S07.E06: Swear

[Dobian]

21 hours ago, Timetoread said:

As for the pickings: I think about dumb stuff too much but I would imagine that in a scenario where 95 percent of the human population died, that there would be plenty of non food resources.  I always wonder why they didn't loot all those cars on the highway.  People packed up their homes and died in their cars. 

I also think there would be a lot of non-biodegradable resources around because the majority of the population turned very quickly so there wasn't much time where people were consuming things, even if they raided all the Walmarts, etc.  With the current population as small as it is (the greater Alexandria area which covers at least a hundred square mile radius and includes Alexandria, Saviors, Hilltop, Kingdom, and Womenfolk, isn't much more than a thousand people.  That same area today probably has about 250,000 people, so just extrapolating, there are probably 1 - 1.5 million people in the whole country.  So yes, lots and lots of resources.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Dobian

[Timetoread]

22 minutes ago, Dobian said:

I also think there would be a lot of non-biodegradable resources around because the majority of the population turned very quickly so there wasn't much time where people were consuming things, even if they raided all the Walmarts, etc.  With the current population as small as it is (the greater Alexandria area which covers at least a hundred square mile radius and includes Alexandria, Saviors, Hilltop, and Womenfolk, isn't much more than a thousand people.  That same area today probably has about 250,000 people, so just extrapolating, there are probably 1 - 1.5 million people in the whole country.  So yes, lots and lots of resources.

Agreed except there are FAR more people in the area than that.  The DC area, of which Alexandria is a part of has a few million people right now.  There is no way those settlements are covering that much territory.  My guess is that there is about 25 miles TOPS between them.  And again, the amount of infrastructure in 25 miles of DC is staggering - particularly for a couple of hundred people who survived the ZA. 

[Captain Asshat]

23 hours ago, ChipBach said:

And then she honors the wishes of the group that just tried to execute her.
 

I saw it more as her honoring a promise she made to the person who saved her life more than once.

[Dobian]

7 minutes ago, Timetoread said:

Agreed except there are FAR more people in the area than that.  The DC area, of which Alexandria is a part of has a few million people right now.  There is no way those settlements are covering that much territory.  My guess is that there is about 25 miles TOPS between them.  And again, the amount of infrastructure in 25 miles of DC is staggering - particularly for a couple of hundred people who survived the ZA. 

I left out Kingdom.  I would guess between 1,000 and 1,500 people between the five settlements.  A hundred square miles is ten-by-ten.

[natyxg]

15 minutes ago, Captain Asshat said:

I saw it more as her honoring a promise she made to the person who saved her life more than once.

And because upon returning to Alexandria she realized that the Saviors are as bad as the amazon women said, so saying anything would be putting them in their path again, which is a dick move cause the amazons actually managed to escape.  I think if the Saviors threat had been destroyed like Tara thought she might have tried to get both groups to work together like she first wanted. Now she kept silent to honor her promise and because she probably realized they were right.

[Timetoread]

59 minutes ago, Dobian said:

I left out Kingdom.  I would guess between 1,000 and 1,500 people between the five settlements.  A hundred square miles is ten-by-ten.

Gotcha.  Math is not my thing.  No matter what Negan is unnecessary.

[shirazplease]

Quote

She looked beautiful on TTD.

She absolutely did.  I really liked her.   I fast forwarded thru most of the show, but after seeing her on TTD, I think I will re-watch.  

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

Yea, I stopped even noticing the freshly shaved armpits, perfect eyebrows, and bright white teeth along time ago.

I could literally go months without shaving my armpits--hair just doesn't grow there much and when it does, it barely clears the skin surface. I used to go through the motions of shaving them in the shower for no good reason...except maybe to feel like I at least did something adult-ladylike while avoiding my legs (I don't know when I last shaved those--the hair is small and blond and invisible...unless there's direct sunlight, haha!).

As far as teeth though, maybe they scavenged tons of toothbrushes from dentists' offices? Though I think a lack of nutrition would affect the teeth far more than a lack of formal dental care would. And the haircuts--fine with me, whatever. All you need is a pair of scissors in the group and someone who knows how to use 'em.

