Stubby Member
NEXT episode? Did everyone forget how they jerked off during the entire mid-season finale up to Carl's big moment and ended up not even showing it? There's no way they're going to do an additional major character death on top of what's coming later. That would be way too fast paced and exciting for what the current showrunners are doing.Originally Posted by jessamineny
Bent Member
That's what I said. I haven't forgotten anything.
Banned
There's a new French promo image with Carl wearing a bandage over his eye.
Banned
Oh I like the sound of this:
http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-may-be-t...-to-1758732958
The Walking Dead has never been accused of being a happy show, but it’s one of the few series to be called “misery porn”—an exercise in watching characters face tragedy after tragedy until their eventual horrible deaths. I’ve never thought this was true... but having seen this Sunday’s mid-season premiere, I wonder if the show has finally earned that label.
Mild spoilers for this Sunday’s episode, “No Way Out,” may follow.
I’ve been watching The Walking Dead since the beginning, so I can promise you that I haven’t been laboring under the delusion that it’s a “happy” show. It’s violent, it’s depressing, it regularly features human beings in dire straits and humanity at its worst. This is not a light-hearted show. I know that beloved characters can die at any time, and that lesser characters will die pretty regularly to keep the tension high. That’s fine. I’m a big fan of zombie entertainment; I know how it works.
And yet “No Way Out” disturbs me in a way The Walking Dead has never done before.
Look: It should not be a surprise to learn that a few characters shuffle off their non-zombie coil on Sunday; AMC and series creator Robert Kirkman have gleefully been announcing the deaths for weeks now. Having seen the mid-season premiere, I can assure you that they are not lying, and I can likewise promise you that this is not a Glenn situation, where they exist in a Schrodinger’s Walking Dead box, and we don’t really know if they’re alive or dead. They dead. It’s not up for debate.
I don’t want to get too specific—I’ll be plenty specific in The Walking Dead recap on Monday morning—but there is/are a character(s) whose death feels wrong in a way I don’t remember having encountered from the series before. And perhaps the largest reason for this is because the deaths are, in a word, dumb.
Not that every member of Rick’s group makes a smart decision every time, lord knows, and the Alexandrians are painfully naïve. But generally all the survivors have a general core competency that keeps them from needlessly, senselessly putting themselves in danger. (E.g., they may run into a crowd of zombies to save a friend without thinking of the consequences, but they wouldn’t just try to get a zombie to slow-dance.) Between the zombies and evil humans populating North America, there are more than enough threats for Rick and the others; they don’t need to be stupid to add to the danger.
And yet that’s exactly what happens in “No Way Out,” a death (or deaths) that suddenly requires a character (or characters) to be an idiot(s!) to take place, which in turn creates another problem: It makes the death(s) gratuitous.
Yes, I’m aware that I’m calling a death “gratuitous” in a show about the zombie apocalypse, but bear with me for a minute. The thing I’ve always enjoyed about The Walking Dead—and one of the main reason I believe it’s been such a popular show—is that it’s incorporated the violence and the horror of the genre, but has actually managed to use them to produce story, drama and character development. When a major character dies, it serves a narrative purpose beyond a “Gotcha!” moment. Minor character exists almost solely to die horrifically, to keep the stakes high and the threat omnipresent for viewers. Either way, there’s a purpose being served.
But the death scene in “No Way Out” feels like a scene that exists solely to upset viewers, as if to proclaim, “Betcha didn’t think we’d do that, huh?!” It feels crass and exploitative, which is somehow not something I’ve felt even in TWD’s most insane moments. Seriously! When Lori goes into labor during a zombie attack in the prison, and demands that Maggie perform a C-section and that her son shoot her in the head immediately afterwards, before she becomes a zombie—guys, that was ridiculous. And yet it worked, partially because the narrative really made it feel like Lori was backed into this corner; that it redeemed her problematic character a bit to sacrifice herself for her baby; and that it had a profound, lasting effect on Rick and Carl. Her death was one of the most brutal in the series, but TWD made it meansomething.
And when Carol was forced to kill Lizzie back in season 4, it was horrible, but it worked because the narrative had forced Carol into a situation with no other solution—and it still devastated her, even though she was already Stone Cold Killer Carol. It was definitely upsetting to watch Carol execute a kid because she was a danger to herself and others (especially baby Sofia), but the show treated it with the appropriate gravity, and didn’t exploit the scene by filling it with gore, or putting it in slow-mo, or wallowing in its horror. That the event actually occurred at all was horrific enough.
