Spoilers and Speculation

[Nashville]

59 minutes ago, Jennv said:

I actually asked my husband if teenage boys are really so desperate for a piece of ass that they would risk everyone's lives to try and hook up with some girl they have known for two minutes. He said he didn't think so, but some might be, lol.

So... when a highly hormonal male teen thinks he has a serious shot at getting some, you’re wondering if his first thought is for the consequences...?  

I’m going to assume we were raised on different planets.

[Jennv]

35 minutes ago, Nashville said:

So... when a highly hormonal male teen thinks he has a serious shot at getting some, you’re wondering if his first thought is for the consequences...?  

I’m going to assume we were raised on different planets.

When the consequences are yourself and everyone you hold dear being brutally killed, then yes, I might expect a 17 or 18 year old kid to exercise at least a small  degree of common sense

[Mu Shu]

3 hours ago, Jennv said:

Spoiler I heard is that the heads on pikes will belong to Tara, Enid and Henry. It's from a source that has been correct in the past, so I guess we shall see. 

I think if it's true it's the smart move to keep Ezekiel and Rosita and eliminate dumbass Henry instead. Losing Jesus ticked fans off, and everyone hates Henry. It's a way for Kang to redeem herself a little, I suppose.

Woot!  Fist bump!  I hope this is true, as much as they’ve made Rosita dull and boring, I’m still invested in her.

Tara and Henry is a big yes.  Meh on Enid.  I like Connie’s  sister.  She’s quiet and probably incapable of monologing. Too bad about Dianne.  

Edited March 20, 2019 by Mu Shu

[Jennv]

7 minutes ago, Mu Shu said:

Woot!  Fist bump!  I hope this is true, as much as they’ve made Rosita dull and boring, I’m still invested in her.

Tara and Henry is a big yes.  Meh on Enid.

I feel kinda bad for the kid that plays Henry, I hope he doesn't read all the instagram comments and feel bad that everyone hates his guts. It's not his fault the writers are doing him dirty. 😀

[AngelaHunter]

54 minutes ago, Jennv said:

then yes, I might expect a 17 or 18 year old kid to exercise at least a small  degree of common sense

I really feel that for teenaged boys (and I think Henry might be closer to 16 than 18) the little head is going to overrule the big head every time. Consequences are never foremost in the minds of people that age (which is why I feel these kids shouldn't be driving cars but that's a whole other thing). Of course, never having been a teenaged boy I could be wrong, but I'll go with Nashville.

32 minutes ago, Jennv said:

I feel kinda bad for the kid that plays Henry, I hope he doesn't read all the instagram comments and feel bad that everyone hates his guts.

I know. I feel that way too and feel bad for the kid. Sadly, that doesn't stop me hating his character.

[mightysparrow]

52 minutes ago, Jennv said:

I feel kinda bad for the kid that plays Henry, I hope he doesn't read all the instagram comments and feel bad that everyone hates his guts. It's not his fault the writers are doing him dirty. 😀

I don't feel bad for him; he took the gig.  Maybe if he was a better actor, he wouldn't be hated so much.

[natyxg]

I've always had a soft spot for Tara. I think she's cute, and she always seemed like such a red shirt that I was always surprised that she kept surviving. Eventually I started to actively root for her to survive because she had survived for so long. This show has been limping along for years and it continues to have no end in sight, so them killing Tara off (if they in fact kill her off) might be the thing that finally gets me to quit it.

I tried to stick it till the end, show. I really did.

[OoohMaggie]

Good news for all those complaining that there weren’t enough commercials last Sunday, the next show is extended to one hour twenty five, with just over fifty seven minutes of actual showtime!

[nodorothyparker]

TSDF Army has released a confirmed list of victims of the great Whisperer piking, it appears to be revealed at the end of S09.E15 The Calm Before.  Parenthesis are mostly mine to help ID who some of them are because I honestly had no idea who a couple were without looking them up:

Quote

“The List” - Dun Dun Dun....

Take a deep breath, buttercups. We can now confirm the list of unlucky souls who will be meeting a pike in episode 9.15. Big thanks to our source for the heads up!

Are you ready?

