S07.E14: The Other Side

[ghoulina]

15 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

The biggest problem with this show is TEMPO and how to portray what people are feeling. Always has been. Which means it's the fault of TPTB.

I do have to say, though - when that creepy Savior told her to say full words, because they have time, I was cheering him on and hoping he'd go have a word (or twelve) with Jadis. 

[smorbie]

I still think Eugene is probably planning to betray Negan.  His proclaiming his loyalty so emphatically and that he "is Negan" seems like a the lady doth protest too much sort of thing to me.  

Sasha and Rosita trying to "rescue" him at that time made no sense, especially after they heard his walkie talkie chatter.   It was obvious that he had gained the trust of Negan and there was no immediate threat against him.  Either he was a traitor, who wouldn't want to be rescued, or a very well placed spy who shouldn't be rescued.  Either way, to quote Walter White, Eugene isn't  IN danger, he IS the danger.   

Eugene is perfectly positioned to aid the rebellion against the Saviors in numerous ways:

1) He now seems to be in charge of security.  He can use this power to make the Saviors vulnerable.

2) He has the poison pill.

3) I imagine they are going to want him to start reloading ammunition cartridges soon.  He can do all kinds of mischief in that roll.  He could sneak in overcharged rounds, or undercharged rounds that lead to squibs, and cause Savior guns to blow up in their hands in the middle of combat.  If he wanted to be more subtle, he could vary the powder charges or bullet weights so that while the rounds  will fire, their point of impact will be so inconsistent that their accuracy will be horrible.  

I didn't really buy Sasha suddenly turning from the (relative) voice of reason, into the one on the suicide mission.  The sniper plan made some sense, but the 2 women (or 1 woman) raid made no sense.  Even if they somehow managed to get to Negan and kill him, the Saviors would know who did it and it would immediately bring their wrath onto Rick's group, before they were prepared, and it would take away the element of surprise.

The whole Hilltop part of the plot just seems to be and endless cycle of the same story.  Maggie and Gregory are quietly at odds with each other, Jesus is somewhere in the middle. Negan's B team shows up to intimidate Gregory and we are supposed to be in suspense at to whether he will betray Maggie and the others.  

 

 

  1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

Daryl was working my last nerve in this episode. He can't just go and hide like a good boy. He has to try peeping out, so he knows what's going on, having his knife ready - like the Saviors wouldn't know if one of their dudes just didn't get back on the truck. No, he's been down this route before, yet he thinks it's time to play Billy Badass. 

I did like his apology to Maggie. It seemed very sincere and vulnerable. It would have played better without all that hair in his face, though. 

 

I just can't get on board with Sasha and Rosita's mission. I can't picture Sasha, who always seems very intelligent and level-headed, taking part in this. And while it was nice to see the girls finally bonding, I kept thinking "you're totally missing Negan in the courtyard right now". And, of course, they miss one shot and totally abandon their sniper mission. 

I know that Rosita's whole speech was supposed to soften her again, but it didn't work for me. It sounded like she had a bunch of romantic entanglements where, from her end, it was a lot like how Abe was with her. So I'm finding it hard to have sympathy for her when Karma finally came around her way. 

And the end....why? Why is it not ROSITA'S time? But it is Sasha's??? Hell no. Rosita has been the one storming around with a death wish. Sasha has great bonds with the people back at Hilltop. Save Sasha! 

Big surprise - Eugene doesn't want to be saved. I called it. If he's back in there tattling on them I'm going to really lose it with him. 

 

So Jesus is gay. I said that aloud to my husband last night (who quit watching, but likes when I shout highlights from the couch), and he thought I was talking about the real Jesus and you should have seen his face. 

The doctors were brothers??? How confusing. 

I think having the character named Jesus be a homosexual is a gratuitous insult to Christians.  Would they dare have a gay Mohammed?

Thank you for that. I'm fuming over it. I may have watched my last episode.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

So Jesus is gay.

What did I miss? How do we know this? Whatever the clue was I should have picked up on it after reading fanfic where everyone, from Negan to Carl, is gay but I didn't. Maybe I just don't pay enough attention to what Jesus says since it never seems to be of any importance.

43 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

 I guess it's supposed to hit us in the feels that he's marginally cleaner and crying over how his impulsiveness contributed to getting Glenn killed, but not until he walked right up to the line of doing the very same thing with Maggie in the fruit cellar.

Yeah, I said this at the start of this thread. He apologizes right after nearly doing it again. If Maggie hadn't stopped him, I guess he'd have to dredge up yet another apology when someone else died for his urge-of-the-moment. "Oops. Damn,  I did it again. Uh, sorry?" Did Reedus piss off someone, that they're turning his character into a slow-witted, balky child who speaks only in words of one syllable and has no self-control?

[nodorothyparker]

Jesus had some line in his early in episode talk with Maggie when he was talking about formerly living in a group home and having boyfriends.  I admit I was bored and missed it too and only know about it because it's been specifically mentioned on social media.

