S06.E11: Knots Untie

[NoWillToResist]

 it telepgraphs "hey, women, you can't like a show for the action since you are a female, here, have some romantic bs, just for you"

 

This reminds me of an interview I saw of Ryan Reynolds who was scoffing at the studio telling him that in order to get women to go see Deadpool, there needed to be romance.

 

Hmm, when the negotiation turned into half their stuff in exchange for taking out Negan - I thought: meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

 

Was the deal the same as Negan's or just a one-time payment?

 

Me: Jesus how far is your head up CDB's ass? Oh and if the roles were reversed, they'd take your stuff regardless of whether you were good or bad :\

 

Hm. Now I can't help but wonder how Rick and Daryl would have behaved had they tripped over some people who'd managed to get a big score. Would they take it? Ask to share? Congratulate them and move on?

 

The sudden food emergency makes Wacky Hijinks Time With Jesus look even dumber in hindsight.  There's a truck full of apparently very needed provisions sitting at the bottom of a lake because they couldn't prioritize driving straight from point A to B. 

 

YES. Their people are apparently starving, they hit the food jackpot and instead of getting it safely back to ASZ (what if they encountered more of Negan's roving goons??), they take time out to chase some random dude down. Extra fucking stupid in light of this ep's info.

 

I don't understand how (A) Rick got the camper stuck in the mud (how fucking slowly was he going?), and (B) how no one saw THE BIG FUCKING HOUSE WITH THE BIG FUCKING FENCE AROUND IT. Rick was all "aw, we're stuck" and Jesus is all "we're here anyway", steps out and blam, big-ass wall. Apparently Rick's eyesight is about as functional as Carl's these days...

 

I laughed and laughed at Hilltop's functioning baby ultrasound thing-y. Of course there's a doctor. Of course Glenn saved him, thus rendering the doctor in their debt. Of course the doctor was specifically an obstetrician. Of course he has an ultrasound machine with them. Hell, he even put Maggie's name on it! I guess in case she bumps into some other woman carrying their own womb pic in the ZA and they get the photos mixed up? ;)  I guess this will replace the photo that Maggie burned back at the prison?

 

And Maggie, having done basically sweet fuck all for longer than I care to think about, suddenly is thrust front and centre and naturally she 'gains the upper hand' with the Hilltop prick. I couldn't even cheer because I felt that whole business was so clearly "let's give the character of Maggie a HELL YEAH moment". Ugh. Christ, I do not care about Glenn or Maggie. I hope Negan ends them both.

 

Abraham? I don't care about his relationship drama, but the man does deliver some lines that make me smile...

[lulee]

If you are talking about the family pet that got eaten, that was on Fear the Walking Dead.

The only dogs I recall on TWD were the ones they encountered when on the road before Alexandria that they didn't  eat. Camp Dinner Bell actually didn't ring that bell and didn't do wrong by those animals.

[Watcher0363]

The cow would need more than the lawns to graze on all day, every day. It's just one cow, as far as we saw, so I don't know how much they would get in the way of dairy products. Adult humans have no need to drink cow's milk and babies can't, so other than the "Gimme that" factor, wanting the cow makes little sense.

I am pretty sure Morgan knows how to make cheese. Then there is cream and butter from the milk. If they ever get that pasta maker. You will need the cream and butter to make a decent pasta alfredo.

[diebartdie]

 

I don't think they currently have the space for the cow, but I'm sure they could figure it out.  They've still got Maggie, who's close to an expert.  I think they could easily treat the milk to make it safe.  On the short-lived show Utopia, they milked the cows, pasteurized the milk, and even made dairy products.  They didn't have much but a stove to work with.

There is NO milk without a bull. Cows (and goats) are NOT chickens, they dont just randomly produce milk. They are mammals, they have to sexually reproduce, get pregnant and birth a calf in order to produce milk. CHICKENS produce eggs sans sexual reproduction.

The only dogs I recall on TWD were the ones they encountered when on the road before Alexandria that they didn't  eat. Camp Dinner Bell actually didn't ring that bell and didn't do wrong by those animals.

Oh? Then what is this about then?

[lulee]

Damnit! I guess I gave myself amnesia for the shooting and eating.

[mandolin]

The only dogs I recall on TWD were the ones they encountered when on the road before Alexandria that they didn't  eat. Camp Dinner Bell actually didn't ring that bell and didn't do wrong by those animals.

 

 

 

Oh? Then what is this about then?

