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The Comics: Same, Yet Different


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Isn't one of the top rate shows on TV about a white dude having sex with a black woman?  Oh, a little show called Scandal?  Seriously, I don't understand why people think we are still in 1950.

 

It tends to depend on the show. Sleepy Hollow is a show that is dogged by fan questions about whether the WOC lead female and the white lead male would get together. Their response was to beef up the role of his white wife (who had initially been a small part of the show and had been slated to die) to the point where they were living in the WOC's house, spending her money, while she sat back watching them try to find old love again. She became a supporting player. The only reason any of this stopped was likely because of a ratings crash and network interference. 

 

It doesn't have to be racism that gets in the way of Michonne and Rick - there are a lot of other reasons it wouldn't happen. It's more the juxtaposition of his relationship with Michonne against his relationship with Jessie that causes this to happen.

 

If the show isn't going there, then hopefully next season Michonne might finally get a relationship of her own, with Morgan or someone else, and then more people will be more likely to see her in a different way than just part of Rick's story.

Edited by Pete Martell
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Or maybe Michonne isn't ready for a relationship or doesn't want one.  She (or anyone) shouldn't have to hook up with someone else to be a whole person.  Michonne isn't a lesser human being because she's not banging some dude.

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Or maybe Michonne isn't ready for a relationship or doesn't want one.  She (or anyone) shouldn't have to hook up with someone else to be a whole person.  Michonne isn't a lesser human being because she's not banging some dude.

 

If that's the case, then that would be nice to hear too. I would have had a man flirting with her at the party, and her not really wanting to open that door of her life again. As it is they just tend to ignore the issue entirely, which helps cause the idea that she's just there for Rick and his family.

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If that's the case, then that would be nice to hear too. I would have had a man flirting with her at the party, and her not really wanting to open that door of her life again. As it is they just tend to ignore the issue entirely, which helps cause the idea that she's just there for Rick and his family.

 

Agree.  I think Michonne not having any adult, sexual and/or romantic relationship at all since we've met her is kind of ridiculous, to be honest.  I know people don't want to see her sleeping around like she did in the comics (not slut shaming here!) but come on now, she's not a nun.  Also, I just got majorly creeped out when reading your post about the man flirting with her at the party scene: please tell me that was *not* the point of her scene on the veranda with Abraham?!

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Also, I just got majorly creeped out when reading your post about the man flirting with her at the party scene: please tell me that was *not* the point of her scene on the veranda with Abraham?!

 

I hope not. I didn't get that vibe at the time (I know some others did). I think they were just both feeling like outsiders.

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Thanks!

 

Did it seem to anyone else that Volume 22 ("A New Beginning") was a direct response to reactions to the show? In it, we see

(1) proactive efforts to remove the threat from zombie herds; (2) a time jump to allow Carl to age; (3) people using some of the tricks of earlier comics/episodes to blend in with zombie herds; (4) active cultivation of every protected piece of land; (5) evidence that animals are still around and not eradicated by the dead ....

(It's not that spoilery; I'm just being careful.)

 

It just seemed like a lot of it was expressly responding to the "these people are idiots" commentary that the show has generated ...

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The comic counterparts have done quite a lot. I think our TV folks will get around to it once they stop getting attacked by wackos every other episode! I think the timing was more coincidental versus Kirkman doing something in response to the viewers though. I think a lot of TV viewers may be bored by the rebuilding, but I'd like to see it. I am also interested in seeing how the Whisperers translate. Moreso than Negan.

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At one point in the comics, Negan uses zombie infected arrows as weapons. I don't think it'd be plausible in the show, given how many times they've had zombie blood fall on open wounds. Though I can't quite recall if they ever confirm that Negan's plan worked as intended in the comic.

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Ah yes, that's right. I remember actually being worried Rick was going to die. I hope they don't go there in the show (as interesting as the idea might be), because they are always covered in walker blood.

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I'm going to post this here, as I think it is more appropriate then the spoilers thread because it involves the comics.

There is a lot of speculation on spoil the dead that Negan will appear in the finale. And there is a lot of speculation of who is going to get Lucilled. The majority think that the candidates are Glenn, Darryl and Morgan. So, what say you Previously TV?

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I'm honestly a little annoyed by how popular Daryl is... I don't really get it... so I'm rooting for it to be him. I also think his death would have the biggest impact... it'd have a bigger impact than Glenn's death in the comic. Of course many fans have been vocal that they'd quit the show if Daryl died. All the more reason to kill him off, the way I see it, but I can see AMC issuing a mandate to keep him safe.

