S06.E09: No Way Out

[shanndee]

...

 

As for Carol being to blame for Sam freaking out - ummm just no. That kid was the product of an abusive tyrant he called "Dad" and was locking himself in closets long before Carol came along. She said those things to him BEFORE she knew his situation and not for her, his mother would still be getting the Tina Turner treatment. I blame Deanna and the people of Alexandria more for knowing they were being abused and turning a blind eye (no pun intended CORAL). CDB treated Carol the same way in the beginning. For all of Dale self righteous talk and speeches he too stood by while Carol was abused.

 

....

 

Oh, so much this! THANK YOU!

 

 

...

 

As for Carol's culpability. Was she the cause of that scenario? Not at all. But here's the thing, this will be yet another example of her mishandling a child for her own interests (Carol believes that Sophia died because she didn't raise her to be strong) before figuring out who she is dealing with and what effect this treatment will have on the child. It happened with Lizzie and it happened with Sam. Only Carl defied her and informed his father about her secret agenda. She is tone deaf and should not be allowed around children until she stops using them as a guinea pigs to assuage her damage. I think her realization about Morgan's motivation shed light on her own. Once again, I hope to see a changed and wiser Carol.

 

...

 

Yes, I agree. I see all of this as a response to her own abuse. She is incredibly damaged herself, and is trying to survive and have others survive the only way she now understands...to toughen up. She doesn't see that she has over corrected to an alarming degree. I do hope that she can eventually see this and become wiser ( and emotionally healthier!)

Edited February 16, 2016 by shanndee

[Giselle]

btw......

 

enough with the glenn bit.  it's getting old.  we get you are trying to do a "boy who cried wolf" schtick.  might as well have a counter on the number of episodes glenn has left on the show.

 

 

 I think the writers are playing a secret game between themselves "50 Pretend Ways to Kill Glen"

 

When they actually confirm his death meaning a hole in his noggin I will be thinking "FINALY!!!" and won't care as they played the death escape card too many times.

[phoenix780]

 I think the writers are playing a secret game between themselves "50 Pretend Ways to Kill Glen"

 

When they actually confirm his death meaning a hole in his noggin I will be thinking "FINALY!!!" and won't care as they played the death escape card too many times.

I'll still be pissed.  It just needs to be spectacular at this point, though I fear they'll go for some kind of random almost-accident.  Otherwise my internal dialogue will be something like, "but he escaped under a dumpster before, how is this the thing that takes him out?"  

 

Having slept on it, there are two things that I'm stuck with on this episode. 

 

First, they had zero friendly fire, didn't they?  In the (randomly quick) dark of night, swinging machetes and shooting machine guns at one point, and they only took out walkers?  That's...amazing.  Rick was clearly spending his time with the wrong Alexandrians if that's what they're capable of.

 

Second, I think my feeling about this episode will depend on what happens from here.  These people need to get smarter again, like they did after...season 1, I guess, or maybe the early prison scenes when we first saw them work together seamlessly to clean out areas and stay safe.  I don't know how that works in terms of storytelling.  I just would like them to deploy some stronger skills with the next group of humans that rolls up.

[ParadoxLost]

When they actually confirm his death meaning a hole in his noggin I will be thinking "FINALY!!!" and won't care as they played the death escape card too many times.

 

That is exactly why they are doing this with Glenn.  The show doesn't kill off the majors without numbing the audience to it first.  They can't stir up the general annoyance like they did with Lori and Andrea.  They are doing repeated fake outs so they can shout "no one is safe" while mitigating fan backlash.  How many steps closer is everyone to Maggie or Glenn being killed and saying "finally" lets move on to something else?

[Nashville]

Damn Carl gets shot a lot doesn't he?

I only caught the last few minutes- the walker massacre and all. I told my non to change channel when it looked like Glenn would die.. She didn't.

I've been trying to catch up on show. But seriously Carls been shot how many times now? 2? 3? Memory fuzzy

 

Just the two times - once by Otis, and (now) once by Ron. TPTB better give it a rest, though - any more, and CGI will have to start lopping off body parts.

 

This episode delivered the goods. It just did. Daryl rocked -- kinda literally with that RPG.

  

My next-favorite part of that bit? Sasha, after the RPG impacted about 15 feet away - shaking her head and trying to get all the cute little ear bones to go back into their accustomed places. Reminded me of Pee Wee Herman with his Giant Ear saying, "WHAT??? WHAT???"

- How the hell does Carl get shot in the face virtually point blank and survive? Bullets don't ricochet off soft tissue like an eyeball.

it wasn't a straight-on shot into the eye - the bullet ripped across it.

- Since when do walkers walk into fire? Did I miss the backstory on that behavior? Wouldn't the walkers be able to walk through the fire, extinguishing the flames, and just stroll on through to the other side? I recall an earlier episode with burned, ambulatory zombies, so I can't really buy this scenario.

