOW. NOW. NOW.

 

Ok. I'm done. I preferred this to the first episode for sure. And I'll give them another episode before the stupidity is no longer "cute and adorable" but pure plot device. 

[catrox14]

ETA : I mean seriously. Even in my apt building, if silly fire alarm goes off everyone asks each other WTF is going on? Hell, even getting on the elevator and someone coughs or sneezes, you will usually say something like I dunno "Gasundheit" and then you talk about a flu bug or how shitty you feel. I'm serious!  But these people can't be arsed to at least SEEM concerned about their neighbors?

Edited August 31, 2015 by catrox14

[Nashville]

While the CDC does rely on state/city/county health departments to report diseases, it also actively monitors disease transmission once an epidemic starts. Tobias said that the infection had hit several cities. The show is trying to say that none of the these health departments reported the flu spreading to the CDC or that the local medical communities did not notice that there were people going to the hospital with the flu? This makes no sense.

 

The show is trying to sell an unbelievable tale. Apparently, all these people are getting sick and staying home so no one in the medical community knows that there is a "flu" spreading to sound the alarm. Yet , the Internet is abuzz with the news that there is a flu-like infection turning people is several cities into walkers. 

 

All I am saying is that the show should have stuck to one narrow version of events and not try to do too much. The show could have made the LA the epicenter of the disease which would explain why everyone was caught off guard or they could have had the medical community raise the alarm, but some people not believe the seriousness of the disease because it is so implausible. 

 

There's another alternative for those in the pointy little tinfoil hats: the CDC is monitoring outbreaks, but not interceding due to orders from on high.  Which makes for a good conspiracy theory story line angle.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Calvin, Matt, and the principal?!? The producers have to be messing with us now.

 

I guess the walkers see people like I see chicken and pork;  dark meat tastes best...........  {/ducks the tomatoes and rotten eggs as I stumble off stage}

 

Seriously though, it's gotten to the point of absolutely ridiculousness.  Bob, Tyrese, Noah (and more I can't recall right now) + these 3.  This either a huge trolling effort or the producers are closeted-racists with KKK-like tendencies.

 

They should add a tagline to the WD universe;  "Be white or get dead;  Heil!".

Edited August 31, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[catrox14]

The only way that I can see people being theses total douchebags numbskulls is that the West Coast version of the virus makes them all stupid and uncommunicative before they die or turn.

Edited August 31, 2015 by catrox14

[Desiree]

That's what I hate about both WD shows, when it comes to stuff like this.  We're always left holding the bag, as in not knowing what the hell happened and how.  Without re-watching the scene; did he get bit, or shot or stabbed?  I know there was no blood - other than some wipe-age - on the front side, but I don't recall seeing a tear in the shirt to indicate a bite wound.  If he got bit, where's the other walker?  And if it was a walker/bite, why just the one bite and didn't keep eating??  If the Principal "killed" the walker after getting bit, why didn't Madison & Tobias come across the body?!

 

And to add to the above, was the whoever setting off the metal detector the zombie!principal?  The dead person who bit him??  The live person who stabbed/shot him?!   ARGH!  *pulls at hair*

 

ETA:  I'm assuming the walker that M/T listened to, over the PA system thingy, was the principal (referenced by his carrying it & speaking into it before his 'death').  But I liked how that walkie talkie/radio stayed 'keyed on' even without a finger or hand on it to do so, and laying discarded on the floor.  Pretty convenient, that.

Walkies can and frequently key without someone having their hand on it. I work with walkies and quite often we have to say over them that someone is keying. They get stuck and you can hear everything going on in the person's vicinity who's walkie is keying. 

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Walkies can and frequently key without someone having their hand on it. I work with walkies and quite often we have to say over them that someone is keying. They get stuck and you can hear everything going on in the person's vicinity who's walkie is keying. 

 

Damn, that's twice I've made an uninformed assumption.

 

I guess that makes me twice the ass I usually am.  lol

[bunnyblue]

I don't fear anything that may happen on this show more than the very real possibility that Nick might not shower and change clothes before he no longer has the opportunity to do so. 

 

Dear lord yes!! Just looking at him makes me shudder. He's in his own home now - where he has clean clothes - yet he is still laying around in the old man's dirty clothing. Plus how many times did he vomit? Some of it must've gotten on his shirt and/or jacket. Bleh! And I'm sure he didn't shower in the hospital, so he's still got nasty hospital germs all over him. Not to mention his greasy hair. If he looks like this on day 2 of the ZA, how's he gonna look a few months down the road? He may just give Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon a run for their money.

[Hava]

Kim Dickens is the weakest link for sure. She is just so "blah" and the fact that she has NO sense of urgency is grating. 

