The Walking Dead (S5) - First half of season thread

[Phoenix]

Anyone been watching Z Nation on Syfy?

Not in the same hemisphere as Walking dead as far as acting, production, money or writing but if you are a zombie fan it is ok. Actually a few cool ideas in it.

Yeah I'm really enjoying it except for the annoying Z guy out in California. His dog is okay though I guess.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

There hasn't be a recurring character I've been less interested in than the "Father Gabriel" character. Every minute he's on the screen leaves me feeling the show has just wasted valuable time trying to develop a character who's not very interesting.

i mean i could see that...but the ENTIRE time, ive been ok with him because i cant help but wonder what he is up to...i feel like he is working/spying for someone.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

i mean i could see that...but the ENTIRE time, ive been ok with him because i cant help but wonder what he is up to...i feel like he is working/spying for someone.

IF he were doing that it would make him more interesting... but at this point his character is simply pathetic and non-interesting. Eugene is pathetic and interesting. Noah is interesting. But the Father Gabriel character... Just Blah.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I watched a couple season 2 episodes the other day, and I couldn't get away from the fact that while much of season 2 was slow-moving, the dialog was far better than it has been the last three seasons– for the most part. There have been some high points the last 3 seasons, but seasons 1 & 2, the dialog was much more polished IMO.

 

[Stryker44]

Why did Sasha let herself get played like that?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Why did Sasha let herself get played like that?

I think it's because he was pleasant and his name was "Bob". She had pings of sorrow, regret and loss.

 

[Leadbelly]

I watched a couple season 2 episodes the other day, and I couldn't get away from the fact that while much of season 2 was slow-moving, the dialog was far better than it has been the last three seasons– for the most part. There have been some high points the last 3 seasons, but seasons 1 & 2, the dialog was much more polished IMO.

And it should be pointed out that a significant chunk of the dialog in season 2 was spent asking if anyone's seen Sophia.

I think it was more than dialog though. Season 2 & 3 were run by The Shield's Glen Mazzara. Since then, the show runner is Scott Gimple, who's previous major credit was co-writer on Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. He's basically playing a Dave Campo puppet role to Robert Kirkman's Jerry Jones.

Mazzara was a lot better at pacing a season, ratcheting up legitimate tension and paying it off, writing characters that operate intelligently, etc. There's very little drama between characters now compared to Shane/Rick, Rick/Merle, Daryl/Merle. I still like the show but these last couple of seasons are feeling a bit aimless. Gabriel could provide that if he was written well, but he's just there to look wrecked with guilt.

Even the zombies in the early seasons seemed more capable and more human. I get they're falling apart as time goes on, but at this point the group can wade though a horde with nothing more than a stiff arm and a pocket knife.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

And it should be pointed out that a significant chunk of the dialog in season 2 was spent asking if anyone's seen Sophia.

I think it was more than dialog though. Season 2 & 3 were run by The Shield's Glen Mazzara. Since then, the show runner is Scott Gimple, who's previous major credit was co-writer on Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. He's basically playing a Dave Campo puppet role to Robert Kirkman's Jerry Jones.

Mazzara was a lot better at pacing a season, ratcheting up legitimate tension and paying it off, writing characters that operate intelligently, etc. There's very little drama between characters now compared to Shane/Rick, Rick/Merle, Daryl/Merle. I still like the show but these last couple of seasons are feeling a bit aimless. Gabriel could provide that if he was written well, but he's just there to look wrecked with guilt.

Even the zombies in the early seasons seemed more capable and more human. I get they're falling apart as time goes on, but at this point the group can wade though a horde with nothing more than a stiff arm and a pocket knife.

Good point about how the drama between characters has taken a down-shift.

That tension of the last three seasons has been between groups and not so much between individuals... I sorta miss that.

The "pocket episode" concept kinda puts the kibosh on character/character drama because there are so few characters being used per episode. Any drama between Rick & Carol was dropped when Rick banned her. Any drama between Carol & Tyreese ended after about 10 seconds and he forgave her. The drama between Abraham and Eugene probably ended with Eugene being knocked unconscious.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I keep thinking they're doing these things where the group gets dinged a bit after they don't listen to Rick about just going in and taking people out.

This is the second time this season where Rick has wanted to simply go in and take care of business and the group has talked him into another route. It's the second time it's back fired now.

He wanted to go in and finish off the cannibal's and they talked him out of it. So he listened and Gareth came back and captured Bob and they cut off his leg. In the end it didn't cost them much, because Bob was bitten anyway, but the point being that if he hadn't been they'd have eaten Bob and the group talking Rick out of what he wanted to do cost them a person.