Yep, just re-watched that ep recently. They ate those dogs. :(

Edited March 3, 2016 by mandolin

[Macbeth]

Did anyone else notice how both Jesus and Gregory mentioned having sorghum? I thought that was pretty funny after Rick and Daryl's blank look when Eugene mentioned it.

 

That's right - how come Farmer Rick, who's teacher was Herschel, didn't know about sorghum?   Oh Santa you had a very poor student on your hands.  

[rogueprinzess]

 

I laughed and laughed at Hilltop's functioning baby ultrasound thing-y. Of course there's a doctor. Of course Glenn saved him, thus rendering the doctor in their debt. Of course the doctor was specifically an obstetrician. Of course he has an ultrasound machine with them. Hell, he even put Maggie's name on it! I guess in case she bumps into some other woman carrying their own womb pic in the ZA and they get the photos mixed up? ;)  I guess this will replace the photo that Maggie burned back at the prison?

 

You seem surprised? You didn't notice that the car wreck happened right in front of the Office Building of Coincidence. It's part of the family of Forests of Coincidence, Dungeons of Coincidence and characters who suffer from Random-Temporary-Intellect-Loss Coincidence (RTILC). Everything your plot will ever need can be found in these places. Magical, but worth it.

[NoWillToResist]

You seem surprised? You didn't notice that the car wreck happened right in front of the Office Building of Coincidence. It's part of the family of Forests of Coincidence, Dungeons of Coincidence and characters who suffer from Random-Temporary-Intellect-Loss Coincidence (RTILC). Everything your plot will ever need can be found in these places. Magical, but worth it.

 

*sigh* I know. I shouldn't be surprised and I can usually hand-wave things away but sometimes the 'are you kidding me?'s stack up too high... ;)

[Nashville]

Oh? Then what is this about then?

 

That's about a far cry from when Rick was turning up his nose at eating dog food.

[DearEvette]

I don't understand how (A) Rick got the camper stuck in the mud (how fucking slowly was he going?), and (B) how no one saw THE BIG FUCKING HOUSE WITH THE BIG FUCKING FENCE AROUND IT. Rick was all "aw, we're stuck" and Jesus is all "we're here anyway", steps out and blam, big-ass wall. Apparently Rick's eyesight is about as functional as Carl's these days...

 

The Hilltop House apparently was under the Walking Dead Cloak of Invisibility.  Often used by Walkers who magically appear when they were nowhere to be seen just seconds earlier.  Probably my biggest peeve with this show sometimes.  A person can be smack in the middle of a football field sized clearing and not a single walker in sight and then bam!  he's suddenly surrounded on all sides by like 40 of them. 

[GodsBeloved]

I really hate everyone calling Michonne Carl's "real mom", as if she were behind the scenes raising Carl from birth.  

Me too. I also hate the idea that Michonne is a better mom to Carl which implies to me that she loved him more than his own mother. Whatever Lori's faults were, I never got the impression that I was suppose to think she was a bad mother and her love for Carl was somehow inferior. I don't think she was any worst a parent than Rick was/is.

 

And yes to the rest of your post.

Back then I always felt there was a lot of misogyny in the complaints about Lori and Andrea.  Lori slept with two men (whore), didn't know who her baby daddy was, and didn't keep her son under control.  Carl had a father, too, as well as surrogate father. 

Tell it!

[nodorothyparker]

I'm trying to remember, did any of the communities attempt farming?  Sure Hershel did at the farm, but that was already in the ground before the ZA.  Woodbury didn't seem to, and they stupidly wasted meat on the walkers.  They had some crops at the prison, but that was mainly due to Farmer Rick's attempt to rehabilitate killer Carl.  We know where Terminus got their food supply.  The Alexandrians seemed to have plenty of food before CDB came along.  Now in comparison to the Hilltoppers, everyone else is slacking crop-wise.  But Hilltop has a lot of plantation/slave symbolism, and it seems more a plot device than anything else.  Obviously the future lies in farming, and post-ZA is going to be a total agricultural society.

 

What's especially frustrating about the sudden food shortage is that it was implied when our group first met Aaron that if the Alexandrians weren't engaging in full-fledged farming they'd at least figured out the basics of canning and preservation, which is kind of time consuming and not something you have any need to bother with if you're still exclusively eating out of cans or old boxes of Tuna Helper.  The applesauce that led to the unintentionally hilarious forced feeding incident was in a Mason jar, not prepackaged plastic, and Aaron said he brought it to show they had apple trees.  So we're apparently to think they had thought far enough ahead to gather and preserve what was growing around them but hadn't taken the next logical step of trying to grow anything themselves.

