S08.E14: Still Gotta Mean Something

[nodorothyparker]

Quote

A Heaps prisoner makes a discovery. Carol searches for someone in the nearby forest while; Rick and Morgan find themselves in the company of strangers.

[xaxat]

Jadis

WORST.PERFORMANCE.ARTIST.EVER.

[AimingforYoko]

Just now, xaxat said:

Jadis

WORST.PERFORMANCE.ARTIST.EVER.

The thing is, I don't think you're that far off. I have a feeling her whole act was an....act.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Guess Megan picked up Barcode Bish.

 

Jig is up Dwight.

[AngelaHunter]

*sigh* Okay for the first time in years I was 100% on Rick's side when Michonne (wipe that snotty nose. People are trying to eat Italian ham and chips here!) tried to force him to read Cworl's letter. We do that shit when we're ready and not before. Leave him alone, Michonne.

Jadis and Negan: That was just so fucked up I actually enjoyed it. For some reason, Jadis wanted to drag him around on a cart. We got Negan's touching backstory, got to see Jadis' ultra-spartan sleeping quarters and bonus - TWO references to Negan's privates - he's not going to punch himself in the dick (who says that?) AND he'd bet his sack on it. Negan talks a lot - we never saw that coming - and uses up all his bullets shooting a tied up walker in the torso where it does no good. Okay, enough of that. OH, and the helicopter is back.

Back to the usual: Morgan is crazy, Carol's eyes are swimming in tears, they psychoanalize each other, but I was too damned bored to remember anything they said.  They find little Henry's stick in a walker. Morgan is still crazy and nearly kills Rick, wandering the forest. Rick talks him down and then BOTH of them get ambushed and captured by Saviors, because neither heard them crashing up on them. Everyone monologues, etc etc. I had to take a break there.

[ShadowHunter]

Not the whole time but Negan had a few moments while tied up that he was almost normal.  He almost spoke normally. 

[gutbuster]

I love Negan clutching his pearls at the idea of Jadis killing people "slowly" with a walker, when he beats people to death, slowly, with a bat. No self awareness.

Why can't we know what is going on with that helicopter?

Why can't we know what Carl wrote to his dad?

Why can't Negan lose even a little bit? He suffers NO setbacks at all, even after something like this.

Why do they drag out the tiny tidbits I'm actually curious about, and overwhelm us with all of this crap no one gives a shit about?

I did like getting to see the good guys actually interact with each other for the first time in what feel like forever. Still want to like Morgan but, SOOO tired of Crazy Morgan :(.

I thought Michonne was going to be disapproving and ask Rick for some "space" after he came back from his obvious murder spree.

[nodorothyparker]

For as utterly ridiculous as so much of this episode was with the Negan-Jadis Wile E. Coyote shenanigans and all the monologuing, there was something there with the characters we actually have a history with: Carol, Morgan, and Rick and their stories coming full circle yet not landing quite where we might have expected them to.  That right there is why you don't kill off or waste your legacy characters willy nilly for hammy line drawings from a comic.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Other than the Saviors who were penned up in Hilltop getting Rick!murder-coated and the long-haired douche finally getting his comeuppance & being eaten, this was just another current weekly installment of the replica for the show that used to be good.

*YAWN*

Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Edited April 2, 2018 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[gatopretoNYC]

Quote

Better or worse than Bailey's, the only Irish Cream I've ever tried?

I like it better. It's also cheaper.

Quote

That's why God made ice.

Ice is one of things I would really miss in the ZA.

I had the Carolans over ice, with a splash of chilled vodka. :)

Edited April 2, 2018 by gatopretoNYC
Apologies for moving this here from the live thread, due to my slow typing.

[UGAmp]

How many more times this season are they going to have two main characters in a super dark, enclosed space filled with walkers with seemingly no way of escaping make it out alive with nary a scratch after the zombies politely wait for them to finish their fifteen minute long monologues before attacking? Sigh. It’s a zombie show. I get it. I’m suspending disbelief. But I need more than wash, rinse, repeat (But Darryl certainly could use that). 

[AngelaHunter]

21 minutes ago, UGAmp said:

How many more times this season are they going to have two main characters in a super dark, enclosed space filled with walkers with seemingly no way of escaping make it out alive with nary a scratch after the zombies politely wait for them to finish their fifteen minute long monologues before attacking?

