Monday, December 3, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 308: Made to Suffer

Well they gone and done it. They messed with Daryl and I'm smokin' mad. There were so many bad choices made in this episode that I don't know where to begin so I'll start with the 2 most obvious questions:
1.) In all the time they've been there has NO ONE thought to do a re-con around the perimeter of the prison to check out the defenses? I mean they have plenty of vehicles and most prisons have a track around them so you wouldn't even have to endanger anyone by doing it on foot. You could drive around the backside and then wire up that little gap in the fence and voila! No more Zombie intruders. They did notice that the prison had civilians in it so they know that they're getting in somewhere. I can believe no one wanted to know.
2.) If I keep doing push-ups can I have arms like Michonne?

The group at the beginning of the episode has no business being outside anywhere. I wouldn't trust that group with a potato peeler. They've been at it for over a year, surviving the ZA and they barely have weapons, they have no organization and no Zombie-killing skills to speak of and I saw one guy try to take out a Zombie by punching it in the mouth. Dude! It doesn't matter if it brings the teeth to you or you bring your gentle flesh to the teeth, the end result is the same. Plus they scream waaay too much. And what were they living on? They didn't have so much as a purse or backpack between the lot of them. Sheer foolishness people.
So when we see this cluster of brilliance entering the back side of the prison we know that no good can come from it. Bad things didn't really pan out in this episode but we're sooo set up for EPIC things to happen in the second half of season 3. Especially since everyone wants to have tea, crumpets, and meaningful conversations while they wait for bitten-arm girl to reanimate. Who in OUR group would support a policy of "headshots for the bitten FIRST, conversations later"?
   Carl has turned into quite the little stud-muffin. So much so that sketchy moustache man better step off. Beth is saving herself for Carl, never mind the 6-7 year age gap. When someone is awesome you gotta snatch them up right? So the kid is volunteering for formula scouting missions, going into the cellar with Rick's patented flashlight/gun stance, greeting newcomers with much more grace than the adults did last week (did you see Carl grab someone in their wounded area to make them answer a question faster? I think not). And then he quietly created a diversion and locked them all up. Nice job C-man. And he did it all rockin' his black hat and looking cool as a cucumber. I'm burly folks but you would NOT see me volunteering to go check out screams in the cellar alone. Ever.

So all we have left to talk about is prison gang vs Woodbury. What is up with Glen? He rips open a Zombie and extracts splintered arm-bone to use as a weapon. Does it get any more hard-core than that? Please tell me that Glen is just awesome now and that's the end of it. He's so burly that I am really worried that they're going to replace Daryl with Glen as the toughest character in the show. FYI, I'm thinking that splintered Zombie bone penetration has the exact same end result as a Zombie bite, making this spur of the moment weapon even more interesting.
OK so we all know what happened so instead of blow by blow let's discuss person by person.
Glenn as discussed is hard-core and holds up well considering. I love how polite he always is to everyone. First chance he gets he's briefing Rick that they told about the prison and telling Daryl about Merle.
Maggie is a tough little character. For all that she's been through she rallies when it's time to fight and becomes an excellent delta-force member during the extraction.
Merle is just a sad little dude right now. He is so desperate to win favor with the Gov and when the tables turn and he gets used as a pawn it's pathetic and sad. That's what happens when you hitch your wagon to the wrong star Merle baby. Now put on your thinking cap and save your baby bro. Bonus points if you take yourself out while you're doin' it.
Token black guy is down. Easy come, easy go. Should have seen this coming when the new token black guy walked in the back of the prison. Something tells me THAT guy isn't going to be around all that long though since he can't seem to follow through on taking out the bitten. It's 2013 people. Can't really believe the writers are doing this. At least we have a quality well-developed character in Michonne....
Rick is doing great during his moments of lucidity. If he can steer clear of talking to Lori on the phone and re-killing Shane there is hope. If one more bad thing happens to the guy then all bets are off though. And it IS the ZA, not a trip to Walt Disney World so bad things are almost guaranteed. If you ask me Rick is half way down the diving board on his way to the deep end. And Daryl has been the little voice that seems to call him back to the land of reality so now that he's in enemy hands I think Rick is going to continue his downward mental spiral. He did a good job with the mission though when he wasn't taking cover behind a solar panel (!?!).
Last season I used to like Andrea. I really did. In this episode there wasn't a single scene where I didn't want someone to bitch slap her or samurai sword her head off. Maybe both. She's just annoying. With more crying and whining about what job she gets to do than my 6 year old. She can only redeem herself if she figures out a way to save my favorite red-neck. And she's in a good position to do just that. C'mon Andrea, we have FAITH!
You all know what I'm going to say about Daryl. The man was made for the ZA and he rocks every scene he's in. When he found out about Merle and Rick told him he had to stay with the group he had a small moment of conflict but then he shook it off and rallied. He HAS to make it through this. Who wants to see Daryl hold the baby again? I do!
I don't really know what to say about Michonne.... she's so epic that she freaks me out sometimes but she's got really good intentions. This is clear as day when she thinks she is freeing a small girl from the closet in the Governor's rooms. What's so hard to understand about her is how fast she can process information and change her course. So she can go from nurturing a small child to stabbing it through the head in an instant when the situation changes. And that kind of just sums her up. She is intense and takes things to the extreme in every situation and it's her ability to adapt quickly and think on her feet that makes her such an interesting character and a survivor.
The Gov. is just so wrong. I think there are a lot of parallels between the Governor and OUR government. They way he spins things and makes people afraid of situations that he has created seems mighty familiar. And his followers are taking it hook line and sinker. His fight with Michonne was intense - made more so by the snapping Zombie heads landing all around them. And now he's sporting an eye-patch. Makes him ever so much more villainous don't you agree?

  So that's it. It was a great final episode but now I have to wait 2 whole months not knowing the fate of my favorite character. I asked for a Daryl T-shirt for Christmas. Let's hope it's not obsolete by February eh?


Monday, November 26, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 307: When the Dead Come Walking

   The worst is when you've found a great place to hole up and ride out the Zombie Apocalypse - just you and the carcass of your late little dog - but then a gang of maniacs come tearing into your cabin, stab you through the shoulder and chuck you out your front door to be consumed by the Zombies that are pursuing them. I ask you, is nothing sacred these days?!?

Oh the humanity. I've said it once and I'll say it again, if we're going to overcome Zombies and survive as a species we gotta work TOGETHER people. Merle is a dirty rotten punk, the Governor is just evil and Daryl is never going to be able to found the Republic of Awesome with Michonne if he keeps pointing his crossbow in her face. But let's begin at the beginning.

