BYOAC Talking Dead - Walking Dead Season 5

[CCM]

Bye Bye Beth, Bye bye.
Did anyone watch Talking Dead?
That girl crying her eyes out over loosing her job.
She needs to suck it up and Im sure sci-fi or someone will offer her a part in a movie. The name Walking Dead should carry some weight.

I don't think she was necessarily crying about losing her job.  Pretty much every interview with any cast member, they talk about how close they are and how they have become a family.  So, she is more upset about not being part of that than she is about a pay check.   They showed interviews with both Norman Reedus and Lauren Cohan and they were crying as well, and they didn't lose their jobs...  yet.

[Vigo]

(Cant remember her name, the one Beth stabbed.)

I think her name was Dawn.

Beth was a weak character in the show until this season. It is good they had a chance to build her up before knocking her down. I'm pretty surprised that only she died that episode. My prediction was that Beth and Carol would both be slaughtered, sending Daryl into a hillbilly rage.

The way I read Dawn was that she set up a system where the strong take advantage of the weak. Everything is a pecking order and Beth and Noah were captured so that everyone could take advantage of them. The minute Dawn saw Beth as a strong person, she was no longer subject to that abuse.

I translated Beth's final act as a Clint Eastwood Gran Torino moment.  Beth had to expect she was gonna be shot, but hoped to take Dawn down with her. It was such a weak attack, and I don't think she is that dumb.

I didn't quite catch what she was referring to when she said "I understand now", but figure it was a reference to that the only way to challenge her authority was to kill her. Like Dawn had killed her mentor, or like how that other cop had no option but to fight her to the death since he had challenged her authority.

[dkersten]

What pissed me off was in the commercial break right before, the "Talking Dead" clip said there would be a special cast member guest that we wouldn't want to miss.. That only meant one thing - that a regular cast member was going to die, and that was going to be either Carol or Beth, and from the point on I was expecting it.  When it happened, I didn't get the "shock value" because of the expectation, and without that part, it was an incredibly pointless death.  When they showed the clip again in "Talking Dead", it again didn't make any sense. 

Thing is, I saw Beth at that point as I did my daughter this weekend when we had an argument.  She just had to get the last word in, regardless of the consequences.  In my case, my daughter lost her car for a few days, in the show Beth lost her life for essentially the same thing.  Just stupid in both cases, and childish.  It made me see her as the weak character she always was, and also made me see the entire effort to get her back as one colossal waste of time.

And in the end, when they all put down their guns, Rick said anyone who wants to join them can go, and nobody (other than limpy) went with them...  So it added nothing to the overall story, imho.  Just a waste of effort.

On the other hand, look at Rick in this.  He kind of turned into a dick.  He runs the guy down for not stopping, then just shoots him in cold blood, and seemingly only because he was annoyed by the guy begging for his life.  "Shut up" he mutters as he turns away after shooting the guy.  WTF.  I do like that in Talking Dead they said how Rick basically turned into Shane, except it just took him longer to get to where Shane was back when Rick killed him.  I am not all that happy about this, frankly, because the thing I liked about Rick was that he was different, he thought things through and didn't just act first.  Now he just seems to be acting without thinking about it. 

Overall a weak note to end the mid season on, and not only do we have to wait nearly 3 months for the next episode, even the new series "Better call Saul" doesn't start until Feb also.. FFS, if you are going to end the one show that people tune in for for three months, at least start another show so people have a reason to turn to your channel..  Who is the brilliant guy at AMC who was thinking "You know, I don't think we need viewers to watch our channel for the next three months, so let's just not have anything new until then.. "

[yotsuya]

This whole concept of "Mid-Season Cliffhangers!!!111!!!" just ticks me off. Although I don't watch Walking Dead, I've had to endure the same stupid crap with Mad Men. Patiently waiting for the spring to see the second half of season that should have already been finished last spring.

[jdbailey1206]

This whole concept of "Mid-Season Cliffhangers!!!111!!!" just ticks me off.

+1. Gotham and Sleepy Hollow have taken to doing this ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- also.