Zombies have become just a minor hindrance - more annoying than mosquitos but not nearly as bad as, say, a stink bomb.

[Iguessnot]

I really enjoyed this episode. There were flaws, but I enjoyed the stories. I even enjoyed Negan except when he mentioned his appendage for the millionth time. Jadis' Ikea trailer was a real hoot.

[nodorothyparker]

4 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

Zombies have become just a minor hindrance - more annoying than mosquitos but not nearly as bad as, say, a stink bomb.

Unless of course you need a primary character to get killed off in the stupidest most meaningless way possible.

[peach]

I'm watching it right now, and did I have a mini stroke? Because how in the hell did Negan suddenly have a flare and a gun and her pictures?

36 minutes ago, gatopretoNYC said:

Ice is one of things I would really miss in the ZA.

I had the Carolans over ice, with a splash of chilled vodka. :)

Well done.  I always said I'd be a loyal member of Woodbury the minute I saw the ice.

[Christi]

15 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

Zombies have become just a minor hindrance - more annoying than mosquitos but not nearly as bad as, say, a stink bomb.

When Glen got on on his knees with his eyeball on his cheek, telling Maggie he will find her: The moment we went from cool zombie apocalypse to all out human Torture Porn.

[The Mighty Peanut]

45 minutes ago, gutbuster said:

 

I love Negan clutching his pearls at the idea of Jadis killing people "slowly" with a walker, when he beats people to death, slowly, with a bat. No self awareness.

 

Right? What has this world come to, says the guy who IRONS PEOPLE. 

[GenerationX]

The dorms at Garbage Dump U are pretty cool.

Daryl's had fewer lines this half season than Coral's letters.

The helicopter is there to take the wounded to the ZA equivalent of the M*A*S*H 4077.  Season 9 will feature wise-cracking surgeons and wacky walker hijinks.

[peach]

So...Negan sees the most magical thing you could see in the ZA...a HELICOPTER...and HE DOESN'T ASK JADIS A SINGLE QUESTION ABOUT IT.

[The Mighty Peanut]

12 minutes ago, peach said:

So...Negan sees the most magical thing you could see in the ZA...a HELICOPTER...and HE DOESN'T ASK JADIS A SINGLE QUESTION ABOUT IT.

He will, he’s just thinking about how to phrase it in a way that will incorporate his penis and testicles. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by The Mighty Peanut

[Iguessnot]

34 minutes ago, peach said:

I'm watching it right now, and did I have a mini stroke? Because how in the hell did Negan suddenly have a flare and a gun and her pictures?

 

It was like the Geico commercials (or is it Progressive) where everytime they cut between the conversation between two people, there's a major change in scenery. Why would her pictures be outside instead of her cozy Ikea trailer?

21 minutes ago, peach said:

So...Negan sees the most magical thing you could see in the ZA...a HELICOPTER...and HE DOESN'T ASK JADIS A SINGLE QUESTION ABOUT IT.

He asked her, but she just sneered at him and didn't answer.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Iguessnot

[AngelaHunter]

Finished. Show, what are you doing to me? You actually surprised me! I was starting to doze off during the speeches, but - Rick and Morgan murdering all the Saviors, especially the bearded one who cut Rick loose and saved his ass from the zombie? WTF? Rick the Murder Machine returned. He could kill all the zombies and all the Saviors but just cannot kill one man. But never mind that. Just getting something unexpected is thrill enough and almost makes up for the usual hokey stuff - the speeches, !crazy!Morgan, teary Carol, Ezekial still talking like he's in Camelot and all the rest. I forgot we even saw Daryl at the beginning. I thought he was best buds with Dwight now, what with the arrow love notes and all that. How come he wants to kill him now? I must have missed something last week in the total darkness with the bangbang.

I wish wishing Carol would yank that brat out from the tree and open a big can of whoop-ass on him.

1 hour ago, gutbuster said:

I love Negan clutching his pearls at the idea of Jadis killing people "slowly" with a walker, when he beats people to death, slowly, with a bat. No self awareness.

