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Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Walking Dead: Season 4 Episode 3 WDF Review

Things here at the WDF headquarters have gotten a little crazy this week so we couldn't post the normal episode synopsis Sunday night.  We'll catch you up now, but because we had to go back and use a source that didn't include the commercials, it won't be in the normal segments.

Episode Synopsis and Review:
Gleggie are out digging graves.  Dr. S and Hershel are stuck in the isolation ward working on the sick and dying.  Out in the courtyard, Tyreese explains to Rick, Daryl, and Carol how he came across David and Karen's (still smokin' and not in a good way) bodies.  Wanting justice, he freaks out on Rick and he attacks Daryl while he's trying to calm him down.  Tyreese and Rick exchange blows until Daryl intervenes.  Cue "shocked Carol face" from the promos.  The intro plays.
  • Sooz:  Again, a lot of footage from the promos in this brief little bit.  It's always bothered me that when Andy yells "me" in his fake Southern accent it always comes out "may"... and I'm pretty sure later on Norman says "hey" wrong again.  Dialect coach anyone?  That's just me being picky; I'm SO Southern I can hear regional differences in the accent.  My guess at why Carol was so shocked in the promos was WAY wrong, but like Norman said at a con, the promos are full of red herrings.  I just wish so much of the promo footage hadn't been taken from these first three episodes.
Hershel is treating Rick's cuts to his hand and says it's sprained.  Rick is feeling discouraged.  Tyreese fervently digs Karen and David's grave, while Bob comes out to try to talk some sense into him but just ends up helping.  Hershel explains to Glenn that the disease can hit anyone at any time, there's no predictable time frame for the illness... but they're interrupted by a coughing and obviously ill Sasha, who stumbles her way into the isolation block to find Dr. S.  Dr. S tells her "we have to tell them (dramatic pause) it's spreading".   At the counsel meeting the group are discussing about keeping cell block A as an isolation ward and using the administrative buildings for at-risk people as quarantine while Glenn starts to fight through the initial symptoms of the illness.  Hershel suggests a place where meds can be scavenged, so Daryl and Michonne agree to go.  Carol goes out to pump water but the line is blocked.  Rick advises her not to go outside the fence to fix it and to just go about their business while revealing that Carl is being sent to quarantine. 

Tyreese finishes his burial duties.  Rick approaches and apologizes for the fight.  They have a conversation about finding who killed David and Karen.  Tyreese passes more sick residents on their way to the isolation ward as he's walking back to the prison.

Carl is packing up his stuff to go into quarantine.  There's a discussion that eludes toward Carl being a "Rick Jr" type now.  And Glenn tells Maggie that he's sick.
  • Sooz:  I'm in despair about Sasha, I thought she could be a very rich character so I hope she's not killed off now; if so the writers need a giant spanking.  I'm not sure how I feel about them having Carl do a 180' so fast... he did go "full Shane" at the end of last season shooting Jody for no reason but for him now to be "Junior Officer Carl" is a little stretching for me. 
Outside Daryl is prepping the car for the medicine run.  Michonne approaches and they have a short conversation, one of the talking points being who should go on the run.  Bob is said to be going and it is revealed that Tyreese has been picked to go, but when Daryl approaches him outside of the isolation ward (because Sasha is inside) he seems to choose to stay to protect the block.

Hershel decides to go outside the fence to look for herbal remedies for the sickness, but Carl tries to stop him.  Carl decides to chaperone him there.  Carol is ushering the sick people into the isolation ward.  One of the girls approaches and says she's not feeling well, so Carol has her go inside the ward instructing her to have Glenn tuck her in when she asked Carol to do it.  Beth is in quarantine with Judith, while Maggie talks to her through a glass door.
  • Sooz:  Really?  You're going to have Carol go through the whole have a daughter, lose a daughter, get a daughter, lose a daughter thing?  Knowing what happens to Carol in the Graphic Novel I could foresee that being her television counterpart's breaking point.  That said I don't think it is, I think just as they have continued to have done they'll build toward that idea and then diverge at the last second to something less fulfilling.
Carl and Hershel are outside the fence with Hershel gathering his remedy and Carl standing guard.  There is a little discussion about how Carl has grown up and taken responsibility since we last saw him. 