My point here is that when I tell you that “No Way Out” features the first death(s) that actually disturbed me, I hope you know it’s not because I’m a delicate flower who can’t handle a man being eaten alive by the living dead. But what I saw in the mid-season premiere was, for all intents and purposes, “misery porn”—a violent, disturbing scene that exists for no other reason than to be violent and disturbing. Like TWD feared it was losing its reputation for being brutal, and felt that it had to re-assert its horribleness in the most brazen way possible.
My real concern is that if The Walking Dead does cross a line in the mid-season finale, it does not appear to have any intention of walking it back. Speaking with EW, Andrew Lincoln said this about the season six finale:“I felt sick to my stomach when I read the script. It was the first day in the whole six years of working on The Walking Dead that I was late for work because I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I was so angry and frustrated and I felt sick. And that was just after reading it.”Given that Lincoln actually has had to make the damn show, I imagine he’s even more inured to TWD’s darkest nature than I am. And note his language; he isn’t just sad or upset, he’s actually disgusted at what happens in the finale. For the first time ever. Since Lincoln was presumably hunky-dory about what happens in “No Way Out,” I am not looking forward to the season finale to discover whatever made him so “angry” and “sick to his stomach.”
It’s possible Andrew Lincoln and I have wildly differing sensitivities, and the two elements which upset us aren’t tonally related. Or maybe what upsets him is something completely bizarre, like the TWD finale is super-racist for some reason. I have my doubts. I believe The Walking Dead is beginning to put the most upsetting things on TV that it can, with no other reason than shock value. And I suspect if whatever horror awaits us in the season finale actually served a good narrative purpose, Andrew Lincoln wouldn’t have reacted as viscerally as he did.
I don’t know for sure. All I know is that for the first time since season 3 that I’m not particularly looking forward to watching The Walking Dead (and back then the problem was that it was boring). The show has always relied on horror and violence and tragedy—I mean, it’s a show about the zombie apocalypse, for goodness’ sake—but they always served the story, not the other way around.
If that’s changing, then I don’t think that’s a Walking Dead I care to see. The lives of Rick and the others are plenty miserable enough, thanks.
Banned
New Walking Dead and new X-Files on the same day. I'm horny.
Banned
Halfway through. Bye bye Jessie and her sons. Bye bye Carl's eye!
bye bye wolf man!
Last edited by Ryan; 02-14-2016 at 11:40 PM.
Stubby Member
Finally an episode that lived up to my expectations coming in as a reader of the comic. Based on the last half of the season I fully believed they'd try to spread that entire episode out over 2-3 episodes. Heath finally got some more screen time as well. Hopefully Spoiler: the Saviors show up soon as well.
24.24.2.2866
Hell yeah!
Welcome back The Walking Dead, thanks for not screwing the pooch.
Quiet Member
Fuck's sake, with the even-more-than-usual chaotic, utter clusterfuck that's become of my life in the last few days, I somehow COMPLETELY forgot about the mid-season premiere till I noticed the thread bumped into the index here. THANK YOU, ets!!!
Man, what a GREAT fucking episode.
They still need to just go the route of using the actual comic panels/dialogue as storyboards, Sin City/300/Darabont-style, but this was an EXCELLENT step in the right direction. I will say, though...I liked the older-brother/Michonne variation of the big moment with you-know-who midway through. It was effective in its own right and a GREAT example of following the comic book's lead while spicing things up with respectably-executed variations which serve the TV side of things while giving the comic audience something new but not fully betraying the near-flawless (and, again, proven storyboards-on-silver-platter) source material.
This season REALLY has my attention now. Can't wait to see the rest!
Not to mention Daryl's EPIC crossbow-upgrade, lol. Did he just stumble upon the final solution for the zombie apocalypse? Sure, it's no cure, but it looks like flashbang firepits at night are THE WAY TO GO towards seriously thinning the marauding herds everywhere. Everyone saw how well it worked. Surely, the show will capitalize on that further later on down the road. Regardless, it was badass moment for our hero.