Edited November 29, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[raven]

12 hours ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Props to Tara for being able to find her way back to Alexandria, on foot, through an area she was not at all familiar with, over a distance that was originally travelled by car, and not being eaten or starving or dying of thirst or running into a Savior or Unfair Wolf. 

I remembered that Heath said they had been out for two weeks, so how far did they get I wonder?  Did they drive in circles within a small radius of ASZ or what?  If Tara was hundreds of miles away...how did she walk back in what looks like a short amount of time?

[TattleTeeny]

Haha, this is like when I watch Real Housewives of New Jersey and think "that is not where they say they are!"

[queenanne]

I didn't think Tara looked unfortunate amounts of overweight; I thought she seemed pregnant-overweight, which was a bit ruinous in the overall plausibility scheme of things.  Whether or not I would have thought she was automatically pregnant-overweight had this not been prior known intel to me, I cannot say, so perhaps should be disregarded as a point of view.  I'm more alarmed and irritated by the fact that "pregnant" Lauren Cohan looked so emaciated last week in Maggie's hospital bed, I felt that if you stuck her face atop Mt. Rushmore she wouldn't look out of place.  

Overall I did not like and was disoriented by this episode, though I grant that parts of it would probably have been improved were I not trying out an improvised "two-screen story experience" of my own.

[Save Yourself]

On 29/11/2016 at 0:48 AM, yoyo926 said:

Too much filler since they started doing more episodes. I really think this will be Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira  and maybe Norman Reedus' last season so I wanted the show to focus on the core group have their possible last season be great. (I guess there is always fanfiction)

AL and NR have just renegotiated their contracts so they won't be leaving any time soon. AL has indicated in the past he'll stay on until his story has ended. I think NR will leave fingernail scratches on the floor by TPTB dragging him out if they ever kill him off, he loves the popularity of Daryl and must realise that he's typecast now. Don't know about DG but not many actors would voluntarily give up a steady pay check, particularly on one of the biggest shows in the world. 

[Gobi]

This episode didn't bother me that much, maybe because I read this thread first and knew what to expect, but mostly, I think, because it was Negan free.

I had completely forgotten about Heath.

As someone else asked, What did the Roman numerals on Tara's wrist mean?

The card she found at the end with the letters PPP, those I figured stood for Pee Pee Pants. He must have rescued Heath. Unless it was upside down, and the letters were ddd, instead of having the music go "da da da!" Regardless, why would Tara keep it? Looked like an access card to me, for opening a door.

Speaking of music, was that the Dirty Three playing at the end?

ETA - Maybe PPP stands for "Plot Point, People".

Edited November 30, 2016 by Gobi
Content

[AngelaHunter]

3 hours ago, Gobi said:

The card she found at the end with the letters PPP, those I figured stood for Pee Pee Pants. He must have rescued Heath. Unless it was upside down, and the letters were ddd, instead of having the music go "da da da!"

Bwahahaha! That makes more sense than a lot of stuff we've seen on this show lately!

[ganesh]

I don't even know what FPP's actual character name is. 

Given that's it's been a decent amount of time since the dead started roaming the earth, I would think Tara would have more caution when yanking at a big pile of sand.

[AngelaHunter]

24 minutes ago, ganesh said:

I would think Tara would have more caution when yanking at a big pile of sand.

I would think she'd have more caution than to blab on and on to very suspicious, total strangers about a bunch of murders committed by her group.

[ganesh]

But they had to kill all those people! What could possibly go wrong?

[Lady Iris]

This is the first week that by Wednesday I haven't watched Sunday's new episode since TWD's inception. Even if I take a quick peek at the recap I'm always in a rush to watch it first chance I get on a Monday. After the season opener which I wholeheartedly dreaded there's just no stake in this show for me now which makes me sad. I'm not quitting this show but I don't have the words to express the downward spiral my affection has taken.

[The Mighty Peanut]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

I would think she'd have more caution than to blab on and on to very suspicious, total strangers about a bunch of murders committed by her group.

Seriously, what the hell was she thinking? She went from living with one guy on a fishing boat to confessing to a mass slaughter like it was no big deal.