[Ginsu Victim]

On the other hand, look at Rick in this.  He kind of turned into a dick.  He runs the guy down for not stopping, then just shoots him in cold blood, and seemingly only because he was annoyed by the guy begging for his life.

I actually laughed when he shot him and said, "Finally, crazy-ass Rick from the comics is here!"

[Malenko]

I was glad to see Beth go. Not a very good actress, and tough to look at. Bullet to her face probably was an improvement. No idea how Maggie, who is smokin hot for a white girl, is supposed to be her sister.

[thomas_surles]

I was glad to see Beth go. Not a very good actress, and tough to look at. Bullet to her face probably was an improvement. No idea how Maggie, who is smokin hot for a white girl, is supposed to be her sister.

+1 I swear if I had to hear her sing or talk in that dumb voice anymore I was going to stop watching and finally start breaking bad.

[Vigo]

She was too minor of a character to get on my nerves until that awkward episode with Darryl that hinted at statutory rape the whole time.

[Malenko]

She was too minor of a character to get on my nerves until that awkward episode with Darryl that hinted at statutory rape the whole time.

her character is 18 though, and the "actress" is 29

[Vigo]

She was too minor of a character to get on my nerves until that awkward episode with Darryl that hinted at statutory rape the whole time.

her character is 18 though, and the "actress" is 29

I don't know if they ever released her age in the show, but since she is the youngest, and Maggie was still living under Hershel's roof, it seemed to imply that Beth was underage, especially since she pranced around singing like a ssmurf. Darryl seemed to be 30-35, so it still was a very rapey.

[dkersten]

lol, I never saw it that way, but that is some funny ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

I didn't read the comics, so I didn't know that Rick was a crazy mofo.  He certainly has changed from the first couple seasons.  I liked in season 2 (?) when he was at the bar with Hershel and the road gang came in.  The moment he thought things were going down he committed and took them out.  Yet he still believed in "innocent until proven guilty".  Now I see the "judge, jury, and executioner" in his character.  It isn't that it is bad, particularly in this setting, just not the same character I saw in the first couple seasons.  He started out more of an Ed Stark and ended up more of a Tywin Lannister.. 

[jdbailey1206]

No idea how Maggie, who is smokin hot....

No idea what you are talking about...

[Malenko]

I don't know if they ever released her age in the show, but since she is the youngest, and Maggie was still living under Hershel's roof, it seemed to imply that Beth was underage, especially since she pranced around singing like a ssmurf. Darryl seemed to be 30-35, so it still was a very rapey.

http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/Beth_Greene 

They implied her age, I think they mentioned learning to drive or something.
Also, its not rape if you yell surprise.

[Cobolisdead]

The whole thing with Rick that you guys seem to be missing is that the guy was basically paralyzed from the impact of the car and hitting the pavement. Shooting that Bob was a mercy kill for Rick, and the Shut UP part was because Bob said that they would die out there.

[thomas_surles]

Carol mentioned she was 17 when they first got to the prison and that one prisoner was getting fresh with her.

[Vigo]

In the comics, Dale was getting down with Andrea, and comic Andrea was fresh out of college. I kinda figured the Darryl/Beth moments were lightly touching the same topics, pointing out that social norms about age tend to go away when there is no society.

[dkersten]

The whole thing with Rick that you guys seem to be missing is that the guy was basically paralyzed from the impact of the car and hitting the pavement. Shooting that Bob was a mercy kill for Rick, and the Shut UP part was because Bob said that they would die out there.

Meh, a bit weak given that the guy lived in a hospital.. lol

He ran him down to begin with, and he should have been able to just pull up next to the guy and say "I am gonna kill you if you don't stop running", or hell, do what the cops do in real life, get ahead of him then cut in front of him and jam on the brakes, get out, and tackle his ass.  Rick ran him down then killed him in cold blood.  That's my take on it, and he didn't have any remorse for it either. 

 

[Vigo]

Well, rick is extremely quick to judge because he has been bitten by liars before and friends have died from it. The guy gave no reason to be trusted, only reasons to be cautious, so I am not gonna say there is anything about Ricks past that would lead me to think he is gonna try tackling the guys put himself in a seconds worth of danger over it. There are walkers and potentially other cops around, so I wouldn't put him in the same light as other murderers like Shane or the governor, because those people killed their own allies, or manipulated and killed for personal gain. Rick was still focusing on saving his own group. But, It might be a slope he is slipping down, we will see.