Daryl has filled the Rick's #2 role since the beginning of series. That was the role Glenn played when Negan was introduced. It's possible they are setting up Morgan for that role. But Tyreese and Glenn have been relegated compared to their comic roles by the presence of Daryl. I think it's time to clear that space for other characters.

Edited by Ronin Jackson
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Right now I guess Morgan.

I don't think they'll get rid of Daryl (yet? Ever?), and I don't see Lennie James wanting to be on the show forever. He never seems as into it as the others.

As much as I enjoy Morgan and Rick, his death would not hurt me as much as Glenn's. I just don't think Glenn is dead right now. I am frustrated at their continual pretending though, since the whole world knows he meets Lucille.

Eta: while Glenn's death in the comics was shocking, it didn't really advance anything in my opinion.

Edited by mandolin
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I stopped reaidng the comics after Carl got shot in the eye because the level of immature violence every issue was getting ridiculous. I've read a couple comic wiki's and I see that my concerns were justified. It seems like the comics have devolved into a pattern of tribal warfare between settlements punctuated by the kind of violence a 13 year old would dream up. If the show turns into that I'll have little interest in watching. The Governor and Woodbury weren't good in the comics or the show. I've no interest in Negan and all the crazy plotlines associated with him.

Edited by RustbeltWriter
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I just binge-read (hey, that's different!) from approx #75- #80 (where show is now) to the current issue(#147, I'm completely spoiled!) and I just had a few observations I thought I'd throw out there:

- Carl's aging - it's interesting to see how they manage the aging of Carl's character. In comics, Jessie/Pete had only one young son, Ron. Bc the actor who plays Carl is older now they gave Jessie an older son to be a protagonist with Carl but they still needed a younger son to....substantiate the Pete family abuse story and be a foil to Carol. I think the aging of the actors/characters is going to be something that we all will just have to fan-wank. Where are the children we/Rick heard playing inside the walls when they first approached? Some of the stuff hotheaded child Carl does in the comics (like with Negan) would be utterly out of character for pragmatic teen and good brother/baby sitter Carl to do. (Even if Judith dies before then and he's no longer needed for babysitting duty, Teen!Carl is still sensitive to the fact how his going after Negan would needlessly cause others to risk their lives to save him).

Jessie's characterization- it seems they are looking to give Jessie more of a backbone and maybe that is a sign that she's in it for the long haul or at least longer haul. Jessie taking out that Wolf is O-O-C (out of character) for Comic!Jessie but I'm thrilled if we're getting another strong female character.

Morgan's characterization - the graphic novels are ~ 25 pps. The focus is often on physical threats as opposed to character growth. When it is on character growth- out of necessity due to the medium I guess- it often has "on the nose" writing , i.e. subtext as text bc it's just not that possible to translate nuanced character portrayals that easily via minimal dialogue and "flat" panel drawings. Although Morgan's character is different than in the books, I get that the PTB did this to create drama between Morgan and Rick. Is it too unbelievable given the threats? Did they paint him too much in the direction of an anti-violent pacifist given his characterization in "Clear"? I didnt see tonight's episode. I'll have to reserve judgment.

Finally, Rick. - Comic! Rick that panics at the walkers overrunning ASZ and indirectly gets Jessie/Ron killed and Carl shot doesn't exist on the show. I think the show is at that point (roughly) but I don't see that sequence playing out like that at all (another reason I think Jessie and her boys might be around a while longer). For that matter, it's hard to visualize Deanna randomly shooting a gun into the crowd.

Very interesting to read the source material. Funny in retrospect to see how the characters have been cast/dressed to meet comic readers expectations.

Re: Nagen. Nagen's character is so violent and full of expletives (Can we dust off Andrew Dice Clay?) they will have to tone him down a lot for the show. But then it'll be a challenge to present him as something new, not The Governor Redux. I'm curious to see what they do with that character. TV unlike the comics does present an opportunity for shades of grey and nuancing. It's a challenge to the writers but I think the bully of the comics could be improved upon for the show. He's the protagonist for a while - they need to have him be interesting, more interesting than the Governor certainly.

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Muwahaha. One final LMAO observation. I am so glad the show writers opted to make Alexandra's origin as a sustainable off-the-grid solar based luxury community and not the " community that was created for U.S. Politicians to live in in case of something -like a zombie invasion, for example -happened". I mean no. That wouldn't happen. Who would live there? All of Congress? In suburban homes? As neighbors? How many family members would they each be allowed to bring? Staff members? Servants? They'd bicker endlessly. Who cooks? Who does the laundry? Intone voiceover from the Jack Klugman/Tony Randall " Odd Couple" "Can these members of Congress live together in the same post-apocalyptic community without driving one another crazy?" Dun de dun de dah dudda da...

