Spoilers and Speculation

[phoenix780]

On 3/27/2019 at 10:42 AM, Nashville said:

In terms of outdoors wear in mixed weather conditions, the absolutely positively ONLY thing jeans have going for them is durability; in every other aspect, they suck egregiously.  Denim is usually all or majorly cotton-based material, which means it easily sheds heat and absorbs moisture.  This is ok in daytime desert environments, but a quick trip to HypothermiaVille in colder climes - or virtually anywhere else for that matter, once the sun goes down.

Someone is channeling their inner geek bigtime.  “Going off in the tall weeds” is an OLD old bit of computer jargon, coined back around the ‘60s-‘70s by machine-language and assembly-language programmers.  It refers to when a machine-language-level program suddenly and unexpectedly jumps the rails out of ALL anticipated possible program branch options and goes off whodafuck knows where, never to be seen again - a catastrophic form of crash.  

It's cool to learn the origins of the phrase, thank you.  I know it from Top Chef, because they say it when they lose control of the flow of the kitchen and fall behind on orders. It's kind of appropriate here, because you could argue that the writers are totally in the weeds an unable to get it together to tell a fully cohesive story.

[nodorothyparker]

From our usual TSDF Army: 

Quote

This week we’re bringing you some spoilery bits instead of our usual Q & A. There’s a chance we may get more information tomorrow, but if not, chew slow and enjoy!

Episode 9.16 “The Storm”

- The episode focuses on Team Family dealing with a blizzard with some side cuts to Alexandria.

- The Kingdom has Fallen. Through Ezekiel’s narration during the cold open, we see that the Kingdom is no longer sustainable and the residents are suffering. Kingdomers decide to leave home and travel to Hilltop to survive.

- There is a time jump of a few months that takes place in this episode. Rosita’s baby bump is visible.

- Not much action occurs out on the road, but there are some deep, we’re walking for miles and might as-well-talk, conversations. They cross a frozen river and encounter some creepy, wintery walkers rising up from the snow. Walkercicles! Winter is here, bitches!

- Even though they hesitate to cross into Alpha’s territory, they need to take a shortcut. They do not encounter the Whisperers on the road, even when crossing their border.

- Lydia asks Carol to kill her, which she cannot do.

- Back at Alexandria, families have to group up inside houses with a fireplace in order to survive the cold. This is the reason Negan is let out of his cell.

- When the Kingdom group makes it to Hilltop, Carol breaks up with Ezekiel. She tries to give her ring back, but Ezekiel won’t take it because he says will always love her. Carol says that she knows Ezekiel blames Daryl for Henry’s death, but she fears that the only reason Ezekiel blames Daryl is because he won’t blame her. Carol decides to join Daryl and Lydia at Alexandria.

- Judith runs off looking for Dog in the snowstorm. Negan goes searching after her. When he finds her, she is freezing and suffering from hypothermia. Negan wraps her up in his jacket and takes her back home. He-LLO Season 10 Redemption Arc!

- There’s a scene with Alpha and Beta towards the end. The storm has passed and Alpha says she must become stronger. She gives Beta a branch switch to beat her, just like she’s done with Lydia. Whisperers live to sadistically murder our people another season!

- Ezekiel has been using the radio to talk to people in the other communities. He’s talking to Judith at the end before he leaves the room. Then, we hear a voice coming over the radio. We aren’t sure who it is. It’s difficult to hear or identify because of the static cutting in and out. The voice says something along the lines of, “Hello? Is anyone there?” But nobody is in the room to hear it.

Lather, rinse, repeat, redemption arc.

[BellyLaughter]

Papa Negan to the rescue.....barf.

[natyxg]

29 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

- There is a time jump of a few months that takes place in this episode.

Lol, so basically they let the momentum they built with the be-headings die. Since I liked Tara and I'm sad that she died I hoped that we'd at least get SOMEONE caring that she died, but with that time jump it's unlikely. So, pass.

[Ohwell]

44 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

- Judith runs off looking for Dog in the snowstorm.

Of course!

[Jennv]

26 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Of course!

All I want to know is if Dog survives 

[Kanner]

How can Ezekiel blame Daryl or Carol for Henry’s death? What am I missing? I know emotions are not logical but come on. Alpha is to blame but if you don’t want to blame her then Henry is next. 

