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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2014 13:31:44 GMT -5
I know the AVC has pretty solid coverage of this show, but since I'm visiting there less and less, I wanted to see if anyone wanted to discuss it here.
I just finished season 4 on Netflix. I've enjoyed the show from the start (always a year or two behind via streaming), but this season was probably the one I was most consistently entertained by. Even the slower episodes had enough character development to keep me interested, and there wasn't a lot of "sitting around doing nothing" compared to earlier seasons.
Observations, free of SPECIFIC spoilers but maybe spoiler-adjacent:
I liked getting to see a little more of the human side of "Brian"/The Governor, even knowing he was nuts and would eventually get what he deserved. (And holy hell, did he ever!)
The episode with Carol, Tyreese and the girls was totally heartbreaking.
If I were in Rick's place, I would have done the exact same thing to protect Carl and the others. And would feel just as horrible about it afterward.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Oct 9, 2014 20:00:27 GMT -5
I was honestly pretty ambivalent towards season four - I still feel for all its flaws season there is the shows high point (especially the first four episodes, which are kind of relentlessly quick in plot development.) This is probably because season four spent its first half essentially finding a way to rerun the season three finale and spent its second half building up to season five, making it structurally feel like a season that gave me a wholly unwanted payoff and then set up a considerably delayed one. And yet, and yet. Walking Dead is a show that is consistently above par units production values and general style - that is, compare it visually to the network friendly hues of Revolution and the 100 or the dark palette of Falling Skies or the washed out colours of Defiance and Walking Dead is easily the best looking post-apocalyptic show on TV. And it has featured some strong performances - Scott Wilson was extremely dependable as Hershel - but more than that, the series is feels addictive; who will die next and who will join the group next and how those dynamics keep ever shifting is essentially what keeps the program alive; only a handful of the Atlanta survivors are still around and most of them - but Carol especially - have changed a lot since we first met them. All told I'm definitely dropping in on the show as I do every year, and hoping for a couple of good moments, maybe a good episode or two, and a predictably tragic and senseless death. The way the trailers show Beth's arc going reminds me of the intercutting I liked about season three, so that is promising. Rumour mill - not spoilers, but they do discus rumoured deaths; Glenn and Bob are the two people most often picked as 'gonna die.' There's even a clip I think of Sasha telling Rick three of their people are dead, but I could be misremebering that. Anyway rumour is we will see a big character death essentially right out the gate this season.
Bob would be a pretty low-impact death. The show has been doing some low-key groundwork last season trying to develop him into an actual character but it never wholly came together - essentially, not that shocking of a death. Glenn on the other hand has been with the series since the start, is generally well liked and reasonably charismatic - the choice they'd make if they really want to shock the audience one episode in.
Of course maybe someone else does or nobody who knows.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Oct 10, 2014 0:44:07 GMT -5
I still think this show peaked with the pilot, but "Clear" was brilliant and season four was surprisingly decent considering the shitshow that was the last run of season 3 episodes. Admittedly, I enjoyed the first few episodes much better than the back half, but when tidying up plotlines due to (another) massive change in the writer's room, a little roughness is expected. I'm cautiously excited for season 5. Massive, massive spoilers from the graphic novels (I'm serious):If the death is Glenn, I don't wonder if season 5 will open with the introduction of Negan (and "Lucille," natch), but given the tardiness of Tyreese who the fuck knows if he'll even make an appearance in the next decade. I know that another psychotic killer coming on the heels of way too many Governor episodes would be a mistake, but if they swap Glenn's death in the comics with, say, Daryl or Tyreese, I guess I wouldn't be too mad. But I'm much less interested in exploring Terminus than I am, say, having the group make their way to Alexandria.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2014 12:57:09 GMT -5
I have bound volumes 1 and 2 of the comic but haven't read them yet. It was fun having Glenn and Herschel show up in the Walking Dead game, even if only briefly for each.
I hope they don't spend a lot of time on Terminus either. Have them escape, kill a bunch of people, maybe rescue the other missing people from the old group, and move on.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2014 7:31:00 GMT -5
TAINTED MEAT!! Ahahahahaha - haven't laughed that hard at the Walking Dead in a long time.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 28, 2014 9:54:30 GMT -5
S5 is off to a surprisingly solid start. It's . . . actually become a pretty good show. I can't really remember the last time I was groaning while watching it, ala Andrea in S3 or anything with Lori ever.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2014 10:09:43 GMT -5
I thought the last episode was pretty great. Because I was groaning when I thought they had actually left the church unguarded. Excellent start to the season.
