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Fear the Walking Dead Season 2 discussion and spoilers.

As I mentioned in my last post, he's the one helping them. Not the other way around. The least they can do is contribute. And since he is, in fact, the captain of the ship, that effectively makes him their employer for all intents and purposes; he pays them with supplies and shelter, they supply him with help keeping the boat operational.
 
Still waiting for the answers to the questions I asked. It really is amazing how they keep getting ignored in order to prove some point that has no point whatsoever.
 
!. His treatment of Travis IS the conversation at hand.

2. That's a strawman argument. Come up with something more apropos worth responding to.
 
!. His treatment of Travis IS the conversation at hand.
No it's not. The conversation stemmed from "why do they treat Strand with so much suspicion and disdain?" And the answer to that was the Gilligan nonsense. And every time I've asked how that has any impact on the way they've treated him since day one, you people have been ignoring it.

2. That's a strawman argument. Come up with something more apropos worth responding to.
No it's not. You just know the answer is "No, it does not."
 
You guys make it sound like they're paid passengers on a cruise ship or something. They're only on that boat because he invited them in a moment of crisis. They owe him everything, and he owes them absolutely nothing. They sure as heck shouldn't expect to just sit on the boat the entire time with their feet propped up sipping margaritas while he does all the work at keeping them safe and finding yet another place for them to find safety.

He owes them something too, they played some part in him getting out and away from the holding center.

But instead of playing the "owe each other game" they should be working together. No, they shouldn't be lounging around the boat while he "does all of the work" (though he seems intent on doing as much as he can himself. Salazar seems willing to fish for food and I assume everyone else is doing what they can to keep the ship clean) but "you owe me" isn't a pass to act like a jackass.


1. Please point out how it matters to the conversation at hand. Namely, how does that scene in any way, shape, or form explain their attitude towards him since day one of meeting him?

They seemed pretty okay with him at first and grateful for his help from "day one." But, also on that same day he slammed his cock on the table and told them to suck it; so he sort-of set the tone and put them on the defensive. They seemed willing to go along with him until that happened and things had been tense ever sense. Alica's dimwittery with the person on the radio is an accepted thing for him to pissed about but, then again, he gave the radio to a teenage girl; so did he really expect her to have the best judgment or know to keep their situation secret? And I think most agree that letting the large group of people on the lifeboat on their own was the "right" call for their situation. (Again they don't have the means or even the capacity to deal with that many more passengers) Not wanting to take on the kid? A bit jackassery. Cutting loose the woman in the raft they were dragging? Pure asshattery.

2. You were kind of a jackass in this post. Does that mean I should treat you as an enemy, break into your house and rummage through your things trying to find proof to back that up, and threaten to kick you out and take over all of your possessions? I'm sure you think I'm a jackass, too. Does that mean you have the right to do all of those things to me, too?

'Cause that's pretty much what they've been doing practically since they met him. All based on information only the audience knows, with little to no reasons of their own. Certainly not to the level of suspicion they've had right out the gate.

Salazar is the only one who's broken into and rummaged around his stuff and we already know he has pretty dubious morals. (Torture and all.) So the breaking into the footlocker thing isn't a great example of how they're treating Strand, Daniel did that on his own motivations and his already broken moral code.

As for your hypothetical situation. Not equivalent.

First of all, it's not next January yet so we're not in a broken society where all humanity and social contracts have fallen away. Secondly, we're not in a give-and-get relationship where we need to depend on one another for survival to one degree or another. Now, if you feel my "jackassery" makes me worthy of suspicion and dubious trust, and any common goal we need to work towards is going to built on shaky ground, that's your call. And that's really the position only Travis and Madison have taken against Salazar. They may not trust him 100% but they're working towards a common goal: reaching safety.

Daniel is a former, whatever, so he already has a broken moral code and sense of right/wrong. His actions aren't exactly to be applied to everyone else.

Nick has shown himself to be okay with Strand and is sort of coasting through the ZA at this point.

Alicia is a teenage girl, her trust and distrust is variable from day-to-day, maybe hour-to-hour. She seems to not fall anywhere particular when it comes to Strand.

Angsty Son is Angsty.

Salvadorian Daughter... Is sort of there.

