Episode 2: The Damned
It's official. This entire season is probably only going to cover a few days of "tv time". This episode is just an extension of the same day we left last week, and we end the episode having not advanced much in time. A lot was covered in one hour in screen time, so you'll have to get your keepin' up pants on... okay that was stupid, but you get what we mean.
Our "Army" is currently fragmented into four groups... one with Tara, Jesus, and Morgan at the outpost Team Family originally attacked (the event that sparked AbraGlenngate), one at the medical facility outpost (where Carol and Ezekiel were last seen diving for cover from a grenade), one where Rick and Daryl are looking for an arsenal, and one where Aaron is helping lead an attack on another new (to us) outpost. Flipping back & forth between all these story lines can be a bit confusing, but we'd rather do it this way than not check in with one or more groups for multiple episodes as has been done in the past when we had multiple "home bases" to keep up with.
Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Tara, Jesus, and Morgan successfully clear their outpost by taking a rather large group of Saviors prisoner after they surrender. The small splinter team Morgan had been clearing with was mowed down (losing two "Family Army" redshirts in the meantime), but after a fake-out death Morgan rose to his feet just in time to argue with Jesus about taking the hostages rather than killing them as their directive demands. Turns out Jesus is to be our voice of peace and understanding this season now that Morgan and Carol are both fully invested in Team Shoot-Em-In-The-Face.
Carol & Ezekial and their team clear the medical center but lose track of the one survivor who tossed the grenade, raising concerns that he will make it to another outpost to warn the Saviors that they are coming. They follow him through the woods by way of trail-o-blood, and catch up to him just as another group from The Kingdom show up with Shiva... who makes quick work of that Savior-on-the-run. Unfortunately, though, just as the episode is ending they realize the 2nd outpost has already been alerted to the impending attack.
The firefight led by Aaron gets pretty nasty. There are casualties on both sides (though only redshirts), and Eric is shot in the gut. Oh NOES! Although he was not dead when we last saw them retreating from the battle, chances of survival from that sort of wound in a post-apocalyptic world are slim. We are more than likely being set up for a farewell episode for Eric some time very soon if not next week, undoubtedly leading to much character development for Aaron.
Rick and Daryl are clearing a building but split up to do it so they are, rather stupidly, both alone. Rick ends up in a battle to the (Savior) death, before finding a sleeping babe in a crib which causes a brief existential meltdown. In one of the better twists of the last few seasons, he ends the episode at gunpoint by... wait for it... MORALES! Yes, folks, the Morales that decided to forego the trip to the CDC and disappeared in his station wagon with his family way back in Season 1 is back! Unfortunately for us, he is a changed man, a member of The Saviors and now holding Rick hostage until the reinforcements he has alerted arrive. Little bastard.
So, lots of action and lots of developments, some small some not-so-small. This episode is definitely one you need to watch twice to make sure you caught everything. Hopefully we'll get in some good "regrouping" episodes between this sort of fast-paced action, which we would assume is coming at least long enough to deal with Eric's wounds. Hold on to your butts, people! It's going to be a bumpy ride.
www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Monday, October 30, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
The Walking Dead: Season 8 Episode 1 WDF Review
Episode 1: Mercy
This episode picks up pretty much right where we left off, with the group preparing for the 2nd battle of All Out War (the first battle being in the Season 7 finale). If you were expecting this to be some sort of build up to a mass surprise attack perpetrated by Team Allies in the exciting style of the Season 7 ender resulting in a satisfying loss on Team Savior's part, you... might be half right?
In classic TWD style, the timeline was fragmented, bouncing back & forth in time to touch plot points in a planned order... but the word we're hearing on the street is that it felt somewhat disjointed and contrived with pacing that left a lot to be desired. We admit it was one of the more difficult episodes to follow; you never knew exactly what we were watching them prepare for and then when the time came, it seemed like it didn't quite have the intended impact. The amount of screen time spent funneling a horde toward The Sanctuary was excessive and overly dramatized for sure. It sort of gave you that "stuck in traffic" feeling, where you're mentally urging things forward but it wasn't progressing at the pace you hoped for, at least not at the "Premiere Episode" level. In the quest to spoon feed us just enough information to allow us to connect the dots, we were fed unnecessary fluff such as Tara's over-dramatic countdown (as if a walker horde moves at such a precise, predictable pace). Yes, there were definitely things that could have been done better, but then we're also being very picky for a television drama.