We finally get to see the Woodbury interrogation chambers and I was scared out of my mind for Glen and Maggie. They don't get enough props from me because their storyline tends to be sweeter and milder than the survival stuff we so often focus on but they are 2 of my favorite characters and I would be very, very bummed out if anything bad happened to them. Merle is 100% pure distilled 8th grade bully. He reacts more than he thinks and he lets his emotions run totally away with him. I mean throwing a zombie into the room with Glen tied up inside was BOGUS by any standard. Even if you're on the side of the bad guys what's gonna happen with Glen dead? Now you have nothing to hold over Maggie because he's the only thing she cares about and Zombified Glen is certainly not going to spill any secrets so you've totally lost your upper hand. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!
Can we pause for a moment and talk about stark, raving, zombie defense talent? Glen is duck-taped to a chair and he defends himself, fights against and neutralizes a zombie using tactics that can only be described as Daryl-worthy. Glen just went up about 20 places in the Billboard Hot 100 and I was a little blindsided. I may have underestimated our mild-mannered Korean friend. His scream of aggression at the end of the fight was pure visceral emotion. Go on with your bad self, Glen.... we're lovin' it.
The scene with the Governor and Maggie was so awful that I actually got cold watching it and had to go grab a sweater. That dude is EVIL and >spoiler alert< he's a brutal rapist in the comic so I was petrified that Maggie was going to be his first victim and they had switched things all around for the show. Thank goodness this did not happen but I'm not ruling it out for the future. Wish Andrea could see THAT side of him in action. She'd never get to re-join the crew at the prison having willingly shagged one of their attackers. But it may be too late for Andrea. The Dark Side is strong in her.
       Sooooo utterly disappointed in the quality of experiments being conducted in the Zombie Research Laboratory. Really dude? I'm all about science and innovation but by the end of it I was really hoping for nerdy lab tech guy to get chomped. That would have made things so much more interesting. I have so many great experiments that I want to conduct on Zombies. Can we please throw one in a freezer and see what happens? Maybe the act of freezing bursts cells in the brain and once they thaw they can't reanimate. Useful things to know because we've already gone through one winter so Canada could be a Zombie Free Zone. Imagine that! But instead we're seeing if they have residual memory. What a waste. Who cares if they do? They can't be turned back into people no matter what and you'll still have to kill 'em so this knowledge helps no one. I need to run the ZRL, that's all there is to it.
       So finally on to our prison posse. For one horrible moment I thought Rick was going to let Michonne die on the wrong side of the fence. I was screaming "Rick - she's got FORMULA man...why? how? Don't you want to know?!?" But it was Carl who saw the light and saved the day. Right on little guy. They drag Michonne inside and are very mean to her right from the get-go. Hard to watch because we know how much this group needs her and how much she needs the group, but ironically this is a response that Michonne is comfortable with. You show her an apparent Utopia where everything is hunky dory and she can't leave fast enough. Tell her that after you help her with her leg she'd best be on her way and she's OK with that. Good instincts to have for the Z.A. people... take note.
    They may have gotten vital info from her a little quicker if they had been nicer, but finally they find out about Glen and Maggie and they all start working together. I had a horrible moment when I thought moustache guy and Beth were going to be on the away team (bloodbath!) but cool heads prevailed and a hard-core squad set out to raid Woodbury. Seeing Daryl and Michonne working together in the same little squad made me so happy I was jumping up and down on the couch and that's when the show came to an abrupt end and I fell to the ground with a scream of rage. As usual I totally lost track of time and got blindsided by the cliffhanger. Curse you Walking Dead!!!
2 questions:
1.) Is it me or did Michonne have new clothes when they set out for Woodbury and why are all her duds so utterly cool? Can we get a "Michonne" line at Target or something? Maybe the tag line could be "You can move comfortably while killing the undead without sacrificing your style." I would totally buy that.
2.) Does anyone else watch the little iTunes extra "Inside the Walking Dead" where it turns out that like all of the cast including most of the Zombies are all British? What on EARTH is up with that? Are we so hard up for good American actors that we now have to train Brits to pull off a southern accent (they do a really good job BTW). But how weird is it to watch the episode and then hear the cast being all "Just chuffed to bits to be making this show. Quite smashing.... Jolly good old chap.." and on and on. FREAKY.


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 306: Hounded

 I know, I know, I'm late in getting this out. But I live in AFRICA dude, and sometimes the internet goes out. No one is more frustrated about this than me....
To sum it up quick:
Michonne has discovered that WEARING Zombie can be just as effective as leading Zombies when it comes to camouflage. And she's leaving people Zombie-gram's. LOVE her more every episode.
Andrea is a dirty Ho.
Daryl has added pediatric grief counseling and CSI analysis to his list of accomplishments.
Rick is coo-coo for coco puffs.
Glen and Maggie are pretty much screwed.
Carol's alive!

Merle is hard-core. He's just devious and vicious, and mean like a junk-yard dog. No wonder Daryl has issues. Can you imagine growing up with Captain Sadist as your older brother? We really saw his true colors in this episode. You're not going to cross with Merle and win unless you're the Governor or you kill him. And something tells me that he's going to go quickly down hill from here as he tries to get info out of Glen and Maggie. He also get's the best line of the episode:
"How do you say your last name?.... I'm gonna keep calling you 'Neil'."

Rick's plight is just painful to watch. He gets a phone call and then the chick hangs up on him?!? Was anyone else like "*69 those suckers!" I was, before I realized that there was no way that Rick was receiving actual calls. Oops. But mid-way through the episode he got all cleaned up and showered and I breathed an audible sigh of relief and contentment. And then things got radically better. This is the same principle I try to instill in my manky little 6 year old.  "I know you don't want to stop playing and jump in the bath, but you're feel great afterward, I promise." One thing that I noticed in the prison scenes is that the group is getting SMALL. Especially once Glen and Maggie take off. It's like Hershel, Carl, Beth, the new replacement token black guy and that's it. Because Rick and Daryl are almost always off doing something. Where's the mustache guy? Is he on sabbatical already because he's put in sooo much work this season or what?

Next can someone please explain to me why Andrea has to shag every single narcissistic, megalomanic, psychotic man in the post zombie world? It's a real thing with her. She may actually need counseling to break the cycle. Her scenes with the Governor were actually PAINFUL to watch in this episode. So much hair-flipping, eyelash batting insanity it's crazy.  She is going down a very dark path and she's totally off-script from the comic so I have no idea what's in store for her at this point. And what's with the Gov? I thought he was shagging his PR rep? I smell a chick-fight coming people and it ain't gonna be pretty. My $'s on Andrea for this one. She makes really, really bad hook-up decisions but the girl's a scrapper, you have to give her that.

So now it's time to talk about Michonne and Daryl. Who will be together in the prison by next weeks' episode! Is it me or do my Christmas wishes always come through? Let the republic of awesome begin!! I kind of like the whole Carol/Daryl thing going on but he may have to move on. I mean if Daryl and Michonne got together, reproduced and stayed alive long enough to parent then there may actually be a chance for humanity in this apocalyptic world. We'd have little 5 year olds with ripped arms and incredible abs cross-bowing zombies in the head with their miniature samurai swords on their backs for when they run out of arrows. Daryl has come far enough that he would actually make a great dad now. The guy just has so much heart. Loved the scene where he was outside the closet trying to get up his nerve to go in there because he was worried about seeing Carol as a walker or seeing her eaten. Why Carol didn't call out when they went by the first time is totally beyond me. Who's got a theory on this one? And does Michonne know how to make an entrance or what?!? With what Rick went through earlier he had to be wondering if he was having another hallucination. In the classic words of Fillmore from 'Cars': "I'm not the only one seeing this right?!?"

Monday, November 12, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 5: Say The Word.