I will wait to see how it plays out but that is annoying. 

With Daryl going to Alexandria, I am interested in (nervous) how the writers handle interactions between him and Negan. 

[nodorothyparker]

2 minutes ago, Kanner said:

How can Ezekiel blame Daryl or Carol for Henry’s death? What am I missing? I know emotions are not logical but come on. Alpha is to blame but if you don’t want to blame her then Henry is next.

Without seeing it, we only have Carol's word for it that he does.  It sounds like it might be a lot of projection or misdirection of blame.  Grief is funny like that.  

[Kanner]

9 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

Without seeing it, we only have Carol's word for it that he does.  It sounds like it might be a lot of projection or misdirection of blame.  Grief is funny like that.  

I hope that is it. As I said, I will wait to see how it plays out. I also meant to say that if this this true that I probably answered my own question when I said emotions are not logical. You are probably right with the misplaced blame. As I definitely can see it played that since Zeke can’t blame Henry (or Carol) and it looks like at the moment Alpha is out of reach, Daryl is a person closer to home he can place the blame on. 

[peach]

3 hours ago, natyxg said:

Lol, so basically they let the momentum they built with the be-headings die. 

Every. Single. Time.

These people cannot write.  Time jumps and weeds.  

Edited March 29, 2019 by peach

[Gobi]

6 hours ago, Jennv said:

All I want to know is if Dog survives 

#DogMustLive

[SamBeckett]

Someone mentioned upthread about what it will be like when Daryl runs into Negan, and I got to thinking “Why?” 

It has been so long (it seems) since the whole “bat to the head in the middle of the dark woods” that I forgot about it. I mean, I know they don’t like one another. I just forgot why.

Talk about losing momentum. 

Edited March 29, 2019 by SamBeckett

[OoohMaggie]

1 hour ago, SamBeckett said:

I know they don’t like one another. I just forgot why.

It won’t do Daryl any good to keep bumping into Negan, I’m sure he’ll be thinking of Glenn’s Death when he does and if he hasn’t got any feelings of guilt that may remain well covered, it could really start to get to him.

[Ocean Chick]

I’m thinking Carol blames herself for Henry’s death and assumed that Ezekiel blames her as well. But since she knows he loves her, she assumes that he’ll blame Daryl instead.

its a stupid plot line. 

[tv echo]

Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Big Bang, Grey's, Hawaii Five-0, Gotham, Legends, Walking Dead, Jane the Virgin and More!
By Michael Ausiello / March 28 2019
https://tvline.com/2019/03/28/big-bang-theory-sheldon-amy-nobel-prize-season-12-spoilers/

Quote

Question: What can you tell me about the finale of The Walking Dead? — Penn
Ausiello: The blizzard that hits in the AMC drama’s last episode of Season 9 (Sunday, 9/8c) must be cold enough to make Hell freeze over, because by the time it’s through, it’s brought a bit of a thaw to Negan’s interactions with a longtime nemesis (which I know hardly narrows it down — everyone’s his nemesis!). “The Storm” also shifts two other relationships, only one of them for the better.

[nodorothyparker]

12 hours ago, SamBeckett said:

Someone mentioned upthread about what it will be like when Daryl runs into Negan, and I got to thinking “Why?” 

It has been so long (it seems) since the whole “bat to the head in the middle of the dark woods” that I forgot about it. I mean, I know they don’t like one another. I just forgot why.

Daryl has good reason to have some feelings about the whole locked up naked eating dog food sandwiches torture and his subsequent public treatment as a lackey to be made an example of afterward.  You know, in addition to having to watch Glenn's eye pop out for something he had expected to take punishment for.  Whether the show will let Daryl have those feelings and respond accordingly when it's clearly rushing to redeem and integrate Negan with the same people he brutalized may be a different story.

[cambridgeguy]

16 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

Ezekiel has been using the radio to talk to people in the other communities. He’s talking to Judith at the end before he leaves the room. Then, we hear a voice coming over the radio. We aren’t sure who it is. It’s difficult to hear or identify because of the static cutting in and out. The voice says something along the lines of, “Hello? Is anyone there?” But nobody is in the room to hear it.