Speaking of which, does anyone else think it would be AWESOME if Daryl gets held captive by Negan and his murder finally gets Alexandria to rise up against the Wolves? While he's taking the fall in place of you-know-who getting killed to keep the gang in line, it would almost be THE MOST EPIC THING EVER if Rick and gang LITERALLY say, "If Daryl dies we riot," just before he's killed and the whole town fucking EXPLODES with violence avenging him and exterminating the Wolves.
I mean, if he's gotta go sometime that might be how I'D do it!
Anyway, gotta sleep.
It's not just "The X-Files" today but "Better Call Saul," too!
(Fucking LOVED the reference to the first movie of the former in the sneak peak of the latter, btw!)
XD
Active Member
Wolves =/= Saviors
Saviors = Negan
Negan =/= Wolves
Banned
I'm sick of Carl. Wish that bullet just went right through his head.
Real Hippie Asshole
Carl hasn't been an annoying burdensome pussy for ages now, why you hating?
Banned
He just bothers me. I think it's the puberty thing.
Real Hippie Asshole
That's exactly how I feel about you.
Active Member
Bye bye Carl's eye!
Only By Night
Dammm, that episode was pretty fucking awesome. I liked the segment where the camera was fixated on all of them hacking the shit out of everything... very cool look on camera. It also followed the comic a little closer than I thought it would have. What is STILL so annoying is how many times can they pretend that Glenn is going to eat it?? It makes me roll my eyes every freaking time... I'll take it as obvious foreshadowing that he is definitely going to eat it when Negan comes into play.
Banned
Banned
Rick and Michonne sitting in a tree...
forever yr girl
I've read the comic up until this month, and couldn't make it more than halfway through season 2 of the show.
You can give up if you want, the water's fine over here.
Trollhunter
I hope it's Daryl that Negan kills (but fan girls would lose it). The only characters I still like on the show are Glenn, Maggie and Carol. Michonne is okay.
Real Hippie Asshole
I don't have an answer for the Deanna thing. Wasn't she already bitten? Half asleep after third shift usually when watching. She could have turned before they started eating her, made her way out with the rest of the pack towards the noise.
And they established Daryl as having tracker skills way earlier. Not saying you have to like it, but what you're complaining about does make sense within the context of everything we know about the show so far. The show has had plenty of changes made from the start and it's still going strong. I'm not that invested in either to be getting worked up over it one way or the other though, just pointing out your original gripes could be explained without much effort.
Banned
I think the last scene we saw of Deanna alive was her opening the door to all the oncoming walkers and screaming at them.
Real Hippie Asshole
The biggest mystery to me is why Carl goes out in the woods with his cute girlfriend only to be a dick to her and read comics. I take back what I said about him last week.
Does the group/Rick know about Daryl exploding the group of bikers?
Active Member
yeah but at least he was reading Invincible, another great Kirkman comic.
Active Member
man they are gonna kill the fuck out of Glen, aren't they? The foreshadowing is so heavy-handed (as is everything on this fucking show).
I did enjoy how this episode was almost a carbon copy of the comic with how the Hilltop stuff is introduced. And look at that....when they don't stray much from the comic, you end up with a good episode!
Only By Night
I loved the line Jesus drops with the "Bat". They better do this justice since they dangled his death around to us like a piece of bait. I never thought I would say this, but I cannot wait (Hope) that Glenn eats the big one.
Stubby Member
I liked the show a little better when people were more concerned about staying alive than pairing off but loved when Abraham asks Daryl about settling down and Daryl says "do you think she'd settle"
Throbbing Member
Man, that wall full of Lucille kills was fucking naaaasty. I'm hoping someone other than Glenn gets it though. Maybe they'll flip it on us and take out Maggie, which would be way more heartbreaking.
Active Member
For some reason I don't see them bludgeoning a pregnant woman to death with a bat. The other feeling I have against it is that Maggie is obviously being Spoiler: groomed to run things at the Hill Top . If Glen doesn't die then it will be either Carol or some insignificant character we couldn't give a shit about.
I am a little disappointing with the Savior HQ in the show as opposed to how it looked in the comics. My thinking is that they either have some crazy sub level at the compound that houses many more people, or this satellite station was just an out post.... a literal satellite.
Banned
Come on, show Negan!
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