S04.E03: Skeleton Crew

[Galileo908]

Quote

Pamela tries to redeem herself with everyone; the gang finally reach Mexico; Todd is disappointed that Zihuantanejo is not the paradise he dreamed of.

[Galileo908]

Of course they left Jasper on the island. They really should've left Pamela there. She's the new Tandy. Sigh. Good riddance.

"Everyone knows the foot is the gateway to the leg." Oh, Carol. 

I was wondering how they'd handle Glenn finding out about the virus, and man...that was pretty dark. Was not expecting bodies on the beach like that. I was right about things not ending well for Glenns. 

I totally feel bad for Todd, too. Shawshank lied to him. And most likely St. Croix is wrecked, too.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I would want closure on my kids, too, but Glenn and Pamela are likely going to have awful deaths. I didn't think they'd stay with the show vary long. And we never found out how Glenn got stuck on the island.

[GRChereck]

Damn, and I thought last week's episode got serious... O_O This one reminded me a bit of "Smart and Stupid" (2x17) -- starting out as a pretty standard-issue LMOE (in this case, with both the sneaking-around secret-romance plot and the whole "obnoxious ostracized character tries to get back into the group's good graces" thing) before taking a sharp turn into very dark territory. 

I found Pamela more irritating and less interesting when she was trying to redeem herself than when she represented a potential threat to the group (burning through supplies even after the boat had drifted into the middle of nowhere, kidnapping Tandy and leaving the others -- including a newborn, a child and a pregnant woman -- stranded on an island). Still, I liked Glenn, I'll miss him, and I'm glad he at least won't be alone to face whatever awaits him on his journey home...

23 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I didn't think they'd stay with the show vary long. And we never found out how Glenn got stuck on the island.

Yeah, I was a little disappointed about that. :\ He might have talked about it with Carol and the others in 4x2 off-screen; but I was surprised that Pamela seemed to show no curiosity about it after he told her about his kids...

Carol's change of heart towards Pamela seemed rather sudden; but I think maybe the combination of going through the hospital / being confronted again with so much death and the sight of Pamela crying in the yard renewed her sense of perspective...

I could certainly understand how Glenn wouldn't have been prepared for all that death when he saw the body-bags and skeletons on the beach; it was one thing for Carol to just tell him everyone else on Earth had died, but it's quite another to actually see the reality of the situation. :( 

And poor Todd... I guess Melissa must've assumed he picked Zihuatanejo because of its significance to the Shawshank story, rather than because he was actually expecting the place to look more like the end of the movie; otherwise, she could've spared him some disappointment by telling him a long time ago where the scene was actually filmed (simply sharing that bit of behind-the-scenes trivia any time during the past few years when they were watching the film or talking about it)... But yeah, if they try for St. Croix next, I imagine he'll probably just be disappointed again.

[possibilities]

Pamela was annoying me to the point where I almost turned off the TV. Why does Wiig have to take everything and make it annoying to such an extreme level? Her character could have been really watchable despite her bad behavior, but her demeanor was nails on chalkboard X a million.

I thought the hook up between her and New Guy was credible, because loneliness. But the devotion was unearned. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? And not only because she was the only option? And he wasn't at all concerned that she tried to kill all the other remaining humans just a day before? I wondered if he had been exiled to the island on purpose, as a punishment, because he himself was a serial killer. Maybe his people threw him overboard.

I guess we're supposed to just handwave all stupidity on the grounds that everyone is damaged by their trauma, but that's not working for me.

Why was Zihuatanejo so much more of a mess than anywhere else they've been?

On the other hand, Carol proposing they clean up the hospital and live there was gruesome, but I get it. It's the kind of thing the show does that makes me keep coming back. That, and the dog chewing on bones on the beach. When this show mixes horror with optimism, it's at its best.

I think this is the first time I can remember Todd losing it.

[piequinn35]

Was Jeremy with Pamela and Glen when they left?

[Suzysite]

They didn't show Jeremy getting into the car, but Pamela yelled, 'Jeremy says goodbye' from the car window...so I guess he was in there. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Why do we think that Glenn and Pamela are immune to the plague?  They were both quarantined during the outbreak.  I guess Pamela has been out for awhile, but Glenn has not.  Couldn't he wind up like Mike? If Mike indeed did have the plague, how did he contract it once he came to earth?

