Spoilers and Speculation

[peach]

On 2/14/2018 at 3:11 AM, SnarkyTart said:

From The Spoiling Dead Fans Army facebook page.  Q&A spoilers for episode 8.9 "Honor"

My God.  I just came back from a pleasant, sunny vacation, and read that synopsis.  It makes me sick to my stomach.   Carl is dead, and this show is dead to me.  In my head canon, the last episode in this series was when they pulled up to the gates of Alexandria, and Rick heard the children laughing.  I'm just going to pretend it ended two years ago.  (And really, the last great episode was the season 5 premiere, after breaking out of Terminus and reuniting in the woods.)

[SimoneS]

Carl's Journey Ends

[Gobi]

5 hours ago, SimoneS said:

Carl's Journey Ends

 

I call dibs on his hat!

[AngelaHunter]

On ‎2‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 4:11 AM, SnarkyTart said:

What happens to Siddiq? Does he escape to Hilltop with the rest of them?

Yes, I know I've just been on pins and needles, dying to find out what happens to... whatisname.

 

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 12:49 PM, peach said:

In my head canon, the last episode in this series was when they pulled up to the gates of Alexandria, and Rick heard the children laughing. 

THAT would have been a fine end. Very "Grapes of Wrath" (the movie version) and we never would have been subjected to Motor-Mouthed, Dick-Obsessed Fonzi.

On ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 3:11 PM, rab01 said:

In the comics, the Governor has absolutely no depth or intelligence and is seriously the most cliched comic-book character of all of them.  The Show turned him into something interesting. 

IMO, David Morrissey turned him into something interesting, despite the writing.

[SimoneS]

Here are photos of Sunday's episodes: http://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/extras/the-walking-dead-first-look-photos-from-final-eight-episodes-of-season-8

Below are my favorites of Carl with Judith from Sunday's episode. These are flashbacks. How cute is Judith?

Edited February 19, 2018 by SimoneS

[raven]

Those are cute @SimoneS.  I wish the show would do a 10 year time jump to give Judith storylines that Carl has in the comics.  I doubt that's going to happen but I'm at least marginally interested in Judith. 

[Smad]

Is that why they never cut Carl's hair? So him and Judith could have identical hair for the family photos?

[nodorothyparker]

I see Carl got the conveniently slowest turning process since sister Amy waaaay back in season 1 if he had time to scrapbook and fingerpaint with Judith in addition to singlehandedly mounting a defense for Alexandria.

[Anela]

9 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Yes, I know I've just been on pins and needles, dying to find out what happens to... whatisname.

 

Haha! Yeah, they seem to be doing that a lot more now. I just barely remembered who Gavin was, when someone said he was the most palatable saviour (I forgot what they called themselves, briefly). 

I need to just stay quiet, because I miss being really excited for this show to be back. Although after losing Herschel, I was miserable, and wondering why I watched. I followed that episode up with Family Ties, so that I could sleep. It was still a nice surprise to find it back one night, when I wasn't feeling well, though. Four years ago. Damn. 

[AngelaHunter]

1 minute ago, Anela said:

Haha! Yeah, they seem to be doing that a lot more now. I just barely remembered who Gavin was

But surely you remember Neil? They killed Neil! OH shit.

I though Gavin was the only decent Savior until someone here informed me he seemed to be on the verge of monologuing, so now I don't give a rat's ass what happens to him either. Oh, but Neil... :(

[nodorothyparker]

Gavin did veer dangerously close to full out monologuing territory in the last episode, but even then he did it with all the enthusiasm of someone fulfilling a tedious contractual obligation.  Shitty threat, shitty threat because it's in the script, okay, let's get on with this, I've got stuff to do.

The perverse part of me that's rearranging the seating to more comfortably watch this ship go down loves that we never had any idea who Neil was until AFTER Maggie started wailing about how they'd killed him and acted like it was supposed to matter.

[SimoneS]

I am watching Uncle Buck on AMC and just saw the promo, Carl's journey ends. So sad.

[Nashville]

7 hours ago, Smad said:

Is that why they never cut Carl's hair? So him and Judith could have identical hair for the family photos?

Well... they are only half-siblings, after all, so I expect TPTB have to emphasize whatever vague similarities they can conjure....  :>

[SnarkyTart]

17 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Yes, I know I've just been on pins and needles, dying to find out what happens to... whatisname.

If Saddiq dies, we riot!