Sasha is talking to Tyreese through a glass window from her isolation room while she's sick.  He tries to subdue her fears by telling her about the medicine run.  Daryl finishes the checkup on the black Charger (which is established to be Zack's car) as Tyreese emerges asking if he can still go.  Carol attempts to get water but the storage drums are empty.  Tyreese asks her to look in on Sasha.  Frustrated, she freaks out a little, and spills the rest of the stored water. 

Maggie and Hershel have a confrontation about why Hershel isn't in isolation.  Rick approaches and Hershel explains how he knows how he can help with the illness.  Maggie goes to visit Beth/Judith.  Rick investigates the courtyard where the bodies were burned.  Carol ventures outside the fence to clear the clog in the waterline.  Rick finds her just in time to help save her from a walker attack.

Daryl and crew speed down the road.  Distracted by a voice they hear over the radio, Daryl runs into and swerves around several walkers, until the car gets stuck as they try to escape.  The group exits the car and runs for cover in the woods, leaving Tyreese who appears to be surrounded by the horde.

The three run into the woods and are joined by Tyreese.  Back at the prison, Hershel tries to tend to Dr. S who inadvertently coughs blood all over Hershel's face.  Hershel checks on Glenn.  Carol comes back with the water and is confronted about having left by herself by Rick.  Rick briefly questions her before she admits to being the one who killed Karen and David.
  • Sooz:  Don't get me wrong, I love this show, but given that we only get 16 episodes a year and time is running out to the mid-season finale... I feel like they keep focusing on things that don't need to be said (or said again), and the time could be used to put in something that would be a little more emotionally gripping.  I wasn't gripped by this episode much.  The big reveal that Carol was the one who killed Karen and David came too soon and could've been replaced by more emotionally gripping content IMHO... delay that revelation a little longer.  Although I am looking at it with a highly critical eye at the moment, I do hope the back half of the first half picks up a little.  I still feel like we're dragging through backstory and groundwork when we should've been hitting the ground running a bit more.  Don't let the lessons from season 3 slip by, writers.  Bigger picture story telling, stop baiting us with these little cliffhanger ideas only for it to turn out to be pfffttt.

Monday, October 21, 2013

The Walking Dead: Season 4 Episode 2 WDF Review

Section 4.2.1
Someone approaches the inside of the prison fence to feed the walkers gathered outside the fence. Tyreese and Karen have an intimate moment. Karen goes to the showers by flashlight, and unbeknownst to her is followed back to cell block D by Walker Patrick, who digs in and eats an unknown man sleeping in a cell. Intro music begins to play.
  • Sooz: This is not a surprise, we’ve already seen the sneak peeks for the person approaching the fence and knew Patrick was lying there in wait.
  • Gen: The whole scene with Karen in the dark hallways reminded me of one of those classic creepy horror movies.
Section 4.2.2
Patrick digs into the now dead man. Rick gets Carl out of bed for the day’s chores while cell block D awakens, bringing Walker Patrick out looking for a new victim. Flash to Gleggie up in the tower, waking up ready to take on the morning’s rounds. Rick and Carl have a conversation with Michonne who’s leaving on another run, before going out to tend to the pigs in the (still burning off) morning fog. Carl wants his gun back, and it’s made clear that he has lost the psychotic “Shanesque” outlook he displayed at the end of Season 3, just before gun shots are heard coming from inside the prison.