We finally see the full "Old Rick" sequence as a flash-forward several years to Rick and his family living in a peaceful, safe community. Although there was much speculation as to what this part of the Comic-Con teaser meant, it appears as though this is Rick's fantasy for his family's future and therefore his motivation for fighting. Dwight is back at The Sanctuary as a mole for Team Allies, exchanging messages with Daryl through the fence via message-in-an-arrow. Maggie is joking about being able to wage war through the second trimester. And, for once, everyone including Morgan and Carol are on board with defeating The Saviors.
At first, Gregory is paraded out by The Saviors and attempts to vow Hilltop's loyalties as allies of The Saviors, but the rest of the group is having none of it. When he tells Team Allies that anyone fighting against The Saviors will be exiled from Hilltop along with their families, Jesus and the other Hilltopians proclaim that Hilltop stands with Maggie. Thus, Gregory is officially overthrown as the ruler of Hilltop and Maggie has been crowned in his stead... though this was already understood so it was just a formality at this point.
The battle ended with the vast majority of the inhabitants of The Sanctuary safely inside though the fencing was breached to let the horde into the courtyard. Negan was stuck in an annex trailer surrounded by the horde along with Father Gabriel who was apparently not wearing his poopy pants and it may be an episode or two before we get to find out why he needed them. Team Allies quickly retreated without any losses (despite taking heavy fire, those Saviors have terrible aim), but we don't seem to have made much progress in the war past that.
At the end of the day we're just happy to be back in business, excited to see what the remainder of the season has in store. For now, this was not necessarily the edge-of-your-seat premiere we were hoping for (though some would dispute that statement), but war is messy and has to start somewhere.
www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
This episode picks up pretty much right where we left off, with the group preparing for the 2nd battle of All Out War (the first battle being in the Season 7 finale). If you were expecting this to be some sort of build up to a mass surprise attack perpetrated by Team Allies in the exciting style of the Season 7 ender resulting in a satisfying loss on Team Savior's part, you... might be half right?
In classic TWD style, the timeline was fragmented, bouncing back & forth in time to touch plot points in a planned order... but the word we're hearing on the street is that it felt somewhat disjointed and contrived with pacing that left a lot to be desired. We admit it was one of the more difficult episodes to follow; you never knew exactly what we were watching them prepare for and then when the time came, it seemed like it didn't quite have the intended impact. The amount of screen time spent funneling a horde toward The Sanctuary was excessive and overly dramatized for sure. It sort of gave you that "stuck in traffic" feeling, where you're mentally urging things forward but it wasn't progressing at the pace you hoped for, at least not at the "Premiere Episode" level. In the quest to spoon feed us just enough information to allow us to connect the dots, we were fed unnecessary fluff such as Tara's over-dramatic countdown (as if a walker horde moves at such a precise, predictable pace). Yes, there were definitely things that could have been done better, but then we're also being very picky for a television drama.
We finally see the full "Old Rick" sequence as a flash-forward several years to Rick and his family living in a peaceful, safe community. Although there was much speculation as to what this part of the Comic-Con teaser meant, it appears as though this is Rick's fantasy for his family's future and therefore his motivation for fighting. Dwight is back at The Sanctuary as a mole for Team Allies, exchanging messages with Daryl through the fence via message-in-an-arrow. Maggie is joking about being able to wage war through the second trimester. And, for once, everyone including Morgan and Carol are on board with defeating The Saviors.
At first, Gregory is paraded out by The Saviors and attempts to vow Hilltop's loyalties as allies of The Saviors, but the rest of the group is having none of it. When he tells Team Allies that anyone fighting against The Saviors will be exiled from Hilltop along with their families, Jesus and the other Hilltopians proclaim that Hilltop stands with Maggie. Thus, Gregory is officially overthrown as the ruler of Hilltop and Maggie has been crowned in his stead... though this was already understood so it was just a formality at this point.
The battle ended with the vast majority of the inhabitants of The Sanctuary safely inside though the fencing was breached to let the horde into the courtyard. Negan was stuck in an annex trailer surrounded by the horde along with Father Gabriel who was apparently not wearing his poopy pants and it may be an episode or two before we get to find out why he needed them. Team Allies quickly retreated without any losses (despite taking heavy fire, those Saviors have terrible aim), but we don't seem to have made much progress in the war past that.