 

Unless the cow they get has already been bred and is expecting a calf soon, it's really only good for meat and the sooner they butcher the better.

[NoWillToResist]

Me too. I also hate the idea that Michonne is a better mom to Carl which implies to me that she loved him more than his own mother. Whatever Lori's faults were, I never got the impression that I was suppose to think she was a bad mother and her love for Carl was somehow inferior. I don't think she was any worst a parent than Rick was/is.

 

Michonne has the advantage of an older Carl who has acclimatized to the ZA pretty damned well. I'd argue that they're practically peers. Lori had to deal with the 'loss' of her husband and the care of a young boy when the world first went to shit and no one had any clue what to do.

 

That said, I did not like Lori. If Lori were alive today, I don't think I'd give her shit for giving Carl his independence these days. But past-Carl? Oh, how I hated her for her hands-off parenting. Yes, Rick didn't seem very hands-on either but I got the impression that Rick wasn't really present pre-ZA either, so the parenting was mostly done by Lori. I'm sure she loved her son but her brand of parenting in the ZA was, IMO, fucking terrible. I don't judge her at all for taking up with Shane (though the unprotected sex was stupid of her, IMO). Much as I hated sniveling, weak Carol, she was always at her child's side (until they got separated by circumstance). Carl and Lori? Pfft. She left him to his own devices so many times and then I had to suffer through a billion "Carl?" and "where's Carl?" and "has anyone seen Carl?" Like, he's YOUR fucking kid, dipshit! Maybe keep an eye on him??

 

I suppose I gave Rick more leeway because he was the de facto leader of their group, so he couldn't spend all his time looking after Carl. It's just that I can't recall Lori leaving Carl to do something that was MORE important that the safety of her only (at the time) child.

 

I was affected by Lori's death scene with Carl but I still was glad the character was dead.

[nodorothyparker]

I absolutely agree Carl had two parents who should have been keeping track of him, but Lori is also the one who made a huge damn deal out of how it was a woman's role to be doing all the "women's work" and creating the stability typically associated with homemaking even if they were living in a tent at the time.  If that's what she wanted, fine, but one of those roles is having some idea of where your child is.  They weren't living in suburbia where if he wandered off probably not a whole lot would happen to him.  They're smack in the middle of the ZA where they've just spent a half season in a ultimately fruitless quest to find another child who did get separated from her mother and saw what happened there and still the entire back of half of season 2 was "where's Carl?" "has anybody seen Carl?"  "Carl's not in the house!"

[Ocean Chick]

I am pretty sure Morgan knows how to make cheese. Then there is cream and butter from the milk. If they ever get that pasta maker. You will need the cream and butter to make a decent pasta alfredo.

 

I'm not so sure about that.  Eastman never did seem to be able to master the art of cheese making.  So though Morgan may know the steps, he's probably as useless as Eastman was to be able to make something edible.

[Nashville]

I'm not so sure about that.  Eastman never did seem to be able to master the art of cheese making.  So though Morgan may know the steps, he's probably as useless as Eastman was to be able to make something edible.

 

Eastman did towards the end - of course once he did make something edible, he had to die immediately.

[diebartdie]

Making cheese is super easy, I've done it myself only I did not have a magic nanny goat who produced milk sans sexual reproduction.

[SimoneS]

What's especially frustrating about the sudden food shortage is that it was implied when our group first met Aaron that if the Alexandrians weren't engaging in full-fledged farming they'd at least figured out the basics of canning and preservation, which is kind of time consuming and not something you have any need to bother with if you're still exclusively eating out of cans or old boxes of Tuna Helper.  The applesauce that led to the unintentionally hilarious forced feeding incident was in a Mason jar, not prepackaged plastic, and Aaron said he brought it to show they had apple trees.  So we're apparently to think they had thought far enough ahead to gather and preserve what was growing around them but hadn't taken the next logical step of trying to grow anything themselves.

 

I will have to re-watch those episodes, but I got the impression that the Alexandrians got most of their food and supplies on runs where they foraged. Aaron and Eric's job were to go out and find people, but Deanna's other son, Nicholas, and a few others would go out and search for food which is how they stayed supplied.

[Lexxy]

Maybe that's why Daryl isn't showering. Why shower if you're gonna die?

 

That's pretty much my life's philosophy. 

[nodorothyparker]

The ASZhats did get probably the bulk of their food and supplies from runs.  But Aaron also had obviously homemade applesauce in a jar and specifically told Rick he brought it to show that they have apple trees.  So we know they were at least trying.