He may have said "people" but he was clutching his pearls at the idea of HIM being killed that way, or any way. He beats other people to death and irons them. He got kinda mushy with Jadis at the end. Negan and Jadis up a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g... ooops, had an extra glass of wine to celebrate 5 interesting minutes in this show. But how long will take for us to find out who Negan picked up  in the car? Must be someone special, since he said "shit" about 5 times in one sentence. Who, oh who could it be?

[peach]

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

For as utterly ridiculous as so much of this episode was with the Negan-Jadis Wile E. Coyote shenanigans and all the monologuing, there was something there with the characters we actually have a history with: Carol, Morgan, and Rick and their stories coming full circle yet not landing quite where we might have expected them to.  That right there is why you don't kill off or waste your legacy characters willy nilly for hammy line drawings from a comic.

I liked it.  FINALLY some main character story.  And I will always tune in to see Rick workin' out his stuff and thangs in his murder coat.  Super satisfying.  It also made ME really mad seeing Carl's hat sitting there, so thank you, Rick for going on a rampage for all of us.  I loved how he looked at Softy Savior when he suggested Rick not kill everyone.  LOVED.   (I worry they want to make Softy Savior into Glenn 2.0.) 

As far as Henry goes, I don't care, but if it made the others happy, then okay I guess.  The callback to when Morgan told Carl not to ever be sorry kind of pissed me off, because I will never stop being pissed off about Carl dying. 

Jared died a nice, satisfying, painful, screaming death.    Thumbs up on that one.  And I enjoyed how Crazy Morgan got into the escaped Saviors heads. 

I don't mind not knowing what Carl wrote in Rick's letter, because there is no way they would do it right.  It's just for Rick to know.  <sniffle> 

[AngelaHunter]

2 minutes ago, peach said:

I loved how he looked at Softy Savior when he suggested Rick not kill everyone. 

Yeah, like, "I'll take that under advisement." Now that he's got his groove back, what about bumping off Negan? Yeah, I know - he may try, try again but failure is in the cards.

Is Jadis a secret agent, or an alien tasked with bringing dollar-store crafting and amateur art to the dilettante sector post-AZ? When she dragged her little wheeled suitcase into her "Ikea" room (Ha!) I was half expecting a space ship to contact her, tell her she failed and whisk her back to planet Polaroid. I must say that for someone who lives in a dump, her sheets were super white and crisp looking.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

33 minutes ago, The Mighty Peanut said:

He will, he’s just thinking about how to phrase it in a way that will incorporate his penis and testicles. 

"If my dick could fly with my whirling balls as propellers, it'd look and sound a lot like that."

[AngelaHunter]

59 minutes ago, peach said:

I'm watching it right now, and did I have a mini stroke? Because how in the hell did Negan suddenly have a flare and a gun and her pictures?

We must have had a stroke at the same time, because suddenly a gun was put into one hand, a flare in the other, and someone piled all her pics right next to him. Can someone explain this or do we have to rewatch?

Also

17 minutes ago, peach said:

I don't mind not knowing what Carl wrote in Rick's letter, because there is no way they would do it right. 

I was hoping we wouldn't hear it. After finally getting some marginal enjoyment from an ep, if it had been flowery and all, "Smile on your brother... Make friends with uncle Neeg... he's not really a bad guy - he makes great spaghetti and can dandle Judith on his lap" it would have been ruined and I may have blown chunks.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

27 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

I must have missed something last week in the total darkness with the bangbang.

Not gonna lie, at first quick read, I thought the first b was a g.

Was thinking 'whoa, what the heck have I been missing and people didn't comment on!?'.

[thuganomics85]

I do love that everyone at this point has just accepted that Morgan is crazy and it isn't even that big of a deal anymore.  Even when he almost attacked Rick in the woods, Rick's reaction was basically "Dude, it's me.  Chill the fuck out, buddy."  As long as he keeps his killing to just walkers and Saviors only, he's good in their book!

Granted, this episode certainly gave Morgan some competition as Rick delivered the biggest April Fools prank ever on the former prisoners!  Yeah, there was no way he was going to let any of them live.  Of course, in typical Walking Dead fashion, the walkers seem to practically ignore him and Morgan and went straight for the Saviors.  It's good to have plot armor!

