Walking Dead Thread V.3

[Man In The Mountain]

Better than was expecting. The last season was wearing thin me me. Negan could to be the best villain since The Governor... as long as they stick with him and not off him in 1 or 2 episodes like they have done others.

My thoughts... Rick's constant looking like he's having a nervous breakdown was annoying. Is he really the leader? Everyone else seemed to hold it together better. Negan should have offed him for the bad acting. That said, Maggie should have been broken watching her husband be beaten to death, but a few sobs, and by morning she ready to go.

I though the tone overall pushed the limits of violence for TV, and has been doing that for a while now. Then again, it may be trying to win the title over Game of Thrones in that regard. I was actually thinking Negan would make (P)Rick his personal slave like Reek in Game of Thrones. We are in the age of shock TV for sure.

[Klonk]

I loved it. Loved the tension. This is the highest level of hatred I've had for a character on this show. Good, fun, intense stuff...flaws and all

Zombies folks...it's a show about fuckin' zombies...

[UnderAGlassMoon]

I loved it. Loved the tension. This is the highest level of hatred I've had for a character on this show. Good, fun, intense stuff...flaws and all

Zombies folks...it's a show about fuckin' zombies...

Not only that, it's based on a comic book.

I agree with Scott and I think this season is going to be pretty good. I am hoping they make Negan as sick and twisted as he is in the comic, started out that way.

[Facelift]

I loved it. Loved the tension. This is the highest level of hatred I've had for a character on this show. Good, fun, intense stuff...flaws and all

Zombies folks...it's a show about fuckin' zombies...

How can you hate Negan? He's a joke; a stooge of a caricature created by what quite clearly are some of the most inept writers in television.

I guess he could be hated because he's so predictable and lame, but otherwise he's just kind of laughable in the dramatic context.

[Hal...]

I thought the show was reasonably well done and Jeffrey Dean Morgan convincingly menacing. What I didn't like was the stupid detour in the motor home.

My biggest gripe, however, was the sadistic tone the show took. I have a feeling I may finally bail early this season.

My second biggest gripe of the episode:

That said, Maggie should have been broken watching her husband be beaten to death...

Right? Similarly, I know of no woman who wouldn't scramble to try and save a loved one and she just knelt there and watched.

Actually, now that I think about it, that might have been excellent way to handle things: Glenn gets bashed, she rushes in to help and gets bashed as a reward. Then they could lie together, holding hands, and stare into each others' eyes as Neegan finishes them off and, for once, a little romance injected into the show.

[Lou]

Better than was expecting. The last season was wearing thin me me. Negan could to be the best villain since The Governor... as long as they stick with him and not off him in 1 or 2 episodes like they have done others.

My thoughts... Rick's constant looking like he's having a nervous breakdown was annoying. Is he really the leader? Everyone else seemed to hold it together better. .

Agree totally on both points. I was rooting for Rick to get whacked so I wouldn't have to keep seeing that same face expression over and over and over....

[Jerjo]

I just hope they're paying Chris Hardwick a ton for spending time each week blowing smoke up the asses of everyone involved with the show. He does a decent job of moderating this but c'mon, as the creator of Nerdist he's got to know this isn't the quality drama he makes it out to be.

[UnderAGlassMoon]

I just hope they're paying Chris Hardwick a ton for spending time each week blowing smoke up the asses of everyone involved with the show. He does a decent job of moderating this but c'mon, as the creator of Nerdist he's got to know this isn't the quality drama he makes it out to be.

Good points about Hardwick, I mostly try to ignore him while watching the aftershow.

What i don't get is why people keep trying to relate this show to real life situations, i.e., Maggie's reaction to Glenn's death. Have any of us been through a zombie apocalypse? Come on people, it's based on a comic book. That said, everyone reacts differently to extremely stressful situations. Pretty sure she will be mourning for a while.

[SteveSly]

I though the tone overall pushed the limits of violence for TV, and has been doing that for a while now. Then again, it may be trying to win the title over Game of Thrones in that regard. I was actually thinking Negan would make (P)Rick his personal slave like Reek in Game of Thrones. We are in the age of shock TV for sure.

My thoughts as well. Was it too brutal? Time will tell I guess, but it certainly pushed the envelope. I also thought or the "Reek" character from Game Of Thrones. Very similar, although those type characters always get their revenge in the end.

[BobM]

Yes, that first show was brutal. There were extra surprises that nobody expected. Neegan is a brutal, nasty new bad guy. The group/family is on their asses in a big way and have to find a way to claw themselves out of what seems an impossible situation. Maggie has yet to give birth. What's going to happen to Daryl?