Now he wanted to go in, at dark, surprise the folks and take them out as they saved Beth and Carol and instead they've once again talked him into another route that is likely going to cost them lives because now it appears they're going to lose the element of surprise with the one guard getting away.

I have a feeling this is all leading to Rick finally taking complete control again and being a lot less willing to listen because the ways the group keep talking him into keep coming back to haunt them in some fashion.

If they lose the element of surprise and this costs them a life(s) in trying to get Beth and Carol back you had better believe there is a real chance that Rick is about to lose it.

This last episode was okish. I thought it was a bit too slow, didn't really do anything, and just seemed like they dragged a lot of things out through out the episode that they could have covered in about 20 minutes and then progressed the story on.

 

[Phoenix]

And it should be pointed out that a significant chunk of the dialog in season 2 was spent asking if anyone's seen Sophia.

Well that, and "WHERE'S CARL!?"

 

[MichaelWinicki]

SPOILER ALERT!


From all indications a main character dies in the mid-season finale.

 

[blindzebra]

SPOILER ALERT!


From all indications a main character dies in the mid-season finale.

The actress that plays Sasha is 8 months pregnant so that is a possibility.

 

[Leadbelly]

Interesting. Sasha was my initial guess as well. I saw a pic of her where she's pregnant and immediately thought oh well...Sasha's dead.

But then why not have the cop push her out of the window or kill her and take her weapon after knocking her out? So then I'm thinking, maybe it's Tyreese. He was the one who advocated the cautious, peaceful solution where nobody gets hurt. If it ends up costing him his life, that seems like a very Walking Dead kind of thing to do.

Sasha unconscious. Tyreese dead. Now the rescue team is just Rick, Daryl, and gimpy Noah.

Or it could be Beth. Just imagine how bad Maggie will react. She'll be like, I had a sister?

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Interesting. Sasha was my initial guess as well. I saw a pic of her where she's pregnant and immediately thought oh well...Sasha's dead.

But then why not have the cop push her out of the window or kill her and take her weapon after knocking her out? So then I'm thinking, maybe it's Tyreese. He was the one who advocated the cautious, peaceful solution where nobody gets hurt. If it ends up costing him his life, that seems like a very Walking Dead kind of thing to do.

Sasha unconscious. Tyreese dead. Now the rescue team is just Rick, Daryl, and gimpy Noah.

Or it could be Beth. Just imagine how bad Maggie will react. She'll be like, I had a sister?

As I said in the post above this is going to be a catalyst for Rick to decide he's no longer listening to them about doing things to where no one has to get hurt.

It's going to be the second decision in a row where he listened and the second time in a row where someone was hurt/killed because he didn't do what he believed he should to make sure his people were the ones who didn't get hurt/killed.

I figured all along someone would die and this is going to set Rick off on a much more violent path, I believe.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

As I said in the post above this is going to be a catalyst for Rick to decide he's no longer listening to them about doing things to where no one has to get hurt.

It's going to be the second decision in a row where he listened and the second time in a row where someone was hurt/killed because he didn't do what he believed he should to make sure his people were the ones who didn't get hurt/killed.

I figured all along someone would die and this is going to set Rick off on a much more violent path, I believe.

That could very well be.

I would like to see a showdown where no one get's killed by humans... We've gone through this with Randall's group, the Governor's group (three times), Joe's group, the Terminus group (twice).

One of these group clashes should end up being something other than a shoot-out.

A character death could be the result of gunfire or a zombie attack or simply an accident.

 

[DanteEXT]

When Daryl was tussling with the police officer and he was reaching for the zombie head his first attempt ended up in the mouth could it may have been foreshadowing him dying/turning?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

When Daryl was tussling with the police officer and he was reaching for the zombie head his first attempt ended up in the mouth could it may have been foreshadowing him dying/turning?

Nah.

They kill Daryl and the show takes a viewership "hit".

 

[DanteEXT]

Nah.

They kill Daryl and the show takes a viewership "hit".

Oh, it could kill the gravy train but it would definitely fit the headline I read: "The Walking Dead's Daryl: Prepare Yourself for a "Devastating" Mid-Season Finale"

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Oh, it could kill the gravy train but it would definitely fit the headline I read: "The Walking Dead's Daryl: Prepare Yourself for a "Devastating" Mid-Season Finale"

LOL!

Yeah.

I'm sure a character will die and I would be willing to bet the episode will feature the typical Inter-group bloodbath (unfortunately).

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Mid-Season Finale

Episode 5-8... 11-30-14

Post your impressions here...