Madison and Travis: Cracks are starting to show in their trust of Strand but them seem to mostly accept the situation they're in and are just rolling with it. They may not completely trust him but right now they have little other choice. Travis, rightfully, doubts Strand's Magical Compound but what else are they going to do? Madison also has cracks, but she also seems to be rolling with it and did back-up Strand's plan to go to Wherever.

So really, the only person who's done anything wrong at a meaningful level is the man who was willing to throw aside people willing to help him and his family, tortured a man for information, released the horde of walkers in the stadium and has had a very dark pre-apocalypse/pre-barbershop career. I don't think Daniel should be our barometer here, even if torturing the man directly lead to their survival and the information he got on Strand likely will workout as well. he's made actions based on suspicions and little else. But, again, given his former career they're likely very educated suspicions.
 
No more basic than avoiding biting the dozen hands that surround you. So many people are all up in arms here about the law of the sea, but that has literally nothing to do with the basis of this group. In fact, the whole problem is that this group has no basis at all. They've all wound up together mostly accidentally and they have absolutely no commonly understood system of how to work together or treat each other.

Human relationships where a sense of ownership is concerned do not dissolve overnight, otherwise, Hershel--early in the ZA--would not have set down rules about the actions and behavior of Rick's group on his farm. It does not matter if its "law of the sea" or the "laws on land," individuals do not relinquish basic rights to their property simply because a crisis situation occurs.

Strand - who you've repeatedly described as the only real survivor in the group - is attempting to force a system of dictatorship on them while simultaneously making decisions that openly disgust them and treating every single one of them like dirt.

Disgust them?? This is the group who accepted torture and murder with the deliberate release of the stadium walkers. They have no moral ground of judgement to stand on.

What matters is that this supposedly smart survivor is actively turning the entire group against himself, even though he knows they massively outnumber him. That is stupid and a major character flaw (even if he does turn out to have an understandable motivation behind it).

He expects something the Travis group has proven to reject--the concept of gratitude. It all begins there, but all we see is the Travis group demand, bark and threaten from the moment they boarded the boat. Just as you think he's turning them against him, do they--for a moment--think that their behavior might come back to haunt them?

Because I'm not talking about how he theoretically lived before the ZA. I'm talking about the fact that he turned to this boat as his only lifeline to survive and has thus far spent all his time sitting alone in the cabin worrying instead of making even the slightest effort to learn how the boat works and how to fix it if need be - and the fact that even when someone else takes it upon themselves to do so, he actively antagonizes them instead of just letting them get on with it.

  1. How he lived before the ZA is relevant, as the crisis dropped on society so fast, he--like anyone else--would not have time to become maintenance man on a boat.
  2. You notion that he should have learned how to repair a boat is ridiculous, since the reason he's on the boat is to escape from the ZA in L.A. He's driving the boat, so he cannot be a jack of all trades while in the process of saving not only himself, but the hostile group he's lugging around.


I never called anyone else a dictator because none of the other characters have acted like dictators.

They are forcing their demands on an individual, and threatening his life. Call it whatever you like, but its immoral, ungrateful behavior that cannot go anywhere good.

But your complaint about me disliking him more than the others are total bullshit. Chris, Nick, and Alicia have all been unbelievably stupid morons again and again. Madison is literally all over the place - she wants to do the right thing, but seems completely incapable of actually accomplishing it. Travis is more consistent, but also so far unable to accept the fact that some things are inevitably different. Daniel is so far the only character who has seemed even remotely intelligent with no major blind spots for most of the show, but that comes at the cost of him being basically a sociopathic mass murderer. This show isn't very good with characters, and Strand is no exception, especially right now (at this particular moment in the show - ie, for the last 2 eps or so, and potentially for the next few as well - he is easily the dumbest character they have).

Come on, you now criticize the others, but earlier you said:

...stop for a second and think about the actual position here. Strand is one person, with seemingly few skills outside of hurting and manipulating people. Travis fixes the entire boat by himself while Strand sits around making threats. The kids pay attention to the world and come up with good plans to go gain more supplies while Strand sits in the cabin ignoring the world and obsessing about his secrets.

