The Walking Dead Season 5

[Velocity]

How many times were there "answered prayers" in this episode?
1. Rainfall just when they needed water and were tempted by the 'gift' of water bottles in the road.
2. No food to be found and then feral dogs show up.
3. Available barn to get out of the rain.
4. Walkers at the door and then a tornado dispatches them and doesn't destroy the barn.

 

[Trekker4747]

Pretty good episode tonight. Again, not too much in the way of action and more character-driven, but well done in dealing with Maggie and Sasha dealing with their respective losses since the prison fell.

Also interesting, for once, to see the group utterly defeated when it comes to the "life-style" feels like this may have been in the 9-months between S2 and S3. Seeing them walking around strapped for food, water, no cars , interesting to see.

And, yeah, I wouldn't have trusted that water in the middle of the street either.

To echo what I said last week, Rick still seems to more-or-less be in a "good" place and not as dark of a place as I thought he was going after running down Cop-Bob at the end of the first part of the season. I mean, him sitting there doing story-time and, finally, delivering the infamous "We're the walking dead," line.

The encounter on the bridge was also a good one, showing you don't need weapons to take the walkers down, just some cunning. Too bad Sasha fouled up. (Does engaging the walkers bring them into agro and make them more violent?)

And, yeah, completely clean-looking guy apparently well-fed, up-beat, clean and dry. Don't trust this dude at all. And he knows to ask for Rick by name.

I also sort of wonder if maybe he sent the dogs their direction in order to provide them with food?

On "The Talking Dead" they refer to the walker seen in the trunk as the "kidnapped" walker. I wonder if it really was a kidnap victim or if it was someone's family member who turned, the driver didn't know what to do (happened early in the fall) so he tied the person up and stashed them in the trunk.

Good episode, sort-of wish the storm had been more of an event but seeing the entire group rallying together to hold the door back as the storm (tornado/microburst) escalated and roared. I'd probably land on an 8/10, B-.

 

[Mojochi]

To echo what I said last week, Rick still seems to more-or-less be in a "good" place and not as dark of a place as I thought he was going after running down Cop-Bob at the end of the first part of the season. I mean, him sitting there doing story-time and, finally, delivering the infamous "We're the walking dead," line.

I think he has the knack for becoming what the group needs him to be, when they need him to be it. That's why he's the leader. When they need to do the dirty things, he's dirty & dark, when they just need someone who holds it all together, he does that. When they need someone to be a farmer, he picks up a hoe. He is the epitome of leading the group where the group IS. Not where people think they should be

It's not a bad episode. Neither was last week's, but I'm not invested yet. These long breaks make it necessary to get everyone back into it, & they're not really doing that. Maybe they should just cut out the long break then, & this lull might seem more appropriate.

There's only a few options for trunk walker as I see it. #1 Kidnapped, like Beth or something & in a pinch or under duress got abandoned to die in the trunk & then turn. #2 Kidnapped, then murdered somehow before or after being tied, & put in the trunk post-mortem to eventually turn. #3 Died, person knew they'd turn but didn't have the wherewithal to finish them, & tied the corpse up & was transporting them somewhere until they had to abandoned them under duress. #4 the very unlikely possibility that they had been dead & already turned & then someone tied them up, put them in the trunk & then abandoned them under duress, which would be pretty damn tough.

 

[Velocity]

I thought that the trunk walker was a car-jacking victim. Someone overpowered the owner and stuffed her in the trunk where she stayed until she died and turned.

 

[sojourner]

I would liked to have seen Gabriel's reaction to finding out a tornado had taken out the walkers but not hurt the group.

 

[Mojochi]

I thought that the trunk walker was a car-jacking victim. Someone overpowered the owner and stuffed her in the trunk where she stayed until she died and turned.

That's still a kidnapping. It boils down to 2 realities. Kidnapping, or someone who had died, and got tied up instead of finished off. Some people like Morgan or The Governor might not have the will to put a loved one down, if they were going to become a walker, and instead just tied up the corpse, because they knew it would turn

 

[Trekker4747]

I thought that the trunk walker was a car-jacking victim. Someone overpowered the owner and stuffed her in the trunk where she stayed until she died and turned.

That's still a kidnapping. It boils down to 2 realities. Kidnapping, or someone who had died, and got tied up instead of finished off. Some people like Morgan or The Governor might not have the will to put a loved one down, if they were going to become a walker, and instead just tied up the corpse, because they knew it would turn

Or Herschel early on. The car could have been there for the entire 18 months - 2 years since this all started and the person driving the car thought the person in their trunk could have been salvaged.

 

[Scout101]

Eh, unimpressed by this one. Just felt like a filler episode, nothing really happened. Could have been 2 minutes worth of episode at the start of next week's episode, and doubt we would have missed anything...

 

[Ethros]

Hooray

Spoiler: comic spoilers

Aaron and the Alexandria safezone plotline *finally* shows up

 

[Trekker4747]

I do kind of wonder about the "message" in the episode being, seemingly, divine vs. human intervention.

The water in the middle of the road, human intervention, obviously something they couldn't trust.

But the sudden rain shower when they were beat and dehydrated? Interesting timing. Then the tornado/weather event (I kind-of want to say it was a microburst and not a tornado. A microburst strikes me as "more likely" given the terrain and the chances of the barn remaining mostly unscathed in the aftermath) occurs and takes out the walkers threatening the barn. Clearly another case of divine intervention.