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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Oct 28, 2014 19:54:31 GMT -5
Gross! Juicy water zombies.
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Post by Lord Lucan on Oct 28, 2014 20:18:20 GMT -5
Gross! Juicy water zombies. Your avatar is too disturbing.
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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Oct 28, 2014 20:30:59 GMT -5
Gross! Juicy water zombies. Your avatar is too disturbing. Happy Halloween week!
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Post by Lord Lucan on Oct 28, 2014 20:36:34 GMT -5
Your avatar is too disturbing. Happy Halloween week! Yeah, but it scares the shit out of me. I'd have gone with this, except I can't even look at its face now without seeing a brutal predator.
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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Oct 28, 2014 20:40:53 GMT -5
Happy Halloween week! Yeah, but it scares the shit out of me. Halloween is about scary not cute. Suck it up! Also, the cat's eyes are so pretty.
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Post by Baramos on Nov 5, 2014 10:00:55 GMT -5
I didn't know you could find this many libertarians or Objectivists to create a dystopian society, but Beth manages to run into Objectivist ground zero in this latest episode it would seem.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 5, 2014 14:16:15 GMT -5
Baramos They strike me as more utilitarians than objectivists (all that Greater Good stuff is textbook The One Thing People Know About Utilitarianism.) But ultimately the show needs for all groups that aren't Rick's group to look like sort of a bad deal. This has been a little thunderingly obvious with THE GOVERNOR IS A PSYCHOPATH and THESE DUDES ARE LITERALLY CANNIBALS; so as far as this show goes, brutally practical utilitarians may be the most subtle antagonists it has had. And yeah thus far the past four episodes have probably been the most consistent stretch in the show's entire run. What I like about it is that the plot is progressing with every episode; we went through the entire cannibal business in three episodes and spent the fourth setting up stuff that had been seeded at the end of season three (i.e. who captured Beth? THESE GUYS.) Oh and I predict that the kid who escaped is the person Daryl returned with to the church (since we didn't see who was with him.) I had thought this mystery person would be Morgan Jones, but given the way this episode went perhaps not - ah well, Morgan can always show up later.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 7, 2014 14:18:11 GMT -5
Todd has a good article on how Walking Dead is finally a good TV show: Over on Vox.
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Post by pairesta on Nov 20, 2014 7:35:58 GMT -5
One thing that struck me in watching the Daryl/Carol ep was just how confident the show is now about itself. It's a weird episode to single out and probably not hard to point out since it was an episode centered around probably its two most popular characters, but I just loved how terse and sparse the episode was. Long stretches of no or minimal dialogue. The actors have such chemistry between them that they can just exchange looks that tell everything. Before, the show would feel the need to fill that silence with characters explaining what they're thinking and their motives. Now they just step back and let it happen. It's a really good move on their part.
It's so backhanded to say this but it's just remarkable that it's a legit good show now, not a guilty pleasure. I actually look forward to episodes, who they're going to focus on this week, where things are going.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 1:47:24 GMT -5
No it's definitely remarkable. I wasn't sure how I felt about the Daryl/Carol ep immediately after (mostly because it felt kind of like a flashback episode that brought us up to date without telling us anything new, but there was new stuff in there), but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I just really enjoyed spending that hour with those two people and not have to hear a lot of inane dialogue about how they felt constantly.
I feel almost justified spending these last three years waiting for the show to get better than "eh, fairly entertaining." I say three years because the first season was decent and was short enough to see it as a show with potential. This is a good show now, and I'm very happy about it.
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Post by Bizarre Gardening Accident on Nov 22, 2014 5:44:00 GMT -5
It's interesting how long they've left "main character" Rick out of the show - apart from a few seconds of flashback, he's basically been absent for three episodes hasn't he? I think, anyway. But even though I wish they'd finally move away from rural Georgia and go somewhere/anywhere else, I've really been enjoying this season too.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 22, 2014 9:02:36 GMT -5
Bizarre Gardening Accident To put it another way aside from brief clip footage Rick hasn't appeared all November. And realistically this show is never leaving Georgia. Even if they do they'd just film the new stuff in Georgia, so doubt it would matter much. I guess I'm kind of interested to see the show go back to Atlanta - that was a powerful image in the pilot episode and a city overrun with zombies is a bit different from the rural environments the show has focused on since season two.
