Glenn: No Fun Since He Fell In Love

[Pete Martell]

I've defended Glenn so many times for what seems like an eternity over claims that he's pointless and useless and miserable and only there for Maggie, and episodes like this last one (and a lot of this season in general) remind me of why.

 

Glenn is still unsure of himself in many ways, but he's also protective, and tough, and he can and will kick your ass. After what he went through with Merle, it felt good to see him uppercut that punk.

[BrokenRemote]

Yes! And then be backed up instantly by Daryl, no questions asked. (Not that he needed backup.)

[Nashville]

Yes! And then be backed up instantly by Daryl, no questions asked. (Not that he needed backup.)

That worries me some, though, for Daryl's sake. Ms. Governor (excuse me, Congressperson) gives the impression she thinks she has a pretty good "fix" on everybody in CDB - with the exception of Daryl. She views Daryl as a total wild card, and politicians hate anything unpredictable. In that respect, Deanna most likely views Daryl as a liability at present.

I get the distinct impression the ASZs regard Daryl in much the same oversimplified way the general public regards pit bulls - fiercely loyal to those in their family, but erratic and explosively violent towards anyone else, especially when they perceive a threat to a family member. And we know what large chunks of the general public want to do with pit bulls.... :(

'Tis a shame, really. At present, I think Daryl's best way of contributing would be as a hunter/scavenger/scout. If I were him, however, I wouldn't be going out on any runs with Dumbass* and Dumbass Jr.** any time soon - not unless he can keep both of them in front of him at all times.

* Dumbass = Aiden

** Dumbass Jr. = Aiden's Goldilocks buddy. Considering how he blindly follows Dumbass's lead, I get the feeling he's not going to survive long enough to make learning his name worth the trouble - so why bother?

Edited March 2, 2015 by Nashville

[mandolin]

Dumbass Jr was Nicholas; Aiden said we met him at the gate initially. Maybe he'll die soon now that we "know" him.

[nodorothyparker]

Glenn's been on my "fine with it if he becomes zombie chow" short list for a good season and a half now, so color me surprised and a little thrilled that I'm really enjoying him again.  The last two episodes and this entire back half of the season in general have been a good reminder that this is the same guy who plucked a complete stranger out of a tank on a walker-infested street and later managed to take one down while duct-taped to a chair.  The fact that they've finally given him something to do other than moon endlessly over Maggie, who he still has no real chemistry with, probably has much to do with it.  Welcome back, Glenn.  I didn't even realize how much you'd been missed.

Edited March 3, 2015 by nodorothyparker

[Evie]

I'm hoping the last couple episodes are an indication that the writers have realized that Glenn and Maggie are individual characters and can have separate storylines. When they aren't treated as one entity, they both drastically improve as characters. I don't care about them as a couple, but I don't need some break up story or anything, just keep the relationship stuff toned down and let them kick some ass.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Its neat to sit back and remember that this dude used to be a "lived in his parents' basement 20-something year old pizza delivery kid" right before the ZA broke out. 

 

And now he's like 3rd or 4th in line of succession to a badass group of zombie, dogs, and people killing MOFOs.  To quote those newer Old Spice body soap commercials;  "Smellcome to Manhood, Glenn Rhee!".

[mandolin]

The transformation people go through is one of the big reasons this show is my favorite.

[CletusMusashi]

I liked seeing Glenn smack down that ASZhole, but I didn't like the choreography. I had the same problem the time he punched down Abraham. Glenn leads a very active lifestyle. Fighting, running, walking, climbing, lots of grabbing and carrying supplies, I accept just fine that he's strong. But strong people can still have some technique. Rick is a strong guy, and Rick is all over the place when he's brawling. Daryl too. I think the fight directors could do way better for Glenn than just stick him with "Glenn strong. Glenn punch you hard, silly red-shirt." A couple more seconds of action, a few more blows attempted by the opposition, maybe Glenn himself landing a few minor shots before the actual knock-down.. that's all I'm saying. Stylistically, he's not meant to be The Hulk. He's meant to be Spider Man. 

I suspect they may want to avoid giving him any obvious karate or jujitsu moves or whatever because, at least in his case, they want to avoid ethnic stereotyping. And I can respect that. But there is a huge spectrum of action between having him throw roundhouse kicks at people and... moving around a bit more, like we've seen him do in actual combat plenty of times. Fresh in from the battlefields as he is, Glenn should, if anything, be approaching "social" dominance fights with a little bit too much seriousness.

[Nashville]

I liked seeing Glenn smack down that ASZhole, but I didn't like the choreography.

 

Are you kidding?  I LOVED it.  Douchebag Aiden takes a swing at Glenn which was telegraphed so obvious the folks on the next block saw it coming.  Glenn's response was simple, elegant, and effective as hell.  One minute DB is standing up swinging, next minute DB is snorting asphalt and wondering exactly how he got down here.  Beautiful.

[Pete Martell]

I agree. I don't really see Glenn as making stealth moves and such. I take him as someone who never had any fight training until the ZA, and learned how to get it done quick and to the point. It also works with Glenn because the other characters who don't know him wouldn't expect it from him.

[Pete Martell]

Tonight's episode reminded me again of how glad I am that they separated Glenn from Rick's core group years ago and have mostly had him on his own journey (even if that journey is often underwritten...). Glenn's individual bonds with Noah and Tara and his attempts to be a leader and protect them as best he could, not just because of the generic "group" concept, made tonight all the more heartbreaking. Steven Yeun gave one of the show's very best performances when Glenn watched Noah being torn to pieces. Really superb acting. And Yeun topped it off by being such a classy guy on Talking Dead, praising Tyler James Williams the way he did.

[editorgrrl]

In February, Steven Yeun and Andrew Lincoln attended a New York Times panel for The Walking Dead (as part of their TimesTalks series). According to Yahoo:

Lincoln said there’s a big Glenn storyline in the second half of Season 5, and that Glenn’s portrayer, Steven Yeun, is the “hero” of Season 5B. Yeun himself said at the TimesTalks event that his favorite Glenn scene of the whole series unfolds in 5B.

 

I assume Noah's death was Yeun's favorite Glenn scene of the whole series. But I hope that Glenn's big storyline is still to come.

 

I'm putting the Yahoo link down here rather than up there to preface it by saying the article includes comic spoilers: https://www.yahoo.com/tv/the-walking-dead-glenn-steven-yeun-113415221440.html

Edited March 16, 2015 by editorgrrl

[TallulahBelle]

Steven Yeun is ROCKING these episodes.  His face when Eugene asked where Noah was.  Man alive.  Lovely work.

[lulee]

I'm really looking forward to any scenes between Glenn and Maggie and Glenn and Rick next week. Steven Yeun has really stepped up and his character has had a really interesting trajectory - it was just in the first half of this season when he wanted to be in the DC group to make a fresh start and split off from Rick after the bloodbath of the Termites at the church and now he's very much at the core.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

After watching Noah's death scene again, I noticed how it was cut.

Glen witnessed him get dragged, torn apart and completely devoured.

Like how Lori's corpse was in S3 off camera.

Once again, amazing and heartbreaking performance by Steven Yuen.

Edited March 17, 2015 by MrsRafaelBarba

[Eric85]

Hey so where is this guy? Is he underneath the dumpster surrounded by thousands of walkers or did he discover a secret passage back to Alexandria....

 

I really like to find out sometime THIS year. 

[Nashville]