S09.E01: A New Beginning.

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate 2018.10.07

Quote

Rick and his group make a risky run to D.C. in search of tools they need to build the new world Carl envisioned.

 

[nodorothyparker]

Reminder: This thread is for discussion of the episode.   DO NOT talk about spoilers here.   That includes what may or may not be in the comics or news about casting comings and goings.  Discussion of that can be found in the Spoilers and Speculation thread.

[SimoneS]

I really enjoyed that premiere. All those conversations and interactions with different characters made it feel like the show I used to love again.

Rick means well, but he is being downright unreasonable. He expects Hilltop and Alexandria to feed the people who slaughtered them? Fuck them. Let them starve or kill them if they cannot feed themselves. I can't wait to see what Michonne puts in the charter because it can't be much. However, Richonne as usual warm my heart. 

Way to go, Maggie. Nice to see Daryl has found his calling as her wingman/hangman. He has abandoned Rick. I wonder how Maggie will punish Earl. I hope not as harshly as she did Gregory. Good riddance to Gregory, btw.

I like Carol and Ezekiel. They are a good couple. Too bad he started talking ridiculously in their final scene.

Edited October 8, 2018 by SimoneS

[raven]

I liked Daryl having actual dialogue and a viewpoint.  I liked the Daryl/Carol scene and I like Rick/Michonne and Carol/Ezekiel.

I like Maggie having zero fucks to give about the Saviors or Gregory after he tries to kill her and almost hurts her baby.

I like everyone working together but I HATE the dumb plans the show comes up with.  It was beyond dumb that someone gets killed because oh we have to run, too many zombies and then the SAME number of people take out those EXACT same zombies after losing someone.  Just bad writing.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Meh season premiere.

 

I enjoyed watching Maggie dropping some truth bombs on Rick.

 

Asking her to continually give resources to The Saviors is  a bridge TOO FAR.

 

Still say this Utopia Rick is trying to build with them to honor Carl, shits on the memory of The Fallen.

 

Glen 

Abe

Sasha

Olivia

Spencer

Eric

Denise

Francine

Tobin

Benjamin

Richard

and the countless others who died during All Out War.

[AngelaHunter]

This ep bored me to tears. Even the attack on Maggie and Gregory's necktie party was ho-hum. That fact that it all stemmed from the death of some kid we never heard of just left me "whut?"

Daryl's sudden, opinionated chattering was disorienting.

[nodorothyparker]

I'm actually a little optimistic just on the basis of what we got this first outing.  Characters are actually talking to each other like people rather than monologuing at each other.  They're acknowledging their own history.  Our lead actresses interacted with each other.  Daryl did something other than grunt or mumble.  No Negan.  All good.

A year and half later though, Ricky boy remains every bit as delusional as when he unilaterally decided to spare Negan in the first place.  Who is this "we," Rick, when you say we all give freely and willingly?  Again, it's been more than a year showtime and the ex-Saviors are still completely unable to support themselves and your big solution is to ask the people they terrorized to keep giving them more?  Can you not see how maybe that doesn't look so terribly different than what they had before?  Angry Brett Butler mom kind of had a point that her kid died for this.

Maggie wasn't wrong, but I can still regret that the show killed off one of the few consistently written and entertaining villains they had. 

[Donder]

It felt like a walking dead episode again.........black comedy........just played out. The only thing interesting was Ricks rapey eyes when Maggie was berating him....not going to end well.

[walnutqueen]

I, for one, am glad my show is back.  I choose to ignore the plotholes big enough to drive a Smithsonian wagon through, and just concentrate on the characters I love.  

Of course, I also choose to believe the horse didn't die, so I am totally delusional.

[The Companion]

Well, it's good to see that the passage of time hasn't made the gang any smarter. Hey, let's take everything across the glass even though it appears you could have hung some of it over the balcony or bannister. Let's start with the heaviest thing so we can weaken the glass before carrying other things across. Oh and we will tie everyone so we can pull them up but then sit there slackjawed when we have to pull someone up, leaving them to dangle like bait on a fishing hook.