Besides no protection against airborne threats. Anything built for that purpose would most certainly be an underground bunker.

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Eyes High, on 16 Nov 2015 - 12:28 PM, said:

I'm not surprised about Abe/Sasha.

Abe hooked up with Holly in the comics, and TV Holly is dead.

At least this will go some ways to counter the perception that the writers have some sort of mental opposition to white male characters forming romantic or at least sexual attachments to black female characters on the show.

 

********

 

With regards to old posts above mine in this thread: Richonne is not only a fan creation.  Andrew Lincoln's Mum ships them for cripes sake.  It's been fluffed up by TPTB (see Gimple and Richonne) and by the lead actors (see Lincoln at the latest Walker Stalker con in Atlanta) and their extended family. 

 

Ok -- this is suited to the relationships thread but it's mostly comics related so I put it here.  Not sure if I need spoiler tags.  Hmmm.  Ok, I'll do it just to be safe.   

Holly in the comics.  After Jessie dies Rick hooks up with Andrea.  They are both blue-eyed and blonde.  Negan mistakes Holly for Rick's "wife" and kills her.  Now, in the show we have a very dead Holly.  Abraham and Sasha are on the verge of something.  This might mean Sasha will get comic Holly's death because Negan thinks Rick's wife is Michonne.

  This is a theory I read somewhere and sounds plausible but I haven't read the comics.

 

For any comic readers out there, would like your opinion.  If you think Richonne is ridiculous and Michonne is "too good" for love, please ignore. 

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I read the comics but there are so many twists and turns in the Negan storyline that it's hard to remember who he kills and why other than in his introduction which was .... memorable.

 

But your basic premise is right - the show loves to take situations from the comics and change their timing and change slightly the characters involved. I think they are actually pretty effective at writing a two-level show -- one that satisfies and surprises both fans and non-fans of the comics by selectively keeping and discarding bits of them. They do, however, keep to the overall structure of the comics so that they don't have to invent completely new stuff down the line, which I find comforting because it gives me reason to not treat every episode as "lather, rinse, repeat" because the comics do go somewhere and I think the show will follow that path too. It's not all just wandering in the woods and dying stupidly from avoidable walker attacks.

 

* - Meh, I'm not a Richonne shipper (or of any relationship other than the writers with believability (I ship the hell out of that one)) but I can certainly understand why people want the most awesome female character to hook up with the most awesome male character on the show. That I'd rather see Michonne boink Daryl or Glen is my preference and doesn't have to be yours.

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Given the interaction between Glenn and Enid, it looks like they are setting up Enid to assume the Sophia role in the comics and become a ward/adoptee of Maggie. And with the interaction, perhaps that signals that Glenn will not meet his comics death.

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That being the case, I expect to see Carol get loved up real soon.  It'd be nice if it was Daryl.  He needs some action before he shuffles off his mortal coil, if ya know what I mean.

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I just read that "Sasha has Holly's role. Michonne has Andrea's role. Carol has Michonne's role."  I'm going with it.

 

If you mean in terms of hookups--Abraham/Holly becomes Abraham/Sasha, Rick/Andrea becomes Rick/Michonne, and Michonne/Morgan becomes Carol/Morgan--then yes, it's possible. Do you think that there's a shot, though, that Rick/Michonne could happen in the comics down the road? They do seem awfully close and getting closer in the comics, even if Comic Rick is involved with Andrea. There was a good chunk of a recent issue devoted to Rick and Michonne talking about their feelings. On the other hand, Comic Michonne is only attracted to black guys, so there's that.

 

As for Carol/Morgan, Comic Morgan is actually bitten when the herd overruns Alexandria. So I don't know if there's much time left for that, unless they want to keep Morgan around past his expiration date in the comics, the way they did with Carol.

 

Heath/Denise has been swapped out for Tara/Denise, presumably to create audience buy-in for Denise instead of hooking her up with another new character. I agree Comic Sophia will become TV Enid.

 

Given Glenn's save, do we think he'll be keeping his appointment with Lucille's bat, or whether he'll be spared in favour of someone else getting the chop?

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If you mean in terms of hookups--Abraham/Holly becomes Abraham/Sasha, Rick/Andrea becomes Rick/Michonne, and Michonne/Morgan becomes Carol/Morgan--then yes, it's possible. Do you think that there's a shot, though, that Rick/Michonne could happen in the comics down the road? They do seem awfully close and getting closer in the comics, even if Comic Rick is involved with Andrea. There was a good chunk of a recent issue devoted to Rick and Michonne talking about their feelings. On the other hand, Comic Michonne is only attracted to black guys, so there's that.