Edited March 3, 2016 by nodorothyparker

[Pete Martell]

And Maggie, having done basically sweet fuck all for longer than I care to think about, suddenly is thrust front and centre and naturally she 'gains the upper hand' with the Hilltop prick. I couldn't even cheer because I felt that whole business was so clearly "let's give the character of Maggie a HELL YEAH moment". Ugh. Christ, I do not care about Glenn or Maggie. I hope Negan ends them both.

 

For me it was less about a "hell yeah" moment as it was about giving the character back some identity beyond Glenn's wife and mother of his child. They tried to hint at Maggie's strengths last season when she worked for Deanna, but that went nowhere fast, because Deanna ended up being incompetent leader #945. Even then I didn't feel like she was all that prominent, nowhere near as much as others are when they get showcase episodes. It was just a lot more than the crumbs she's been given in the last few seasons.

 

About Lauren Cohan's acting (which a few others mentioned) - I'd agree it's not as good as it was in earlier seasons (I think season 3 was her peak - she was damn good), but I don't think she has just one expression. I think she's mostly just a downbeat, introspective character with occasional moments of happiness or warmth. I think Cohan does a decent job getting this across. I thought the scenes with Gregory were terribly written, clumsy, and not all that well-acted on either side, but then, I can't blame the actors for sort of going through the motions with such one-dimensional dialogue.

 

Other way around. Rick is out of Michonne's league ... GB makes a dash before Richonne-nites rain down the heat of a thousand suns on me ... LOL

 

In terms of physical appeal, I think Rick is crazy hot (unfortunately he is often literally crazy) and extremely charismatic. 

 

In terms of baggage and personality, I do think he's lucky to have Michonne, because he's become a real mess and I can't imagine what he'd be without her. At multiple points in this last episode he was, for me, further off the deep end than Shane was (minus the rape stuff, which I don't believe Rick would ever do). It was terrifying.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Pete Martell

[Pete Martell]

In the first seasons I got the impression that Rick was an absentee dad. From the very first season it was mentioned by Lori and Shane a few times, like when Lori and Shane argued with Rick about going back to help Merle, or Rick wanting to leave after his son was shot. Even after Lori's death, it was Hershel that called him out on running away from problems instead of staying and dealing with them.

 

Although it was less noticeable than Lori's passive-aggressive behavior, Rick might not have been the perfect husband and father.

 

Edit to add - Shane had a better relationship with Carl in the beginning, as well.

 

It's easier for a child to have a good relationship with someone who is a fun uncle figure. That Carl was distraught the first time Shane was remotely curt to him makes me think they were never that close before the ZA, because if they had been he would have seen that side of Shane before. 

 

I think Rick and Lori both tried their best with Carl. It was just a bad marriage. Classic case of people who only stayed together because of a child. 

 

I will say that it did bother me how Lori sometimes undermined Rick to Carl and his relationship with Carl, and had been doing so before the ZA.

[GodsBeloved]

In terms of baggage and personality, I do think he's lucky to have Michonne, because he's become a real mess and I can't imagine what he'd be without her. At multiple points in this last episode he was, for me, further off the deep end than Shane was (minus the rape stuff, which I don't believe Rick would ever do). It was terrifying.

This is what I was referring to in my post. I see Rick as meantally weak/fragile compared to Michonne. She's seen/been through as much as he has yet we have never seen her have a mental break. Rick's been to crazy town twice now.

[AngelaHunter]

I couldn't even cheer because I felt that whole business was so clearly "let's give the character of Maggie a HELL YEAH moment". Ugh. Christ, I do not care about Glenn or Maggie. I hope Negan ends them both.

 

HELL YEAH! I include the unborn fruit of their loins as well. Ditto for everything else you posted. That "Oh, he's an obstetrician! What are the odds??" and the ultrasound machine had me doing an industrial eye roll.

 

And just because of Abe's stupid "Bisquick/pancakes" question, I hope he gets bumped off too. Oh, and also because I never want to see him and Rosita in bed again. Ugh.

[catrox14]

This is what I was referring to in my post. I see Rick as meantally weak/fragile compared to Michonne. She's seen/been through as much as he has yet we have never seen her have a mental break. Rick's been to crazy town twice now.

 

 

It was strongly implied that Michonne did have her own mental break before she came across Andrea. She flat out told Rick she understood what he was going through because she used to talk to her dead boyfriend just like Rick talked to Lori.

