S01.E02: So Close, Yet So Far

[CletusMusashi]

Is it weird that watching somebody puke grosses me out more than zombies eating people?

In theory, at least. It's not like most of these zombies actually eat anybody anyway after they bite them.

Are L.A. zombies all vegan or something?

[JackONeill]

Out there you got to watch for gluten!

[Ronin Jackson]

A lot of people have spoken of missed opportunities, and I think that was bound to happen no matter how well-conceived and well-written the show. You can't cover everything. But, one thing (and maybe I should move this to another thread, but what the hell do I know): maybe TPTB should have had one of the characters a doctor or nurse. Maybe not at a big hospital, but at a small town near LA. Maybe (shades of Herschel) a small-town vet. That way we could have seen it through someone's quasi-medical eyes. Then again, I'm not sure if TPTB even fully understand what this "thing" is all about, so they may not want to get into it in too much detail. Then, if they do on this show, then they have to live with the repercussions( If any) on the other show. Best to play it loose, I guess.

They're don't need to cover everything... but the one key difference between this show and the mother show other than the location is that it's starts at the onset of the apocalypse. By choosing to focus on characters who are out of the loop they, very given up being to show the nitty gritty about how it unfolds. That could still be part of the show but there hasn't been much through two episodes.

[morgankobi]

Poor principal (or is it principle - I get those confused all the time) got taken out early.  Which is a shame because I liked him.

 

The Principal is your pal.

 

Unless it's lunchtime and you're a living body.

[Brooke0707]

Is it weird that watching somebody puke grosses me out more than zombies eating people?

In theory, at least. It's not like most of these zombies actually eat anybody anyway after they bite them.

Are L.A. zombies all vegan or something?

That is a good point!  This is LA.  The reason the zombies are just biting and leaving is because they are watching their figures.  Also, it's tough to lead a gluten free/pressed juice/organic/vegan/kale/flax seed infested life as a zombie!

[GreyBunny]

Me too! I was hoping he would take Maddie up on her offer, because that family kind of sucks right now. 

Tobias probably knows Madison is an annoying dumbass who will do something stupid (again) that would get him killed.  The smartest thing for him to do is to get as far away from her as possible. 

[bosawks]

I like how everyone is messed up.

 

A closed off mom dealing with a druggie son, a narcissistic sister forced to be her own cheering section, the interloping "fixer" as a replacement father and for the junkie son the Zombie Apocalypse must be one hell of an Intervention.

 

I like the no win situations.  Mom wants to believe she can help her boss and it ends in almost getting Tobias killed and her smashing his head in with an extinguisher.  Next time she can intervene she does a 180 and shuts the door on her neighbors.  Maybe she didn't want to crush someone else's skull in today or maybe she feared more for her family than she cared for her neighbors, either way, the odds of every choice ending in death become less and less.

 

I'd rather watch them deal with it than the Cleavers.

[Timetoread]

Is it weird that watching somebody puke grosses me out more than zombies eating people?

 

No.  I'm a bona fide emetophobe and vomit scenes are scarier than any monster.  That said, I'd rather watch Nick throw up all over himself than Madson telling Zombie Principal Belding that she can help.

[CletusMusashi]

I think Artie now has as many nicknames as Abraham.

[lulee]

Yes, Gloria was white, I believe. That said,  I am almost certain that Gloria was a walker/zombie from the moment we met her. She didn't have any lines, nor did we get to know anything about her. She was already turned and eating someone when we met her. She wasn't someone we got mildly interested in, then blam --- zombified. I am not planning to go back to watch the pilot to verify this, so if I missed that, please let me know.

 

What stands out about the other character deaths is that those three men were actually walking, talking characters when we met them, and were given some semblance of a personality and purpose even in the short time that we met them. So it seems more glaring that they pretty much became a part of our 150 mins FTWD universe for about 20-30 mins in the case of Calvin (I can't remember if this is his name) and Matt, and maybe about 40 mins for the principal, Artie. I don't think people just want to gripe about their deaths just to do so, but it is something that kind of jumps out at you. 

Yes, Gloria was not a fully fleshed-out character, so to speak, prior to zombification. I completely agree. But her death was a major catalyst and notable as the first walker encountered on this show.

 

More to the point of trends, the parent show has had a bad track record with Black men (Noah, Tyrese, Oscar, T-Dogg) and young blonde females (Sophia, Mika, Lizzie, Beth - and Laurie if we expand the age bracket). So Matt, Cal, and the Principal's deaths significantly contribute to a noticeable trend and Gloria's does but less so.

