AMC's "The Walking Dead" Season 2 Discussion (Spoilers)

[spaceviking]

Weird no one has brought up of visiting a sporting goods store for more arrows, and maybe some more crossbows.

[FSTargetDrone]

Maybe he told Glenn offscreen to look for some. It should definitely be a priority.

[Stofsk]

If the writing were better that would indeed be a plot line worth looking at. Everything is too reactive - Carl gets shot, so Shane and Otis have to go on a little field trip. We had to leave Atlanta in a hurry, that's why Rick's backpack full of guns got left behind.

What they really need to do is stop reacting to everything and try to assert a plan or goals and stick to them. I thought they were heading for a fort somewhere but now they've met Otis they want to try and stay there (which follows the comic but I've said it before that I think they should trash anything that's reminiscent of the comic and go their own path).

Incidentally if Otis says no, why can't they just look for an abandoned farmstead somewhere and take it over? And why haven't they found any more survivors? There's too much about the metaplot that's not really being considered or speculated upon in favour of stupid shit like 'oh no there's a trapped walker down the well, we should do something stupid like try and lift it up and kill it without it despoiling the water but somehow nobody will think about how maybe the water is already despoiled so this whole endeavour is ultimately futile'.

I mean shit how long was that walker down there? It looked pretty bloated. And it's a lol that a walker could wander into the farm and somehow fall down a well and yet Otis is a stickler for no carrying of firearms. Just ugh.

[Dread Not]

Hate to keep nitpicking on the names, but Otis is dead brah.

[Meest]

The pharmacy trip again shows that they still aren't in plan ahead mode, why aren't they stockpiling in other areas (defense for one), they left a shitload of stuff on the car for Sophia so no food concerns? They don't seem to mind their transport situation even with a ton of cars on the road, at least salvage a cargo car SUV/truck. Drama is good but make the parents lose their sense because of emotions not the whole group, Daryl seems to be the only one but he isn't exactly looking beyond what he's doing at the moment. They set up camp in a lightly forested area, even with the history of the place the only thing they bring up is one rifleman on lookout? This tense drama needs to be coming from concerns like survival along with the character drama. It would actually help the character drama if it's more urgent or if there's more tasks for people to do.

[Stofsk]

Hate to keep nitpicking on the names, but Otis is dead brah.

whoops

[Guardsman Bass]

What they really need to do is stop reacting to everything and try to assert a plan or goals and stick to them. I thought they were heading for a fort somewhere but now they've met Otis they want to try and stay there (which follows the comic but I've said it before that I think they should trash anything that's reminiscent of the comic and go their own path).

They were originally headed for Fort Benning. I wouldn't be surprised if it played a role in the second half of the season post-hiatus, since the "season preview" shots after the season premiere included a brief clip where we saw two helicopters.

To be fair to the group, I don't think it was that long after the CDC disaster at the beginning of the season premiere. They've been mostly reacting up to now because things keep happening to them: the RV breaking down, the zombie swarm, Sophia running off (and the search), Carl getting shot, and so forth. The latest episode was really the first one where that wasn't the case, and I agree that it was a bit slow (with some bad decision-making).

I'll also second "don't follow the comic". I might just stop watching the show if it turns into a plot about encountering Spoiler

Evil Town

.

[Minischoles]

If they were planning ahead they'd have
a) ditched the RV, as it's fucking huge and ungainly on the roads that they've already seen are packed with cars
b) packed that thing to the roof with supplies. guns/ammo/food/clean water and fuel.

They should be stripping every single car they go past for anything remotely useful and heading for other sheriff's stations- just look at how packed with guns the station Rick and Shane were at was, it's pretty clear people weren't looting them/taking guns with them. Hell the only one who thought to stockpile medicines was the racist - I can't help thinking whenever I watch this that it's a damn miracle these people are still alive.
I mean if the older guy hadn't been there, they wouldn't have even checked the damn well and seen there was a zombie in there - how long must that thing have been decomposing in there with nobody noticing?