 

in the TWD paradigm, walkers have ALWAYS responded to three primary stimuli - visual, auditory, and (in a much more attenuated form) scent, especially fresh blood scent. So a great big freakin' blaze will draw them in to its brightest point - and once there, the walkers aren't going to walk away from the visual stimulation. The auditory stimulus of a detonating RPG ain't nothing to sneeze at, either - although I did have a certain weak moment in my suspension of disbelief about accepting the notion of an RPG detonating by hitting the surface of the water.

 

Rick making me cry as he watched possibly the last cute blonde on earth get snacked on before he had a chance to nail her.

 

You sure about that? ;>

  

Awww the villains downfall even in cartoons. The one thing they cannot resist. What always end up being the cause to their death - THE SPEECH.

 

Not to mention - THE RPG helped a helluva lot in that respect.

 

I wish the in-memoriam montage had included the hat. Let us have a moment of silence for the hat. Long live Carl's hat. You will be missed

What - you think a walker looked down, said "Oooo, cool hat", and scooped it up? It's laying out there on the road; they'll find it during the cleanup.

Two random thoughts:

- The disturbingly swift day-to-night transition. I kept picturing a narrator saying, "then darkness fell" - immediately followed by an incredibly loud THWOMP.

- The post-rampage carnage. Picturing same narrator solemnly intoning, " So they survived the fight - only to be killed a couple of days later by the smell."

[Giselle]

First, they had zero friendly fire, didn't they?  In the (randomly quick) dark of night, swinging machetes and shooting machine guns at one point, and they only took out walkers?  That's...amazing.  Rick was clearly spending his time with the wrong Alexandrians if that's what they're capable of.

 

 

 

Well Sam by his sniveling took out his mom and brother, it doesn't get any more friendlier than that.

 

On another note, I don't blame Carol for Lizzie and Sam, no way, those kids were damaged goods already. Lizzy was very familiar with the command to " Look at the flowers." even her baby sister knew to use it. As for Special Stamp Sam  I blame his parents. His dad was brutal, his mom coddled him. I bet he would have had a better chance to survive if Wolf Boy kidnapped him instead of the "Doctor".

Edited February 16, 2016 by Giselle

[Giselle]

 

Just the two times - once by Otis, and (now) once by Ron. TPTB better give it a rest, though - any more, and CGI will have to start lopping off body parts.

 

Coral should be thankful  it was Glen who was playing shooting gallery with Red and Sasha, the kid attracts bullets and doesn't have Glen's superhero bullet deflecting and immortality powers.

[BellyLaughter]

I liked the episode but come on -- when the director has to explain the technical aspects of a characters injury and why he's not lying dead with a massive hole in the back of his head it just seems like a big fail!?? If you make the right choices and shoot it correctly and have the characters say and do the right things you won't have to sit on the The Talking Dead couch explaining your show like you are reading a chapter from the book "The Walking Dead for Dummies".

[wiscmom]

Generally just a lurker here but one small point's been bugging me.  When Enid climbed up onto the platform and Maggie called her name, it sounded to me like she yelled "Edie!".  Is that a nickname for Enid that I'm unaware of? Or a mistake? Or did I just mishear it?  I watched it several times and it still sounds like "Edie" to me.  (editing for spelling)

Edited February 16, 2016 by wiscmom

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Rick once said, you need people.

Aaron

Eric

Tobin

Francine

Spencer

Olivia

Denise

Heath

Enid

Scott(who's still recovering at the infirmary)

Plus I spotted a few no name extras.

Well, you got em now.

Edited February 16, 2016 by MrsRafaelBarba

[ParadoxLost]

On another note, I don't blame Carol for Lizzie and Sam, no way, those kids were damaged goods already. Lizzy was very familiar with the command to " Look at the flowers." even her baby sister knew to use it. As for Special Stamp Sam  I blame his parents. His dad was brutal, his mom coddled him. I bet he would have had a better chance to survive if Wolf Boy kidnapped him instead of the "Doctor".

 

The setting of a zombie apocalypse gives me a ton of leeway for not blaming characters for things I would normally.  There is an element of 'survival of the fittest' and 'the good of the many over the one' that I make allowances for that I wouldn't normally.

 

As an example, Rick spent most of the first half of the season treating the Alexandrians like a binary statement.  They'll survive or they wont.  They'll adapt or they'll die.  They are one of us or they aren't.  Rick literally wasn't going to give two shits if the Alexandrians lived or died until they proved that they could survive in the ZA without getting his people killed in the process.  Now the last of them made a stand with him against the horde so they are part of his community.

 

Carol is uncomfortable sometimes because she applies that worldview to a much younger age bracket.  I think that is how she copes with outliving Sophia.  Carol has said before that she would have died without the ZA.  Carol sees herself as suited to the ZA.  Sophia couldn't survive being left alone in the woods.  Sophia wasn't suited to the ZA.  Carol pushes the kids to understand the world they live in and try to survive it but realizes some aren't going to be able to adjust and they'll die like Sophia. 