[Seelouis]

3 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Why do we think that Glenn and Pamela are immune to the plague?  They were both quarantined during the outbreak.  I guess Pamela has been out for awhile, but Glenn has not.  Couldn't he wind up like Mike? If Mike indeed did have the plague, how did he contract it once he came to earth?

Pamela only entered the bunker once everyone she knew had died.  She stole the bunker key from her dead friend.  So, presumably since she never caught it while everyone around her died, she is immune.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Why do we think that Glenn and Pamela are immune to the plague?  They were both quarantined during the outbreak.  I guess Pamela has been out for awhile, but Glenn has not.  Couldn't he wind up like Mike? If Mike indeed did have the plague, how did he contract it once he came to earth?

We have to assume the plague was airborne since everyone all over the world got it. Glen would have been just as exposed to it as anyone else - if being on an island protected people, for example, then other island nations would have survived as well. Mike (Tandy's brother) wasn't back that long before he started to show symptoms. I'm still kind of pissed we never really found out what happened to him.

Does anyone remember why they chose Zihuantanejo as their destination? Or catch how Glen knew how to navigate their way there?

I have to say age combined with a shaved head shaved resulted in the least repulsive looking I've ever seen Chris Elliot.

[piequinn35]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Does anyone remember why they chose Zihuantanejo as their destination? Or catch how Glen knew how to navigate their way there?

Todd was heading to Zihuantanejo (before he saw Tandy's Tucson sign) inspired by his favorite movie Shawshank Redemption-the dream getaway of Tim Robbins in the film.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

if being on an island protected people, for example, then other island nations would have survived as well.

Except that most island nations aren't completely cut off from the rest of civilization.  By the time the world realized what was happening, plague carriers would probably have made it to those islands and infected the residents.  If they are so remote that that didn't happen, there may still be populated islands out there.

If Pamela is immune, kind of ironic that she had one of those fancy isolation homes.  A big waste, really.  I suppose it might be better than witnessing everyone else die, though. How likely is it, though, that both Pamela and her dog, Jeremy, are immune?

I don't know if it would be better to die from the plague or from radiation poisoning.  The former is probably quicker.

Edited October 16, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[iMonrey]

Quote

Todd was heading to Zihuantanejo (before he saw Tandy's Tucson sign) inspired by his favorite movie Shawshank Redemption-the dream getaway of Tim Robbins in the film.

Yes but wasn't there another reason? Weren't they trying to get away from a nuclear power plant or something and decided Mexico was the safest place to go? 

Quote

How likely is it, though, that both Pamela and her dog, Jeremy, are immune?

Interesting to think something in her house, or in her diet, is what made her immune - something both she and the dog were exposed to.

[jcin617]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Yes but wasn't there another reason? Weren't they trying to get away from a nuclear power plant or something and decided Mexico was the safest place to go?

Yeah, nuclear plants in the US (or at least near them) were starting to meltdown (although I think they are designed to auto shutdown if unattended).  They chose Mexico because they thought it didn’t have any nuclear plants (it has 1 on the Gulf coast).

Edited October 17, 2017 by jcin617

[ottoDbusdriver]

23 hours ago, possibilities said:

Pamela was annoying me to the point where I almost turned off the TV. Why does Wiig have to take everything and make it annoying to such an extreme level? Her character could have been really watchable despite her bad behavior, but her demeanor was nails on chalkboard X a million.

Count me in too @possibilities -- Pamela was unwatchable.

I actually like Glenn -- too bad he's already gone.

[Big Mother]

I would like to know how they suddenly had a working car, with usable gasoline, in Mexico, from one moment to the next?

Also.... Carol!!! Youre almost having a baby - a hospital crawling with bacteria is the last place you should be, and you certainly shouldnt be touching bacteria-infested medical supplies!!!! Yeesh!!!!

This is like 2-3 years after the virus ended, right? Those 'bodies' in the hospital should be skeletal by now, like the bones on the beach - which was super creepy to begin with. and Jeremy munching on one! yipes.

This was a great exit for Pamela and Glenn, at least we won't know their fate for a long time (like with MIke).

Zijutaneo or however it's spelled - is 32 hours by car to San Diego, 33 to LA. I dont know where Glenn's family is from though. How many weeks on the road will it take it for them to make it to glenn's hometown???

[iMonrey]

Quote

I would like to know how they suddenly had a working car, with usable gasoline, in Mexico, from one moment to the next?

The gas thing is the one that you really have to overlook because there's no way there would be usable gas 2-3 years after all the refineries have shut down. That's a typical problem with most post-apocalyptic stories and it's seldom addressed. 

[peeayebee]

On 10/15/2017 at 10:01 PM, possibilities said:

Pamela was annoying me to the point where I almost turned off the TV. Why does Wiig have to take everything and make it annoying to such an extreme level? Her character could have been really watchable despite her bad behavior, but her demeanor was nails on chalkboard X a million.

I thought she was a funny character and that Wiig was great at playing her. There were certainly times on SNL when I got sick of the characters she tended to play, but I liked her here. Her complete acceptance that she was just going to work for everyone else was a little endearing to me, as was her inability to understand that Glenn was offering her a plate of food, not wanting her to heat it up for him or chew it up then "bird-feed" it to him. :D 

 

Quote

 

I thought the hook up between her and New Guy was credible, because loneliness. But the devotion was unearned. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? And not only because she was the only option? And he wasn't at all concerned that she tried to kill all the other remaining humans just a day before? I wondered if he had been exiled to the island on purpose, as a punishment, because he himself was a serial killer. Maybe his people threw him overboard.

I guess we're supposed to just handwave all stupidity on the grounds that everyone is damaged by their trauma, but that's not working for me.

 

It worked for me because Glenn had been alone for so long and suddenly learned about the the horrors of the virus. To go thru so much so quickly would be a huge shock to the system. That certainly affected how to related to Pamela. Almost all the world's population had been wiped out, yet the survivors are fighting and carrying hate for each other. He seemed to be a very sensitive and empathetic guy. 

[The Companion]

On 10/15/2017 at 10:00 PM, GRChereck said:

Carol's change of heart towards Pamela seemed rather sudden; but I think maybe the combination of going through the hospital / being confronted again with so much death and the sight of Pamela crying in the yard renewed her sense of perspective...

I think it was consistent with Carol, though. She is a big old softie. She forgave Tandy for his truly awful behavior more than once and her relentless optimism doesn't let her stay angry for long. 

On 10/16/2017 at 6:20 AM, Suzysite said:

They didn't show Jeremy getting into the car, but Pamela yelled, 'Jeremy says goodbye' from the car window...so I guess he was in there. 

I think he was in a dog carrier that they did show. I thought one of the pieces of luggage was actually a carrier and she put it in her lap. I could be wrong on that, though.

On 10/18/2017 at 2:05 PM, iMonrey said:

The gas thing is the one that you really have to overlook because there's no way there would be usable gas 2-3 years after all the refineries have shut down. That's a typical problem with most post-apocalyptic stories and it's seldom addressed. 

I am willing to hand wave this because I think it would have to be a relatively complex side plot and you really don't have time to get into it on a show like this (it could have been interesting in TWD). In the end, you would likely end up with some sort of steam punk type contraption or a whole lot of walking, so I am fine with just ignoring it. 

On 10/18/2017 at 10:27 PM, peeayebee said:

I thought she was a funny character and that Wiig was great at playing her. There were certainly times on SNL when I got sick of the characters she tended to play, but I liked her here. Her complete acceptance that she was just going to work for everyone else was a little endearing to me, as was her inability to understand that Glenn was offering her a plate of food, not wanting her to heat it up for him or chew it up then "bird-feed" it to him. :D 

 

I thought she was hilarious, but I really like Wiig. Maybe it is because I am an awkward human being and I tend to relate to her characters. She would have been a bit redundant had she stayed (her character was too close to Tandy), but it was kind of fun to have someone who got Tandy's humor. I know they are probably headed to a brutal death (who isn't on this show?) but I thought it was a bit of a cute ending. Who knows what they will find. New survivors have been consistently discovered. It was a better ending that exploding during a plane or dying in emergency surgery. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

On 10/20/2017 at 0:14 PM, The Companion said:

I am willing to hand wave this because I think it would have to be a relatively complex side plot and you really don't have time to get into it on a show like this (it could have been interesting in TWD). In the end, you would likely end up with some sort of steam punk type contraption or a whole lot of walking, so I am fine with just ignoring it. 

That's the really odd part -- they actually brought it up in a previous episode about how the gas was all turning to chunky-style jelly.  And then completely forgot about that fact.