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S06.E16: Last Day On Earth


HalcyonDays
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My big problem with the cliffhanger is that the show runners ruined their one shot to give the character's death the impact it deserved. We're supposed to feel like we are, in some respects, part of CDB. We're supposed to have an emotional attachment to these characters, and to make Negan's entrance all about his bluster and Rick's failure/man pain completely takes away all the emotional impact that scene should have had. They could have even toned down the violence of it by strategically filming it, but we should have been able to experience it with the character and with the rest of the completely helpless members of CDB. Now? It's too late. You can't come back to it, and all the emotional heft it should have had will be gone by October for the sake of a cheap cliffhanger.

 

I don't even want to think about what S7E1 is going to be like now--scenes of various surviving characters save the 2 or 3 most people suspect got Lucilled, all looking grim and sour and somber just to mess with the viewers some more. I, for one, am getting tired of being trolled in place of good storytelling.

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Sigh, I'm very attracted to JDM. I'm actually excited to see what he'll do next season. I didn't like the cliffhanger at all but the last scene was definitely stress inducing, I had my blanket up to eyes. Andrew Lincoln was amazing. I think I read somewhere that they film from April to November. So whoever is dead should know by now.

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(edited)

All they had to do to make it great was to do their first person POV, then jump from the silent black screen jarringly to a shot of Maggie screaming in horror (if Glenn was killed), then pull the camera back to show Glenn's bashed-in head.  Then credits.  There's your Big Moment.

 

 

I don't actually think we're going to have to endure a season of Negan.

 

It's been said that Negan is going to be driving the action for "several" seasons, so get used to TWD being a Negan-centric show.

Edited by Dobian
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(edited)

Suckers. This is why i quit watching TWD this season, after it was once a TV highlight. The plot repeats endlessly, and now so does yet another plot device - the cliffhanging death. Now I just read summaries online, when I can.

 

The writers may as well be taking your lunch money and knocking your books out of your arms at this point. 

Edited by Ottis
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I hate Kirkman even more for saying that Rick and Negan are basically two sides of the same coin. Negan is purely narcissistic, and cares only about his own comfort and well being, while Rick, even at his most barbaric, is always acting out of love and concern for his family and extended family.

If the creator of the entire story has meandered that far from the reservation on the basic makeup of the main characters, I fear there is a very downhill, slippery slope ahead.

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Neat! Just read that the Hair Pull Walker that Carol killed was played by The Harp Twins.

"We were a Walker in last night%u2019s The Walking Dead season finale!! Both of us played the %u201COuch That%u2019s My Hair%u201D walker that Carol killed near the dumpster! Kennerly played the %u201Cclean%u201D Walker that is first seen, and was then replaced by Camille who had the apparatus on her face that allowed the skin to be pulled back by Carol. We%u2019re massive The Walking Dead fans, so having the full %u201CHero Walker%u201D experience, spending hours being made-over as a Walker designed by Greg Nicotero and his amazing team, and being on set ultimately killed by %u201CCarol%u201D was an unbeatable experience.

Huge thank you to Greg Nicotero for personally asking us to be the Walker for this gag that he designed for the season finale."

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Negan is purely narcissistic, and cares only about his own comfort and well being,

I wish we had a better opportunity to see this.  I'm really interested in elements of his character other than being a stone cold killer.  I hated the Governor, but we got to see how he manipulated his people.  Maybe next season...

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Why do I get the feeling that the writers/producers were big fans of "Who shot JR?" and/or Star Trek's Best of Both Worlds?  This might have worked in the days before the internet, or if Glenn hadn't pulled a Houdini earlier in the season.

 

If this show is truly about Rick's man-pain then the victim has to be either Michonne (new love) or Daryl (surrogate brother).  Even though he's known Glenn longer than those two I don't see the same connection.  If it's about establishing how evil Negan is then it doesn't really matter who gets killed.  If it's about causing the most anguish in the audience then it's either Daryl, Maggie, or Glenn since I think Michonne has plot armor. 

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I am more shocked that Morgan may have met up with some people who don't need wax to twirl their mustaches. That is novel.

 

That was the most interesting part of the episode for me. Finally we see some people who haven't lost their humanity. Hopefully.

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Bashing someone's head and face with a barbed wire baseball bat is a particular brand of sadism that does not exist in Rick, never did, still doesn't, IMO never will.

 

Well, he certainly relished Gareth's fear and begging and seemed to really enjoy hacking him up with the machete which has to be a particularly gruesome death. Not saying Gareth didn't deserve it - he did - or that type of sadism wasn't justified, but it was there, IMO.

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Writer's thought process:

  • We need to kill one of the "originals, but it can't be Rick, Carl, or Michonne
  • But that leaves Glenn, Daryl or Maggie...
  • But if we kill one of them, the fan base is going to shit themselves.  They'll spend all summer pissed off and refuse to come back for the next season
  • Oh! I know! Let's leave it as a cliffhanger and make them come back.  Then we can kill one of them and they'll be sucked in to continue watching!
  • Great idea!

 

Any other character (Abe, Aaron, Eugene, whatsherface) wouldn't have mattered. They could show it at the end and we'd still come back. They only reason to make it a cliffhanger is because it's a fan favorite and they feared fans wouldn't return. 

 

Based on Negan saying "Champ" and how sick Maggie is, I think it's reasonable to rule her out.  Therefore, it's Glenn or Daryl.  Either one of those would create fear of fans not returning and fuel the need to wait until next season to keep viewers.

 

Here's what the writers didn't think of:  I now have the entire summer to be OK with Glenn or Daryl's death.  I'll be prepared and the shock moment will be gone.

 

You should have had more faith in your viewers.  We would have come back, and it would have made a great water-cooler moment.  

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I watched it LIVE and several weeks ago I pretty much anticipated a fade to black before we see who Negan's victim was.  Because that's how this show rolls.

I'm not upset by it, but I think disappointed is the correct feeling.  I think if they had shown who got it, the reactions of the rest of CDB, it would have been more powerful of a season ending.  THEN, viewers might spend the hiatus thinking "how will the group function without _____?"  "how will Rick, Carl, etc. come back from this?"  "will the Saviors kill a CDB member each time they meet?"