[AngelaHunter]

13 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

The perverse part of me that's rearranging the seating to more comfortably watch this ship go down loves that we never had any idea who Neil was until AFTER Maggie started wailing about how they'd killed him and acted like it was supposed to matter.

That made me feel as though I were an idiot, or drinking too much while watching or losing my memory because I was thinking, "Neil? Neil? Who is Neil? OMG, he must have been someone important, maybe even had a monologue or two and how could I not know that?? And now he's DEAD and I missed his entire arc!"

What a relief to come here and find out no one else knew who the hell he was either.

[tv echo]

I don't recall if these articles about Negan's backstory were previously posted, but I only read them recently - anyway, I didn't think I could hate Negan more than I already do, but, UGH, now I find out that he was an asshole even before the zombie apocalypse...

Negan's Full Backstory Revealed As Lucille Is Born In The Walking Dead Flashback Special
By BRANDON DAVIS - August 9, 2017
http://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/2017/08/09/the-walking-dead-negan-full-backstory-saviors-/

Quote

Negan's backstory in The Walking Dead has now finally been told in full through 16 issues of Here's Negan.
*  *  *
On the final pages of the 4-page Part 16 of Here's Negan, the villain found his group of survivors and turned them into followers.

Following Negan's introduction to Dwight, an innocent and good-hearted survivor, The Walking Dead's villain conquered the group through powerful leadership choices which kept them safe. His instinctual skills offered a charismatic approach which served as a magnetic force for those around him. Having lost his wife Lucille, survival was all Negan had to motivate him.

However, he did maintain a set of principles. When Negan's new group of friends encountered a new bunch who endorsed rape and other despicable actions, Negan used a baseball bat he had obtained along the way to bash the skull of this group's leader. The group looked on, terrified, as Dwight kept them in order while Negan used barbed wire nearby to wrap the bat.

"I wasn't scared. I wasn't sad. I wasn't angry," Negan explained. "It took me a long time to realize why...It was Lucille."

Negan went on to address the group, suggesting they pool resources and follow him, but, more specifically, they will now work for him as he offers to protect them with Lucille from people like their former leader.

Of course, the new world order didn't fall into place without a few threats.

"Fall the f--- in line or I'll crawl up that pee hole of yours, get really deep inside so I can really get a message to those big balls without anything getting lost in translation," Negan said to one man who questioned him. "And I'll say -- Big Balls, I know you think you're the King S--- of F--- Mountain and you're not accustomed to taking s--- from anyone but things are different now because --- HERE'S NEGAN!"

With that, Negan was in charge, and the rest is history on the pages of The Walking Dead comics, beginning with issue #100.
*  *  *
Prior to the zombie virus taking over, Negan was a high school gym teacher and a ping pong coach. He wasn't just any gym teacher, though. Negan wanted to be the cool teacher. He cursed at his students and gave them a hard time when they would fail, which he saw as a method of pushing them -- even when they would feel bullied and start to cry. 
*  *  *
Before everyone around him started to die, Negan had a wife. During his marriage, however, Negan began having an affair. His wife had full knowledge of the affair and allowed it to happen as she saw that Negan was happy with it, despite how it hurt her.

When Negan's wife became diagnosed with terminal cancer, he immediately cut off his relationship with the other woman and tried to spend as much time with his wife as possible. The villain finally realized that he loved her, but she was furious that it took her cancer to make him cut off the affair. Still, he pushed her around in her wheelchair in the park and stayed by her side in the hospital until the end.

Negan's wife's name was Lucille. 
*  *  *
"I take that Here's Negan story as the backstory," Gimple said. "There's some aspects of it that will probably be cool [on the show]. It's some fairly far-flung stuff... in the future, you will see some stuff from that. Might need to get Damon Lindelof to do it. It might be rather Lost-ian, but we're talking a good while away."

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says 'The Walking Dead' Will Explore Negan's Backstory This Season
By CAMERON BONOMOLO - October 29, 2017
http://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/2017/10/29/the-walking-dead-season-8-negan-backstory/

Quote

"The great thing about this year, that I can tell y'all, is that we're going to find out a lot more about Negan," Morgan told audiences during a Q&A panel at Walker Stalker Con Atlanta. "There is a lot of Negan's backstory out there. We haven't filmed any of that, but there are conversations with a few characters where we'll find out a little more about him. We'll have some quieter moments this year, some one-on-one interactions where you'll learn more about where he's from. Even if you hate Negan, you're gonna start to understand how he became the man that he is and why he does the things that he does. I'm learning more about Negan every time I put on my leather jacket."