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Post by pairesta on Nov 22, 2014 11:42:48 GMT -5
It's interesting how long they've left "main character" Rick out of the show - apart from a few seconds of flashback, he's basically been absent for three episodes hasn't he? I think, anyway. But even though I wish they'd finally move away from rural Georgia and go somewhere/anywhere else, I've really been enjoying this season too. Yeah i noticed that too. It's odd; I wonder if they're acknowledging his character is problematic. Then again this probably just means the 2nd half of the season after the break will probably be very Rick-centric.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2014 12:08:37 GMT -5
I'm not necessarily arguing, but can I ask how you think his character is problematic, pairesta?
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 22, 2014 13:29:10 GMT -5
I've always seen Rick as kind of the obligatory rugged generally well intentioned leading man character, a bit like Jack on Lost. Gimple's evolution of the show into more of an ensemble drama proves the show doesn't need Rick to anchor everything, but he still basically works as the show's lead.
I do wonder what the show would do without him though. They want something like ten seasons; and I assume Lincoln signed a standard six year contract.
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Post by pairesta on Nov 22, 2014 20:10:33 GMT -5
I'm not necessarily arguing, but can I ask how you think his character is problematic, pairesta? Maybe not worded right; just that he's not taken off the way Michonne, Daryl, or Carol have it seems. He's pretty far down my list of favorite characters, so maybe I'm projecting.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 22, 2014 21:51:29 GMT -5
pairesta Oh I'd agree there. Daryl and Carol are kind of happy accidents for the show; it's interesting that of all the first season cast two characters the show had relatively little interest in then (Daryl even being created as a consolation prize for Norman Reedus not getting cast as Merle, Carol as a second-string character with scarcely more development than Jacqui - remember Jacqui? No?) are by far the most popular now. The sheer level of stated and implied history those two have in "Consumed" is a huge part of what made that such an enjoyable episode. This show's cast changes fairly significantly every year, but those two have changed themselves (particularly Carol, who lucked into one of the show's better arcs.) Michonne was a little more deliberate, of course, but she was already a fan favourite in the comics.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2014 11:50:23 GMT -5
Another good episode last night. Made me think about what I actually do like about Rick, and I think someone at the Old Country nailed it for me--I like him best (as a character) when he just doesn't give a fuck. That probably says something about me.
Disappointing thing about last night--was I the only one that knew the second that captured cop started talking to Sasha, at the end, that he was gonna try to escape? The AVC review mentioned this kinda, that it's nice to feel like you can trust some people, but I didn't trust that dude for one second.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Nov 24, 2014 17:20:36 GMT -5
Last night's was the first episode this season that I actively disliked. It just seemed to be one of those trendy table-setting episodes where nothing really happens, everybody sort of moves into position for the finale, and then somebody invariably acts incredibly fucking stupid and a bad guy takes advantage.
Also, somebody point me to where they're getting all these incredibly silent cars, because I want one.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 24, 2014 19:57:27 GMT -5
This was absolutely a table-setting episode. And I'm fine with that because the series has just spent the past couple of weeks throwing cliffhangers at us (Who came back with Daryl? What will happen to Carol now that she's with Beth? Abraham just knocked out Eugene! Turns out Noah came back with Daryl!) it can actually hang back and start unspooling the multiple plot threads it has spinning. Like, this never felt like a slow episode, because we kept intercutting to each group and every story at its own distinct energy levels (Father Gabriel's was more internalized and psychological and god that guy needs to GET HIS CRAP TOGETHER ALREADY than the tense shoot-outs of Atlanta.) Disappointing thing about last night--was I the only one that knew the second that captured cop started talking to Sasha, at the end, that he was gonna try to escape? The AVC review mentioned this kinda, that it's nice to feel like you can trust some people, but I didn't trust that dude for one second. Nah that was on my mind the whole time. At first I thought he'd grab her gun when he placed it next to her. And then I realized Walking Dead has conditioned me to be a pretty paranoid viewer - you can't have a heart to heart with a potential threat without it going bad. And yet I wanted to trust the guy. I didn't, but I wanted to. (This said, you kind of think Sasha wouldn't have opened up to him if he went by Rob instead of Bob, if you catch my drift.)
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Post by pairesta on Nov 25, 2014 15:55:00 GMT -5
Yeah, so this whole storming the hospital thing is going to end badly, isn't it?
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 25, 2014 17:43:37 GMT -5
pairesta Good chance that Eugene hasn't woken up, either, but is in fact a zombie.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2014 18:54:46 GMT -5
pairesta Good chance that Eugene hasn't woken up, either, but is in fact a zombie. That's what I assumed, especially since what we heard definitely sounded like zombie noises. And you were right about Sasha and the new Bob, for sure. I also wanted to trust him, but never did. Maybe this show has made me too cynical.
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