1. Ozzy
2. Unnamed Highwayman (Ozzy’s 2nd in command)
3. DJ (former Savior who joined Alexandria, sometimes seen as a second to Michonne)
4. Frankie (former Negan "wife" who joined Alexandria)
5. Tammy Rose
6. Addy (Hilltop teen)
7. Rodney (Hilltop teen)
8. Tara
9. Enid
10. Henry

Siddiq was supposed to be another victim. However, we find out Alpha spares him and it’s unclear why.  There was earlier tracking to suggest that he might have betrayed Team Family.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Yeah, I saw this list and had to look up at least half of the names. I'm kind of sad about Addy, Tammy Rose and Enid. 

[Fellaway]

1-7 seem like Red Shirts to me, so... no harm, no foul, essentially.  I have no real strong feelings about Tara or Enid, either way, but I am a bit sad to see them go, if only because that makes the number of long-term characters on this show even closer to just a few.  It's hard to stay invested when most of the characters have been on a comparative nanosecond.

Very glad Eugene, Aaron, Ezekiel, Jerry, and Dog aren't victims.  (Of course, Daryl and Carol wouldn't be, so no worry there, on my part.)  Very glad Henry is.  (Sorry, Henry's actor!)  I wonder if that was their plan for him all along, or if fan response to the character played a part?  (Though they usually seem to like to do the opposite of what the fans want!)  It seemed like they were building a lot of story around him.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

TSDF Army has released a confirmed list of victims of the great Whisperer piking

I have no idea who the first seven are, and "meh" for the final three. So I guess that takes care of any suspense and the only thing I might find interesting is how that ragged band, living in prehistoric conditions and seemingly armed only with knives and branch cutters will be in a position to subdue and kill all those people.

I lie. I do know who Addy is. So Henry will meet his Maker with his silver bullet intact, after all the trouble he caused in his efforts to lose it? Quel dommage.

[nodorothyparker]

1 and 2 are our cosplay cowboys, which I know many of you didn't like but they amused me to no end because why the hell not?  The show went to the trouble of giving us those Riders in the Sky to the rescue kind of visuals and now they're done with them.  I assume this means the Kingdom will fully absorb the rest of their group as their replacement muscle and work force.

Many of us could at least agree DJ was a fine looking man even if we didn't know or care very much who he was beyond that.  Tammy Rose is indeed Brett Butler's character, so the speculation was right that she was done.

Does the Lintz family have any more child actors in their ranks?  Gods, I hope not.  I don't really care so much about Henry himself because he's been horribly written and acted, but even as much as I'll always be a ride or die Carol girl I really could do without another go round of her grieving another child and going off the deep end as a result.  Here's hoping that her grief is the thing that at least prompts her to chop all her hair off again in some big symbolic sort of thing a la Shane, which I've suspected since the start was probably the whole reason for the existence of the terrible wig.

[Ohwell]

Maybe Alpha spared Siddiq because she somehow found out he's a doctor?

[OoohMaggie]

Apart from looking good riding a horse, I’m sorry Tara is going, as mentioned above she is a link to the old gang and the good old days, the rest? not bothered.

If Henry is going, then that at least gives us hope that we’ll see Carol in full on ‘John Wick’ mode, aided by an equally off his head Ezekiel. I hope the vengeance administered to old Chrome Dome and her raggedy assed bunch is a joy to behold, with scenes that will rank alongside the best.

Theres only one problem with losing Henry, and that is somebody has got to replace his scatty teenager role, welcome to the team Lydia!

Anybody think there may be an A lister on that list? One that they have managed to keep out of the hands of the spoilers.

[nodorothyparker]

Who's even left who would qualify as an A lister though?  Michonne's already on her way out next season and Daryl and Carol have big multi-year deals.

I've liked Tara well enough as a comic relief B-level player.  And I've believed the character as a basically good person who always meant well left over from the earlier seasons.  The couple of times they let her try to carry an episode were ... not good though.

11 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

If Henry is going, then that at least gives us hope that we’ll see Carol in full on ‘John Wick’ mode, aided by an equally off his head Ezekiel. I hope the vengeance administered to old Chrome Dome and her raggedy assed bunch is a joy to behold, with scenes that will rank alongside the best.

Maybe they'll give each other much needed haircuts and go full berserker cleaning out the Thriller rejects shuffling crew.  I'd watch that.