Gregory should have died long ago and watching his awkward machinations was cringeworthy. Worse was watching an apparently sober man who turned to drinking attack Maggie so competently that she couldn't defend herself. PS Maggie, I am not parent shaming but who doesn't strap the kid in when going over bumpy terrain in a stroller? I had no interest in any of the scenes where Gregory was chewing scenery. The idea that he could gain any traction with anyone after all he has done was ridiculous.

Michonne continues to be a bright spot. Her quiet competence is fun to watch. I also really loved the Carol/Daryl scene and really Carol in general. 

The show finally acknowledged the fuel problem and started exploring a lot of the stuff that it should have hit on years ago. 

I was annoyed by the reaction to red shirt's death with an assertion he should not have been out there (he was clearly needed for the horses) and the delusional idea that being a zombie snack wasnt a real risk when leaving the protected area. 

[FishyJoe]

Why on earth would they be risking their lives for 19th century technology? They have an entire machine shop don't they? They should be able to make a plow out of steel instead of iron. 

And the wagon? There should be a ton of auto trailers around which would be way better than that rickety wagon. Or they can just take the motor out of a pickup truck. 

And why don't they just banish people who don't want to play ball? Just send they off and tell them if they return, they will be shot. 

[AngelaHunter]

24 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

Characters are actually talking to each other like people rather than monologuing at each other.  They're acknowledging their own history. 

This is true. I wished to hear them have actual conversations like real people. However, the content of these convos, delivered as though everyone were speaking at 33rpms or had inhaled ether, was painful. By the time I got to Greg and Earl's slo-mo tete a tete, I started hitting the FF button.

And Rick? How did you get so lucky with Michonne? Well, let's see... your wife got eaten by zombies, and Jessie, who had you panting after her like a hungry hound dawg, likewise got eaten. You sat upon your sofa, no doubt cursing your bad luck with the ladies and no doubt sourly thinking you'd never get laid now, turned your head and there was Michonne, for whom you'd never spared a glance before. Any port in a storm, right Ricky G? It's all so romantic.

Brett Butler, who is 60 and looks 15 years older? Sad, sad it is. I recognized her only by her voice but at least her accent is real. I hope TPTB weren't taking a little poke at her when they had her sucking on that booze bottle.

[Ms Lark]

Missed Big Henry (our Smithsonian elephant in the rotunda area). He is inedible and wouldn't have been eaten by zombies, so still should be hanging out. I also don't remember the Museum of Natural History having glass floors, but I guess something in Atlanta is standing in?

I was wrong in the live chat, Rick was using a mace on the zombies, not Lucille. According to JDM she is MIA.

[Boofish]

I would watch 9 more seasons of them rebuilding the world. I don't necessarily enjoy the settlements all living under different rules and leaders and I hope that gets resolved. 

Rick is flawed but not everyone at the sanctuary terriozed them. All of Negans lieutenants should be in jail with him.

[peach]

A lot of stupid in this episode, but my favorite line was Maggie snarling at Gregory, "You can't even murder anyone right."

The focus on main characters is nice, but I feel the Carl sized hole.  For them to blame the idiocy of keeping Negan alive and taking care of the Saviors on him is just extra insulting.

[Coco88]

Is the Hilltop a democracy or a dictatorship?  Maybe Maggie made the right decision but from what I saw she made it all by herself.  How is that any different from what Rick did, except she killed someone and Rick let them live.  (And yes I hate Neagan)

Edited October 8, 2018 by Coco88

[ShadowHunter]

I forgot this was starting again tonight. Crazy since I use too love when the show would be back on.

It was nice that Daryl actually spoke and I loved the scene with Carol. Nice that Carol has a relationship with Ezekiel. 

