The show doesn't focus on motorcycles at all. Just a motorcycle gang and their gun running.
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The Walking Dead Season 5, Part 1 Sundays on AMC
- Thread starter RatskyWatsky
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The show doesn't focus on motorcycles at all. Just a motorcycle gang and their gun running.
You know I was kidding right?
Hopefully 
I like shows like Hannibal and The Knick. In these kind of shows character development is the most important thing. You won't find any filler in these. Simply, because the characters have something to say. They have a history. That's the reason we watch. We want to know these people. Is it the reason we watch TWD? The character's are mostly one dimensional. I do have to say that Abraham Ford is my favourite character this season and maybe my favourtie TWD character. Simply because in his last centric episode (e4) he showed a great diversity in his intentions and emotions. Great acting and diversity there.This is what TWD should be about. The writers need to play the Telltale games and learn from that. This is just MTV television fare.
It already happened. Hershel's Farm was better than the last three episodes. At least you had an interesting character with Shane creating drama every episode. Last episode was more boring than any from Season 2. It should have just been skipped.
RustyNails
Member
I think the last episode was really good. Everyone has been like lol Carol Schwarzenegger since the end of last season. This episode opened Carol and what she has been struggling with, and how she went from being a battered housewife to basically a trigger-happy hardass post-apocalypse. I think this episode was a much, much needed piece of the puzzle of Carol's arc. She feels like a person now to me now compared to when she blown up the Cannibal hideout. She has become my wife's favorite character (after Daryl of course) after last episode.
What do you think about the corny flashback sequences? Do we really need to be reminded of the few things that happened to her during the course of the show? Also, the van falling in the first shot (seemingly flipping over) and then landing on its feet is just out of this world bad filmmaking. They only travel from A to B, Carol gets kidnapped that's fucking it. I don't consider this substantial. They could have done something between the two of them.. Creat some extra chemisty or bonding or whatever. Maybe I am just spoiled with good TV writing like The Knick or Hannibal.
RustyNails
Member
The flashback scenes were pivotal moments in Carol's life where she struggled with "starting over", the main theme of the episode. She has tried again and again. Carol digging grave for the of the girls was one of her attempts at burying the mommy Carol side of her, and her being banished by Rick was her starting over new. The van landing on it's wheels is just TV show magic. If you put a lot of time to it analyzing every law of physics, you won't enjoy the show lol. It was half-assed, but the van landing on its head or wheels would not have mattered to Daryl or Carol who both have major plot armor (for now). They both would have survived.
I don't think we found out anything new about Carol or Daryl or that their relationship with each other advanced any. I wanted more. I wanted them to have longer conversations. Maybe she would tell him about Lizzie. Maybe they would hook up. They're two of my favorite characters but they didn't really do anything.
Jest Chillin
Member
The flashback sequences were Carol going over those moments again in her mind. Her recognizing all the times that she's tried to start over since the outbreak. The difficult things she's had to try and face and how it's changed her. You have to remember that since the Prison fell, it's been non-stop for these characters and the Beth episode and this one are the first times people have had a chance to actually reflect.
We saw Carol finally processing the things she's gone through recently and we see how she and Daryl relate in a microcosm. Daryl knowing that she's going through something internally and trying his best to let her know that she can look to him for support.
Ramping up the drama isn't the only way to have characters progress.
I was ok with the Carol flashbacks because 1) they were incredibly short and 2) at least one or two showed events that I was actually interested in (like immediately after Rick banished her from the group). The only flashbacks I have absolutely despised were the ones last season with Rick and Hershel and Carl. They were long and massively hokey and to me, at least, unnecessary. We already knew about Rick's struggles with being a farmer or a killer and we knew the correct answer.
I also was pretty tired of the angelic old man by the time he died. Hershel wasn't everyone's favorite character by any measure.
"Dumbed down" from what? This is frankly the strongest half season the show has EVER had, in my opinion. You cite season 1 and 2 as being great, but really only the pilot was great, and it started a slow descent before completely and utterly stalling out in season 2 with the farm. How can you forget that and then claim this season has the most filler since freaking Lost? We've had more forward momentum in the last 6 episodes than we've ever had, with plot lines and characters being introduced and resolved in a matter of episodes instead of season long arcs.
The show has always been fairly crap at character and story, practically since day 1, and if anything this season (and the latter half of last season) has finally found the show figuring itself out. It's still not the best thing on TV or anything like that, but it feels more competent than it ever has.
We only say Carol processing for a maximum of 5 minutes. The other 37 minutes were pure filller and of course, the van. Nothing happened at all. No bonding between the pair, no nothing,
I don't care about drama. I care about writing. Which obviously, is something this show has to work on very hard. Only episode 4 was a good episode form a writing standpoint (compared to the rest of the season).