[FSTargetDrone]

If they were planning ahead they'd have
a) ditched the RV, as it's fucking huge and ungainly on the roads that they've already seen are packed with cars

The RV has its issues, but it's also the best lookout spot that they have on the road. However, they really should be on the lookout for better vehicles all around. More 4X4 vehicles might be better, but they also use more gas. The motorcycle is good to have around since it can scout ahead, get into tighter places and is fast. They should also try to add some screening on the windows of all the vehicles, to keep anything from reaching in if they get caught in a jam. Chicken wire might be a good idea.

[Themightytom]

Honestly, wouldn't the story be JUST as entertaining if the protagonists were competent? This whole hapless fish out of water in the coming apocalypse routine is tiresome. Does anyone remember Jericho, were in episode one they were pretty much like "Shit hit the fan, circle the wagons!" with the exception of the one guy, who nonetheless unleashed his stash when the time came to pitch in?

I'm just as entertained by people who have good ideas as people have bad ideas and then scramble awkwardly out of the cluste fucks they create.

Case in point. Nice job Glenn, you were quick thinking with roping the zombie while he was trying to eat you in the well, but you you know what Glenn? You were also pretty good directing Rick to relative safety when he was trapped in the tank.

Rick, you're a dumbass for riding a horse into a crowd of zombies, and also a complete asshole for getting it killed, BUT you were pretty cool when you went to the station and got the bag of guns and were competent for that five minutes.

[spaceviking]

I would give Rick a general pass for his actions in the first episode, given the state he woke up in and the shock of the apocalypse.

[Guardsman Bass]

I thought the "horse ride into zombies" was done well as a scene. It's a fairly dense urban environment - you could literally go around the corner and suddenly run into a swarm of dozens of zombies.

[Guardsman Bass]

That was a pretty cool penultimate episode (since after the next episode, the show goes on a three-month hiatus).

1. Darryl continues to be my favorite character in the show. His whole story this episode was centered around what drew me into the show in the first place: the day-to-day struggle to survive. All it takes is some bad luck, and you're at the bottom of a small waterfall with one of your crossbow arrows through your side. He was just lucky that the Walker went for his shoe, instead of his face, neck, or arms.

2. We finally found out the significance of those helicopters in the scenes shown after the Season Premiere. We've only had a few flashbacks to things that happened during the actual month that Rick was out cold, and this was another one. I thought the cinematography was good, although I wonder about the actual events - shouldn't Atlanta have shown big signs of fire damage if they were dropping napalm on hordes of zombies in the streets? That said, we might have a potential explanation for how so many people ended up dead in their cars on the highway. Perhaps the military fire-bombed parts of the highway once it became overrun with zombies, and the resulting lack of oxygen plus the heat caused lots of people to suffocate/die of heat in their cars.*

* Of course, I'm probably wrong about the effects of napalm.

3. There were at least three times when I thought that Lori's secret was going to come out, and yet it remains a secret. I wonder why she's so intent on keeping it a secret from Rick.

4. I'm . . . honestly not sure what to think about Shane. He has a point: Rick's "good intentions" have led them into disaster before, and at some point they will have to move on without Sophia if they can't find her. On the other hand, he's clearly self-serving, and it's hard to tell when he's merely protecting himself and when he's trying to simply be "realistic".

5. Hershel's big secret is out: he's keeping a bunch of zombies in his barn. Judging by the attire, my guess is that most of them were his fellow farmers and neighbors. I suppose there could be something malevolent going on (i.e. he's feeding people to them), but more likely it's just the optimism he expressed to Rick when they had the conversation about the CDC. He's probably keeping them there out of some misguided idea of holding them until the "authorities" show up with a cure. It also looks like Glen may have inadvertently set up the conditions for them to get loose and run rampant on the farm.

That said, he did get a good episode in this line: "It's a miracle you people have survived this far". And I can understand some of his frustration, since the increasingly unwelcome guests are helping themselves to "his people" and his stuff without even asking.

[JME2]

I hate that I'm going to miss next week's episode since I'll be out of town. This should be interesting.