Who Was Negan Prior To 'The Walking Dead' Apocalypse?
By CAMERON BONOMOLO - November 19, 2017
http://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/2017/11/19/the-walking-dead-negan-before-apocalypse/

Quote

While Negan's backstory won't be seen in season 8, the show will unveil more about Team Family's arch foe through characters like Eugene, the Alexandrian-turned-Savior who accepted a position among Negan's lieutenants. "The little slivers of backstory that we're hopefully will find out, it's important to have someone like Josh, or Eugene, on Negan's side," Morgan revealed. "Eugene wants to know things. So, it's been a good conduit."
*  *  *
According to the executive producer, audiences will see Negan's origin story sometime in the future. "There's a loose plan in place I have," Gimple said. "There’s some aspects of [Here's Negan] that will probably be cool [on the show]. It’s some fairly far-flung stuff… in the future, you will see some stuff from that."
*  *  *
Negan is also revealed to have been a former used-car salesman and high school gym coach who was reamed out for his disrespectful and belittling attitude towards his students. Negan had a wife who was hospitalized just before the outbreak, with Negan learning she had cancer — a prognosis Negan was visibly upset over when he shared this fact with his mistress.

Negan was visiting his wife at the hospital when the outbreak began, refusing to leave his wife's side even as the area was being evacuated. Negan's wife succumbed to her illness, died, and reanimated, causing a horrified Negan to yell out, "Lucille!" 

With Lucille dead, Negan eventually ventured out into a chaotic world where he would relieve a man named Paul of his Louisville Slugger and first join up with the crossbow-wielding Dwight, who would later serve Negan as one of his followers. Having assumed control of a fresh group of survivors, Negan's Saviors were born. 

Edited February 20, 2018 by tv echo

[festivus]

17 minutes ago, tv echo said:

According to the executive producer, audiences will see Negan's origin story sometime in the future. "There's a loose plan in place I have," Gimple said. "There’s some aspects of [Here's Negan] that will probably be cool [on the show]. It’s some fairly far-flung stuff… in the future, you will see some stuff from that."
*  *  *

Wow. Just what I wanted, more Negan. I'm glad I decided to quit the show.

19 minutes ago, tv echo said:

We haven't filmed any of that, but there are conversations with a few characters where we'll find out a little more about him. We'll have some quieter moments this year, some one-on-one interactions where you'll learn more about where he's from. Even if you hate Negan, you're gonna start to understand how he became the man that he is and why he does the things that he does. I'm learning more about Negan every time I put on my leather jacket."

I don't care why he does the things he does! Are there people out there that care? I can understand the comic doing the backstory but why show why? Did you learn nothing from The Governor?

[rab01]

I think we were told this backstory when he was monologuing at the Father so maybe we'll be spared from having to see any of this bullshit. 
(Damn, I still have hopes for this show; I've got to stop that.)

Edited February 20, 2018 by rab01

[peach]

A cheating, bullying high school gym teacher?  Why, yes, that's just who I want to lead my ZA.  Forget that flawed but loving family man and honest small town sheriff and his son.  Screw the actual alpha males in favor of the rage filled wannabe.  Continue taking your revenge on the decent people, Kirkman and Gimple, you emotionally stunted weirdos.

[maystone]

17 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

I see Carl got the conveniently slowest turning process since sister Amy waaaay back in season 1 if he had time to scrapbook and fingerpaint with Judith in addition to singlehandedly mounting a defense for Alexandria.

Well, Bob went pretty slowly, too. He was chomped on at the food bank, helped bring the supplies back, partied with CDB at dinner, got kidnapped, got his damn leg cut off, hauled back to the church, and still had time to say a lot of good-byes. Also, I seem to remember Jim from S1 hanging on for a few days, and he still hadn't turned when CDB left him under the very nice tree.

[catrox14]

Do they really expect me to feel sorry for the asshole with a mistress and a wife with cancer who is a dickbag in general?

Or are we to understand that Negan was always a fuckstick and remains one so when Rick finally does stab him in the face and beats him to death with Lucille, I'll just be like "It's about fucking time!".  ( Hopes and wishes)

Or is this some kind of appeal to some segment of the comics readers who love Negan precisely because he is that shitty character? I don't get it.

I'm REALLY (not really) starting to think JDM took on Negan because it makes John Winchester look good! LOL

[Nashville]

11 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

If Saddiq dies, we riot!

A more accurate statement would be “If Saddiq dies, we will be moderately perturbed!” - but that would be a bitch to fit on a T-shirt.

