The Walking Dead Season 2 Discussion *Spoilers*

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by PsychoPere, Oct 14, 2011.

  1. auntiehill

    auntiehill The Blooness Premium Member

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    Yeah. Hubby and I both thought that was some piss-poor planning on Shane's part. Why not have the big guy go in while Shane distracts the crowd? They'd already established the big guy can't run very well, so preparing a secure way out should've been planned better.
     
  2. Garak

    Garak Cruisin' Premium Member

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    Another very so so episode.

    So far this isn't the same Walking Dead that knocked my socks off last season.

    There was some progress made with the farm and all, but it's still got that wishy washy feeling to it that I didn't feel at all last season.

    The worst part of the episode was T-Dog getting all feverish and paranoid. Give it a rest dude. And considering a swarm of zombies just came by the car pile up on the highway, they sure don't seem intent on keeping a lookout for more.

    Too bad that zombie didn't get Andrea, she sure got all stabby for someone that's lost the will to live. And the look she gives Dale on her return, give me a break. No one's stopping you now, sweetheart.

    Hopefully it gets better - it should with the farm coming in to play, methinks, and I have no idea how Shane and Otis are going to get out of that school, they probably should have had a better exit strategy.

    Andrew Lincoln is pretty awesome though, I have to say.
     
  3. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    That made me jump outta my skin!!! :rommie:

    And also laugh. I love this show!

    But seriously, that scene really underscores why Andrea is dead right to insist on carrying a gun. Or at least a crossbow (tho I think a pistol would be just the thing in that circumstance). If it attracts zombies, who cares, the gang will be gone by then. The risk of attracting zombies is less than the risk of being completely unarmed in a situation like that. At the very very least, everyone should have a baseball bat, but if it were me, I'd insist on a weapon that doesn't require close quarters for use. A pistol is a nice automatic type weapon, you don't even need to think about it in a panic situation, just aim and fire.

    That scene also made me wonder about Otis hunting the deer. The gunshot will attract zombies, which is okay, as long as he's far from the homestead. But how is he going to butcher the deer quickly enough to get away before zombies might arrive?

    After a gunshot, I'd want to be out of there pronto. He can't carry the deer and butcher it in a safe location, it's far too heavy. Even the few minutes it would take to chop off some good parts would be a risk, because he's out there on his own, and why doesn't he have someone to watch his back? He can't concentrate on stalking an animal while worrying someone is stalking him.

    Yeah I was thinking, "so you guys saved some flares to cover your exit, right?" Wow, no. :rommie:
     
  4. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    We didn't do individual episode threads last season, so I didn't see a point in individual threads this season.

    Shane being a distraction while Otis went for the supplies was exactly what I expected, particularly when Shane was opening the door to the police car. Not very smart planning on Shane's part here.


    Not a stand-out episode admittedly, more of a transitional and introductory one, but I still enjoyed it. T-Dog's paranoia was misplaced (if he hadn't been injured, I imagine Rick and Shane would've wanted him along and would've had someone else stay behind), but he does have an infection and a fever so I suppose I can't blame him too much for not thinking straight. Dale is definitely the go-to character for interesting conversations, though.

    Very glad to be at the farm now, because I really liked these characters in the comics. Scott Wilson is already doing a great job as Hershel, and I also already like Pruitt Taylor Vince as Otis. Vince is a much less mobile individual than Otis was in the comics, as we could clearly see in this episode, so that could present additional difficulties for the survivors down the road.

    Last episode, Shane had been talking about his intention to split off from the group and go his own way, with Andrea expressing a desire to join him. I actually would've expected that sentiment to come from Daryl before any of the others, but he seems to be fitting right into the group dynamic pretty well (was amused by his "why didn't you say something sooner?" remark to Dale when he grabbed his brother's drug stash for the antibiotics). I'm wondering if Carl getting shot will change Shane's mind, though these two episodes have also clearly been setting out an unintentional splitting of the group, as Dale commented upon.

    I'm also wondering if Sophia managed to find her way to the farm.

    Also some fantastic performances from Jon Bernthal and Andrew Lincoln in this episode, particularly during their conversation before Shane and Otis left for the school. That conversation was a long emotional distance from the minute of weakness Shane had back in season one, where he was considering shooting Rick, and provided yet another reason for me to be glad Shane was kept around in this version of the story past that point where he had died in the comics.

    On the other hand, I'm a little worried that, with the Rick/Shane friendship still around, we won't get a version of the Tyreese character from the comics; one of the things I really liked about him was the friendship, always having each other's back dynamic that developed with Rick. I feel like T-Dog might be the show's version of Tyreese; if so, the writers need to step up his characterization, because so far he isn't nearly as interesting.