Jest Chillin
Member
She was processing throughout the episode. Had they "shown" it the whole time, there would be more of those flashbacks that you're already complaining about. And we saw just how in tune the two characters are. Even Chris Hardwick noted that in the Talking Dead. They move efficiently and quietly, like a unit. Complete trust in one another. This isn't something we've seen of the two characters previously. Not even at the prison.
I find myself seeing the episode again, the only time I did that was that episode were Darryl and Beth get to that country club with the hanged woman (Rich Bitch), I love the exploration of the ruins of making and the little stories they tell. "Nothing happen at all" my ass.
Thanks, it kinda makes sense that way, I know people wanna see them travel to the rest of Usa, but it makes sense to stay in an area that is full of plains, food and guns.
Here's a list of all the filming locations they've done so far (up to the end of S3), which doesn't necessarily line up with where the characters are in universe, but I thought it was still really interesting:
#3 is the hospital Rick was at
#16 is the prison
etc.
Thanks, it kinda makes sense that way, I know people wanna see them travel to the rest of Usa, but it makes sense to stay in an area that is full of plains, food and guns.
You know what? You aren't paying attention to the show if that's what you think. No, they didn't use a lot of dialogue to show it but you can see the change between them from the beginning of the episode to the end. And it all culminated in Carol basically begging Daryl to save Noah at the end, which to me signified her finding her emotions again and wanting to "save" people, something she said she didn't believe they could afford to do earlier in the episode.
I also found the moment in the van, after they buckle up, when she puts her hand on his and they look at each other to be really well done. They didn't say anything but in that moment you see how much they mean to each other (romantically or not). That was an awesome moment but because of the stupid van physics a lot of people seem to have dismissed it.
I'm constantly surprised by how much people miss in every episode, probably because they simply aren't watching. Then, they feel like nothing happened because they just missed it.
Also, you want actual character development? Remember how they wound up here in the first place? Carol was going to take the car and go off on her own to flee the group, because it seems her trust in others has faltered and she's scared that she won't be able to become part of the group again after the horrible things she's done. She doesn't feel like others will be willing to forgive her. The entire structure of the episode is built around this, showing the immediate aftermath of these awful things at the top of every act, and her realizing that she isn't the only one who has a rough past and who has had to do awful things and make terrible decisions to survive. Almost everything in the episode is centered around this idea, whether it's the shelter, the parent and kid zombie, Daryl killing and burning them on his own, Daryl stopping Carol from shooting the kid, etc. That and the recurring fire imagery in the flashbacks and present signifying a burning away of the past and change for the present. It was like an hour of character development for Carol.
Thanks for all the responses. I just think we don't need flashbacks of stuff we already know. That being said, I also don't think we need dialogue between the two to let the audience know they're bonding or not. I just don't like they're stretching this show on and on. Would be nice to see some other characters as well. I thought Rick was the lead character? Really, these actors only have to work 2 or 3 days a month and they're done. In the first seasons we got to see way more of each character and that's what I really don't like about the direction TWD is going in. As said before, the writers should play TWD and learn from that. That is storytelling. I'll give this episode a rewatch thanks to all your responses. I want to like this show again.
Uh...
This guy is something else.
RustyNails
Member
I mean no one likes to see the scenes they already have seen. I agree on that sentiment. But this particular episode was an attempt to contextualize some of the scenes and their aftermath involving Carol, and how that impacted her. I think it was nicely handled without too much exposition. I would have been annoyed if it lingered on those scenes for more than it needed, but it didn't. Rick had the time to develop his character by virtue of him being the lead and the show's focus for every season. I don't think Rick is under developed, but Carol was before this episode.
I don't even know what was meant by "I don't think we get to save people anymore." I just took it as one of those weird examples of awkward WD dialogue that doesn't make any sense. I certainly never thought it was meant to imply she didn't want to save anyone. It sounded like she just thought it wasn't possible. Even so, what made her change? Was it Daryl's cringworthy "We ain't ashes yet" line? That was all about all he said to her in the episode.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
This x 10,000
The characters and their individual arcs, collectively, are the "story" of The Walking Dead.
videogamephilosopher
Banned
This season has been back to back awesomeness. I got inception vibes from that white van scene though. The whole thing seemed out of place.
The way the last seasons are panning out, the main characters are indeed, as you say, The Walking Dead.
Don't kill me please.
Honestly, I really wasn't sure when she said it either. In my opinion, it means two things to her. First, it was about saving Beth and maybe that she didn't really think this mission was going to work because TWD doesn't have a lot of happy endings. But I also think it was about saving the less tangible parts of us too, like her being unable to save Lizzie, and losing the sister in the process.