[ShadowSixx]

Just now, AngelaHunter said:

What did I miss? How do we know this? Whatever the clue was I should have picked up on it after reading fanfic where everyone, from Negan to Carl, is gay but I didn't. Maybe I just don't pay enough attention to what Jesus says since it never seems to be of any importance.

Yeah, I said this at the start of this thread. He apologizes right after nearly doing it again. If Maggie hadn't stopped him, I guess he'd have to dredge up yet another apology when someone else died for his urge-of-the-moment. "Oops. Damn,  I did it again. Uh, sorry?" Did Reedus piss off someone, that they're turning his character into a slow-witted, balky child who speaks only in words of one syllable and has no self-control?

Jesus talked to Maggie about boyfriends and Maggie told him that he should try being in a relationship in the ZA. It may not last long however.

For those that are upset Jesus' real name is Paul but people at Hilltop gave him the nickname Jesus because of what he does for Hilltop. He didn't give himself that nickname. Jesus isn't a religious character like Father Gabriel because if he was I would see reasons to maybe complain but it's really not much of an issue. 

[AngelaHunter]

1 minute ago, nodorothyparker said:

Jesus had some line in his early in episode talk with Maggie when he was talking about formerly living in a group home and having boyfriends.

Thank you both. I certainly missed it. LOL! That must have induced prolonged and simultaneous orgasms in the fanfic community.

[luna1122]

How is a guy named Jesus being gay an insult to Christians? Also, I know a gay guy named Mohammed.

I liked the Darryl/Maggie scene, but I don't hate them, and was glad Daryl had showered, so there's that. I can't claim to know how I'd react in Maggie's shoes but I never occurred to me that she'd blame HIM for Negan's thuggy stupid murdering ways.

I have no problem with Rosita or anyone  opportunistically hooking up with men who could provide her skills but also for the fun sex part in the ZA. We survive how we survive. I did think that they'd both laugh over how, had it not been a ZA, neither of them would have ever even glanced Abraham's big ginger way.

Edited March 20, 2017 by luna1122
Rosita and Sasha: not the same person.

[allyw]

54 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

There are many Fails that can be awarded to this show, including lack of a good dialect coach.

But to me the biggest Fail goes to TPTB, which I think most of us would agree with. It's nowhere as evident as in this season, IMO. We had the horrid deaths of Glenn and Abraham. Many so us -- both viewers and professional critics (unlike us unpaid hacks) -- wanted to see the repercussions of that. Some of us even openly wondered if Daryl felt guilty for Glenn's death. And some wondered about Sasha, Rosita and the Big Red Man. We wanted to see some feelings!!! (Which, btw, is different than having a skull crushed in...well, unless you're 12.)

I even remember Gimple talking about it on TTD.

Yet, here we are, what seems to be MONTHS later, and we're just getting around to it. Yet--even then--more time is devoted to Enid and the pervert, than Maggie and Daryl.

The biggest problem with this show is TEMPO and how to portray what people are feeling. Always has been. Which means it's the fault of TPTB.

I mean, here we are, coming to one of the biggest battles the show has ever portrayed, and things are STILL moving at a snail's pace. We're still meeting new people. There are certain things we know will happen, but they haven 't yet (Hello, beach trip, and may I borrow one of your guns). Maggie is just NOW talking to Daryl.

Yes, you shouldn't shoot your wad all at once...but what about four play? Build some tension.

Oh, that's right...we're talking about Kirkland and Gimple.

You're definitively right about the pacing. I don't know if it's because tptb just can't do a better job or it's because they want to drag everything out but either way it's the viewers who suffer.

 

ETA: I don't think Lauren Cohan pissed anyone off. I'm not a comic reader but from what I gathered from some of them was that Maggie disappeared from several issues of the comic after Glenn died only to reappear as the new leader of Hilltop. So I guess they're just following the comic instead of actually adapting it to fit th e TV medium.

Edited March 20, 2017 by allyw

[Sparger Springs]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I still think Eugene is probably planning to betray Negan.  His proclaiming his loyalty so emphatically and that he "is Negan" seems like a the lady doth protest too much sort of thing to me.  

Sasha and Rosita trying to "rescue" him at that time made no sense, especially after they heard his walkie talkie chatter.   It was obvious that he had gained the trust of Negan and there was no immediate threat against him.  Either he was a traitor, who wouldn't want to be rescued, or a very well placed spy who shouldn't be rescued.  Either way, to quote Walter White, Eugene isn't  IN danger, he IS the danger.   

Eugene is perfectly positioned to aid the rebellion against the Saviors in numerous ways:

1) He now seems to be in charge of security.  He can use this power to make the Saviors vulnerable.

2) He has the poison pill.