Edited February 16, 2016 by ParadoxLost

[Giselle]

Seeing those Zombies roasting in the lake of fire made me think of toasted marshmallows. Somebody needed to blow them out as their insides were already gooey and they were getting way too done on the outside.

[BananaRama]

I loved this episode.  After episode of despair, after despair, after despair -- it was terrific to see something that we haven't seen in a long time -- hope.  I was starting to think that the zombies were lucky to be dead and that the living were unlucky because they keep suffering so much. I wanted them out of their misery. It was encouraging to see the Alexandrians banding together to fight, Father Gabriel finding his backbone, Daryl, Sasha and Abraham blasting their way out of a no win situation, Denise realizing that she is a capable doctor, Enid figuring out that she needs people, Morgan remembering that he is in the middle of an apocalypse and not an after-school special, and most importantly - Rick seeing a positive future.  Yeah, this episode was super cheesy but I really needed it.

[AbFabGab]

That is one hell of a mess in the streets to be cleaned up.  

 

You know, none of the Alexandrites have been presented as gardeners, but I think they'd make for some grade A zombie mulch. Practically speaking, since the rotten smell keeps the walkers at bay for a while, if they spread the zombie mulch around the walls it would probably give them just enough cover to begin rebuilding the walls.

[AbFabGab]

Also, why light a fire in the lake? 

 

I can't remember which episode, but it's been established that zombies are attracted to fire, but can survive it. Once they're in water though, they can't swim so if there's enough of it they get stuck there. That was actually one of the smarter things, though they're going to have one nasty mosquito problem once summer rolls around, and their drinking water is going to have a strong roasted walker taste to it for a while.

[AngelaHunter]

I think the writers are playing a secret game between themselves "50 Pretend Ways to Kill Glen"

 

I think they need to start analyzing Glenn's sweat, skin, blood - he's obviously secreting a natural substance that inhibits zombies from biting him, even when he totally covered in them. And how did Abe manage to mow down the zombies covering Glenn without hitting him? But I guess he knew too that Glenn can't die.

 

I did find it unbelievable that Rick and the others could just enter into a huge crowd of walkers and they would stand back as he killed them one by one.

 

Those are some considerate zombies. They were kind enough to do that for everyone. It was especially noticeable in the long shots - all the zombies standing around until the person nearest them finished hacking a zombie up, and they did the "Next!" thing.

 

 

[lulee]

Rick once said, you need people.

Aaron

Eric

Tobin

Francine

Spencer

Olivia

Denise

Heath

Enid

Scott(who's still recovering at the infirmary)

Plus I spotted a few no name extras.

Well, you got em now.

I know it's futile, but I like a good census. We saw Aaron, Francine, Eric, Tobin, Heath, Enid, Spencer, and some heretofore-unnamed strawberry blonde join in on the hackfest at the end, and Tobin and three unnamed Alexandrians in Gabriel's garage church. It's good that the show acknowledged their existence and didn't just mow down a bunch of redshirts for a cheap bodycount.

I'm confused about the timeline for this season. Has it only be a few days since Daryl, Sasha, and Abe tried to draw the megaherd away?

[Bannon]

The key to enjoying this show is to watch a whole episode when new characters are introduced, to determine if they are annoying. Once the scorecard of characters are filled out, then you DVR episodes, fast forward through the tiresome monologues and lousy dialogues, and see how various characters get dead or undead, and when the annoying ones get it, you go back and forth and watch it 2 or 3 times.

 

Last night was a pretty good episode. Watched it in about 20 minutes, covering 15 minutes of screen time.

I think they need to start analyzing Glenn's sweat, skin, blood - he's obviously secreting a natural substance that inhibits zombies from biting him, even when he totally covered in them. And how did Abe manage to mow down the zombies covering Glenn without hitting him? But I guess he knew too that Glenn can't die.

 

Those are some considerate zombies. They were kind enough to do that for everyone. It was especially noticeable in the long shots - all the zombies standing around until the person nearest them finished hacking a zombie up, and they did the "Next!" thing.

Well, it is a planned community, after all. The zombies probably have an elected board with meetings once a months. 

[Iguessnot]

I finally watched the episode and before I read everyone's take, I absolutely hated this episode. When they completely ignored Sam's mommy wails of the last episode I knew nothing but b.s. was coming. Who directed this crap? Everything was so wrong that I really thought it was a dream sequence. How many times did they stop and chat, not to mention shuffle Judith in the midst of zombies? Why did nightfall while they were walking hand in hand within Alexandria? I can except that Rick handed Judith to Father PeePants, but where was the threatening barb. Father PP walking away with Judith in a crowd of walkers held Rick's attention for about 3 seconds total. Give me a break. 