They call Michonne back into the yard (who has just ridden out of the gate on her horse), and Maggie and Carl help her past the walkers there while Rick and Glenn run in to help the situation inside. Michonne injures her leg and Carl and Maggie help her back up to the prison. Back inside, the crew kill the new walkers and evacuate while Carol tries to save a man until she realizes he’s been bitten in the neck. Rick, Daryl, and Glenn clear the cell block but find Patrick in the process.
  • Sooz: Now we know why there are so many pics of Michonne getting help walking! Carol was ready and waiting to cut off the man’s arm which seems to elude toward the idea that it is HER who is now struggling with a hyper-killer instinct this season, not Carl. I feel like a good part of this episode was used in the Season 4 “sneak peeks” and trailers, so we’ve had a lot of this spoiled for us by AMC themselves. Michonne limping, Glenn yelling “There’s Walkers in D!”, hearing shots from inside the prison, and Daryl scooping up the kid while shooting a walker in the head all came from this one.
  • Gen: They didn’t waste any time getting into it in this episode! Right off the bat we’ve got chaos. I think we all saw it coming but it seems like they may have stepped up the gore factor a bit since last season. Loved the walker who rolls out of bed and his guts fall out! Bravo Nicotero!
Section 4.2.3
Rick, Daryl, and Glenn go cell-by-cell to find anyone who’s been attacked and dead, putting the ones they find down before they can turn. Carol decides that the dying man she’s trying to help should say goodbye to his two young daughters. The group clearing the cellblock find a man who died without getting attacked and determine that there’s a virus infecting people, and that they’ve all been exposed. Carol allows the young girls to decide if they want to put down their father after he dies, but they don’t have the nerve and Carol does it for them.

Carl, Michonne, and Maggie hobble up to the prison as Rick comes out and warns them of an illness … telling them not to get too close. Flash to a council meeting in the library with Sasha, Carol, Daryl, Hershel, and Glenn. They talk about what they need to do to isolate the outbreak, but hear Karen out in the hall coughing. They put her in isolation instead of letting Tyreese take her back to his cell. Karen names an unknown character “David” as also showing signs of being sick. Daryl goes off to bury the dead, but is warned to wear gloves and a facemask.
  • Sooz: Now we know where the pics of Norman’s face bandanna came from! Honestly there’s been enough spoiler chatting about there being an infectious disease coming around that makes this almost an expected thing. After all, modern medicine is all but dead, vaccines are a thing of the past in this world. And it’s dirty… oh so dirty. What I’m pretty aggravated about is that half of the security about living in a prison comes from the peace of mind of sleeping behind a locked cell door, but they left them all open and therefore got mauled.
  • Gen: They dropped a few bread crumbs in the first episode as well, like the only person Daryl said good morning back to at breakfast was…..yup, a doctor. They didn’t give us that little tidbit of info for the good of our health (no pun intended)! We had many a discussion in the chat room this summer about what would happen if people at the prison started becoming ill and dying and it just seemed like common sense to lock yourself in your cell at night, or at least shut the door tight enough so a mindless walker couldn’t escape or enter. Also there is the factor of the new people that they may not have known so well. How could they know if they could really be trusted? Wouldn’t they have felt safer locking themselves in at night? They may have gotten a bit too comfortable over the winter.
Section 4.2.4
Carol approaches the young daughters of the now dead man by the fence. She confronts the elder daughter about not being strong enough to put down her father before he turned, to which the younger daughter says “she’s messed up, she’s not weak”.

Flash to Rick approaching Daryl who’s digging graves. They talk about the “break” Rick has taken as the “leader”. Maggie interrupts bringing attention to a section of the fence that is about to give because of the walker horde that is pushing in on it.Back to Michonne inside with Beth wrapping her injured leg, Judith begins to scream a very desperate, odd cry that makes Michonne wince. Flash back to the fence. The group realizes that someone’s been feeding the walkers from inside the fence just as it begins to give.
  • Sooz: Alright, well, Carol’s pendulum has swung WAY too far in the other direction. Can this woman spend more than one season with any sort of dignity or is this it for her? Michonne is acting like she’s lost a baby in the “pre-turn” life. And whomever has been feeding those walkers needs to be lit on fire. It is eluded (by that horrible cry) to that Judith might be sick, which means we can probably expect her to go within the next couple of episodes. I feel like the episode would’ve had more emotional resonance if they had gone ahead and had her fall very ill before the end and let the episode’s cliffhanger be whether she survives or not.
  • Gen: I can understand Carol’s need to want to protect the kids and teach them to defend themselves as a way to make up for what happened to her own daughter but it seems like she’s enjoying it a bit too much. It’s like she can’t wait to put a knife in a kid’s hand and have them stab something in the face. Wow, that baby has lungs.I think I may have made the same face Michonne did when Judith started to scream. Yikes.
Section 4.2.5
Back at the fence, Rick tells Daryl to get the truck (saying he knows what to do). Inside, Carl is trying to make up a headstone for Patrick but scraps it when Carol tells him he was an atheist. She asks Carl not to tell Rick about her knife lesson again. Beth is heard singing to Judith as Michonne works out. Judith vomits on Beth and she asks Michonne to hold her while she cleans up, to which Michonne says “NO!” but takes her anyway, and then has a very emotional response to holding the baby. Beth chooses not to interrupt.