As far as I see, you are all nitpicking. This is shaping up to be a great season, again. I just don;t know how they are going to keep up the tension from the first episode. That's impossible, so be prepared for some down time violence wise as they set it up over several episodes.

[Paulie]

Gimple said ep-2 is actually "funny."

[Facelift]

Yes, that first show was brutal. There were extra surprises that nobody expected. Neegan is a brutal, nasty new bad guy. The group/family is on their asses in a big way and have to find a way to claw themselves out of what seems an impossible situation. Maggie has yet to give birth. What's going to happen to Daryl?

As far as I see, you are all nitpicking. This is shaping up to be a great season, again. I just don;t know how they are going to keep up the tension from the first episode. That's impossible, so be prepared for some down time violence wise as they set it up over several episodes.

Nitpicking? The "new bad guy" is a total joke. A cliche that I guess really stupid people are impressed by. The show - which was never particularly good - is now so bad that is cannot be watched even for its camp value. I'm out until the Negan subplot expires.

[Man In The Mountain]

I read a review last night that made some good points that I agree with.

Why did it seem that killing off Abraham and Glenn was no big deal? After all, we had waited and theorized for the last 6 months on who would meet Negan's thorny bat. It's because after all is said and done, they were middle characters. Not the most popular, and not ones nobody cared about. But the real reason the shock value was lost is because of the wait. If the producers had killed off Abraham and THEN Glenn on the season FINALE and then left us hanging at "what will be next?", we would have been in shock!! The way they dragged it out, and picked safe characters mellowed the blow considerably.

[Paulie]

A cliche that I guess really stupid people are impressed by.

Denigrating folks with differing opinions is a total bitch move. Boo fucking hoo that you're not intellectually stimulated by our little zombie show. Go re-watch some Downton Abbey, Sir Douche.

[dropforge]

I read a review last night that made some good points that I agree with.

Why did it seem that killing off Abraham and Glenn was no big deal? After all, we had waited and theorized for the last 6 months on who would meet Negan's thorny bat. It's because after all is said and done, they were middle characters. Not the most popular, and not ones nobody cared about. But the real reason the shock value was lost is because of the wait. If the producers had killed off Abraham and THEN Glenn on the season FINALE and then left us hanging at "what will be next?", we would have been in shock!! The way they dragged it out, and picked safe characters mellowed the blow considerably.

Wrong. Glenn was definitely one of the more popular TWD characters. It may not have seemed like it during the last season, because we had to follow too many characters around, and we had to sit through a boring 90-minute backstory for Morgan. Glenn was one of the originals, and one of those I considered the Untouchables, along with Rick, Carl, Daryl and Michonne. But this time they knew they couldn't wuss out of killing a character who came in much later. Abraham was a cool character, though

[Yves]

I loved it. Loved the tension. This is the highest level of hatred I've had for a character on this show. Good, fun, intense stuff...flaws and all

Zombies folks...it's a show about fuckin' zombies...

Not comparing it to Masterpiece Theater, just comparing it to earlier seasons: apples to apples...

I'll hang around because I swore I'd see this show through, but I much preferred it when the walkers were actually menacing... The show has moved beyond the zombies now. They're only there for cheap gory thrills at this point.

[Hal...]

The way they dragged it out, and picked safe characters mellowed the blow considerably.

I disagree about Glenn. Regardless, it's why they didn't just push but shoved the envelope on violence. You're right, the shock wasn't about Abraham getting offed. I'd bet half of the viewers picked either Abraham or Eugene to be the one. But then, of course, Glenn getting killed, also, had to have been a shock. But ultimately, it was the manner in which they depicted it: realistic, brutal, and sadistic that supplied the shock value.

[Man In The Mountain]

Wrong. Glenn was definitely one of the more popular TWD characters.

But were you shocked they killed him off? That was really the point. I was kind of paraphrasing the review I quoted where they went into more detail on the stature of each character on the show.

Glenn was on the popular list, but he has been teetering on being offed for some time. In fact, he was thought to be killed in the last season, only to sheepishly come back... but then, they decide to off him anyways.

I much preferred it when the walkers were actually menacing... The show has moved beyond the zombies now. They're only there for cheap gory thrills at this point.

Agree 100%.

[dropforge]

But were you shocked they killed him off? That was really the point. I was kind of paraphrasing the review I quoted where they went into more detail on the stature of each character on the show.

No, not really. The showrunners knew they had to put up this time, and out of the Untouchables, he was the only one I knew they'd go for. I do think for real shock value, they should have killed Abraham in the season finale, and THEN offed Glenn in the first episode of this season. That would've been a better strategy.

One of my friends wrote me to tell me she was sobbin' like a baby, though. Make of that what you will.