If they really wanted to go for the "wham" cliffhanger then they should have made it Rick's voice.  The fact that there are other communities isn't a surprise anymore so why should we care if there's yet another group out there?  Plus Andrew Lincoln can literally phone in his performance or maybe there's archive audio of Rick saying that.

[natyxg]

2 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

If they really wanted to go for the "wham" cliffhanger then they should have made it Rick's voice.  The fact that there are other communities isn't a surprise anymore so why should we care if there's yet another group out there?  Plus Andrew Lincoln can literally phone in his performance or maybe there's archive audio of Rick saying that.

I image that the idea is that we should hope that it's Rick... though it may or may not turn out to be him when the new season starts because they make really weird choices that tend to be meh instead of wow.

[mightysparrow]

18 hours ago, Kanner said:

How can Ezekiel blame Daryl or Carol for Henry’s death? What am I missing? I know emotions are not logical but come on. Alpha is to blame but if you don’t want to blame her then Henry is next. 

I will wait to see how it plays out but that is annoying. 

With Daryl going to Alexandria, I am interested in (nervous) how the writers handle interactions between him and Negan. 

It's Carol's passive aggressive way of making this ALL ABOUT HER.

[mightysparrow]

7 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

It won’t do Daryl any good to keep bumping into Negan, I’m sure he’ll be thinking of Glenn’s Death when he does and if he hasn’t got any feelings of guilt that may remain well covered, it could really start to get to him.

I can't believe that in all this time, Daryl hasn't sneaked into Negan's cell and shanked him.  Daryl would never buy that peace and love bullshit and wouldn't care what anybody thought.  He's living in the woods with a dog.  What could Michonne do to him?  What WOULD Michonne do to him?  She and Daryl are friends.

[OoohMaggie]

14 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

I can't believe that in all this time, Daryl hasn't sneaked into Negan's cell and shanked him. 

Along with any number of people with a valid reason for doing so, didn’t Carol just BBQ the Saviours for taking her ring and threatening Henry? We’re expected to accept characters behaving unusually, just as long as it ensures the safety of Golden Boy, Maggie was apparently content with throwing Negan against the wall ‘as if’ and leaving him to suffer, little did she know exactly what that ‘suffering’ entailed, being Judith’s guardian Angel and confidant no less. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by OoohMaggie

[OoohMaggie]

Yup, still suffering!

Edited March 30, 2019 by OoohMaggie

[nodorothyparker]

So one handcuff not attached to anything.  They're just letting him sit among them with hands free to torment them.  They really are all too dumb to live.

[Ohwell]

He looks like he's been eating well too.

[mightysparrow]

8 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

Yup, still suffering!

Why are any of these people wasting a nano-second on Negan?  Hes a killer and a rapist who terrorized hundreds of people for years.  HE BEAT ABRAHAM AND GLENN TO DEATH WHILE HE LAUGHED.  What could they possibly have to talk about with this man?  Kill him and leave his body for the Whisperers.  There's no redemption for Negan.  The best thing that could happen is he dies doing something decent.  But why are decent people forced to live with him?

[Morrigan2575]

I really really hope next season Carol gets rid of that stupid hair. Please burn the wig!

[Ohwell]

Not just Carol.  I'd like to see Ezekiel and Michonne get rid of those stupid wigs and get haircuts.

[mightysparrow]

I'm curious about this snow storm.  Maybe it's because I grew up in Canada but the storm doesn't seem all that bad.  Certainly not bad enough to cause a general panic.  Perhaps Southerners aren't as hardy as we are. 

I'm also very confused about distances in this area.  One day Alexandria and Hilltop are close enough that two teenagers in love can roller-skate from one to the other.  Now it looks like the Lewis and Clarke expedition (although the person who mentioned the Donner Party might be closer to the truth) setting out to discover the Northwest Passage.  Just how far apart are these communities?

[Morrigan2575]

3 minutes ago, mightysparrow said:

I'm curious about this snow storm.  Maybe it's because I grew up in Canada but the storm doesn't seem all that bad.  Certainly not bad enough to cause a general panic.  Perhaps Southerners aren't as hardy as we are. 

If there's a flake in GA the state shuts down. I've seen massive pile ups on the news due to a dusting of snow.