At the end of the day we're just happy to be back in business, excited to see what the remainder of the season has in store. For now, this was not necessarily the edge-of-your-seat premiere we were hoping for (though some would dispute that statement), but war is messy and has to start somewhere.
www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Monday, October 16, 2017
Don't Be Late to Season Eight!
With another season of Fear the Walking Dead under our belts (one that ended with the best finale of the series so far in our opinion), we're all keyed up and ready to go for the Walking Dead premiere in just a few short days!!
We just wanted to drop a quick reminder that a full marathon starting all the way back from Season 1 Episode 1 is in full swing on AMC this week, and will be ending at 7:30pm eastern THIS SUNDAY with an extended version of the Season 7 finale just before the Season 8 premiere begins at 9. The extra content is slated to include a bonus never-before-seen scene and cast interviews! It's sure to whet your whistle for the 100th episode which just happens to land on the Season 8 premiere. It will be a normal sized episode (it is scheduled to run until 10:07, but with premieres that extra time may not be episode run time - they generally include extra commercial time), followed by a two hour Talking Dead special for the 100th episode!
We'll be live tweeting as normal under @WDFamilyDotCom and as always, the chat room here will be open for anyone who would like to come in and chat with other fans during the episode. See you there!
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
We just wanted to drop a quick reminder that a full marathon starting all the way back from Season 1 Episode 1 is in full swing on AMC this week, and will be ending at 7:30pm eastern THIS SUNDAY with an extended version of the Season 7 finale just before the Season 8 premiere begins at 9. The extra content is slated to include a bonus never-before-seen scene and cast interviews! It's sure to whet your whistle for the 100th episode which just happens to land on the Season 8 premiere. It will be a normal sized episode (it is scheduled to run until 10:07, but with premieres that extra time may not be episode run time - they generally include extra commercial time), followed by a two hour Talking Dead special for the 100th episode!
We'll be live tweeting as normal under @WDFamilyDotCom and as always, the chat room here will be open for anyone who would like to come in and chat with other fans during the episode. See you there!
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Monday, April 3, 2017
The Walking Dead: Season 7 Overview
So another season has come and gone, and another lapse in reviews posted. Sorry about not keeping on top of the back half, but now we'll make it up to you with an overview!
Season 7 saw the loss of three primary characters that have been around since before Alexandria, including one of the "Atlanta Five". Glenn, Abraham, and Sasha have all gone to that big zombie-free community in the sky, and with them they have taken two Alexandrians... Spencer (which to be honest, no one will miss) and poor, fan favorite Olivia. It's been a while since we suffered this many major casualties so it was a particularly harsh season (especially with that super-brutal season opener), and ending with the official start of "All Out War", Season 8 promises to be even worse... or better, depending on your point of view.
The quickest way to sum up Season 7 is to look at it's two halves. The first half had everyone beaten into sad, sad submission by the Saviors. From episode one, they intentionally took us to a very dark and hopeless place, the likes of which we have never seen before no matter how dire the situation seemed... even while The Governor was beheading Herschel. The second half saw a resurgence and preparation for war. Thankfully the finale was not a cliff-hanger and was an exciting conclusion to a few loose ends while providing the basis for the war we all knew was coming. We needed to see our crew have a decisive victory over the Saviors to wrap up a terribly emotionally frustrating season, and that's what we got.
The finale wasn't without it's problems, but overall was a very satisfying experience. Problem 1: The fact that Shiva, the Kingdom's resident tiger, only attacked Saviors... with as much rage going on in that scene it would've been difficult for even the most intuitive human to walk in mid-stream and figure out who the bad guys were much less a tiger. Speaking of, that was quite the fray so it's fairly unbelievable that no one fell to friendly fire. That leads us to Problem 2: While there were certainly "Team Family" injuries, not one major character was killed in what was a massive gun fight between five separate factions (Hilltop, Alexandria, The Kingdom, The Scavengers, and The Saviors). Instead, only "red shirts" were sacrificed and we were treated to a minor bait-n-switch thinking Michonne was dead for half a second. Problem 3: Too perfect timing. Just as Negan is mid-swing to clock Carl with Lucille, Shiva pounces on the guy behind him... Just as when Carol rode in to save the day in Terminus just as our heroes were about to be bled out, it can cause a bit of interruption to that old suspension of disbelief when everything is too spot on perfectly timed... but you know what? Who cares? It was a riveting finale that had most fans cheering with hope for the first time in a very, very long time.