[crowswork]

Why does no one have a tv turned on while sitting around the house waiting?

 

It an unwritten law - people on TV never watch TV.

[CletusMusashi]

It an unwritten law - people on TV never watch TV.

... until they need to know something. Then, as soon as they turn the set on, it immediately tells them, for example, where Chris is. Funny how they never turn it on during a commercial.

Edited August 31, 2015 by CletusMusashi

[Ohwell]

I also think Travis' first wife is much smarter than Madison. At first she was all pissed then she saw how freaked out he was and started listening to him. Then when she saw the shot up homeless person, she immediately started helping him get their son out of there. She also called him out when he was acting like a crazed asshole to the family that gave them shelter. She knows even less about what's going on, but knows enough that something else is going on over typical police brutality and riots.

I know it won't happen, but I so want Maddie to get eaten so ex-wife can be the female lead.   She caught on very quickly.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Ohwell

[editorgrrl]

Well, [Nick] did shoot Calvin in the first place -- although that was clearly a case of self-defense -- killing him and rendering him a zombie. The suggestion was that Nick & Calvin had been friends for many years, so...yeah, I can see how Nick would consider that a terrible thing. As for running zombie Calvin over with Travis's truck, eh, not so much.

Thank you! When Nick tried to stop Alicia from going to see Matt, "You don't get what it makes people do—you don't know what I had to do," was referring to what Nick had to do to Calvin.

I don't know why I thought Nick was comparing himself to Matt. (Nor do I understand why people can't just tell Alicia what's going on.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by editorgrrl

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Other than the 'bounce house', the unintenionally funny part of the episode was when Madison flagged down the 'principal' AFTER looting the school's confiscated drug stash and food pantry.  "Hey Artie, just letting you know we committed a big felony and are leaving now, you just, uh, keep walking around this big empty school and we'll cya never.  K, bye!"

 

And if she thought he might have been dead - should have been able to see that huge blood stain on the side of his back - WHY DID YOU KEEP CALLING FOR HIM, and then let him almost GET RIGHT UP ON YOU TO START BITING/EATING??!!?!  *seriously wanted to reach through the TV screen and shake the living shit out of her*

Edited August 31, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[SlovakPrincess]

I'm actually really upset Tobias had to abandon his cart of canned goods. At least he got his knife back ...

Poor Principal Artie. He seemed so nice before he got turned into a zombie ...

I really liked Maddie this episode. I liked the moments between Nick and Alicia, too.

Poor Matt. I guess he just died alone?

Ugh, Chris was annoying me. "No, you guys, I wanna stay at the protest and possibly get shot!!"

You're probably gonna get one of your parents killed now, Einstein, so good job. He must have been wearing Travis' Bad IdeaJeans from last episode ... Travis was actually smart this episode.

[LVmom]

As I was walking my dogs (which we agreed last night, how cruel for pets to become zombie chow! :( ) I thought about it, and there are no functional loving relationships in the deadverse except one formed post apocalypse.  Does having a deep, loving relationship=lunchmeat? if you are deeply attached to a spouse are you less cautious because you're watching out for them too? I expect this couple is supposed to be deeply connected, but I'm not getting that vibe.

[diebartdie]

 

'm actually really upset Tobias had to abandon his cart of canned goods.

but they didnt have to abandon it, that was SO FREEKIN STUPID!!!! They had dispatched zombie princiPAL, they were not in any danger, they could have easily taken all that food and all the drugs and even more food and hey, even regular medical supplies but no, they just. walked. out. Fuck those idiots. I WANT to like Tobias but after all his doomNgloom he leaves what he went there for. UGH.

[crowswork]

So in this AU there are no Zombie movies or songs or comics? Good thing - I'm imagining Pittsburgh, with people elbowing walkers aside with a grumble "Damn Romero movies anyways"

[Yolapukka]

 

but they didnt have to abandon it, that was SO FREEKIN STUPID!!!! They had dispatched zombie princiPAL, they were not in any danger, they could have easily taken all that food and all the drugs and even more food and hey, even regular medical supplies but no, they just. walked. out. Fuck those idiots. I WANT to like Tobias but after all his doomNgloom he leaves what he went there for. UGH.