3) I imagine they are going to want him to start reloading ammunition cartridges soon.  He can do all kinds of mischief in that roll.  He could sneak in overcharged rounds, or undercharged rounds that lead to squibs, and cause Savior guns to blow up in their hands in the middle of combat.  If he wanted to be more subtle, he could vary the powder charges or bullet weights so that while the rounds  will fire, their point of impact will be so inconsistent that their accuracy will be horrible.  

I didn't really buy Sasha suddenly turning from the (relative) voice of reason, into the one on the suicide mission.  The sniper plan made some sense, but the 2 women (or 1 woman) raid made no sense.  Even if they somehow managed to get to Negan and kill him, the Saviors would know who did it and it would immediately bring their wrath onto Rick's group, before they were prepared, and it would take away the element of surprise.

The whole Hilltop part of the plot just seems to be and endless cycle of the same story.  Maggie and Gregory are quietly at odds with each other, Jesus is somewhere in the middle. Negan's B team shows up to intimidate Gregory and we are supposed to be in suspense at to whether he will betray Maggie and the others.  

 

 

I think having the character named Jesus be a homosexual is a gratuitous insult to Christians.  Would they dare have a gay Mohammed?

Probably Mohammed is one of the most common names in the world. More common than John,

[Ocean Chick]

I totally agree with the whole "Maggie is as flat as a board, but the sonogram shows a baby who's about ready to start walking" thing.  Stupid.

I really want grammer Nazi Savior to meet up with the Garbage Pail Kids - let him school Jadis about words.  That would be cool.  "Hey lady - we use full sentences here.  Subject and predicate.  Nouns and verb agreement.  Adjectives and adverbs.  Now try again!"

I don't mind Sasha leaving this way.  She's been depressed before.  Remember after the prison?  And how about on the road after Beth died - remember how Michonne had to yell at her for going after the walkers by the bridge?  So her suicide plan for killing Negan makes sense.  And SMG has got an awesome job lined up, so that's a bonus.

I love Rosita's backstory - seems very intelligent to me.  Find out what people are good at and then learn from them.  And have some fun sex along the way - both of you get some good times.  It's win/win.  The only problem would be the fear of pregnancy, but maybe Rosita is infertile?  I doubt that any of the guys she was with were left feeling used or disappointed.  And I still think Mr. Dolphin Smooth was an ass, the way he handled the breakup.  There were kinder ways of doing it.

I thought Eugene was pulling a long con, but now I'm not so sure.  He might just like feeling appreciated and safer with the Saviors.  And like feeling smarter than the majority of people around him (which isn't that hard, considering the IQ of the average Savior).  And they got cardamom gelato!

[ghoulina]

24 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

I don't see anything wrong with Rosita using sex to get ahead in the ZA.  She's a grown woman and I would imagine the men were grown too.  We've seen lots of people willing to use violence or manipulation to get what they wanted.  With sex (the consensual sort, that is), everyone wins.

I have ZERO problems with it. My only issue was the fact that Rosita got so mad that Abraham wasn't really into HER for anything more than sex, when she likely did the same thing with half a dozen guys before him. 

[Mu Shu]

10 hours ago, Nashville said:

Fortunately we live in a digital world...

May be pure misdirection on the part of Production, but that looks like Daryl to me.

I think it looks like Michael Jackson.  Hooray!  How I have missed his music.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Did Reedus piss off someone, that they're turning his character into a slow-witted, balky child who speaks only in words of one syllable and has no self-control?

That makes him perfect for junkyard ambassador....

[JackONeill]

Reedus has always been, to me, a two-part performer. The feral and dangerous don't-know-what-he's-going-to-kill-to-bring-to-dinner kind of guy. The soldier. The fighter. The one on the front line, no questions asked.

But then there's the other side. The weepy side. The self-doubting person. (Remember the breakdown after Beth.)

He can function when he's got someone like Rick or Merle by his side...but on his own, he has some weaknesses.

[paigow]

Quoted from Cletus in locked thread:

I believe that the official name for the Gregory/Simon ship is "Grimon."

Would like to submit following [not 100% compliant with naming conventions]: Sigourney

[JackONeill]

Stray thought thanks to paigow.

Guest-starring on a very special episode of The Walking Dead: Sigourney Weaver.

Of course, it'd be a one-time deal. After all, all the walkers AND bad guys would be gone in one episode.

[The Mighty Peanut]

I hope the theory of Eugene's Long Con is right! It would suck for him to go from someone willing to complete a suicide mission for CDB back to a little pissant. I would just think he'd have a different reaction to Rosita than literally falling to the ground and crying. He doesn't have to tell her he's going to sabotage their ammo and find a moment to slip Negan a death pill. "I have to stay here. Trust me on this," or "If I go they'd take it out on Alexandria" would have sufficed. But, yeah...tv show, suspension of disbelief and all that. Here's hoping he's not being a dick.

[Guest]

Several posts have been hidden for breaking our Be Civil rule. 

Please keep in mind that not everyone shares the same views and not everyone is going to agree and that's fine as long as it remains civil.  If you see an issue, please report it and then ignore it. 