[Glaze Crazy]

I can accept that a person could fight off or push back a single walker after being bit so the Principal and Matt being left to turn was plausible.  I could see Matt running away after being bit somewhere outside and even the principal maybe pushing the walker that bit him into a classroom and shutting the door, leading to Madison and Tobias hearing it over the PA.  The PA/Sound monitoring board I took to be something like a baby monitor where someone can listen to individual rooms.  It seems that's what he was doing last episode, clicking into and out of different classrooms, so he could say he "reviewed" his instructors. 

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Dear lord yes!! Just looking at him makes me shudder. He's in his own home now - where he has clean clothes - yet he is still laying around in the old man's dirty clothing. Plus how many times did he vomit? Some of it must've gotten on his shirt and/or jacket. Bleh! And I'm sure he didn't shower in the hospital, so he's still got nasty hospital germs all over him. Not to mention his greasy hair. If he looks like this on day 2 of the ZA, how's he gonna look a few months down the road? He may just give Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon a run for their money.

 

It sure would have been great if Nick (now + future) could have met up with early s5 Rick & Daryl.  The 3 of them could participate in a very spirited game of "Name That Stain".

[Cthulhudrew]

Was it just me, or was one of those cops played by Ian Anthony Dale ("The Event")?

Edited August 31, 2015 by Cthulhudrew

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, at this point, I have to think Tobias is going to be the last one standing out of this lot.  Granted, he needs to learn to go for the head and he certainly needs to learn when to try and save someone (hint: not Madison), but he's already several steps ahead of everyone else.

 

In some ways, I enjoyed this episode more then the pilot, do to them ramping up the action and bring more walkers into play.  On the other hand, I'm starting to dislike these characters even more.  Madison really isn't coming off well here.  I don't know; I'm on the camp who was annoyed that she (and Travis) were so cagey with Alicia, and I honestly don't blame Alicia for fighting back, because all she knows is that her boyfriend is sick, and her parents aren't letting her try to help.  They also are telling her to stay in the house and really aren't saying why exactly.  I'm not saying they should be all "Dead are coming back alive, dear!" about it, but try to find a better reason.

 

Of course, Madison in general, is being stupid.  After what she saw last week, she still let the principal get that close to her, despite clearly being off?  What the hell, Madison?  That going beyond naivete and into stupidity.

 

Travis at least was smart enough to get his ex and son somewhere safe, even if he had to be an asshole enough that I would have found it hilarious if the barber kicked them back out.  At least he did thank them several times later, so I do think he realizes that he was being a jackass.

 

Think I'm already going to start a drinking game over how many times a character says "the desert."

 

Of course, Mattie was going to die.  This is The Walking Dead after-all!  Some things will never change... 

 

We already getting a two week break?  The hell kind of scheduling is that, AMC?  Considering these two episodes have been more of a slow burn, that seems like a solid strategy to loose ratings.

[Brooke0707]

You know, if all hell was breaking loose and I saw the undead eating people, I probably wouldn't want to talk about it. I would just make cryptic references and would avoid eye contact with loved ones. And I'd encourage my family to stay inside, but I wouldn't want to tell them why. I wouldn't want to be like "don't go outside because someone might eat your face." No, I would just rely on my freaked out expression to convey that message. Why would anyone talk about the dead feasting on the living? Such a downer of a topic. Best to avoid it.

Oh and do these walkers seem extra strong to anyone or is my memory failing me as to their strength on TWD?

Edited August 31, 2015 by Brooke0707

[Iguessnot]

I have a lot of thoughts which I'll probably post tomorrow. I do have one niggling complaint: why on earth would you NOT tell your kids what's going? Especially when you know your daughter might just skip out to help her boyfriend/neighbours etc.

So true. This isn't an obedient trusting child. This girl has been giving her lip since we first met her. If Madison wants to save her life, she has to engage. The daughter might not believe her at first, but giving her the silent treatment will ensure that she will continue to blow off instructions given by her mother.

 

We already getting a two week break?  The hell kind of scheduling is that, AMC?  Considering these two episodes have been more of a slow burn, that seems like a solid strategy to loose ratings.

I think Labor Day is the reason for the break.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Iguessnot

[lulee]

.

But I am really having a problem with the blatant racism of the entire TWD universe.

The first 3 minor characters killed were black males. WTF.

Gloria was white, wasn't she? Edited August 31, 2015 by lulee

[tom87]

I literally yelled at the tv tell your daughter already damn it.

 

It started to feel like a game show  that makes you wait for the answer. 