So some of you out there are saying that this episode was mostly about Rick going off the deep end and some of you are saying that it's about Andrea, Michonne, and the Governor. Well you're all wrong because this episode was CLEARLY about Daryl "Super Nanny" Dixon. Can we pause for a moment and log a running tally of his achievements in this one episode alone?
1.)Assesses Rick and see's that he has checked out.
2.)He organizes a mission to fetch infant formula.
3.)Schedules a play buddy for Carl so he won't be sad
4.)Rocks a bitchin' Pancho Villa cape thing and then gives it to the baby like a wise man givin' presents to the baby Jesus.
5.) He organizes the neighborhood ladies so that every night someone brings Rick and Carl a covered dish or a casserole. (OK, I made this one up but if it were an option he would have done it.)
6.) Kills dinner with his crossbow.
7.) Brings back all the loot and Maggie in one piece.
8.) Feeds the baby it's first bottle like an old pro.
9.) Gets Carl thinking about baby names.
10.) Lays flowers on the graves of the fallen (Carol?).
And he does it all with grace, kindness, and his nice little "Today is the GOOD version of Daryl" smile. Has anyone EVER done so much in one episode? I think not. He still needs to wash his face but man oh man, he's ownin' the Zombie Apocalypse like it's his job people. And I love him for it.

Onto the lesser plot threads:
The Governor in the TV show is definitely a kinder, gentler, less rape-prone version of the Governor in the comic. So much so that it makes Michonne seem kind of crazy and over-reactive. And that bums me out a bit. I want him to show his true colors so Michonne's fears and suspicions are validated. We have now seen the heads in the fish tanks, his Zombie daughter that he is keeping as a pet, and the fights he organizes but all that just kind of makes him look eccentric and not evil. Even his slaughter of the Army guys could be written off as an attempt to keep his people safe. He's evil though and I bet we see something big go down in the next few episodes.
Michonne is awesome. Can't wait for her to join the prison alliance.
Andrea- when you make bad choices, bad things happen to you. Should have left when you had the chance.
Rick just made me cringe in this episode. Mostly because of the copious amounts of Zombie splatter that he wore like mourning clothes. You know me and Zombie splatter... I can't handle it.
Carol: ?!?!?
And 2 final zombie survival tips to send us on our way:
1.) If you have to choose between sending power to the Zombie Research Laboratory or the beer cooler you ALWAYS choose the ZRL. We're all clear on that right?!?
2.) WHAT was Maggie wearing in this episode? Was it a cuuuute little top with lots of shredded strips and fringe? no, No, NO!! Totally grabbable by zombies. Performance fabrics in the right size so there's not a lot of flowing material around you is the uniform of the ZA people. We want quick, drying, splatter resistant, non-snaggable duds. As long as they're within those parameters they can still be cute though....I mean girls gotta be girls right? 



Monday, November 5, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 4: Killer Within

Are. You. Kidding me? I'm shocked and shaken. And I feel a bit sick to be truthful. Just when I think this show can't get any more epic it attains new levels of epicness. The thing that makes it all so different and feel so real is that it's not like other TV shows or action movies out there where the brave little group struggles on against all odds and no one dies until maybe the very end of the final scene where they give their lives to save everyone else or achieve the final goal. In this show people die all the time. And they don't save the group doing it. They're lucky if they save anyone. Sometimes they're just out in a field going for a moonlight stroll when they die and sometimes like tonight, all hell breaks loose and casualties are inevitable. And that's not the end of it. The group doesn't get a chance to even grieve because the ring is never going to get thrown into the volcano, the asteroid is not going to be demolished just before it hits Earth and no mad scientist is out there working on a Zombie cure. These things are going to keep on coming until they all rot away or everyone's dead and there's no end in sight. The show is scary and horrific because this is exactly the way it would be if it really went down. Not to sound like a Hallmark card or anything but it feels genuine you know?
     I'm not going to give you a blow by blow because you watched it too and we both know what happened. I may have to watch it again just to take in all the details and I don't even know if I can handle it again. I'm gonna have to filter it through my fingers. Let's start with Woodbury...
    I didn't think I could love Michonne more but I do now. She wants to find an Island?!? Damn girl, that's what I'm talking about! Season one I said find an Island. Because Zombies can walk into water but they'll decompose faster in the water and get eaten by fish and without a screaming target to lurch toward they're kind of like the balls in a pin ball machine. They bounce off of things while ambling aimlessly in the easiest direction. Which means downhill, or in this case farther out to sea until they tumble down the continental shelf. Have you ever tried to drag your sorry, fully dressed self out of the water and up the beach? It's WORK friends. I don't see Zombies doing it. Islands = safety once they are secured. But before she can find an Island and live out her days on fish and coconuts she's going to have to club Andrea over the head and drag her out of Woodbury. Because she's flirting with every stump-armed, head-collecting guy she runs into with her hair all cute and her little "I have no tolerance for alcohol and maybe we can shag later" smile. Yikes. What's THAT all about? Michonne may have to cut her loose. What she needs to do is ditch Andrea, find Daryl, secure an Island and establish the Republic of Awesome. But that's probably not going to happen for a few more episodes.... We'll put it on this year's Christmas wish list. And most of my Christmas wishes come true folks. I mean look what just happened to Lori. Ok, so it was a year late and it didn't really happen under the circumstances I thought it would and by the time it DID happen I was so sad about it that I totally regretted wishing for it... but it DID come true so there's hope for a Michonne/Daryl Alliance.
  But I digress...
Michonne wants to go, Andrea wants to stay and shag, Merle wants to go find Daryl but the Governor's a total control freak and won't let him go and no one was sipping tea in this episode. That just about sums up the Woodbury situation.
   On to the prison. Oh boy. The first scenes of this episode played with us big-time. They showed a group that was comfortable with each other settling in and finally finding their 'new normal'. They had work to do each day but none of it was under panic conditions and they even had time to laugh kindly at Glen and Maggie in their guard tower. Hershel was on the mend, and they had a plan for the future. I was a bit split about the new guys. I kinda thought they should accept them into their group just based on the cuteness of the one guy's moustache but when they went over to discuss it I thought that the reasons stated for NOT accepting them were valid.  It's great to be nice but not if it risks the lives of the entire group.
     When they got Hershel into the exercise yard and the Zombies started coming at them from all directions it was heartbreaking. Here's these guys who have gone to such lengths to build a safe area for their weakest members while they're out risking it all and when things start going down they can't even get to them and their pain and frustration is so evident. We lost T-Dog and then he let himself get eaten to save Carol who I HOPE is still alive. And then Lori goes into labor and you just know from the title of the episode and the way it's going down that the outcome is not going to be good. I know I've never been the biggest Lori fan but her death was heartbreaking. Even more so when you saw what it did to Carl and then what it did to Rick. It was one of those episodes where the credits rolled and I was just sitting there in stunned silence trying to catch my breath. Can the show continue to maintain this pace? Am I hard-core enough to keep watching? Once you start watching this show how could you NOT watch? That's it for me this week...my hubby's rocking in a corner back in the TV room and I think he needs a hug.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 3: Walk With Me