[JackONeill]

You know, the relationship Eugene had with Abraham (get your minds out of the gutter!) is something probably a lot of us can NOT relate to. Some of us are in relationships, some are married, some divorced. But that takes us only so far. But Abraham saved Eugene's life on multiple occasions. (Yes, I know there were others before Abraham.) But we saw what the two of them built. At first, Eugene was totally reliant on Abraham (sort of like Carol was back in Season 1 and even 2.) Then they had the nasty breakup, to be followed with a wondrous re-embrace of friendship. Along the way and BECAUSE of Abraham, Eugene was able to grow. No, he is not going to betray the cause! No way.

[NutmegsDad]

4 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Eugene is perfectly positioned to aid the rebellion against the Saviors in numerous ways:

1) He now seems to be in charge of security.  He can use this power to make the Saviors vulnerable.

2) He has the poison pill.

3) I imagine they are going to want him to start reloading ammunition cartridges soon.  He can do all kinds of mischief in that roll.  He could sneak in overcharged rounds, or undercharged rounds that lead to squibs, and cause Savior guns to blow up in their hands in the middle of combat.  If he wanted to be more subtle, he could vary the powder charges or bullet weights so that while the rounds  will fire, their point of impact will be so inconsistent that their accuracy will be horrible.  

Saviours use overwhelming firepower and numbers to maintain order. That's why, when they go into a settlement, you can hear "Ride of the Valkyres" in the background. Take away their guns, or force them in a position where they don't have guns to use, and you have the advantage in hand-to-hand -- even Negan with Lucille.

Rick and his group have quite a bit of hand-to-hand experience.

We will see if Eugene is playing the long con, or he is just siding with Negan as the safest shelter present. Rick couldn't stop Negan from killing Abraham, why should he risk Negan's wrath.

[BetyBee]

Is it possible that Lauren Cohen doesn't want to look pregnant until absolutely necessary?  And it probably won't be necessary because the baby might not make it to term anyway.  Otherwise, I have no idea why she's not showing.  Time is pretty fluid on this show.  We probably won't see Sasha die until the finale, if then.  

 

[Boofish]

So a strong, likable, capable, smart character is gay and people are upset because his NICKNAME is Jesus?  

[Juliegirlj]

I saw a little talk bubble ?on Maggie's baby during the ultrasound and it said "I am Negan" !! 

Eugene staying in Negan's camp must have a purpose-I am also thinking he aids Sasha with an assisted suicide for mercy. 

Rosita is right-at the end of the civilized world, everyone should be getting their rocks off! 

That Daryl and Maggie scene <could> have been SO great. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, like so much of this show now....

[bosawks]

I oddly feel cheated out of more Sasha and Enid scenes.

[AngelaHunter]

14 hours ago, Nashville said:

Fortunately we live in a digital world...

Good capture. I thought it was Daryl because of the way he said, "Where's Sasha and Rosita?" I thought he'd rush off to either redeem himself or get more people killed with his lack of foresight and impulse control. I guess we'll see which it's going to be.

 

16 hours ago, Artsda said:

Noo Sasha goes in there and sacrifices herself for Rosita? This was all Rosita's plan let her go sacrifice herself!  We're going to lose Sasha, but keep Rosita? No.

I didn't see her as sacrificing herself FOR Rosita. Remember her severe depression and emotional breakdown when they first got to Alexandria? Then she saw Hellboy get his noggin crushed in front of her and I think she just doesn't particularly care about living anymore and saw no point in Rosita dying too.

ETA: I still don't think Sasha is dead.

Edited March 20, 2017 by AngelaHunter

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Friendship Matters To Sasha, Rosita, And Even Jesus On The Walking Dead

Everyone's plotting against Negan, but not everybody's on the same page.

[Ashura77]

7 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

 

I think having the character named Jesus be a homosexual is a gratuitous insult to Christians.  Would they dare have a gay Mohammed?

 

Then again, trying it out in a more polite way:

Jesus is Paul Rovia's nickname and he is also gay in the comics, and I am glad they didn't change it just to suit a few people who don't like gays and lesbians and feel offended on a personal level by everything. Must be a religious thing, well, we're in 2017 and gays and lesbians are as normal as straight people and should be shown in shows too. Some people in the Black Sails fandom got offended too by a gay/bisexual outing of one main character, I just can't understand things like that, seems out of the world I live in where homosexuals are seen as normal, regular people who have the same rights as straight people.

[EllenC]

5 hours ago, allyw said:

ETA: I don't think Lauren Cohan pissed anyone off. I'm not a comic reader but from what I gathered from some of them was that Maggie disappeared from several issues of the comic after Glenn died only to reappear as the new leader of Hilltop.. So I guess they're just following the comic instead of actually adapting it to fit the TV medium.

