The Walking Dead Season 2 Discussion *Spoilers*

[the G-man]

Back to "everyone is infected". Again, at the start of the season, dead bodies on the road and in cars that weren't walkers. (Carl finds some knives in one car with a corpse that IIRC, didn't have a head wound.)

This has been bugging me ever since the word got out that it was very possible they were all infected. The only explanation I can fathom that would make sense is that at some point a walker that doesn't get any food is going to die (for real permanent) and/or the ones trapped in the cars were basically mummified to a point past reanimation.

[wissaboo]

good call on the car people.


I don't think Lori is feeling bad exactly, I think she's feeling "omg what have I done" And now her son is involved.

As to Rick becoming leader, I've been giving this some thought. Remember Shane was clearly leading when rick showed up? I think Rick became the defacto leader because he had been Shane's superior officer on the force and Shane was just deferring to him out of habit and everyone else picked up on it.

[Disruptor]

Dorian Thompson wrote:

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No, he shouldn't have.

Sort of joking on that one. There really was never a good time to tell them what Jenner said. Even the farm time was wrought with tension.

Rick was making many mistakes because of stress, sleep deprivation, and guilt. He does feel guilty for killing Shane and it shows in the way he told Lori and the group. That's what intrigues. There is still a soul in there though he's ready to crack. With Otis, Shane flat out lied. Rick didn't sugar coat, even when it would have benefitted him. Shane was "pushing me, pushing me." He should have emphasized more how dangerous Shane was. Shane did what he did to impress Lori and get her and Carl back. Rick always acted for the group, or at least he tried to do so.

During his Ricktatership speech, he could've mentioned that Shane killed Otis, might've swayed the farm folk. Or it might have backfired, since the only ones who'd back him up have lost faith in Rick. I can see Lori saying "We don't know that for sure."

[J.T.B.]

Ryan wrote:

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I'm pretty sure declaring yourself a despot makes you an asshole.

Nah, more like commanding officer than despot. Whether they like it or not, they need to operate like a fighting unit to survive, and "let's take a vote" doesn't work for that kind of situation. If anyone doesn't like it, he gave them the option to leave.

Pretty bad luck that out of 360 degrees of compass headings, the helicopter put the herd on a line to the farm!

I know nothing of the books, but the character that showed up at the end was pretty bizarre. I hope they can make it plausible.



Justin

[Mark_Nguyen]

It was plenty plausible in the comics. Michonne (pronounced "Mee-shawn", apparently - I'd been pronouncing it differently for ages now). is a major character in that media, and i hope it carries over here. I've believe that TWD has the same basic starting point in both comics and TV and have logically diverged since the end of the first episode. With Michonne and the Governor showing up next season I'd expect plenty other elements to be the same as well, but be believably handled differently in both cases.

This episode MOSTLY makes up for the preceding hours of people sitting around the farm talking about nothing (and not in the fun Seinfeld way). I'm not a fan of senseless zombie smashing, but TWD has a great story that sort of requires it for context. Unfortunately this season that great story was far too stretched out, and I think it will be remembered as such.

Without spoiling too much, the comics' prison arc has a LOT of story to mine for sixteen episodes (or more) next year, I hope that this (plus the budgetary savings of shooting on a studio or permanent set instead of on location all the time) will result in some great storytelling without sacrificing too much zombie mayhem. I hope that they advance the time frame too before Carl grows too far beyond where he started - his voice has already dropped noticeably, though it plays into his maturation as a young man.

I just hope they don't start next season with Carl being four inches taller without anyone noticing. :P

Mark

Mark

[B.J.]

I've been watching this series off & on the whole time, but I gotta say, one factoid they mentioned in the "Talking Dead" segment made my day - the RV is the same make & model as the one in Spaceballs!

[DarthTom]

Dorian Thompson wrote:

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At any rate, though the writers are crap with Lori (seriously Kirkman, she was mad at herself? ) they've set the Rick thing up so intriguingly for season 3. Who doesn't want to know what's going on with him? The one thing that worries me is the sword and sorcery character with the subued pet zombies. Seems jarringly out of place in this universe.

Agreed, the way they are writing Lori's character is bizarre and/or downright sloppy because he behavior doesn't match the circumstances nor what she's asked Rick to do related to Shane.

Outside of that it was a great episode.

[PsychoPere]

Fantastic end to the season, right down to the emergence of Michonne and the "hidden" reveal of the prison. Don't think I really have anything to add to what others have already said.

sidious618 wrote:

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My understanding is that the Governor comes after the prison in the comics, right? I wonder if they'll merge the two and have the Governor in charge of the prison.

The Governor was in charge of Woodbury when the group finds the prison. The prison location and the Governor storyline overlap, as the group is forced out of the prison when the Governor stages a massive attack upon it. In fact, it was a helicopter crash that caused the group to even meet the Woodbury inhabitants in the first place...

[marillion]

the G-man wrote:

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Rick did say he thought Jenner was mental. Twice.

Doesn't matter... He should have brought it to the table.. I really don't see a reason why he shouldn't have.

I'll also whole-heartedly agree that he did a poor job explaining Shane's death.. He got so caught up in "I wanted him to die" that Lori can't be blamed too much for glossing over the fact that Shane drew on him, epecially since he kind of mumbled his way through it.

That said, I REALLY don't like Lori at this point... Time for her to go.

[the G-man]

marillion wrote:

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Doesn't matter... He should have brought it to the table.. I really don't see a reason why he shouldn't have...

However, the fact that you do not accept his explanation does not mean he did not give the explanation in the first place.

[Green Shirt]

Disruptor wrote:

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8. Ted McGinley, to ruin the show.

Too soon for the shark??

[davejames]

I think Rick made the right call in not telling them about the infection thing. The group was already feeling as low and hopeless as can be, and learning that they were all doomed to be a zombies no matter WHAT they did certainly wouldn't have helped matters.

Plus, after seeing all those dead bodies in the cars, he probably felt Jenner had been proven wrong anyway, and there was no need to bring it up.

[Silvercrest]

Green Shirt wrote:

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Too soon for the shark??

McGinley? You want to turn this into some kind of horror show?

davejames wrote:

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I think Rick made the right call in not telling them about the infection thing. The group was already feeling as low and hopeless as can be, and learning that they were all doomed to be a zombies no matter WHAT they did certainly wouldn't have helped matters.

Plus, after seeing all those dead bodies in the cars, he probably felt Jenner had been proven wrong anyway, and there was no need to bring it up.

Bah, all those people in the cars reanimated right on schedule. They were stuck there and then they eventually died again. Some couldn't figure out how to work the seat belts. Others, the door handles.

[Agent Richard07]

Season 3 article (some spoilers).

[davejames]

DarthTom wrote:

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Agreed, the way they are writing Lori's character is bizarre and/or downright sloppy because he behavior doesn't match the circumstances nor what she's asked Rick to do related to Shane.

Outside of that it was a great episode.

Lori definitely isn't my favorite character, but for the most part I think she's been written pretty well on the show. It's only natural that someone would have such conflicting emotions in her situation, and even though part of her realizes Shane was a threat, there's still a good chance he WAS the father of her baby.

And much like with Rick, her anger seemed more a reaction to the fact it had to be done at ALL, given how all three used to be such good friends.

Plus, sometimes people just get angry and act in strange, irrational ways. Or lash out for no reason. Especially when it's the end of the freakin world. I hardly expect everyone to be charming and likeable in that situation, and find it strange that somehow fans expect that she should be.