 

As for Carol/Morgan, Comic Morgan is actually bitten when the herd overruns Alexandria. So I don't know if there's much time left for that, unless they want to keep Morgan around past his expiration date in the comics, the way they did with Carol.

 

Heath/Denise has been swapped out for Tara/Denise, presumably to create audience buy-in for Denise instead of hooking her up with another new character. I agree Comic Sophia will become TV Enid.

 

Given Glenn's save, do we think he'll be keeping his appointment with Lucille's bat, or whether he'll be spared in favour of someone else getting the chop?

 

I know, I saw some of those panels the other day --the recent Rick & Michonne heart to heart-- and wondered about it.  Getting Lucilled...  I just keep flip-flopping between the three main possibilities: Glenn, Morgan and Daryl.  I have no legit spoiler info on it so it's all spec.  I could see them going through with Comic Glenn's fate just because we are supposed to think they wouldn't dare go there after DumpsterGate and Maggie's pregnancy announcement.  Morgan's arc would fit in with their typical MO of making characters unlikeable before they off them.  I don't see how Morgan can stick around with his desperate need to cling to his ALIP mantra -- that will have to change if he's to become a full fledged member of CDB.  But does he even want to -- why is he there -- because Cheeseman said he needed to be around people?  He will be banished if he doesn't change.  Also I wouldn't put it past Show to hammer home the impossibility of Morgan's stance with a literal hammering courtesy of Lucille.  And of course Daryl is just for pure shock value, but there's been spec on his demise every season for years now.

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I'm already tired of Negan and he hasn't even made it on screen yet.

Heh, the dangers of hanging around message boards ;)

 

They like to change expectations slightly from the comics while keeping the same general arc and some of the same beats so I think they might have him Lucille one of the women.  If he were to kill Maggie, Tara, or Rosita, it would fulfill pretty much the same job as Glenn or Daryl.  (I don't think Morgan would be sufficiently upsetting to be impactful.)

 

It is also slightly possible that Negan doesn't kill anyone on  the first meeting and they wait until a few episodes after he's introduced - just when we are all just starting to wonder if they changed him completely.

Edited by rab01
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I don't know.... I don't think he'd Lucille a woman.  He said he wouldn't do it to Glenn "because that'd be racist" so he has some ludicrous code about killing -- but doesn't it come down to an "eenie meanie minie moe" type thing anyway?  I'm leaning toward Morgan -- they might incorporate him more and more into the group in 6b and then wham: the man who first taught Rick about the ZA and saved his ass, and has now cornered the moral high ground, gone in a senseless act of brutality.  They have to make it as horrifying as possible because this big bad is the baddest (up to this point). 

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This Negan will be different from comics Negan. I hope he'll be a lot different but even if he's only slightly different, they HAVE to change that stupid choosing speech from the comics because it made no damn sense. If Rick is in the group that is captured and he acts anywhere close to how Rick actually is, Rick gets Lucilled  - no ifs, and, or buts.  By the way, that speech, the harem and returning Carl are the reasons I dread the Negan storyline.  Negan is supposed to be at least moderately clever and all three of those are self-defeatingly stupid (particularly leaving Rick alive out of fear of "creating a martyr").  If the show changes those 3 things, I have no problems with the Negan stuff.

 

Anyway, why shouldn't Negan kill a woman from this cast? I agree that they need him to be vicious and brutal so why not "go there"? I don't think there could be a more brutal entrance than bludgeoning to death a pregnant woman so ... (No, I don't want Maggie to die nor do I think it will happen but ... *shrug*)

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I guess Abe could get Lucilled since he was dead at that point in the comics. I still think it will be Morgan though. I don't think Lennie James wants to be a main character on this show. 

 

I do think the audience at large can "handle" a man in that situation better than a woman, plus Maggie has a big part in upcoming source material. Unless Carol takes her place...

 

ETA: I wish CDB could catch a break, even for an episode or two. I feel like they had a bit of respite on the farm, and then they had the (unseen) months at the prison. Rick hardly heals from one beating before he has another. The comics have more time to let things happen, and the show needs to incorporate that somehow, IMO.

 

It's also irritating to me that this whole half season has taken place over, what, a week or two? And of that, we've seen a couple days on-camera?