 

I also thought Rick openly looked defeated, scared, horrified - while the others looked strong.  But maybe that was the point.  To show Negan that the Saviors had won and CDB was going to be subservient and comply with Negan's arrangement.  Not necessarily to save his own hide, but to keep Negan from killing several or all of them.

 

I find it somewhat interesting that EVERYONE in the Saviors seems to be a psychopathic killer with sadistic tendencies.  How did such a group of TEH EVUL people get drawn to Negan?  Did he put up posters along the highway advertising Wanted: "rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists."?

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Upon re-watch, I have a little different view of Rick's state of mind there.

 

Whilst I 100% believe Rick was terrified and on tenderhooks,  I am less convinced that his entire behavior at the end was driven by fear for himself or because he just lost his mind or was being a sniveling coward. 

 

Rick has never not made eye contact with another leader he's encountered. Not that I can recall.  He's always challenged them straight up, Even with the Governor and Gareth.  We saw what he did to the Wolves when they touched Carl. He literally ripped the guys throat out with this teeth. We know what he'll do to someone that touches his children or who he considers family.

 

He was running out of options. worried for Maggie but once he saw Michonne's dreadlock...something changed in him. He became feral. He was ready to kill them all but still trying to save Maggie even with the growing realization this was going to shit. And was afraid for everyone.

 

Once they were surrounded and badly outnumbered, he was still trying to maintain but the fear was growing

 

Once he sees Michonne and Daryl are alive but heads are on the chopping block, he gets more concerned and freaked out BUT IMO he's still trying think of something. At least that's how I think Andy was playing that first part of the capture.

 

When Negan first appeared Rick was making eye contact with him. He was challenging him to an extent. He was frightened but still looking at him.

 

Then Negan made a point to ask who was the leader. He seemed to value leadership and valued taking down the leader.  I think Rick understood that. I think Rick stopped making eye contact to show a measure of submission in order to keep the others from being killed and yes he was afraid for all of them.

 

Then when it didn't seem to matter to Negan that they were standing down and ready to negotiate and he was going to take a pound of flesh anyway that's when he started looking at the ground. IMO he did that so he wouldn't be tempted to focus his gaze on Michonne or Carl which would have telegraphed to Negan  they meant something special to Rick, the leader, which Negan would have been happy to make a point out of them over others.

 

I think once Negan pinged that Carl was his son...that's when Rick lost it altogether. He was already on his way down to crashing but that sent him over. That's when he screamed "No. Stop" . After that, Rick was broken. His son was possibly going to be die in a most horrific way and Carl's death would be his fault for letting him come. 

 

I thought Andy's work was remarkable. He really played Rick's slowly falling apart but trying to hold it together and then finally broken, afraid, and a bit humiliated.

 

I also don't understand why Rick is being considered a bully here. Rick was trying to remain optimistic for his group. He had some confidence and that's not a bad thing. 

 

I'm tired of the push this spin that Negan is a mirror to Rick. At Rick's worst, Rick would have just shot the person in the head, or exiled them. That would be the punishment or justice. Not for the sport and joy of killing someone.

 

Bashing someone's head and face with a barbed wire baseball bat is a particular brand of sadism that does not exist in Rick, never did, still doesn't, IMO never will. 

I think this is a terrific take on Rick and the line up scene. AL was very brave here because this was a humiliating moment for Rick and went all in. I hope it isn't glossed over next season, but I agree with those who feel a flashback scene would be tiresome. I could be wrong, but I just don't believe the show can get back the emotional impact this scene deserved.

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(edited)

Well, he certainly relished Gareth's fear and begging and seemed to really enjoy hacking him up with the machete which has to be a particularly gruesome death. Not saying Gareth didn't deserve it - he did - or that type of sadism wasn't justified, but it was there, IMO.

Yeah, if the Saviors had been a smaller group but the first encounter had ended up with Daryl, Abe and Sasha dead, rather than the reverse, what would Rick have done to them after he finally caught up to them?  Shot them all to be safe would be my guess.  Also, if they hadn't struck a deal with Hilltop, Rick said to the others that they'd just take what they needed (similar to his attitude about ASZ).

 

Sure, Negan is the villain and Rick is the hero. Gimple and Kirkman saying that they're two sides of the same coin isn't undermining that. It's just that the gulf between hero and villain isn't quite so wide in the ZA.

Edited by rab01
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I wish we had a better opportunity to see this.  I'm really interested in elements of his character other than being a stone cold killer.  I hated the Governor, but we got to see how he manipulated his people.  Maybe next season...

 

See, I'm just the opposite.  I didn't care how the Governor became he was because they showed me what he became and he was the villain.

 

Negan is worse for me. They introduced him as an asshole with a bat who bashes in the head of one of our own. At that point, I have no interest in how he got that way. I care about how Rick and Co will beat his hot sadistic ass into the ground with his own baseball bat in the future.

 

If they intend to try and convince me that Negan is a mirror to Rick or it's a cautionary tale that if Rick makes similar choices with killing to protect and survive, that he's the same or will be the same as Negan, well no. Sorry )Other than Rick having brain injury or complete psychotic break worse then he had at the prison).

 

For me, they blew their wad with showing me what a completely brutal, fuckstick he is during his introduction. I don't care who he lost in the ZA or what made him this way. LOL I really don't. In fact, it would kind of lessen him as a villain for me.  Don't try to create any sympathy or compassion.  Just let him be the bad guy. Full on asshole enemy.  The End. LOL

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Wanted: "rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists."?

 

Mongo like with fire of thousand suns. 

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Best part of the episode for me, in particular the Saviour's WTF expression when Carol said "No, probably not." Good work by the Saviour's actor.

 

Make no mistake: Rick feared for himself as much as he feared for everyone else, thus his flinching when Negan leaned down close.

 

I wouldn't bag on Rick so much had he not spent the last few episodes preening about what an invincible badass he was, suggesting that Morgan and Carol were weak because they had a problem with killing, and talking a great game about killing a bunch of people. When that same violence and hostility is turned on him, though, he shakes like a leaf and is glassy-eyed with terror. Carol, on the other hand, was shot twice at close range, had a loaded weapon pointed in her face, and still cracked a joke. 

