Walking Dead

[angry.bob]

Okay, Shane is about batshit crazy, but as far as the barn and a wake up call to everyone - especially Hershel I think he was pretty much spot on. It's probably not a good sign that I agree with the not-crazy-times Shane a lot more than Rick. Also, the horrible Talking Dead talk show had some interesting pieces of info, plus a phone call from Alice Cooper. Previews indicate Hershel jups headfirst into the never ending pit of defeatism.

[Ratman_tf]

Shane is the weakest link. He's playing post apocalypse tough guy to cover up that his nerve broke, and now he's a tweak. He's the kind of dude who might shoot you in your sleep because you ate the last cookie.

[tazelbain]

Still it was stretched out at least an episode too long.

I really have to root for Shane since he's the only one who actually wants to survive.

Dale should have been executed.  He put everyone at serious risk.

Does anyone else cringe at the repeated waste of ammo?

[Tebonas]

I still think Rick went out of this looking better than Shane.

In all off his Bravado Shane still froze when faced with a Walker he knew in life. And would likely have done until Sophia ate somebody.

And yes, they waste ammo like they have an infinite supply. Retards.

[tazelbain]

In all off his Bravado Shane still froze when faced with a Walker he knew in life. And would likely have done until Sophia ate somebody.

Na, he was letting people get a good look at what morons they are.

[KallDrexx]

In all off his Bravado Shane still froze when faced with a Walker he knew in life. And would likely have done until Sophia ate somebody.

Na, he was letting people get a good look at what morons they are.

I interpreted it the same was as Tebonas.  He froze.

[tazelbain]

Sure he was shocked, who wouldn't be? But he didn't immediately gun her down because she was no threat. (And really the writers wanted to savor the moment)

[Velorath]

Does anyone else cringe at the repeated waste of ammo?

I was thinking more about how many walkers all that gunfire could likely attract.

[devildog]

I am hooked on the show for sure. A couple of things have been pointed out that bother me.Number one, the ammo thing for sure. Ok, we're fighting zombies and trying to survive. We also know that crossbows seem to be pretty damn handy. Can we not find a place to gather up some supplies? Obviously guns seem to have some drawbacks and should probably be the fallback weapon of last choice due to the noise issues. There is a nice bass pro shop 20 miles northeast of Atlanta i might have to stop by. Secondly, we don't have enough people. We need to have standing watches and such, having less than 20 guys is going to be a problem. Ok, so they are going to do it their way, but i think when the crap hit the fan we'd have to get the basics down. The basics now are defense, shelter, food, and ammo/weapons.

This show also brings a couple of questions up. Do we just assume there isn't going to be a cure and outlast them? I think that is what i would have to go on. So killing as many zombies as we can find seems to be a pretty good idea. Ah well, lots of questions and now enough answers in the show yet. This cannot be the only group to survive. The military cannot have all died, though so far we haven't met up with any special forces groups or the like. Maybe they've already got what they need and are hunkered down in outlast mode.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the episodes, but honestly this group of people is a bit on the lame side. Obviously not as lame as the guy running the farm, but i think we'll meet other groups that probably make these guys look like pacifists.

[Ironwood]

Bear in mind that the average lifespan of a zombie is 5 years.

You don't have to kill them all, or even any of them.  You just have to avoid them.  A lot.

Trouble with that is any place that's 'nice' enough to live, well, there was this big bunch of humans, see, who thought the same way.  So they lived there.  And turned into munchers.

[Cheddar]

I am beginning to wonder if the swarms avoid the farm because they sensed a large group there already (even though they were locked up in the barn).

Also - Shane totally froze.  For all his rhetoric about making tough decisions and whatnot he is still scared on the inside.  Only Rick stepped forward and did what needed to be done.

[tazelbain]

You guys just hate the morality Shane represents are ready to use any excuse to impune him in favor of Mr Hugs and Rainbows.

[TheWalrus]

Or he's a fucking idiot putting everyone at risk.

[Evildrider]

Shane totally froze up.  He should have been the one to shoot Sophia to prove his point.

