Monday, February 13, 2012

The Walking Dead - We're Shooting Live People Now, Folks




Woo-hoo! The Walking Dead returned last night and did not disappoint. Of course, that does not mean that it was without flaws (I'm talking to you, Lori), which we will explore. But as far as sustaining the intensity and emotional weight of mid-season episode (Pretty Much Dead Already), this episode, Nebraska, did not miss a beat and continued to move characters and plots forward. At one point, I said outloud "For a show about dead people, it's very emotional." Then I wiped a tear away, because, you know... poor Carol. And everyone.



Continuing with last week's back and forth with Guest Blogger KC, here we go again:


LCT: First impressions: whoa... literally picking up where it left off! Awesome. 


KC: Okay, so at the end of the episode I said  out loud (to my cats), "Fuck yeah, that's an episode of The Walking Dead!" Totally had the same thought as you at the beginning of the episode, whoa... picking up where they left off... and it was incredibly intense, no music, just the hum of insects, the blond woman (Herschel's stepdaughter? I have trouble keeping straight some of the supporting cast) going to her mother's body and boom! not dead!  Only to get a pick axe through the head, courtesy of Andrea.


"My little girl died a long time ago." *sob*


LCT: Poor, poor Carol. My heart breaks for her. I thought she was going to kill herself. Interesting that she didn't.


KC: Yes, poor, poor Carol - how interesting that Shane was the one to comfort her when she came back from the woods.  It was a beautiful scene and helped bring some depth back to Shane who I've found frustratingly one-note lately.


LCT: Hmmmm I think I might have had a different reaction to the Shane/Carol scene... I think it was comforting to him to get all that stuff of his chest and yes, possibly brought some humanity back to his character. But I don't think she necessarily was comforted by any of what he was doing or saying. She really is just letting him do his thing because she's so lost/grief-stricken/ out-of-her-mind. She doesn't give any indication that she is comforted... Well, I guess other than staying there. I think she's numb more than comforted. Also relating to this scene, P says "Is she like Jesus having her hands washed?" Damn. I have to think about that. My initial feeling is that the visual symbolism is more of Shane trying to wash away his deeds. This is more cathartic for him than her. But interesting point... are they going to set up Carol as some sort of leader of faith or something? She'll be the one character who doesn't give up on hope? Right now I think not. She's beyond despair.


KC: Yes, I agree that Carol wasn't actually getting any comfort from Shane during that scene (she almost seems catatonic?), but I appreciated it more for Shane trying to justify his actions and showing that he had doubts/complicated feelings about what he had done.  Love P's thought about the imagery of the scene.


LCT: Daryl.


KC: Daryl... rocks.  Does it get any better than Daryl calling Lori "Olive Oyl"?


Olive Oyl, why you so stupid?


LCT: I hate Lori so much that I was actively rooting for her to die. She's going into town BY HERSELF like an asshole? She deserves whatever is coming at her. Here's the question: better for her to just die in crash or become walker?


KC: Fucking Lori - OF COURSE she goes into town by herself because she's an idiot.  My prediction is that she does not die in the crash, does not become a walker, but does lose the baby.  I wouldn't put it past them if they did something more shocking though.


LCT: I'm pretty sure I want that walker to chomp Lori in the eyeball.


KC: The more I think about Lori driving off by herself, the more I think that it's just bad writing.  Her behavior was beyond ridiculous.  Why didn't she tell anyone?  Why put herself at risk that way?  It seems like the writers needed another dramatic event to happen rather than something the character would actually have done in that situation.  Die, Lori.


New livies spell Trouble with a capital T


LCT: Verrrrrrrry interesting about new livies (<-- what I am calling live people). I mean none of these peeps knew each other before they were thrown together. Not everyone that made up this group was a bag of roses... Carol's hubby? Also, they had gone back for douchebag on the roof (Daryl's bro) in Season 1. This was part of the whole dynamic of Season 1 - you can't really pick and choose with whom you're surviving. But now they are. Picking and choosing. Totally whole new dark awful world these days.


KC: New livies (like that nickname!) - my first reaction was, hey it's that dude who was the killer from Season 1 "True Blood".  Great scene. I thought it was fantastic how there was a growing feeling of menace as Rick starts to sense that these guys are trouble.  I was very surprised with his reaction - he's embraced this new dark awful world order.  I think what pushed him over the edge was hearing from the new livies that Fort Benning was gone.  Was it my imagination or did Herschel give Rick a look of newfound admiration after he did the deed?