Glenn was on the popular list, but he has been teetering on being offed for some time. In fact, he was thought to be killed in the last season, only to sheepishly come back... but then, they decide to off him anyways.

Yep. This time, they'd painted themselves into a corner.

And yes, the zombies now seem to regarded as pests, and the living are the exterminators. I guess I'll have to go back to Romero and Fulci for that tried-and-true zombie menace.

[Hal...]

No, not really. The showrunners knew they had to put up this time, and out of the Untouchables, he was the only one I knew they'd go for.

To clarify, I was surprised more by the fact they killed a 2nd person so when it happened I wasn't surprised it was Glenn. It kinda made sense, like the writers said, "well, we fucked with you last season – psyche! – so this time, we're going to kill him for real."

I do think for real shock value, they should have killed Abraham in the season finale, and THEN offed Glenn in the first episode of this season. That would've been a better strategy.

Agreed.

[Plasmatopia]

My thoughts... Rick's constant looking like he's having a nervous breakdown was annoying. Is he really the leader? Everyone else seemed to hold it together better. Negan should have offed him for the bad acting. That said, Maggie should have been broken watching her husband be beaten to death, but a few sobs, and by morning she ready to go.

I could be way off base, but I'm kind of taking Rick's behavior as the result of a massive resetting of his own expectations. He was starting to get a bit out of hand with some sort of grandiose ideas that he was going to lead a group of aggressors in kicking every other group's arse that they came across to take their stuff in the name of survival and perhaps build his own empire. When they got captured he was like "drat, foiled again".

But as far as Maggie's reaction - remember that not only has she been through the emotional ringer for multiple seasons and also had recently been forced to entertain the idea that Glenn could be dead, but also they were warned by Negan that anyone else freaking out was also going to get it. Her self-preservation instincts/skills won out.

As far as the actual zombies: would any of this be happening if the zombies weren't basically part of the air the characters breathe? So they serve a purpose even when they're not on screen, IMO.

[UnderAGlassMoon]

Two things here folks.

First of all with regards to the zombies becoming a lesser part of the show, it makes sense. The surviving humans evolve to live with and control them, Zombies don't evolve.

Second and it goes along with the first point and it's the last time I will mention it, this is based on a comic. A lot of the story lines follow the comic. Glenn being killed by Negan was in the comic. The zombies becoming less of a threat is in the comic. In fact, if the show continues to parallel the comic, then the zombies will be used as a weapon, which is in the comic and has happened already. I really don't think this show could have survived six and now starting seven seasons, if is was just survivors running away from hordes of zombies and killing them. It had to progress and it has. For you folks who don't like the show anymore or think is has gone off course. I would suggest familiarizing yourselves with the story line of the comic and perhaps your perception will change.

[Man In The Mountain]

Two things here folks.

First of all with regards to the zombies becoming a lesser part of the show, it makes sense. The surviving humans evolve to live with and control them, Zombies don't evolve.

Second and it goes along with the first point and it's the last time I will mention it, this is based on a comic. A lot of the story lines follow the comic. Glenn being killed by Negan was in the comic. The zombies becoming less of a threat is in the comic. In fact, if the show continues to parallel the comic, then the zombies will be used as a weapon, which is in the comic and has happened already. I really don't think this show could have survived six and now starting seven seasons, if is was just survivors running away from hordes of zombies and killing them. If had to progress and it has. For you folks who don't like the show anymore or think is has gone off course. I would suggest familiarizing yourselves with the story line of the comic and perhaps your perception will change.

I get all that, it's just what first attracted me to the show was how authentic it was to George Romero's zombie movie genre. It wasn't so much about gore, as it was scary and dark, and tragically depressing. I think that lasted for the first 3 seasons, then it morphed into an action show, then further into a gore porn show.

I don't read the comics, but I hope Negan is as weirdly interesting as The Governor. I liked the Governor ran a seemingly normal town, but did twisted things like keep heads in a fish tank, and keep his dead daughter in a closet. The gladiator fights with zombies was cool too. The show hasn't really gotten that twisted since then. The cannibals were cool, but they ended that in like two episodes. The season with the cops and the hospital was lame. And the Alexandria town isn't all that either. So, I hope Negan is a bit more than just a bad ass biker dude... But, I'm still watching as of now.

[UnderAGlassMoon]

I am not one for spoilers and this really isn't one since the information is already out there. In the comic, Negan is way more sick and twisted than the Governor was, that's all I am saying. BTW, I don't read the comic either, but there are a lot of websites that summarize them (cliff notes) for those of you who don't want to read the full comic.

[Yves]

Read a WHOLE comic? Where will I find the time?!