 

4 hours ago, peach said:

A cheating, bullying high school gym teacher?  Why, yes, that's just who I want to lead my ZA.  

I’m kinda disturbed I guessed this about a year ago.

 

2 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Do they really expect me to feel sorry for the asshole with a mistress and a wife with cancer who is a dickbag in general?

So... Negan is actually Newt Gingrich in disguise?

 

2 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Or are we to understand that Negan was always a fuckstick

Swear to god I didn’t read this before posting something remarkably similar in another thread.  That’s just plain spooky.

[catrox14]

39 minutes ago, Nashville said:

Swear to god I didn’t read this before posting something remarkably similar in another thread.  That’s just plain spooky.

Oh do tell. I'd love to read it! Great minds and all that

[Nashville]

6 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

Oh do tell. I'd love to read it! Great minds and all that

Feel free.

[catrox14]

1 minute ago, Nashville said:

Feel free.

OH MY GODS! That's freaking hilarious. LOLOL. Seriously.

[Gobi]

14 hours ago, Nashville said:

Well... they are only half-siblings, after all, so I expect TPTB have to emphasize whatever vague similarities they can conjure....  :>

What makes you so sure Shane isn't Carl's father?

7 hours ago, tv echo said:

I don't recall if these articles about Negan's backstory were previously posted, but I only read them recently - anyway, I didn't think I could hate Negan more than I already do, but, UGH, now I find out that he was an asshole even before the zombie apocalypse...

Negan's Full Backstory Revealed As Lucille Is Born In The Walking Dead Flashback Special
By BRANDON DAVIS - August 9, 2017
http://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/2017/08/09/the-walking-dead-negan-full-backstory-saviors-/

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says 'The Walking Dead' Will Explore Negan's Backstory This Season
By CAMERON BONOMOLO - October 29, 2017
http://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/2017/10/29/the-walking-dead-season-8-negan-backstory/

Who Was Negan Prior To 'The Walking Dead' Apocalypse?
By CAMERON BONOMOLO - November 19, 2017
http://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/2017/11/19/the-walking-dead-negan-before-apocalypse/

I really hope this is satire.

[AngelaHunter]

8 hours ago, tv echo said:

"Fall the f--- in line or I'll crawl up that pee hole of yours, get really deep inside so I can really get a message to those big balls without anything getting lost in translation," Negan said to one man who questioned him. "And I'll say -- Big Balls, I know you think you're the King S--- of F--- Mountain

Someone thinks this is the way men talk to each other? I worked with a large group of kind of vulgar men but never once heard any of them refer to another's "pee hole." I'm not a man, so maybe they do talk this way. JFC. Was this written by Kirkman?

Negan was a ping pong coach? Now that's badass. Yeah, I hope this is all satire too, because thinking about well-paid adults coming up with this is just too depressing. 

[nodorothyparker]

I'm beginning to think whoever's writing dialogue in recent seasons has never heard humans talk to each other.  Ever.  Every third character needs an Abraham, or Eugene, or Negan to English translator.  And that's before you get to whatever the hell is going on with the junk yard people apparently losing the ability to speak in anything resembling sentence form in less than two years.

[AngelaHunter]

40 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

I'm beginning to think whoever's writing dialogue in recent seasons has never heard humans talk to each other.  Ever.

OMG, I've said that before. The writers must be teenaged geeks who communicate only online  or by text - a generation losing the ability to connect with flesh-and-blood people. I don't think since Se02 has anyone had anything even vaguely resembling a normal conversation, the kind real people might have, since real people don't go around taking turns giving monologues and speeches. Probably fine for comic books, but not for live action with real people. It's hearing characters say things that normal and real people might say - hopes and fears and memories and aspirations - and especially under such dire circumstances, that makes us identify with and care about them. I don't care about anyone on this show anymore because they're not real to me. 

It was hearing Abe - hulking ex-soldier - with his delicate and freaky "Bisquick" question to Glenn that made me wonder on what planet these writers are living that they felt this was authentic dialogue. Srsly. 

[rab01]

Yeah, and I think it's particularly a problem for the male characters. The women tend to speak more like normal people (even if they don't do things that normal humans do - I'm looking at you Andrea and Lori).  I think Kirkman's fanboyism (emphasis on boy) gives all the monologues to the male characters which left the female characters to be written by actual screenwriters.  It leaves the women often sidelined but at least seeming to have some knowledge of human speech. 

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Someone thinks this is the way men talk to each other? I worked with a large group of kind of vulgar men but never once heard any of them refer to another's "pee hole." I'm not a man, so maybe they do talk this way. JFC. Was this written by Kirkman?

Not outside of a Deuce Bigalow movie script.

[SimoneS]

I am putting this here since it is a media report with spoiler info. Lauren Cohan has been cast in Whiskey Cavalier, an ABC pilot. Apparently, if ABC picks up the pilot, Lauren can recur on AMC presumably so they can wrap up her character's story in season 9 or maybe they will try to keep her on as recurring. We will see.

http://deadline.com/2018/02/lauren-cohan-star-whiskey-cavalier-abc-pilot-could-return-the-walking-dead-amc-season-9-1202296481/

Edited February 21, 2018 by SimoneS

[AngelaHunter]

11 hours ago, Nashville said:

Not outside of a Deuce Bigalow movie script.

I figured that. I doubt even high school boys speak that way, let alone a 50-year old man. The only references I've ever heard a man make to another about his privates - and aways in a joking insult kind of way - was "your dick."  What's with Kirkman, anyway, with his weird obsession and thinking a man would tell another he wants to "crawl inside your pee hole, really deep"? I'd think most normal men would be completely grossed out by that, not thinking, "Oh, that's so badass!"

 

12 hours ago, rab01 said:

I think Kirkman's fanboyism (emphasis on boy) gives all the monologues to the male characters which left the female characters to be written by actual screenwriters. 

And monologues are the only thing he can write. Whenever male characters are supposed to speak in a regular way - massive fail. Thinking about Rick's "conversations"(actually more like whiny monologues) with Jessie still makes me cringe, although that could be blamed on AL as well, since his acting repertoire doesn't seem to include normal, conversational or romantic dialogue.

On ‎2‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 2:24 PM, SimoneS said:

Below are my favorites of Carl with Judith from Sunday's episode. These are flashbacks. How cute is Judith?

Love these! Adorable pics and that little girl is precious!

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

I figured that. I doubt even high school boys speak that way, let alone a 50-year old man. The only references I've ever heard a man make to another about his privates - and aways in a joking insult kind of way - was "your dick." 

I’m 55, and pretty much the only time I focus on “my dick” as a topic of conversation is during urologist appointments.

 

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

What's with Kirkman, anyway, with his weird obsession and thinking a man would tell another he wants to "crawl inside your pee hole, really deep"? I'd think most normal men would be completely grossed out by that, not thinking, "Oh, that's so badass!"

Not claiming to be any sort of credible representation of “normal” - but I can pretty much guarantee you my reaction would be more along the lines of, “You want to stow that shit?  What the hell is wrong with you?  ‘Pee hole’?  What are you, ten???”

[tv echo]

The correct answer to this fan question would've been "no"...

Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Walking Dead, iZombie, Roseanne, Criminal Minds, Chicago Fire — Plus, New Blind Item(s)
By Michael Ausiello / February 20 2018, 2:55 PM PST
http://tvline.com/2018/02/20/the-walking-dead-season-9-the-whispers-spoilers/

Quote

Question: Got anything to look forward to on The Walking Dead? — Hal
Ausiello: Yep — but maybe not imminently. When we spoke recently with showrunner Scott Gimple, we asked if, before Season 8 was through, we’d get any hints of the Whisperers, the next Big Bads after the Saviors in Robert Kirkman’s comic-book series. “I couldn’t say that,” he replied. However, the villains, who wear walker skins to blend in with the zombies, are “absolutely on the menu. I just wouldn’t necessarily say for this season or even exactly when.”

[AwesomO4000]

On 2/17/2018 at 12:49 PM, peach said:

My God.  I just came back from a pleasant, sunny vacation, and read that synopsis.  It makes me sick to my stomach.   Carl is dead, and this show is dead to me.  In my head canon, the last episode in this series was when they pulled up to the gates of Alexandria, and Rick heard the children laughing.  I'm just going to pretend it ended two years ago.  (And really, the last great episode was the season 5 premiere, after breaking out of Terminus and reuniting in the woods.)

I pretty much agree***, and what a great idea. I might have to do the same thing. With these spoilers, I'm almost considering not even watching the mid season premier - even though it would hurt me not to see Carl off to the end. But I just don't know if I can handle a "Bye Bob" moment and a gunshot from outside the building pointless end to the character... and considering all of the "Guess what kiddies! We get Negan background information coming up, yay!" spoilers, I'm guessing that the chances that Carl misses the shot to end himself, becomes a zombie with somehow some semblance of sentience left who hunts down Negan and chomps his jugular out is out of the question now... because that would've been the only possible way for me that any good could have come out of what's going to happen... and then I still would rather Carl have not died.