As a side note, Negan's surprise that there was a tiger on the scene was just a big, giant cherry on top of this beat-down Sundae. Although you would think more than one gunman would aim for a tiger ripping people's faces off, Shiva lives to chomp another day!
As we reflect on those we've lost this season, we look forward toward Season 8 with hope springing eternal. The only thing we know for sure is that we will lose more beloved characters in the coming conflicts... and that, God willing, the show will give us the hard-won victory we see in the comic. Being 8 seasons deep in a television show isn't terribly comforting since even the best shows don't typically last this long, so all we're going to be doing between now and the fall is praying we don't get notice that the AMC Gods have decided 8 will be the last. After all, we could follow this band of survivors until the very last one is gone.
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Season 7 saw the loss of three primary characters that have been around since before Alexandria, including one of the "Atlanta Five". Glenn, Abraham, and Sasha have all gone to that big zombie-free community in the sky, and with them they have taken two Alexandrians... Spencer (which to be honest, no one will miss) and poor, fan favorite Olivia. It's been a while since we suffered this many major casualties so it was a particularly harsh season (especially with that super-brutal season opener), and ending with the official start of "All Out War", Season 8 promises to be even worse... or better, depending on your point of view.
The quickest way to sum up Season 7 is to look at it's two halves. The first half had everyone beaten into sad, sad submission by the Saviors. From episode one, they intentionally took us to a very dark and hopeless place, the likes of which we have never seen before no matter how dire the situation seemed... even while The Governor was beheading Herschel. The second half saw a resurgence and preparation for war. Thankfully the finale was not a cliff-hanger and was an exciting conclusion to a few loose ends while providing the basis for the war we all knew was coming. We needed to see our crew have a decisive victory over the Saviors to wrap up a terribly emotionally frustrating season, and that's what we got.
The finale wasn't without it's problems, but overall was a very satisfying experience. Problem 1: The fact that Shiva, the Kingdom's resident tiger, only attacked Saviors... with as much rage going on in that scene it would've been difficult for even the most intuitive human to walk in mid-stream and figure out who the bad guys were much less a tiger. Speaking of, that was quite the fray so it's fairly unbelievable that no one fell to friendly fire. That leads us to Problem 2: While there were certainly "Team Family" injuries, not one major character was killed in what was a massive gun fight between five separate factions (Hilltop, Alexandria, The Kingdom, The Scavengers, and The Saviors). Instead, only "red shirts" were sacrificed and we were treated to a minor bait-n-switch thinking Michonne was dead for half a second. Problem 3: Too perfect timing. Just as Negan is mid-swing to clock Carl with Lucille, Shiva pounces on the guy behind him... Just as when Carol rode in to save the day in Terminus just as our heroes were about to be bled out, it can cause a bit of interruption to that old suspension of disbelief when everything is too spot on perfectly timed... but you know what? Who cares? It was a riveting finale that had most fans cheering with hope for the first time in a very, very long time.
As a side note, Negan's surprise that there was a tiger on the scene was just a big, giant cherry on top of this beat-down Sundae. Although you would think more than one gunman would aim for a tiger ripping people's faces off, Shiva lives to chomp another day!
As we reflect on those we've lost this season, we look forward toward Season 8 with hope springing eternal. The only thing we know for sure is that we will lose more beloved characters in the coming conflicts... and that, God willing, the show will give us the hard-won victory we see in the comic. Being 8 seasons deep in a television show isn't terribly comforting since even the best shows don't typically last this long, so all we're going to be doing between now and the fall is praying we don't get notice that the AMC Gods have decided 8 will be the last. After all, we could follow this band of survivors until the very last one is gone.
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Monday, December 12, 2016
The Walking Dead: Season 7 Episode 8 WDF Review
Episode 8: Hearts Still Beating
As we enter our time of mourning (aka the mid-season break), we have a lot to think about. This mid-season finale was not the most riveting that has ever been made (thinking of the Fall of the Prison and how season four was so slow paced leading up to it we weren't expecting it just then), but it was heartily satisfying all the same.