Daryl drives a truck out of the prison gates with Rick in the bed, throwing out live pigs that he’s cut so they bleed as bait to draw them away from the fence. The walkers feed and the group reinforces the part of the fence that they had pushed in while Rick has a moment showing frustration about having to kill the pigs that he had raised for food for the group.
  • Sooz: Carol should know better than to bring it up; she almost guaranteed that Carl was going to “tell on” her by making a bigger deal of it then. Why is Beth singing again? Why are you not listening, writers? We. Don’t. Like. It. Okay, so we get it, Michonne’s got a ‘past’ with a baby, but now if Judith is crying so weirdly (presumably because she’s infected), now Michonne is exposed, too. DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNN…. I would’ve just driven the truck up to the part of the fence about to give in to fortify it, but I guess given that the pigs could be the outbreak’s catalyst it doesn’t matter if they sacrificed them.
  • Gen: Oh man, the singing. Made it all the way to episode 2 without Beth singing. Although it didn’t seem to bother me as much this time, probably because she was singing to Judith. She does have a nice voice but come on, AMC, this isn’t “American Idol: Apocalypse”. Michonne’s reaction to holding Judith came as a bit of a surprise for me, considering her reaction to her crying. There is definitely going to be some backstory for Michonne this season.
Section 4.2.6
Carol gives the dead man’s daughters a lesson about walkers and how they’re not human. Rick disassembles the pigpen and lights the wood from it on fire, but not before Carl rats out Carol about her knife lessons to the kids. Rick says he’s not going to stop her or say anything about it, and then gives Carl back his gun.

Tyreese goes to visit Karen in isolation but finds the room bloody with a trail of blood that leads outside where both Karen and David’s bodies are lying as torched corpses. Cue shocked Tyreese face.
General Closing Comments
  • Sooz: It’s a little soon to be giving Carl back a weapon, but that’s just me. Of course his arc may just need to progress right this second. With regard to Karen… ouch… I hated her at the end of last season because she kept calling for someone else to “DO SOMETHING” but I liked her again as of last week… well, I guess she got lucky since some characters only lasted a single episode; she at least got a few. I feel sorry for Tyreese but I wasn’t invested in her yet. Now we have the answers to two burning questions in the fanbase… what was Tyreese looking at so dramatically and whose back-of-the-head was that in the “they got in” promos? So far I’m feeling a little led on, like the promos for a reality series that keep saying “OMG you’re not going to believe what happens” and then … crickets. Not bashing (yet) but it was too predictable for an episode where the hype said it was going to start getting “crazy and emotional”. I feel like this week was a good time to have something more substantial happen (like maybe Judith getting obviously ill or the fence coming down… something) and it just fell a tiny bit short of that. Otherwise I’m loving being back to “single-campus shooting” where we’re not trying so hard to force in the stories from two different camps into the picture. NOT looking forward to the “governorcentric” episodes that have been foretold to us.
  • Gen: This episode was pretty much the slap back to reality for the prison group. The level of comfort and calm from the first episode is now gone. Rick and Carl are armed once again and everyone is on high alert, just like the good ol’ days! It also left us with enough questions needing answers that we’ll all tune in next week (and sit through the endless bombardment of *%$^ commercials!) to get the next piece to the puzzle. I do have to admit though that Karen was a shocker. Was not expecting that one! I wonder if the same person who burned the bodies is the same one who has been feeding the walkers? Hmmm….