[FSTargetDrone]

Pure speculation here, but it would be interesting to see if a relationship develops between Carol and Darryl. Though it's only been a few days since he's been searching for Sophia, he's spent more time and effort searching for her than anyone else has. I don't think he's going to just pack up and leave Sophia to her fate if the others decide it's time to give up, so that could result in some tension and or another voice supporting Rick if he argues that the group needs to stick around and find her. Carol sees in Darryl someone who cares about the well-being of her daughter more than her biological father ever did. Whatever he may have been before, he's invested in the girl's safety now. Darryl may never see his brother again and he has no one else. A little family unit of himself, Carol and Sophia could be spawned from all this, assuming the girl is found safe and sound.

[spaceviking]

I see the Carol-Daryl relationship as a more like a mother son or older sister than a romantic one

[Stofsk]

If they had killed Darryl off I would have dropped this show like a turd from out of my ass and then flushed it away.

Fucking dumb bitch. Who the hell gave her the goddamn rifle and why didn't somebody fucking slap some sense into her?

'Oh don't worry about it we've all wanted to shoot Darryl at some point' Haha shut up Dale you're all worthless characters.

[Guardsman Bass]

Andrea had been bitching all season about not having a gun, not being trusted with a gun, etc - and now she had one, plus training from Shane. It was just a stupid attempt to prove herself, one which she immediately regretted. Dale was comforting her because he's still afraid that she'll get depressed and commit suicide.

I see the Carol-Daryl relationship as a more like a mother son or older sister than a romantic one

I could see it going either way. They have at least one thing in common: abusive family members.

[Dread Not]

It's funny that I watch the Walking Dead and Dexter in the same evening and both plots revolve around a guy being haunted by hallucinations of his older asshole brother. As usual, Darryl made the episode. I hope this role helps Norman Reedus's career since I wouldn't mind seeing him in more stuff. Darryl needs his own show where he wanders from place to place Kung Fu style helping people out in the wake of the zombie apocalypse.

And holy shit Andrea, I think you've proven yourself the dumbest of the bunch. Hershel's remark of "It's a wonder you people have survived this long" was spot on. Though considering what he's been getting up to, he's one to talk. What the fuck were you thinking Andrea? Even if that had been a walker, you had four people in your line of fire, you had the sun in your face, and you fucking missed! When you're on the endangered species list you do what your fucking group leader tells you. If you make any stink about having your gun confiscated after that stunt then you're a total cunt. Of course given what the next episode has in store, they're probably going to need everyone ready to fight, though I think I might trust Carol with a gun more than Andrea at this point. It's going to be interesting to see the group handle a hoard of walkers with two of their best combatants injured, plus a bedridden boy to protect.

Despite Andrea's idiocy I thought the twist of the approaching walker from the preview being Darryl was pretty cool. This episode was a massive step up for the series.

[Guardsman Bass]

Didn't they give some of their hand-guns to Hershel? That might make things interesting when the Barn Zombies break out.

[FSTargetDrone]

Didn't they give some of their hand-guns to Hershel? That might make things interesting when the Barn Zombies break out.

Rick and Shane each laid their guns on the hood of a car when they were looking at a map, but then in the most recent episode, Rick retrieved the same weapon from the RV. So I think he just put the gun down as in he won't use it near the house. I don't know that Hershel has specifically said "do not kill the walkers" on his entire property. Surely he's heard about the incident at the well, though he has said nothing about it so far.

[Sinewmire]

Blegh, so once again there's something nasty in the barn. Big surprise. I'm enjoying this series, but that's a very stale cliché.

shouldn't Atlanta have shown big signs of fire damage if they were dropping napalm on hordes of zombies in the streets?

We didn't see many streets when the guys were running around, I doubt they'd manage to douse the whole city. Maybe they only managed a couple of attack runs?

Were they deliberately setting up links between Ed's total asshole survival first priorities and Shane's?

[FSTargetDrone]

Speaking of Ed and Shane, I hope we see some more flashbacks concerning at least a few other characters It would be interesting to see how the group met up and camped at the quarry.

[Stofsk]

Blegh, so once again there's something nasty in the barn. Big surprise. I'm enjoying this series, but that's a very stale cliché.

Take it up with Kirkman. Every stupid cliche in this series has him to blame.

[FSTargetDrone]

And Darryl is still going around with just the one, well-used arrow. Please, Glenn, find him some new ones!