The Walking Dead

Its probably b/c I grew up in an urban environment and tend to be more wary (my mind is always working out the angles and bad scenarios that could happen) than I actually need to be or maybe its also b/c Im not 19 and horny every waking moment nowadays...but Im not giving the business to any hotties someplace out in the open like an abondoned store. I dont even like the idea of a couple of people going off together by themselves when its all said and done. Intact windows, cute farmers etc...I rather be overly cautious and say I finally got killed due to no fault of my own like being overun by a herd of walkers than b/c I took 10mins to have sex in an unsecure location. Call me crazy I suppose.

Taking zombies out of the equation altogether, theres also the human threat at this point. There are a lot of evil people in the world even now, can you imagine how uncivilized people will actually be in a world like TWD? They have all been lucky so far, but all it takes is a few Merle types banding together and coming across you and your girlfriend to turn that into a bad situation. You just possibly put yourself at risk of getting killed outright, ransomed for supplies, r-aped, eaten or even putting the rest of the community in danger etc...the fun factor versus the risk statement doesnt line up properly for me.


- agreed, Maggie and Glen are just right for each other looking at the rest of the cast at this point even though I suppose T-Dog would have worked (kind of boring dude, should be the next to go); Darrell has his own vibe and doesnt need a romance to flesh out his character
- yeah, I guess it looked more "secretive" following Lori out and about for the pregnany test instead of her just going to the bathroom
- agreed and would have to boil/treat any water going into my mouth at that point...water for hygiene can be non-potable to a certain point (not sure what that point is though)
- if the military was on the scene and given the order to fire at will, then they were just shooting without much regard to headshots...takes specialized training to get that proficient, most conventional forces dont train to that level

Unfortunately, season 2 has been a little weak so far. Most of the episodes feel like filler, and the writing seems to be wandering without any real kind of direction in terms of plot. I really wish they'd get back on track. More action, please.

Well...action should be in the next episode, hopefully.

Darryl is the guy I'd want on my zombie team. Dude is badass. Gets stabbed through with a quarrel (but damn, I hope he disinfects that thing from time to time), gets a concussion, ties the thing off/stabilizes it and starts climbing. Ok, the ear thing was a bit...much.

And *snort* to Glenn/Maggie. Especially the burn with the comment about 11 minutes.

Hasn't Herschel ever learned anything regarding the wimmenfolk? Tell 'em to not see a guy is the quickest damn route to them running off with 'em. And let's be honest, as far as potential mates go for Maggie, Glenn is head and shoulders above pretty much anything else she could even reasonably hope to find in post-zombpocalypse world. But of course, given his "reasoning" (as to be potentially shown next episode), wanting to shoo off Glenn makes sense.

Shame that they didn't include the other children that Herschel should've had. It makes some of the stuff to (potentially) come less impactful.

I've been a supporter of the Sophia search from the beginning (although I do agree it's taking too long), but when one of your best assets is almost killed and is now thinking about going Rogue, I think it's time to move on.

I agree they've probably sat still in this one place a little too long at this point. With a show like this I figure they could probably get away with camping out somewhere for like 2 or 3 episodes tops - anymore and it starts to drag. I was really thinking they were going to resolve the Sophia arc this week and move on.

Now that we've learned that Hershel is a closet "zombie mastermind" with his little collection of zombies I pretty sure things are going to start moving again next episode. I'm positive Glenn won't keep the barn a secret from the group and they'll decide to leave regardless of whatever excuse Hershel tries to come up with.

I seriously do not think the following idea actually happened but wouldn't it be super-creepy if we find out that Hershel somehow had something to do with Sophia's absence along the lines of feeding her to his zombie pets?

The Sophia angle has run it's course.

With the increase in episodes, I think they (meaning the writers) could afford to slow the pace down a bit. But we need to move on. With only two more episodes till February left, I'd like to see the group moving onward towards their next safe haven. Of course, it will likely end season 2 completely.

I don't really like that Hershel is being presented as an antagonist to the group. Next to Andrea, he was the closest thing to a voice of reason in the comics. He was there to protect his family, but eventually knew Rick was right and did what he could to save the remainder.

Speaking of Andrea, this character is completely unlikable at this point for me. A partial thumbs up for getting to show her starting gun training, but then double thumbs down for a hint at the romance angle with Dale (And yes, I realize how big of an arc it is in the comic book, but it just feels out of place with what's happened in the television show). Though, I suspect it'll end up being more of a Father/daughter relationship angle instead.