Still I did not care about the kid who died or his parents.  It is funny to me her contempt for Maggie.

Glad we had a time jump.

This episode had a few issues but I felt they were trying which is something lacking in previous seasons.

[thuganomics85]

The Walking Dead is back and it returns in typical fashion: by being an hour and a half long so AMC can get more commercials... err, I mean, "show more content."

All seriousness, it was certainly a step up from all of last season and the time jump seems to be shaking things up for the better.  Some characters have more to do again (I think Daryl actually had more lines and development in this episode alone, compared to all of last season), the conflicts actually make sense (Rick and Maggie), and I'm actually kind of curious to see how it all plays out.  Yay!

I guess every cockroach finally runs out of luck, because that certainly happened with Gregory!  I'm still surprised he last as long as he did, but a failed attempt at killing Maggie and whimpering while he gets hanged is certainly a fitting end for him.  I will miss that little weasel though.  Too bad that he's apparently a creepy perv in real life, because I thought Xander Berkeley was one of the strongest actors here (and in most of things he is in.)

I guess during all of their museum hunting, Father Gabriel took a moment to shop at Badass R. Us, since he's now looking like some kind of badass cowboy in a western.

Ezekiel and Carol are nice.  It's going to suck when he dies (because Carol ain't ever dying, I suspect.)

I see you, Zach McGowan (Roan from The 100. Anton from Agents of Shield)!  I know you are up to something!  You can't be trusted ever!!

Only real negative was all the reminders that Negan is still alive.  Love you, Jeffery Dean Morgan, but I'm not looking forward to watching him smirk and sneer his way through the show, again.

[mrspidey]

2 hours ago, FishyJoe said:

Why on earth would they be risking their lives for 19th century technology? They have an entire machine shop don't they? They should be able to make a plow out of steel instead of iron. 

They needed the plow as a blueprint so they can make more. 

 

I really liked this. FINALLY, they use horses and coaches. Nature is visibly reclaiming streets and citys and the communities are actively rebuilding civilization. This is the kind of shit that interests me. 

Daryl must've had more dialogue this episode than in the entire show up to now...

[AngelaHunter]

Season premiere, 1 1/2hrs long (20 minutes more of ads and 10 of show) and 18 comments. I guess no one is setting the world on fire with this.

[heisenberg]

3 hours ago, FishyJoe said:

Why on earth would they be risking their lives for 19th century technology? They have an entire machine shop don't they? They should be able to make a plow out of steel instead of iron. 

And the wagon? There should be a ton of auto trailers around which would be way better than that rickety wagon. Or they can just take the motor out of a pickup truck. 

That is what I find the most annyoing of this show, no one with any knowledge what so ever.  The fact that almost all the technology from 1950 and over ceased to exist and vanished from the earth does not help either. Where are the flat screen tv's, computers, sound system or whatever product exist these days?

For example: I used to work in electro-mechanic for a good part of my life, I have worked on control panels for dams for a while and I did the operating manuals that go with it.  It was about an inch thick, you just take the time to figure it out a little and you can bring back the electricity to a hole town/village...  But they show a small solar panel pluged to a lead battery?!?!  You don't need to be a genius to operate things, you just have to know how to read and learn.

For the food it is very easy to make hydro-culture, if some teenagers are able to grow some weed I don't understand why older people would not be able to do the same with vegetables.

 

Fishyjoe, by saying "risking their lives for 19th century technology" you nailed it.

Edited October 8, 2018 by heisenberg

[spiderpig]

Here's my two cents worth if anybody cares.

I would cringe when I saw Angela Kang's name as writer because I thought her scripts were annoying and pointless.  But I really enjoyed the season premiere.

The time jump was well needed.  Maggie finally had that baby after a gestation period comparable to an elephant.

Negan didn't talk!

Anybody ever read Earth Abides, which has a similar premise of humans surviving after a plague?  It's nearly 70 years old but goes into what happens when people have scavenged all they could from "civilization" and have to go back to an agrarian society.  I think about it a lot.