We've said it before that it would be an odd shift in story-telling style to mix up the story lines in a single episode rather than have character-centric episodes (focused on one group or character) as that style has been so heavily used in the past. The Woodbury story line was done almost entirely that way which as we've mentioned drove us crazy due to spending whole episodes with characters we weren't all that excited about. Welp, we were wrong. Despite major worries throughout the fandom that the writers would handle having four different camps to catch up with in a very similar fragmented style as Woodbury, this mid-season finale proves they are capable of touching base with multiple groups of characters in a meaningful and fluid way, and all in one single episode (albeit an extended one).
Obviously we spent a good deal of time back in Alexandria since when we last saw them Negan was still there waiting for Rick, but we also checked in with Hilltop, Daryl at The Sanctuary, and Carol/Morgan. So, really, we hit up all four camps in one episode.
Carol is still determined to live off by herself, though close enough to The Kingdom to have an eye kept on her and produce delivered. Daryl finally escapes The Sanctuary on the back of his Frankenbike with Jesus, headed toward Hilltop to drop him off at home. Maggie has become a human vacuum cleaner and can smell pie through a closed door. But of course, it's Alexandria that gets the punch in the face. We lose two original Alexandrians in this episode thanks first to an attempt by Spencer to stage a coup to unseat Rick as leader with what he hoped would be Negan's help (not so much), and another "random shooting" as payment for Rosita having finally taken her shot at Negan (which Lucille ends up taking). All of Team Family survives the episode, thankfully, since we lost two already this season, though Aaron certainly took a beating and poor Eugene did get taken to The Sanctuary to be Negan's new bullet maker when it is revealed that he made the bullet Rosita used to shoot Lucille.
We end the episode with everyone gathering at The Hilltop (except Carol and Morgan), reuniting Daryl, Sasha, and Maggie with Team Family for the first time since the Lucillings. Daryl and Rick share an extended emotional embrace while everyone hugs Maggie in congratulations that she and the baby are well. While there is nothing too terribly surprising in this episode as a whole, it had a heartwarming reunion ending reminiscent of the scenes immediately after the escape from Terminus... but it was a great way to end the mid-season and set us up for lots of prep-work in the back half for All-Out-War. We can't wait, can you?!
We will more than likely be taking the hiatus off from updating the website as well, so we'd like to wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season, and a prosperous, healthy New Year. See you in February!!!
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
As we enter our time of mourning (aka the mid-season break), we have a lot to think about. This mid-season finale was not the most riveting that has ever been made (thinking of the Fall of the Prison and how season four was so slow paced leading up to it we weren't expecting it just then), but it was heartily satisfying all the same.
We've said it before that it would be an odd shift in story-telling style to mix up the story lines in a single episode rather than have character-centric episodes (focused on one group or character) as that style has been so heavily used in the past. The Woodbury story line was done almost entirely that way which as we've mentioned drove us crazy due to spending whole episodes with characters we weren't all that excited about. Welp, we were wrong. Despite major worries throughout the fandom that the writers would handle having four different camps to catch up with in a very similar fragmented style as Woodbury, this mid-season finale proves they are capable of touching base with multiple groups of characters in a meaningful and fluid way, and all in one single episode (albeit an extended one).
Obviously we spent a good deal of time back in Alexandria since when we last saw them Negan was still there waiting for Rick, but we also checked in with Hilltop, Daryl at The Sanctuary, and Carol/Morgan. So, really, we hit up all four camps in one episode.
Carol is still determined to live off by herself, though close enough to The Kingdom to have an eye kept on her and produce delivered. Daryl finally escapes The Sanctuary on the back of his Frankenbike with Jesus, headed toward Hilltop to drop him off at home. Maggie has become a human vacuum cleaner and can smell pie through a closed door. But of course, it's Alexandria that gets the punch in the face. We lose two original Alexandrians in this episode thanks first to an attempt by Spencer to stage a coup to unseat Rick as leader with what he hoped would be Negan's help (not so much), and another "random shooting" as payment for Rosita having finally taken her shot at Negan (which Lucille ends up taking). All of Team Family survives the episode, thankfully, since we lost two already this season, though Aaron certainly took a beating and poor Eugene did get taken to The Sanctuary to be Negan's new bullet maker when it is revealed that he made the bullet Rosita used to shoot Lucille.