 

Carol's been in situations where her life was threatened this half-season several times, and she always appeared fearful, but that fear was either a mask or fear for her soon-to-be victims. Carol in this episode dropped the mask and for the first time showed her real emotions, and the real Carol felt no fear for herself whatsoever. Even excruciating pain from being shot twice and the promise of more did not elicit the terror the Saviour wanted.

 

Basically, Rick is still a child pretending to be the real deal. Carol is the real deal.

 

I don't get why Carol is being "selfish" for leaving. It's her life, after all. She doesn't owe anyone in that community shit, having saved all of them from certain death at one point or another at least once. Whatever debt she owes them, she's paid. Also, from her perspective, given her reluctance to kill and the likelihood that that will endanger people she cares about, the selfish thing would be to stay and endanger them the way Maggie was endangered when Carol hesitated to shoot Paula. She expressed her wishes in her note and explained her reasoning. Rick and Morgan chose to disregard her stated wishes not to be followed, and Morgan refused to take Carol's "no" for an answer despite her telling him to leave her alone. Doesn't make them the selfish ones? I also wonder what Rick would have done had he confronted Carol and she refused: clubbed her over the head and dragged her back to Alexandria? Because he didn't seem any more willing to take "no" for an answer than Morgan.

 

Carol didn't actually want to commit suicide; she could have done that easily if she'd wanted to. She scrapped with the Saviour, and it was only when he had her dead to rights that she welcomed death. 

 

I loved when Carol said that and his reaction! It was certainly not what he was expecting.

 

I firmly believe Rick was much more fearful for Carl than himself - I'm not even a parent yet but my biggest fear is something happening to my niece or nephew, that's why I (and most carers) walk closer to the traffic than them, pick them up if a shady looking character comes by, walk in front of them down stairs to break their fall, etc. And I think it's fair enough that he was afraid when he is on his knees and someone who clearly is out for blood and has a barbed wire bat hovers over him! I would have thrown up. It did occur to me that he may offer to sacrifice himself for the others but again, Carl, he would never abandon Carl while he still has a chance, even a tiny one, to ensure that Carl survives.

 

Rick has been cocky but after all the threats they have seen off you'd have to think well surely we've seen the worst of humanity? We can beat whatever else comes along. I've also thought when he has said some things that it has been to reassure others and to keep confidence in himself - if he repeats the mantra hopefully it will come true. I think (and really hope or it's just stupid) that when he was saying to Maggie we can overcome anything, etc that he was trying to comfort just as much as believing that they can continue to survive, at that stage Rick thought the main threat to Maggie was her health so it makes sense he was placating her. I can't recall him ever suggesting Carol was weak and I don't think he even thought Morgan is, just that he couldn't understand Morgan's new philosophy and was totally frustrated by it, particularly when it meant that he couldn't count on him to protect the group. 

 

I agree that Carol is not selfish at all for leaving, it actually took a lot of strength and self-perception for her to do that; she acknowledges that she can't cope with the psychological toll of killing anymore and that this puts everyone around her in danger and she is less likely to have to kill if she is on her own. (Yes she did get ambushed straight up but that was rotten luck, when she was on her own last time I don't think she had to kill anyone.) This is a selfless option. Even if she stayed in ASZ and said 'I'm not going to kill anymore but I'll help however else I can' I'm sure no one is going to force her to kill but if a situation arises - as it inevitably will - when killing is the only option she is not the sort of person who could stand by and hope someone else does it thus forcing her to take yet another life or, even worse in Carol's mind, lose her nerve and have one of her friends killed. I don't think she fears for herself either, I believe she is like Andrea where living has become a habit. I think for a long time Carol has been living merely to protect the group with very little thought for her own needs. She is 'apathetically suicidal', that is if something happens to her eh, whatever, hence her reaction to getting shot but she's not quite apathetic enough to not at least try to protect herself when threatened. And of course she also believes she deserves to be punished for all the lives she has taken so I think her statements to her would-be killer were spot on.

 

With regards to them trying to get her to come back, again completely understandable. No one is going to let their friend who they have gone through so much with, who has stood by your side and become your family to run off to an unknown fate. I'm sure Rick wouldn't drag her back but I'd have thought it strange if at least somebody didn't try to persuade her to come home and Rick or Daryl were the best bets to convince her but of course Daryl had gone bye-bye. Morgan eventually had to be the one to do it because of plot. I don't think it's a selfish thing to try to convince someone you care about to stay around, it wasn't for her warrior skills, it was because they want to ensure she keeps safe and they consider her family. If I packed up and told my family and friends I'm f'ing off now, don't try to find me, you'll never see me again, I really hope they wouldn't just be like 'eh, let's respect her decision'. If I did it during an apocalypse they should safely assume that I am not thinking clearly and may need help.

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When Negan was rambling on, I so wanted him to get taken out by a sniper shot to the head.

 

Note to Camp Ding Bats:  When a murderous psycho group blocks you path on the road, you either kill them, or return to Alexandria, and prepare for war.  When you run into same murderous psycho group AGAIN, at that point you definitely return to Alexandria, and come up with a new plan that DOES NOT include trying to go north again.

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Well, he certainly relished Gareth's fear and begging and seemed to really enjoy hacking him up with the machete which has to be a particularly gruesome death. Not saying Gareth didn't deserve it - he did - or that type of sadism wasn't justified, but it was there, IMO.

 

Yes, he 100% did relish all that (relish - what a perfect word!) and the little sociopath that TWD has created in me cheered and cheered during that scene and WTF'd Glenn and Maggie's horror. I honestly could not process them actually having human feelings about it! Guys, get on board, he's the epitome of evil, stab, stab, stab. What have I become?!!

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Not only that, Lennie James delivering the simple line "I found your horse" totally trumped the tiresome, 11 minute soliloquy from Negan. Maybe that guy can act, but I wasn't buying his pissy pants cheese. Hell, just watching LJ in a horse was a pleasure. That's quite a feat-pulling Morgan back from being the goat, IMO. He's back to awesome in my book. Negan? Bleh. Gov 2.0, and not as menacing as Gareth, and certainly not Joe.