[Nashville]

The ASZhats did get probably the bulk of their food and supplies from runs.  But Aaron also had obviously homemade applesauce in a jar and specifically told Rick he brought it to show that they have apple trees.  So we know they were at least trying.

I was initially cheered when Aaron produced the jar of applesauce; it gave the impression CDB had finally encountered a group which was (a) nice and (b) had attained a level of self-suffiency competence to successfully pursue subsistence farming. Since CDB's arrival at the ASZ, however, we've seen none of this. My subsequent impression of the applesauce is that it was someone's Artisan Craft Project of the Week, and no more.

I miss the Maggie of the Farm; that Maggie was a strong, confident woman who projected forceful independence in both word and action. This Maggie - the Maggie of the ASZ - is not that same woman.

Maggie has surely been reshaped by her ZA experiences - the loss of her entire birth family, the extended absences of Glenn with uncertainty of his return, the pregnancy, time spent in tutelage at the feet of Deanna the Politician, etc. - but the reshaping has not been for the better. This is a lesser Maggie. Farm Maggie was a brash mix of pragmatism, optimism and, above all, fearless LIFE; she was LOUD, dammit. ASZ Maggie is anything but; she scuttles about with a pinched face and worried frown, and projects little but depression and varying levels of desperation. Do you see ASZ Maggie capable of jumping a guy she finds attractive and screwing him on the pharmacy floor? No fucking way.

When Maggie challenged Jesus' assessment of the ASZ numbers, hers was not the assertive voice of a strong, confident woman; rather, it was more like the plaintive "Uh-uh!" of a child's kneejerk denial when asked if it did something wrong. I was surprised at Jesus' count, thinking it rather high after successive waves of Wolves and walkers; the half-hearted weakness of Maggie's "More" reply, however, did more to convince me of the truth of Jesus' statement than anything else.

Maggie's negotiation "skills" with Old Greg did nothing to dissuade me of this impression. Greg openly mocked Maggie and she people she represented (ASZ), and basically kicked her out as offering nothing of substance - and, asshole though Greg was, Maggie gave him no reason NOT to. She walked into a sixgun fight with one bullet chambered (trade ammo for food) and when her shot at that pitch missed, she had nothing else. And Greg is a self-aggrandizing idiot, which only proves Maggie can't out-negotiate an idiot unless he's flat on his back with a knife wound in his gut.

God, I miss Farm Maggie.

[Pete Martell]

Maggie's negotiation "skills" with Old Greg did nothing to dissuade me of this impression. Greg openly mocked Maggie and she people she represented (ASZ), and basically kicked her out as offering nothing of substance - and, asshole though Greg was, Maggie gave him no reason NOT to. She walked into a sixgun fight with one bullet chambered (trade ammo for food) and when her shot at that pitch missed, she had nothing else. And Greg is a self-aggrandizing idiot, which only proves Maggie can't out-negotiate an idiot unless he's flat on his back with a knife wound in his gut.

 

I don't think anyone could have negotiated with Gregory, per se, because he was a deluded idiot. You can't reason with people like this, especially when you have nothing concrete to offer. I think that's one of the reasons Rick asked Maggie to do it - of everyone in the group she was probably the one who was most able to deal with this type of asshole. The only reason they managed to make a deal with him at the end is because they got through to the Hilltop people just how desperate the situation was with Negan, and they had Jesus to try to talk the others around. By the time Gregory agreed, he was bedridden and de facto in the situation.

 

I do agree with your larger point about Maggie, but then, for all her independence and strength, she still went along with storing all of her friends and family in a barn, ready to break out and slaughter the living at any time. I do think she had more pluck in those days, but I also feel like part of that was because of the contrast between her and the other women on the show, who were atrociously, atrociously written throughout season 2.

I was initially cheered when Aaron produced the jar of applesauce; it gave the impression CDB had finally encountered a group which was (a) nice and (b) had attained a level of self-suffiency competence to successfully pursue subsistence farming. Since CDB's arrival at the ASZ, however, we've seen none of this. My subsequent impression of the applesauce is that it was someone's Artisan Craft Project of the Week, and no more.

 

I always kind of figured they had leftover baby food they stored (of course it may have expired in the real world). I just end up assuming anyone Rick's group meets will end up being a dumbass in the end. Actually I think ASZ have been a bit less dumbass than some previous groups, especially the Woodbury morons.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Pete Martell

[Pete Martell]

Fear the Walking Dead is shot the way the executives wanted Frank to shoot the Walking Dead. All hat and no cattle. Now let's all hail the Darabont! 