Best 10 minute opener EVER! Sooo many questions and observations:
1.) A helicopter?!? That's hours of speculation and discussion right there! And they were talking to a bunch of people back at some kind of base so there's another major group of people out there, probably ex-military. Of course our characters never got to meet or see these guys but at least a few of them are still alive so we get to find out a little bit more about them and where they came from later in the episode.
2.) Zombies = pack mules. I LOVE IT! Why not? If you're using them to fend off other Zombies and they're still shuffling forward who wouldn't thinking about slapping a few items onto their backs. Heck, why not let them schlepp ALL the stuff! This could revolutionize the post-zombie world. Zombies can be usefull! Think about it... you could chain up a whole bunch of modified jawless, armless, domesticated Zombies and form a perimeter around your property to keep out other Zombies. Kind of like scarecrows you know? They can carry your stuff, guard your land - heck, they may even be able to pull a plow! I mean probably not quickly or in a very straight line but what do you want from the undead? And you don't have to feed OR water them.... so much better than horses! Speaking of horses, they really do serve the same purposes except for carrying people around. They even act all sketchy when something's up or someone's coming. Pack animals + sentinels. This is beautiful. Michonne rules.
3.) Whole bunch of new guys. We'll see about them.
4.) MERLE! Of course he would show up at Woodbury. Don't be fooled peeps. I know it seems all rosy and quaint but a ne'er-do-well like Merle is not going to hang out at a church picnic. And is it me or does Merle have a retractable bayonet arm? Cool...

A&M get taken by the new guys and we next see them in Woodbury. They're all sulky, suspicious and ungrateful as a class of 8th graders and after a while you kind of want to smack them and make them be nice and appreciate this wonderful safe new haven full of generous people. (Except those of us that have read the comic who are screaming "RUUUUNN!!! While you still can!!)
They get the grand tour. I would be like "WOOOOW! Veggie gardens! Old People! Pregnant Ladies!" But A&M are of course battle-hardened, super-critical and suspicious. Love them.
Not super-clear on the pilot's story. Can't figure out if he was describing events that happened toward the beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse or something that happened more recently. I'm leaning toward something that happened in the last month or so because he mentions "supplies lasting" ect.
The Governor promises to go after the rest of his group and I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And that's when the episode cut to the most important, bestest, most vital and wonderfullest thing we have seen to date in the post-Zombie world: THE ZOMBIE RESEARCH LABORATORY. YES!!! I love this so much I can barely cope and I love the dude/nerd that works there already. I would soooo be your research assistant Mr. Zombie lab guy! I have many, many, Doctoral dissertation topics already lined up and ready to be tested. Let's do this! Finally someone has decided to look into these suckers and get some answers. Aaaand he appreciates the brilliance of Michonne which makes me love him even more and he doesn't even know about the pack-mule thing yet! Pure awesomeness. I'm no fan of Woodbury or the Governor but I'm ready to give up my freedom and become a library card-carrying, fully indoctrinated citizen of the town just based on this alone.
   The Governor runs out to wherever to find the other army guys and.... warm feelings gone. Hmmm.... don't you think you could have used the extra guns AND the extra man-power Mr Mega-tyrant Dictator Sir? Or is your MO to just waste anyone that could be a threat to your authority. If so A&M better watch themselves big-time. They come back, he gives some big cover-up speech and we find out that he's shagging the Woodbury PR rep AND he likes to relax at night by looking at his collection of severed heads. Nice one.
  I loved this episode. Questions were posed and then answered all in one nice little 42 minute package which NEVER happens in this show, we got major character development of existing characters plus a whole new slew of new characters. I wonder if the season will keep flip-flopping between A&M's story line and the rest of the crew back at the prison or if the 2 threads will merge quickly. I'm sure Rick and the Governor will get along real nicely....

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 2: Sick

Does this show make anyone else exhausted? I watched 2 episodes back to back last night and at the end of it I was pooped! I can understand why the characters are at the end of their tethers... I only live in the zombie world for 2 hours and I feel like I could sleep for days. Last night's episode (2 nights ago for you lucky viewers in the States) was epic and awesome. I was quite sure when I saw the title that the episode would be mostly about Andrea and Michonne, but they never even showed up! I loved the final shot of the opening sequence.... the prisoners are left standing alone in the room with Hershel's severed leg like "Dude, did that just happen?"
      This episode was all about exploring the human threat. Zombie's will eat you, but at least they're predictable. Other humans are competing with you for a limited food supply at best and looking to take your whole group hostage for a multitude of nefarious purposes at worst. The thing is, if people are going to re-claim the world and rebuild society they are going to need each other. Cue music... "people - people who need people". Ok, ok, I'll stop singing. But they are going to have to embrace each other at some point.
   This is one of those episodes where I'm not going to give you a re-cap. The plot was very straight forward. But the acting and nuances of the characters' relationships made it sooo interesting. Let's look at the prisoner thread first. As with any new group there are going to be keepers and chaucy ones. It's not unlike buying a pint of supermarket blueberries. Even if it looks like a good batch there's bound to be at least a few rotten ones in the middle layer no matter how hard you looked at the container from the outside. If you're really unlucky there's a nasty one all covered in fuzz that's contaminated all the ones around it. People are just the same. The dance between Rick and the prisoner leader was so subtle. I taught high school for 8 years and they just nailed the way the guy tested the boundary with Rick. He never overtly challenged him. For any thing he did he could have claimed it was accidental or misunderstood. But after a while you and the kid both know that it's all on purpose and it's escalating. And this isn't high school math class. After flinging a few Zombies at Rick by "accident" Rick looks him in the eye and sinks a machete into the guy's skull. Had to be done. After cleaning up the other tainted blueberries there's only 2 guys left. Hey more food for our guys right?
    The Hershel thread was intense. I was excited and curious to see if he would turn or be OK with the tainted limb taken off. They didn't get that leg off super-fast if you ask me so I was thinking he would turn. And when Lori gave him CPR and he grabbed her and rose up I jumped off the couch! Great moment. Hot Tip Lori: don't give CPR to people who are on reanimation watch.  It's right up there with "Continue to breathe as you go through your day". Really? Of course I wasn't that scared for her because there's no way the writers are going to give up birthing drama and take her out now. Carl comes through big-time in this episode. Goes off and finds the infirmary by himself and brings back supplies?!? Go kid! Lori freaks out on him and to be honest I would probably have done the same. Can someone tell me where the break happened between Carl and Lori? They always got along relatively well and now he hates her. Not sure when that started....
   The thing that bugged me the most about this episode was people walking around up to their elbows in blood and gore and NOBODY washing their hands!! Arrggh! I just want to take a face cloth to Rick more than half the time. There's got to be water somewhere... put Carl in charge of hauling it to a washing station for the love of God. I'd be driving everyone crazy if I was there with enforced wash-up time. Oh well. The episode ended with no foreshadowing and no indicators of what is to come except for someone watching Carol through the bushes so I have no idea what's going to happen next. Predictions for next week?

Monday, October 22, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 1: Seed.