The reveal of the farmhouse's content was much nicer in the show, compared to the "Let's show you how we wrangle zombies" in the comic. I think it'll all lead to Rick being forced to make those decisions Shane alludes to.

And Lori still received four thumbs down for being an awkward, stereotypical "I don't know what I really want" female lead. We deserve better from the writers for that character.

I could see how someone with a leaning towards the Bible might interpret the ZA in biblical terms. But even if Hershel believes that God is testing us or will wave his "magic wand" to cure everyone then what purpose does it serve to coral up a few dozen of them in a barn? Surely if God's going to cure all the zombies then he'd cure them all everywhere whether Hershel keeps a few of them hidden away or not.

Regardless I think the idea of keeping zombies cooped up in a barn is a little deranged no matter how well intentioned Hershel is. I just don't see this going over well with Rick and company at all. No matter what happens to the barn zombies I'm pretty sure this will motivate them to leave the farm. This is why I think there's a very strong probability that the Sophia arc will finally be resolved next week too. They already made the point that finding her doll will allow them to narrow the search so they are going to find her alive, dead or undead soon.

He has naively stated that he believes a cure will come. Whether or not its biblical (I believe he meant man will find a cure) isn't really relavent. More than likely he has those walkers pinned up because he knew them and he believes its the right thing to hold on to them until the cure comes or he's just being uber compassionate and still sees them as human beings and feels braining them before they are cured as cruel and murderous.

In other words he's not faithful or maniacal, he's an idiot. Burn the barn down!

Another possibility is he's studying them i.e. to see if they starve or "die" of natural causes. He is a vet afterall.

After giving the latest episode more thought, I have realized an awful lot happened in disguise of nothing happening.

We learned a lot about where Shane is at. Sure, speculation and interpretation were out there, but he flat out told Lori where his loyalties lay and all but told her that he had abandoned Otis.... In some ways Shane's presence in the story on TV embodies Rick's divided and developing sensibility in the comic. I hope Shane doesn't stay around so long that Rick never develops that backbone...

Sophia... OK, nothing happened with Sophia (mumble grumble).

I have come to very much appreciate Daryl's character. The 'vision' of his brother motivating him to overcome is rote, but it was effectively done. And the exchanges defined a lot of surmised off-screen character/backstory for Daryl into a firmer understanding. I liked it.

I hate Lori, I like Lori, I hate Lori, I like Lori, I want to feed her to a horde... She had a great line telling Shane that his 'making the hard choices" is really just taking the easy option. So true. Other than that, she annoys me as much as she did in print.

Glenn and Maggie's exchanges were awkwardly carried off, but I thought they still managed to convey an exuberant spirit of 'found' desire after the end of the world.

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==Mild spoiler alert if you haven't read the comic. I tried to be vague. I failed.==
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First real hints were there of Andrea and Dale.

I re-read a section of the Farm a couple of days ago, trying to pin down my memories of how Otis fit in the written story. It is interesting how his role in the show has become so crucial and moving, yet his absence come barn time will be noted (actually the entire household seems smaller on TV, which make events... much different).

I had been anticipating the reveal of the barn for the entire season. I was disappointed and pleased all at once. In reading the comic, the barn seemed to be the only symbol of hope to that point (keeping in mind that the CDC never happened in the comic... the subdivision was pre or post farm? that was the other symbol of misplaced hope pre-prison).

It may be misplaced, but the barn is Herschel's firm hope that his friends and family will come back to him someday. That hope is so strong that he keeps them (even if prudently locked away for saftey). It is so poignant and ultimately tragic. But my sub-title to the story has always been "The Walking Dead: Where No One Gets to be Happy".

All right. There we go. We finally got a payoff for all the time we've spent on the farm. I should have seen it coming. After all, the farm people sure seemed to have a lot of food on hand even though they didn't seem to have any pigs, chickens, or crops, at least, not on screen. Now, it makes sense.

By the way, am I mistaken, or did Daryl cut off a piece of a zombie's hand and then eat it?

That was the squirrel he bagged earlier.

Would have been funny to have the barn zombies all on treadmills with live animals dangled in front of them to keep them walking. That would be a way to explain how the farm has electricty. Sort of a precursor to the Matrix.

Who knows? Maybe Herschel is the Architect!