[AngelaHunter]

58 minutes ago, OoohMaggie said:

Theres only one problem with losing Henry, and that is somebody has got to replace his scatty teenager role

I think it may have finally sunk into the heads of TPBT that giving us a pallid Carl replica did not work. 

44 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

The couple of times they let (Tara) try to carry an episode were ... not good though.

Seriously. Putting her front and center just showcased her painful lack of acting talent. But even when she's in the background, her inability to even change expression is noticeable.

[mightysparrow]

Sorry to see DJ go, he was a good-looking man and it was nice to see that Michonne had some hot muscle backing her up.  And it's a shame that Ozzy is going to die, since the show went to the trouble of spending time introducing him and his crew.  Nice work, Kang.  I never liked Tara but she did make herself part of the community and I might not have been able to forgive her, but they did and she'll be missed.  I'm not sure who Tammy Rose, Rodney or Addy are so, whatever. Enid is a connection to Carl, so it will make me sad to see her go.  She was close to Aaron too; he'll have a hard time with her being murdered like that.

I'm VERY happy about Henry.  Very, very VERY Happy that his punk-ass head will end up on a spike.  I wonder if his detached head will be pouting.  What a shame that Daryl and Connie went to so much trouble for his waste-of-time ass.  Hopefully Alpha will take her dull-as-dirty-dishwater daughter with her and we can put a close to one of the worst storylines in TWD history.

Edited to add:   I just found out that Tammy is Bret Butler's character.  That makes me a bit sad because she'd found a new lease on life with the Whisperer baby.  I wonder if Connie will take the baby back.

Edited March 21, 2019 by mightysparrow
Edited to add: update

[AngelaHunter]

9 minutes ago, mightysparrow said:

I'm VERY happy about Henry.  Very, very VERY Happy that his punk-ass head will end up on a spike.  I wonder if his detached head will be pouting.  What a shame that Daryl and Connie went to so much trouble for his waste-of-time ass.

So - not a fan?🤣  I'm just not sure that having the pouting head of some little shit-ass irritant is much of a huge triumph or strike a major blow for Elpha and her Merry Band.  I can hear Daryl mumbling, "Finally!"

[Boofish]

Maybe Oceanside Rachel will show up and shoot Tara's head the finger. One can dream.

I actually liked the Highway men and I'm sad to see him go ... 

[Ohwell]

I wonder if Tara gave one last fist bump before she got piked.

[Gobi]

Why do I think we won't see the revenge against the Whisperers until next season?

And I second those who wonder how the Whisperers could pull this off.

Nice to see that Zeke survives, at least for now (unless the rumors are true, and he just doesn't end up on a pike).

[Mu Shu]

On 3/19/2019 at 9:01 PM, mightysparrow said:

I don't feel bad for him; he took the gig.  Maybe if he was a better actor, he wouldn't be hated so much.

You’re heartless, but let’s be real.  His very face pisses me off.  Sorry kid, I hear there’s a good career waiting for actuaries.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

 His very face pisses me off.

I hate to say it, but it pisses me off too. Farewell, Henry.

[BellyLaughter]

Yay for Jerry surviving!  I thought he was toast after seeing his domestic bliss this season....

[Ohwell]

Henry has a punchable face.  I won't miss him.

[Mu Shu]

I hope the head count is right, I like Diane and Connie’s sister.  

Are  the highwaymen now going to be the headless horsemen?  Will the heads reanimate and make that snot gurgling walker snarl?

if this is a Glen hiding under the dumpster fake out for Zeke, we riot. 

[nodorothyparker]

So TSDF Army has Q&As for this episode after all.  For S09.E15 The Calm Before:

Quote

1. What kind of activities are happening at the Fair? Do they finally watch the movie?

Basically, activities similar to what you'd find at a typical fair or carnival. A dunking booth (with Eugene being the dunkee), candy apples, barbeque, Symphony of Awesome, etc. Yes, they do watch the movie! It’s some kind of animated movie or cartoon. (Note to Self: Make sure that the one piece of cinematic history available in the zombie apocalypse is not a Pixar movie. <gently places “Star Wars: A New Hope” in time capsule>)

2. Why does the group venture outside the walls during the Fair? What is their mission?

They go out as kind of a patrol, to guard and protect the community from the Whisperers.

