Walking Dead Season 6 (1 Viewer)

[MarkMel]

I do like that they are finally taking my advice I have been giving them through my TV screen all of these past seasons and making a kill chute. Nice to know that if you yell at the TV long enough and loud enough, the people in there will hear you.


Now they seem to be missing some of my instruction, there's supposed to be some kind of processing/final solution at the end of the chute, not just a 20 mile mile walker parade. Those bad boys can come back, they have stamina like a Kenyan marathoner. 20 miles is nothing. We'll see where ignoring me gets them.

 

[SteveJKo]

....The placement of flashbacks in this episode was very deliberate, with the flashback either directly commenting on the present day scene it was paired with or the present day scene commenting on the flashback.

Yes, I thought the use of the flashbacks was very well done, kept the episode more interesting than if it had been a straightforward linear narrative. And the use of black and white really contributed well to the mood. I wish they'd try it for some complete episodes.

 

[ChristopherG]

Burning them should at least have been addressed re: yeah, that will attract too much attention. But, I also think they could have sent out some scouts west to see if they were sending the horde toward anyone living. I'm guessing the Wolves live there! The horn isn't so much a fuck you to Alexandria as it is a "hey, you send them toward us, we'll send them toward you!"

I also don't think we need 90 minutes to tell this story. How many glances of Morgan's trepidation do we really need? How many "I know you"'s? Does Morgan really not get that Carter had to be put down?

I loved Carol trying to be all coy with Morgan. She should be the one who kills him when he tries to take out Rick.

I also liked Rick's explanation of Carter and how he really wanted to kill him, but realized he was a walking dead man anyhow.

They needed 90 minutes for all the effing commercials. Jeez, was it just me or did it seem RIDICULOUS with commercials?

 

[EricSchulz]

Yes, I thought the use of the flashbacks was very well done, kept the episode more interesting than if it had been a straightforward linear narrative. And the use of black and white really contributed well to the mood. I wish they'd try it for some complete episodes.

I seem to think that a year or two ago they reran an entire season in B&W, but I can't remember why....

 

[TravisR]

I seem to think that a year or two ago they reran an entire season in B&W, but I can't remember why....

AMC reran the first season in black and white one year. The pilot is also in black and white on the Blu-ray and DVD.

 

[Walter Kittel]

The whole idea of unleashing a swarm of walkers on some unsuspecting sods 20 miles to the east seems like a dick move. I think that killing them in place via fire would have made a lot more sense, of course once the truck went into the quarry that would not be feasible any longer so you could argue that leading them away made the most sense for Alexandria and as far as anyone to the east goes; "sucks to be you."


I liked the fractured narrative and how scenes from the recent past informed content during the current timeline.


Once Carter shook Rick's hand I knew he was doomed. Classic TWD - make a character unlikeable, redeem the character or give them some emotional resonance, smoke the character.


Carol's little coy act with Morgan was a great scene in the episode and makes me wonder where the dynamic with those two characters is headed.


Nice to have TWD back for season six.


- Walter.

 

[John Lee_275604]

The whole idea of unleashing a swarm of walkers on some unsuspecting sods 20 miles to the east seems like a dick move.

I think they were more unleashing the swarm on 3000 miles of 'flyover country,' unsuspecting sods or no.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Pretty much every decision the survivors make at this point can be described as a dick move. Altruism is definitely dead in the world. Tribalism is the new rule of road.

 

[TravisR]

I think they were more unleashing the swarm on 3000 miles of 'flyover country,' unsuspecting sods or no.

Yeah, I get the idea that they're potentially unleashing a herd on people but I would imagine that there's literally hundreds of miles that are now totally unpopulated. Aaron and company must have gone in a fairly large radius around Alexandria so it's not like there's anyone near by. I think they should be killing every zombie they see in an effort to take back the Earth but given the situation with the walker numbers and the proximity to their town, the survivors are making the best choice possible.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I think they should be killing every zombie they see in an effort to take back the Earth

I've felt since season one that the number one rule of the Zombie Apocalypse should be to to clear every zombie you encounter. It isn't Game of Thrones where the King of the Dead can resurrect followers into his army. Once a zombie is down it isn't coming back again and ultimately the world is infinitesimally safer every time a Walker is eliminated. More risk sure, but considering the absence of higher thought in the Walkers - strategic ways of trapping and eliminating the Walkers should be obtainable. Complicating this of course are other human survivors who are a bigger threat.


I realize that they are struggling for survival but figuring out safer, more efficient, and easier ways to kill zombies should be pretty high on the to-do list. (At least in my mind's version of the Zombie Apocalypse, if not The Walking Dead that we visit every week. One of the things I love about the series is the mental games one can play asking what you would do in the situations depicted.)


- Walter.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I saw an article somewhere that estimated based on the rate of decay, the problem should resolve itself in 1.5-2 years, since at that point the corpses will have rotted to such a significant extent that mobility will be fatally compromised.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I saw an article somewhere that estimated based on the rate of decay, the problem should resolve itself in 1.5-2 years, since at that point the corpses will have rotted to such a significant extent that mobility will be fatally compromised.

I realize that for the show to work, real world sciences have to be bent or broken otherwise the threat would be mitigated in some serious ways even if one accepted the premise of zombies as being feasible.