    Speaking of characters from the comics, did any other readers have a momentary expectation that the person on the horse was going to be a different female character? Granted, it wouldn't have made sense within the context of this episode and Maggie having asked Rick where to find Lori, but I am hoping very much that the show brings that particular badass into the group at some point.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2011
  5. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I thought this was a pretty good episode. I think the best part was the performances from Andrew Licoln and Jon Bernthal, the early scene with them together was awesome. It might not have been a big action episode, but I thought we got lots of great character stuff. I do agree about the plan at the school though, they really should have thought that through a little better.
     
  6. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I really enjoy any scene with Rick, Shane, Andrea or Dale in particular.
     
  7. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I just read about the arc with the farm in the comics, and now I am very curious to see where the TV version is going. It sounds like alot of the stuff leading up to it was fairly different, so I'm expecting it the be pretty different too.
     
  8. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    ^ I assume your second sentence is referring, at least in part, to a specific, perilous location from the comics.
    Would I be correct in assuming you're thinking about the Wilshire Estates?
    If so, someone last season (or maybe in the season 2 news updates thread) suggested that we might see that location at the end of this season. I find that idea logical, especially with it having a perfect television cliffhanger for a season finale already from the way it was first presented in the comics.
     
  9. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I think so, yeah. And of course there's the whole CDC thing that never appeared in the comics.
     
  10. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Another great episode. I can't believe the little girl is still missing. I thought they'd find her at the farm, but surely she would have turned up by now if she was there.

    I loved the prelude flashback and how it related to the current story. And that was a pretty wrenching scene when they were operating on the kid. The writing in this show is almost uniformly strong and engaging; I was so relieved that Rick wasn't throwing any blame around for the accident. Almost everybody is actually behaving like an adult. The only exception is Andrea. I thought for sure her reaction to the zombie attack would make her realize that she does want to live, but she's still acting like a teenager.

    And the redneck guy is a riot. He must be finding his inner hero. His comment in the woods about finding the girl and then later coming up with the antibiotics made me laugh out loud. :D

    The plan at the school was definitely weak, though. I would have set off a car alarm down the road or something to make them all go far away. And what the hell was so interesting about the school to keep them there, anyway? Why didn't they go off on a migration like the herd on the highway?
     
  11. auntiehill

    auntiehill The Blooness Premium Member

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    ^I asked that very same question to hubby last night. Why would they linger there, when there was no more food to be had?
     
  12. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It's not clear to me at all what the food requirements of zombies are.

    Last week there were three zombies setting in church for what could have been the longest time.

    I figured something in the recesses of their reptilian brains told the zombies at the FEMA station that that was an important place to go.

    Similarly for the zombies sitting in church; I really doubt they were praying.
     
  13. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    And isn't it refreshing to have a show like that? Even Carl is mature for his years. (I haven't seen enough of Sophia to get a read on her, but she's certainly no brat.)

    When the characters behave "badly" (Andrea's attitude problem), they're usually justified. She's annoyed at being deprived of a much easier way of committing suicide than she's likely to run into in the foreseeable future, and she's gotta be LIVID that she didn't have a gun with her when the zombie came outta nowhere. I would be all up in Dale's face about that, but Andrea just disappeared into the RV. She's being nicer about it than I would be. :rommie:

    Maybe zombies just mill around the place they died unless something sets them off migrating. There were soldiers and a guy in a FEMA jacket among the zombies.
     
  14. Obiwanshinobi

    Obiwanshinobi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm sure its more for plot purposes then anything. Unless they brought it up in the Talking Dead after, I doubt we'll get any real answers on why the zombies do what they do other than add tension.

    I thought she had a gun, didn't whatsherface give it to her because she didn't want to hear Andrea whine about not having one?
     
  15. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I don't remember her getting a gun. If she had one, she damn well should have used it! :rommie:
     
  16. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    Rick gave Lori a gun before the main group headed back to the RV, and Lori did give that gun to Andrea but Andrea gave it back after Lori talked a little about Rick selflessly running after Sophia (Lori was getting annoyed by the looks she was getting from Carol at that point).
     
  17. propita

    propita Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Possible spoilers!!!


    Jenner showed what happens when someone infected dies--part of the brain reanimates and they're a zombie. For muscles to work, some sustenance is required, so they eat living tissue. It appears they prefer human, but are willing to eat non-humans (Rick's horse in Atlanta).

    But what happens when they run out? What will keep their muscles sustained? And why aren't their bodies continuing to rot away? (I know, "then there's no show.") Basically, given time, shouldn't they just rot away to nothing and the problem is solved?

    I did like the old man's belief, that this is a plague to rebalance things on Earth. Seems reasonable and kinda better than a man-created problem.
     
  18. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    The last scene was pretty scary but the scariest part was Lauren Cohen's (Bela from Supernatural) haircut.
     
  19. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    Worst part of the episode: running zombies.
     
  20. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^ Yes, the zombies seem to move at the speed of plot. :lol: