S08.E11: Dead or Alive Or

[nodorothyparker]

Quote

Daryl finds himself in bad company as his group heads to the Hilltop.  Maggie makes difficult decisions at the Hilltop as Gabriel's faith becomes tested.

[walnutqueen]

Oh, come on now, show.  Surely SOMEONE can come up with something better than this ...

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Welp, Gabriel;s plan was an EPIC fail.

 

 

RI.P. Doc Carson, say hi to Carl, Sasha, Abe and Glenn for me.

[GenerationX]

The force, Gabriel, use the force.

[nodorothyparker]

So Gabriel's big adventure got him right back where he started, now with seriously runny eyes and Blind Vision.  Yeah, I'm going to bed.

[shanndee]

Huh. I forgot this was on...again. Its in the PVR.  I'll watch it now (probably on fast forward) and I'll catch up with you all shortly. 

[ShadowHunter]

I don't care for Dwight much but I don't like Tara either so those scenes gave me nothing.

Knew Carson's days were numbered since they introduced the new guy and he is already setting up a Med room.

Maggie still does not look pregnant.

Gabriel while being foolish did not annoy me that much. 

[EllipticalAddicted]

Maggie's taking so long to have this baby that the new doctor (Sayid?) will be a very very very old man when he helps deliver baby Glenn.

[tennisgurl]

Man, sucks to be Gabriel today. Of course as soon as I start liking Doc Carson and enjoying his dynamic with Gabe, he dies. That was pretty depressing, not gonna lie. 

Eugene is clearly a man with his priorities in tact: Wine, protective googles, and medieval style catapults to launch limps at people. 

[walnutqueen]

1 minute ago, ShadowHunter said:

Maggie still does not look pregnant.

And Tara still does ...

[RedDelicious]

Tara has amazing skin. Rosita does too but Tara. One might even say it's dolphin smooth. Damn.

[AngelaHunter]

Dwight wanted to use the crossbow with one functioning arm? What a man! Did he really think Daryl was going to give it to him? That was one small swamp. Hard to understand why Negan thought it so dangerous he declared it off limits to his gang.

Why is FPP crying over the doctor? They followed the Path so it must be His plan that the doc bites it.

Doc walks into a room in the cabin where pill bottles are ankle deep. Never thinks of looking at them. FPP asks what pill labels say. Dr. is surprised as hell. Golly, would you look at that! Full bottles of antibiotics! How fortuitous. And the piggy bank, which Gabriel broke because He was guiding his arm, contains car keys and a map!

I still love my CC: [walkers burble]

Tara, for the love of all that's holy, STFU and go away! You are a useless irritant. "You don't get to change sides," says the idiot because only SHE gets to do that. I was hoping Daryl would shoot her. Too bad Judith the Mute was there, or he might have.

Gotta say, the wires on the prison enclosure seem to be pretty far apart, yet no one can escape? Maggie is willing to cut down food for "her people" to feed Negan's men?

When the shout of "Rick's at the gate" went up, I bet a few people were thinking, "Shit. Don't we have enough problems?"

Actually I liked this better than I liked last week's ep. But since I hated that, not saying much I guess. I'm ignoring the catapult thing. It's too stupid for words.

[tennisgurl]

Did Tara totally forget that she switched sides when she first met the gang? When she was rolling with the Governor, even as it became completely clear that the dude was bugfuck crazy? She switched sides, and everyone was pretty cool with it, and her pal the Gov hacked Beth and Maggie's dads head off with a freaking katana! Not that you have to be BFFs with the guy or totally trust him, but have a little self awareness Tara!

[jcin617]

20 minutes ago, ShadowHunter said:

Maggie still does not look pregnant.

She looks pretty good for her 8th trimester.

[AngelaHunter]

Oh, and when Dwight apologized to the annoying Tara for Denise? I'm thinking, who the fuck is Denise before I recalled the arrow through the eye just as she was giving a lively monologue at an inappropriate time. I bet we won't see as much angst over Carl as we have over Tara's little g/f, who - IIRC - she probably knew for a couple weeks? 

Edited March 12, 2018 by AngelaHunter
Gah, too much wine again.

[oakville]

6 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Did Tara totally forget that she switched sides when she first met the gang? When she was rolling with the Governor, even as it became completely clear that the dude was bugfuck crazy? She switched sides, and everyone was pretty cool with it, and her pal the Gov hacked Beth and Maggie's dads head off with a freaking katana! Not that you have to be BFFs with the guy or totally trust him, but have a little self awareness Tara!

Tara  makes a dumb mistake by letting Dwight go back to the Saviors. It seems that every week, some character from Alexandria makes a stupid decision for the sake of the plot.

[shanndee]

14 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

   

 

14 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

...

Tara, for the love of all that's holy, STFU and go away! You are a useless irritant. "You don't get to change sides," says the idiot because only SHE gets to do that. I was hoping Daryl would shoot her. Too bad Judith the Mute was there, or he might have.

...

When the shout of "Rick's at the gate" went up, I bet a few people were thinking, "Shit. Don't we have enough problems?"

Actually I liked this better than I liked last week's ep. But since I hated that, not saying much I guess. I'm ignoring the catapult thing. It's too stupid for words.

Oh...THIS...so much THIS!

I believe that I actively hate Tara now. When she held the gun on Dwight I actually yelled at the TV, "Dwight is useful, you are not. Someone please shoot her in the head!"

So, the characters that I am moderately interested in find out about Carl's death in a silent movie scene? We get 1.2 seconds of watching people cry and...that's it? Ugh. And what are the odds that it is never really discussed in a future episode? This show used to be about characters and how they relate to each other. Now? It is about a horribly drawn "big bad" and not much else.

I...am now officially hate watching TWD. 

Sigh.

[Sparger Springs]

47 minutes ago, ShadowHunter said:

I don't care for Dwight much but I don't like Tara either so those scenes gave me nothing.

Knew Carson's days were numbered since they introduced the new guy and he is already setting up a Med room.

Maggie still does not look pregnant.

Gabriel while being foolish did not annoy me that much. 

Well how long has it been in walking dead time since Glen was killed about 2 weeks?

[peach]

I tried watching some scenes from last week and this.  It's just sad now.  Most of it is stupid, and the parts I care about are miserable and sad.  And as y'all have already noted, we get a short, silent scene for the Carl reveal.  I remember when Glenn disappeared and they just showed Michonne whispering the news to Maggie in the distance while they focused on stupid Deanna and Spencer instead.  I should have quit then.

[ShadowHunter]

4 minutes ago, Sparger Springs said:

Well how long has it been in walking dead time since Glen was killed about 2 weeks?

Maggie had a sonogram picture they were passing it around in the bus.  You couldn't see much just a little something. Not sure how long she was pregnant before he got killed.

The show mentions that she is pregnant when it fits the plot.

[peach]

44 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

Gotta say, the wires on the prison enclosure seem to be pretty far apart, yet no one can escape? Maggie is willing to cut down food for "her people" to feed Negan's men?

 

I guess fear of super predators Morgan and Carol are the only thing stopping them.  My disgust for Jesus grows since he must have known how low they were on food before he demanded they bring 38 prisoners back.  And said prisoners are acting like they've been incarcerated for some lengthy period of time instead of A DAY.

[numbnut]

Good Lord, that Tara/Dwight storyline is pure torture. The monotony is excruciating. Please make it stop.

Edited March 12, 2018 by numbnut

[peach]

1 minute ago, numbnut said:

Good Lord, that Tara/Dwight storyline is pure torture. Please make it stop.

He ran back to the Saviors to save himself from it.

[rab01]

I don't mind the actress who plays Enid but if she can't cry on demand, don't give her two close-ups where she's fake crying with no tears.    Also, I think they went silent on the Carl reveal because they were over the quota for Darryl spoken lines when he said a sentence in the swamp and another two sentences yelling at Tara. 

[AngelaHunter]

2 minutes ago, peach said:

And said prisoners are acting like they've been incarcerated for some lengthy period of time instead of A DAY.

I know! Bunch of damned sisies - 'Oh, we need exercise and shade and water and... " They're acting like civil war soldiers who have been incarcerated in the hellish Andersonville prison for six months.

4 minutes ago, peach said:

My disgust for Jesus grows since he must have known how low they were on food before he demanded they bring 38 prisoners bac

He better return with a shitload of food, or he should join the Neganites behind the wire. Maybe he can dig up that truck loaded with stuff out of the lake where he helped Dumb&Dumber sink it

[peach]

I finished watching Waco last week, and it was less depressing than this show.

[AngelaHunter]

The only thing that caught my interest was an ad for a new show called "Terror" coming up Mar 26, I believe. Looks good.

[shanndee]

Yes! I've seen that preview a couple of times now ("Terror"). It does look good. Does anyone know if it is based on the Shackleton Antarctic expedition?

Edited March 12, 2018 by shanndee

[rab01]

Time/continuity was more fucked up this week than last week when they were trying  to mess up their timeline.  So the people from Alexandria couldn't have taken more than a couple of days walking (also Rick arrived just after them and he had a car) but the prisoners are whining about exercise and Negan is already upset that Eugene hasn't made a ton of bullets when they just arrived at the factory to start up production?!?

Also, on a shallow note, Eugene is supposed to be a virgin who's afraid of sex, right? Otherwise, there is no reason for him to antagonize a gorgeous woman who is trying to be friendly and helpful even if she's one of Negan's wives (if she is - I can't keep track).

Just now, shanndee said:

Yes! I've seen that preview a couple of times now ("Terror"). It does look good. Does anyone know if it is based in the Shackleton antarctic expedition?

I think they talked about it on one of the Extra Hot Great podcasts (in a "will Dave hate this" segment).

[peach]

Okay, well, I'll watch The Terror if you guys will.  Just so we can talk about it.

[shanndee]

@peach I'm in! :) 

[peach]

I realize that I mourn not just for a good show, but the fun group chat experience. 

[AngelaHunter]

Terror -

Quote

The Terror. Which in turn is based on the true story of the fateful Franklin journey to find the Northwest Passage across the artic

I see there are a couple of "Rome" actors here, so maybe it will be an improvement over what we've been enduring for years now.

Quote

Ciaran Hinds and Tobias Menzies also worked together on the HBO hit show Rome

But I guess it's not strictly historically correct:

Quote

discovers a monstrous predator, a cunning and vicious Gothic horror that stalks the ships in a desperate game of survival

Still gotta be better and more realistic than Negan.

[shanndee]

12 minutes ago, peach said:

I realize that I mourn not just for a good show, but the fun group chat experience. 

Me too. I was just surfing around this board, and I realized just how long it has been since I even looked at the threads about each character. There used to be such long, involved discussions about characters and their motivations. Of course, that is when this show used to be good and characters had personalities, arcs, and story lines.I really miss that.

Edited March 12, 2018 by shanndee

[peach]

58 minutes ago, Sparger Springs said:

Well how long has it been in walking dead time since Glen was killed about 2 weeks?

This entire season has encompassed 2 days (as of this episode, it's finally the next day).  But I don't know how to figure out how long it's been since Glen's death.  Not very.

[shanndee]

Wow. My computer seems to be possessed. Quote function acting wonky, edits are weird too. Anyway. @AngelaHunter , thanks for that! I loved "Rome" and this description intrigues me. I'm SO In now! :D 

[tennisgurl]

The Terror looks really good, I am totally in @peach. Rome actors, period drama, AND some kind of creeping menace? Sounds like a recipe for awesome. 

[AngelaHunter]

If you want to see abject stupidity, besides which that of our TWD gang pales, watch "Everest." Read the book, watched the movie - mindboggling. Mt. Everest is not like a Disney ride, people!

If you want something that makes TWD look like it was written by innovative geniuses with talent and intelligence oozing from their pores, watch "Aftermath."  I binged the season in two days. Truly something so bad it was good - an enjoyable "hate watch" so to speak

1 hour ago, Sparger Springs said:

Well how long has it been in walking dead time since Glen was killed about 2 weeks?

Glenn? Ah, yes. Glenn, gone but not forgo... oh wait. Even Enid never mentioned him, after all the time he devoted to monologuing at her about hearts and flowers and love and balloons and rattling off ALL the names of the deceased which meant nothing to Enid, and all that time he didn't even know if his beloved wife was dead or alive. Hey, I just realized I worked tonight's title in!

[thuganomics85]

So, Gabriel's escape ends up amounting to nothing.  He's now not only recaptured, but is likely going blind and being forced to make bullets for Eugene.  Oh, and Dr. Carlson died as well, because they obviously need to have New Guy be the only doctor around (for when the show finally decides to let Maggie pop that baby out), so Carl's death wasn't in vain.  Too bad, I was actually kind of digging him in this episode.

Seriously, Negan has to know that Eugene did help Gabriel, and is just toying with him, right?  Because Eugene was being way too obvious with his nervousness and if Negan couldn't see that, then he really isn't as smart as he (or the show) thinks he is.  Also, I'm guessing that redhead at the end was one of Negan's wives, but I can't remember what history there was for Eugene to be that rude to her.  Seems kind of dumb to antagonize her like that.

Frankly, I'm impressed the rest of Alexandria got to Hilltop in one piece, when they had Daryl and Tara as the leaders and braintrust of that operation.  Daryl really is just a bore now, and Tara?  For the life of me, I can't figure out why the show is so gung-ho about her being important.  She's short-sighted, impulsive, illogical, overtly-emotional, and violent.... which, come to think of it, is pretty much Rick, so I guess it does actually make sense.

At this point, I have no shame in admitting that Gregory is one of my favorites now.  I just love that obnoxious, little weasel and his amazing ability to still be alive.

Negan's new grand plan involves infecting everyone with Walker blood, somehow?  I guess it isn't the craziest thing to happen to this show.

Seriously, can't it be the end of March, already?  I really want to see Ciaran Hinds, Tobias Menzees, and Jared Harris take on whatever the hell is going over on The Terror.

[rab01]

2 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Frankly, I'm impressed the rest of Alexandria got to Hilltop in one piece, when they had Daryl and Tara as the leaders and braintrust of that operation.  Daryl really is just a bore now, and Tara?  For the life of me, I can't figure out why the show is so gung-ho about her being important.  She's short-sighted, impulsive, illogical, overtly-emotional, and violent.... which, come to think of it, is pretty much Rick, so I guess it does actually make sense.

You just made me realize that maybe they're giving Tara the Andrea treatment - having her front-and-center and annoying in almost every episode to build up to a big (not so) shocking death.

[AngelaHunter]

4 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

if Negan couldn't see that, then he really isn't as smart as he (or the show) thinks he is.

I've never seen him do anything particularly bright, except to kill someone else when another person misbehaves - a good strategy. Other than that, he's a not-overly-bright, swaggering schoolyard bully who keeps a bunch of sheeples in line with a baseball and an iron.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

So after two weeks of not actually viewing the show, but following the general gist, I don't feel lost in any way.

But you know the greatest benefit to this method is?  50 free minutes per week and still lots to snark at & make fun of. 

I know TPTB don't get it, but this should be a valuable lesson as to why you don't over-stretch your villains on shows like this.  (disclaimer: I don't follow the comics, never have even read them)  But I'm guessing Negan & the Saviors are a very big & significant part of the TWD lore.  Thanks to the dragging out of the same tired tropes & themes every episode in the last 2 seasons, along with much mismanagement of the plot;  they've become a caricature and a bad joke, that we are still a ways off from getting the punchline to.  The only thing I care to know about Negan & the Saviors - at this point - is when the fuck are they going to finally stop polluting the TWD TV-landscape??  Just die already.

[Dobian]

The episode isn't that bad when you fast forward through all the Tara scenes.

[AgentRXS]

Wow...barely a page of posts. Just last season we would already on page 3 an hour after the episode ended. The ship, she indeed is sinking....

I hate Tara. Such a useless and pointless character. I can't stand Alanna's smugness about still being a cast member while far more interesting characters and better actors have left/been written out of the show. How the fuck is Tara still around and not Carl? So annoying.

All I can say is that The Walking Dead is slowly inching closer to surpassing Sleepy Hollow when it comes to being a prime example of How to Royally Fuck Up a Good Thing and Piss Off Your Loyal Fanbase. AMC should cancel TWD now to save face, but it won't. I am cringe-watching this thing from now until the bittersweet end.

Edited March 13, 2018 by AgentRXS

[Racj82]

3 hours ago, shanndee said:

 

Oh...THIS...so much THIS!

I believe that I actively hate Tara now. When she held the gun on Dwight I actually yelled at the TV, "Dwight is useful, you are not. Someone please shoot her in the head!"

So, the characters that I am moderately interested in find out about Carl's death in a silent movie scene? We get 1.2 seconds of watching people cry and...that's it? Ugh. And what are the odds that it is never really discussed in a future episode? This show used to be about characters and how they relate to each other. Now? It is about a horribly drawn "big bad" and not much else.

I...am now officially hate watching TWD. 

Sigh.

How much more Carl angst do we need? It's been like two episodes of it. I don't need anymore from the rest of the gang. I've been waiting for the rest to the season to start. We are finally here. Thank God.

[CletusMusashi]

3 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

The show mentions that she is pregnant when it fits the plot.

Oooooh... maybe this one is actually Rick's baby. That's why it's always missing.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I had the episode on as (annoying) background noise, but I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed over Enid's non-teary crying. "Now who will I lose my virginity to?!"

I wish this was the last season!

[millennium]

Lately I've been leaving this show feeling guilty and ashamed, like I've been looking at things I shouldn't have.   

[Bryce Lynch]

I almost didn't watch this one because I have beem digusted and bored by the past 2 seasons.  But, I thought it was one of the better episodes in quite some time, despite the timeline and logical issues.

The idea of blind Gabriel sorting out shell casings is absurd.  Many are very similar in size and the print on them with the caliber is hard to read with good eyes.  Maybe the path was for Gabriel to incorrectly sort the casings, causing catastrophic failures in Savior guns.  I kind of suspect Eugene is planning on slipping in defective ammo to hurt the Saviors anyway.

[xaxat]

Gabriel's "God's will" plot was so interminable. They find antibiotics, They find a map that just happens to have Hilltop on it in a piggy bank that Gabriel accidentally smashes? Gabriel's vision happens to clear as Doc enters the mine filed. Gabriel takes a random ass shot to kill the zombie. All handled in a manner so clunky that it comes off not being about faith, but a string of unbelievable coincidences. 

Tara: I don't care what I was told to do, I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna kill him the first chance I get. I don't care if he is helping us, I don't care if he apologizes, I'm gonna kill him.

Tara ten minutes later: No, he didn't rat us out. He's cool. We can trust him.