Honestly, I was more shocked rick never picked up that perfectly undamaged bullet proof vest the cop was wearing.

[Deadpool]

• Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that was violent.  Looks like Ill be sleeping soundly tonight.

• Im excited we get to see Negan.  My favorite love to hate fictional character.

• Pretty sure that Carol killed Zombie Andrea in the beginning.

So I have yet to get into Walking Dead, where is the attention at?  I am a blacklist guy myself 

[BadMouth]

For the past few months, I've been getting caught up on all past seasons and avoiding this thread because I didn't want any spoilers.
I finally watch the current episode and can participate.
....and it's the worst episode ever IMO 

Nothing interesting happened.
Story did not progress.
One person dying stretched out over an hour with some weird pointless dream sequences.

Did they let someone different write or direct this episode?
(I didn't stay up for the talking dead show)

[horizon]

I think they have quite a few producers for the show as a whole, and so you get some really different perspectives across episodes.  To your point though, while I'm sad that character is gone, I think the internal struggle was a potentially good storyline, the episode itself was terrible.  I was bored most of the time.

[Vigo]

I chalked that up as not much more than a reunion episode with some of the previously dead characters.  Been shouting that the TV for the last few episodes that they should just go to DC anyway, took all this time one one person to finally think that is a good idea.

[lordnacho]

I knew it was coming, but I thought he'd go down in a much cooler fashion.  A single Urkel zombie snuck up on him.  Ugh, bad writing.

[DaOld Man]

yeah, I wasn't very happy with the season opener.
Hope it gets better quick.

[Vigo]

A single Urkel zombie snuck up on him.

  Now I wish it said "Did I do that?" after biting him.

[Malenko]

I just watched it, on demand.  Seriously, it felt like 2 minutes of show for every 5 minutes of commercials. And no one can figure out why people download TV shows via torrent/newsgroups.

Sad to see that guy go, I actually was starting to like him. I just dont really get how he went outside a cabin where Judith was, killed like 20 zombies with his bare hands, then gets killed by Urkle.  I mean I understand they want to keep the number of black guys the same, but they coulda let the preacher go.

[Thenasty]

for some reason, I am getting bored watching ! ! !


I think it's time to put and ENDING (it's getting to long).

[BadMouth]

I think it's time to put and ENDING (it's getting to long).

I wouldn't go that far.  I think they were pretty clever in past seasons by having dedicated locations like the farm or prison play a role.
Not a lot of sets needed, one controlled shooting location=save money while still making a decent show.
There are many classic zombie movie locations they haven't used yet, like a mall (gotta be an abandoned mall somewhere to shoot in).
Right now, it's nothing but traveling nowhere and fighting.  It's like Lord of the Rings!  (even the trees in those movies walked)

I just wish they'd stop with all the flashbacks and hallucinations.  They feel like time fillers and nothing more.
I do think there were a few good things recently.  The canabalism was interesting and them eating the leg of someone who had been bit was pretty good.

Things I would like to see:

Hints about the source of the outbreak and treatments that almost work, but not quite.
A partial zombie - one that didn't turn all the way and can still think and reason at some level.  (zombie with a shotgun maybe)
Other species zombified - wolves, boars, etc.  A gorilla dies in the zoo because nobody is there to feed him.  He escapes, then gets bit and turns. 
More bearded zombies.
Some overweight zombies.
A family that is resistant - they don't change when they die.
Attempts to repair infrastructure, like radio repeaters or mail delivery.
Receipt of reports from other places on earth - I'd use sparingly and not as a major plot component.
A government bunker where people are subject to daily health exams and the suspected weak are put on watch.

Most of all I want Rick to stop being a confused flustered whiney ---smurfette--- with no sense of direction.

[Ginsu Victim]

Just another case of brutha in...


...brutha out.