The dogs, possibly, could go either way depending on how far you want to stretch the concept of divine intervention. Either the ASZ guy sent the dogs their way as food or divinity sent them dogs because they needed it. Could also be a degree of divinity, or pure chance, that Daryl found that barn when an occasion came up that called for them desperately needing it.

So a lot going on here in terms of chance, luck, divine intervention, human intervention and nature throwing them a bone (in one case pretty much literally.)

 

[Velocity]

Gabriel took the rain, at least, as an answer to his prayer. The affirmation of his faith might be what he needs to stop being so afraid and to step up to someday sacrifice himself for the group.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Well, that was kind of surreal. It almost seemed like they've been watching Z Nation.

You'd think they'd run into packs of wild dogs more often.

 

[DarthTom]

I liked this episode. I really didn't why however they were upset at Sasha for knifing the walker in the head? Yea, tricking them into falling was a less violent approach to eliminate the threat but hers worked too.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

I guess it depends on where they were. This week they seemed to be as far from any sort of remnant of civilization as they've ever been, and depsite the greenery around them, the most desolate. Still, the dogs were able to survive, and feral dogs still tend to have a hunting territory and den, meaning that some form of shelter and water source would not have been far.

I like the juxtaposition of the acceptance divine intervention versus human offers of niceness. I think Aaron provided the water, but was watching from afar to test their reaction. He saw they were not about to trust a random gift, but that they were also not willing to sacrifice one of their own in case it was poisoned; this would be what Aaron needed to justify approaching them.

I wonder if the ASZ storyline's appearance means they have some sort of endgame in mind for this series. Spending the next two or three years on the coming plot would tie up nicely with actors probably wanting to move on as well as the actual break in the narrative the comics offers (which is pretty rare) at the end of the "All Out War" storyline. I could see them trying to hold everything together until then and then bowing out hopefully on a high note.

Mark

 

[DarthTom]

I wonder if the ASZ storyline's appearance means they have some sort of endgame in mind for this series. Spending the next two or three years on the coming plot would tie up nicely with actors probably wanting to move on as well as the actual break in the narrative the comics offers (which is pretty rare) at the end of the "All Out War" storyline. I could see them trying to hold everything together until then and then bowing out hopefully on a high note.

Mark

I'd wager the trajectory of the show in terms of an, "end game,"is to reach D.C. and have various different threats only for the series - like with X Files related to the aliens - to end up on the big screen with some final resolution for Rick and Carl. Lets face it, the lead actors will likely eventually want to move on to other projects.

 

[Servo]

I liked this episode. I really didn't why however they were upset at Sasha for knifing the walker in the head? Yea, tricking them into falling was a less violent approach to eliminate the threat but hers worked too.

Because she lost her head, ruined the plan and put them all in danger. They were all dehydrated and low on ammo. The idea was to deal with the walkers while expending as little energy as possible to avoid sweating and losing more water. She forced them into a position where they had to get physical in order to finish off the walkers, and that was dangerous for all of them in their weakened state.

Really thought that was obvious.

 

[Trekker4747]

I liked this episode. I really didn't why however they were upset at Sasha for knifing the walker in the head? Yea, tricking them into falling was a less violent approach to eliminate the threat but hers worked too.

They were hungry, tired, thirsty. Sasha killing the walker in an aggressive manner seemed to aggravate them and pull them in agro.

 

[DarthTom]

They were hungry, tired, thirsty. Sasha killing the walker in an aggressive manner seemed to aggravate them and pull them in agro.

Got it. The show is funny inasmuch as some weeks the walkers seem to be a huge threat - in another week they can trick them to fall off a bridge. I know, I know ....the walkers are as aggressive or tame as the plot of that's show calls for.

 

[Reverend]

^It's not a question of aggression so much as numbers, terrain and available resources.

A lone walker against an alert survivor isn't much of a threat. A herd verses a bunch of tired, thirsty survivors could be a big problem, especially if someone gets careless.

 

[Morpheus 02]

I guess it depends on where they were. This week they seemed to be as far from any sort of remnant of civilization as they've ever been, and depsite the greenery around them, the most desolate. Still, the dogs were able to survive, and feral dogs still tend to have a hunting territory and den, meaning that some form of shelter and water source would not have been far.

I like the juxtaposition of the acceptance divine intervention versus human offers of niceness. I think Aaron provided the water, but was watching from afar to test their reaction. He saw they were not about to trust a random gift, but that they were also not willing to sacrifice one of their own in case it was poisoned; this would be what Aaron needed to justify approaching them.

I wonder if the ASZ storyline's appearance means they have some sort of endgame in mind for this series. Spending the next two or three years on the coming plot would tie up nicely with actors probably wanting to move on as well as the actual break in the narrative the comics offers (which is pretty rare) at the end of the "All Out War" storyline. I could see them trying to hold everything together until then and then bowing out hopefully on a high note.

Mark

somw great observations on the 1st two paragraphs...for the last paragraph...we've had the plotline of bad guys attacking our people a few times..maybe testing out the ASF, with that being temporary, and hopefully the last episode will have them find shelter permanently (though i wonder if the midwest farmland would make most sense...less people, more back to life-sustaining practices. )