I guess I'm not the only one who didn't know who the hell the red shirt was who died.

Yay Carol and Ezekiel!!!

I love hating Xander Berkeley, but it was his time to go.

[Anela]

4 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I, for one, am glad my show is back.  I choose to ignore the plotholes big enough to drive a Smithsonian wagon through, and just concentrate on the characters I love.  

Of course, I also choose to believe the horse didn't die, so I am totally delusional.

I haven't watched the episode, but I've missed *you*! :) I might watch tomorrow. 

[FishyJoe]

5 hours ago, mrspidey said:

They needed the plow as a blueprint so they can make more. 

 

I really liked this. FINALLY, they use horses and coaches. Nature is visibly reclaiming streets and citys and the communities are actively rebuilding civilization. This is the kind of shit that interests me. 

Daryl must've had more dialogue this episode than in the entire show up to now...

They don't even need to make more. There should be farm equipment all over the place. I doubt any of it got stolen during the ZA, who would need it? 

[SimoneS]

On 10/7/2018 at 11:43 PM, Boofish said:

Rick is flawed but not everyone at the sanctuary terriozed them. All of Negans lieutenants should be in jail with him.

Not only Negan's lieutenants, but all the people who participated in the attacks should be under lock and key or as I prefer in a grave. I do understand that Rick is trying to rebuild, but he seems to forget the glee that many of the Saviors took in brutally murdering, torturing and tormenting people. There are people who didn't participate in their crimes like the women that Negan sexually exploited, but it doesn't seem like there were any trials to determine who participated in which actions and how they should be punished. This is the problem with adapting a comic book story. The things that can be glossed over or rationalized in a comic simply doesn't work in a tv show. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by SimoneS

[SimoneS]

16 minutes ago, FishyJoe said:

They don't even need to make more. There should be farm equipment all over the place. I doubt any of it got stolen during the ZA, who would need it? 

How exactly would they use this farm equipment? Modern day farms are mechanized and it would be near impossible to produce enough fuel to make it feasible to use a tractor to plow fields or milk cows, etc. 

Now if they could find an Amish farm, they might be lucky to find one of those antique plows along with carriages, but I highly doubt they know where to find a Amish community in VA any more than most people so they went to the Smithsonian where they knew for sure there would be seeds that they could plant, plow, and wagon. I do think that they could build a wagon and they should have just taken the plow and wagon wheels for the blacksmith to have as molds.

ETA: Now I think about it, I get why they took the whole wagon. They would not have been able to carry the wheels after taking them off.

Edited October 8, 2018 by SimoneS

[FishyJoe]

Just now, SimoneS said:

How exactly would they use this farm equipment? Modern day farms are mechanized and it would be near impossible to produce enough fuel to make it feasible to use a tractor to plow fields or milk cows, etc. 

Now if they could find an Amish farm, they might be lucky to find one of those antique plows along with carriages, but I highly doubt they know where to find a Amish community in VA any more than most people so they went to the Smithsonian where they knew for sure there would be seeds that they could plant, plow, and wagon. I do think that they could build a wagon and they should have just taken the plow and wagon wheels for the blacksmith to have as molds.

A modern plow works on the same principle, just that it does multiple rows at once. All you would need to do is cut it down to fewer rows so a horse could pull it. And it would be much easier because a modern plow is made of steel so it would be a lot stronger, lighter and more efficient.