 

 

I think this was a really weak bit of wriiting, editing and /or direction. There was no freaking reason that the scene with Madison dropping off Tobias didn't end with her popping the trunk and if it had, we would have assumed he was unloading his supplies and we wouldn't be taken out of it by the prospect that they had left the food at the school after all that trouble. They made such a point of accounting for his itty-bitty knife in a completely stupid scene in the first episode and this is a lapse not in keeping with that sort of thing. Also, given that they were raiding an institutional kitchen, there is absolutely no reason that the boy could not have obtained a knife there, even if they were locked up. Well, except that then he actually would have been armed with something useful to deal with the attack of Artie, the zombie principal.

Edited August 31, 2015 by yuggapukka

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

So in this AU there are no Zombie movies or songs or comics? Good thing - I'm imagining Pittsburgh, with people elbowing walkers aside with a grumble "Damn Romero movies anyways"

 

It sure seems that way, but this would be a huge disconnect for me - if it really is the case that TWD 'universe' is completely zombie-unaware, until the ZA starts.

 

I don't think its they are unaware of the horror movies/comics/shows that portrayed them, from before, but that was all fake and horror fantasy; it wasn't real.  But now, holy shit, its actually real and happening!  Very easy to see how people could fall in to a state of disbelief about it all, when first confronted with it.

[Nostariel]

Zombie stories/mythology don't exist in the Walking Dead universe at all.

[Ronin Jackson]

I think the characters in both shows are indeed unaware of zombie fiction because it doesn't exist in this universe. Kirkman hasn't done anything different with zombies than what George Romero came up with. If a ZA happened in the real world and they behaved exactly like Romero zombies people would know what to do. Removing that increases the stakes and also prevents the material from turning into a hipster post modern joke.

[NurseGiGi]

Zombie stories/mythology don't exist in the Walking Dead universe at all.

As Robert Kirkman has repeatedly pointed out. I've always wondered why, though.

[GreyBunny]

but they didnt have to abandon it, that was SO FREEKIN STUPID!!!! They had dispatched zombie princiPAL, they were not in any danger, they could have easily taken all that food and all the drugs and even more food and hey, even regular medical supplies but no, they just. walked. out. Fuck those idiots. I WANT to like Tobias but after all his doomNgloom he leaves what he went there for. UGH.

I'm fanwanking it as when Tobias got home, he got his hands on a car, drove back to the school, and loaded it up with everything he could find.  More stuff for him and he didn't have to share it with Mindless Maddie the no-guidance counselor.

[NurseGiGi]

I liked this episode and am now interested in seeing how things unfold for everyone.  I'm definitely liking the characters better and was hoping Tobias would go home with Madison.  Alicia and Chris are annoying as hell but maybe they will get more tolerable once the shit really starts flying. 

 

I agree with a previous poster who said that it's nice to see TWD franchise is consistent with their inconsistencies. Go back and get that food!

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Zombie stories/mythology don't exist in the Walking Dead universe at all.

 

As Robert Kirkman has repeatedly pointed out. I've always wondered why, though.

 

Wow.  Ok.  (had no clue or idea about that, that RK made it so everything-zombie didn't exist until the ZA starts in WD universe)

 

What a massive disconnect, personally.  The 'living dead' are an integral part of the whole horror genre.  I can't begin to imagine knowing anything about horror and not knowing a single thing about zombies.

Edited August 31, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[magdalene]

I hate to think this because I have always liked Kim Dickens but so far I don't enjoy her character much. When your junkie son is the one with the common sense, and the smarts and has much better survival instincts than you do....

 

Speaking of said junkie son I am having the same pleasantly surprised reaction to him that I had back in the day when Breaking Bad was in its first season and I had begun to slowly realize that Aaron Paul was doing something special with a character that seemed destined to be killed off quickly but hey - that never happened and good thing too. Because I like it when fictional people go against the cliche and surprise me.

[Ronin Jackson]

Wow.  Ok.  (had no clue or idea about that, that RK made it so everything-zombie didn't exist until the ZA starts in WD universe)

 

What a massive disconnect, personally.  The 'living dead' are an integral part of the whole horror genre.  I can't begin to imagine knowing anything about horror and not knowing a single thing about zombies.

 

It's a necessary disconnect... would the show be more interesting if the characters were watching Night of the Living Dead on itunes as a survival guide rather than figuring it out for themselves?

[cmfran]

I cringed when Madison got the fire extinguisher off the wall for the principal's beatdown. After watching "Irreversible," I can't see a fire extinguisher on screen without expecting the worst.