*** However I also would put in a couple more early season 5 episodes as ones I enjoyed and consider pretty great. Being a Carl fan, I loved his bottle episode ("I'm bad with episode names for this show and don't have my DVD to pull out at at he moment) and the ending scene with "It's for you" has to be one of my top 20 (maybe top 10) favorite episode ending lines of all time. I also loved the episode after that where Carl and Michone bond some more. I also enjoyed the Joe and the Claimers' storyline - that episode with Rick trying to get out of the house I found genuinely tense and well done. But I've always liked Jeff Kober (from way back in his China Beach days.) and he gave some real menace to the character.

Edited to add: I realize now - through  @peach's help - that this is all from season 4. I got it confused due to Beth's delayed story which in my head I mistakenly  thought was in the same season she got taken, forgetting that that would be record speed for this show for wrapping up a plot point like that ; ).

14 hours ago, Nashville said:

Not claiming to be any sort of credible representation of “normal” - but I can pretty much guarantee you my reaction would be more along the lines of, “You want to stow that shit?  What the hell is wrong with you?  ‘Pee hole’?  What are you, ten???”

And then shoot him? Because yeah, just because the guy supposedly "saves you from rapists" doesn't mean you'd welcome him to become your next tormentor. Gratitude only goes so far, I say. So in my opinion, as soon as the "you saved us!" guy starts talking like a crazy person who sounds just as dangerous... time to take out a gun and shoot him. I mean seriously, in that back history scenario they gave, why would no one have shot Negan or bashed him over the head? Like as soon as he was done bashing the bad leader guy's head in with a barbed wire baseball bat? Or hell while he was doing it... get 'em both.

That Negan is still alive and no one has killed him, and that we have to sacrifice the stories of potentially interesting characters like Eugene had the potential to be, just so we can have a sounding board for Negan's boring backstory and justify his existence is just a bunch of crap to me. And if part of Carl's dying is to justify Negan's continued existence? No, just no... I may have to skip the upcoming episode in that case, even if it pains me to do so.

Man, this sucks.

Edited February 22, 2018 by AwesomO4000

[peach]

4 minutes ago, AwesomO4000 said:

*** However I also would put in a couple more early season 5 episodes as ones I enjoyed and consider pretty great. Being a Carl fan, I loved his bottle episode ("I'm bad with episode names for this show and don't have my DVD to pull out at at he moment) and the ending scene with "It's for you" has to be one of my top 20 (maybe top 10) favorite episode ending lines of all time.

I believe that's known as the Carl Poppa episode.  lol.  And yes, it was great, with the pudding scene and the ending scene.
 

(watching this breaks my heart :*(

Quote

I also loved the episode after that where Carl and Michone bond some more. I also enjoyed the Joe and the Claimers' storyline - that episode with Rick trying to get out of the house I found genuinely tense and well done. But I've always liked Jeff Kober (from way back in his China Beach days.) and he gave some real menace to the character.

Everything you're mentioning was in Season 4, which ended with Rick's group and Glenn's group reunited in the boxcar, with Carol still running around with Tyrese.  Then they all ended up together again after the Terminus escape in the Season 5 premiere.  Then they found Father Gabriel and took on the Termites at the church.  Then we had the Grady Hospital thing, and finally they met Aaron, and made the decision to go to Alexandria.  That was the finale of Season 5.

[scrb]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

The correct answer to this fan question would've been "no"...

Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Walking Dead, iZombie, Roseanne, Criminal Minds, Chicago Fire — Plus, New Blind Item(s)
By Michael Ausiello / February 20 2018, 2:55 PM PST
http://tvline.com/2018/02/20/the-walking-dead-season-9-the-whispers-spoilers/

Wait, so one of their gimmicks is that they dress up like walkers?  That means other groups will kill them if they get too close.  And if they start shooting while disguise as walkers, then the walker horde will just set upon them.

They won't be sure that other groups won't shoot them on sight either.

What a dumb premise.

[AngelaHunter]

19 minutes ago, AwesomO4000 said:

Because yeah, just because the guy supposedly "saves you from rapists" doesn't mean you'd welcome him to become your next tormentor.