...and now, you continue to refer to Strand as dumb, when he--and he alone--is the reason all other characters are still alive. There is no "gain more supplies" if they were left on the mainland to die by bombing or walkers. There is no fixing a boat if left on the mainland to die by bombing and walkers.


Threats were already coming dangerously close to the farm multiple times during that season, so the idea that isolation in any way would've protected them is ridiculous.

The farm was not in danger of being overrun until that gunshot attracted the horde. "Better Angels" proves that. The Green family had successfully lived and survived the ZA, even scouted / hunted in the woods, and never managed to attract a horde. Only one action brought death to the farm.


(It certainly didn't protect Morgan's mentor).

Guess how Eastman suffered his bite? A conflict with an outsider (Morgan). If he remained isolated / never encountered / trained Morgan, he would have been in any situation other than the one where his attention was occupied long enough for the walker to bite him. Until that moment, he survived the ZA for years, and maintained a decent lifestyle, and knew how to protect himself.

And the fact that the barn had dozens of zombies in it in the first place made it pretty much inevitable that something would go wrong eventually anyway.

The few walkers in the barn were not going to overrun the farm. Otis and Hershel alone could have gunned them all down if necessary.

It seems that some think Strand has the authority to do whatever he wants, but every other character should shut up and follow orders.

The Travis group has the right to leave the boat...or at the start of it all, just refuse to join him. They did not, so.....
 
The conversation stemmed from "why do they treat Strand with so much suspicion and disdain?" And the answer to that was the Gilligan nonsense.
I'm starting to believe you may actually be a robot, Arrrrggggh. Or is it Fandango? Your profound lack of understanding of human interaction, humor, and communications is amazing.

The Gilligan thing was a joke. You know, 'cause they're on a boat. Don't go twisting yourself into knots about it.
 
I'm starting to believe you may actually be a robot, Arrrrggggh. Or is it Fandango? Your profound lack of understanding of human interaction, humor, and communications is amazing.
What is it with you people? Making weird accusations against someone because you don't share their opinions?

The Gilligan thing was a joke. You know, 'cause they're on a boat. Don't go twisting yourself into knots about it.
You certainly seem to be twisting yourself into a knot over this. I never said it wasn't a joke. All I did was point out that it wasn't a very good analogy at all.

But hey, if yelling at people, making accusations, and focusing on completely pointless things is the only way you can defend your point of view, I think that says it all.
 
But hey, if yelling at people, making accusations, and focusing on completely pointless things is the only way you can defend your point of view, I think that says it all.
Do you have no self-awareness at all? In the Big Bang Theory thread, a poster made a joking comment about a Green Arrow shirt being blue, and you freaked out about it and took it totally seriously. In the Agents of Shield thread, people made an observation that there might be some additional subtext behind a character remarking about someone's cold hands, and you felt the need to angrily clamp down on the idea and condescendingly post links explaining that cold hands are in fact a real thing, as if everyone didn't already know that. In this thread you've demonstrated all those qualities of pedantry, needless hostility, and humorlessness in spades. And those are just the three threads I'm currently interacting with you in; you've had lots of other problems with lots of different posters since most recently joining, so you can't blame it all on me.

These threads are supposed to be lighthearted and open to speculation, but you've helped (though certainly not alone) turn them into all the fun of a deposition by an angry lawyer. Is it everyone else who has a problem, or is it possible that maybe your attitude rubs people the wrong way?

Anyway, I see no further point to this, so I'll make an effort to move on to something else.
 
Human relationships where a sense of ownership is concerned do not dissolve overnight, otherwise, Hershel--early in the ZA--would not have set down rules about the actions and behavior of Rick's group on his farm. It does not matter if its "law of the sea" or the "laws on land," individuals do not relinquish basic rights to their property simply because a crisis situation occurs.

And ownership never has and never will be the sole deciding factor in human relationships. Certainly not in absence of any legal authority.



Disgust them?? This is the group who accepted torture and murder with the deliberate release of the stadium walkers. They have no moral ground of judgement to stand on.

Which is completely irrelevant to the question of whether it's smart for Strand to relentlessly isolate himself from them.

Or, maybe it would've been smart for him to truly isolate himself from them, but then why didn't he actually do so physically?