 

Everything was so dreamlike I felt nothing for the Sam and Jessie smorgasbord. Jessie looked badly directed just standing there screaming. And if you are being attacked, why are you keeping a death grip on something instead of fighting off the attack or making defensive movements? I didn't even feel for Carl getting shot. It reminded me of the Breaking Bad Face Off episode.

 

Wolfie's teeth looked less brown. His dialogue with Olivia was annoying. At least Carol was real enough to shoot the bastard.

 

The Alexandria redshirts stepping up to the plate and the death swing video montage was cheesy. 

[Dodginblue]

I can't remember which episode, but it's been established that zombies are attracted to fire, but can survive it. Once they're in water though, they can't swim so if there's enough of it they get stuck there. That was actually one of the smarter things, though they're going to have one nasty mosquito problem once summer rolls around, and their drinking water is going to have a strong roasted walker taste to it for a while.

 

Daryl set some papers on fire to draw walkers when he and Carol were in Atlanta trying to get to the hospital to rescue Beth.  It may have been used other times as well, don't remember.  I can't figure out why they're drawn to fire.  But I also can't figure out why being covered in gore is supposed to mask the human smell except that if you move too fast or talk loud or whatever it stops working and you'll get attacked.   

[ParadoxLost]

I finally watched the episode and before I read everyone's take, I absolutely hated this episode. When they completely ignored Sam's mommy wails of the last episode I knew nothing but b.s. was coming. Who directed this crap? Everything was so wrong that I really thought it was a dream sequence. How many times did they stop and chat, not to mention shuffle Judith in the midst of zombies? Why did nightfall while they were walking hand in hand within Alexandria?

 

Nicotero directed.  There were lots of problems that weren't his fault originally but he was probably the least likely person to recognize them and try to fix them considering his normal job.

 

They included:

The midseason ended during the day and they needed to be in Alexandria at night for the rocket solution

Filming schedule likely didn't allow to get enough dusk filming to make a decent transition

There is dialogue for all the characters in the middle of a horde.

 

But I also can't figure out why being covered in gore is supposed to mask the human smell except that if you move too fast or talk loud or whatever it stops working and you'll get attacked.

 

I was trying to prove to myself that zombie hordes didn't act this way by going back and watching Glenn and Rick escape Atlanta in guts.  Those zombies were suspicious.  Sort of.  But I couldn't prove my point because Rick and Glenn were talking then too.  Completely blew my theory, of the zombies not reacting consistently to people in guts among them, when Glenn convinced a suspicious zombie that he was a fellow zombie with exaggerated, and downright comical, zombie moaning.

 

I chalk this one up to zombies in great numbers have to be less intimidating than in smaller numbers or the show ends.  It generally means that the show needs to stop going bigger and stop trying to break their own records in terms of zombies on screen at one time.

[Bryce Lynch]

So now that Father Gabriel has shown personal growth what is the over/under on the number of episodes before he dies?

[lawless]

I love the show, and enjoyed the episode, or parts of it, but there were just some acts of stupidity on Rick's part that I can't get past. They should have snuck into the "armory" before attempting plan B. They could have stocked up on needed weapons for the trip to the vehicles AND it would have been a much more sensible place to leave Judith, Father Gabriel, Sam and probably Ron. It's also where the food is located and a much better choice than the church. Inexplicable to me that they wouldn't go there rather than try their luck in the herd with a kid as young and fragile as Sam. Even if he hadn't freaked, he cannot run as fast as the others, and running at some point was likely to be necessary, he can't fight or drive, and he requires constant parenting and protection. What happened seemed inescapable if they kept him with them out in the open. I cannot fathom why Rick didn't go to the armory, get supplies, and stash the kids. I understand not wanting to let your kids out of your sight but they were lucky to have managed to get anywhere and were obviously pushing their luck with the kids every minute they were in the herd. Also have no idea what they did all day -- plenty of time for a pit stop at the armory before full night fell. It really took me out of the show, as it seemed the only real reason for that decision was to contrive the deaths of the Andersons and loss of Carl's eye.

Edited February 16, 2016 by lawless

[morgankobi]

My next-favorite part of that bit? Sasha, after the RPG impacted about 15 feet away - shaking her head and trying to get all the cute little ear bones to go back into their accustomed places. Reminded me of Pee Wee Herman with his Giant Ear saying, "WHAT??? WHAT???"

 

 

All Hail the Master! A Pee-Wee reference has been made to Walking Dead. Our work here is done.

(All my internet points to anyone who gets this photoshopped!)

 

 

(PS-Am I the only one having problems highlighting text? It forces me to the bottom of the page every time I try.)

[forum4idiots]

I'll still be pissed.  It just needs to be spectacular at this point, though I fear they'll go for some kind of random almost-accident.  Otherwise my internal dialogue will be something like, "but he escaped under a dumpster before, how is this the thing that takes him out?"  