3. In the sneak peek we see several characters discover an overturned Hilltop wagon. We see them decide to split up. What happens to the group that are tasked with going back to Hilltop?

We don't know. We don't see that group again for the remainder of the episode.

4. What happens to Carol, Daryl, Michonne, and Yumiko when they end up at the Whisperer camp?

Alpha shows up and mainly taunts them. She interacts with Daryl the most. She tells him that she's been inside their walls, and "it's a joke" because communities like that are a thing of the past (this means by this time, she's already infiltrated the fair and killed all her victims). She finally takes Daryl and shows him their massive Whisperer herd. It's YUUUUUGE. She tells him that if they cross over into Whisperer territory one more time, she will take out all of the communities with this herd. And yes, Alpha delivers her iconic comic line about destroying “everything you’ve built in this world.”

5. How does Alpha infiltrate the fair? Is she alone? Who does she interact with?

She scalps a woman from the Hilltop named Hilda and infiltrates the fair as a "Debra" from Alexandria. She is alone, and the only person she interacts with is Ezekiel. She introduces herself as Debra from Alexandria and because the communities have been apart for so long, Ezekiel isn't suspicious that he doesn't know her. He gives her a tour of the fair.

6. What is going on with Siddiq?

We're not sure. Supposedly Siddiq was going to be a pike victim, but Alpha changes her mind for some unknown reason.

7. How are the pikes revealed?

Alpha releases Daryl, Carol, Michonne and Yumiko, and tells Daryl they'll see a "final warning" on the way back to the Hilltop that marks the border along Whisperer territory. That warning turns out to be the pikes. The reveal is similar to the comic reveal, reanimated heads and all. Each reveal is accompanied by a flashback of other characters looking for that victim.

8. How does Carol react to seeing Henry?

Well we don’t know at first who is on that pike, Ezekiel or Henry. Daryl sees and then runs back to Carol to try and stop her from seeing. He says, “Hey, just look at me. Don’t look at that. Look at me.” But she does and we see that it’s Henry. It’s Sophia all over again.

9. What happens with Lydia?

She stays at the Kingdom. Alpha does find her, but Lydia tells her off and refuses to go back with her. (Gee. One may wonder why she just didn’t do this in the first place, but whatevs.)

10. How does the episode end?

It ends with a kind of memorial service for the pike victims and Siddiq giving a long, inspirational speech promoting unity among the communities.

So ... yeah.

[Ohwell]

So all this happened because of Lydia?  That's some straight up horseshit.  So now what will the communities do with her?  I know what I'd do:  strap her to a horse, slap the horse's ass, and send her on her way.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

Siddiq giving a long, inspirational speech promoting unity among the communities.

Oh, fuck no! NO NO NO!  I might be down with the re-animated heads on pikes, but inspirational speeches? Where's the exit?

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

And yes, Alpha delivers her iconic comic line about destroying “everything you’ve built in this world.”

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

She scalps a woman from the Hilltop named Hilda and infiltrates the fair as a "Debra" from Alexandria.

Oh, god - not Hilda!!

Maybe this will be worth watching after all. 🤣

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

  I know what I'd do:  strap her to a horse, slap the horse's ass, and send her on her way.

Backward, with a big clown mask on, a la Mad Max. Yes!

2 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

 

Edited March 22, 2019 by AngelaHunter

[mightysparrow]

Lydia has got to go.  Are these communities willing to lose any more people for HER sake.  I don't believe that people like Carol or Michonne are going to want to endanger their loved ones for that boring bitch.  Since she doesn't have the decency to leave on her own steam and spare the people who took her in and lost loved ones, they really DO need to strap her to a horse.  Preferably Ozzy's horse.

[Mu Shu]

So Daryl, the guy who turned their own herd on them and then killed several of them just gets set loose?  

The only part of this idiocy I like is that dumbass Elpha has just set herself up as the recipient of a CMurda shitstorm.  There will be fire.  I predict Zeke goes after they and gets offed, and then Carol lays some biblical retribution on them. 

[leto]

Wow! Carol is definitely going to get all murdery again. I may have to start watching again just to see it. 