He expects something the Travis group has proven to reject--the concept of gratitude. It all begins there, but all we see is the Travis group demand, bark and threaten from the moment they boarded the boat. Just as you think he's turning them against him, do they--for a moment--think that their behavior might come back to haunt them?

And yet, they've mostly gone along with everything he wants. So far. Even though they massively disagreed with it. Why is that, I wonder? Maybe because they've been trying to work with him and show some gratitude?

  1. How he lived before the ZA is relevant, as the crisis dropped on society so fast, he--like anyone else--would not have time to become maintenance man on a boat.
  2. You notion that he should have learned how to repair a boat is ridiculous, since the reason he's on the boat is to escape from the ZA in L.A. He's driving the boat, so he cannot be a jack of all trades while in the process of saving not only himself, but the hostile group he's lugging around.

1. Then why did you bring it up? I never once said a single thing about Strand being stupid for not spending his pre-apocalypse life learning to fix boats. I said the exact opposite. Pay attention.
2. He spends most of his time apparently staring out the window. And big boats like that typically aren't driven by holding your hand on the wheel and steering manually anyway. Most of the time the boat will be holding course itself, all Strand has to do is keep an eye on the instruments and make sure it's still going the right direction and not about to hit something. He therefore has more than enough time to crack open a damn book and learn something.


They are forcing their demands on an individual, and threatening his life. Call it whatever you like, but its immoral, ungrateful behavior that cannot go anywhere good.

Interesting that you think that, because he is doing exactly the same thing.



Come on, you now criticize the others, but earlier you said:

I've criticized the others dozens of times. What I said before was not intended as an overall critique of the full worth of each individual character, but as a clear picture of what's been going on in the last few episodes. Strand sits around on his ass doing nothing to earn his great survivor reputation while almost everyone else actually contributes. The fact that those other people have all been idiots in the past in no way contradicts the fact that Strand is being an idiot now.

Especially since, I'll repeat this again for clarity, my argument has never been that the other characters are better than Strand. It has always been that Strand is in fact on the same level as everyone else. Acting stupid (albeit in different ways) and reaping the rewards.


...and now, you continue to refer to Strand as dumb, when he--and he alone--is the reason all other characters are still alive. There is no "gain more supplies" if they were left on the mainland to die by bombing or walkers. There is no fixing a boat if left on the mainland to die by bombing and walkers.

Saying he 'alone' is the reason they're alive is pure bs. He helped them. They helped him. Now, they're all stuck on a boat together. The only logical thing to do is find a way to work together.



The farm was not in danger of being overrun until that gunshot attracted the horde. "Better Angels" proves that. The Green family had successfully lived and survived the ZA, even scouted / hunted in the woods, and never managed to attract a horde. Only one action brought death to the farm.

Right. Because a herd of hundreds of zombies passing so close to the farm that they literally arrived minutes after the shot (and zombies are known for their speed of movement) constitutes 'no real danger' at all. And, of course, there would never be any other herds wandering through the area either, even though they were still ridiculously close to Walker central (Atlanta).


Guess how Eastman suffered his bite? A conflict with an outsider (Morgan). If he remained isolated / never encountered / trained Morgan, he would have been in any situation other than the one where his attention was occupied long enough for the walker to bite him. Until that moment, he survived the ZA for years, and maintained a decent lifestyle, and knew how to protect himself.

Guess how Alexandria wasn't overrun by zombies? They took in outsiders.


The few walkers in the barn were not going to overrun the farm. Otis and Hershel alone could have gunned them all down if necessary.

Not when they refused to kill them.


The Travis group has the right to leave the boat...or at the start of it all, just refuse to join him. They did not, so.....

The exact same thing goes for Strand. They all chose to hang together. They all have a responsibility to find a way to work together. Because if they don't, the results will be bad. Right now, one side of this equation, while absolutely flawed in their reactions, is trying to bridge the gap. The other side is just telling everyone to F off. And his latest F off was so huge and unreasonable (and actually just plain stupid, even when viewed solely from his own selfish interests) that it may very well destroy any chance they had of creating a workable group dynamic.
 
What is it with you people? Making weird accusations against someone because you don't share their opinions?

But hey, if yelling at people, making accusations, and focusing on completely pointless things is the only way you can defend your point of view, I think that says it all.