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

How I became a proud Member of The Walking Dead Family

I have always been extremely close to the members of my real life family.  We have shared many triumphs and have conquered many obstacles on our road to happiness.  Every year that passes we all get a little older, a little wiser (at least we hopes so even though when it comes to my younger brothers, I sometimes wonder), and a little battle-worn.  The point is that we grow, for better or worse, we grow.  So, what does this have to do with being a member of The Walking Dead Family?  The answer, in short, everything.

I first heard the term The Walking Dead Family this summer while watching The Walking Dead July 4th weekend marathon.  Gale Anne Hurd (@GunnerGale) mentioned it in her interview with Kevin Smith.  I was immediately intrigued.  Could there really be a group of people out there that share my love of Walkers and the people who struggle to keep from becoming one of them?  What would these people be like?  More importantly, would I feel comfortable communicating with them?

So why would I feel uncomfortable?  Well, I have always been my my own kind of weird.  I am not talking weird like hide your spouse, your kids, and your neighbor's dog kind of weird.  I've just always marched to the beat of my own drums.  Most people, including my real life family, accepted me but have never really understood me.  How could I connect with complete strangers then if my real life family didn't even get me?

To Twitter!  I already had a twitter account (one I set up only because our beloved Norman Reedus tweeted something that I just had to comment on.  Yeah, yeah.  I know.  I shall take a moment to hang my head in shame.  Feel free to carry on without me while I figure out how to stop blushing).  I already followed quite a few people who were fans of The Walking Dead.  I was pleasantly surprised by how incredibly cool and nice they all were to me.  As an extra bonus, I realized that they were a lot like me.  Talk about awesomeville!  Finally, I had found people who spoke my language and understood mine.  It was through one of these wonderful new friends that I saw a tweet for the walkingdeadfamily.com chat room.  I said, self, "They have a chat room!?!  Let me slip into my happy shoes and do a little happy dance for you." 

Alright, quit laughing.  I know you pictured me dancing so I'll give you a moment to wipe the tears out of your eyes and catch your breath.  Better?  Ok, moving along.  That night I checked out the walking dead family chat room.  It had been years since I had been in a chat room.  I honestly had forgotten how much fun it was and how much easier it was to hold an actual conversation with someone.  I was greeted very warmly, which I was not expecting on my first visit.  I was immediately hooked.  Not only had I found a group of people who shared my love of The Walking Dead, but I found that we had a lot of other things in common too.

I am proud to say that I am a regular in The Walking Dead Family chat room.  I am even more proud to be a member of The Walking Dead Family.  As with my real life family, I have learned so many of the different pieces that make up my new family members.  We all swoon over our favorite characters together and then are able to laugh at ourselves and each other for being silly hormonal men and women.  We cry together when a favored character dies or suffers heartache.  We share our personal triumphs and failures in between these moments.  You do that long enough and before you know it, complete strangers that you met online just to talk about a tv show have become a part of your family.  The show may have been what brought us together, but it is these little moments we share about ourselves that keeps us together.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am proud to be a part of The Walking Dead Family.

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Walking Dead: Season 4 Episode 1 WDF Review

Section 4.1.1
The episode opens with Rick walking out into the prison yard in the morning, looking at structures and gardens that have been built including a barn with a corral for the horse and pigpen.  Rick begins tending to the garden with a hoe while blocking out the noise of the walkers just outside the fence with ear-buds and (presumably) an iPod.  He uncovers a pistol (implied having been buried there long ago by an inmate) and tosses it into the 'trash' in the wheelbarrow.
 