The hysterical fangirls seem to have turned ol' Big Mouth into a Sir Lancelot because he doesn't hold women down and rape them. They don't get that what he does is rape as well. The only reason he doesn't let his toadies rape is because he's insecure and feels that he might lose control if allows people to do what they want without his permission. He doesn't give a shit about how these women feel. If he did he wouldn't coerce them to have sex with him and especially not the crying, barely-legal Amber (If that's her name). Just Yuck. He is a repulsive character with absolutely no redeeming or sympathetic qualities. He's not interesting and not even scary or intimidating. He's just a braggart asshole - the kind of guy most of us have known at work, who leers and smirks and whose only conversation is a running stream of dirty jokes and lewd innuendo -  who sounds like a particularly annoying teenager, finding bodily functions and organs a source of great amusement.

4 hours ago, Nashville said:

What the hell is wrong with you?  ‘Pee hole’?  What are you, ten???”

I don't know what was worse, 'pee hole' or him saying, "Your penis" to Dwight. Maybe Kirkman shares his unheathly and bizarre interest in the genitalia of others. Good lord.

[Nashville]

26 minutes ago, peach said:

I believe that's known as the Carl Poppa episode.  lol.  And yes, it was great, with the pudding scene and the ending scene.
 

 

(watching this breaks my heart :*(

Thank you for linking it, though.  :)

 

26 minutes ago, peach said:

Everything you're mentioning was in Season 4, which ended with Rick's group and Glenn's group reunited in the boxcar, with Carol still running around with Tyrese.  Then they all ended up together again after the Terminus escape in the Season 5 premiere.  Then they found Father Gabriel and took on the Termites at the church.  Then we had the Grady Hospital thing, and finally they met Aaron, and made the decision to go to Alexandria.  That was the finale of Season 5.

Does it occur to anybody else that S5 was the beginning of the end of TWD - in terms of writing quality, at least?

[nodorothyparker]

There have been some things I haven't hated since the crew's arrival at Alexandria, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement.  More and more I'm inclined to agree that that's where they should have ended it, with our characters finally finding hope for relative peace and safety.  And a shower.  Because I'm not a comic reader, I have to take people's words for it that the show has relied increasingly heavily on that since then and has suffered for it.  Because it has suffered since then.  Nearly everything since the introduction of Negan at the end of S6 has been unwatchable.

[Smad]

1 hour ago, scrb said:

Wait, so one of their gimmicks is that they dress up like walkers?  That means other groups will kill them if they get too close.  And if they start shooting while disguise as walkers, then the walker horde will just set upon them.

They won't be sure that other groups won't shoot them on sight either.

What a dumb premise.

I find the Whisperers a pretty cool concept actually. Mainly because it brings us back to the horror element that this show has been seriously lacking since 6B. Imagine a small group on a supply/scouting run that run into a small herd of Zombies. Suddenly you hear whispers which is downright freaky/creepy. And before you know it one of those Zombies puts a knife into one of the group. The Whisperers walk with the dead by dressing up like them and you can't tell the difference until it's too late. They don't use guns for that reason, they use stabbing weapons.

38 minutes ago, Nashville said:

Does it occur to anybody else that S5 was the beginning of the end of TWD - in terms of writing quality, at least?

That had occurred to me a long time ago.

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, scrb said:

Wait, so one of their gimmicks is that they dress up like walkers?  That means other groups will kill them if they get too close.  And if they start shooting while disguise as walkers, then the walker horde will just set upon them.

They won't be sure that other groups won't shoot them on sight either.

What a dumb premise.

Well... considering walkers outnumber non-walker humans by a ratio of anywhere from a 100:1 to 1000:1 (depending upon which mortality statistics you buy into), giving neutralization of the death-by-walker option top priority isn’t necessarily a *bad* idea....  ;)

[AwesomO4000]

6 hours ago, peach said:

Everything you're mentioning was in Season 4, which ended with Rick's group and Glenn's group reunited in the boxcar, with Carol still running around with Tyrese.  Then they all ended up together again after the Terminus escape in the Season 5 premiere.  Then they found Father Gabriel and took on the Termites at the church.  Then we had the Grady Hospital thing, and finally they met Aaron, and made the decision to go to Alexandria.  That was the finale of Season 5.

Ah, thank you. Sorry about that. I got the two seasons squished together in my head... I think mostly because Darryl accidentally ended up with Joe and the Claimers after he lost Beth, so I was thinking Beth and the hospital story (which I did remember was season 5) would be not too far after that, but I forgot that we didn't find out what happened to Beth for quite a while after that, and so that's why it wasn't until the middle of the next season after Beth got taken away (and likely some portion of the audience had forgotten about her - heh.) In which case I guess that I do agree with your original statement that likely the last really great episode probably was at the beginning of season 5 - unless I'm forgetting one.