[dkersten]

Anyone else wondering if Sasha's overanxious knife swing that cut both a zombie and Abraham will cause problems for him?
Also, I just noticed that IMDB shows the cast members for the next several shows, and some people are missing, suggesting they will get killed or leave.  Interesting.

[harveybirdman]

The problem is that some characters have become sacred, and their is less emotional investment.  I mean I liked Beth and Tyreese, but I never felt like the series made me seriously emotionally invest in them.  In the past they have done a great job with secondary characters. T-Dog's death for example was emotional and meaningful given some of his other important moments (changing Rick's mind about the prisoners, almost succumbing to fever, struggling with Merle's abandonment).  But with Beth and Tyreese, I just was like oh well bummer, in stead of holding back tears.

If it had been Carol that died, rather than Beth, I feel like Daryl's reaction would be much more interesting and captivating.  As it stands I just don't know how I feel about it.  Again I liked Beth enough, but meh I don't know what dynamically changes without her or if I can force myself to believe it.

For that matter Rick and Daryl seem to be untouchable as well, to the point where it's almost as if they're never REALLY in danger.  When the show was young you never knew when your favorite might end up dead.  I feel like it's at a crossroads.  I'm very interested to see what happens to Judith given the diversion from the comic.

The Alexandria and Saviors Story lines have potential to be cool, and maybe if they hold true to Glen's fate some of the feelings of "sacred" characters will dissipate

[jdbailey1206]

The whole ideal of sacred characters really does the series justice.  My wife and I are on separate sides of the fence about Carol.  This just goes to show you how the characters can really mean to each of us.  Which to me is a sign of excellent writing.  We become invested in each character differently and become emotional when something happens to said character.

I have read the comics on and off and I read up on each character to see who survives and I get a kick of watching my wife's reaction when something happens to a character.  But there are times when you get a Dale when I'm talking to the TV saying, "Hey!  He doesn't die yet!"  But the writers do well to fill the void the character has left with another character. 

[harveybirdman]

Yeah most of the character changes I've been COMPLETELY on board with Herschel taking on some of Dale's character worked famously in my opinion.

And of course Bob taking Dale's ultimate fate was also very well done.  To me it's almost like the TV show gives Kirkman the chance to improve upon the story threads from the comic.  Having the Hunters have a deeper story line and intersect with the Savior story line seems like a good example of fleshing out the story and building continuity.

The foreshadowing of the Savior conflict in the "Radio News" that Tyreese is hallucinating is interesting as well.  I just hope that we get to some good action soon.  The last few episodes have been so slow that putting up with the ENDLESS commercial breaks is almost unbearable.

[DaOld Man]

I don't know about this folks.
3rd show of the season and Im  feeling like if I miss watching an episode, so what?

[dkersten]

I spent the whole episode asking myself who was going to die next.  And of course, this place can't end up being what they say it is.  How many times will hope have to be crushed before the people turn into animals?

My prediction?  The community will be everything they wanted, only some (maybe Rick) won't be allowed to stay.  The main guys (everyone sans the kid with the limp and the preacher) will leave with him out of loyalty.

I too am getting to the point where I don't look forward to the next episode.  This one was decent, but the last few were so damn boring. 

[horizon]

I too am getting to the point where I don't look forward to the next episode.

I am more excited for a new Grimm than I am to see Walking Dead pop up on the DVR.  I was pretty bored most of the last episode.

[BadMouth]

I thought last night's episode was better than the last two.
It's still too slow moving compared to previous seasons.
It's progressing as slowly as a daily soap opera, but only airing once a week.

Give me something new and interesting every week paired with a larger story arc.
The first keeps me entertained and the second keeps me coming back.

[Vigo]

My prediction is that the town is legit, but they are brought in as hired guns. The town sounds fortified, but those dudes seem weak and wimpy. Take your pick, Mad Max, 7 Samurai. I bet they are only there to kick some ass.

[harveybirdman]

If they stick to the comic then the Hilltop community actually brings them into the conflict with the Saviors, not Alexandria itself.  Also I'm interested to see how Rick assumes control of Alexandria, and if it differs from the comic.


Moving slow but it should get interesting soon enough....