 

Darabont was better visually, but throughout FtWD I had the exact same reaction I had during Darabont's TWD - why do all the interesting characters (the handful that were interesting) die and the annoying, dull characters get all the airtime.  

Edited March 3, 2016 by Pete Martell

[AngelaHunter]

Quote

I miss the Maggie of the Farm; that Maggie was a strong, confident woman who projected forceful independence in both word and action.

 

Exactly. I loved watching her transform from the slightly goofy farmer's daughter to a tough, strong and determined woman. I even gave her a pass for not fretting more about Beth's whereabouts. That went totally off the rails awhile ago and she seems to have undergone the same personality removal surgery as Daryl.

[ghoulina]

This is what I was referring to in my post. I see Rick as meantally weak/fragile compared to Michonne. She's seen/been through as much as he has yet we have never seen her have a mental break. Rick's been to crazy town twice now.

 

Michonne may have not had the breakdowns that Rick has had, but she definitely has struggled in her own way. She had the walkers on chains as punishment and after the fall of the prison she intentionally went off on her own and a bit of a mini meltdown. I think they both have about the same amount of baggage, but have dealt with it in different ways. Their losses have been pretty much comparable, but I think Michonne understands that Rick has extra pressure on him because of his leader status. 

[LeeMoon]

Since we are discussing the hated women of TWD, I'll admit that I liked both Beth and Jessie

.

I thought Beth was one of the most well behaved teenager I have ever seen. She helped where she could and she never complained after she got over her breakdown. She took cared of Judith more than anyone in the beginning.

 

Jessie was stuck with an abusive husband but I never thought she was a bad mother or person. When it came to protecting her family, she sure stubbed that wolf when she had too.

 

I also never liked how Carol treated other women that seemed weaker than her, the same way the audience tends to do.

 

Maybe this is a pet peeve of mine, but I don't like how there's so much hate towards females on the show that can't compete on the physical side with men and do their best where they can actually contribute to maintain normal life. I was all for Andrea demanding the respect for what she loved doing which was actively guarding the group and not doing laundry, but I also respect those who can't and so they perform other things that make people's life better.

[Pete Martell]

Michonne may have not had the breakdowns that Rick has had, but she definitely has struggled in her own way. She had the walkers on chains as punishment and after the fall of the prison she intentionally went off on her own and a bit of a mini meltdown. I think they both have about the same amount of baggage, but have dealt with it in different ways. Their losses have been pretty much comparable, but I think Michonne understands that Rick has extra pressure on him because of his leader status. 

 

Michonne has always had an innate connection with Rick, as when they met, she was barely beginning to come out of her lowest when he was at his lowest. I think that she internalizes her pain and struggle (for instance, she was clearly struggling a lot when her katana was stolen, and then when she got it back and was supposed to return to being a bloodthirsty warrior, but she didn't talk about it or go nuts on people), whereas Rick externalizes and when he's hurting, he explodes, causing tons of carnage. Michonne needs to keep Rick in line in part to keep herself together - she had to do a lot of work to stop his worst excesses last season, and the more she did, the more she began to regain her own identity. I just hope that he is there for her emotionally and there for her to help her when she's struggling.

[CletusMusashi]

I think he just is still really sad about Buttons and wants a horse, and this is the closest thing. 

I love this idea.

Bonus points if he paints it blue and adopts an axe as his new signature weapon.

 

Either that, or he can call it his mooooooooootorcycle.

And when Lord Fluffington finally shows up, they can add a side car.

[CletusMusashi]

Making cheese is super easy, I've done it myself only I did not have a magic nanny goat who produced milk sans sexual reproduction.

Perhaps one of the things the virus does, in addition to making gasoline last forever and grass grow more slowly and evenly, is that it dramatically extends the lactation period of cows and goats.

[SimoneS]

Michonne has always had an innate connection with Rick, as when they met, she was barely beginning to come out of her lowest when he was at his lowest. I think that she internalizes her pain and struggle (for instance, she was clearly struggling a lot when her katana was stolen, and then when she got it back and was supposed to return to being a bloodthirsty warrior, but she didn't talk about it or go nuts on people), whereas Rick externalizes and when he's hurting, he explodes, causing tons of carnage. Michonne needs to keep Rick in line in part to keep herself together - she had to do a lot of work to stop his worst excesses last season, and the more she did, the more she began to regain her own identity. I just hope that he is there for her emotionally and there for her to help her when she's struggling.