[cynic]

The entire time they were talking to dying Matt, I wanted someone - anyone - to ask him how he got bit. 'Cuz that shit just doesn't happen everyday and if someone I knew had a huge bite mark on their chest, I'd be wondering WTH happened. 

...

I couldn't believe that he was with the daughter for a presumably decent amount of time and he didn't mention that he might possibly be sick because some random crazy person took a bite out of him! Even if they don't know about zombies and aren't aware of the weirdness happening, you would think he would at least want to go somewhere for a tetanus shot. And if he does have an inkling of this new danger, then him not telling Alicia is either stupid or incredibly patronizing.

 

Texting. Has anyone freaking texted anyone yet?

Twitter. This is tailor made for #HASHTAGS #VIRUSNEWS #DEADNOTDEAD #LAMYSTERY

Yeah, the curious lack of mass communication including TV, radio, and social media is unbelievable and frustrating. People would be talking about this. 

[snowwhyte]

When Madison was at the school and she glanced over and saw the school bus, did she even think of taking it? Steal the school bus, load it with all the food out the school, head home and pack instead of just waiting around.

"We have plenty of food." Was an incredibly stupid thing to say when you're heading to the desert with six people. You never have enough food or water.

[SimoneS]

When Madison was at the school and she glanced over and saw the school bus, did she even think of taking it? Steal the school bus, load it with all the food out the school, head home and pack instead of just waiting around.

"We have plenty of food." Was an incredibly stupid thing to say when you're heading to the desert with six people. You never have enough food or water.

 

How would Madison steal the bus? It is not like they leave the keys in the buses. Madison could not hot wire a school bus. She is a normal suburban mom. I would find that plot development even more difficult to believe. 

Edited August 31, 2015 by SimoneS

[snowwhyte]

She had the principal's keys. Do they not have a spare set, in case of emergencies? I'm not American so don't really know how the whole school bus thing works but I would have thought it makes sense for the principal to have keys.

[lulee]

No, at a large school in a large district, the keys would bevhandled by the district transportation department. There would be dozens of buses that would go to any school. The principal would have master keys for the building not the buses.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I must say that I do like some of the little touches the writers and producers have thrown out there, to indicate the rising zombie problem and people realizing its time to get out of Dodge;

 

-  Cop sitting in the back of the ambulance where the homeless zombie tore a chunk out of his forearm, but the paramedic was dabbing at it with antiseptic

-  Cop that Travis seen at the gas station, loading all kinds of bottled water in his trunk

-  People were loading up their cars to get away (like the neighbor dude, who sadly ended up dying before he could actually start trying to get away)

-  Unsure if it was normal evening LA traffic or not, but showing loaded up freeway/highway could indicate the start of an attempted mass exodus

 

 

One slight production nitpick... anyone notice the hair color seemed extremely similar on one of the rioters who was helping shake a van or SUV, while Travis/Liza & Chris were trying to get into the Salazar's barber shop - and the hair color of the "punk/goth" girl walker who tried to get to the lady cop?  Couldn't tell if the hair lengths were the same or not, but the hair color was very close to matching.

[Bad Example]

The only thing I can think is the writers must really want us to dislike Madison, or something.  They clearly showed her going over to chat with the 'party' neighbor, so we know interaction was had.  But yet the party and clean-up afterwards still must have went on as planned.  How can you not hate a person who had the means and moral right to let people know WTF is going on, but doesn't?  A case could be made that she did, and they chose not to believe her.  And ok, but nobody they invited called to tell them what is going on or never talked about it once at the party!?

 

Just a big cluster of non-sense, all around, really.

 

While I am 100% with you on the "cluster of non-sense", I do have to go with that she did tell them, but they smiled and nodded politely at the crazy lady and backed away slowly.  If you haven't seen anything (and that, to me, is the disconnect, but I guess they were REALLY busy renting that bouncy house), it's a big leap from "everyone's got the flu" to "and it's making people die and come back to life in attack mode".  

 

 

Oh and do these walkers seem extra strong to anyone or is my memory failing me as to their strength on TWD?

 

I noticed that, too, but I figured that every Walker we're seeing is fresh, so there hasn't been time for muscles to deteriorate much.   I don't know.  Not sure why I'm bothering to fanwank when there are so many other nonsensical things going on.  I also noticed with Principal Walker that he seemed to demonstrate what looked like deliberate coordination and not just mindless need to eat.  

[Peanut]

I wonder if the three male characters who have died were written color-blind, and the best actors who showed up happened to be black.  There is no reason those characters had to be any specific race.

 

Also, as a teacher, I can get into the school at any time, but I don't have master keys.  Some teachers do though, for reasons unknown to me. 

