The Walking Dead Season 4

[SG-17]

I was wondering about that as well. It would be a simple explanation for why we saw that helicopter and why it happened be heading from Atlanta to the area around the farm, Woodbury, the prison, etc.

As for your other point, yeah, if they were part of a larger military operation and didn't check in it would have made sense that the government/military would have headed out to the area to investigate why no one came back, especially after there was a distress call.

No one can assume any of the observed military were not on recon, or anything else. What we do know is that they were active. The guards attacked by the Governor were not sitting around lost, and after a year+ of the outbreak, they appeared quite healthy and well-armed. How did they maintain this after more than a year of a situation where food and weapons would (in theory) be exausted to the point the guards should not be in that healthy (physical & mechanical) health?

Presactly. And didn't the CDC guy say the French government was the last to fall? That would imply that all the other governments are gone.

The CDC's staff bailed, committed suicide, etc. (not exactly the first line of defense), and they are not the heart of the government--particularly since they were clueless regarding the reanimation of flesh-eating corpses. They were not an example of the security hub of the state, or nation. Do you think the main body of government would not act with contingency plans if the CDC failed to uncover the problem or address it? Do you believe they would just sit around waiting to become dinner?

In Episode 3 of season 3 the Helicopter pilot says they were part of a well organized, well protected base camp (perhaps the one we see in the season 4 opener?) when one of the people inside got bit he went haywire and panic swept through the camp then someone opened the gate to escape and walkers got in and infected other people things went down hill pretty fast, the pilot and his crew were able to get some vehicles a few supplies and abandoned their post, when the helicopter goes down he was calling Mayday, mayday, mayday I'm assuming to his crew on the ground who they were on their way back to but were unable to reach them because apparently they were to far away from (which I find hard to believe). but who knows, maybe he was trying to reach another base camp, maybe they were going to another base camp when theirs got overrun.
As far as everyone saying the pilot and other soldiers were highly trained..Well they were national guard (weekend warriors) and the pilot says they were part of his crew, part of his crew could mean the mechanics that serviced the helicopter or his drinking buddies from back home and they got called in when all Hell broke lose, we don't know.

The thing is, how many other well organized, well protected base camps are out there? How many prisons or military bases are there in the U.S.?
How about all the military vessels already at sea? surely they would be quarantined or not even affected at all by the virus, would an airborne virus make it all the way out to some ship in the middle of the ocean or a submarine even?
How many other highly secure structures could be easily converted into these base camps the pilot spoke of?
If these National Guard could make it a year then I would think the true "Highly trained" military would, I find it very hard to believe the entire military has fallen or Government for that matter, we just haven't seen it yet because the focus is on this small group.

What ever happened to going to Ft. Benning did they ever say? why was that plan abandoned?

Maybe we'll get more answers when Michael Cudlitz ( Sgt. Abraham Ford) joins the show.

It would surprise me if there weren't settlements thriving on the US Navy's aircraft carriers. The Nimitz class can stay at sea virtually forever and they can make their own freshwater. The only issue would be vegetables, they might be able to grow on the flightdeck though.

 

[sojourner]

And Carol becomes the new character to watch.

 

[Sindatur]

The writers could take the story in any direction.

If a fan wants to root for military deus ex machina, alien invasion, planetary self-destruction, or a new Zombie Government, that's their prerogative.

"What a twist!"

Ooh, a New Zombie Government, that brings up possibilities.

*Quotes taken slightly out of context for humor (or humour, if you prefer). If anyone's offended, ask and I will delete*

 

[Mojochi]

You know what's occurred to me this season? There's been things that are good & things that are meh... but nothing I hate, or more specifically nobody I hate. It's refreshing

There is one thing sort of nagging at me all this time though. It's been 4 seasons, & almost 2 years in world time & they are still less than 100 miles from Atlanta. If this season has taught us anything, a change of scenery is in order.

They could have been anywhere on the continent in this amount of time, with all their magic petrol & as this episode seems to suggest, there's others out there (One crafty person or more running a radio broadcast)

Two years in, & it's possible something of a rebound is growing somewhere, or not, but we just know nothing outside of this area right here. > Walking Dead Google Map

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

And Carol becomes the new character to watch.