 

I have made it plain that I haven't been able to stand Morgan, because they blew the potentially interesting moral equivalency argument on the Wolf guy.  However, I loved how they completed that arc last night.  I think Morgan has been compelled to find a way to pay it forward for what the cheesemaker did, only he was being so rigid about it, and trying to find some extreme example to do so.  But with coming after Carol, trying to lure her back to the fold, and finally killing that Savior to save her life, a life she doesn't deem worth saving, he has found his righteous cause. 

 

Carol needs tending.  HER life is precious.  He's had to accept that there are bad people that have to be put down, but there are still "lost causes" he can pour his mercy into.  Carol thinks she's a lost cause, the way Morgan did before cheese man.  Both wanted to die.  He is the only one who can nurse her back to wholeness.  Daryl loves Carol to pieces, but he's not equipped for that. 

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I've seen a lot of people blaming the show's adherence to the comics for their problems with this season and I have to voice an unpopular opinion -- it ain't the comics' fault because the stuff that has most annoyed people this time is not in the comics:

 

I didn't want to quote the whole thing, for space, but you made some good points. I'm not a comic reader, so I wouldn't have known all of that. But I still think there is a comic issue at play here. I think the showrunners used the character of Negan to really skate on a lot of stuff this season. They knew Negan was en epic character from the comics and people would be salivating over his arrival. They pretty much paced this entire season around introducing the Saviors in the 8th episode, and Negan himself in the 16th. It just feels really lazy and cheap. 

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When Negan was rambling on, I so wanted him to get taken out by a sniper shot to the head.

 

Note to Camp Ding Bats:  When a murderous psycho group blocks you path on the road, you either kill them, or return to Alexandria, and prepare for war.  When you run into same murderous psycho group AGAIN, at that point you definitely return to Alexandria, and come up with a new plan that DOES NOT include trying to go north again.

 

I thought the exact same as you, they'd already decided to wipe out every Saviour no questions asked so I thought when they saw the first group which was quite small they'd stay in the RV and machine gun them all down through the windows. I wonder how much they had been cornered by that stage, if they'd tried to go back to ASZ I suspect they would have encountered more road blocks.

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(edited)

But wasn't it everybody who got them into this? I just commented on TimeToRead's post re this but it wasn't even Rick's idea to preemptively strike, it was Daryl's and the whole group jumped on board. I don't think his fear was for himself, it was for everybody else - particularly Carl's, he does feel responsible and he doesn't know how he can get them out of this and as it's often fallen upon him to rescue them which is a huge burden to carry. I think that is a pretty legitimate reaction.

I still lay the blame at Rick's feet no matter who suggested it. Either he's the leader who makes all the decisions or they're a democracy again. Yes, it's harsh to say he must be one or the other but that's the dynamic of this world and life. I understand he is terrified for his people and Carl. He can be terrified without breaking down and becoming completely ineffectual. There was a moment in this ep - after the walker chain gang iirc - where AL completely sells a deer in headlights look for Rick. He started falling apart on the road. He began losing the ability to make split second decisions while they were driving along. Each time they hit a new roadblock he froze a bit more.

 

I have no problem with him being out of his depth and frightened on its own. But when placed up against 'we got this' Rick who is baying orders and swaggering, I recoil. Rick is the one who went before the group and presented the plan. He made his big speech and he pulled everyone on board. And it was a stupid plan. Yes, let's go mass slaughter people before they get us without asking one real pertinent question or doing any scouting regarding this other group. As the leader, it was on Rick to slow them down and think. It was terrible writing that makes the group look idiotic. They weren't in a split second to react scenario. They had time to think and didn't. For me, it delves into contrived the same as Daryl getting jumped at every turn. 

 

I love your reaction to Rick here, even though I don't agree with you at all. I think we're all supposed to feel very differently about Rick's reaction. This is our leader/hero falling apart and some of us want him to "stand" straighter when the real bully (Negan) stands over him the way Abe did, or stare him down the way Carl and Michonne did, but I thought Rick's reaction here was so true and unexpected and beautiful.

 

I think it would be very difficult for an actor to do this because Rick is almost a coward in this scene. That's why his swagger and "the world is ours and we know how to take it" cockiness was so important last week. It makes his "fall" even more significant. And heartbreaking, to me.

First and foremost, AL did a fantastic job. I have no qualms with anything he did there. But I don't find his fall beautiful. You can make a very good argument on him becoming Shane - an argument I have not wanted to give total weight to from friends and family. The issue is, as it turns out, he wants to put on the bluster and swagger but when it's all on the line you find out it's all lie. He's faking the swagger and mindset. Sometimes we all have to fake it and move on. In this case, faking it and moving on has led them to being on their knees in a forest. No matter who suggested going after Negan's group, Rick is the one they all still turn to and who leads them. His swagger led them down this road. Now that they are in shit creek...meltdown. I think it's that part which has me reacting more than anything else. FWIW, I found Carol's big meltdown just as off putting. 

 

I do think the cliffhanger was a terrible mistake. A well done ending would have made a lot of the issues with this ep disappear under the weight of the ending. Instead of everyone talking about the ending in an omg way, the more you talk about the ending the more the entire episode falls apart. I'm still in awe at how the Saviors had enough people to not only just wait around until they used those roads but apparently they could also pinpoint and scout the group's movements in the forest, in the dark, without modern day tech, while the group was unaware, report back, plot their trajectory through the woods, move their people into place and pitch a tent directly in their path to wait for them. I'm sure if they veered off course yet more people would have shown up to get them back on track. Or Morgan's horse having magically silent horseshoes on that neither the guy nor the audience heard coming, so on and so forth.

Edited by Keely
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Carol needs tending.  HER life is precious.

 

This is really simple and beautiful, and I love it. I hope Morgan has realized that whether or not ALL life is precious (which *I* vehemently proclaim it's not) is moot. The people in your group - THEIR lives are the most precious. Sometimes you have to kill to stop them from being killed. It's that simple. I hope Morgan and Carol can both find some middle ground and acceptance of themselves. 