I'm back!! And my internet is upgraded and fast. You'll get 2 in a row from me since I've been slackin'; one tonight and one tomorrow. So excited... let's do this!
     4 of our heroes start the episode out right by barreling into an old farmhouse and getting the job done. I think T-Bone's wielding a fireplace poker. That's kind of a weird and desperate weapon to be using this far into the game but he brandishes it with such gusto that I'm giving him a pass. And Carl! Does he get an Emmy for "youngest actor to kick ass and take down names" or WHAT? I don't even know what kind of gun he's using but the kid's rockin' it. They clear the farmhouse efficiently and well but with all that enthusiasm and adrenaline it's a wonder they don't shoot each other in the face when they surprise each other around blind corners. If it were us we'd have a post-raid circle-ups and come up with better safely policies am I right? Big shout-out to my boy Daryl for helping clear the place of the un-dead AND rustle up some dinner at the same time.
        The rest of the crew comes in and the baby bump is effectively used as an indicator that we have fast forwarded a few months ahead. First observations are that 1.) The group hasn't lost any more members and 2.) They have become much more battle-hardened and weary since we last saw them. The pet-food scene is able to portray SO MUCH with no dialogue at all that it's worth watching twice. They see more walkers approaching and bail out the back door and it was then that I turned to my Husband and said "you think Lori's going to hold onto her belly at all times until she gives birth or what?" I've been preggers twice folks and there's really no need to hold onto the thing. Yes Lori, we know it's there... congrats on finding new ways of being annoying. And then we got A NEW TITLE SEQUENCE! It's so 3rd season right? Not so much 'this is happening' as 'this is the new reality'. I loved it.
    It seems like the herding that we saw in the season finale has really become a problem. That should be interesting. They finally spot the prison and Rick immediately sees it's potential. Lots of really great Zombie moments. There were so many walkers in this episode.... kudos to the make-up people. Rick decides to run for the gate and everyone else either goes out as a distraction or gets on sniper duty. When Lori grabbed the gate I thought she was going to block him from going but instead she opened it for him. That's a huge indicator of how much their relationship has changed. Rick charges across the yard, secures the fence and then all they have to do is shoot fish in a barrel.
    They have a nice evening in the prison yard and even though they are very secure they have people on sentry duty. This is a first and again it shows how much they have changed and how savvy they have become. Even on the farm which was pretty unsecured they didn't have formal sentries. Daryl and Carol have a little something brewing (rawr!)
  Then Lori and Rick have their little interaction. Both characters are shadows of their formal selves. Lori puts up no fight at all and tiptoes around Rick like he's a bomb about to go off and Rick is so hardened that he's almost a different person.
    The next morning Rick, T-bone, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Hershel storm into the main prison yard. No, No, no. Why take a chance on getting surrounded? I would go in as a tight bunch, kill a few and then retreat. Repeat until the yard is clear. In the meantime you may have attracted many of them to the fences where they can be killed with no risk. The Zombies in body armor we HARD CORE! They push on into a cell block. I would have stopped for a drink and a granola bar but you know me... and are able to clear it out very quickly. Every body picks their cells. Maggie and Glenn are so sweet with each other. Such a contrast to Rick and Lori's relationship. Those 2 are not even sharing a cell! It would seem like a good place to stop and chill out before pushing farther but I guess lack of food keeps them from doing that.
    We check in with Michonne and Andrea. Not much happens with them. Andrea is sick and their segments seem to be there just to introduce the Michonne character. Love her pet Zombies with no lower jaws and no arms. That chick is awesome. Hope we get a little more story on these 2 in the next episode.
     Next we had a really good scene with Hershel and Lori where he tries to calm her down as she goes through a typical case of pre-birth jitters. Hey, not even I can blame her on this one, especially since she's considered the Zombie-fetus scenario. Yikes! Then the main squad gets back in action but this time they're in a basement labyrinth in the DARK. Soooo creepy. They try to mark their way out with spray-paint but then it all goes south very quickly. Tough to critique them on this one. They clearly have to push on or starve and I'm not sure their problems are their fault EXCEPT for Hershel basically rubbing his lower legs against this one Zombie's lips. Have we never as a group discussed giving them a wide-berth? Not rubbing up against them unless we are SURE they're dead... especially if they have no obvious head-wounds? Geepers you guys. Of course he gets bit but it does give us our first opportunity to see if immediate limb amputation makes a difference in survival. Worth trying at least once right? They hack off his foot and meet a whole new crew of guys that are human and appear to be well-fed. Hooray!
   It's worth noting that the Zombies are deteriorating. The ones at the farm-house were looking kind of dried out and sinewy and the suckers in the combat gear were practically composting inside their armor. So if they can last a little longer the undead may fall to pieces and our little band of heroes may be able to re-claim the world. Hope for the future. And hope for season 3! I thought it was an excellent first episode, you?

    

Monday, October 15, 2012

ARRRGHHH!!! So you know how I used to live in South Korea so I was always a day behind? Yeah well, now I live in South AFRICA (which is not such a bad place to live if the Zombies rise up. More on that later...) But we just got here and none of our shipments have arrived yet because of some damn transportation strike. So I have no computer, no apple TV and a truly shocking internet connection that won't even let me look at a youtube vid. I have episode 1 downloading. It should be complete in a matter of days... really. So stay with me and hang in there. More pithy commentary is coming. I haven't even seen the webisodes - they're blocked in this country. Oh the humanity!!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hang in there....

