Monday, October 24, 2011

The Walking Dead - Episode 2: Bloodletting

Veeery interesting. Episode started with a flashback so of course I was psyched. The good news is ANY flashback is a good flashback and leaves me with the hope that they'll do more. I still want to know how the whole Zombie Apocalypse started and how they all dealt with it and ended up in the hobo camp ect. The bad news is that as flashbacks go this one was LAME. No new info about the Zombie uprising at all. More like a little slice of life piece and one we all could have imagined without seeing it on the screen. I'm always so bummed when the flashback ends too...need. more. backstory.
After the credits we were right where we left off. They found Otis and Hershel and Maggie (are their Zombie relatives locked in the barn?? Can't wait to find out!) and started patching Carl up. Lots of emotion, lots of character development. The biggest news seems to be the redemption of Shane. Even bigger is that I like it and have started to kind of cheer for the poor guy a bit. If he can stop being psycho and get back to loyal sidekick status that would be cool. Let's not forget that he had a go at Lori in the CDC rec room a mere 2 episodes ago though so the jury's still out on Shane.

Checking in with the rest of our little crew:
- Rick is white-lipped and barely on his feet. Dude needs a pint of Guiness and a steak.
- Lori is as expected for any mom.
- Dale is great. I love this guy more and more. He's the therapist, the mechanic, just all around good.
- Glenn. About to meet Maggie!
- Sophie. still lost
- Carol. She's hanging in there! I thought she'd be rocking in a fetal position by now. 
- T-Dog?? Stark raving mad.
- Andrea. We got to see her scream it out with a walker but other than that hard to tell with her.
- Daryl. You know I took a lot of flak for my Daryl crush last week. A LOT of flak. Yes, he's a bit rough around the edges but geez you guys, I'd make him wash his face ok? So besides being right next to Andrea one second and then like 100 yards away a moment later when she got attacked, Daryl still rocks. You know he does.... first we have his one liners and then he busts out his bag of meds WITH a major TMI about Merle and his personal life? Awesome. I can't wait to see Merle again. BTW.

So that leaves Shane and Otis trapped behind a metal fence at the High School. Love that they're ending each episode on a cliffhanger!!

I have to say that I am really enjoying the acting and the depth to which they're taking the characters on the show. It's a show about Zombies so it could be horribly campy and feature a bunch of D-cup teenagers in tank-tops and I LOVE that they've chosen to take it in a different direction. It's a Zombie show but it doesn't feel like a Zombie show. Know what I mean? It feels like a quality drama.

But my real favorite is the 3 minute "Inside the Walking Dead" thing they release each week where Rick starts talking all British and Daryl starts analyzing things like he just graduated from Princeton. Classic.....







Monday, October 17, 2011

Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 1: What Lies Ahead

Daryl, will you marry me? I'm pretty sure you're single and you see, I just don't feel safe with anyone else. My post apocalyptic mission is to populate the new world with little Daryls. People that can by the age of 4 reload a crossbow in seconds and gut a Zombie without flinching to see what it's last meal was. This is what humanity needs if it's gonna make it am I right? Really helps you see how the tables have turned. I mean Daryl probably could have been a regular on the series "Swamp dwellers" before the Zombies hit the fan and now he's the most desirable man on Earth. Even with his dirty face and his disgusto Zombie spackled shirt Daryl still makes the cover of People Magazines "Most Beautiful" issue in the Post-Zombie world.
   Speaking of spackle I would like to open a debate on how much we need to worry about flying Zombie detritus landing in and around our facial orifices. If this thing is a virus I would say that hacking one open and having kill spray land in your mouth/eyes ect would definitely = infection. And I mean Daryl, big guy, I know old habits die hard but you CAN NOT go around with your crossbow arrows in your mouth. Think of where they've been! If you get infected and you pass it on to me later when we're boot-knockin' it is SO OVER between us. All I'm saying is that when we're bashing heads/sticking screwdrivers into eyeballs/re-using ammo we need to be a whole lot more aware of blood borne pathogens.
    The episode started with some roof-top therapy between Rick and Morgan. Everyone is still down in the dumps about what happened at the CDC and who can blame them? Blowing up all that wine is enough to make anyone depressed. So they're heading for Ft Benning. They hit this major jam on the highway and start trying to make their way through it. This is a great idea as RV's are super easy to back up once you've driven yourself into a Zombie surrounded blind canyon. So once again they're in a situation where if things go south they're going to have to literally run for it. Or hide under cars which is way better. Yikes. They start searching through all the vehicles and I'm all "stay together and somebody go up on that RV roof pronto for long-distance look-out" and you know, for one sweet moment I thought people were listening to me!
   Then the horde came through. In the preview I really saw no reason for them to be under cars but I have to say with that many shuffling by in a determined manner it was probably the best way to go. D-Bomb rocks out AGAIN with his quick thinkin' and iron stomach and lies under some dead bodies.

Then we had a whole bunch of little crisis unfold:
1.) Sophia's lost - is it me or was this whole entire sub-plot just a vehicle to showcase Daryl's awesomeness? And why is it that when the groups split up I always think the group that he's not in is screwed? They'll find her. And my guess is that she's camped out with whoever shot Carl. You know how it goes with these things, the beginning of a new crisis usually ends another.
2.) Andrea vs Dale. Dale you are super-sweet and Andrea doesn't deserve you. I'd offer you my comfort but it would probably make Daryl jealous. Sorry dude, you're on your own. Here's hopin' she comes around.
3.) Shane vs Lori. They should forget about each other and both have a crush on Daryl. That would just make so much more sense.