Since last week, you see a few members lead with personal attacks. This late in the message board game, anyone leading with that has no interest in the topic, and is trying to suppress opinions he cannot control.


And ownership never has and never will be the sole deciding factor in human relationships. Certainly not in absence of any legal authority.

Ownership is recognized in relationships--particularly when that ownership is responsible for saving the lives of (in this case) the ungrateful Travis group. This was no random boat they found together. The Travis group is well aware of that, but they do not respect it at all.

Or, maybe it would've been smart for him to truly isolate himself from them, but then why didn't he actually do so physically?

He rescued them. He expected civil, grateful behavior in return--not being forced to isolate himself. The Travis group burned that expectation.

And yet, they've mostly gone along with everything he wants. So far. Even though they massively disagreed with it. Why is that, I wonder? Maybe because they've been trying to work with him and show some gratitude?

There's no gratitude in demanding to take on new burdens (passengers), including one likely to be a walker. There's no gratitude in forcing suicide family's kids on the boat.
There's no gratitude in breaking into the captain's personal storage.
...and above all else..
There's no gratitude in Madison threatening to kill the man who saved the Travis group.

You let me know when they show even a hint of gratitude.

I never once said a single thing about Strand being stupid for not spending his pre-apocalypse life learning to fix boats. I said the exact opposite. Pay attention.

Take your own advice, since the "he should have learned to fix the boat" was another pointless, cheap attack on Strand in order to defend that Mount Rushmore of FTWD characters best known for accepting torture and mass murder as heroic deeds.

2. He spends most of his time apparently staring out the window. And big boats like that typically aren't driven by holding your hand on the wheel and steering manually anyway. Most of the time the boat will be holding course itself, all Strand has to do is keep an eye on the instruments and make sure it's still going the right direction and not about to hit something. He therefore has more than enough time to crack open a damn book and learn something.

Controlling the ship is not just watching instruments, and in case you forgot, his new duty is watching out for the mystery boat likely drawn to his location thanks to the "I need attention" BS of Alicia. But, please. continue to suggest you have nothing against Strand.

...as proven--once again:
Strand sits around on his ass doing nothing to earn his great survivor reputation while almost everyone else actually contributes.

Soooo, this is what you think. Strand saved this group of immoral, ungrateful people. Let's look at their so-called contributions:

  • Daniel: Breaking into Strand's locker, keeping suspicion conflict going, cursing out Chris in spanish (what a role model), and nearly cost the lives of the landing party by shooting at zombies...and drawing more to them, which trapped them on the edge of a hill.
  • Madison: has argues about everything, tried to force passengers on a boat she does not own, fails to control her children, and threatens to murder the captain.
  • Ofelia: ------------------------------------------------------------------.Blink, and you missed her.
  • Nick: Despite still being a liability by being a self-interested drug seeking, he--up to this point--is more level headed than the rest, and that's terrible, since he's that aforementioned self-interested drug-seeker, and that (ultimately) makes him dangerous to everyone else (in a irresponsible sense, not badass sense).
  • Alicia: so attention starved, she gets on a radio and gives out all key information about the boat, provisions, etc. Then, she tries to force the airplane survivors on the boat with no authorization whatsoever.
  • Chris: He lost his mother, but the sub-plot of growing interest in being violent as a reaction was already explored on the parent series (Carl--season 3), so he largely invests his time in being surly. That helps no one.
So, that leaves Travis. When he's not having his backbone removed by Madison, or following the same confrontational path, he's had one contribution in working on the boat.

There you have it, and again, all talk of "contribution" go out of the window if Strand had not saved them all.

Saying he 'alone' is the reason they're alive is pure bs.

What was their plan after the army/med base? Did they have shelter? No. Did they have a means of escape that would not drive them into the heart of a city overrun by the dead and live threats? No.

The only bullshit is the continued disregarding of Strand being the one and only reason this group survived L.A.

He helped them. They helped him. Now, they're all stuck on a boat together. The only logical thing to do is find a way to work together.

By threatening to murder the captain...break into his storage..try to force others aboard his boat....that's the way the Travis group finds a way.

Right. Because a herd of hundreds of zombies passing so close to the farm that they literally arrived minutes after the shot (and zombies are known for their speed of movement) constitutes 'no real danger' at all. And, of course, there would never be any other herds wandering through the area either, even though they were still ridiculously close to Walker central (Atlanta).