[maystone]

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.

 

I was thinking the same thing. That goes for the news casts, too. I'd say that the word has come down from TPTB to the networks and their affiliates to not "spread panic" or some such. I would also guess that any journalist or newsroom employee who did get to see some of those reports would be skeedaddling out of LA pretty damn fast. Considering the rapid escalation in attacks, I'm surprised the first responders are still … responding. Although most probably they're still working under the impression (again no doubt told to them from on high) that all of this can be resolved with some rapid response teams. I can see them all getting the hell out very soon, too.

 

I like Madison. The writers are dropping clues all over the place about her character, but they do go by pretty quickly. In the Pilot she admonishes Travis not to get sentimental, like she knows that steely determination is the only path. She feels personally responsible for Nick being an addict: "It's in the genes." When Travis points out how well Alicia turned out, she shrugs it off with her (Madison) only being 50% successful. She's not blaming her husband for any of this. It's been stated that she's a widow, and the implication is that she raised those kids alone for quite a while. I wonder if she was a drunk or a junkie herself in her youth? I think it would explain her reaction to Travis when he was talking about the church and something bad having happened there. She would know because she's been in places like that herself. And just something about the way she was acting when she was pulling all of those drugs out of the locker seemed a little off to me. Then there's the fact that she's a guidance counselor. No offense to any guidance counselors reading this, but I've been friends with a lot of social workers (which I think is a prereq for that job), and all of them want to help someone else because they themselves have been through some tough times. So bottom line for me is I'm on her side. It's still early in the ZA; all of them are going to broken down and made over by what they're going to try to survive now.

 

I like Liz, too. I loved that she was so quick to pick up on the fact that something really, really bad was going down at that "protest." And put it together enough to know that Travis was holding out on her. I think that she and Madison could be formidable together later in the game.

[Hava]

Zombie stories/mythology don't exist in the Walking Dead universe at all.

 

 

I had no idea about this. I always thought that people were referring to the fact that the WORD "zombies" doesn't exist in the universe, not the very idea of people coming back to life. Intersting. I wonder if it will color my perception of the show in the future. 

[Nashville]

I'm definitely liking the characters better and was hoping Tobias would go home with Madison.  

Nah, no reason to do that. Tobias would be low man on the totem pole in a group where his strongest ally has already proven she doesn't know shit.

[Peanut]

The counselors at the school where I teach are former teachers.  I don't think there's any social work in their backgrounds.  And one of them would react just like Madison....  And one is a former wrestling coach who would probably just try to body slam the zombies. 

 

I was talking with some of my students today who watched it, and we all greed that most of the people would not make it past day five of the apocalypse. Oh, and they are all teenagers, and said they would want to know what's happening and were really irked that Mom wouldn't tell Alicia what was happening. 

[Raven1707]

Ratings are in:

 

The second episode of Fear The Walking Dead earned a 4.1 adult 18-49 rating, down 16 percent from a 4.9 for last week's premiere, and 8.2 million total viewers. The show faced tough competition from the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.  The premiere grew 37 percent in Live + 3 adults 18-49 ratings, rising to a 6.7. If the second episode rises the same amount in time-shifted viewing, it will garner a 5.6 Live + 3 adults 18-49 rating.

 

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/08/31/amcs-fear-the-walking-dead-declines-16-percent-in-adults-18-49-in-week-2/455591/

[ParkersBunny]

Something about last night’s ep is really bugging me: school is cancelled (half-day) because of the video of police unloading on a walker has gone viral.  Everyone is watching it and concerned – that makes sense.  

 

Then, later that same day, after The Calvin Incident, Madison & Travis are calling their respective kids while Nick channel surfs the radio, and he comments how NO ONE in the media is talking about this.  It’s not on any of the radio stations.

 

So the video has gone so viral to the point that school is cancelled, but no one in the media is discussing what’s happening? [When Travis's ex turns on the TV, it seems to be purely focusing on the police protest angle.] That's a pretty contradictory story element.  It feels a little like the show wants to have it both ways – the ZA is both alarming enough to shut down a government entity (the school) AND yet comes out of nowhere.

 

I really liked the "you are such a massive disappointment to me on every level" look that Madison gave Nick when he asked what he would do for drugs in the desert.