Random thoughts:

I loved the episode. It made me squirm and hide under couch cushions. I bit off all my fingernails. I hid behind the cat. What more do you want from a good Zombie tale?
 
Here's what I like:  They have strayed so far off the script of the comic book that when something from the comic DOES happen it's so out of context that it's still a total blindside. The second Carl got shot I was like "oh yeah.... " and remembered that happening but it's like they're taking little moments from the comic and touching on them in a completely different way. Keeps it fresh and keeps you guessing.

I would like to see the group turn over a new leaf and really embrace purell and face shields. I think it's only a matter of time before spatter claims a victim. And since my beloved Daryl is the person most frequently exposed to spatter we can't have that now can we?

Carl rules. I hope he lives. Hubby and I were discussing the need for hand to hand combat weapons and the kid scores an arsenal of them. If Rick had gone after Sophia with a machete in his hands he wouldn't have had to leave her and kill them one at a time with rocks. So then we got into a huge debate about what bladed weapon would be the tool of choice in the Zombie apocalypse. I say things with loooong blades because I don't want to get too close and you know... fear of spackle and all that. Hubby says tomahawk. Pretty good idea but you have to get too close says I. How about a Celtic Lochaber I say? You could hack off multiple heads with one of those suckers. Nope too heavy says H. OK then how about a scythe? Goin' all grim reaper on those suckers... I sit back smugly, basking in my own brilliance. He points out that if I'm gonna go through the woods with a scythe it's gonna get caught on everything. And when I try to kill a Zombie with it it's going to get tangled in the tree branches and I'm gonna get munched while I'm stuck. Hmm. Good point. His next idea: samurai sword. He gets all actin' it out while he describes the merits of this latest idea. Curved blade, good distance, two handled grip - perfect. I agree but point out that there's not usually a ton of samurai swords lying around unless you are facing down the undead in JAPAN. And then it hits me. The perfect tool. Wanna get out of the CDC? Check. Want to kill the undead with no noise and no splatter? check. Two handled grip and long reach? check. No entanglements when not in use? check. I've got it - the perfect blade for killing the undead: Lightsaber baby! Geez he's lucky to have me...



Sunday, October 9, 2011

Season 2 Prep. Whoop!!!

Oh man, I MISSED you guys! It's been since December?!? That's crazy! Season 2 of the Walking Dead is only one glorious week away and we have soooo much to talk about before then. I gotta re-watch. I gotta re-connect. Oh boy oh boy...

So I have 4 topics that I want to discuss. Here they are in no particular order:
1.) The Season 2 Trailer. I forgot just how skin crawlingly, wet-yourself SCARY this show can be! I mean we got Zombies in the RV, people hiding under cars as Zombies walk past - I want to critique this move sooo badly but it's a preview! I will not jump to conclusions... it could be part of a dream sequence or taken massively out of context so I will hold my judgement until I see the footage roll. If it is what I think it is though these people are goin' down. I saw new characters, stress freak-outs, drama, excitement, you name it! My husband spend the 15 minutes after we watched it sneaking up on me going "bwahah!!" and making me jump out of my skin!! I gotta get my game face back on, toughen up, show a little backbone. After all this season will hopefully last more than 6 episodes.

2.) The 6 little Webisodes on the AMC website. Who loves back story? I do!! We got the story of the draggy-torso Zombie chick and I loved it. Again, I was actually freaked out and writhing in front of my computer because it's been so long since I've seen a Zombie munch anyone that I'm all sketched out like a newbie. Of course we all KNOW never to follow a streaky blood trail in the basement in the dark that you can only see in the light of your pathetic feeble flashlight beam. It's been a while since I screamed things at characters while watching something. "What? shotgun blow to the midsection? Bah!! C'mon dude, double tap to the head!!! Jeez what a neophite." "Full glass on your entryway eh? Poor, poor design choice." I won't even start on my reaction to the Zombie CPR attempt. EPIC!! Think we'll see those kids again or do you think they got munched?

3.) I did it. I read the comic book. Well not all of it. It's been a process you see. I'm up to like #80 something. So remember the episode of "Friends" where they had to put the copy of Stephen King's "The Shining" in the freezer because it got too scary? Yeah, at points I had to just walk away for a bit. I would have put the actual comics in the freezer but they're all on my iPad and I was afraid it would get freezer burn. I went into reading the comic thinking that anything in B&W comic form could NEVER be as scary as something on the TV screen and boy was I wrong. I actually hope they deviate from the comic plot a whole bunch. The author of this series has a massive grudge against his main characters and I'm kinda hoping that some of the ones we got now get to stick around for a bit. I may get back to reading it again. When the nightmares stop....

4.) I started leading a hard-core mountain run/hike session every Friday. The first session was 7.3 miles with huge elevations gains and losses and they've built from there. I call it the "Zombie Apocalypse Workout" cuz, you know.... rule #1: cardio and all that. Last week I had 7 gals and I made them start running again toward the top of this massive climb and I was all "Yeah you can't run?? Well if Zombies were chasing you right now you'd be running up this hill with a kid slung over each shoulder!" And then I chased them up the hill making Zombie sounds. I'm just sharing that with you guys because you're the only people in the world that would appreciate it.

See you in a week!