[natyxg]

45 minutes ago, mightysparrow said:

I'm curious about this snow storm.  Maybe it's because I grew up in Canada but the storm doesn't seem all that bad.  Certainly not bad enough to cause a general panic.  Perhaps Southerners aren't as hardy as we are. 

I'm also very confused about distances in this area.  One day Alexandria and Hilltop are close enough that two teenagers in love can roller-skate from one to the other.  Now it looks like the Lewis and Clarke expedition (although the person who mentioned the Donner Party might be closer to the truth) setting out to discover the Northwest Passage.  Just how far apart are these communities?

I don't understand why they don't join together into one community, with the exception of maybe Oceanside. At least Oceanside has the ocean, and it makes sense that they'd rather not leave it. When it comes to the others, it seems so impractical to be so scattered. Get into only one group, find a new place if needed and settle there. More manpower to defend and work the land and everything.

[peach]

54 minutes ago, mightysparrow said:

I'm also very confused about distances in this area.  One day Alexandria and Hilltop are close enough that two teenagers in love can roller-skate from one to the other.  Now it looks like the Lewis and Clarke expedition (although the person who mentioned the Donner Party might be closer to the truth) setting out to discover the Northwest Passage.  Just how far apart are these communities?

I've always said they have Blair Witch geography.  I remember during the stupid herd in the quarry story that Morgan got back to Alexandria in about five minutes while Glenn and Michonne couldn't get back all day.  And then we had Dumpstergate.

[Nashville]

58 minutes ago, mightysparrow said:

I'm also very confused about distances in this area.  One day Alexandria and Hilltop are close enough that two teenagers in love can roller-skate from one to the other.  Now it looks like the Lewis and Clarke expedition (although the person who mentioned the Donner Party might be closer to the truth) setting out to discover the Northwest Passage.  Just how far apart are these communities?

Originally Hilltop and Alexandria were cited as being about 50 miles away, with the Sanctuary a like distance on the opposite side of Hilltop; likewise the Kingdom, in both respects.  Only way the geography has ever made sense to me is if the communities are arranged something like the following:

          H

      /        \

S ——-—- A

     \         /

         K

[maystone]

On 3/27/2019 at 9:06 AM, OoohMaggie said:

I don’t get why the groups didn’t join up and go and eliminate the threat, before the pikes and especially after.

Carol hasn’t avenged Henry, it’ll be interesting to find out why, it wasn’t that long ago she was setting people on fire. 

I'd guess it's because of that mega-herd Awful has at the ready. Daryl certainly would have told everyone about that. Besides, Carol will choose her time. I just don't think that time is going to be this Sunday.

[Nashville]

1 minute ago, maystone said:

I'd guess it's because of that mega-herd Awful has at the ready. Daryl certainly would have told everyone about that. Besides, Carol will choose her time. I just don't think that time is going to be this Sunday.

Almost certainly not; when Scarol starts in on the Whisperers they will effectively cease to exist, and currently TPTB want to drag this Whisperer shit out into next season at least.

[maystone]

1 minute ago, Nashville said:

Almost certainly not; when Scarol starts in on the Whisperers they will effectively cease to exist, and currently TPTB want to drag this Whisperer shit out into next season at least.

Oh, I completely agree. I was going for understatement, and apparently I succeeded :)  I'm willing to tag along with the Whisperer arc for a little while more, as long as it doesn't turn into another Hundred Year's War like with the Saviors.

[natyxg]

On 3/29/2019 at 1:27 PM, natyxg said:

I image that the idea is that we should hope that it's Rick... though it may or may not turn out to be him when the new season starts because they make really weird choices that tend to be meh instead of wow.

Aaaaaaandddd nooooope! Not even that. 😂 At least according to this:

Quote

The girl leaves to do her homework, but a staticy female voice comes through the speaker shortly thereafter.

https://www.newsweek.com/walking-dead-season-9-finale-spoilers-radio-voice-episode-16-1380845

So, they're not even going to manage to make people excited thinking that it's Rick. 🤣 There doesn't seem to be any reveal about Sidiq and what happened when the others died either, which might have been some good shock to leave us with. These people, I swear.🤣

Note: That link mentions some spoilers from the comic books, because they're assuming that the person on the radio is a certain someone from the next comic storyline. So, beware.