I think the others will come around to her way of thinking.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

You're right, how could a group of highly trained combatants with access to military-grade weapons and hardware have any hope of being well armed and in about as good physical shape as everyone else on the show? It's damn near impossible to puzzle out that conundrum. The mind boggles, it does!

Yeah, notice how you avoid the point that they were well armed and healthy over a year after the ZA, and the alleged fall of government/resources, etc.

Now that did not work out for you, Fandango.

You mean besides on the flatbed truck they were using,

Yes, because they just so happened to come across an endless resource of abandoned stores that--somehow--were not picked clean.

.....and oh, they just so happened to find bases where they can always stock up on ammo for very specific weapons and vehicle maintenance (which you are not finding at your local Auto Zone).

Yes, because the existence of the guards means its all just one, final fragment of the military, and gosh golly, they just "up 'an died" without any groups, bases, or structure left in America. Even in a horror show that is too much to buy, and your misunderstandfing of how the guards survived is just....entertaining. It is always entertaining to see how far some fans will go to defend that which is quite obvious.

 

[sojourner]

All in all, there is no overt proof those guardsmen where part of a larger outfit.

You might also notice there have been no helicopters out looking to find out what happened to that troop either.

 

[auntiehill]

And Carol becomes the new character to watch.

Yes.

That pleases me to no end.

I'm excited to see where they take this season.

 

[the G-man]

You're right, how could a group of highly trained combatants with access to military-grade weapons and hardware have any hope of being well armed and in about as good physical shape as everyone else on the show? It's damn near impossible to puzzle out that conundrum. The mind boggles, it does!

Yeah, notice how you avoid the point that they were well armed and healthy over a year after the ZA, and the alleged fall of government/resources, etc.

Now that did not work out for you, Fandango.

You mean besides on the flatbed truck they were using,

Yes, because they just so happened to come across an endless resource of abandoned stores that--somehow--were not picked clean.

.....and oh, they just so happened to find bases where they can always stock up on ammo for very specific weapons and vehicle maintenance (which you are not finding at your local Auto Zone).

Yes, because the existence of the guards means its all just one, final fragment of the military, and gosh golly, they just "up 'an died" without any groups, bases, or structure left in America. Even in a horror show that is too much to buy, and your misunderstandfing of how the guards survived is just....entertaining. It is always entertaining to see how far some fans will go to defend that which is quite obvious.

Guys it's fun to speculate and argue about what the post apocalypse world looks like and how people might be surviving in it. But do both of you have to be so strident and rude about it? It's just a TV show.

 

[DarthTom]

Guys it's fun to speculate and argue about what the post apocalypse world looks like and how people might be surviving in it. But do both of you have to be so strident and rude about it? It's just a TV show.

I agree but if people on this website in the movie section can get all hot and bothered over blue warp nacells why not over The Walking Dead as well?

 

[FreezeC77]

I have seen the level of nitpicking about the possibility of other communities or military enclaves in TWD universe increase exponentially since the end of last season on various threads/forums/message boards I read on the Internet. One would have expected an increase when you saw the soldiers be ambushed by Woodberry, but the increase in discussion IMO isn't tracked to there since these discussions have "ramped up" considerably in the past 5 or 6 months.

I think the biggest reason for these discussions is World War Z. Obviously the book has existed before this show ever aired, but the movie only came out in June and people saw a world overrun by much more dangerous/fast moving zombies and enclaves form. So the thought is then "Well, if WWZ can have this happen with fast moving zombies. Shouldn't there be an equivilent in the Walking Dead universe with the traditional Romero type slow movers?"

 

[DarthTom]

I think the biggest reason for these discussions is World War Z. Obviously the book has existed before this show ever aired, but the movie only came out in June and people saw a world overrun by much more dangerous/fast moving zombies and enclaves form. So the thought is then "Well, if WWZ can have this happen with fast moving zombies. Shouldn't there be an equivilent in the Walking Dead universe with the traditional Romero type slow movers?"