Opening credits reveal that Melissa McBride and Scott Wilson have been promoted to the opening credits.
  • SOOZ:  YOU GO @McBrideMelissa!  Fans were rooting for your "promotion".  This intro is really nothing more than anyone expected given the promos.  But is it really a good idea to block out sound, Rick?
  • GEN: I'm pretty sure I actually "woohoo'd" when seeing @McBrideMelissa in the main credits. About time! It was interesting to see the changes in Rick from the S3 finale to now. Although we know the "old Rick" is still in there, not far from the surface.
Section 4.1.2
Rick is tending to the pigpen when Carl joins him.  Carl notices that one of the pigs is sick.  Flash over to the chow tent where a covered outdoor kitchen has been constructed, with Carol behind the counter making breakfast for the camp.  In walks Daryl Dixon who receives somewhat of a 'rock star' reception with several people vocally wishing him a Good Morning, which he rebuffs.  Flash to the fence-line where Karen and other unnamed survivors are spearing the walkers who've gathered there overnight.  Back to Carol and Daryl, Carol tells Daryl that the walkers have built up against the fence and therefore the "run crew" he had planned for that day would be needed to stay to kill them off.  Glenn and Maggie wake up in their (apparently newly marital) bed with Glenn telling Maggie he doesn't want her to go on the day's run.  Back at the fence, it is revealed that Tyreese and Karen are in a new relationship.
 
As Daryl is prepping the cars for the run, young Zack and Beth have a short young lover's conversation about him going off on the run.  Newcomer Bob Stookey approaches and wants to earn his keep by going on the run, and convinces Sasha to permit him to go.  Then, we have a glimpse of Rick and Hershel having a 'gardening teach' moment.  This is interrupted by Michonne approaching the prison camp on a horse.  Just then, Daryl and the field crew are heading out, and Michonne decides to join them as Rick says he needs to go check the snares for game before the walkers get to it, but not before telling Carl to go to "story time" with Patrick (new kid) and getting told by Hershel he needs to carry his gun with him when he goes outside the fence.  It is made clear that a "leadership council" has been established including the original members of the group.

While outside the fence checking the snares, Rick encounters a woman (who at first appears to be a walker) named "Clara" who begs for help.
  • SOOZ:  I loved the moment with Rick and Carl, even if over-played later.  Maybe just because I had a pig growing up that was meant for slaughter and named it then got all upset when it was "time", too.  Daryl's reception at breakfast was a too-funny-for-words nod toward Norman's hyper-popularity right now.  SO tongue in cheek.  But seriously, Glenn?  A strong woman like Maggie isn't going to like being told what to do.  Tyreese and Karen is just sort of a "meh" development for me. It doesn't surprise me that Rick has sort of swung in the opposite direction of "leader".
  • GEN: I also loved the moments with Rick and Carl. Such a contrast to their interaction at the end of last season. It was nice to see Rick stepping back from the leadership role and putting the effort into being a better father to Carl and Judith as well as tending the land. He almost seemed at peace with the world. The "rock star" reception Daryl received at breakfast actually made me roll my eyes a little. At least they didn't have him come in hi-fiving everyone along the way.
  • Heather:  It was nice to see Rick and Carl having an almost normal father and son moment.  I got a kick out of Daryl’s reception.  I imagine that Norman get similar reactions when he is out and about.
  • Ash: I loved the interaction between Rick and Carl.  I wondered if their relationship could be mended after season 3’s finale. I also liked that Rick took a step down.  It seems like his main focus is getting the prison to be self-sufficient.  I loved Patrick the nerd!  That would so be me in the ZA! :)  Rock star Daryl is too funny!
Section 4.1.3
Clara convinces Rick to follow her back to her camp to pick up her husband before taking them back to the prison, and he agrees to go if they will agree to answer three questions once he gets there.  Carl approaches a small group of kids taunting walkers at the fence and, after admonishing them for their behavior, is talked into going to "story time" for the kids.
 