 

Having slept on it, there are two things that I'm stuck with on this episode. 

 

First, they had zero friendly fire, didn't they?  In the (randomly quick) dark of night, swinging machetes and shooting machine guns at one point, and they only took out walkers?  That's...amazing.  Rick was clearly spending his time with the wrong Alexandrians if that's what they're capable of.

 

Second, I think my feeling about this episode will depend on what happens from here.  These people need to get smarter again, like they did after...season 1, I guess, or maybe the early prison scenes when we first saw them work together seamlessly to clean out areas and stay safe.  I don't know how that works in terms of storytelling.  I just would like them to deploy some stronger skills with the next group of humans that rolls up.

to be fair....rosita (or whatever her name is ) was already training them (the eugene scene where he walks away)....so i suppose they know how to do the whole zombie killing thing, but never were given the chance and rick pretty much already made up his mind before.

 

pretty sure glenn will be dead as the season finale.  this is the writers/producers/etc trying to do a bad impersonation of joss whedon (the master of breaking fan hearts).

Edited February 16, 2016 by lovebug1975

[AngelaHunter]

Who directed this crap? Everything was so wrong that I really thought it was a dream sequence. How many times did they stop and chat, not to mention shuffle Judith in the midst of zombies? Why did nightfall while they were walking hand in hand within Alexandria?

 

Thank you. As they stood around chitchatting and eye-fucking each other, I was yelling, "Oh, FFS - MOVE!" As for nightfall, I got all confused and thought, "Isn't Alexandria like one street? How does it take them all day and into the night to walk across it? I tried to make excuses such as maybe when they set out it was just near dusk. It's been so damned long since the last season I don't remember.

 

fast forward through the tiresome monologues and lousy dialogues,

 

Yeah. Glenn and Enid, I'm looking at you. It doesn't matter what's going on, how critical the situation is or how near death everyone (including his wife) may be. Glenn has plenty of time to pep talk Enid - who mostly just gawps at him - launching long, slow, drawn out, "deep" conversations and reminisces that would be better suited to a lazy, lemonade-drinking Sunday afternoon on the porch than a zombie massacre.

 

I'm sorry if this is nit-picky, but so much cheesed me off that I'm just gettin' mean now.  I'm pretty sure that after about 10 minutes or less of Rick wielding that axe and splitting zombie skulls non-stop, he would have fallen down with exhaustion. I've split a bit of wood with an axe and that's back breaking work. I know he's stronger than I am, but still...

[Anela]

Their stopping and chatting got on my nerves, too.

[forum4idiots]

 

I'm sorry if this is nit-picky, but so much cheesed me off that I'm just gettin' mean now.  I'm pretty sure that after about 10 minutes or less of Rick wielding that axe and splitting zombie skulls non-stop, he would have fallen down with exhaustion. I've split a bit of wood with an axe and that's back breaking work. I know he's stronger than I am, but still...

I just ignore those now....after all, this show still gives us the "walkers can sneak up on you anytime and kill you"........how can a walker, after how many seasons and with all the noise they make and how they drag their feet, able to sneak up on anyone on this show?

Edited February 16, 2016 by lovebug1975

[Iguessnot]

Thank you. As they stood around chitchatting and eye-fucking each other, I was yelling, "Oh, FFS - MOVE!" As for nightfall, I got all confused and thought, "Isn't Alexandria like one street? How does it take them all day and into the night to walk across it? I tried to make excuses such as maybe when they set out it was just near dusk. It's been so damned long since the last season I don't remember.

 

Yeah. Glenn and Enid, I'm looking at you. It doesn't matter what's going on, how critical the situation is or how near death everyone (including his wife) may be. Glenn has plenty of time to pep talk Enid - who mostly just gawps at him - launching long, slow, drawn out, "deep" conversations and reminisces that would be better suited to a lazy, lemonade-drinking Sunday afternoon on the porch than a zombie massacre.

 

I'm sorry if this is nit-picky, but so much cheesed me off that I'm just gettin' mean now.  I'm pretty sure that after about 10 minutes or less of Rick wielding that axe and splitting zombie skulls non-stop, he would have fallen down with exhaustion. I've split a bit of wood with an axe and that's back breaking work. I know he's stronger than I am, but still...

God, I zoned out on Glenn and Enid. All that psycho babble yet they were in a hurry to save Maggie. By the way, have we seen the huge church before? I thought we always see FPP setting up in a large car garage.

[SometimesBites]

That walker kill montage stands out as one of my favorite moments on the show. Also included

Sophia coming out of that barn

Tyrese turning around and holding Judith after the fall of the prison

Rick getting in that train car where he left his last f!ck

The look on Gareth face when he saw that machete with the red handle

The Daryl/Carol Rick/Judith reunion

Glen fighting a walker tied to a chair

Oh, oh! Bob breaking into hysterical laughter: "Hahahahaheeheehee...I'm tainted meat!" and the barfing that ensued.