 

You know, I never really thought about this - but they both lost children in a way that they blame themselves for. Carol was a simpering weakling when Sophia ran from the Walker that day. I'm sure she beats herself up every day for not going after her, and not teaching her daughter to be stronger. Morgan lost Duane because he STILL couldn't put down his own Walker-wife. I know that kills him. They have to be able to find peace with those things. And that doesn't have to mean being a crazy killer or never killing anyone again. 

 

Both of their storylines have bugged this season, but maybe there's hope there yet. 

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Well, he certainly relished Gareth's fear and begging and seemed to really enjoy hacking him up with the machete which has to be a particularly gruesome death. Not saying Gareth didn't deserve it - he did - or that type of sadism wasn't justified, but it was there, IMO.

 

The Termites were CANNIBALS. They ate other people. They were going to make manwiches out of the lot of them. Remember that Gareth had them over the feeding trough when Rick was going over the weapons he had..and he promised to use the red handled machete to kill Gareth. One time deal.

 

Whereas Negan  uses his bat systemically to intimidate and murder and keep his kingdom in order. 

 

I just don't find those to be remotely the same thing and is a false equivalency.

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This is really simple and beautiful, and I love it. I hope Morgan has realized that whether or not ALL life is precious (which *I* vehemently proclaim it's not) is moot. The people in your group - THEIR lives are the most precious. Sometimes you have to kill to stop them from being killed. It's that simple. I hope Morgan and Carol can both find some middle ground and acceptance of themselves. 

 

You know, I never really thought about this - but they both lost children in a way that they blame themselves for. Carol was a simpering weakling when Sophia ran from the Walker that day. I'm sure she beats herself up every day for not going after her, and not teaching her daughter to be stronger. Morgan lost Duane because he STILL couldn't put down his own Walker-wife. I know that kills him. They have to be able to find peace with those things. And that doesn't have to mean being a crazy killer or never killing anyone again. 

 

Both of their storylines have bugged this season, but maybe there's hope there yet. 

 

Thank you.  Yes, their storylines were driving me mad, but now I see what they were going for, where it was all leading, and I'm impressed.  Which is good, because the rest of it is crap.

  • Love 6
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I repeat myself but, in these days and age and with social networks and cameras everywhere, you can't do a Who shot JR? anymore. The sets will be spied on, people who want to know will check the sighting reports on spoiler sites, and petulant assholes with no lives will spoil it for the whole internet to know on every site, even unrelated, that allows comments.

 

 

Cliffhanger was stupid. As has been pointed out, all it takes is finding out who isn't in Georgia and/or on set and we have our Lucille victim as well as

the availabity of the comics which seem to be playing out according to canon

. I feel for all you spoiler avoiders. It's going to be hard not to find out. Tptb did a disservice to the fans.

 

Ultimately, this is what bothers me the most about the cliffhanger. This is the internet age. People will want to know, they will find out through any or a combination of the above tactics, and one way or other, it will be spoiled, repeatedly, whether through overenthusiastic carelessness or flat out assholishness. That robs (many of) us of the emotional resonance this moment was supposed have on the audience.

 

Given how big this show is, at this point the only way a person could remain unspoiled is to completely disconnect from the internet and not talk to anyone about the show for the next six months.

 

Having the night to sleep on it, I've found more to like about the episode, but I doubt I'll ever be convinced ending the season in this manner was the right call, on any level.

  • Love 7
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I coudln't help but think how much manpower and resources were spent creating the endless roadblocks to give CDB a "Groundhog Day."  Just cutting down, stacking and setting ablaze all those huge trees would have taken days, used up untold gallons of fuel with the major machinery needed, and all for nothing. The more I think about it the more utterly ludicrous it becomes.

 

The Termites were CANNIBALS. They ate other people. They were going to make manwiches out of the lot of them.

 

I know. I did clearly say that Gareth deserved it and that Rick was justified in killing him. I was just commenting on the WAY he killed him.

  • Love 4
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The Termites were CANNIBALS. They ate other people. They were going to make manwiches out of the lot of them. Remember that Gareth had them over the feeding trough when Rick was going over the weapons he had..and he promised to use the red handled machete to kill Gareth. One time deal.

 

Whereas Negan  uses his bat systemically to intimidate and murder and keep his kingdom in order. 

 

I just don't find those to be remotely the same thing and is a false equivalency.

 

Agreed.  So sick of TPTB informing me that Negan is the Biggest Bad of all.  No one will ever be worse than Gareth, imo.  I loved the poster who said way back when that the group should only have one question now.  "Do you eat people?  Because the last group fucking ate people."  Negan is more powerful, but he doesn't fucking eat people.

  • Love 15
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I still lay the blame at Rick's feet no matter who suggested it. Either he's the leader who makes all the decisions or they're a democracy again.

 

Let me see if I have this straight.

 

If Rick is the Ricktator and it's his idea and it goes wrong...it's his fault.

 

They spent the last two seasons trying to demonstrate that Rick's sanity was centered around being a part of community. And being a leader in a community where he has trusted advisors, and the community has input, and some autonomy. If he listens to his advisors and he goes with the advisor's plan....it's his fault.

 

If he doesn't listen their plan and it goes wrong...it's his fault. 

 

Fuck. Rick can't catch a break.

 

Before you know it, someone will say the Zombie Apocaplyse is his fault and his responsibility.

  • Love 12
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I know. I did clearly say that Gareth deserved it and that Rick was justified in killing him. I was just commenting on the WAY he killed him.

 

I know. It also seemed to me you were implying that Rick is the same kind of person as Negan because of how he killed Gareth. If that was the implication I fully disagree with it for the reasons I gave. 

Wife and husband can't be POCDB and VPOCDB ;)

 

Abe can hold down the VP spot.

 

That would make Rick the First Gentleman to Michonne's POCDB. Not the First Lady.