 

I agree with this. I don't think either Michonne or Rick are out of each other's league. They are both damaged to some degree. I remember Michonne after the prison fell going back to walking with the walkers. She rejected going back into that darkness and decided to go find her people. Her joy and relief seeing Carl and Rick through the window showed how much they anchored her to world so it isn't like she is giving everything to the Grimes and getting nothing in return.

 

I think where Gimple has excelled is showing how much Rick needs her. She senses when he is spiraling from the violence and hopelessness and is the only one who can reach in and pull him back. She is the one who convinced him that they were out there too long and had to find a place to they should go to Washington. I was re-watching those scenes and was struck by the connection between them. He realized how angry she was that Noah's home was not a safe place and how desperate she was for them to find somewhere so despite his conflicted feelings, he agreed to go to Washington. Despite thinking that they would be a great couple, I never thought Gimple was going to take their relationship there. Yet it is clear that he was laying the groundwork for years so kudos to him and Kirkman. 

Edited March 4, 2016 by SimoneS

[AngelaHunter]

Quote

Bonus points if he paints it blue and adopts an axe as his new signature weapon.

 

After last week's zany antics, I am totally in favour of that.

 

http://i.imgur.com/9TU9HAi.png

[CletusMusashi]

The Daryl Bunyan spinoff must happen.

[diebartdie]

Perhaps one of the things the virus does, in addition to making gasoline last forever and grass grow more slowly and evenly, is that it dramatically extends the lactation period of cows and goats.

Thanks Cletus, I shall make every effort to stop beating the dead horse now.......

[CletusMusashi]

Well, you are the last person I'd expect to be telling Daryl "Don't have a cow."

[maystone]

The cow only has to have birthed one calf in order to produce milk long past the calf being weaned. It's the stimulus of being suckled or hand milked that keeps the milk glands in production mode. I'm not sure how long the milk output would be optimal - especially without good forage to keep the cow healthy. I've read that some milking goats can produce for years without being re-bred. I'm guessing that poor Tabitha was in that group.

[Nashville]

Perhaps one of the things the virus does, in addition to making gasoline last forever and grass grow more slowly and evenly, is that it dramatically extends the lactation period of cows and goats.

It's also been reported to make moose fart shades of puce.

This has been a stone-cold bitch to reproduce in the laboratory, though.

[mandolin]

About Lauren Cohan's acting (which a few others mentioned) - I'd agree it's not as good as it was in earlier seasons (I think season 3 was her peak - she was damn good), but I don't think she has just one expression. I think she's mostly just a downbeat, introspective character with occasional moments of happiness or warmth. I think Cohan does a decent job getting this across. I thought the scenes with Gregory were terribly written, clumsy, and not all that well-acted on either side, but then, I can't blame the actors for sort of going through the motions with such one-dimensional dialogue.

 

In terms of physical appeal, I think Rick is crazy hot (unfortunately he is often literally crazy) and extremely charismatic. 

I agree re: Rick. :)

 

I watched an episode from earlier in season 5 today, and I hate to keep harping on LC's accent and acting (well, not really), but I finally figured out what it reminds me of. It's almost like she is wearing a retainer and is having a hard time talking around it, and it's making her do her mouth weird and talk with an impediment. Not like season 2 at all. And her face wasn't always so pinched as recently as season 4. Eh well.

[kia112]

In terms of physical appeal, I think Rick is crazy hot (unfortunately he is often literally crazy) and extremely charismatic. 

 

Rick didn't do anything for me the first few seasons, but when those I started seeing those posters with him standing on top of the prison? Something about the way he stood was really working for me. But that was it. Then when they got to Alexandria and he shaved that insane beard he was rocking? My goodness. And I don't even necessarily like him clean shaven, but that contrast made me sit up a little straighter. He never looked hotter to me than he did in 6x10, and not because of the obvious. That denim shirt...he needs to wear that at all times.

[Eln5]

I agree re: Rick. :)

 

I watched an episode from earlier in season 5 today, and I hate to keep harping on LC's accent and acting (well, not really), but I finally figured out what it reminds me of. It's almost like she is wearing a retainer and is having a hard time talking around it, and it's making her do her mouth weird and talk with an impediment. Not like season 2 at all. And her face wasn't always so pinched as recently as season 4. Eh well.

Oh my God, yes! It is so distracting watching her talk, I can't get past the contortions she does with her mouth to get that accent out. When she was on Talking Dead she was speaking fine with her regular accent, so clearly that is something she is doing on the show. Everyone who says she is a bad actress I do agree with, although I think it's the way she is talking that is giving that impression.