Where does the energy that animates the walkers come from? Without caloric intake one has to assume that they are very slowly deriving energy from what remains of their bodies which should result in a loss of mass and eventually they should weaken to the point of no mobility and eventual death. (Unless they have developed photosynthesis. )


It seems to me that the walker herds would be a mobile buffet for carrion birds and that the zombies would be picked apart to the point of being skeletons with no motive capability. That's not to mention things such as bears, wolves, coyotes, and perhaps most importantly insects which would all dine on the flesh of the zombies. One would assume that predatory animals would flourish in the wake of a disaster that reduced the human population.


There has been plenty of thought on the topic around the internet, so I realize that I'm not bringing anything new to the table with this post. Like most television it breaks down if you think about it too much.


- Walter.

 

[John Lee_275604]

I've felt since season one that the number one rule of the Zombie Apocalypse should be to to clear every zombie you encounter. It isn't Game of Thrones where the King of the Dead can resurrect followers into his army. Once a zombie is down it isn't coming back again and ultimately the world is infinitesimally safer every time a Walker is eliminated. More risk sure, but considering the absence of higher thought in the Walkers - strategic ways of trapping and eliminating the Walkers should be obtainable. Complicating this of course are other human survivors who are a bigger threat.


I realize that they are struggling for survival but figuring out safer, more efficient, and easier ways to kill zombies should be pretty high on the to-do list. (At least in my mind's version of the Zombie Apocalypse, if not The Walking Dead that we visit every week. One of the things I love about the series is the mental games one can play asking what you would do in the situations depicted.)


- Walter.

Except they are decomposing over time.


Best case scenario. Release this herd, and the last remnant will be this herd as a literal dustbowl swirling around central Ohio in a couple years.


Ashes to ashes and all.


Edit: Doh, had I just read down, Adam expressed a similar sentiment.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Edit: Doh, had I just read down, Adam expressed a similar sentiment.

Sure, I understand the argument that the threat mitigates itself over time due to decomposition, but as I pointed out in my prior post there are all sorts of factors that should be thinning the herds of Walkers that are NOT occurring. Basically for the show to remain viable the threat of zombies has to remain which means that the show is going to ignore a lot of basic science. But then again we are talking about a show where the reanimated dead walk the Earth, so perhaps it is a moot point.


- Walter.

 

[TravisR]

I saw an article somewhere that estimated based on the rate of decay, the problem should resolve itself in 1.5-2 years, since at that point the corpses will have rotted to such a significant extent that mobility will be fatally compromised.

Robert Kirkman addressed that in a recent letter column in the comic book and he basically said that in order for the book to continue to exist, you've got suspend disbelief on the rate of walker decay.

 

[John Lee_275604]

Robert Kirkman addressed that in a recent letter column in the comic book and he basically said that in order for the book to continue to exist, you've got suspend disbelief on the rate of walker decay.

There's also a lesser effect of staggered zombification. A live person killed today is just starting to decompose.

 

[Bryan^H]

I really liked the season opener.
I have a feeling this season might see some major changes in terms of the core group.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I saw an article somewhere that estimated based on the rate of decay, the problem should resolve itself in 1.5-2 years, since at that point the corpses will have rotted to such a significant extent that mobility will be fatally compromised.

In the World War Z book, it was told that the infectious agent responsible for reanimation also causes the zombie flesh to be toxic to the microorganisms that play a significant role in normal decay. So the zombies decayed MUCH slower than would normal dead flesh.

They haven't addressed that either way in TWD, but you can imagine that there may be something "different" about reanimated flash that is a new variable in the way decomp occurs.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I thought this was a great season opener.

I really liked seeing the group work on a large scale, coordinated effort to deal with walkers and make their area safer. This is exactly the kind of thing I'd love to see more of because that is what humanity needs to do to ultimately survive, and it reminded me of the aspects of the World War Z book that I really liked. Zombies are predictable, so survivors should be able to figure out strategies of methodically clearing them. Of course, that isn't really the focus of TWD, so I don't except to see to much of it, but it was great to see. Even if it got all FUBAR at the end.

As far as herding them away and not clearing them, they address that in the episode. Rick saw that the truck that was barricading one of the quarry exits looked like it could go off the cliff at any time. They didn't have time to figure out another plan. They had to act quickly to herd them away before they got out on their own. And the episode showed Rick was right, as the truck went in and the walkers moved out before they were ready.

Ideally, if they felt that the barriers to the quarry were stable, they absolutely should have (and I believe would have) figured out a plan to put the walkers down. That isn't just safer for other people out there, but it is safer for their own group as well. They could have fashioned some sort of pressure valve that would let a few out at a time and they would be piked in the head. Over the course of a few days or weeks they would have cleared them all. But they didn't have that luxury since the herd could have unpredictably broken out at any time (and ultimately did).

Who knows what's going to happen now. But if they manage to deal with the herd and save Alexandria, they should eventually go back and form better barricades at the quarry exits, set up sound lures in the center, and continue to lure walkers in to be trapped and then cleared on a regular basis. But I suspect the nature of the events going forward probably won't leave them in a situation to be so proactive.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Robert Kirkman addressed that in a recent letter column in the comic book and he basically said that in order for the book to continue to exist, you've got suspend disbelief on the rate of walker decay.

And pretty much everything else. Personally, I always enjoy reading posts like the one you are responding to when viewers try to apply some logic to this world, but you'd have to suspend any of it before the reanimation of zombies, period. Having said that, they should have firebombed the shit out of the zombie horde while still in the quarry. :_)