[Nashville]

I liked the episode but come on -- when the director has to explain the technical aspects of a characters injury and why he's not lying dead with a massive hole in the back of his head it just seems like a big fail!?? If you make the right choices and shoot it correctly and have the characters say and do the right things you won't have to sit on the The Talking Dead couch explaining your show like you are reading a chapter from the book "The Walking Dead for Dummies".

 

Thanks in large part to Hollywood, most people believe a single gunshot wound almost universally results in death; any ER doctor will tell you, however, one shot/one kill is the exception rather than the rule.  Truth is, most gunshot wounds - especially handgun shots - aren't immediately fatal; unless a vital organ (heart or brain stem) or major blood vessel is directly impacted, the primary risk to a gunshot victim is bleeding out over time.

 

I hunted around, and found an excellent YouTube video by an ER doc on this very subject.  Here's a link if you're interested, but be forewarned:

EXTREMELY GRAPHIC INJURY IMAGERY CONTAINED HEREIN.  Click at your own risk.

 

I can't remember which episode, but it's been established that zombies are attracted to fire, but can survive it. Once they're in water though, they can't swim so if there's enough of it they get stuck there. That was actually one of the smarter things, though they're going to have one nasty mosquito problem once summer rolls around, and their drinking water is going to have a strong roasted walker taste to it for a while.

 

I sincerely doubt the water intake for the houses comes from the creek running through the middle of town.

Alexandria was designed as a somewhat self-sustaining community, so I expect the subdivision gets its fresh water supply from artesian wells, or from drilled wells equipped with electric water pumps. 

The creek is most likely runoff, or the developer's creation for cosmetic effect.

 

Daryl set some papers on fire to draw walkers when he and Carol were in Atlanta trying to get to the hospital to rescue Beth.  It may have been used other times as well, don't remember.  I can't figure out why they're drawn to fire.

Double whammy - the bright light of the fire and the flickering movement of the flames both stimulate the walkers visually.

 

But I also can't figure out why being covered in gore is supposed to mask the human smell except that if you move too fast or talk loud or whatever it stops working and you'll get attacked.

Moving unusually fast (by walker standards) = visual stimulation = target.

 

And while walkers can respond to scent - especially blood scent - I don't think they're very adept at it; unless a total bloodbath is in effect, they don't seem to trigger on it unless they're within a few inches of the source.  Remember in "18 Miles Out", when Shane got trapped on the bus by walkers (after he and Rick had the tussle about whether or not to kill Randall)?  Shane cut his hand and smeared blood on the bus's door frame, then proceeded to occasionally crack the door and headspike any walkers who stuck their heads in to go after the blood scent.  Thing was, though, their initial attention was universally focused on Shane; it wasn't until after their heads were already in the door that they scented and turned towards the blood smear, which was only a few inches away.  If the walkers could have picked up the scent to any significant degree, you'd have expected the entire pack to cave the door in to get at it. 

So it doesn't surprise me very much that human scent can be so easily masked.  Hell, Michonne did it without spreading guts on herself at all - she just kept a couple of disabled walkers on chains between her and any roaming threats.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Nashville

[ShadowSixx]

I'm glad that the Andersons are dead. Jessie didn't do a relatively good job with watching Ron after the death of his father. Sam, oh my goodness what a moron. I knew he would mess it up the minute he starting calling for his mother during the beginning of their escape.

 

I was always going to wonder if they were ever going to write Carl's eye being gone. Michonne kissing Carl on the forehead almost brought a tear to my eye and love how close she is to the Grimes. She's like a big sister to Carl.

 

I'm wondering if they'll ever write Rick

having his arm chopped off? Maybe Negan will do that.

 

I think it's the beginning of the end for Daryl. He killed Negan's men with a rocket launcher no less, so Negan is going to want revenge for that and I think Daryl is going to get

the Glenn comic death.

 

Morgan has to open his eyes now, not everyone can be saved nor changed. I know Carol is kill now ask later but with the wolves she had to be because they took pleasure in killing people. In this world it's kill or be killed.

 

I thought Glenn was going to "die" again, glad that he didn't. 

 

I always wondered, the group knows Michonne's trick of hacking off jaw and arms when they go out and only requires walking distance, why not just have zombie pets stored away for when you need them.

Edited February 16, 2016 by HalcyonDays
Tagged potential comic spoilers!

[Nashville]

Michonne kissing Carl on the forehead almost brought a tear to my eye and love how close she is to the Grimes. She's like a big sister to Carl.

 

MAJOR props to Danai on her performance this episode. 

The scene where Michonne was foreground, hacking a path to the infirmary while Rick followed behind carrying Blinky -er- Carl?

One of the only times in this series we've ever seen outright panic on Michonne's face.