However, I can honestly say things definitely went downhill for me after Negan showed up... then for a quick moment I thought something interesting might happen with Eugene - like he might actually kill Negan or something (if nothing else than to prove Rosita wrong) - but nope, his purpose is apparently to be there so that Negan can "confide" in him and share his "story." Just what I want to see: more Negan with stories I guess supposed to make him relatable or sympathetic? (fat chance that). I suppose the next spoilers will be that we see the return of the Garbage Queen. Maybe she'll present Rick with an artistic nude rendering of him - made out of trash... no wait that might actually be amusing: can't have that. ; ) *

* I'm trying to have a sense of humor here, because Carl... and I don't want him to be dead, so I hate this.

[phoenix780]

I know there are differences, but this Negan backstory stuff reminds me of the Governor. Why wait so long to try and flesh out a character? He's already stale, at least for me, and he only really existed to murder a beloved character anyway. Unless learning more about him is a prelude to his demise, I'll pass. Or I'll watch and complain about it more, because it's nice to have something harmless to vent about. 

I'm strangely unmoved by Carl's death. I'm mostly curious who they'll do this with next, because they rely heavily on beloved characters dying to drive story, and taking out a kid seems like your last move. But they have more seasons pending, right? 

[AngelaHunter]

11 hours ago, AwesomO4000 said:

his purpose is apparently to be there so that Negan can "confide" in him and share his "story."

Didn't we hear enough from the Fonz re: his sad tale of woe in the trailer with Father Pee, well, after he informed FP about his prior rubbing out of one in the very spot FP was sitting? I don't remember any of what Negan confided, but in spite of that I'm pretty sure I don't want to hear any more. In fact, I'm 100% sure I don't.

21 minutes ago, phoenix780 said:

He's already stale, at least for me

He was stale for me right after we spent ten hours listening to him talk all night long when he killed Abe and Glenn. "Please, no more!" I begged my TV.

[catrox14]

12 hours ago, AwesomO4000 said:

owever, I can honestly say things definitely went downhill for me after Negan showed up... then for a quick moment I thought something interesting might happen with Eugene - like he might actually kill Negan or something (if nothing else than to prove Rosita wrong) - but nope, his purpose is apparently to be there so that Negan can "confide" in him and share his "story." Just what I want to see: more Negan with stories I guess supposed to make him relatable or sympathetic? (fat chance that). I suppose the next spoilers will be that we see the return of the Garbage Queen. Maybe she'll present Rick with an artistic nude rendering of him - made out of trash... no wait that might actually be amusing: can't have that. ; )

Could this be their clunky way of showing that despite trying to sell it as Rick and Negan are two sides of the same coin, that's not true at all?  That despite some of Rick's stupidity on occasion and the moments of the Ricktatorship, he's really never become anything like Negan nor the Governor (Not IMHO). Maybe having Negan be the literal worst before giving the backstory was to minimize any possible sympathy?

Unless Negan is really the plot device for Eugene's arc? Maybe I've been looking at this all wrong.  Maybe I'm giving TPTB too much credit.

[AngelaHunter]

9 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Maybe I've been looking at this all wrong.  Maybe I'm giving TPTB too much credit.

Any credit would be too much credit.

Okay, so who's boycotting this Sunday night? *raises hand* and "I ain't kiddin' neither."

Just think, if everyone refused to tune in how it would knock the smug smiles off all those people congratulating themselves for the genuis they feel they've displayed.  

[catrox14]

9 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

Any credit would be too much credit.

Okay, so who's boycotting this Sunday night? *raises hand* and "I ain't kiddin' neither."

Just think, if everyone refused to tune in how it would knock the smug smiles off all those people congratulating themselves for the genuis they feel they've displayed.  

I'm weak. I'll watch :(

[peach]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

Any credit would be too much credit.

Okay, so who's boycotting this Sunday night? *raises hand* and "I ain't kiddin' neither."

Just think, if everyone refused to tune in how it would knock the smug smiles off all those people congratulating themselves for the genuis they feel they've displayed.  

I will not watch Carl die, or watch Rick & Michonne watch Carl die. 

I will watch Talking Dead if Chandler is on, which will surely be the case.  I would like to see Yvette Nicole Brown whack Gimple over the head with her notebook.  It especially makes me mad that Carl is dying from a damn walker bite, especially after I watched that Carl Poppa video again where he fought off tons of zombies when he was 4 years younger.  Carl Poppa