I think she was starting to change when she saw Daryl burning the child's body. And then the moment in the van she realized she didn't want to die and lose more people was her waking up, so to speak. It all culminates in her wanting to "save" Noah. Of course, she gets hit by the car moments later but, that's the Walking Dead in a nutshell. She'll probably die now too.
eso76
Member
"You know, Coral, we really are The Walking Dead" - Rick.
XxSlasherMcGirkxX
Member
I think a real problem with Walking Dead is that the writers are too afraid to do anything with the characters because they think that fans will backlash to hard if they change ever so slightly. Daryl will continue to be a blank badass cause that's what people want.
There is quite a big change in tone and the way characters are portayed on screen during the course of the series. In season 4 and season 5 a lot of main characters (like Rick) get very little screentime. So they actually did change a lot.
They just killed a main character off a few episodes ago and then bombed the hell out of the DC storyline.
And Daryl has never been portrayed as "blank" he's stoic and extremely capable out in the wilderness but that comes from his background more than anything he's also managed to show more depth than the redneck hillbilly he seemed in Season 1.
RustyNails
Member
Daryl is not a blank badass. We learned quite a bit about him in his Beth episode. His dad used to beat his ass as kid and was a raging alcoholic. Merle and Daryl became close and Merle looked out for him (and Merle sometimes used that to blackmail Daryl). He learned very early on that the world is not a nice, happy, sunshine and puppies kind of place and you have to kill to survive. He learned to fend for himself, developing crossbow survival skills in the process.
I still wish they hadn't killed off Merle, he was incredibly interesting once he switched sides.
RustyNails
Member
I agree. I think Merle was very interesting character regardless of sides.
WaffleTaco
Wants to outlaw technological innovation.
Lol I was going to post this haha
Agreed, and seeing how he would have integrated with 'the group' would have been a great ride. I know how everyone loves Daryl, but if I had to have chosen, I'd have switched their fates.
Agreed I would have loved for Merle to have stayed on for about 1 to 2 seasons.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
Season 1 and 2 were awful
TheLostBigBoss
Banned
-MD-
Member
Season 1 was the best season.
I wish I could hear Rick deliver that line, lol. I haven't watched the last few episodes, I really need to catch up on what's happening.
Every time I come in this thread I just don't understand the bitching. It's a soap opera with zombies. It doesn't have great acting, it doesn't have great writing but it has zombies with some sometimes interesting human interaction! And that is pretty interesting.
Maybe it's because I came into the show late (after blowing threw S1-4 on netflix) but I just dont' understand how so many people in this thread can miss that the show has always been closer to The Bold and the Beautiful (w/ zombies) than something like Breaking Bad. Just enjoy it for what it is people!
Maybe it's because I came into the show late (after blowing threw S1-4 on netflix) but I just dont' understand how so many people in this thread can miss that the show has always been closer to The Bold and the Beautiful (w/ zombies) than something like Breaking Bad. Just enjoy it for what it is people!
Just hopping in since watching the last episode that aired, ever since the Beth episode this season has been super boring, which is very disappointing considering how great the first few episodes were. The villains at Terminus were evil with intentions, they had a setup that made sense to me. But where we are now, I just don't know. Where are all of the cars that were lining on the road to Atlanta? Why are they considered a community on the top floors of that hospital but only show like 7 people? How are the police officers able to effortlessly go to and from the hospital in their cars when Rick and co. can barely make it a couple miles in a car without everything getting fucked up? I had really high hopes for this season from the first episodes but now I'm back to meh due to these, what feel like, filler episodes..
Season 1 was the best one so far, season 2 was indeed terrible.
WaffleTaco
Wants to outlaw technological innovation.
Everyone in my group says Season 2 was the best season. That is my opinion as well.
Christopher
Member
Opinions are opinions blah blah but you are 100% wrong on this one
They've all been awful. They differ in degree of awfulness. I'd put the second season as the worst. I want to say the first season was the best mainly because the zombies were still a threat back then but none of my favorite characters (Merle, Gov, Gareth, Eugene, and Abrahams) existed back then so its weird to say that.
Group size 1? Or people watched like 3 episodes and ignored the other dozen or so.
Season 1 was the best simply because it was focused. The cast was manageable. You knew everyone's story and names, the group dynamic was the best. Characters like Glenn actually had a purpose, now he's practically become nothing but someone in the background. The writing was top notch and unexpected (the city scenes, the CDC, etc). The zombies actually seemed like a threat and not just things to bash against a wall.
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