[ShadowSixx]

And the panic in her eyes when Rick was out there by himself hacking up the zombies and she wanted to be out there with him.  Seeing her hold Judith was nice as well cause I think the only other time she held Judith was at the prison.

[Reghan]

 

Only major complaint is no official Glenn/Maggie reunion in this episode.

 

Agreed! What the fudge! I was looking forward to that!

[GodsBeloved]

I don't understand why so many people give Carol such a pass for her shit. It's not just Sam's breakdown, the kid may have freaked out without her, but she set so many of these events off in the first place.

 

I read the thread yesterday before watching the episode last evening and I was pretty neutral on blaming Carol for Sam's freakout. After seeing how it played out with Sam saying he was staying with his mom and that he could do it then seeing  that it was Carol's words to him (words she used to threaten him after he had the gall to catch her in the pantry/armoury or whatever that was) that were echoing through his head ... I'm not sure how I can expect a child much less one like Sam not to freak out. Whoever else is to blame, Carol definitely has a part in the blame.

Edited February 16, 2016 by GodsBeloved

[Eucrid]

I thought this was the worst episode of the season. Sure loads of stuff happened but it was so poorly paced that it all felt hollow. And the show has really removed all dread for the walkers. Who cares how many there are around if you can just walk into the middle of them and start killing them off.

[GodsBeloved]

Carol is uncomfortable sometimes because she applies that worldview to a much younger age bracket.  I think that is how she copes with outliving Sophia.  Carol has said before that she would have died without the ZA.  Carol sees herself as suited to the ZA.  Sophia couldn't survive being left alone in the woods.  Sophia wasn't suited to the ZA.  Carol pushes the kids to understand the world they live in and try to survive it but realizes some aren't going to be able to adjust and they'll die like Sophia. 

I think this is a bit unfair to Sophia. She didn't have a chance to adapt and survive. Looking at Carol at that same time (when Sophia ran into the woods), she hardly looked like someone who would adapt and survive. Her child is being chased by walkers and all she does is stand there, ring her hands and moan and groan. I'm still pissed that her mother's instinct didn't kick her ass into gear to chase after her own child. Carol was a whimpering mess and if a mother couldn't find it in herself to run after her own child, I would have my doubts about her abilty to adapt and survive.

 

What I did give Jessie credit for was, in spite of the fact that she was "sheltered" when her child was in danger she found it in herself kick ass and she was dealing with a very live and crazy person, not a mindless walker.

Edited February 16, 2016 by GodsBeloved

[GodsBeloved]

So now that Father Gabriel has shown personal growth what is the over/under on the number of episodes before he dies?

LOL. Maybe he'll be around for a little bit. Judith needs a babysitter.

[RustbeltWriter]

I liked the episode but come on -- when the director has to explain the technical aspects of a characters injury and why he's not lying dead with a massive hole in the back of his head it just seems like a big fail!?? If you make the right choices and shoot it correctly and have the characters say and do the right things you won't have to sit on the The Talking Dead couch explaining your show like you are reading a chapter from the book "The Walking Dead for Dummies".

 

Yeah, all they needed was a little expository dialogue from Denise to clear that up. She could have just told Rick how lucky Carl was with the angle of the shot and the problem is solved. I've noticed they do that a lot on this show. Instead of throwing in a line explaining something they leave it confusing and then address it on the Talking Dead, which is just lazy.

[candall]

Oh, gosh, so many thoughtful posts about the influences that shaped young Sam.

 

Whereas I just saw another annoying kid get his own way with pitiful quivering lipped promises and another indulgent mother giving in to that bullshit against her own better judgment.  It's the life-or-death zombie horde, Jessie, not the freakin' candy rack by the register!  (Maybe some meals served at the table instead of the second floor landing would have established a parent-child chain of command with, you know, some survivors.)

 

Except that katana heads should go sailing through the air, I'm good with the Anderson family finale.

 

 

 

The setting of a zombie apocalypse gives me a ton of leeway for not blaming characters for things I would normally.  There is an element of 'survival of the fittest' and 'the good of the many over the one' that I make allowances for that I wouldn't normally.

 

As an example, Rick spent most of the first half of the season treating the Alexandrians like a binary statement.  They'll survive or they wont.  They'll adapt or they'll die.  They are one of us or they aren't.  Rick literally wasn't going to give two shits if the Alexandrians lived or died until they proved that they could survive in the ZA without getting his people killed in the process.  Now the last of them made a stand with him against the horde so they are part of his community.

 

Carol is uncomfortable sometimes because she applies that worldview to a much younger age bracket.  I think that is how she copes with outliving Sophia.  Carol has said before that she would have died without the ZA.  Carol sees herself as suited to the ZA.  Sophia couldn't survive being left alone in the woods.  Sophia wasn't suited to the ZA.  Carol pushes the kids to understand the world they live in and try to survive it but realizes some aren't going to be able to adjust and they'll die like Sophia. 