We end the episode with everyone gathering at The Hilltop (except Carol and Morgan), reuniting Daryl, Sasha, and Maggie with Team Family for the first time since the Lucillings. Daryl and Rick share an extended emotional embrace while everyone hugs Maggie in congratulations that she and the baby are well. While there is nothing too terribly surprising in this episode as a whole, it had a heartwarming reunion ending reminiscent of the scenes immediately after the escape from Terminus... but it was a great way to end the mid-season and set us up for lots of prep-work in the back half for All-Out-War. We can't wait, can you?!
We will more than likely be taking the hiatus off from updating the website as well, so we'd like to wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season, and a prosperous, healthy New Year. See you in February!!!
http://www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
Monday, December 5, 2016
The Walking Dead: Season 7 Episode 7 WDF Review
Episode 7: Sing Me a Song
Well my, my, aren't we just as excited as we could be about all these extended episodes this season? If you haven't heard yet, 7.7 was another 90 minute episode, following up on Carl sneaking into The Sanctuary. There was a lot for Carl to be affected by there so we needed an extra half hour to cover it... and the aftermath of his visit back at the ASZ.
Just as he did in the comic, Negan has quite a man-crush on the spirited Carl, who seems determined to defy him at every turn. Negan takes him on a tour of his inner sanctum, allowing him to be witness to some of the drama inside his harem before taking him to his private quarters to relax... or not. Here we see a slightly different, albeit just as menacing, method for whipping Carl into submission... using his teenage angst and vanity against him. Some people may think Negan is not as menacing as he should be, but he's got that coercion thing down pat.
We finally see what Carl's eye looks like under the bandage, and have the cringe-worthy response to Negan's proposition that he be allowed to touch it... eeeeew ew ew! He forces Carl to sing, though it's not apparent why and feels sort of forced into the story just to make it walk in lock-step with the comic, but otherwise the scene is an example of expert manipulation. Soon enough we're off to iron off someone else's face and watch Daryl be commanded to mop up the ironee's urine after he appropriately messes himself and the floor. While Daryl is shown to be a perfectly whipped little puppy, in the style well known for Daryl at this point, he does give Carl a few knowing looks to let the audience know he's not too far gone... yet.
By the end of the visit, Carl is completely familiarized with how things work at The Sanctuary, and sets off in a truck with Negan headed toward home. When they get there, Negan acts like that obnoxious relative you wish hadn't shown up for an unexpected visit... nosily insisting on a tour of the house and barging into Judith's nursery despite being asked not to enter the room. He basically makes himself at home, intentionally stepping into Rick's role as head of the house, coddling Judith while Olivia and Carl look on uncomfortably. It's just as awkward as you'd ever hope it to be, like the ever-present feeling of a splinter you just can't get out of your thumb no matter how hard to work it.
Meanwhile Rosita and Eugene are off to make a bullet while Spencer and Gabe head off to scavenge. In a moment of particularly rare levity for Gabe, he lets Spencer know exactly what he thinks of him before letting himself out of the car to walk home rather than endure his company any longer. It was nice to see these two subplots worked into the Carl/Negan Date Night story line to break it up a little and get those four ready for what we hope is a very compelling mid-season finale.
*Sigh* yes, that's right folks, it is already upon us believe it or not. After this coming Sunday's episode we'll have two months to wait before we see what goes down in the back half of 7. Based on what we've seen of the Mid-Season Finale so far, there are so many questions that will be left unanswered until then. Will we be ready in time for All Out War to begin or will we be left to languish in this submissive hell for five months waiting for Season 8 to begin? That's the burning question we all want to know.
http://www.walkingdeadfamily.com
Well my, my, aren't we just as excited as we could be about all these extended episodes this season? If you haven't heard yet, 7.7 was another 90 minute episode, following up on Carl sneaking into The Sanctuary. There was a lot for Carl to be affected by there so we needed an extra half hour to cover it... and the aftermath of his visit back at the ASZ.
Just as he did in the comic, Negan has quite a man-crush on the spirited Carl, who seems determined to defy him at every turn. Negan takes him on a tour of his inner sanctum, allowing him to be witness to some of the drama inside his harem before taking him to his private quarters to relax... or not. Here we see a slightly different, albeit just as menacing, method for whipping Carl into submission... using his teenage angst and vanity against him. Some people may think Negan is not as menacing as he should be, but he's got that coercion thing down pat.