[Cheddar]

Shane totally froze up.  He should have been the one to shoot Sophia to prove his point.

He also avoided going back to Atlanta.  "You went back to save a druggy!"

No, asstard - I went back to get my damned guns.  Justified by the walkie - but at the end of the day it netted guns.

[Evildrider]

Shane totally froze up.  He should have been the one to shoot Sophia to prove his point.

He also avoided going back to Atlanta.  "You went back to save a druggy!"

No, asstard - I went back to get my damned guns.  Justified by the walkie - but at the end of the day it netted guns.

Like Rick said, if they wouldn't have had those guns from Atlanta they probably would have all died in that zombie attack.

[tazelbain]

Hindsight.  Remember what dumbass shit Rick was doing when he lost the guns.

[Xanthippe]

Sure he was shocked, who wouldn't be? But he didn't immediately gun her down because she was no threat. (And really the writers wanted to savor the moment)

I agree.  I don't think he froze.

Rick had the opportunity to step up and did.

I actually liked Shane better after last episode than any of them so far.  Rick's approach with Herschel was fine until the discovery of the barn, but after? Rick looked like the nutty one; Shane was just distilled clarity.

Was agnostic about Dale until last night too.  I hate him now.  He's so confused he doesn't even know what's right and wrong.  He suffers from a profusion of irrelevant feelings with a large helping of self-righteousness.  As my daughter said, "I wish he'd just die now."

My favorite remains Glen, and Maggie's a close second.

[Cheddar]

Are we watching 2 different shows?  I am assuming Tazel is baiting me, so ignoring his comment.

Xanthippe - Not sure I agree with ya here.  I mean, yeah, Dale should die, agree with you there.  But Shane totally froze and is wrong.

Why not just cap everyone living in the house and take it as their own?  Because - even though its the end of the world its not quiet at Mad Max levels.  It is Herschels land.  And as he said - there are tons of farms, if you want to have things your way go out and get one.

[Triforcer]

Sophia as a walker bothers me- not because she's a kid, but because (as with most zombies) her existence as a non-eaten corpse doesn't make any fucking sense.  Zombies eat the people they catch, and as a kid she wasn't going to be able to get away from the zombie that chomped her shoulder.   

I'm excited they are moving away from the comic books.  I hope Shane lives forever and Dale (and Carl and Sophia's mother, and also Dale) die in a zombie fire. 

[Evildrider]

I'm excited they are moving away from the comic books.  I hope Shane lives forever and Dale (and Carl and Sophia's mother, and also Dale) die in a zombie fire. 

Meh it's not like it's impossible for there to be a scenario where she gets bit and is able to run away. 

Anyway, she's pretty much a useless character even in the comics.

[Threash]

You are all nuts, of course Shane froze.  "They are just walkers until its one of yours" was the whole fucking point.

[Numtini]

Shane froze. I actually thought the direction of the shot was a little over the top in hammering that home. I'm surprised there's any question.

I disagree with almost everything. Dale is great. He's obviously irrational, but he's clinging to humanity. The entire zombie genre (actually the entire post-holocaust genre) is about whether we can remain human in a world of complete despair or just devolve and become no more human than the zombies.

[Bunk]

Suprised just how much Dale hate there is. He does and says some stupid things, but it seems obvious to me that its because he feels so frustrated. He can see people losing grip on first their hope and then even their values and its frustrating him, but he's not good enough at relating to people to express himself.

I thought Glen finally redeemed his character in this episode with the realization that he had been treating the zombies like a game (volunteering to go down that well - what the hell?  )

Knew what was coming at the very end, and I secretly hoped she would sprint out of the barn and chomp down on Carl. Dale needs to stick around to be a sort of impotent moral compass (Rick shows morality, but he's kind of placed himself above everyone else). Carl though, just annoys the living fuck out of me.

[Xanthippe]

I like Carl.  That's your idealist, right there.  He's honest.  He's trying to be heroic.  He's brave.  He's an 8 year old kid who has been through horrific things.