Speaking of which, Negan continues to somehow keep chugging along as even freaking Jadis isn't able to finish the job.  You are so lame, Jadis!  But I guess it will be kind of fun to watch Simon squirm once he finds out Negan isn't actually dead.

Did they say what happened to Gregory?  Was he the mysterious person Negan picked up at the end?

In all seriousness, the Rick/Morgan interactions were good.  It reminded me of the good old days!

[AngelaHunter]

1 minute ago, thuganomics85 said:

Did they say what happened to Gregory?  Was he the mysterious person Negan picked up at the end?

I think you got it! The fact that I can actually work up some interest about anything anymore in this show is so exciting to me.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Nobody wants to kill Negan.  And the reason is simple (or should I say Gimple?).  Who - other than Rick - wanted Negan dead the most [before his whole attitude and outlook on life got a major makeover]?  And now who's dead??

TPTB don't like upstarts going after their superstar!

[BellyLaughter]

Jerry’s face when Henry returned!! Bless!

This episodes has left me with more unanswered questions than I was expecting.... and for the first time in a while I am curious where it’s all headed!

[heisenberg]

20 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

Is Jadis a secret agent, or an alien tasked with bringing dollar-store crafting and amateur art to the dilettante sector post-AZ?

[TigerLynx]

I haven't been watching and going by the posts, I'm not missing much.  I don't like that Carl, Glenn, Sasha and Shiva are dead while Negan and Jadis are still alive, but there are so many other things that are annoying.

The main thing that still has me not watching, however, is I have no doubt at some point (several times over), Rick and Negan will have this conversation again:

Rick: "I'm going to kill you."

Negan: "No I'm going to kill you."

Rick: "This is all your fault."

Negan: "This is all your fault."

Rick: "You started this."

Negan: "You started this."

I'm pretty sure this was the conversation kids used to have on the playground when I was in first grade.

[bookrat]

Turned in late but  why did Rick and Morgan kill the guys who untied them  when the herd came and did trash lady let Negan go?

[Iguessnot]

17 minutes ago, bookrat said:

Turned in late but  why did Rick and Morgan kill the guys who untied them  when the herd came and did trash lady let Negan go?

I don't know why they killed all of them. It was clear most had lost their allegiance to Negan. Jadis let Negan go because he said he would settle the killing of her people because that was not his directive.

[bobbyjoe]

So the title of the episode with some of the most pointless scenes ever (Jadis captures Negan, doesn’t immediately kill him for inexplicable reasons, confusing, pointless things happen, then suddenly here’s Negan back with his bat looking like he always does, WTF) is “Still Gotta Mean Something.”

They’re just trolling us at this point, right?

I’m not usually one of these threatening to leave shows kind of people, but, swear to God, if Negan’s still alive at the end of the sesaon finale in two weeks, I’m joining that increasingly long line of viewers that have dropped this trainwreck.

[sarthaz]

I'll bet my sack Negan doesn't get punched in the dick.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

1 hour ago, sarthaz said:

I'll bet my sack Negan doesn't get punched in the dick.

You could hit Negan anywhere, and you'd still be punching dick.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

For a moment tonight I thought I was watching the Key and Peele sketch in which zombies don't notice black people.  Morgan walks right into a line of walkers who are shuffling along as if he doesn't exist.  He smacks one with his stick with no notice by the others.  Yep, he's right; he can't die.

Tied up Negan gets a lit flare, a loaded gun and Jadis' photos?  I know the GPK had all kinds of silly ways to try to kill Rick, so I could fanwank the gun and the flare, but why were the pictures there?  The stupid is so strong in this show. 

[spiderpig]

This episode caused major domestic turmoil at Casa Pig.

I kept falling asleep and making Mr. pig rewind.  Over and over.  I still couldn't figure out what was going on.  (See all comments from others above.)

I didn't get Rick and Morgan.  I didn't get Jadis and Negan.  I didn't get the Savior escapees.  I didn't get little psycho Henry.

On top of all of this, Tara had to point out that she was shot with a clean arrow, so we are not done with her yet.

Je suis desolee.

[Kiki777]

Not a fan of Jadis, but I almost liked her this episode.  She dressed and talked like a normal person, and swept those weird ear-to-ear bangs off her face.