[ganesh]

*fist bump*

[AngelaHunter]

Tara acts and seems to think like a teenager. I liked her cluelessness when she first appeared on this show. It seemed realistic to me, but now she seems to actually be an idiot.

[rab01]

Out of everybody we met at Woodbury and everyone we met subsequently in the governor's tank camp, Tara is the only survivor? (Is that right?) I would never have pegged her as the survivor of the bunch.

That said, I had nothing against her telling the story of the attack on the satellite station. She'd been caught lying to her captors (and really easily) so she needed to admit something truthful (given the character's lack of acting ability, she couldn't plausibly lie) and the attack was a big enough admission that it distracted from the more obvious and important question -- "Where exactly are you from?"  

If that question had been asked, Tara would have been imprisoned permanently, right?  Because Tara wouldn't have been willing to give up the ASZ's location (maybe I'm assuming too much about the character's discretion) and her captors (even her teen savior) would be forced to face it that Tara knew too much about them by Tara's own standards.  

[natyxg]

28 minutes ago, rab01 said:

Out of everybody we met at Woodbury and everyone we met subsequently in the governor's tank camp, Tara is the only survivor? (Is that right?) I would never have pegged her as the survivor of the bunch.

That said, I had nothing against her telling the story of the attack on the satellite station. She'd been caught lying to her captors (and really easily) so she needed to admit something truthful (given the character's lack of acting ability, she couldn't plausibly lie) and the attack was a big enough admission that it distracted from the more obvious and important question -- "Where exactly are you from?"  

If that question had been asked, Tara would have been imprisoned permanently, right?  Because Tara wouldn't have been willing to give up the ASZ's location (maybe I'm assuming too much about the character's discretion) and her captors (even her teen savior) would be forced to face it that Tara knew too much about them by Tara's own standards.  

I think she told them to show that she understood why they had their "shoot on sight" policy and to show them that she didn't judge them for it because her group had also done terrible things because they felt they had to. For me the problem was all the detail she went into, but that was the way the script forced the whole "the amazons realize that Tara's group could bring the saviors back to them and decide to kill her" and also to force the revelation from short haired amazon that it was the saviors who killed their men. 

By the way, it was also eye roll inducing that it just so happened that the saviors killed their men, but I imagine it's because they will join Rick later, and that makes it personal for them, so they will agree when the time comes.

[Ohwell]

8 hours ago, oakville said:

Wednesday Recap . Nick Confessore, Halperin Barnicle.

Mika is wearing a violet sweater. Joe is wearing a suit with a green tie.

 

8 hours ago, oakville said:

Halperin said there are billionaires in the Trump Cabinet. His friends are rich. Joe mocked the Trump ad for attacking billionaire elites.

Barnicle said the Democrats would oppose Tom Price for HHS.

Barnicle liked how Romney looked at Trump Tower.

Wrong thread, @oakville. : )

Although I'd love to see Mika, Joe, Halperin and Barnicle get chomped in the ZA.

[AwesomO4000]

On 11/28/2016 at 4:13 PM, ByTor said:

I'm only a C...running is my thing but no way no how am I doing it in an ill fitting bra!  Poor Tara must have been seriously hurting.  I even said "ouch" out loud while watching :)

Running isn't my thing - never was even when I was an A - mostly because my insides get a stitch and my knees and ankles don't like the pounding, but I walk a lot with a little light jogging thrown in. And my now C's always have good support when I'm doing it. Hell, as a woman of a certain age, I wear a comfortable heavy duty sport bra with side support to sleep in (since I sleep on my side and like to keep the girls "secure" - wish I'd done this even sooner really. I actually find it more comfortable than sleeping without).  So running with no support - nuh uh. If I was Tara, I don't care how silly it looked, I'd be running with my arms crossed under my girls.

On 11/28/2016 at 3:44 PM, Timetoread said:

As a woman who is endowed, I ain't running nowhere.  I would be the hotwire/bike riding/roller blading queen of the ZA. D cup or more means thumbs down to running.

I would still be hoping for that Human Hamster Ball I described over in that thread where we considered the perfect weapon if we had the option. That way I wouldn't have to run from walkers, but could roll through them at my own pace.