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Writer's thought process:

  • We need to kill one of the "originals, but it can't be Rick, Carl, or Michonne
  • But that leaves Glenn, Daryl or Maggie...
  • But if we kill one of them, the fan base is going to shit themselves.  They'll spend all summer pissed off and refuse to come back for the next season
  • Oh! I know! Let's leave it as a cliffhanger and make them come back.  Then we can kill one of them and they'll be sucked in to continue watching!
  • Great idea!

 

Any other character (Abe, Aaron, Eugene, whatsherface) wouldn't have mattered. They could show it at the end and we'd still come back. They only reason to make it a cliffhanger is because it's a fan favorite and they feared fans wouldn't return. 

 

Based on Negan saying "Champ" and how sick Maggie is, I think it's reasonable to rule her out.  Therefore, it's Glenn or Daryl.  Either one of those would create fear of fans not returning and fuel the need to wait until next season to keep viewers.

 

Here's what the writers didn't think of:  I now have the entire summer to be OK with Glenn or Daryl's death.  I'll be prepared and the shock moment will be gone.

 

You should have had more faith in your viewers.  We would have come back, and it would have made a great water-cooler moment.  

 

That's how I feel as well although I think it will be Abe or Glenn - totally agree with you that the death of Glenn or Daryl will have the greatest impact on the fandom and the CDB but Daryl is a protected species for as long as he makes money for AMC (I'm so so cynical!). So I switch Daryl out for Abe who's death won't be as much as an impact but all the fear build up in this episode with the slow realisation that they are trapped I felt could have made up for the big death being a secondary character instead of an Atlanta 5. But since they have cut this episode off without the reveal, all the tension and momentum has gone. I mean I watched this episode under a blanket with a pillow held for protection and my heart pounding because I was waiting to see which one of my beloved TWD family are going to be battered to death and I was also very scared that they were actually going to show the bat making contact. As soon as Negan started the game I put my hands over my face and watched through a tiny gap in my fingers... and then, it went black and my fear and anxiety turned to white hot rage.

 

One of the most disrespectful things about this scenario is that the show runners seem to think that all the fans care about is who is getting killed, like it's some morbid wheel of fortune. But I believe that while of course we want to know who dies because we will be sad/angry if it is our favourite character and will be sad for the rest of the crew having to group with to witness it, the more interesting thing is the reaction to that death. We would have had 6 months to speculate how the group is going to react to the loss, how are they going to survive losing someone they love, to see if this will break them and what the repercussions are going to be. This would have been the buzz talk, this would have been endlessly debated and this would not have been universally derided as cheap, lazy story writing. Surely you want positive buzz about your show or negative? Say they'd killed Daryl, they would be a lot of upset but it certainly wouldn't have dismissed as a cop-out. Instead we would all be talking about how much we hate Negan, not how much we hate the show runners and that Gimple should lose his job.

  • Love 9
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Let me see if I have this straight.

 

If Rick is the Ricktator and it's his idea and it goes wrong...it's his fault.

 

They spent the last two seasons trying to demonstrate that Rick's sanity was centered around being a part of community. And being a leader in a community where he has trusted advisors, and the community has input, and some autonomy. If he listens to his advisors and he goes with the advisor's plan....it's his fault.

 

If he doesn't listen their plan and it goes wrong...it's his fault. 

 

Fuck. Rick can't catch a break.

 

Before you know it, someone will say the Zombie Apocaplyse is his fault and his responsibility.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Be it thorns or jewels.

  • Love 7
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Congratulations show - you've made it so I don't even care who got killed.  At least my summer won't be revolving around spoilers and speculation regarding who the victim was.  At this point I'm good with any of them, including Rick.

 

And way to ruin the character of Carol.  Sucks to be MMB, giving her all for a character hell bent on suicide and despair.   And Morgan still sucks donkey balls.  Too bad he didn't have this little epiphany earlier, like during the wolves' attack.  Maybe they wouldn't have lost quite so many red shirts.

 

I'm betting Maggie is suffering from appendicitis.  The pain and fever seem to be going that way.  Hope the OB-GYN can perform surgery.  If Maggie survives and gets to Hilltop, the baby should be fine.

 

I'm betting Abe got Lucille'd, what with his breaking up with Rosita, making baby plans with Sasha and saying good-bye to Eugene.

  • Love 6
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Well, he certainly relished Gareth's fear and begging and seemed to really enjoy hacking him up with the machete which has to be a particularly gruesome death. Not saying Gareth didn't deserve it - he did - or that type of sadism wasn't justified, but it was there, IMO.

Well Gareth was about to shoot into a room that contained his infant daughter and son soooo I will let him have a little bit of glee on that one ... They came to kill Rick and his group and they "got got" Negan's group MO is to find communities, kill one person to exert their power then take everything they have. The way Gareth died was pretty gruesome but so was the way Gareth killed people. Also - HE ATE BOB!

  • Love 5
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(edited)

Walkers are drawn to noise and light and there was plenty of that where they were held up at, plus there were walkers around since Dwight and them were able to tie some to the road. Which how were Dwight and Co. able to drag these walkers to the road still alive and tie them up at the same time without being bitten? They didn't do the Michonne trick of taking off arms and jaw. What are walkers waiting on? Have they now gained the ability to sit in wait and enjoy the entertainment before them. Were the walkers so mesmerized and hypnotized by Negan's pontificating?

 

I'm gonna talk about Negan for a second, he didn't have an intimidating presence whatsoever. Someone who forever pontificates loses all kind of credibility as a badass villain. We see why the Saviors talk too damn much they take after their leader. Negan came off as a cheesy 80s villain. Sitting there in the RV waiting to make his debut which was just lame.

 

Also they've been in ASZ for quite some time in that general area, why is gas so damn plentiful? They all seem so easily able to just hop in a car and just drive off even going as far as Hilltop which is a day drive.

 

The ending would have been way more satisfying if we did hear screams and yells from CDB. Not hearing anything from them just made it seem like they didn't care who got killed. IMO it would be best if they shown who was picked and then the camera POV of the blood and bat bashing against the skull as CDB screamed and yelled at the person being beaten to death. It probably would have gotten a better reaction rather than the backlash the finale is getting.