Love Jerry's smile! It's so infectious.  When they kill him off (which of course they will because anyone who's not stupid Negan has a target on their backs) I will be so pissed.  Like, Shiva-level pissed.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

You might have a slight problem with your weekly outputs if most people are watching while doing some form of this clear-headed attentiveness to details...

[Bryce Lynch]

7 hours ago, peach said:

So...Negan sees the most magical thing you could see in the ZA...a HELICOPTER...and HE DOESN'T ASK JADIS A SINGLE QUESTION ABOUT IT.

But, Jadis won't know the meaning of the helicopter, until the writers figure it out.

7 hours ago, The Mighty Peanut said:

He will, he’s just thinking about how to phrase it in a way that will incorporate his penis and testicles. 

And poop, of course.  The writers probably think they are the most clever people on earth for coming up with another Neagan "catch phrase" that will never catch on with, "What the s..t?"

[paigow]

The helicopter is picking up Morgan...dude is not walking to California...

[CletusMusashi]

The title had to have been an April Fool's prank. I remember in "Abe Screams at a Dangling Zombie for Ten Minutes, Then Finds a Cigar and Dresses Up," some of the live comments were asking what weird experimental performance art film had replaced our show. But today that episode would blend right in with all the others.

I think the helicopter is basically the red machete of vehicles. Remember, this is a world where cars and gas run forever, so why not helicopters? If we assume that people with paramilitary knowledge tended to last longer after the ZA, it's not hard to imagine a new owner finding it every few months, taking it for a test ride, landing to refuel, getting killed, and then another new owner stumbling upon it. We'll never find out what it means, because it means nothing. There's a new person flying it every single time.

Who did Negan give a ride to? I hope it's somebody who can make this show better. Did the Harlem Globetrotters survive the apocalypse?

[sarthaz]

2 hours ago, Kiki777 said:

Love Jerry's smile! It's so infectious.  When they kill him off (which of course they will because anyone who's not stupid Negan has a target on their backs) I will be so pissed.  Like, Shiva-level pissed.

This will be the absolute worst. The last thing I want to see is an episode developing his character more, because he gone.

Edited April 2, 2018 by sarthaz

[sarthaz]

5 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Tied up Negan gets a lit flare, a loaded gun and Jadis' photos?  I know the GPK had all kinds of silly ways to try to kill Rick, so I could fanwank the gun and the flare, but why were the pictures there?  The stupid is so strong in this show. 

I thought this for the entire episode and was ready to snark all over it, but then she wheeled her suitcase in, and I remembered her packing it at the beginning. She had all her belongings nearby because she was ready to get on that helicopter and leave.  It's still a little odd that she'd have her precious "snaps" so close to a raging bonfire, and totally stupid that Negan wasn't secured, but it makes a little more sense.

Are we meant to assume that the passenger Negan picked up is the lady who escaped Dwight? Seems so obvious, so I'm wondering if it's a misdirect. Dwight's been getting a lot of redemption story, though, so he should be the next to die.

[Kiki777]

I think it's her too, but why was the front seat empty when Negan got back to the Sanctuary?

[EllenC]

Saving a little dragged-out drama surprise for Dwight? 

[ljenkins782]

44 minutes ago, sarthaz said:

Are we meant to assume that the passenger Negan picked up is the lady who escaped Dwight? Seems so obvious, so I'm wondering if it's a misdirect. Dwight's been getting a lot of redemption story, though, so he should be the next to die.

That was my assumption (actually, I thought we actually saw her, but maybe not). The preview of Negan showing up to confront Dwight seem to confirm that the one Savior who knew Dwight had turned was found. 

Quote

We must have had a stroke at the same time, because suddenly a gun was put into one hand, a flare in the other, and someone piled all her pics right next to him. Can someone explain this or do we have to rewatch?

Yes, that seemed quite convenient for someone tied to a pallet. And why tie someone with their hands free like that? 

This episode quite bored me. It felt more disjointed than usual and the 'Negan is a dead man, oh wait, he got away' trope is happening way too often. If you don't want the character to die, you can write it so he doesn't even come close. This is 1960s Batman levels of ridiculous at this point, they might as well overlay a "how will they escape this one" voiceover on top of these now-weekly scenes.