Monday, March 19, 2012

Walking Dead Episode 213: Beside the Dying Fire

No, No, NO!! I'm not buyin' it. Not buyin' it at ALL!! And I'm bummed because this is the first time I've had to really and truly call foul on this favorite show of ours.
1.) A HELICOPTER flying over head causes a massive herd to migrate all the way out to Hershel's farm from Atlanta?!? Not a chance! As if Chopper noise would cause OUR walkers that we know and love to ABANDON A MEAL and shuffle mindlessly off AWAY from the food? I think not. If that were true then a barking dog, a woodpecker, a falling tree branch, or any other number of random noises would have sent the herd veering off into a million directions. Plus if all Zombies "herded" like this then they would be very, very easy to get rid of. You could trick them into surrounds and just burn them in mass groups. Nope. It's the random Zombie that surprises you in the trees that has kept the series scary. That's the rules of Zombies and they need to stick to those rules and not change them completely just because it's season finale time and they need a whole bunch of them to show up for a big finish. Lazy writing.
2.) The whole gang goes out in vehicles at high speeds with shotguns and handguns over rough terrain. And headshot after headshot I never saw anybody miss. Not even once. Since WHEN is this possible? C'mon PEOPLE! Why groom this amazing, thoughtful, and delightfully intelligent fan-base and then insult us like this in the finale? They were up against a losing cause anyway so it's not as if their success was ever going to be a function of accuracy right?
3.) We lost Jimmy and Patricia. Yawn. Who didn't see that coming? Since we met them their fate couldn't have been more clear if they were red-shirt wearing ensigns on board the Star Ship Enterprise. Both those characters screamed "disposable!" from the get-go.
So they run for it. And make it off the ranch in sub-groups. Lori and Man-Pants make it off with T-Dog. Beth is also wearing a red Star Trek shirt by the way. It's just gonna take a while longer. Daryl drives off the farm but then sits at the end of the driveway staring contemplatively at the sky. (?) Because that's what I would do if I were fleeing a Zombie horde. NOT! So conveniently he is right there to hear Carol's screams and she makes it out with him. Glen and Maggie get away together and their story and emotional thread is really the only one that feels authentic. Rick saves Hershel and they get away with Carl and Andrea gets left behind. Andrea's story thread is pretty much the only redeeming thing about the episode from here on out. I'm gonna save it for last because I really like happy endings.
    So they all meet up on the highway (no thanks to Hershel and T-dog), count their losses and hug it out. In my little world it would also be time for Purell and face-washing but you know me. Love Daryl in this scene. First it's the Asian driver comment and then the way he dispatches the argyle sweater Zombie the way most of us would offer to answer the doorbell. "I'll get it!"
   They breakdown on the side of the road and discuss the last 24 hours and it comes out that people turn into Zombies because everyone's infected. So if you die from anything you turn. NOT BUYING IT. First of all if that were true you could get bitten and as long as the bite didn't kill you you should be fine. This could totally explain why they are constantly exposed to Zombie spackle and it doesn't affect them. But if that's true then Jim should have been fine when he got bit. It wasn't a lethal wound and if he was already infected with the Zombie virus and ANY death would have resulted in his turning, then the bite should not have killed him. Because whatever was in the bite was something he already had. If everyone is already infected God help Lori if she gets 6 or so months along in her pregnancy and then miscarries. She'll have a zombie fetus trying to claw it's way out of her. That's gonna make all pregnancies a little more high-risk. As if the high probability of giving birth in the woods wasn't scary enough. Geez....
    Then the episode just dissolves into.... hmm what's the right word. It wasn't bad, not weird, just... off. It was "off". Rick's different. Lori's feral or something now that she knows about Shane. And no one is using their heads anymore. I mean they choose to sleep out by the side of the road. But let's look at this screenshot.
 Take a close look at that fence. It's really nice. What would you say a fence like that would cost? 7-9$ per linear foot? They don't line country roads with fences like that. And oh, what's that in the distance? Is it a transformer? I believe it is! So why not take a little stroll down the lane and spend the night at the McMansion that's at the end of that driveway and behind that fence. It's not rocket science gang. You may even be able to rustle up some grub. I gotta walk away. It's all too sad and pathetic. I'm going to NEED until next October to get over this episode.
  But like I said before - go out on a happy ending. Andrea's story was great. She's so hard-core and epic that I'm kinda starting to like her. But with all those Zombies no one could hold out indefinitely. She lost her ammo, she beat them off with guns, lost her knife in one of their skulls and got taken down. I was so bummed at that moment because I KNEW that no one was coming to save her. Until.....Michonne!! She showed up in all her glory looking just like I always thought she would. I actually jumped off the couch and hit my hand against the ceiling (by mistake... ouch!) Her moment of introduction was visually perfect. And kind of redeemed the episode for me. So now all we have to do is sit back on our heels and speculate until sometime next October. Oh man.....

Monday, March 12, 2012

Walking Dead Epsiode 212: Better Angels

I have 2 things to say right off the cuff and then I'm gonna need to rock and cry for a bit before I finish tonight's missive. 1 - This show has become a Greek Tragedy. Seriously... I'm starting to feel like if I joined a grief support group it would be full of fellow TWD fans. It makes the Stephen King book I'm currently reading seem like a romance novel. 2 - At the rate they're killing off major characters the show will be over in about 2 more episodes. A few brave shows in the history of TV have had the cojones to kill of a major player, but has ANY show ever killed off main characters 2 weeks in a row? ANY?!? Somebody please go grab an almanac, check the Wiki or phone a friend - I'm dying to know.
   Ok, I'm back from my grief session. The thing is, this episode started out so WELL. I had hope that the group was going to rally around the standard of Dale and his morality. I guess the fact that a bunch of them had to go postal on a bunch of walkers should have tipped me off. But seriously, who doesn't need to blow off some steam after a funeral? Andrea and Glen had a moment (at the Winnie appropriately enough) where they both came to grips with how much Dale had meant to them. Carl came clean to Shane about seeing the walker and not telling anyone and I was dumb enough to think that this was kind of a cathartic moment. I thought that Shane might be able to move into a new role in the group, be a mentor to Carl, a protector to the rest of them and discreetly shag Andrea on the side. I thought he might you know, move on. But then Lori had to go and ruin the whole thing. Aauuuurrrghgh!!!
    Lori in her infinite wisdom decides that it might be a really, really nice idea if she catches Shane alone, looks deep and longingly into his liquid brown eyes, and does some tip toeing down memory lane about the time they spent together knockin' boots in the woods. She looks at him with anguish and tells him woefully that she "doesn't even know who's baby this is!" And then she thanks him and says how sorry she is about how things have gone down. Next time Lori, just strip naked and go for it right there at the windmill. If pouring gasoline all over some smouldering embers that are just about to finally, FINALLY go out is your goal, why not really knock it out of the park?
   So Shane, in his usual unstable state, gets the realization that the baby MIGHT be his and that Lori MIGHT still have feelings for him all in one 5 minute conversation. If only Rick were out of the picture!! Wait a minute.....
     Not gonna recap the rest of what happened because it's too painful. But as usual I have some  things to point out. Hershel! What a change eh? He's organizing marshmellow roasts and inviting people in to re-decorate. He'll be spooning with T-Dog before you know it. I'm actually starting to like the guy. And of COURSE they just figured this group harmony thing out and now they're probably going to have to flee for their lives. Typical.
   Daryl is back and still awesome. And you know that when they split off into 2 groups you don't even have to worry about Glen because for Daryl tracking dead people or escaped prisoners through the foggy woods at midnight is right in his comfort zone. And he's once again laying down the best line of the episode:
"I don't see you and I trading haymakers on the side of the road."
I love him and if they EVER kill him off I may have to do something drastic in protest. He makes me a bit nervous because he's not in the comic at all so I have NO idea whether or not his character may live or die. I mean Shane lasted a LOT longer than he did in the comic and Dale not nearly as long but they were both eventually killed off. Daryl also has a total realization in the woods. He is maybe the first character that GETS that people that didn't get bit are now turning into Zombies. If by the end of the episode Rick and Carl don't get that too then I don't know what it's gonna take, and with what's coming at them from across the field it doesn't look like they're gonna have much time to discuss it but still. And please tell me that a crowd of Zombies that size would do SOMETHING to tip you off so that Rick and Carl don't get blindsided. I mean you'd hear them coming right?!? You'd SMELL them coming don't you think?!? Next week is going to be sooo epic.
   The scene at the end was beautifully shot. Maybe I noticed that only because I was so horrified with what was going down that I had to take my mind off it... ("the loons! Can you hear the loons?!?") but it was. As soon as Rick handed his gun to Shane I saw him going for his knife and I was so relieved. So I know where my loyalty lies. Sorry Shane. Wish you weren't leaving, but since you are "See-Ya."
  