We finally see what Carl's eye looks like under the bandage, and have the cringe-worthy response to Negan's proposition that he be allowed to touch it... eeeeew ew ew! He forces Carl to sing, though it's not apparent why and feels sort of forced into the story just to make it walk in lock-step with the comic, but otherwise the scene is an example of expert manipulation. Soon enough we're off to iron off someone else's face and watch Daryl be commanded to mop up the ironee's urine after he appropriately messes himself and the floor. While Daryl is shown to be a perfectly whipped little puppy, in the style well known for Daryl at this point, he does give Carl a few knowing looks to let the audience know he's not too far gone... yet.
By the end of the visit, Carl is completely familiarized with how things work at The Sanctuary, and sets off in a truck with Negan headed toward home. When they get there, Negan acts like that obnoxious relative you wish hadn't shown up for an unexpected visit... nosily insisting on a tour of the house and barging into Judith's nursery despite being asked not to enter the room. He basically makes himself at home, intentionally stepping into Rick's role as head of the house, coddling Judith while Olivia and Carl look on uncomfortably. It's just as awkward as you'd ever hope it to be, like the ever-present feeling of a splinter you just can't get out of your thumb no matter how hard to work it.
Meanwhile Rosita and Eugene are off to make a bullet while Spencer and Gabe head off to scavenge. In a moment of particularly rare levity for Gabe, he lets Spencer know exactly what he thinks of him before letting himself out of the car to walk home rather than endure his company any longer. It was nice to see these two subplots worked into the Carl/Negan Date Night story line to break it up a little and get those four ready for what we hope is a very compelling mid-season finale.
*Sigh* yes, that's right folks, it is already upon us believe it or not. After this coming Sunday's episode we'll have two months to wait before we see what goes down in the back half of 7. Based on what we've seen of the Mid-Season Finale so far, there are so many questions that will be left unanswered until then. Will we be ready in time for All Out War to begin or will we be left to languish in this submissive hell for five months waiting for Season 8 to begin? That's the burning question we all want to know.
http://www.walkingdeadfamily.com
Monday, November 28, 2016
The Walking Dead: Season 7 Episode 6 WDF Review
Episode 6: Swear
It's really hard to believe we're already just two episodes away from the mid-season finale. Where did all the time go? We haven't made a whole ton of movement in the story progression department, but we have a lot of new information to chew on, since so far it's been all about character development.
This time we're catching back up with Tara and Heath, and while we lose track of Heath for the time being (rumor has it the actor has taken other work that conflicts with his TWD filming schedule, and they may be leaving his story line unresolved "just in case" he wants to come back). So, we're actually really just focusing on Tara and what happens to her after she gets separated from Heath. Get ready for groans from the fandom, folks, because we're being introduced to Oceanside, yet another group of survivors who've been more than harassed by The Saviors.
Oceanside is made up entirely of hardened women and children. Why? Because The Saviors decided to punish them by killing all of their men. We seem to be catching a whiff of a theme here. They escaped The Saviors by sneaking away from their camp in the middle of the night and setting up camp in an Oceanside motor lodge village, where Tara happens upon them after being swept up in the current when she falls from a bridge (which is how she is separated from Heath). Therefore, they're trying to keep their village a secret so The Saviors can't find them again... and that means killing anyone that finds them on sight.
There's a little bit of another challenge to our suspension of disbelief here since if we were sneaking away from The Saviors, we wouldn't stop to set up a new camp until we were hundreds of miles away where it would be highly unlikely The Saviors could follow with a group that large that far. Hey, Team Family made the trip from Atlanta, so it stands to reason that one can make it back out again, right? We suppose there's the argument that there's always baddies to deal with but Negan's tyranny would be pretty hard to top.
For the most part it is a fairly slow paced episode, except the action scenes where Tara finally escapes their grasp to run to safety. By the end of the episode she makes it back to Alexandria to finally be told about both Denise's demise and The Lucillings by a forlorn Eugene at the gate. Although Rosita pressures her for information about where she's been, Tara holds true to her promise not to speak of Oceanside to help ensure they stay hidden.