Back at the run with Daryl, the group has approached a "Big Spot" store having lured the walkers away from the entrance a few days in advance.  Inside they go after supplies but what they don't know is that there are dozens of walkers and a crashed helicopter on the rotted roof of the building.
  • SOOZ:  Carl is quoting what's been told to him again.  Been done, he should be thinking for himself by now!
  • GEN: Right away you know something is up with Creepy Clara but just can't put your finger on it. She's a few sandwiches short of a picnic (even after Rick gave her his!) The scene with Carl and the other kids brought me right back to the comics where he's being pushed by Rick to be more of a kid but the other kids don't accept him.
  • Ash: C R E E P Y !  and sad all at the same time.  I was reminded of the old Rick during this scene, before the cray Rick showed up.
Section 4.1.4
Clara is leading Rick back to her camp to meet her husband.  She tries to connect to him as they walk. Back at the store with the "runner group", we see what the various characters really want to find for themselves, until Bob knocks over a shelf and gets trapped, just as the walkers on the rotted roof begin to fall through into the store causing havoc for the survivors.
  • SOOZ:  I was waiting for the action... took a little bit to get here but I appreciate that as the season opener there is a lot of story to be told before we get down and dirty.  We needed some back story on Bob I think.
  • GEN: Raining walkers! The scene had Nicotero's stamp all over it. I also think we needed more info on Bob. At this point I was just like "Meh, leave him! Save yourselves!" There was no connection to that character so I wouldn't have cared.
Section 4.1.5
Clara tries to identify with Rick on the walk back to her camp.  The group back at the store contend with the rainstorm of walkers from the roof.  Zack gets caught and dies while saving Bob.  The group flees the store, at the same time as Rick makes it to Clara's camp only to find her husband is already a walker that she had intended to feed him to.  Clara kills herself (dies while asking him what the three questions were) and Rick goes back to the prison.
  • SOOZ:  Poor Zack, but We had enough characters to keep up with anyway... no loss there.  Clara was creepy.  I didn't want her to come back to the prison anyway so I'm glad that ended that way, and that Rick got back his sammich.  Men who skip lunch aren't any fun later.  Eat a snickers for god's sake.
  • GEN: I felt bad for Zack. He seemed like a decent guy. We didn't know much about him but there was still that little bit of a connection with him though Beth.
  • Heather:  I am a little concerned that Rick left Clara’s camp without finishing off both Clara and her husband.  I have a sinking feeling that we shall see them again and the consequences of his inaction will lead to more heartache.  I do feel a bit bad for Beth that once again her boyfriend gets eaten by walkers.
Section 4.1.6
Carol is holding "story time" for the kids of the group, which Carl observes from the shadows.  She closes the story book and begins a lesson on how to handle knives.  Young newcomer Patrick feels ill and leaves.  When Carol sees Carl, she begs him not to tell his father about her survival lesson.

Rick is back tending to the pigs and notices the pig that was sick earlier is now dead.  Tyreese admits to Karen that he didn't like going outside the prison any more than dealing with the fence walkers.  Glenn and Maggie deal with a pregnancy scare.  Daryl tells Beth about her boyfriend's death at the store, but her reaction is less than emotional.

Michonne plans a road trip to Macon, while Hershel comforts Rick who's dealing with his confrontation with Clara.  Patrick goes in for a cold shower, coughing and still feeling ill, and passes out dead on the floor, opening his eyes as a walker just before the ending credits begin to roll.