Monday, March 5, 2012

Walking Dead Episode 211: Judge, Jury, Executioner

Remember a while back when I said that what makes the show so awesome is that it's not a lot of D-cup teens running around in tank tops, being chased by Zombies and screaming? Remember how I said that the depth of the characters and the drama and the quality of the acting were all things that make the show great? Yeah. I totally lied. Can we have an episode where a bunch of half-naked co-eds that I don't care about get messily eaten? Just, you know, a few moments of nail biting, harmless, jump out of your seat type Freddy Kruger scary TV would be nice. Because I swear this series is starting to have more metaphors and symbolism than 12th grade English class and I have no IDEA where to go to buy the Cliffs notes.
    And now we lost DALE?!? Wow. Of all the deaths that have come so far, this one is the hardest to take. And I may not have gotten ALL the symbolism but I do get that by being forced to shoot him in the head they are really putting the parts of themselves that are still hanging on to humanity and compassion out of their misery. Yikes.
   The show opens with Daryl going all "goodfellas" on Russel to try to find out what he knows. And we find out some rather unpleasant details about the group that Russel was part of. I'm getting whiplash. Every time I think that PEOPLE are now the biggest threat, the Zombies remind us that they're still out there and then we hear about Russel and the way his group was carrying on and it turns out that in this new world, people may be scarier after all. So now they have to decide to eliminate the threat or try to retain their humanity. Shane is pretty predictable as to where he stands. It's everyone else that's surprising. Andrea first guards the prisoner for Dale and then in the end fully takes Dale's side. Carol and Hershel want to take the easy path and opt out. Lori sides with Rick. How can she not see that someday the same thing may happen to Carl? wouldn't she want him to be given a second chance? If all humans shoot each other just based on the fear of what they might do then there really is no future worth fighting for. Glenn and Maggie uncharacteristically don't speak out in defense of Dale or Russel. And then there's Carl. He's totally out of control in this episode and flirting with aaaaalll kinds of disaster. He's sassing adults, stealing guns, baiting Zombies and not following directions. This is the kid they're trying to redeem the future for and it's only when he steps in to witness what may happen that Rick realizes that the future may not be worth saving if that's how they're going to live it.
   Zombie count in this episode = 1. A single measly Zombie. And these people have lived through some HARROWING stuff, and yet they're wandering around woods and fields humming in the sunbeams like they're in a Normal Rockwell painting instead of the Z.A. Carl is practically feral. Are you kidding me?!? I wouldn't let my kids out of my SIGHT, never mind wandering over to Daryl's camp to look at his motorcycle, guns, and drying ears. All the ill-fated Zombies that were in the barn were captured on farm property. Is it really such a stretch to think that there might be more out there wandering around? Maybe I'm missing a lot more symbolism because I'm waiting for Zombies to jump out of the high grass and take someone out. And then that's exactly what happens! Geez, I hate being paranoid AND right all the time. And if you and I were in livin' in the Z.A would we really stare at a munched-on cow for waaaaaay too long or would we instantly take the gun off our shoulder and do a 360 to find the culprit? I mean Dale, come ON dude, you don't have to sit there wondering. There's only one thing that could have caused that kind of damage.
Speaking of damaged cows - I know there's a lot of deeper things to still talk about but can we pause for a palate-cleanser and just hash out some basic Zombie Q & A for a sec? That skinny little sucker ate a HUGE helping of cow with not so much as a food-baby to show for it. You'd think he wouldn't even be interested in Dale. Are the things ever sated? Do they ever just decide that they're done hunting humans for a little while and lie down for a post-feast nap? When they eat stuff, where does it go? Why was Dale walking across a field in the dark, and why didn't everyone RUN to help him when he started screaming? In the zombie world screams mean only one thing and the whole group heard him and then acted like he may have just been surprised by a field mouse. Jeepers people....
     I think it's very symbolic that Dale does not get bitten but has to be shot. I also think it's very interesting that Daryl is wearing a new vest with angel's wings on it. But the sad truth is that 12th grade English was never my best subject and this episode was chock full of hints, foreshadowing, deeper meaning and clues about the future. So help me out peeps, what did I miss?
 

Monday, February 27, 2012

Walking Dead S2 Episode 10: 18 Miles Out

Shane fights dirty. You threw a motorcycle onto him, Really?!? Masterful Storytelling!! The episode started out with a heart-pounding flash forward that left me squirming. And then I spent the better part of the episode freaking out as I waited for it to happen. Nice one.
  I'm subtitling this one "The Vacation Episode" because it seems like most of the cast was on vacay. Not sure why they need one only 3 episodes into the 2nd half of season 2 but whatever. Glen, Carl, Carol, Daryl, Hershel, Dale and Jimmy were all M.I.A and the focus was all on Rick and Shane and then some girl drama back at the farm. BTW how fast can you say "Dale, Glen, Carl, Carol, Daryl and Hershcl???" They all have an 'l' in them which is kinda weird when you think about it.
    This episode also gets an award for putting major characters at risk with absolutely nothing to show for it. NOTHING. In fact they burned more than 40 miles of gas and bashed each others faces in so they're actually net loss. They at LEAST should have come out of this with some canned goods. And remember dear reader - the purpose of this blog is not just to re-cap this excellent show but to critique decisions so we can do better if it happens to us. So lets make a pact that if you and I ever get sent to drop off an interloper so he can't find his way back but then he talks his way out of it and we have to drag his sorry hide all the way back with us that we'll at least try to hit a 7-11 on the way home and bring back some stale Doritos OK?
     I'm not gonna give you a blow by blow this week. I watched it and so did you so we both know what happened. But there are some major things that we need to discuss and I want your opinion. What's up with the 2 security guards that have no marks on them? One thing that has been conspicuously missing from our characters conversations is discussions about Zombie Theories. If you and I were immersed in the Z.A., I'm pretty sure we'd have a bi-weekly session around the campfire when our chores were done to discuss the finer points of Zombie take-downs, how to avoid being infected, and why the sketchy things rose up in the first place. Mass Zombie transmission couldn't possibly have occurred with bite to bite transmission right? I mean most people that get bitten would probably have been consumed so there wouldn't have been that many of the things left. So scratches, splatter and other flying bits could definitely be a gateway to infection. I know I've talked about this before but few episodes have left me rocking on the couch chanting "Wash your face, wash your face..." like this one did. Plus what about "Zombie Zero" - the first walker to rise up? THAT Zombie didn't get bit, so there must be SOMETHING out there that can infect without biting. They were both government employees. Do you think they got some kind of preventative "Vaccine" that was bogus? That would create multiple seed points for starting the Z.A. and pretty much ensure that it would be impossible to contain. How can our main characters not talk about this stuff?? Is any of this what CDC guy whispered to Rick at the end of season 1? I want theories people and I want them now....
     Back at the farm. Coma girl's awake and wants to end it. All of this is really a vehicle for Lori and Andrea to have the BEST CATFIGHT EVER!! And Andrea totally won it. "A husband, a son, a baby AND a boyfriend ..."?!? Oh SNAP sista - lay it on! 'Bout time too if you ask me. That's what Lori gets for being all persnickity about the workload. And in the end Coma girl makes a feeble attempt to end it and everyone relaxes because they think she now wants to live. That's the exact conclusion I always come to when someone I know shatters a bathroom mirror and slits their wrists with the shards. "Great news! They didn't really want to do kill themselves after all! Moving on..." They should probably give her a handgun to keep under her pillow just in case fence-leg gets out of the barn. That's some rock-solid decision making people.
   So the episode didn't really move the plot forward too much. We're left in the same situation we were in at the end of last week. But I do know that when men beat the snot out of each other they're usually best friends again afterwards and when women have strong words in the kitchen they can hate each other for YEARS so in terms of character development we learned a whole bunch. What do you think happened to the 2 guards at the public works department? And what are they going to do with their hostage? What would YOU do?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Walking Dead Episode 9: Triggerfinger