[OoohMaggie]

[shanndee]

On 3/28/2019 at 5:44 PM, nodorothyparker said:

- When the Kingdom group makes it to Hilltop, Carol breaks up with Ezekiel. She tries to give her ring back, but Ezekiel won’t take it because he says will always love her. Carol says that she knows Ezekiel blames Daryl for Henry’s death, but she fears that the only reason Ezekiel blames Daryl is because he won’t blame her. Carol decides to join Daryl and Lydia at Alexandria.

- Judith runs off looking for Dog in the snowstorm. Negan goes searching after her. When he finds her, she is freezing and suffering from hypothermia. Negan wraps her up in his jacket and takes her back home. He-LLO Season 10 Redemption Arc!

Since Carol has never been allowed to be happy, I always assumed that there were serious death anvils ready to fall for Zeke at any moment. Maybe now we can expect him to stick around for awhile?

Do TPTB really believe that we will believe that Negan is redeemable? Oh. Silly me. I forgot. They don't care. They don't care AND they think we are stupid.

Please tell me this is the final season.

[maystone]

11 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

Sooo, they're going to abandon the horses to freeze to death? Am I hearing that right?

[natyxg]

12 minutes ago, maystone said:

Sooo, they're going to abandon the horses to freeze to death? Am I hearing that right?

Yep.

Also, wouldn't the walkers just be frozen solid in the snow?

[Mu Shu]

22 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I really really hope next season Carol gets rid of that stupid hair. Please burn the wig!

She looks awful with that ratty thing on.  Melissa McBride is one of those women who look much better with short hair.  So is Danai.  I’d love to see both of them drop those shitty wigs. 

[Mu Shu]

17 hours ago, natyxg said:

Aaaaaaandddd nooooope! Not even that. 😂 At least according to this:

https://www.newsweek.com/walking-dead-season-9-finale-spoilers-radio-voice-episode-16-1380845

So, they're not even going to manage to make people excited thinking that it's Rick. 🤣 There doesn't seem to be any reveal about Sidiq and what happened when the others died either, which might have been some good shock to leave us with. These people, I swear.🤣

Note: That link mentions some spoilers from the comic books, because they're assuming that the person on the radio is a certain someone from the next comic storyline. So, beware.

It’s Lori!  All these years later still calling back from the dead. 

[Morrigan2575]

17 hours ago, natyxg said:

Aaaaaaandddd nooooope! Not even that. 😂 At least according to this

I'm curious if Newsweek got it right? The article looked exactly like the info we got from TSDF Army with some embellishment. TSDF doesn't specify gender of the voice, Newsweek says female. Curious where they got that from? Guess we'll find out shortly

[Gobi]

17 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I'm curious if Newsweek got it right? The article looked exactly like the info we got from TSDF Army with some embellishment. TSDF doesn't specify gender of the voice, Newsweek says female. Curious where they got that from? Guess we'll find out shortly

Maybe it's that crazy lady from FTWD.

[maystone]

44 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I'm curious if Newsweek got it right? The article looked exactly like the info we got from TSDF Army with some embellishment. TSDF doesn't specify gender of the voice, Newsweek says female. Curious where they got that from? Guess we'll find out shortly

I'm guessing it's Maggie.

[shanndee]

Oh wow. How sad is it that I have already completely forgotten about Maggie?

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, maystone said:

I'm guessing it's Maggie.

Her show isn't doing well in the ratings. She might come back

[mightysparrow]

So this 'punk rock season' (according to Norman) is going to end on one of the greatest anti-climaxes ever.  Is that what Sid Vicious would have done?

[BellyLaughter]

It's a curious choice to (presumably) present nothing truly earth shattering in the season final.... for a show that has shed half its audience in the past 2 seasons you'd think they would be desperate to hook what's left of it.....

[shanndee]

1 minute ago, BellyLaughter said:

It's a curious choice to (presumably) present nothing truly earth shattering in the season final.... for a show that has shed half its audience in the past 2 seasons you'd think they would be desperate to hook what's left of it.....

It feels like they have resigned themselves to the losing-their-audience death spiral, so they are just going to do whatever they want until they get cancelled.