Edited November 30, 2016 by AwesomO4000

[oakville]

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

 

Wrong thread, @oakville. : )

Although I'd love to see Mika, Joe, Halperin and Barnicle get chomped in the ZA.

LOL ! You are right! I was wondering where my post went! I will have to edit this.

[Lakebum]

I just saw a re-cap that intimated that the slaughter at the Saviors' compound was the impetus for the Saviors to kill every man at wherever the Oceanside women used to be. And... I don't buy it. Tara and Heath have been scavenging for two weeks, which means the slaughter happened two weeks ago. So in that time...

1. The Saviors killed all of the men at some community

2. The women of that community fled in secret, found a cool new place, gussied it up with all sorts of camo to make it hard to find, organized an entire code of conduct that includes killing all strangers on site, became excellent fishermen, and more... again, in two short weeks.

I don't buy it. I admit that it might be something that has no bearing on future events, but if the opposite happens to come to pass, then either the writers need to be called out for some sloppy time-lining, OR the characters need to explain to the Oceanside women that whatever happened to make the Saviors so mad that they killed all of the men, it wasn't the Great Outpost Slaughter.

[CrashTextDummie]

The way I understood it, the Oceanside people where already under Negan's control (which implies they went through the whole "I kill one of yours to establish who's boss" spiel beforehand), then tried to stage an uprising and got their men slaughtered as a result. So not the same thing as our gang experienced: punishment for (extreme) insubordination vs. the usual initiation process. I never got the impression that Negan particularly cared that one of his outposts was raided, more that it put CDB on his radar.

The Hilltop might be in trouble though. Gregory was right all along.

Edited December 1, 2016 by CrashTextDummie

[CletusMusashi]

The beginning of the episode totally fooled me. I thought they'd cut to one of those FtWD thingies.

I always liked Tara, and I'm glad to have her back. However, the weight gain is pretty obvious. Slightly distracting, yes, but it's still nothing compared to how every time they get captured by bad guys Coral is suddenly a head taller.

Interesting point about how fear of reprisal by Negan makes everybody dangerous, even those who have already betrayed him anyway. They might not side with Rick on this one.. although we've still got Maggie, Michonne, and Carol.

[queenanne]

8 hours ago, AwesomO4000 said:

Running isn't my thing - never was even when I was an A - mostly because my insides get a stitch and my knees and ankles don't like the pounding, but I walk a lot with a little light jogging thrown in. And my now C's always have good support when I'm doing it. Hell, as a woman of a certain age, I wear a comfortable heavy duty sport bra with side support to sleep in (since I sleep on my side and like to keep the girls "secure" - wish I'd done this even sooner really. I actually find it more comfortable than sleeping without).  So running with no support - nuh uh. If I was Tara, I don't care how silly it looked, I'd be running with my arms crossed under my girls.

I'm with you, I'm "a sensitive" about the bounce/tactile issues.  I, for example, watch the likes of early 1900's female ice skaters turning axels with long skirts flapping about their ankles, and I think "I'd be murderous if someone tried to make me do this.  I can't even stand being stuck running with a small pendant necklace flapping up and down around my neck.  Remember the pre-Lasik days when you had to do track and field in your eyeglasses?  Ugh."  I grant maybe you get less fussy when you're running for your life from zombies vs. running to beat one's classmate, but I'm very finicky about these types of things and it's very much a visceral sensory-based reaction.

[Mu Shu]

I forgot to comment on Tara flipping off the little girl.   Tara's original GF was shot down by Lizzie, so I hope they're bookending Tara's demise by getting taken down by this kid.   Otherwise, it's just a churlish adult acting more childish than the child herself.  And yes I was cheering that kid on to off Tara when she wanted to.  Tara is going to come back to haunt these people.   I loved the idea of Lizzie being this child assasin, so maybe this kid will fill the void.  

P.S.  This post contains no spoilers.  Simply wishful thinking.  

Edited December 1, 2016 by Mu Shu

[CletusMusashi]

She'll probably leave the island and go hunting Tara, only to get captured by Negan, meet Daryl, and become the new Beth.