Dale thinks he's a humanitarian but he really wants to get into Andrea's pants and she knows it.  Dale's a disgusting hypocrite, clinging to his shallow morality in a world where it makes no sense.  His self-righteousness is nauseating, and his stupidity makes him worse than worthless, it makes him dangerous.

Now, I'm not saying Shane is a guy I look up to - he's disgusting in his own way, of being too ruthless.  I don't like him, but I've gone from absolutely hating him to seeing his side of things more - I'd still argue with him over killing Otis.

I still don't think Shane froze - the guy who coldheartedly shot Otis is going to freeze at shooting Sofia, a girl he's been ready to give up on for some time?  From a character viewpoint, it makes sense that he was waiting to see what would happen.  I don't think he would have hesitated if she charged, or if he was alone or the only armed person.  But the device was employed so the scene could linger long enough for every character's reaction to register.

[Jamiko]

Inside The Walking Dead: Making of the Barn Scene on Youtube, in spoiler link below.

[tazelbain]

the guy who coldheartedly shot Otis

He said he was sorry. What do you people want!?! 

[Ratman_tf]

Still it was stretched out at least an episode too long.

Oh, I agree. But they had to stretch it to make the mid-season finale!  

For all those knocking Dale, I find it much more 'realistic' when there are people doing dumb shit in these types of stories. I know if the zombpocalpse hit, I wouldn't be the hardass or the tactical genius, I'd be the guy in the back bitching about no internet and having to shit in the woods.  

[DLRiley]

You are all nuts, of course Shane froze.  "They are just walkers until its one of yours" was the whole fucking point.

I believe this was the case. Fact is shane was originally the xander of the "pre zombie world", he isnt a hard ass, cold ruthless son of a bitch, by nature. That's something he embraced, slowly, and now sees no other way to be.

[Tannhauser]

That last episode was MESSED UP!  Loved it, put the show back on track and gave it a much needed dose of urgency again.  Even Lori was good.  I like how I hop between Rick and Shane's viewpoints.  Rick is a long term thinker; Shane is ruthlessly pragmatic. I think I have to stick with Rick though.  There has to be a long term plan.

[HaemishM]

Shane most definitely froze up. It was the shock he needed to see the consequences of his paradigm. At some point had he continued following this track, it would have been a "we need to take Herschel out and steal his farm" kind of vibe. Dale getting rid of the guns was really stupid but I sort of see his point. Shane is going to (and did) take them to a very bad place with the guns. I think Dale is just reaching a point of frustration at the lack of control he now has over anything, so he panicked and took the only option he could think of to protect the group. The lack of leadership is showing, and the people who aren't leaders like Rick or Shane are flailing about trying to figure out which direction to go. Do they go to Rick's side, Shane's or somewhere in between?

But the ending was fucked up and the fact I have to wait until FEBRUARY is even more fucked up.

[Threash]

That last episode was MESSED UP!  Loved it, put the show back on track and gave it a much needed dose of urgency again.  Even Lori was good.  I like how I hop between Rick and Shane's viewpoints.  Rick is a long term thinker; Shane is ruthlessly pragmatic. I think I have to stick with Rick though.  There has to be a long term plan.

Fuck both of them, Daryl should be in charge.

[Tannhauser]

If they kill Daryl, I'm done with the show.

[palmer_eldritch]

I didn't know how the show would end and hadn't actually known it was the half-season finale, so the big dramatic ending really did the trick for me.

I'm looking forward to seeing Shane's further descent into madness. The woman he is in love with is going to have his baby, and he's supposed to pretend it's not happening and say congratulations to some other guy instead? But although I feel sorry for him, I do see him as a villain. I guess that depends on whether you believe he really had to sacrifice Otis.

I'm going to use the break in the show to catch up on the comics, which I have been neglecting.

[Tebonas]

Definitely a villain. Don't forget Otis came back to save him even if he could have gotten away without a problem. Most people aren't able to shoot a person that does that a few minutes later to save their own hide.