And this would be the biggest problem I have with Seasons 6-7. As opposed to the earlier seasons, when I thought they did a much better job of weaving together comic and not-comic storytelling. This episode and its "oh, yeah, Maggie, Sasha and how everybody felt about Glenn and Abraham, let's get back to that fallout now, a little" angle is only one small example. I'm now much more likely to feel like I'm watching a cartoon. (I know it's dumb to say I previously found a show about zombies much more realistic, but there it is.) Not that I expect or desire an hour of everyone's feelings, etc., but the storytelling threads have felt so disjointed.

Edited March 20, 2017 by EllenC
meant to include more of the quote

[Haleth]

15 hours ago, Nashville said:

Fortunately we live in a digital world...

May be pure misdirection on the part of Production, but that looks like Daryl to me.

Good lord, if Daryl gets caught again because of Rosita's half baked plan someone is going to get hurt. 

[bosawks]

 Can Sasha at least kill Negan so we can get Simon as the big bad for next season?

[Gobi]

7 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I still think Eugene is probably planning to betray Negan.  His proclaiming his loyalty so emphatically and that he "is Negan" seems like a the lady doth protest too much sort of thing to me.  

Sasha and Rosita trying to "rescue" him at that time made no sense, especially after they heard his walkie talkie chatter.   It was obvious that he had gained the trust of Negan and there was no immediate threat against him.  Either he was a traitor, who wouldn't want to be rescued, or a very well placed spy who shouldn't be rescued.  Either way, to quote Walter White, Eugene isn't  IN danger, he IS the danger.   

Eugene is perfectly positioned to aid the rebellion against the Saviors in numerous ways:

1) He now seems to be in charge of security.  He can use this power to make the Saviors vulnerable.

2) He has the poison pill.

3) I imagine they are going to want him to start reloading ammunition cartridges soon.  He can do all kinds of mischief in that roll.  He could sneak in overcharged rounds, or undercharged rounds that lead to squibs, and cause Savior guns to blow up in their hands in the middle of combat.  If he wanted to be more subtle, he could vary the powder charges or bullet weights so that while the rounds  will fire, their point of impact will be so inconsistent that their accuracy will be horrible.  

I didn't really buy Sasha suddenly turning from the (relative) voice of reason, into the one on the suicide mission.  The sniper plan made some sense, but the 2 women (or 1 woman) raid made no sense.  Even if they somehow managed to get to Negan and kill him, the Saviors would know who did it and it would immediately bring their wrath onto Rick's group, before they were prepared, and it would take away the element of surprise.

The whole Hilltop part of the plot just seems to be and endless cycle of the same story.  Maggie and Gregory are quietly at odds with each other, Jesus is somewhere in the middle. Negan's B team shows up to intimidate Gregory and we are supposed to be in suspense at to whether he will betray Maggie and the others.  

 

 

I think having the character named Jesus be a homosexual is a gratuitous insult to Christians.  Would they dare have a gay Mohammed?

Did they start calling him Jesus because he turned the other cheek?

[bosawks]

What's wrong with a gay Mohammed?

Why do I find  Simon and Gregory and Richard interesting but my continued response to Negan is "meh".

[AngelaHunter]

43 minutes ago, EllenC said:

(I know it's dumb to say I previously found a show about zombies much more realistic, but there it is.)

Not dumb at all, IMO. I started watching this show because I wanted to see how normal, regular people would survive and go on after some sort of apocalypse (didn't have to be zombies, could have been nuclear, like "Threads" or whatever). I didn't know it was adapted from a comic book, had never heard of the comics, but the idea intrigued me. We did get some of that for the first few seasons (mixed in with a lot of nonsense, like everyone who had lost everything were totally absorbed by Lori's pregnancy. Ugh) but now I feel it's all over-the-top comic book, and I don't read comics so I've kind of lost interest. I guess maybe there are two types of people who watch this show and I fall into the category of wanting human stories. It's just not happening for me, at least.

On another topic - Rick and Michonne? They have so little chemistry - IMO - that their sexy-time scenes make me actually look away. But that's par for the course for this show. I guess the writers and Kirkman aren't really into that sort of thing. Torture porn is more their forte.

[Mu Shu]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

Good capture. I thought it was Daryl because of the way he said, "Where's Sasha and Rosita?" I thought he'd rush off to either redeem himself or get more people killed with his lack of foresight and impulse control. I guess we'll see which it's going to be.

 

I didn't see her as sacrificing herself FOR Rosita. Remember her severe depression and emotional breakdown when they first got to Alexandria? Then she saw Hellboy get his noggin crushed in front of her and I think she just doesn't particularly care about living anymore and saw no point in Rosita dying too.

ETA: I still don't think Sasha is dead.

Since we've met Sasha, she lost her new BF, lost her brother, and lost her new BF again.  She has no family left, so I guess she's finally checking out.  She's a decent character, but not terribly compelling.  Still, I could lose Tara, Maggie, Daryl, and Aaron's wimpy BF before Sasha.  She's pretty. 

 

Oh, and I'm pro Savior regarding "veggies".  Say the fucking word. Vegetables.   We all have the time to say it. 