That's a great observation and one of the flaws of TWD in terms of a suspension of disbelief that the world was overtaken by slow moving zombies.

I suppose they solve this problem to a greater or lesser degree by making everyone infected and upon death you turn into a zombie. I'd imagine in such a scenario hospitals would become zombie breeding grounds.

One thing to remember is the producers of the Walking Dead are working on a spin-off series. Presuambly this series will be about other communities or ideally perhaps the greater world at large and how the plague effected the government.

 

[PKerr]

I have seen the level of nitpicking about the possibility of other communities or military enclaves in TWD universe increase exponentially since the end of last season on various threads/forums/message boards I read on the Internet. One would have expected an increase when you saw the soldiers be ambushed by Woodberry, but the increase in discussion IMO isn't tracked to there since these discussions have "ramped up" considerably in the past 5 or 6 months.

I think the biggest reason for these discussions is World War Z. Obviously the book has existed before this show ever aired, but the movie only came out in June and people saw a world overrun by much more dangerous/fast moving zombies and enclaves form. So the thought is then "Well, if WWZ can have this happen with fast moving zombies. Shouldn't there be an equivilent in the Walking Dead universe with the traditional Romero type slow movers?"

At this point I'm not sure I'd care for fast movers on the show as they have already had enough inconsistencies in Walker behavior IMO.

 

[Mojochi]

And Carol becomes the new character to watch.

This is the kind of thing that raises her odds of not making it out of this season alive

 

[Thestral]

Carol revelation: really show, really? Fuck you show.

 

[Trekker4747]

An interesting revelation but, Jesus, when did Carol join the Dark Side?!

 

[Scout101]

That's a great observation and one of the flaws of TWD in terms of a suspension of disbelief that the world was overtaken by slow moving zombies.

Doesn't really have anything to do with Zombie speed, IMO. WWZ had 'fast' zombies in the movie, but it was stupid and done because the sfx looked kewl. The zombies in the book weren't especially fast, they were effectively fighting them hand to hand, with dogs, etc. None of that works with the fast super-zombie force of nature that WWZ the movie showed.

WWZ DID show a world taken over by slow zombies, it just didn't try and show it happening overnight. It took a while for things to break down. But it did a great job of explaining all the ways things go wrong for that to happen. TWD just skipped to the end, but only left a few weeks to get there, which is dumb and hard to defend. It shows a breakdown which should take years to achieve, and gives weeks to get there (at most, even assuming Rick survives via magic instead of medical science).

 

[DarthTom]

WWZ DID show a world taken over by slow zombies, it just didn't try and show it happening overnight. It took a while for things to break down. But it did a great job of explaining all the ways things go wrong for that to happen. TWD just skipped to the end, but only left a few weeks to get there, which is dumb and hard to defend. It shows a breakdown which should take years to achieve, and gives weeks to get there (at most, even assuming Rick survives via magic instead of medical science).

That's true. And what makes the book version of WWZ even more plausible is basically the infection goes out of control because the government tries to cover up the fact that the cure they had was a faux one.

For all the bickering in the TWD world about functional government or not - it seems more likely that some sort of working government survived the zombie plauge but Rick's group is simply cut off from it and they are not transmitting over FM or AM radio - perhaps not to attract a large group of refugees.

 

[dansigal]

An interesting revelation but, Jesus, when did Carol join the Dark Side?!

I agree I would have liked to see maybe a trigger for Carol to have really turned in this direction, but the show has been pretty clear all season so far that she's become a much more hardened version of herself. She's been entirely no nonsense all season about doing what's necessary to survive. I suppose you could argue there has been a gradual change, but there's clearly a difference between this season and last, so I would have liked to see exactly what caused that difference.

 

[Trekker4747]

Again, the death of Sophia would have been the catalyst for that but that's been almost a year ago now. Last season she still seemed pretty... "normal" and all crushing on Daryl. But now she's turned into a pretty damn dark person. Something had to have happened in the intervening time between now and Woodbury.