The Walking Dead Season 2 Discussion *Spoilers*

[Venardhi]

The one downer would be if the virus will eventually turn them into zombies while still living, without warning, because there's no defense against that. And I think that's the case, given the way Shane was depicted in the last episode. But they have no reason to know that yet, and that shoe won't drop till sometime next season at the earliest.

Shane was depicted like Shane: a short tempered, emotionally off-kilter, overly confident, shoot first ask questions later sort of guy. He has never been especially cunning so rushing into his half-baked plan when he spotted an opportunity(no matter how bad) is perfectly in character. I was able to guess his entire plot pretty much moment for moment after the preview at the end of the previous episode. They were very human actions from a very human character driven to extremes. From my perspective, it was always the foregone conclusion that Shane was going to make a move like this and would have to be put down.

 

[Servo]

One thing that was odd, is that Randall was a fast Zombie, most of the Zombies are the slow lumbering types, though on occasion we have seen faster Zombies here and there. I wonder if dying by Zombie results in the slow Zombies and dying otherwise results in faster Zombies (or is that just a case of the Zombies move at the speed of Plot?)

It would make some kind of sense that newer zombies would be able to move faster than ones that had been shambling around from the start, with bits seizing up or falling off. And fresh meat does seem to be a big motivator for them.

 

[SG-17]

One thing that was odd, is that Randall was a fast Zombie, most of the Zombies are the slow lumbering types, though on occasion we have seen faster Zombies here and there. I wonder if dying by Zombie results in the slow Zombies and dying otherwise results in faster Zombies (or is that just a case of the Zombies move at the speed of Plot?)

It would make some kind of sense that newer zombies would be able to move faster than ones that had been shambling around from the start, with bits seizing up or falling off. And fresh meat does seem to be a big motivator for them.

I think that zombies can get some rudimentary nutrition/water from eating flesh. Otherwise they just decay and desiccate like a normal corpse. The reactivation of the brain stem prevents rigor mortis but the lack of the sensation of pain and their lack of a drive to self preserve means that the walkers would do nothing to avoid injury. So every cut, every broken bone, every minute exposed to the elements should eventually take their toll.

Once most of the living have died off or secured themselves in safe zones it should only be a matter of time until the plague ends of its own accord (as long as people remember the 'everyone is infected' rule).

 

[Psylent1]

If The Walking Dead turns into another Battlestar Galactica I'll be done with TV for good.

Well, I'd certainly be done with Walking Dead if that happened....

I worry more about it turning into Dallas.

In the last episode, Rick wakes up from the coma he has been in for months and discovers Patrick Duffy is his doctor.

Dun-dun-DUN!!!

 

[Silvercrest]

One thing that was odd, is that Randall was a fast Zombie, most of the Zombies are the slow lumbering types, though on occasion we have seen faster Zombies here and there. I wonder if dying by Zombie results in the slow Zombies and dying otherwise results in faster Zombies (or is that just a case of the Zombies move at the speed of Plot?)

He didn't appear to limp, either, even though he's not anywhere near recovered from his leg injury. I wasn't even 100% sure that was Randall at first.

 

[PsychoPere]

One thing that was odd, is that Randall was a fast Zombie, most of the Zombies are the slow lumbering types, though on occasion we have seen faster Zombies here and there. I wonder if dying by Zombie results in the slow Zombies and dying otherwise results in faster Zombies (or is that just a case of the Zombies move at the speed of Plot?)

I'm not sure about the rest of your thoughts, but I can address the parenthetical question. Robert Kirkman has confirmed that the writing and production team does have rules set out related to zombie speed, so they have made an effort not to let it simply be "speed of plot."

 

[the G-man]

The fact is, if Rick did know that Shane was gonna come back, then it strains credibility that he'd suddenly forget ...

Has anyone on the show turned that quickly in front of Rick? IIRC, everyone that he's seen turn did so in a matter of hours (or even days), not minutes.

Unless the CDC guy specifically told Rick "everyone who dies comes back and sometimes in seconds", Rick could easily assume he had at least a few more minutes to finish off Shane.

Furthermore, sometimes people don't react to things immediately, especially in a stressful situation.

The CDC guy told Rick in open dialogue that reanimation can occur anywhere between 3 minutes and 8 hours of death. Even if Rick thought he had a few minutes to deal with Shane coming back, it still strains credibility that someone who just killed his best friend to protect himself and his family would suddenly become so careless.

There's a difference between being careless and being in shock...

Yep. And its common for the fear and anxiety of a life threatening situation to make time seem like it's moving at a slower pace or as if it has come to a halt.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Exactly, The G Man.

Also, Rick didn't expect Carl to show up at that exact moment of shock and grief. It jumbled his thoughts for a little while. It's not so preposterous. Andrew Lincoln as Rick isn't Kiefer Sutherland as Jack, but he's not meant to be Kiefer Sutherland as Jack.

 

[Immolatus]

I'm tired of face book games.

your not the only one

 

[RJDiogenes]

If The Walking Dead turns into another Battlestar Galactica I'll be done with TV for good.

Well, I'd certainly be done with Walking Dead if that happened....

I worry more about it turning into Dallas.

In the last episode, Rick wakes up from the coma he has been in for months and discovers Patrick Duffy is his doctor.

Dun-dun-DUN!!!

Hmm. Too bad Suzanne Pleshette is no longer with us.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

One thing that was odd, is that Randall was a fast Zombie, most of the Zombies are the slow lumbering types, though on occasion we have seen faster Zombies here and there. I wonder if dying by Zombie results in the slow Zombies and dying otherwise results in faster Zombies (or is that just a case of the Zombies move at the speed of Plot?)