Finally, the knives are well and good against people who can't fight and aren't armed, but one of those small women going against a guy with a baseball bat and a really long reach won't ever win.  

And finally finally, I love the actor (Josh?) portraying Eugene.  He doesn't just read lines, he physically becomes Eugene with that awkward shuffle and stiff Gorilla shoulders.   

Edited March 20, 2017 by Mu Shu

[AngelaHunter]

3 minutes ago, Mu Shu said:

Still, I could lose Tara, Maggie, Daryl, and Aaron's wimpy BF before Sasha.  She's pretty. 

I don't care about her looks, but agree she's more compelling than Aaron's wimpy, wuvy-dovey boyfriend and certainly more than Tara. On rewatching the first few minutes of Tara's arrival at the... whatever that place was called, all I could think was, "What an awful actor she is."

[millennium]

12 hours ago, Save Yourself said:

That nearly sent me into a coma, it was so so boring. I say it nearly episode but why they think only showing one storyline per episode is a great way of doing things is beyond me. Clearly just a cost cutting measure. Ugh!

My suspicion is it's not so much cost-cutting.  It's padding to disguise the fact that they have only the thinnest of plots.   Strip it down and this season is maybe four or five episodes long.   But if they tell the same story from ten different viewpoints, they get to drag this thing out ad nauseum until the last couple episodes when they'll finally introduce some action and probably kill a cast member for dramatic effect.    It's just filler we're getting every week.

I don't mind when the individual episodes are good -- "The Grove," for example, a couple seasons ago -- but it feels like we're watching the same episode every week now.

[thuganomics85]

So, Rosita and Sasha's little suicidal road trip, ends up becoming a nice bonding experience, followed by a betrayal, as Sasha basically locks Rosita out, because she believes that it isn't Rosita's "time" yet, and has taken it upon herself to go out in a blaze of glory.  Knowing Sonequa Martin-Green's future project, I couldn't help but just see that scene as Sasha being all "Sorry, Rosita!  I hear Star Trek calling my name!  Time to be beamed up, now.  Peace!!"  Still, it was fun while it lasted.  But I really can't see Sasha making it out of this alive, unless Negan decides to just torture her, which knowing him, is a possibility, I guess.  I just hope she takes out a few goons on her way out (because she sure won't be the one to take out Negan, I suspect.)

I don't care how much of a selfish, arrogant weasel he is: Gregory still cracks me up.  Xander Berkeley is just that damn awesome.  Sometimes he feels like he is on another show, but that makes him all the more better.  I just crack up over all the times he throws his weight around (or puts on a show like he is), but then quickly becomes the meek "Yes, sir!" guy, as soon as Simon shows up.  He is the perfect personification of mid-level management!  And I also continue to find Simon way more fun than Negan.  Not sure if his lines are just funnier or Steven Ogg is a better fit, but I so wish he was the main villain this season.

At least they finally had Daryl acknowledge his part in Glenn getting the bat, but his scene with Maggie was still underwhelming.  Then again, it strangely feels like Glenn's death has been pushed aside, and all of the focus has been on Abe meeting Lucille.  Abe was entertaining and everything, but Glenn being a victim was way more significant in my mind, and he's been treated almost like an after-thought.

I honestly keep forgetting Maggie is pregnant.

That attempted stalling scene with Enid and the vegetables, was so dumb and obvious, that I really can't buy that the Savior didn't suspect something was up.

Unless this is one major con, Eugene really is Team Negan now.  Then again, considering how things have been going on the other side, I almost can't blame him at this point.

Only two episodes left.  Yeah, no way are we going to be getting a significant battle by finale time.  At best, maybe a little fight, but Negan and the Saviors will probably still be here next season.  Sigh.

[Rachel RSL]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

Rick and Michonne? They have so little chemistry

Thank you! I thought it was just me who felt that way. I actually don't think Rick has had chemistry with any of the women he's been with so, I don't know, maybe the problem is Andrew Lincoln?

[oakville]

8 hours ago, smorbie said:

Thank you for that. I'm fuming over it. I may have watched my last episode.

I never thought of that. There was a women wearing a hijab in the last episode who was talking to Ezekiel.

Perhaps, the Walking Dead is trying to make itself more marketable to diverse audiences. ?

8 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

So, Rosita and Sasha's little suicidal road trip, ends up becoming a nice bonding experience, followed by a betrayal, as Sasha basically locks Rosita out, because she believes that it isn't Rosita's "time" yet, and has taken it upon herself to go out in a blaze of glory.  Knowing Sonequa Martin-Green's future project, I couldn't help but just see that scene as Sasha being all "Sorry, Rosita!  I hear Star Trek calling my name!  Time to be beamed up, now.  Peace!!"  Still, it was fun while it lasted.  But I really can't see Sasha making it out of this alive, unless Negan decides to just torture her, which knowing him, is a possibility, I guess.  I just hope she takes out a few goons on her way out (because she sure won't be the one to take out Negan, I suspect.)