Is it me or is this the shortest 42 minute show that's EVER been televised? Seriously folks, 10 minutes into the episode the credits roll and I'm all "What?? Noooooo!!!" Someone shut off the time warp so I can enjoy a full episode. Or is that impossible because the show's just so darn GOOD???
    A lot happened last week. Rick got hard-core, Hershel got a dose of reality (he got a triple dose this week but more on that later..) and the theme of the second half of season 2 is emerging: we have much more to fear from the living still among us than we do from the dead.
Love that each episode so far is starting right where the last one left off. Rick, Glen and Hershel were still standing in shock looking at the 2 dead guys and letting the reality of what had just happened sink in. And then the dead guy's friends showed up. I was impressed with just how quickly Hershel got with the program. There were no sermons, no platitudes, and no judgements. It's about time H. And we even find out at the end of the episode that he has decided to let the group stay at the farm. So what happened in the bar may have been more of a watershed moment for him than what happened at the barn.
    The 3 guys have a stand-off with these newcomers and then a minor gun fight. They shoot one guy and Hershel gets to see Walkers in action for the first time when they start munching on the fallen. Cudos to him for not going catatonic like other members of his family that will go unmentioned. Then a young man gets abandoned when his leg is impaled on a metal fence. So our trio of heros try to amputate his leg while walkers close in on them from both sides. And I have No. Fingernails. Left by the time this scene is over.
  Finally in an utterly brutal move Rick just rips the leg clean and they take off. In the Zombie apocalypse, sometimes there just isn't time for civilized solutions friends, am I right?
     Then we cut to Lori. Good Ol' Lori. The most frustrating thing about this show is that any character may actually die at anytime (and they have!!) with the exception (for now) of Rick and Lori. Rick because it's HIS story and Lori because (for now but not for always God Pleeeeeease) Lori is way too pivotal to what's happening between Rick and Shane. So we're stuck with her. But as a walker peeled it's own face off trying to eat her through her car windshield I had fantasies of her going. She's just way too annoying. So she gets out and Shane has to get her and lie to bring her back and she freaks out on him yada, yada.
     We had a nice scene in the house where Carl finds out that he'll be a big brother. The TV show is delightfully setting it's own path so unlike in the comic Carl might even get to be a big brother for more than a week, you never know. Then we had a scene with Shane and Lori where we find out just how intensely off the deep end Shane has gotten. Poor poor Shane. There is really only one hard and fast rule for dating and shagging during the Zombie Apocalypse:
Shake yourself off and move on.
Because people come and go fast in the Z.A. right? So you can't go all "New Moon Bella" staring out a window for 3 months" every time you lose someone cuz you'll get EATEN! Shane.... Andrea is happy to shag you AND swoon over you every time you give gun advice. A bird in the hand bro.... just sayin'.
     Then we have Daryl. I'm so, so disappointed in my boy Daryl. Yes he tried to find Sophia and she ended up a Zombie, and Yes he's utterly disillusioned and hopeless, and Yes he feels like he no longer fits in with the only family he's ever had. D-man, I GET it, but you have to pull yourself together. Pick yourself up, shoot a few squirrels, add some ears to your collection, you'll feel a whole lot better and you can stop abusing Carol. He'll be back. I have total faith that Daryl Dixon will be redeemed. Then again, it IS the walking dead. I better follow my own rule of attachment just in case.
    So at the end we're left wondering what to do about fence-leg and what to do about Shane. I keep wondering if a plot line is going to veer us back to the main plot thread of the comic and at this point I really, really hope that it doesn't. I love that it's following it's own path and I love that I'm always guessing. I mean people who should be dead are still with us and people that should be alive are dead or Zombies so there's no telling what will happen next. I guess I'll just have to wait until next week's 10 minute episode....

Monday, February 13, 2012

Episode 8: "Nebraska"

Holy Smokes gang, it's gettin' feral. Rick has gone over to some other place and I'm not sure I like it. So glad the episode started off right exactly where the last one left off. It was much too monumental of a moment not to and we really needed to see how everyone reacted - I mean beside being horror-stricken and having to rock in a dark corner for a bit which one character actually DOES.
   The group is pretty much divided into 2 camps:
Camp 1: It had to be done.
Camp 2: Dude that was NOT cool....
   And who falls into which camp is pretty predictable. The saddest reactions to the whole thing are Carol, Carl and Daryl (say THAT 5 times fast....). Carol now has no strings of attachment left from her old life at all and we wonder how she'll even continue living. Daryl put all his chips on black and red came up and I'm not sure he'll be able to work through his disillusionment. And Carl is just waaaay too hard-core for a kid. Still though, if the choices are hard-core or lying on the bed catatonic, I'd rather have the hard-core people on my team.
   For me the most interesting thing about the episode was watching Rick and Shane's paths cross over and flip over the course of one 45 minute segment. Shane starts out crazy, impulsive, violent, screamin' Shane and by the end of it he's washing Carol's hands for her and gently comforting her with his words and actions. Rick starts out as the more conservative "think before you act" leader of the group and by the end of the episode he's shooting living people. We've crossed over to a different place my friends.
   I don't have too much to criticize as far as decisions go this week. Although I DID let out a groan when Andrea jumped in the back of the truck with the dead Walkers. Really dude? You're gonna ride in the back with them? What if there's leaky fluids back there that all start running off the end of the truck as soon as it starts moving? What if one of them is only PLAYING dead like good ol' Mom and bites you when your back is turned. I'm not one for red-tape and procedures but these people need to write some kind of Zombie handling protocol and they all need to stick to it.
  Then there's Lori. You know how at an 8th grade dance there's always that one girl that thrives on drama and goes insanely out of her way to rile everyone up and stir the pot? Yep. Everyone pause dramatically - back of the hand to forehead. "Oh no! she's catatonic! We NEED Hershel! Whatever will we do? Whoever will we send? Oh my oh goodness..." insert hand wringing here "Will no one HELP me and fetch them? I suppose I'll just have to go alone."
    Because a vet will be able to do SO MUCH for a psychiatric patient right? Put her to bed with some butter on it and call it good says I. If she's dead by morning then she wasn't able to hang in the post apocalyptic world. Better find that out now than later when you life is on the line and you tell her to have your back in some scary situation and then she caves. Maybe Carl can give loan her his Man-Pants for a little bit until she gets the hang of it.
    So now Lori has helped the situation by crashing a car and probably ending up quite hurt. As if Rick doesn't already have enough to deal with today. Yikes. Speaking of Rick, did we talk about the fact that he shot those 2 guys? Not unprovoked mind you... the guy behind the bar was definitely goin' for his gun but still. What a reaction from Glen and Hershel. Those 2 didn't know what to think but Hershel's a total doofus if that whole experience didn't give him a good ol' dose of "Hmm maybe I want these guys on my side after all..." Here's hoping he turns over a new leaf and lets the gang stick around for a bit. I mean after all, Maggie's in Looooove.....