Not just that, but it seems like less than as week ago (in their time, who knows how long it really was) Randall's leg was impaled by a spike and torn up a little bit when they had to get it out.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Hey I just had an awesome thought! If they're all infected anyway, if they run low on food, they could kill (well, incapacitate) zombies and eat them. Haw, take that beeotches! Okay I probably shouldn't write for this show...

I bet Darryl would do it.

The coming Facebook game was a great marketing ploy but I dunno about you, I'm tired of face book games.

I've never found a Facebook game I liked. But I'll check it out anyway.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The one downer would be if the virus will eventually turn them into zombies while still living, without warning, because there's no defense against that. And I think that's the case, given the way Shane was depicted in the last episode. But they have no reason to know that yet, and that shoe won't drop till sometime next season at the earliest.

Shane was depicted like Shane: a short tempered, emotionally off-kilter, overly confident, shoot first ask questions later sort of guy. He has never been especially cunning so rushing into his half-baked plan when he spotted an opportunity(no matter how bad) is perfectly in character. I was able to guess his entire plot pretty much moment for moment after the preview at the end of the previous episode. They were very human actions from a very human character driven to extremes. From my perspective, it was always the foregone conclusion that Shane was going to make a move like this and would have to be put down.

By "depicted," I meant more than how we was written or how Bernthal played him. It was how those scenes were shot. Stuff like shooting Shane looking out from the woods, like a zombie...seemed like there was an agenda behind the directorial choices. And I did think Bernthal's performance had subtly changed as well, with an increase in the mouth-breathing and general caveman-like demeanor.

But the way he was written was pretty much normal Shane. He wasn't acting in any way that would make Rick suspicious. The writers don't want to tip off the characters this early in the game, but I think they're trying to foreshadow something for the audience. We shall see.

 

[Silvercrest]

Hey I just had an awesome thought! If they're all infected anyway, if they run low on food, they could kill (well, incapacitate) zombies and eat them. Haw, take that beeotches! Okay I probably shouldn't write for this show...

I bet Darryl would do it.

We were making that joke already, back when Daryl was hallucinating Merle and eating squirrel. Some folks thought he was eating zombie.

 

[Stiletto]

Maybe Rick is a mean SOB and let Shane reanimate on purpose to punish him and kill him twice!

 

[Ruaidhri]

There's a difference between being careless and being in shock. We haven't seen their history, but Rick and Shane have been friends since high school and they're what? 30-35 years old? That's a long time to be friends and partners on the force. There's a strong, deep bond there. Knowing that Shane planned to kill him and having to put a knife in his gut and twist--a human being who has empathy and who feels would be traumatized by having to do that. Rick's still human. We the viewers are just accustomed to Star Trek style stoicism in male characters. Rick's reaction is more realistic. He's not an army special forces soldier trained to stay "frosty."

If Rick knew that Shane would come back, he would have had that in his head while he was luring Shane in. He had to know that killing Shane without a headshot would mean he'd have to deal with him coming back. Sure, there's some emotion there, but you are not telling me that a guy who made the decision to kill his best friend to protect himself and his family, suddenly lets his guard down so much that his former friend turned zombie gets the drop on him.

I re-watched the episode this morning, and noticed that Carl actually points the gun at Rick before Shane reanimates. Seems pretty clear that Carl was actually firing the gun at his father, and missed. And for sure, that's what Rick was thinking before Shane dropped behind him. Great acting in this scene, and Rick's distress (and distraction) is quite believable to me.

I think Temis, mentioned it, but I loved the way Shane was exhibiting zombie-like behavior during the course of the episode. Emotionally, he was already there.

 

[sojourner]

The writers don't want to tip off the characters this early in the game, but I think they're trying to foreshadow something for the audience. We shall see.

You really have had a terrible track record with your guesses of what the writers are up to on this show.

 

[Derishton]

Stuff like shooting Shane looking out from the woods, like a zombie...seemed like there was an agenda behind the directorial choices.

Of course there's an "agenda" - it's otherwise known as "directing the episode to reflect the events and themes you wish the episode to contain."

 

[propita]

One thing that was odd, is that Randall was a fast Zombie, most of the Zombies are the slow lumbering types, though on occasion we have seen faster Zombies here and there. I wonder if dying by Zombie results in the slow Zombies and dying otherwise results in faster Zombies (or is that just a case of the Zombies move at the speed of Plot?)

Not just that, but it seems like less than as week ago (in their time, who knows how long it really was) Randall's leg was impaled by a spike and torn up a little bit when they had to get it out.

Yeah, but a person limps because the leg doesn’t support weight (broken) or the leg hurts. Randall’s leg was impaled; it could support weight, but it would hurt. Except that Zombie!Randall won’t feel pain, so it doesn’t hurt him. It still supports weight, so no limp.

 

[davejames]

I re-watched the episode this morning, and noticed that Carl actually points the gun at Rick before Shane reanimates. Seems pretty clear that Carl was actually firing the gun at his father, and missed. And for sure, that's what Rick was thinking before Shane dropped behind him. Great acting in this scene, and Rick's distress (and distraction) is quite believable to me.

Looked to me like Carl was originally aiming the gun at his dad, because he thought he had killed Shane for no reason. But once he spotted Zombie Shane coming for them, he realized the truth and altered his aim.

I think Temis, mentioned it, but I loved the way Shane was exhibiting zombie-like behavior during the course of the episode. Emotionally, he was already there.

Yeah, the way Bernthal explained it made the most sense to me-- Shane realized he was a danger to the group and no longer belonged, and was simply trying to force Rick to man up and do something about it.