Here's the rub: Oceanside has a massive cache of weaponry. It's hard to say that if Rick found out about it he'd be on his way there to take it all from them, but our guess is not. He is aware by now that Negan is too smart to simply be out-gunned and impressive as it was the Oceanside armory didn't look to be able to out-gun them anyway. Oceanside will likely play a large part once the mass revolt known as "All Out War" begins, but sshhhhhh!!!! We're not supposed to know about that yet.
Speaking of AOW, we do appear to be headed straight in that direction, though AOL is sure to encompass more than one episode and our Season 7 Finale will likely be just the first shots, if that. TWD fans shouldn't be so excited for AOW to happen so quickly anyway, since the conclusion of it could signal the natural conclusion of the series. Not that we have any clue whether or not that's the case, but it will have been 8 seasons by the end of AOW and even the best shows don't last much longer than that.
Now that we're all depressed at the thought of a series finale, we'd like to help you usher in the Holiday Season and be the first to say "Happy Holidays" to our peeps. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are gearing up for both the mid-season finale and Santa's visit. Be good little boys and girls, and remember to shop http://www.woodburyshoppe.com/ directly for all your TWD Christmas gear rather than other less awesome online retailers!
http://www.walkingdeadfamily.com
It's really hard to believe we're already just two episodes away from the mid-season finale. Where did all the time go? We haven't made a whole ton of movement in the story progression department, but we have a lot of new information to chew on, since so far it's been all about character development.
This time we're catching back up with Tara and Heath, and while we lose track of Heath for the time being (rumor has it the actor has taken other work that conflicts with his TWD filming schedule, and they may be leaving his story line unresolved "just in case" he wants to come back). So, we're actually really just focusing on Tara and what happens to her after she gets separated from Heath. Get ready for groans from the fandom, folks, because we're being introduced to Oceanside, yet another group of survivors who've been more than harassed by The Saviors.
Oceanside is made up entirely of hardened women and children. Why? Because The Saviors decided to punish them by killing all of their men. We seem to be catching a whiff of a theme here. They escaped The Saviors by sneaking away from their camp in the middle of the night and setting up camp in an Oceanside motor lodge village, where Tara happens upon them after being swept up in the current when she falls from a bridge (which is how she is separated from Heath). Therefore, they're trying to keep their village a secret so The Saviors can't find them again... and that means killing anyone that finds them on sight.
There's a little bit of another challenge to our suspension of disbelief here since if we were sneaking away from The Saviors, we wouldn't stop to set up a new camp until we were hundreds of miles away where it would be highly unlikely The Saviors could follow with a group that large that far. Hey, Team Family made the trip from Atlanta, so it stands to reason that one can make it back out again, right? We suppose there's the argument that there's always baddies to deal with but Negan's tyranny would be pretty hard to top.
For the most part it is a fairly slow paced episode, except the action scenes where Tara finally escapes their grasp to run to safety. By the end of the episode she makes it back to Alexandria to finally be told about both Denise's demise and The Lucillings by a forlorn Eugene at the gate. Although Rosita pressures her for information about where she's been, Tara holds true to her promise not to speak of Oceanside to help ensure they stay hidden.
Here's the rub: Oceanside has a massive cache of weaponry. It's hard to say that if Rick found out about it he'd be on his way there to take it all from them, but our guess is not. He is aware by now that Negan is too smart to simply be out-gunned and impressive as it was the Oceanside armory didn't look to be able to out-gun them anyway. Oceanside will likely play a large part once the mass revolt known as "All Out War" begins, but sshhhhhh!!!! We're not supposed to know about that yet.
Speaking of AOW, we do appear to be headed straight in that direction, though AOL is sure to encompass more than one episode and our Season 7 Finale will likely be just the first shots, if that. TWD fans shouldn't be so excited for AOW to happen so quickly anyway, since the conclusion of it could signal the natural conclusion of the series. Not that we have any clue whether or not that's the case, but it will have been 8 seasons by the end of AOW and even the best shows don't last much longer than that.
Now that we're all depressed at the thought of a series finale, we'd like to help you usher in the Holiday Season and be the first to say "Happy Holidays" to our peeps. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are gearing up for both the mid-season finale and Santa's visit. Be good little boys and girls, and remember to shop http://www.woodburyshoppe.com/ directly for all your TWD Christmas gear rather than other less awesome online retailers!
http://www.walkingdeadfamily.com
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