[OoohMaggie]

[AngelaHunter]

5 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

🤣

Between the jerky camera work and the darkness, I couldn't see much of what was happening as usual, but why is Chewbacca still whispering? I mean, if there were any more walkers within a mile the racket of this fighting would draw them, so whispering after that seems a little silly. Is he trying to disguise his voice in case someone is taping him? Is it a terror tactic?  What is up with that??

[OoohMaggie]

On 3/21/2019 at 8:03 PM, Gobi said:

Why do I think we won't see the revenge against the Whisperers until next season?

Kang has mentioned a possible ‘Bayda’ back story after S9, whether in the main show or one of the spinoffs wasn’t confirmed, so those hoping to soon be done with the Whisperers May be out of luck.

Edited March 23, 2019 by OoohMaggie

[nodorothyparker]

About the only thing I could make out in that preview was the sound of Michonne's katana and Carol's wig.  I know Daryl was in there somewhere, but I can't exactly tell you how.  It's just too dark.

Preview still shots from the coming episode.  It's nice to see that Daryl has a new bow hunting buddy.

More:

[AngelaHunter]

Judging from the guy on the left, it's nice they still have access to a gym and steroids! Life is good.

[nodorothyparker]

Didn't even notice him.  I was completely distracted that Rosita was wearing a pair of pants I owned as a teen in 1989.

Edit to add that the enormous Shiva statue amuses me to no end.  We've been told over and over that the Kingdom has been struggling to keep things going or even feed themselves yet they've apparently had the time and resources to construct a giant tiger statue for their main balcony.  Weirdly, it seems completely in character for Zeke.

[natyxg]

55 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

Didn't even notice him.  I was completely distracted that Rosita was wearing a pair of pants I owned as a teen in 1989.

Edit to add that the enormous Shiva statue amuses me to no end.  We've been told over and over that the Kingdom has been struggling to keep things going or even feed themselves yet they've apparently had the time and resources to construct a giant tiger statue for their main balcony.  Weirdly, it seems completely in character for Zeke.

Maybe it's made of foam or something. It looks like a piñata. 😂

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

  We've been told over and over that the Kingdom has been struggling to keep things going or even feed themselves yet they've apparently had the time and resources to construct a giant tiger statue for their main balcony.

They had the resources to feed a giant real live tiger for years.

[Ohwell]

Daryl and the bow hunting lady look good together.  Now, if he'd only clean himself up.......

[mightysparrow]

22 hours ago, leto said:

Wow! Carol is definitely going to get all murdery again. I may have to start watching again just to see it. 

Before she gets 'murdery', I hope Carol takes a moment to take a little responsibility.  Henry is an entitled, snotty little shit that endangered not one but two communities, just because he wanted to get his dick wet.  Michonne is considered a big meanie because she isolated Alexandria from the other communities.  I can't say that I blame her if The Kingdom is shipping out exchange students like old Henry.  Carol and Ezekiel need to think about what they did to make Henry such an asshole.  And I hope Michonne rethinks her approach to parenting Ms. Judith, once she gets a load of Henry's pouting head on a pike.

I understand that The Kingdom lost a lot of its able-bodied workers, but they might want to spend a bit more time cultivating and a little less time on arts and crafts.  How are they feeding all their guests at the fair?  If it's potluck, shouldn't they be finding a way to store all that food, instead of eating it all?  Henry is a prime example that The Kingdom's priorities are fucked up.

[AngelaHunter]

2 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

Henry is an entitled, snotty little shit that endangered not one but two communities, just because he wanted to get his dick wet. 

I need that as a summary on my DVR blurb.

2 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

Carol and Ezekiel need to think about what they did to make Henry such an asshole. 

To be fair, he was an annoying asshole the first time we met him. SO annoying I remember posters on the live thread calling for "Death to the moppet". 🤣

What it was about him that so captured Carol's heart I have no idea. But yeah - too bad she never bothered to terrorize or knock some sense into the little shit. 

[SamBeckett]

12 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

 How are they feeding all their guests at the fair?  If it's potluck, shouldn't they be finding a way to store all that food, instead of eating it all? 

I see someone — Eugene maybe — running into the fair, all sweaty, his hair askew. He’s carrying a big book that seems to have strange markings on the cover. Frantically, he yells out, “It’s a cookbook. ... they’re eating people.”