Except less singy and more stabby. And without the fun lollicop arc.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

Tara's original GF was shot down by Lizzie, so I hope they're bookending Tara's demise by getting taken down by this kid.   Otherwise, it's just a churlish adult acting more childish than the child herself.

Yeah, I think I was wrong when I said Tara acts like a teenager. I probably should've said "pubescent."

[ctmd]

Gobi- yes, that was TOTALLY Dirty Three playing at the end. I was so excited when I recognized their sound, and when I looked it up, the song was called "Everything's Fucked." Very appropriate title for what Tara learned while the song was playing.

[Raven1707]

On 11/30/2016 at 10:25 AM, rab01 said:

Out of everybody we met at Woodbury and everyone we met subsequently in the governor's tank camp, Tara is the only survivor? (Is that right?) I would never have pegged her as the survivor of the bunch.

Hmm, I'd count Sasha as one of Woodbury's residents, since she & Tyreese were living there when the Governor first attacked the prison.

[Raven1707]

Here are the Live + Same Day ratings for "Swear":

The top of the cable rankings for Nov. 21-27 look like they usually do, but the gap between “The Walking Dead” and “Monday Night Football” was smaller than usual.

“The Walking Dead’s” lowest-rated episode since 2012 is No. 1 in adults 18-49 with a 4.9 rating, topping “MNF’s” 4.0. The 0.9-point gap, however, was smaller than it’s been all season (the previous week, for instance, “TWD” had a 1.6-point edge).

“Monday Night Football” finished No. 1 in viewers with 11.787 million, beating “The Walking Dead’s” 10.403 million.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/weekly-ratings/monday-night-football-cuts-the-walking-deads-lead-in-cable-top-25-for-nov-21-27/

And here are the Live + Same Day ratings for Season 7 so far:

10-23-16 “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” 17.029 million
10-30-16 “The Well” 12.455 million
11-06-16 “The Cell” 11.721 million
11-13-16 “Service” 11.402 million
11-20-16 “Go Getters” 10.996 million
11-27-16 “Swear” 10.403 million

Ouch!

[ByTor]

9 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

Tara's original GF was shot down by Lizzie

Thanks for this, I do not remember it happening.  Was this when the Gov was in his group after Woodbury?

7 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

She'll probably leave the island and go hunting Tara, only to get captured by Negan, meet Daryl, and become the new Beth.

Except less singy and more stabby. And without the fun lollicop arc.

Or so we wish! :)

[Mu Shu]

38 minutes ago, ByTor said:

Thanks for this, I do not remember it happening.  Was this when the Gov was in his group after Woodbury?

Or so we wish! :)

Yeah, Lizzie shot her in the head, point blank.   It was the group after Woodbury.   Debbie Wasserman Schultz looking chic.  

They could have really built a complex character with Lizzie.  But no, she dies and Tara lives on.  At this point, I feel Tara is worse than Beth and Laurie.  

[Nashville]

On 11/28/2016 at 11:46 AM, Evie said:

How many RVs did/does Alexandria have anyway?

One less - the one Negan took.  The Heath/Tara RV wasn't part of the ASZ motor pool; it was taken from the Savior satellite dish compound after CDB murdered them in their sleep.

 

2 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

They could have really built a complex character with Lizzie.  But no, she dies and Tara lives on.  At this point, I feel Tara is worse than Beth and Laurie.  

I consider Tara's outliving Glenn after Glenn rescued her to be a personal affront.

[oakville]

11 hours ago, Raven1707 said:

Here are the Live + Same Day ratings for "Swear":

The top of the cable rankings for Nov. 21-27 look like they usually do, but the gap between “The Walking Dead” and “Monday Night Football” was smaller than usual.

“The Walking Dead’s” lowest-rated episode since 2012 is No. 1 in adults 18-49 with a 4.9 rating, topping “MNF’s” 4.0. The 0.9-point gap, however, was smaller than it’s been all season (the previous week, for instance, “TWD” had a 1.6-point edge).