[peach]

Since we are discussing the hated women of TWD, I'll admit that I liked both Beth and Jessie

.

I thought Beth was one of the most well behaved teenager I have ever seen. She helped where she could and she never complained after she got over her breakdown. She took cared of Judith more than anyone in the beginning.

 

Jessie was stuck with an abusive husband but I never thought she was a bad mother or person. When it came to protecting her family, she sure stubbed that wolf when she had too.

 

I also never liked how Carol treated other women that seemed weaker than her, the same way the audience tends to do.

 

Maybe this is a pet peeve of mine, but I don't like how there's so much hate towards females on the show that can't compete on the physical side with men and do their best where they can actually contribute to maintain normal life. I was all for Andrea demanding the respect for what she loved doing which was actively guarding the group and not doing laundry, but I also respect those who can't and so they perform other things that make people's life better.

 

Yes, I also liked Beth.  It always bothered me when people would chastise her for being "just a babysitter" or think it's some hateful demotion for anyone to take care of one of the last precious children of civilization.  I'd think that would be a vastly preferable activity to killing zombies. And yes, she never complained!  She served the group as best she could, and defended the prison, etc.  It was sad when she got killed. At least she got to take down a rapist in satisfying fashion.

 

I also like Carol, and I think she scorns that "weakness" because she scorns her own former weakness.  What it must feel like to realize what strength she is really capable of after all, when she spent so many years victimized by Ed, thinking she didn't have it in her.  Also, I think she really felt sad for the women who were killed by the Wolves. Carol has a lot of layers, she's one of the most interesting characters to me, psychologically. I hope she doesn't die this season.  And yeah, I like it when she's an OTT badass, too, because that's why I watch TV.  :)

 

Jessie's character and situation wasn't written very well, imo.  It didn't all jibe together but I guess she was just a plot device.  It's always different when you can look back and see the whole plotline.

 

Andrea could be annoying in her manner of speaking to people, but I could never understand all the hate poured on her, either.  Sorry, but if I thought death was at stake, Shane would look pretty good.  During season 2, I wished the two of them would have just left together when they had the chance, but then there would be no story.  Also, the heat she took for sleeping with the Governor.  I mean, why the hell not?  I hated everything about her character was handled in the second half of season 3, and her death still makes me mad. 

 

Besides all that, though, I agree.  Not everyone is going to be a superhero asskicking killer.  And even superhero asskicking killers can have a heart and want to care for a baby some days.

[ghoulina]

Yes, I also liked Beth.  It always bothered me when people would chastise her for being "just a babysitter" or think it's some hateful demotion for anyone to take care of one of the last precious children of civilization.  I'd think that would be a vastly preferable activity to killing zombies.

 

My problem with Beth was not Beth herself. I like seeing some diversity in the group - meaning not all women are Michonne and not all men are Daryl. There are plenty of tasks to do within the group and watching the baby and making dinner are important too. No, my issue is that Emily Kinney was just a horrible actress, painful to watch. I'm actually one of the very few that didn't mind her singing, but when she would lurch forward, like a drunken puppet, and do that weird crying thing? Just make it stop. She wasn't strong enough to carry as much as they gave her, and it made some episodes really unwatchable for me. 

[Ocean Chick]

I agree.  I loved the idea of the Beth character, adding diversity to the group.  It was just EK's acting that drug the character down for me.  Took me completely out of the scene most of the time, and left me wondering what EK was trying to convey as far as Beth's feelings were.  Such a shame.

[festivus]

I also like Carol, and I think she scorns that "weakness" because she scorns her own former weakness.  What it must feel like to realize what strength she is really capable of after all, when she spent so many years victimized by Ed, thinking she didn't have it in her.  Also, I think she really felt sad for the women who were killed by the Wolves. Carol has a lot of layers, she's one of the most interesting characters to me, psychologically. I hope she doesn't die this season.  And yeah, I like it when she's an OTT badass, too, because that's why I watch TV.  :)

 

I love your whole post Peach but especially this part. 

 

I didn't mind Beth the character but yeah, EK is not a great actress. LC either.

[peach]

Oh, I know a lot of people legit didn't like Emily Kinney.  I'm just talking about comments that criticized Beth for being some sort of worthless Disney princess, damsel in distress character, which I didn't get.  She was also a cheerful arsonist, as I recall. 

 

And there are always numerous comments implying the writers turn Carol or Michonne into worthless creatures if they spend any time caring for Judith or Carl.  Caring for children is just the worst, right?  Only people who have no other value or skills do it.  Babysitters have shit for brains.