I don't care how much of a selfish, arrogant weasel he is: Gregory still cracks me up.  Xander Berkeley is just that damn awesome.  Sometimes he feels like he is on another show, but that makes him all the more better.  I just crack up over all the times he throws his weight around (or puts on a show like he is), but then quickly becomes the meek "Yes, sir!" guy, as soon as Simon shows up.  He is the perfect personification of mid-level management!  And I also continue to find Simon way more fun than Negan.  Not sure if his lines are just funnier or Steven Ogg is a better fit, but I so wish he was the main villain this season.

At least they finally had Daryl acknowledge his part in Glenn getting the bat, but his scene with Maggie was still underwhelming.  Then again, it strangely feels like Glenn's death has been pushed aside, and all of the focus has been on Abe meeting Lucille.  Abe was entertaining and everything, but Glenn being a victim was way more significant in my mind, and he's been treated almost like an after-thought.

I honestly keep forgetting Maggie is pregnant.

That attempted stalling scene with Enid and the vegetables, was so dumb and obvious, that I really can't buy that the Savior didn't suspect something was up.

Unless this is one major con, Eugene really is Team Negan now.  Then again, considering how things have been going on the other side, I almost can't blame him at this point.

Only two episodes left.  Yeah, no way are we going to be getting a significant battle by finale time.  At best, maybe a little fight, but Negan and the Saviors will probably still be here next season.  Sigh.

Gregory is hilarious as a leader. He's the Michael Scott of the Zombie Acopalypse. Simon is a better villain than Negan.

[AngelaHunter]

2 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

I don't know, maybe the problem is Andrew Lincoln?

I mentioned before that some actors, even really good actors like Russell Crowe, cannot do romance in any way that is remotely believable. AL is cringe-worthy in his scenes with Michonne. He was the same with Jessie and even with Lori. His voice, his expressions, his manner of speaking to them is so forced, so fake and so non-passionate it's almost laughable, if not squicky,  and I can't imagine any woman being turned on.  I've rarely seen such unerotic sex scenes before. Let him have some booty calls here and there, but no romantic entanglements, please! Stick to action.

 

11 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Unless this is one major con, Eugene really is Team Negan now.  Then again, considering how things have been going on the other side, I almost can't blame him at this point.

 I don't blame him at all. He's definitely gone up in life, at least until Negan is displeased with him, so he may as well enjoy it while it lasts.

[oakville]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

Not dumb at all, IMO. I started watching this show because I wanted to see how normal, regular people would survive and go on after some sort of apocalypse (didn't have to be zombies, could have been nuclear, like "Threads" or whatever). I didn't know it was adapted from a comic book, had never heard of the comics, but the idea intrigued me. We did get some of that for the first few seasons (mixed in with a lot of nonsense, like everyone who had lost everything were totally absorbed by Lori's pregnancy. Ugh) but now I feel it's all over-the-top comic book, and I don't read comics so I've kind of lost interest. I guess maybe there are two types of people who watch this show and I fall into the category of wanting human stories. It's just not happening for me, at least.

On another topic - Rick and Michonne? They have so little chemistry - IMO - that their sexy-time scenes make me actually look away. But that's par for the course for this show. I guess the writers and Kirkman aren't really into that sort of thing. Torture porn is more their forte.

I would have preferred a show modeled on the BBC Survivors where ordinary people try to recover from a massive virus that kills 99% of the population. There were villains, but not over the top ones like Negan or the Governor.

1 hour ago, bosawks said:

What's wrong with a gay Mohammed?

Why do I find  Simon and Gregory and Richard interesting but my continued response to Negan is "meh".

I think the show could be subject to protests if they had a a gay  Muslim  character . The Muslim religion does not approve of homosexuality.

[Bryce Lynch]

Was anyone else annoyed with AMC putting Into the Badlands on after TWD and before Talking Dead?

They arer really trying to force feed that show to TWD viewers.  First they held back the TWD preview, in Glen's fake death episode, until about 20 minutes into ITBL to try to force us to watch it, now this.

It has totally backfired with me.  I have refused to watch ITBL since the preview stunt and I didn't watch it or Talking Dead last night.  They should really show more respect for their viewers.

[millennium]

54 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

And I also continue to find Simon way more fun than Negan.  Not sure if his lines are just funnier or Steven Ogg is a better fit, but I so wish he was the main villain this season.

 

You know, that might have worked.  Unlike JDM, he's a character, not a caricature.

 

56 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

Thank you! I thought it was just me who felt that way. I actually don't think Rick has had chemistry with any of the women he's been with so, I don't know, maybe the problem is Andrew Lincoln?

Rick's emotional range has two poles: serious-as-cancer and crazy-as-a-shithouse-rat.    I like the character a lot, but I don't think romance has any place on his spectrum.