 

Out of the group only Carl, Michonne, and Abe shown that they weren't scared while Rick, Rosita, Sasha, & Aaron looked terrified and scared as all hell. Maggie just looked sick. Glenn didn't want Maggie hurt which I think was his only main concern so he tried putting on a brave and scared face while Daryl looked a little nonchalant. 

Edited by ShadowSixx
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I don't actually think we're going to have to endure a season of Negan. They toyed with an extended post-Woodbury Governor arc, but quickly proved that they didn't have the chops for it. Terminus was all buildup, and then practically nothing. I mean, seriously, fucking Dawn had more lines than Gareth did, even if most of them were about laundry. The Wolves started out interesting, and then got completely forgotten. Was all that shit we saw that they'd done really pulled off by a dozen people that Rick and Carol killed? We'll never know, because by the time the writers pull their asses out of "buildup" mode, it's time for the Big Climax. I'm sure there are other villains in the funnybooks who appear after Negan, and I'm equally sure that we will see them a lot sooner than we see any kind of serious longterm storytelling dedicated to Negan. Although I don't think he has to worry about not having enough lines.

Well, I can't fully concur because I'd probably enjoy more Negan than they're going to be able to sustain, given the team's mandate to surge up off their knees sooner rather than later.

 

The Governor season was close to brilliant, as far as adversarial conflict goes, because we had two functional kingdoms operating next door to each other.  Something for the world-builder buffs and something for the people who like a Big Bad, once Patch showed his psycho hand.  

 

I'm right there with you on Terminus, though.  I keep mourning the waste of perfectly good cannibals.  After that endless buildup, we could have spent some interesting time with those folks, making friends of whom we grew ever more suspicious, instead of the whole thing going to shit at the how-d'you-do stage.  Wolves, pfft, creepy warnings and mutilations-->zip.

  • Love 5
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I still lay the blame at Rick's feet no matter who suggested it. Either he's the leader who makes all the decisions or they're a democracy again. Yes, it's harsh to say he must be one or the other but that's the dynamic of this world and life. I understand he is terrified for his people and Carl. He can be terrified without breaking down and becoming completely ineffectual. There was a moment in this ep - after the walker chain gang iirc - where AL completely sells a deer in headlights look for Rick. He started falling apart on the road. He began losing the ability to make split second decisions while they were driving along. Each time they hit a new roadblock he froze a bit more.

 

I have no problem with him being out of his depth and frightened on its own. But when placed up against 'we got this' Rick who is baying orders and swaggering, I recoil. Rick is the one who went before the group and presented the plan. He made his big speech and he pulled everyone on board. And it was a stupid plan. Yes, let's go mass slaughter people before they get us without asking one real pertinent question or doing any scouting regarding this other group. As the leader, it was on Rick to slow them down and think. It was terrible writing that makes the group look idiotic. They weren't in a split second to react scenario. They had time to think and didn't. For me, it delves into contrived the same as Daryl getting jumped at every turn. 

 

 

That's dreadfully, dreadfully unfair.  This was made as a democratic decision because it makes no sense that the only two options for leadership are Rick making every decision or have it be a democracy, it has to depend on the situation and it has been operating as a democracy lately anyway. And Maggie is supposed to be the ?political? leader of ASZ now so Rick is working with that shared leadership responsibility. Rick generally listens to advice and suggestions from others and these days he usually seeks it. He knows this was a big call to make and he knew that it needed to be made by everybody, he was not going to force people to participate in a massacre. Of course he is the one who lead the meeting, he is the one they always look to whenever anything needs to be done but at that meeting others got up and spoke of their support with Aaron's support being very persuasive to the ASZ'ers  I'm not denying it was a bad idea and I wasn't on board with it but Rick can't be held responsible for an entire town's decision.

 

I don't know how he became completely ineffectual? You mentioned the chain walk gang, Rick was the one who cleared most of them while under fire and telling his people to get in the car which was straight after finding Michonne's hair and Daryl's arrows, then he came in the van and looked terrified and like he didn't know what to do. How is that not a justified reaction? They then encountered road block after road block and had to keep retreating, what other options were there? They didn't have the man or fire power to take all the Saviours on and why is he the only one anyway who is expected by some of the audience to come up with a suggestion? Eugene had a good idea and they went with that but it didn't work out, not every idea will work out, not everything can be planned for.

  • Love 13
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(edited)

Note to Camp Ding Bats:  When a murderous psycho group blocks you path on the road, you either kill them, or return to Alexandria, and prepare for war.  When you run into same murderous psycho group AGAIN, at that point you definitely return to Alexandria, and come up with a new plan that DOES NOT include trying to go north again.

 

THIS.

 

As soon as they hit the second road block I was saying, why don't you return to Alexandria?  It was obvious right there that they were being led into a cat-and-mouse game.  Take your chances with trying to get Maggie through her illness with what you have.

 

The Saviors would have had no problem drawing CDB out anyway.  They could have marched their hostages up to the gates of Alexandria and started executing them one by one until Rick surrendered.  But all of this was enabled by the writers having everyone in Alexandria grab a car and stupidly run willy-nilly all over where this threatening group was lurking.  Let's even get the pregnant lady out there, she can shoot.  Daryl goes back to the very spot where they were ambushed the last time, knowing that's where these guys patrol.  And with his tracking skills he doesn't pick up that they are all in the immediate area that very minute.  The whole series of events leading up to their capture was so contrived.

Edited by Dobian
  • Love 9
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I actually liked how almost defiant Carl was facing down Negan. I mean, he was the only one (maybe besides Abe) who wasn't pissing his pants.  I'm looking forward to his evolution....was Negan's 'future serial killer' quip some foreshadowing? Hopefully, CR is up to the task.

 

I liked this as well. Michonne and Abe stared down Negan too, and were far braver than I would have been (likely catatonic in a fetal position, lying in a pool of vomit and excrement) but Carl was cold as ice, the embodiment of "don't ever let them see you sweat."

 

I agree there was some foreshadowing there. I think Carl's unwavering defiance impressed Negan. What better way to break Rick's will than to take his son and turn him against his father?