Argue with the series, which was not ambiguous regarding the security of the farm lasting until that shot. The episode clearly shows the herd changing their direction--which was the point of drawing the farm plot to a close. Up to that time, being near Atlanta did not send herds to the farm's direction, or did anyone mention such threats. So, your conjecture is without merit.

Guess how Alexandria wasn't overrun by zombies? They took in outsiders.

No, they just had their numbers significantly cut down by zombies (including Deanna, Jesse, Sam, et al.) and the Wolves' attack. all within their walls.

And his latest F off was so huge and unreasonable (and actually just plain stupid, even when viewed solely from his own selfish interests) that it may very well destroy any chance they had of creating a workable group dynamic.

So once again, the takeaway is Strand is stupid & unreasonable, while the Travis group--all of their own choice since setting foot on the boat tried to create a "workable group dynamic" by:

  • demanding he take on new burdens (passengers), including one likely to be a walker. Who was going to watch him? If he was dying, what's the point of dragging a potential threat aboard?
  • attempting to force suicide family's kids on the boat.
  • broke into the captain's personal storage.
  • threaten to kill the man who saved their lives.
Yeah, Strand has so much to work with, and expect from this group.
 
Man, I hope Strand dies tonight. I look forward to certain people moving on to propping up Salazar as the next badass that can do no wrong.
 
Man, I hope Strand dies tonight. I look forward to certain people moving on to propping up Salazar as the next badass that can do no wrong.
Yes, because saying that the writers have done a disservice to the story by having all of the characters treat him with utter contempt and way too much suspicion from the very beginning when he didn't deserve it from their perspective, is exactly the same as saying that he's a saint and can do no wrong.

You nailed it.
 
10 minutes into this episode & Strand's not looking so bad now. Justification for his attitude just came on board.

Now I'll leave it to 2 or 3 of you to debate this point endlessly. Writing novellas and arguing in circles for the next week.

It looks like we're about to get some background on him
 
"Blood in the Streets"--

So, the ZA Brady Bunch's "we save everyone" policy worked like a charm, all thanks to Alicia's radio motor-mouthing.

Travis
: "Throw him in the goddamn ocean?" Here we go again. No one forced Travis to get on the boat. He should have proved what a Big Daddy he was by surviving in Los Angeles, but......

For a guy talking all of that murderous crap, he was knocked on his ass quickly.

Lead bad guy: Yeah...drinking when in the middle of a kidnapping mission? Come on.
How is Alicia's bad guy equally dense?

Pregnant bad girl: She was painted as a goner from the start.

Strand: Yes, he was right in calling the Travis group paranoid for stealing the clip to his rifle.
Aside from stealing the man's credit cards, I'm sure the usual suspects will claim that is far worse than torture and mass murder.

So the Abigail is named for Thomas Abigail, but guess who is still the captain of that boat?

Real estate? It cannot be that simple. Luis and Abigail make the Strand story even more of a mystery.

On Talking Dead, Colman Domingo threw a look to Hardwick's comment that might suggest Strand has other motives in his connection to Abigail.

Luis: "well, he didn't need you, either." -- and what should have been clear: No one goes to Mexico without him. ...and once again, its thanks to the Strand side of the world that the Travis group still lives.Truth of the series.

Madison: "Just stay in your room, okay" she says to Alicia. Why? If you thought the "survivors" were safe enough to bring on the ship, there should be no issue with her coming out of the cabin. Her rescuing Strand will not end the conflict.

Nick: Being Strand's point man is interesting; he seemed to zero in on things Nick could not see in himself.

Daniel: "We don't need Strand." Did that ever go nowhere.

Chris: "Should I shoot them?" Even he does not instantly think every survivor is trustworthy.Chris being threatened seem like pushing him toward embracing the anger / possible psycho he's put on display since S2E1.

Ofelia: ----------------------------------------------------.

Alicia: Not good at mind games.
 
Only three more episodes? I thought someone said they were getting a lot more this season than last.

hmmm, imdb indicates 15 episodes for the season, guess they are going to break after #7 and have the other eight be season 2.5
 
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