 

Another edit: I struggled with the comics here in this section. I felt like we were going from "my group" to this whole other environment with new people and new situations that were really unfamiliar. And unwelcome. At least that's translating onscreen since I'm struggling with this season. :-\

Edited by mandolin
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This Negan will be different from comics Negan. I hope he'll be a lot different but even if he's only slightly different, they HAVE to change that stupid choosing speech from the comics because it made no damn sense. If Rick is in the group that is captured and he acts anywhere close to how Rick actually is, Rick gets Lucilled  - no ifs, and, or buts.  By the way, that speech, the harem and returning Carl are the reasons I dread the Negan storyline.  Negan is supposed to be at least moderately clever and all three of those are self-defeatingly stupid (particularly leaving Rick alive out of fear of "creating a martyr").  If the show changes those 3 things, I have no problems with the Negan stuff.

 

Anyway, why shouldn't Negan kill a woman from this cast? I agree that they need him to be vicious and brutal so why not "go there"? I don't think there could be a more brutal entrance than bludgeoning to death a pregnant woman so ... (No, I don't want Maggie to die nor do I think it will happen but ... *shrug*)

Seriously. And don't forget the f-bomb every other word.

I was so mad in the comics that Rick just sat there and didn't even try to fight for Glenn. If they have TV Rick sit there with his mouth hanging open it will look ridiculous, IMO.

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Between the Governor, Terminus and the Wolves I think they have done the psychotic villain to death. Negan promises to be another version of the same. Given that they change things from the comics to TV, I hope they make Negan less deranged and more believable. I think that they can do this while still being true to the character by making Negan more of a gangster. More of a cold and calculating businessman who preys on organized society and uses it for his own profit, and less of a deranged psychotic. More Tony Soprano and less Hannibal Lecter. The character can still be brutal and ruthless, but by making him more sane I think it will be different from what we have seen previously, and hence be more believable. Because to be honest, not all the crazies could have survived. There has to be some sane villains still around. And the show would do well to quit being SO repetitive.

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Between the Governor, Terminus and the Wolves I think they have done the psychotic villain to death. Negan promises to be another version of the same.

 

From your comments to Scott Gimple's ears, I hope. It's perfectly fine for the show to have human antagonists but if they're all going to be one note psycopaths then the show becomes violence porn and parody. Like you said, if the villain is cunning and clever that is 100 times more interesting than seeing another iteration of the Governor or Joe from the Claimers or Gareth. How many sneering madmen who rule through violence are we supposed to watch and think the storyline is original? "Oh, this guys is different. Instead of an eye patch he has a bat he named Lucille!" Well, whoop dee do.

Edited by RustbeltWriter
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Between the Governor, Terminus and the Wolves I think they have done the psychotic villain to death. 

 

The show from the start has been more interested in the idea that humans are worse than the zombies, but they definitely haven't found enough interesting ways to explore this idea. A group that was trying to be good but has been corrupted could be an interesting thing to explore... "bureaucratic evil" if you will. Another problem with this is Kirkman has done too much to make the zombies not interesting (beyond the make-up effects of the show). The zombies during Daranbont's reign retained some human traits, and once Daranbont was ousted they've ditched that. The result is the zombies have largely become mundane obstacles unless they are dealing with a herd... but even then to make them "threatening" it requires the characters to ignore survival techniques they've already established to have discovered (multiple camouflaging methods, for example). And because the zombies no longer represent viable enough threats they have to keep coming up with new increasingly psychotic human baddies which just treads already covered territory.

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The show from the start has been more interested in the idea that humans are worse than the zombies, but they definitely haven't found enough interesting ways to explore this idea. A group that was trying to be good but has been corrupted could be an interesting thing to explore... "bureaucratic evil" if you will.

Isn't that exactly what they tried to do with the Hospital arc?

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I think if Glenn ends up meeting the same fate as his comic counterpart after the whole fake death bruhaha I'll be out for good. I've been on the verge for years but once or twice a season there's a terrific episode that keeps me on... but I'm fairly certain I can give up a couple of good hours a year to gain back the 13-15 hours I'd be gaining.

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I've got to speculate about this here because I don't want actual spoilers -- this can't be the real introduction to Negan's group, right? This is just Kirkman fucking with the comics readers, isn't it?  We all know that there is no way that Kirkman gives up on the Lucille intro but that scene can't happen without a large number of people from the group being present. It also doesn't make sense that 3 very experienced killers like Sasha, Daryl and Abraham decided to just get out unarmed when they have an RPG in their truck so ... we are going to have them get back into their car to start unloading it and then they are going to slaughter this band of bikers and we'll get the real Negan intro later in the season, right?

(Also, from the casting news, I gather that Negan himself isn't in that group and I can't remember the Show allowing a sizable portion of their principle cast to be calmly cowed and robbed by a bunch of redshirts.)

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