 

THIS is what Talking Dead should be.

[AngelaHunter]

And the panic in her eyes when Rick was out there by himself hacking up the zombies and she wanted to be out there with him.

 

Yes, I agree with that. At least someone did a stellar job that day. I also liked Denise, frozen and shaking with terror. This is a how a normal person would react in that situtation.

 

And the show has really removed all dread for the walkers. Who cares how many there are around if you can just walk into the middle of them and start killing them off.

 

And have them football-pile on top of you - twice -  and you emerge without so much as a scratch.

 

I'm also not liking other "last second cavalry charge" saves lately. Yeah, Daryl was pretty cool blowing up the motorcycle gang with the rocket launcher(?), but did it have to be at the very last split millisecond that that guy was going to shoot Sasha and Abe? "Whew. Wasn't THAT a close call?"  Hokey. Hokey is what it is.

[SevenStars]

I read the thread yesterday before watching the episode last evening and I was pretty neutral on blaming Carol for Sam's freakout. After seeing how it played out with Sam saying he was staying with his mom and that he could do it then seeing that it was Carol's words to him (words she used to threaten him after he had the gall to catch her in the pantry/armoury or whatever that was) that was echoing through his head ... I'm not sure how I can expect a child much less one like Sam not to freak out. Whoever else is to blame, Carol definitely has a part in the blame.

I totally agree with this. We can talk about other factors being part of the reason Sam freak out but we can't leave Carol out of it. The writers made sure that we saw that it wasn't memory of his father beating up his mother or Rick killing his father that freaked him out but the words and images that Carol put in his head. Carol didn't do it as way to make him tough or anything like that, Carol did it to protect her own ass. She knew it would have a negative affect on Sam, because she used it to keep him silence but she didn't care. Carol played a part in this and I won't excuse her actions or make it seems like she was being helpful to the kid. She was being a cold-blooded manipulative bitch and I honestly don't have a problem with that but I won't call it something it wasn't.

[Nashville]

Yeah, all they needed was a little expository dialogue from Denise to clear that up. She could have just told Rick how lucky Carl was with the angle of the shot and the problem is solved. I've noticed they do that a lot on this show. Instead of throwing in a line explaining something they leave it confusing and then address it on the Talking Dead, which is just lazy.

Denise may do so yet - or she may already have told Rick immediately post-op, and we'll catch it in a flashback. We haven't really seen or heard from Denise since she put the last(?) stitch in Carl's face before Michonne MadEnough rushed out the door to join Fearless Leader in his walker weed-whacking, so it's a bit early times to unequivocally state what Denise did/did not say.

[HalcyonDays]

                                                 COMIC SPOILERS PEOPLE!  Watch the spoilers. You all know this.

 

Even if you are speculating that XYZ or ABC may happen, because it sorta happened to someone else, or still might happen to a character, it's still a spoiler. Tag it or negate it from your post, or take it to the Comics or Spoiled Speculation threads.

[AngelaHunter]

Thanks in large part to Hollywood, most people believe a single gunshot wound almost universally results in death; any ER doctor will tell you, however, one shot/one kill is the exception rather than the rule.

 

They'd probably also say that a single bullet to the forehead does not result in a 6-foot blood spatter, as it did with Dawn at the hospital. It would likely just be a trickle as was shown in "Tombstone" when Doc shot Ringo in the forehead. I sometimes wonder if the special effects people inTWD are teenagers, saying to each other, "Hey, wouldn't that be cool?"

 

 

[Boofish]

 

   

Not to mention - THE RPG helped a helluva lot in that respect.

 

Yeah that helped but he had time to over power the other guy, get cut, climb in the truck, get the RPG, set up the shot, climb on top of the truck and fire. All because the villain was too busy giving his Oscar acceptance speech

[Giselle]

 



hat is one hell of a mess in the streets to be cleaned up.  

 

 

HOA fees should take are of that but fees will be going up due to the loss of residents.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Giselle

[mmecorday]

Does anyone know why Daryl cut a look at Glenn when he said that he had just gotten back to Alexandria?

 

I really enjoyed this episode. I was sort of meh about the season so far but I thought this one really delivered on all fronts. When Daryl blew up the bikers, I wanted to crown him as the new king of the badasses. I kind of figured that Carl was going to lose his eye, but still when he turned around and said, "Dad," my heart fell. At first I thought he was walker meat until I realized it was Rick bending down to pick him up. Poor kid.

[Giselle]

Yeah, all they needed was a little expository dialogue from Denise to clear that up. She could have just told Rick how lucky Carl was with the angle of the shot and the problem is solved. I've noticed they do that a lot on this show. Instead of throwing in a line explaining something they leave it confusing and then address it on the Talking Dead, which is just lazy.

 

 

No not lazy, the writers just like receiving the verbal blow job given every Sunday on Talking Dead.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Giselle