[Daltrey]

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

(I think Daryl actually had more lines and development in this episode alone, compared to all of last season)

Damn, the one exact thing that I was going to say! It was like they remembered he's not a mute! A step up as many have said but there's still a long way to go. Taking half the stuff they did from the museum was stupid, especially the "covered" wagon; they had clearly converted a vehicle into a horse drawn wagon for human transport, they could easily build more for supply wagons. The biggest thing I kept thinking was why are we wasting so much time watching the resulting fallout from the death of a character we just met? It carried negative weight. The best thing about it was the long overdue death of Gregory. I Disagree that he is a good villain, as someone else noted; his only motivation is greed and cowardice, there is no potentially redemptive reasoning behind his actions. Negan may have been a ridiculously over the top, power mad asshole, but at least in his delusional mind he believed that his way of doing things was the best way for society to thrive and survive as long as everyone was compliant. Overall, it was definitely a step up from last season and it gives me hope but at this point, for the first time, I'd have to say that FEAR is the better written show. Who would have ever predicted that? ;)

[Bryce Lynch]

6 hours ago, mrspidey said:

They needed the plow as a blueprint so they can make more. 

 

I really liked this. FINALLY, they use horses and coaches. Nature is visibly reclaiming streets and citys and the communities are actively rebuilding civilization. This is the kind of shit that interests me. 

Daryl must've had more dialogue this episode than in the entire show up to now..

A plow is a very, low tech piece of equipment.  They easily could have designed them from scratch.

[walnutqueen]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

I haven't watched the episode, but I've missed *you*! :) I might watch tomorrow. 

I've missed you too, @Anela!   :-)

[sigmaforce86]

7 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Brett Butler, who is 60 and looks 15 years older? Sad, sad it is. I recognized her only by her voice but at least her accent is real. I hope TPTB weren't taking a little poke at her when they had her sucking on that booze bottle.

THAT was her?!?  Never ever recognized her.  Thing is I can't stand Brett Butler and I cringed when I heard they cast her and again when I saw her name in the credits.  So they did sneak her past me because I didn't catch on at all.  Guess that means the grieving parents will be around awhile and featured here and there though.

Didn't find the episode as exciting as it could have been although we were Walker heavy and some with really excellent makeup but.  Note to TPTB - we know there's a nobody is safe policy so anyone in danger could be killed.........but then stop showing future scenes of those same people.  I'm not talking about spoilers or seeking out sneak peeks but just general commercials or "coming up on" snips.  Do I believe Ezekial could be killed?  Of course.  Was I in suspense thinking it was going to happen at the museum?  Not at all since they had showed snips of him and Carol kissing multiple times and those scenes hadn't been in the episode yet.

Rick needs to stop trying to save Sanctuary.  He can save the people if he wants but the location is a bad bet.   Daryl is right; Neegan made it work by taking from other communities, the soil at that factory can't possibly have the nutrients and minerals that would make it work for farming which is going to be essential.  They'd be better off building a satellite farm nearby, splitting everyone out to the other settlements or building a new settlement in a better location instead of pouring Hilltop and Alexandria's stockpiles into it.   I think his focus on "mercy" made him lose sight of actual logic and planning.

Loved the call back with Carol calling Daryl Pookie again and assuming the focus on Daryl is to start his journey to being a full on leader.  It would (will?) actually be interesting to see how Daryl would handle Sanctuary if Rick wasn't around constantly insisting everyone prop them up with supplies.

[CletusMusashi]

This episode showed that there was a lot more to Coral's vision of how the new world should be than just not killing Negan. It also focused on the importance of cowboy-era props and as many people as possible wearing big stupid hats.

All in all, it wasn't as bad as I expected, but that extended runtime is just too much. If they would just lighten the hell up on the ten second pauses after each sentence, everything that happened this week could have fit into a much snappier normal length episode.

[cincivic]

Was it my imagination or were Earl's (Ken's dad) hands tied in front of him? Was he going to be executed, too?

[bosawks]

Now that Michonne and Rick are talking about writing some sort of charter are they going to go to the National Archives and get the Magna Carta?

I mean the trip to get a Conestoga wagon went so well..........

And if I wanted to integrate a contentious group with groups they were battling with I would totally put Daryl in charge of that, great idea Rick, it's your great idea maybe, I don't know, you should do it?

Edited October 8, 2018 by bosawks

[Haleth]

I liked that they worked together to do something practical-- raid the museum for useful items.  More of this, please!  During the live posting it was mentioned that they could get farm implements in an Amish community.  Southern PA isn't far away.  Road trip! 

Hey, Gregory, still up to your old tricks, huh?  Ok, never mind.  Maggie can do what Rick can't-- deal with a nuisance.

Zach McGowan is too well known an actor to be an extra at the Sanctuary.  He's must be behind the Free Negan movement.  

Speaking of the saviors, why are the other communities supporting them?  They need to get off their asses and contribute whatever skills they have and not expect to be fed.

I like the Zeke/Carol (sort of) romance and baby Herschel is adorable.

8 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

I also don't remember the Museum of Natural History having glass floors, but I guess something in Atlanta is standing in?

It was the GA state capitol building.

[WearyTraveler]

Do zombies eat books?  Is that why they can't go to a library and get books on how to build all the things they want to build?

[FishyJoe]

25 minutes ago, WearyTraveler said:

Do zombies eat books?  Is that why they can't go to a library and get books on how to build all the things they want to build?

 

Weren't they given books last season for precisely this reason?

[nodorothyparker]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

I liked that they worked together to do something practical-- raid the museum for useful items.  More of this, please!  During the live posting it was mentioned that they could get farm implements in an Amish community.  Southern PA isn't far away.  Road trip! 

I liked it too.  It doesn't bother me that maybe they could have found some of this lying around Virginia farms because at least they're trying to be practical and thinking beyond the immediate smash and grab they'd been doing.  From what they were saying, by now everything within easy reach has already been scavenged and it gave us some great visuals of the continuing decay of roads and bridges and the buildings themselves.  It was very Life After People.  The problem they're going to be increasingly running into, as they also finally smartly addressed, is that they've scavenged all available fuel beyond what small amount of ethanol they can make for more than 20 miles out.  As Daryl remarked, it's now going to be more than a day's journey to go anywhere and without getting really lucky, they're likely to consume more fuel hunting it than they could probably make worth their while bringing back.

I find it believable that they're probably having problems growing enough to support themselves at the Sanctuary.  It looks like an old factory at what was probably once an industrial park.  With the amount of concrete and pollutants likely there, that ground isn't going to be good for growing much for awhile.  The only thing unbelievable about it is that after a year and some change they're not having serious discussions about relocating that group somewhere else where they might be able to set up farming operations.  But that gets them back to the original problem that Rick and company didn't seem interested in doing any serious vetting of the Saviors at the end of their war to see if there were foot soldiers or workers among them like the singing Hilltop guy who maybe could be integrated and who needed to be dealt with through exile, execution, or imprisonment.  That said, I appreciate the continuity of acknowledging that Ricky boy's decision to let Negan live on as a chained up pet and keep the Saviors among them as an interconnected community did not sit easy with everyone in all the communities and that they're now seeing some of the backlash to that.  It's something we talked about a fair bit here at the end of last season, but I wouldn't have been surprised to see the show completely handwave away.

5 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Anybody ever read Earth Abides, which has a similar premise of humans surviving after a plague?  It's nearly 70 years old but goes into what happens when people have scavenged all they could from "civilization" and have to go back to an agrarian society.  I think about it a lot.

Earth Abides occurred to me too when we saw the bridge collapse as well as everything being reclaimed by vines and weeds.

[Ohwell]

9 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Missed Big Henry (our Smithsonian elephant in the rotunda area). He is inedible and wouldn't have been eaten by zombies, so still should be hanging out. I also don't remember the Museum of Natural History having glass floors, but I guess something in Atlanta is standing in?

Wow, I never knew that was his name.  I love going to the museum just to see him, been doing it since I was a kid.  

[The Companion]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

A plow is a very, low tech piece of equipment.  They easily could have designed them from scratch.