Turns out some years ago as Ezekiel and his group were passing through Terminus, Jerry picked up a little something in the gift shop.

Who knew?!?

Edited March 24, 2019 by SamBeckett

[maystone]

I'm going to miss Tara and Tammy Rose. I've liked Tara from her first episode; as someone wrote earlier in this thread, she's loyal and down to earth. I'd add brave and resourceful. She doesn't have the mad skills of some of the other long running characters, but you could count on her to show up and do her best. She's the Xander of TWD, except with a fist bump instead of a Snoopy dance.

As for Tammy Rose - I love Brett Butler, and I'm going to miss seeing her. Also, being an old broad myself, it was great to see a woman my age represented on the show.

Henry was a hard to love character from his inception. The writers never served the character well whether he was 10 or 16, and it was a fatal flaw on production's part to insist on keeping the role of Henry in the family.

I'm surprised by happy to see that they didn't kill off Ezekiel. Yet. If he went into a funk over Shiva's death, I'm interested to see how he reacts to Henry's - and to Carol's reaction. He's never seen her go full-on John Wick before. And who knows, maybe she won't this time. (I can't believe I just typed that.) I just mean maybe she'll be more focused on keeping Zeke from self-destructing. My gut says that the two of them are going to become a formidable slaying team.

I'm really relieved that they didn't kill Diane. I'm hoping that since TPTB have knocked off so many secondary characters, maybe she'll get more screen time.

[Nashville]

56 minutes ago, maystone said:

I'm really relieved that they didn't kill Diane. I'm hoping that since TPTB have knocked off so many secondary characters, maybe she'll get more screen time.

TPTB pretty much have to, don’t they?  

• CDB is now down to being a “camp” of two, Daryl and Carol; it effectively no longer exists as a multifaceted group entity.
• The only remaining “living” S2 and S3 additions of any character depth are Michonne and Maggie, but that’s really just Michonne; Maggie is at the TWD equivalent of a MMPR “peace conference” for the foreseeable future,
• S4 has the “thickest” remaining character population - Eugene, Rosita, and Tara - but not for long; Tara has about 15 seconds before she’s atop a pike and wearing an eternal yawn.
• S5 was marked by the resolution of Terminus, the Church, Grady Memorial, and CDB’s initial arrival and assimilation into Alexandria - but out of ALL those characters, who is still around?  Gabriel and Aaron, and think about THAT for a minute - out of the original population of an entire TOWN, only one is still alive.

TWD’s Gimpassacre era was a flagrant parade of well-developed characters being regularly killed off in bombastic fashion for MSF and SF ratings spikes; as such, it was a prodigal waste of character cultivation.  Even worse though was the fact there was next to no significant development of replacement characters throughout this period - just a succession of new names who popped up long enough to say “Hi, howya doing?” before they were killed off.

Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is this: the makeup and special effects have always been cool, but TWD’s driving force - its heart and soul - has always been its well-defined characters, and in recent seasons these have been squandered to the point of near-nonexistence.  If TPTB have any intention of this series making it more than a season or two longer, then they are going to have to bite the bullet and make the same investment in character development as was done in earlier seasons - and the only current “sets” of characters to which they’ve shown ANY real inclination to do so have been the Kingdom and Connie’s group.

[SamBeckett]

4 hours ago, Nashville said:

TPTB pretty much have to, don’t they?  

• CDB is now down to being a “camp” of two, Daryl and Carol; it effectively no longer exists as a multifaceted group entity.
• The only remaining “living” S2 and S3 additions of any character depth are Michonne and Maggie, but that’s really just Michonne; Maggie is at the TWD equivalent of a MMPR “peace conference” for the foreseeable future,
• S4 has the “thickest” remaining character population - Eugene, Rosita, and Tara - but not for long; Tara has about 15 seconds before she’s atop a pike and wearing an eternal yawn.
• S5 was marked by the resolution of Terminus, the Church, Grady Memorial, and CDB’s initial arrival and assimilation into Alexandria - but out of ALL those characters, who is still around?  Gabriel and Aaron, and think about THAT for a minute - out of the original population of an entire TOWN, only one is still alive.