 

That shot with the cop stuffing his trunk with water was...chilling. It also confirms that the higher ups know what's going on but they're not telling anyone (which isn't all that surprising considering governments past and present). I have a feeling we will see some government intervention at some point and it probably won't go well.

 

 

Totally agree.  I thought this was an excellent little story beat.

[peach]

I was talking with some of my students today who watched it, and we all greed that most of the people would not make it past day five of the apocalypse. Oh, and they are all teenagers, and said they would want to know what's happening and were really irked that Mom wouldn't tell Alicia what was happening. 

 

While the lack of communication is irritating, just like it is on the mother show, I think it does make sense for HER character.  She's been in a codependent, enabler state for a long time, and I'm sure she's used to pretending to Alicia that things are not what they seem.  Alicia, of course, knows better.  She knows better than her mom, in fact, what's going on with her brother because kids aren't stupid.  But pretending is the way of the household, and it IS irksome!  So, of course Alicia rolls her eyes at her mother even MORE than a regular teenager.  But I agree with everyone else on here that it would pretty simple and enough to say people are acting erratic and violent.  This is America.  Erratic and violent is a thing whether zombies exist or not.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

It's a necessary disconnect... would the show be more interesting if the characters were watching Night of the Living Dead on itunes as a survival guide rather than figuring it out for themselves?

 

Maybe.  But I have to believe that even going from watching shows/movies or reading about zombies - ie , knowing/thinking/believing their just fantastical horror things made up to scare people - to have to actually live in such an apocalypic world would be a massive improbability, intellectually, to deal with; all the while doing what it takes to stay alive.

 

In fact, I think it would add to the whole thing if you had people who were initially weren't afraid of the zombies because they thought these were people who were all made up for fun, or to try and give people "a scare", maybe a few walkers together would have people thinking it was a 'reality' experience for something or other.  And then the made-up "people" start to actually bite and eat living people.  Imagine the trauma of believing for all your life that zombies aren't real, and then all of the sudden they are, and they're everywhere (or will be).

Edited August 31, 2015 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[Yolapukka]

I tend to think that school wasn't cancelled by the reaction to the viral video per se, at least at the level of public and school board concern but more a reaction from a higher level. perhaps prompted by the video, the same high-level response that has been informing the changes in how hospitals are dealing with resuscitation and police knowing they need to to shoot zombies in the head and hoard supplies.

 

Maybe the idea that it so far has taken place over a day is a big part of why there seems to be inconsistency in how information is fanning out, especially with the added factor that crucial information is being withheld from the public to disastrous effect, the lack of information has resulted in rioting due to shootings of unarmed (undead) civilians, which is going to lead to a massive increase in undead.

Edited August 31, 2015 by yuggapukka

[Nashville]

Something about last night’s ep is really bugging me: school is cancelled (half-day) because of the video of police unloading on a walker has gone viral.  Everyone is watching it and concerned – that makes sense.  

 

Then, later that same day, after The Calvin Incident, Madison & Travis are calling their respective kids while Nick channel surfs the radio, and he comments how NO ONE in the media is talking about this.  It’s not on any of the radio stations.

 

So the video has gone so viral to the point that school is cancelled, but no one in the media is discussing what’s happening? [When Travis's ex turns on the TV, it seems to be purely focusing on the police protest angle.] That's a pretty contradictory story element.  It feels a little like the show wants to have it both ways – the ZA is both alarming enough to shut down a government entity (the school) AND yet comes out of nowhere.

 

OR... possibly the reasons cited for the school closures has nothing to do with the real reasons...?

Another feather in the brim of the pointy tinfoil hat! ;>

[ParkersBunny]

I tend to think that school wasn't cancelled by the reaction to the viral video per se, at least at the level of public and school board concern but more a reaction from a higher level. perhaps prompted by the video, the same high-level response that has been informing the changes in how hospitals are dealing with resuscitation and police knowing they need to to shoot zombies in the head and hoard supplies.

 

Maybe the idea that it so far has taken place over a day is a big part of why there seems to be inconsistency in how information is fanning out, especially with the added factor that crucial information is being withheld from the public to disastrous effect, the lack of information has resulted in rioting due to shootings of unarmed (undead) civilians, which is going to lead to a massive increase in undead.

 

I thought about this idea - that maybe the storyline is about the cleaving between Those Who Know and Those Who Don't, and how those with a little information react (who do you tell - your teenage daughter, your neighbor, when & how to do it and not sound crazy).