Seriously. None of the items taken felt particularly complex, honestly. It would have made more sense for them to be getting something like a spinning wheel. Something with moving parts that might take some time to figure out without an example. Also, it would have been easier to transport people than to transport that giant old wagon (of dubious running ability and upkeep). Why not have some of their people come and measure and take notes. If that stuff isn't going anywhere, they could observe on several occasions. That actually would have made for a more compelling red shirt. 

1 hour ago, CletusMusashi said:

This episode showed that there was a lot more to Coral's vision of how the new world should be than just not killing Negan. It also focused on the importance of cowboy-era props and as many people as possible wearing big stupid hats.

All in all, it wasn't as bad as I expected, but that extended runtime is just too much. If they would just lighten the hell up on the ten second pauses after each sentence, everything that happened this week could have fit into a much snappier normal length episode.

Not for nothing, but those hats are popular with people who spend a lot of time outside for practical reasons. As a pale person in a post-sunscreen world, I would have to wear a giant hat and long sleeves pretty much all the time.

1 minute ago, nodorothyparker said:

I find it believable that they're probably having problems growing enough to support themselves at the Sanctuary.  It looks like an old factory at what was probably once an industrial park.  With the amount of concrete and pollutants likely there, that ground isn't going to be good for growing much for awhile.  The only thing unbelievable about it is that after a year and some change they're not having serious discussions about relocating that group somewhere else where they might be able to set up farming operations.  But that gets them back to the original problem that Rick and company didn't seem interested in doing any serious vetting of the Saviors at the end of their war to see if there were foot soldiers or workers among them like the singing Hilltop guy who maybe could be integrated and who needed to be dealt with through exile, execution, or imprisonment.  That said, I appreciate the continuity of acknowledging that Ricky boy's decision to let Negan live on as a chained up pet and keep the Saviors among them as an interconnected community did not sit easy with everyone in all the communities and that they're now seeing some of the backlash to that.  It's something we talked about a fair bit here at the end of last season, but I wouldn't have been surprised to see the show completely handwave away.

Earth Abides occurred to me when we saw the bridge collapse.

This is what makes absolutely no sense. There are things that they could presumably do (distilling, processing, preserving, etc.). Why would they not have set up some sort of exchange/trade? We send you corn, you give us half the fuel. Hell, they could trade for labor (a solution Maggie settled on in all of 30 seconds). There were most definitely people in that group who would have wanted to relocated, but even the ones that don't lack a credibility problem when left on their own after everything. I would have expected them to be either distributed among the other settlements or expected to trade for anything they wanted. The idea that they are just receiving items with no work 18 months later doesn't seem realistic to me.  

[Dakisela]

I just really hope that they don't turn this into another in your face political commentary where it's the haves vs. the have nots, welfare state vs. provider mentality, democratic leaning vs. republican leaning, make the sanctuary great again type of thing.  That would totally take me out.  It's already in our faces enough ALL DAY LONG.  I need my TV to escape, please.  Show us something positive.  If that is at all possible.  Thank you!

[HighMaintenance]

I thought that this episode was better written and had more character exposition than the last 3 seasons combined.  Still eye rolling at that visit to the museum to gather the heaviest items they could find to take back to town.   They couldn't find semi modern equivalents to all of these items and make them work?  I know we're supposed to handwave that everything has been scavenged, but equipment, boats, farm implements weren't "Eaten".  The idea of gathering seeds in the seed library was clever.

Why are the 3 communities insisting on staying separate and so far apart?  Why would the Savior "innocents" remain in such a dismal place when they could go to Hilltop or Alexandria?   I wasn't sure, did they abandon the Kingdom??  Also, looks like the show is foreshadowing another Savior "asshole" (the one Darryl told to paint over the Negan message).

So, Maggie gets attacked, in the middle of the night in a secluded corner of the camp, and suddenly it is Enid(?) to the rescue? (BTW, at the hanging, is Enid in a wheelchair???) 