“Monday Night Football” finished No. 1 in viewers with 11.787 million, beating “The Walking Dead’s” 10.403 million.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/weekly-ratings/monday-night-football-cuts-the-walking-deads-lead-in-cable-top-25-for-nov-21-27/

And here are the Live + Same Day ratings for Season 7 so far:

10-23-16 “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” 17.029 million
10-30-16 “The Well” 12.455 million
11-06-16 “The Cell” 11.721 million
11-13-16 “Service” 11.402 million
11-20-16 “Go Getters” 10.996 million
11-27-16 “Swear” 10.403 million

Ouch!

Thanks for the ratings information. I am not surprised by the ratings fall. I believe that the writers have made a huge mistake by making Negan to be some evil Superman who controls the entire state of Virginia. I don't like that we only see our favourite characters once every 4 shows. The plot lines are repetitive. How many more times will Karl & Enid escape Alexandria on some fool hardy mission.

[Johnny Dollar]

There are two reasons why we get these filler episodes featuring only one or two main characters. First, I believe the actors only get paid when they actually appear in an episode. So, on a standalone basis, this particular episode must have made them a bundle. Other then renting the Gillian's Island set and buying a truckload of sand, there wasn't much money spent here. Second, the writers are awful storytellers and are trying to stretch this thing out for as long as possible before viewers realize that this show has nowhere to go. Kirkman is going to milk the comic for years, and isn't about to get into endgame territory ala GRRM and GOT. 

One other reason - Dwight got some mustard on Negan's skinny jeans, and the only American Eagle within 100 miles was fresh out of his size. 

[ganesh]

This show should be able to go on for a very long time. There's a ton of story. The problem is we're seeing basically the same 3 plots over and over. 

I'm dumbfounded as to how or why they thought Negan was going to be such a huge hit. 

[Ocean Chick]

Quote

 First, I believe the actors only get paid when they actually appear in an episode.

That's only true for some of the actors.  The main characters would get paid whether or not they're in an episode.  So AL gets paid the same amount whether he's in 16 episodes or only 3.  Same with most of the people whose names appear first in the credits (NR, DG, MMB, etc).

[kia112]

1 hour ago, Ocean Chick said:

That's only true for some of the actors.  The main characters would get paid whether or not they're in an episode.  So AL gets paid the same amount whether he's in 16 episodes or only 3.  Same with most of the people whose names appear first in the credits (NR, DG, MMB, etc).

Yeah, no WAY are they getting away with paying the star of the show for only two episodes.

[rab01]

15 hours ago, Nashville said:

I consider Tara's outliving Glenn after Glenn rescued her to be a personal affront.

That's funny, I consider Glenn outliving Nicholas after Glenn saved him to be a personal affront ;)

[AngelaHunter]

7 hours ago, Ocean Chick said:

  The main characters would get paid whether or not they're in an episode. 

I thought this is why we get entire episodes centered around a somewhat tertiary character (Beth, Tara, Morgan) in that they have to pay these people in any case, so figure they should try and get their money's worth out of them.  As for personal affronts - I was personally affronted by all these single-character eps and refuse to believe that professional writers who pen garbage like this can actually keep their jobs.

[CletusMusashi]

So.. about that zombie that was killed by a stab through the middle of the neck... have we figured out yet if that's a thing now?

[Persnickety1]

Just when I thought the show couldn't possibly get more boring than the "Cell" Daryl-centric episode, they topped themselves with this insipid tripe.

What in the fresh hell were they thinking when they centered discovering (yet another) new community and chose to put what is arguably the most boring character (and arguably one of the show's weakest actors) to carry this episode?  

I found myself fantasizing that the women of Oceanside were going to give Tara the Holly death from the comics, and as quickly as possible.  

There are only 2 more episodes this season.  They better be fucking MINDBLOWINGLY delicious, because so far at least 2 of the 6 episodes we've seen are more coma inducing than a triple dose of Ambien without any of the fun side effects.

Ugh.  

[ByTor]

Two more?  Do they do seasons in halves like Breaking Bad did for its last season?  I'm new this year to watching it in real time.

[beaker73]

2 hours ago, ByTor said:

Two more?  Do they do seasons in halves like Breaking Bad did for its last season?  I'm new this year to watching it in real time.

Yes, they do a "mid season finale."  The second half should pick up again I  February, I think.