  • Love 6
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(edited)

I just had lunch with a friend who is a huge TWD, but never visits the forum and hardly goes online to find out about the show. I braced myself for her being angry about the cliffhanger or disappointed in the episode instead it turned out that she loved it and had no problem with the cliffhanger. We spent the whole of lunch discussing the plot and debating who Negan killed. She cannot wait for next season. I realized then that I am right not to get caught up with the opinions of online fans who are a tiny minority of the whole viewing audience.

Edited by SimoneS
  • Love 7
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(edited)

My take on last night. I have never been a fan of cliffhangers so I knew I would not be happy with this one. But it is here and even though they will try to keep a lid on it, I am sure we will find out fairly soon who met Lucille last night.

I know Rick gets blamed for lots of things and sometimes he deserves that blame. But he never asked to be the leader of the group, it was thrust upon him because no one else really wanted to take that responsibility on. It is difficult being a leader during peaceful time but imagine during the ZA. All they are doing is trying to survive, trying to find food, trying to find shelter. Can you imagine how difficult that was. I remember in one episode when Rick is having a meltdown and Carl tells him that maybe someone else should be the leader, like Daryl. I found that so sad.

But as time when on, Rick took on the responsibility of taking care of the people who became his family.

What really killed me last night was the scene with the chain of walkers and when they find that one of them has Michonne's leather vest and a few locks of her hair. He rips the locks off the walker and then chops off her hand. Once inside the RV, you can see him desolving into panic at not knowing what has happened to the women he has given his heart to. He does not know if she is dead and that fact is killing him. And then everything is going to hell. Once at the camp or whatever that place was you know he had to be thinking how in the hell are we getting out of this. He knows whatever is going to happen will not be pretty. Then when that truck opens up and they bring out Michonne, Daryl, Glenn and Rosita, he looks at Michonne for one instant. Can you imagine how he felt not being able to go to her. Both of them know in that instant that they have no idea how they are going to get out of this mess. Him and the entire group has always managed to get out of any mess they were in.

Rick was a broken man and it was so difficult to watch that but I have to give Andy Lincoln lots of credit, he really brought Rick's anguish to the forefront.

Goodbye to Michonne's leather vest, the one she has worn since we first met her. Was it Aaron who said, "that is Michonne's vest" Hello to how beautiful Michonne was last night even if she was only on my TV for a couple of minutes. Now I know why Rick is so in love with her.

Since Rick and Michonne are already King and Queen of the ZA, I guess being President is also fine.

Edited by catcory
  • Love 7
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From the showrunners' perspective, I see what they did and why.  The finale was a HUGE topic in the media last night and still today, and will continue to be discussed and picked apart until the October opener.  DId they "mess" with viewers to achieve this?  Sure.  Many shows do, love it or hate it.  Will it pay off in October?  Many are insisting no, but I think they will be fine and that yes they will have the large numbers of viewers tuning back in, love it or hate it.  Will it pay off?  i don't know yet.  It's up to them to deliver on the promise of the story they say this will develop into.

It's a calculated risk. Some fans like it; I'd guess that more don't (but that's just a guess). But more than ratings, I think it was bad story telling especially when they pulled this cliffhanger crap earlier with Glenn under the dumpster.  As for ratings, no show can stay on top forever so this fade-to-black and Glenn under the dumpster are more likely to be remembered as wearing water skies than being crowning glories. One sign of that is that some reviewers are now dropping their coverage of the show.

  • Love 8
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Upon re-watch I'm even more sadden because of their desperation to save Maggie. Dragging her through the woods .. that scene gutted me. I didn't need to see anyone I loved killed last night because at that moment, they got the better end of the stick (pun intended) I would have opted out by now. Death couldn't come soon enough and like Carol I'm too much of a chicken#(&% to do it myself so I  would have just got up and volunteered.

  • Love 2
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(edited)

I guess I'm throwing my hat (pun intended) in with the small group who has the opinion that Rick's reaction to Negan wasn't in character. I didn't expect Rick to go James West on all the bad guys (ancient cultural reference). Yes it was a hopeless situation, but Negan said he was only going to kill one of them. Yes, I know that sounds bad. But that means 8-9 of them, including his son, are going to live.

Rick, being a cop, knows talking is a good way to (hopefully) defuse a situation. And we've seen him do that in many other settings. But not here, not with Negan. Was it because Negan told them to shut up? I'm sorry, with the stakes as high as they were, I can't see Rick NOT engaging Negan. Now if he had and got a bat to the stomach, okay fine. But he didn't even try. (I do think he said something but can't recall now. Obviously, it didn't impress me if he did.)

Also, he was practically whimpering. And he flinched when the bat came by. Look, I'm not saying I wouldn't have done that if I were in that position. But Rick is not me. Frankly, I was disappointed in him (or as directed to play that scene.)

When they first knelt down, I saw Maggie looking at Rick, like she was waiting for him to come with something. Someone above posted a photo of the group at the Terminus trough. That situation was grim perhaps grimmer because they were all going to be killed AND eaten, but if Negan wasn't lying, only one of them would die. Yet at Terminus, Rick had the balls to threaten the coffe-roaster (what's his name).

I wonder what changed? And I think I know what it is - the writers. It was their (cheap) way of making Negan bigger and badder. So, in other words, they betrayed Rick's character. And I can't forgive the writers doing that.

And that's only one of the problems I have with TBTB.

Edited by JackONeill
  • Love 4
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I've seen a few people comment on how this seemed to be written for comic readers, but as a long-time comic reader, I think it was awful. This show is at its best when it ignores the comics and I've been desperately hoping all season that they'd do something different with the Saviors and Negan, something truly interesting and subtle. Joke's on me, the only changes they made were for the worse! Kirkman should never have been given so much power behind the scenes, the show will keep degenerating as long as he has a say.

 

So yeah, I'm out. I'll watch YouTube clips next season of The Carol and Morgan Show, but I don't care about any of the others anymore and found this entire episode boring as hell. The cop-out cliffhanger ending was just the cherry on top of the shit sundae.

 

Good luck to those who keep  watching. You're going to need it.

  • Love 7
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