 

I'm not a parent, so I don't know what's involved with a school closure, but it seems like a massive headache for school administrators and parents alike - at a high school probably (at least) half the kids can't drive, so you need to call up parents, round up buses, etc. Some kids walk, etc., but I assume the school has to notify the parents, so there's a bunch of "The school is closed? Why? Wait, what video?" conversations. So it doesn't seem like something that would be (a) undertaken lightly or (b) wouldn't have some community consequences.

[Helena Dax]

That was better than the pilot... It wasn't better written, the characters weren't more interesting, but you can tell society has already started to fall apart and that's something I always enjoy in these apocalyptic stories.

 

I think a good writer would have told a small story through the principal and the daughter's boyfriend. But like so many people here, I don't understand what happened to them, especially to the principal. His injuries weren't mortal, so he died from the infection... at the school? And the  boyfriend had been bitten by a dead guy, but he didn't tell his girlfriend? I can understand if the adults don't want to scare the kids, but that doesn't make any sense.

 

The not-a-junkie son can't die soon enough.

[Starchild]

The first episode we only had a glimpse of a few walkers before Cal, and now all of a sudden in less than 8 hours shit hits the fan?

According to a 2011 mortality study, LA sees about 150-160 deaths every day. Imagine how much damage they could do initially, before people realize they're not just sick, but trying to bite your face off.

 

It's not surprising that you'd see a lot of zombies very quickly.

[queenanne]

That was better than the pilot... It wasn't better written, the characters weren't more interesting, but you can tell society has already started to fall apart and that's something I always enjoy in these apocalyptic stories.

 

I think a good writer would have told a small story through the principal and the daughter's boyfriend. But like so many people here, I don't understand what happened to them, especially to the principal. His injuries weren't mortal, so he died from the infection... at the school? And the  boyfriend had been bitten by a dead guy, but he didn't tell his girlfriend? I can understand if the adults don't want to scare the kids, but that doesn't make any sense.

 

The not-a-junkie son can't die soon enough.

 

Yeah, separating the characters into different groups worked well in this scenario.  I cared about seeing them move their way back to each other... or if they wouldn't.

 

Really worried and puzzled about this not-a-zombie-in-sight TWD universe interpretation.  I can see not wanting some knee-jerk funny Scream-esque chitter-chatter about the rules of zombieism, but so problematic, because sometimes zombies and vampires overlap in mythologies even.  Is there NO source of horror tales in the TWD universe?  (*scratches head*)  I mean, it would explain a lot, but it's such an unlikely world, that no one knows anything supernatural.

[Ohwell]

I like Christopher.  Imagine if your dad went to live with another family, not even in another city, but basically right under your nose.  I'd be cranky, too.  Unfortunately, one of the kids will have to get eaten and I think it'll be him.  

[LJonEarth]

Robert Kirkman doesn't care about black people.

This was a better episode. Having seen enough false alarm public health and safety issues and a few real ones, it's difficult to see people behaving like they don't know how to prepare for an emergency. One would think the local news or at least cable news would have people behaving with way more caution and purpose by this point.

Edited September 1, 2015 by LJonEarth

[Ohwell]

Robert Kirkman doesn't care about black people.

Is that you Kanye?

[bentley]

A pity Nick isn't the one who got stuck in the barber shop.

[English Teacher]

First I need to snark: unless "The Desert" is a hangout that is well known, yeah...."I'll meet you there" ain't gonna happen.

Second: Nick: PLEASE.SHOWER.NOW.

Tobias: he's dead; go get your food!!!!!

Madison: Take ALL of the drugs!!! Why are you sifting through them?!?! Even without zombies, you have a sick kid at home!!!

 

Aside from some problems, I am really enjoying this series.  I find it very suspenseful and a great prelude to the big event that is TWD.

The dramatic irony makes it both interesting and maddening.  I find myself yelling at the screen, but then realize that these people just don't know.

I actually think they are handling the pacing and the aberrations really well ....  we recognize the danger, but these people don't have any experience or understanding.  So seeing someone fall down seemingly dead and then get up is not immediately a, "OMG, run -- it's a zombie!"  Human nature is to find logical and rational explanations -- when we see or hear something strange, we tend to keep it to ourselves because we don't want people to think we are crazy.  i think that is what Travis and Madison are experiencing right now.  Yes, they watched Calvin get run over twice, but that doesn't automatically mean he must be dead.  In the hospital or even regarding the police force, there are people whose hearts stop and then spontaneously beat again.  