Apparently, Maggie now has the power in the camp triad and is telling Rick to go pound sand.  Good for her.  Kumbaya Rick is an unrealistic Rick that will get everyone killed.

Farewell, Gregory.  You were the weasliest weasel that ever weaseled, but your villainy was becoming a bit TOO one note.

[Boofish]

3 hours ago, SimoneS said:

Not only Negan's lieutenants, but all the people who participated in the attacks should be under lock and key or as I prefer in a grave. I do understand that Rick is trying to rebuild, but he seems to forget the glee that many of the Saviors took is brutally murdering, torturing and tormenting people. There are people who didn't participate in their crimes like the women that Negan sexually exploited, but it doesn't seem like there were any trials to determine who participated in which actions and how they should be punished. This is the problem with adapting a comic book story. The things that can be glossed over or rationalized in a comic simply doesn't work in a tv show. 

Arun (the one who shot Olivia in cold blood) and the chick with the barcode on her neck should 100% be rotting in that cell with Negan

[Morrigan2575]

27 minutes ago, HighMaintenance said:

Also, looks like the show is foreshadowing another Savior "asshole" (the one Darryl told to paint over the Negan message).

Zac Magowan makes assholes awesome.  Watch Black Sails, Charles Vane goes from my most hated character to one of my most favorites over the course of 3 seasons.  He's just that awesome. :-)

[AngelaHunter]

20 minutes ago, HighMaintenance said:

Farewell, Gregory.  You were the weasliest weasel that ever weaseled, but your villainy was becoming a bit TOO one note.

I actually liked him during his early appearances, but soon realized that his slippery weasel act, with the exaggerated, hammy facial expressions of horror, fear and conniving that were better suited to a stage play or a cartoon, were his only persona. Boring, because you knew he would only do underhanded things and nothing more, ever. "One note" indeed, just like Negan. I didn't care about his hanging one way or the other.

I was expecting Zach McGowan, after his major starring part in Black Sails, to have more lines than a Redshirt of the Week, but I guess we'll see how his role plays out.

And where is everyone getting the marker pens and spray paint for the graffiti and sign spraying?

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

I like Jerry a lot, but I do feel real bad for that poor horse that he was riding.  Reminds of the days of Hoss Cartwright.  My back hurts just thinking about it.

We're gonna need a bigger horse.

[Lady Iris]

53 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

I don't know why they needed to bring back a canoe from a museum.  There has to be better built ones at a Bass Pro Shops like store closer to home.

I was perplexed at that lame ass looking canoe myself. Looked like a carved out log, nothing a good whittler couldn't have figured out.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed last night's ep compared to any ep from last season. Please make Daryl come alive again. Far too long as he muttered in the background. Bring back the snark and bite that made him a fan favorite.

[FishyJoe]

Whatever happened to the bullet factory? It seems like bullets would be a pretty useful trade commodity for sanctuary. I would have people watching them and the bullets would need to go through random testing. But after all that has happened, having a healthy supply of ammo would be almost as important as food and water.

[MrPissyPuppy]

2 hours ago, WearyTraveler said:

Do zombies eat books?  Is that why they can't go to a library and get books on how to build all the things they want to build?

They need to hit up a few libraries and get those old Foxfire books (in addition to the stuff Georgie gave them)!   Dewey 975.8 - Anne should know this.   https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/03/17/520038859/the-foxfire-book-series-that-preserved-appalachian-foodways

[walnutqueen]

4 minutes ago, MrPissyPuppy said:

They need to hit up a few libraries and get those old Foxfire books (in addition to the stuff Georgie gave them)!   Dewey 975.8 - Anne should know this.   https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/03/17/520038859/the-foxfire-book-series-that-preserved-appalachian-foodways

I HAVE those Foxfire books.  And I know how to "Old Fashioned" use libraries.  Sometimes, it would behoove y'all to keep old crones alive during a Zombie Apocalypse.  ;-)