[lmsweb]

Just a quick thought....when Sasha and Rosita were bonding, wasn't there part of the conversation dealing with how Sasha had found actual happiness with Abraham (like he was her "one") but Rosita had yet to find it? And then Sasha said something about Rosita still being able to find it.

I'm paraphrasing and likely have the wording off, but I wonder if that's why Sasha was all "I'm going to go sacrifice myself for you because I found true wuv and you haven't, so go out and find some while you still can"

In other words - Sasha is assuming she won't find happiness again (even though, you know, she said the exact same thing after Bob got BBQ'd and then ended up with the Dolphin). Maybe I'm overthinking this and giving the writers too much credit.

As for Andrew Lincoln - as adorable as his scene was in Love Actually, there was zero chemistry there. Like most of you are saying, I think it's an issue with him, not the pair.

[raven]

Halfway through and this ep is pretty boring....Simon and Gregory interacting is fun, especially when Simon talks about "shenanigans afoot",  Wheeeeeeee!  We definitely need more shenanigans on this show. 

Can we get original recipe Darryl back?  Emo Darryl is dull.   Norman Reedus can do the snarky humor - who remembers "chokeholds are illegal!"  Let's get past this dourrrrr war and have some fun again.

When did Sasha get that nifty leather jacket? 

Rosita says what a lot of us think "the world's over, everyone should be getting their rocks off"  Good for her for deciding to survive and finding a way to do it.   I think she did care about Abraham.

It's nice to have these moments - Sasha/Rosita, Glenn/Maggie - but this show is just not good at balancing them with everything else.   We waste time with the idiots in the junkyard instead of people we've known.

I'm still not sure why everyone gives Gregory the evil eye.  In his way he tries to keep it together.  Or maybe I'm more forgiving because he's Xander Berkeley.

I don't think Eugene is playing a con and I'm not surprised he didn't go.  He has prestige, food, video games and gets hugs from the big man.  What more could he want?  Plus the last time he was Rosita she ragged on him. 

Aw, Sasha you had "DOOM" written on your forehead.  What a twist it would be if she actually kills Negan.  No way the show would let that happen though.

[Macbeth]

2 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I don't care how much of a selfish, arrogant weasel he is: Gregory still cracks me up.  Xander Berkeley is just that damn awesome.  Sometimes he feels like he is on another show, but that makes him all the more better.  I just crack up over all the times he throws his weight around (or puts on a show like he is), but then quickly becomes the meek "Yes, sir!" guy, as soon as Simon shows up.  He is the perfect personification of mid-level management! 

I was so thrilled when Xander was added to the cast.  He does weaselly so well.  Always fun to watch.

[mightysparrow]

I'm surprised that having the character nicknamed 'Jesus' being gay is the sticking point for some.  It's the nickname itself that makes me a little queasy but that's a personal thing.  I don't think OriginalRecipeJesus would have a problem with a character named after him being gay, since he said we're ALL his children.  I think ORJ might have an issue with the fact that his namesake is such a CRAP character, but he's been through worse.

Speaking of crap characters, it's getting so hard to keep watching when there are so few characters worth rooting for.  Watching Sasha run off was so bittersweet because while it was nice knowing that Sonnequa was running off to a better future, it made me sad to see another character that I cared about running off to almost certain death.  I used to really LIKE Maggie and Daryl and I can't believe what Gimple has done to them.  It really surprised me when I realized that I was enjoying the Gregory scenes more than just about anything in last night's episode because at least the actor can ACT.

[FishyJoe]

Did Rosita even think about the fact that Negan or his crew would burn Alexandria to the ground and mount everyones heads on sticks if she was found dead or alive?

They had to be the worst assassins ever. Even the outpost raid was better thought out then that stupid adventure. 

[AngelaHunter]

2 hours ago, millennium said:

Rick's emotional range has two poles: serious-as-cancer and crazy-as-a-shithouse-rat.    I like the character a lot, but I don't think romance has any place on his spectrum.

You put it much better and much more succinctly than I did - ha!

 

3 hours ago, oakville said:

There were villains, but not over the top ones like Negan or the Governor.

Compared to Negan, the Gov seems the epitome of restraint in retrospect.

2 hours ago, lmsweb said:

I'm paraphrasing and likely have the wording off, but I wonder if that's why Sasha was all "I'm going to go sacrifice myself for you because I found true wuv and you haven't, so go out and find some while you still can"

Anyone who thinks they found true wuv with Abraham is delusional. His own wife preferred to off herself rather than spend eternity in isolation with him.

Just the "When you're mixing the Bisquick, you tryin' to make pancakes?" would be enough for me to dump his smooth ass.

[smorbie]

3 hours ago, oakville said:

I never thought of that. There was a women wearing a hijab in the last episode who was talking to Ezekiel.

Perhaps, the Walking Dead is trying to make itself more marketable to diverse audiences. ?

Gregory is hilarious as a leader. He's the Michael Scott of the Zombie Acopalypse. Simon is a better villain than Negan.

Well, they've lost at least one loyal viewer.