To their world, there is a terrible flu going around...and unless the victim stays dead for a significant amount of time, people may not realize yet that they are actually undead.  The violence just seems like another aspect of the illness -- like someone who is hallucinating or delusional due to fever.  The incident on the freeway was testament to the fact that people are not believing what they are seeing -- "That has to be fake" is a typical response.

And as annoying as the teens are (and Chris can just volunteer himself to be eaten as far as I'm concerned), they don't recognize any danger.   This is just how they behave because they are teens with a difficult home situation.  Travis's ex-wife and Chris can't be expected to recognize the fear and intensity in his voice because they are thinking it's over child custody issues. Even with some news events, both the teens and the adults believe that if something was seriously wrong, that the proper authorities would warn them.  Why wouldn't they -- the biggest apocalypse the world is seeing is trading a player to a different team! A few of those authorities are beginning to break rank because they do recognize that something is seriously amiss (e.g., the policemen filling his trunk with water).  But even the authorities wouldn't necessarily know any differently -- people are ill and they are getting violent.  Who would believe that the dead are rising?

 

I know some people have brought up that the CDC would have to issue warnings.  I'm in the midst of reading And the Band Played On (about the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s).  The CDC was not permitted to reveal any specific warnings until they knew exactly what they were dealing with (virus, bacteria, or neither) and what the transmission was...and that wasn't until 5 years into the epidemic that they had enough info to tell people that it was sexually transmitted. Right now, they don't know anything more than it's a bad strain of the flu. The government doesn't want panic and they safeguard information -- which of course can lead to the riots that were seen in the show.  I actually thought that was an interesting way to take a page from the headlines today and incorporate it into the show.

 

The Tobiases of the current world are going to be the fringe groups who see the writing on the wall...and they are few and far between.  Even Madison and Travis who witnessed a person who should be dead twice over still growl and move think that this is something that will pass and not the apocalyptic event of the century.  Because that's human nature -- we are resilient and think we can conquer anything.  So Madison not thinking, "Hell yeah, let me take that giant tub of pudding!" make sense; they obviously just need a few things for a few weeks...and then everything will go back to normal.

 

I also like that we are following an extended dysfunctional but blended family.  When we joined TWD, most families were already ripped apart and there were only pairs of perhaps siblings or couples -- a full family out in the world (aside from the Greenes and those in Alexandria) are rare.  I'm interested in seeing how they are able to stay together -- or if they fall apart.  

As a teacher, I was very disturbed to see two "colleagues" abandon a sick teenager alone -- but given the trauma they just experienced, I'm going to give them a pass.  I think the lack of communication is due to the fact that they don't know WHAT they just witnessed -- never mind telling Alicia what they saw in a way that she might believe them.  But I agree with above posters: Why wouldn't you ask him where/how he was bitten?!?!  And it was very powerful -- and sad -- that Madison blocks the door when Alicia wants to help her neighbor.  I just hope that Alicia's good impulses don't get her hurt.

 

I LOVE that the first view of a zombie was by a drug addict making him a very unreliable source.  Gloria is eating people?  Too absurd to believe!  He's clearly high!

 

The saddest moment for me was seeing the letter from Berkley on Alicia's desk.  All of these hopes and dreams are now completely unrealistic and will never be fulfilled.  

 

Finally, I have a question: the family across the street (birthday party): Were they Carl's parents? I thought she was actually crossing the street to tell them (as she told Nick she was going to do).  Very confused.

OK....I'm done now :-)   

Edited September 1, 2015 by English Teacher

[blaksheba]

This show is starting to grow on me. I hope they keep Tobias around for a while. I really like his character.

 

Speaking of race, has anyone else noticed the complete lack of any Asian people in the apocalypse besides Glenn??? I figured it was okay in Georgia, but in Los Angeles???? There are no Asian people in this franchise besides Glenn, zombified or otherwise. Like, at all. I know they keep killing/zombie-ing off the black actors, but at least they hired them for an episode. They're ahead of the Asians.

I abhor that omission, as well as this other weirdness. I thought they would get this stuff right in this one, but there still time, I hope.

 

I hope going forward there are members of all ethnic groups represented, and not as zombie chow either, but people that contribute to survival and matter as  characters.

 

I honestly wish there were various groups of people followed in this "origin" show, rather than a static groups of actors. Sort of an anthology with the walker thread going through it.