TWD’s Gimpassacre era was a flagrant parade of well-developed characters being regularly killed off in bombastic fashion for MSF and SF ratings spikes; as such, it was a prodigal waste of character cultivation.  Even worse though was the fact there was next to no significant development of replacement characters throughout this period - just a succession of new names who popped up long enough to say “Hi, howya doing?” before they were killed off.

Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is this: the makeup and special effects have always been cool, but TWD’s driving force - its heart and soul - has always been its well-defined characters, and in recent seasons these have been squandered to the point of near-nonexistence.  If TPTB have any intention of this series making it more than a season or two longer, then they are going to have to bite the bullet and make the same investment in character development as was done in earlier seasons - and the only current “sets” of characters to which they’ve shown ANY real inclination to do so have been the Kingdom and Connie’s group.

Great job of laying it out in such precise terms. Although applying that word — precise — to the plot of TWD, I'd never have envisioned because this series — like you infer — has lacked a cohesive plot (or thought) since about Season 3.

We can all pick a favorite character of ours who seemingly had good potential only to be tossed aside like used mattresses by Negan's team of plunderers.

Glenn, of course. Abraham. Beth (though she was disliked by many, but I would argue her contribution could have and should have continued). Her friend from the hospital. The spoiled rich kids at Alexandria. 

But nothing says incompetence on behalf of TPTB more than Jesus. I mean, seriously, what WAS that all about? He came, he lingered in the shadows, then — and powerfully — he was gone. Why?  What did it get us? Sure, he died an in so doing he showed us the "evilness" of the Whisperers (Oh, look Ma — that Walker's not really a Walker! Ohhh, scary!!! Ohhh, ouchy!!!!! The mean non-dead man stuck me!!!)

And now, we will soon be left with someone who doesn't bathe and  . . . Carol (not someone I would have counted on making it past Season 2). What the hell had TPTB gotten us into? And what is going on with Negan? He's like a lingering afterthought.

Edited March 24, 2019 by SamBeckett

[SimoneS]

Tonight's episode was leaked. I have seen photos of the pike victims. Horrible. Very sad. Apparently, the whole build up to the execution is very dramatic and well done. I look forward to Carol teaching Alpha a thing or two about brutality in return.

Edited March 24, 2019 by SimoneS

[mightysparrow]

4 hours ago, Nashville said:

TPTB pretty much have to, don’t they?  

• CDB is now down to being a “camp” of two, Daryl and Carol; it effectively no longer exists as a multifaceted group entity.
• The only remaining “living” S2 and S3 additions of any character depth are Michonne and Maggie, but that’s really just Michonne; Maggie is at the TWD equivalent of a MMPR “peace conference” for the foreseeable future,
• S4 has the “thickest” remaining character population - Eugene, Rosita, and Tara - but not for long; Tara has about 15 seconds before she’s atop a pike and wearing an eternal yawn.
• S5 was marked by the resolution of Terminus, the Church, Grady Memorial, and CDB’s initial arrival and assimilation into Alexandria - but out of ALL those characters, who is still around?  Gabriel and Aaron, and think about THAT for a minute - out of the original population of an entire TOWN, only one is still alive.

TWD’s Gimpassacre era was a flagrant parade of well-developed characters being regularly killed off in bombastic fashion for MSF and SF ratings spikes; as such, it was a prodigal waste of character cultivation.  Even worse though was the fact there was next to no significant development of replacement characters throughout this period - just a succession of new names who popped up long enough to say “Hi, howya doing?” before they were killed off.

Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is this: the makeup and special effects have always been cool, but TWD’s driving force - its heart and soul - has always been its well-defined characters, and in recent seasons these have been squandered to the point of near-nonexistence.  If TPTB have any intention of this series making it more than a season or two longer, then they are going to have to bite the bullet and make the same investment in character development as was done in earlier seasons - and the only current “sets” of characters to which they’ve shown ANY real inclination to do so have been the Kingdom and Connie’s group.

Very well said.

Thee was a time when characters mattered on TWD.  That time is long gone but I don't know what DOES matter.  I guess cheap thrills. 

After tonight's episode, the majority of the cast is going to be people I barely know.  How can I care about a show like that?  I've been watching from the beginning. One would think tptb would want to keep a viewer like me.  I have no idea what kind of viewers tptb want to keep.