 

Also, re: being in shock and not telling, you don't have to say you think the dead are rising.  You can say something like, "people are becoming violent and attacking and biting people, so I need you to stay inside."  

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

While I am 100% with you on the "cluster of non-sense", I do have to go with that she did tell them, but they smiled and nodded politely at the crazy lady and backed away slowly.  If you haven't seen anything (and that, to me, is the disconnect, but I guess they were REALLY busy renting that bouncy house), it's a big leap from "everyone's got the flu" to "and it's making people die and come back to life in attack mode".  

 

 

 

I noticed that, too, but I figured that every Walker we're seeing is fresh, so there hasn't been time for muscles to deteriorate much.   I don't know.  Not sure why I'm bothering to fanwank when there are so many other nonsensical things going on.  I also noticed with Principal Walker that he seemed to demonstrate what looked like deliberate coordination and not just mindless need to eat.  

 

I don't know so much about more physical strength, per se, but I have noticed that the raspy-growly noises these "fresh" walkers make is much less noticeable than the ones usually heard on TWD.  Also, as evidenced by both needing to run Cal down a couple times and needing a few solid hits to bash 'Artie's' head in, the dead bodies' bones don't become brittle instantaneous to the point that their natural death occurs.

Edited August 31, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[tv echo]

Ditto a lot of the comments posted above.

 

I just posted a Hollywood Reporter article in the Media thread that discusses this episode, explains why some of the characters acted the way they did, and the character deaths so far. It's an interview with showrunner Dave Erickson.

 

What threw me in the pilot and continues to throw me is that Nick looks more like Travis than Madison.  In fact, I keep thinking that both teenage boys are Travis' sons (they even have similar hairstyles). (pic source) I think they miscast the Madison role...

 

Edited August 31, 2015 by tv echo

[Bad Example]

Ditto a lot of the comments posted above.

 

What threw me in the pilot and continues to throw me is that Nick looks more like Travis than Madison.  In fact, I keep thinking that both teenage boys are Travis' sons (they even have similar hairstyles). (pic source) I think they miscast the Madison role...

 

Nick looks like he could be the bio-kid of the two of them, and when they're dealing with extended and complicated dynamics, this just seems like a bad idea when it's not true.  I'm stupid!  I need the relationships to be visually easy to understand!  Go all Brady Bunch on me!  I won't care!  

Unless Madison and Travis had a long term affair and Nick... well, that would actually explain a lot.  

 

[SimoneS]

I find it ridiculous that they are "heading to the desert' at this point.  I doubt anyone really understands what is happening enough to decide to head for low population areas.  People would react to this like an outbreak of disease or an earthquake.  They would stock up, fortify, and hunker down where they have shelter and supplies.  The people heading out of town would be the ones that had a place to go or family they were meeting up with.  I could see the cities emptying but I don't think people would decide to flee the suburbs that fast.

 

After what Travis saw and what Nick told him, I think that it makes perfect sense that he would want them to get away from populated areas. People are getting infected and attacking other people. He wants them out of the city until the disease passes and the authorities fix things. Unlike Tobias, they do not fully understand this is the end of civilization as they know it.  Now, the other people who do not understand the source of the disease, I get that they would want to merely quarantine themselves and go on with their lives like Madison's neighbors across the street. Her sick neighbor had been bitten which is why he was leaving town.

Edited August 31, 2015 by SimoneS

[NorthstarATL]

I think that it is absurd that the ZA could be kept quiet.  Those in the "know" would want to do all that they could to protect their friends and family.  Once that happens, it would leak out everywhere.  In a short matter of time everyone would know about the situation.  People leaving town with water and other supplies, questions would be asked, by friends, neighbors.coworkers etc.  A shortage of supplies in stores would be another sign that something was going on.  In general, people don't keep secrets even if they say they won't tell a soul.  They just never do.  The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself, that rarely happens.

Gossip, gossip, gossip.

 

That being said, this episode was much better than the pilot.  I am not at all surprised that Madison didn't tell her daughter what was going on.  Her daughter is already freaking out over her boyfriend being sick, she probably would have wanted to be near him when he turned.

Which would be a great way to get rid of her! Alas, the picture above tells me she's with us for the duration. I do think the episode gave a helpful tip to teenagers: if your BF/GF isn't returning your calls/texts it might not mean that there's relationship trouble, but that the ZA has arrived!

   I'm only speculating, of course, since it very likely will never happen, but your first point about the ZA being leaked has one stumbling block, and that's the populace not believing that such a thing could happen. Especially in the modern age, where media can easily be doctored and information is fed us through filters all the time, it would be extremely difficult for people to rightfully panic over something they will not permit themselves to accept.