General Closing Comments
  • SOOZ:  Well look at you badass Carol, going against the grain and raising your own little army of kids!  She's the Governor's kindergarten teacher at this point.  Sheesh.  I guess all those peeps who wanted to ship Beth and Daryl based on the pic of them hugging are out of luck, but an 18 year old and a 40-something just isn't believable as a couple (see what I did there?).  The episode cleaned up after itself and sufficiently ended it's own story while leaving the outstanding questions, well, outstanding.  Maybe next week will be a little more fulfilling since they won't have the need to "catch us up" on SO much info all at once.  We shall see!
  • GEN: Did anyone else notice a bit of flirtation between Michonne and Rick, or was it just me? She's obviously on the hunt for the Govna. Wonder if they will dedicate an episode to her quest? Carol's School of Badassery is awesome. She has gone from a woman who was afraid of her own shadow (or rather her husband's) to the camps advocate on self defense  Sorry Bethyl shippers! There will be none of that, thank goodness. I like how that scene showed Beth and Daryl basically flipping; Beth now being unemotional and almost cold, and Daryl kind of warming up to the emotional interaction, even though you could still see his discomfort when she hugged him. Of course the episode ends with a bang and we are left hanging with the image of Walker Patrick in our heads. It's going to be a long week.
  • Heather:  Overall, I was very impressed with the premier.  I know that there was a lot of  “catching up” to do and am hoping that next week’s episode will be just as entertaining.  It was wonderful to see how far our little group of survivors have grown since we last saw them.  It will be interesting to see how much further they will go.
  • Ash: I am so proud of the development Carol has gone through since season 1.  She is an awesome character and @McBrideMelissa  brings her to life so well.  Beth’s reaction to Zach’s death surprised me; very cold Beth.  I was  very confused why a dead pig did not seem to raise any questions by Rick.  Being a huge fan of the Telltale Walking Dead game, I liked the shoutout to Macon (The main character in the game’s hometown). These cliffhanger endings!  Now I am gonna spend all week trying to figure out what caused Patrick’s death!  Come on Sunday!
 

 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Take a Spin on the old TWD Rollercoaster

In mid-September it was officially announced that there is a Walking Dead Spinoff in the works for 2015.  Oh, pardon me, it's being called a "Companion Series".

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/09/16/walking-dead-spin-off/
"AMC has announced that it is developing a companion series for The Walking Dead that is targeted to make it on air in 2015. Current Walking Dead executive producers Robert Kirkman (who also created the comic book on which the show is based), Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert will also work on the new series."

The very thought of a spinoff Companion Series has made a lot of die hard fans of the original a little queasy.  Could this be an indication that AMC already has the original's end date penciled in?  Would they be so bold as to end their flagship show before the bloom is off the rose?  The short answer is, yes, they could be, and they've done it before.  The tragedy would be in doing so possibly years before the content goes stale.

BREAK OUT THE FREEZER BAGS, PEOPLE!
WON'T YOU THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!?!


What would be worse than an untimely end to the original series, by far, would be to cause overexposure, dilute the fan base, out-shine the original while both are running concurrently or just plain not do it justice.  There's little worse for a television program than tripping yourself before you ever even get near the shark tank let alone jump it.  Thoughts of woeful spinoff attempts come to mind and while I know there are success stories I'm not sure I care to tempt the TV Gods on this one.

There is even some speculation among fans that the spi- (KIRKMHHAAAAN! You came up with that label, didn't you?) Companion Series will focus on Daryl Dixon, since he (and more notably Norman Reedus, the actor) has emerged as the fan favorite of the show.  Well let me just go up on the hill in the high afternoon sun and start digging graves right now.  Most opinions I've seen of this idea both in our Chat Room and social media are that it is a turd looking for TWD's swimming pool and I tend to agree even though I love Daryl and/or Norman as much as the next fangirl.  It's just that Daryl's charm was bred within the group he's with now and I'd hate to see anything the producers do tarnish the work Norman's done so far to endear Daryl to the masses, even if a spinoff @#$! Companion Series means we get to see more of him... besides which all I can hear is Reedus singing that Daryl and Carol song.  http://on.mtv.com/13t0lh2   

I, as well as many others, have not fangirled over a television program this much since I was a preteen... we'll not say how long ago that was but it may or may not have involved Debbie Allen and a foreboding warning about sweat.  I am not looking forward to the end of The Walking Dead and hope that it's legacy has staying power long after it's over.  Whatever they're cooking up, I just hope it's got the cojones to truly back up the original and not destroy it.  Remember, whatever mistakes are made in the original will inevitably be amplified when it is compared to a knock off of itself.

Carry on, #TWDFamily:


 
EDIT:
I have just read that Kirkman has confirmed that the spinoff... dammit, "Companion Series" is not currently planned to have any of the cast of #TWD in it and will be set in a totally different place during the same zombie apocalypse.