LCT: Did I say there was a new Sheriff in town? Dude's even got a badass theme song by Clutch (The Regulator). Fucking shooting people, real life people. Damn. Those troublemakers were asking for it with the marking of their territory/pissing on the floor. Oh, and trying to shoot him. They got him on a really bad day.

The Regulator


KC: One thing we haven't talked about... the funeral scene.  I liked how the final shot was from above, sort of eye of God, as the characters all walked off in different directions.


LCT: This was another scene where I felt it was so emotional in its absolute absence of emotion. This show is amazing in its ability to juxtapose this battle of "are these people or monsters." I thought the shot being from above made it feel more distant/ removed from emotion.  



KC: One more thing, I laughed when the arm fell off the truck and Andrea had to go back for it.  Gallows humor.

LCT: Arm off truck... Hahaha! Here's the beauty of this show, I had to sit and think "can that arm grab her if not attached?" Let's just say I'm on edge when there's a pile of walkers around.






KC Additional Thoughts: 


- If looks could kill: you think Dale will go after Shane at some point?


- Just die, Lori, just DIE ALREADY!!


- My cats are also unhappy with Lori.



LCT Additional Thoughts:

- When new livies showed up I said out loud "Oh please tell me this isn't The Governor... I can't take it this early." Readers of GNs will understand. 

- Another thought on showdown in the bar... this whole thing is bringing to light that the bigger danger is probably NOT walkers, but other people. We know how walkers behave and how to deal with them, but people are unknowns. Danger, danger (*robot arms waving*)

- Will Daryl be Carol's reason for living now?

- Back to your observation last week about characters saying same thing over and over, this is true in spades in the bar with Herschel saying hope is gone. Over and over. And Rick saying yeah, but other peeps have hope still. Over and over. But they are supporting my awesome thesis of last week sort if, so I give it a thumbs up. ;)





Comments? Thoughts? Do you think Lori had any reason to be going into town by herself? What about Maggie and Glen? Have they found love in a hopeless place? Hit the comment section below with your thoughts!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dunno, ladies. I'm new around here, but to me, it's a toss up between Lori and DALE as to who needs to get et. Ugh, on top of zombies, and PITA old hippie to deal with. And I agree, the gallows humor last night was so subtle but so great.

And I must admit I am like a ping pong ball bouncing around with love for Shane, then Rick, then Glen then Shane then Rick and even, yes, Daryl!

Amy G said...

My thoughts:
My interpretation of the Shane/Carol scene totally different, and a bit more cynical than yours. I think he was searching her skin for scratches or bite marks, and that look she gave him I read as her realizing that.

Thought 2: I believe when Rick told Glen to tell Maggie to tell her he loved her when they got back was foreshawdowing that he's not going to see her again. I think that chick with the fever was actually bit by her mother and will turn into a zombie and bite Maggie.

Lori's baby is definitely dead and hopefully her too. This behavior is consistent with what Lisa was saying about her not acting like a mother. Why on earth would she leave her son alone when Rick and Glen already went to get Hershel. Also, at this point, wouldn't it be second nature to check people for bites when they get a fever?

The two new "lives": I think Rick noted the policeman's gun and I think he noticed some kind of wristband on the big guy, plus he was suspicious about them being from Phillie. I think Rick figured they killed that cop and may be escaped convicts or something and pretty much knew he was going to have to off them from the start. I agree that the live people are becoming scarier than the dead. Hershel def realized whose side Rick is on, and that he's pretty handy with a gun. I loved the scene as well as homage to Westerns.

Also last note- Dale is big time weighing on Shane's conscience. I think Shanf may off him. We'll see who wins that battle - there will definitely be showdown eventually.

LCT said...

Great comments here! Anon - welcome! I think your comment about being a ping-pong ball with your devotion to those particular characters is going to come to a head soon... it could very well be that all four of them go different ways! Amy - WOW! Great read on the Shane/Carol scene... never even thought of that. Shane has lots weighing on him I think... between the Carol confessional and the Dale tirade (Dale didn't even say a word, he was just *there*) he loves to explain himself these days. Fever chick is definitely zombiefied. I forget the rules, can you get sick from scratches or do you need to be bit? I think you are right on about where the livies are from... I would guess that they are actually from a penitentiary nearby. Love this show!

Tracey said...

Hi! I don't have much to offer in the way of the TV show, except that I've read the GNs, so I can sympathize with KC.

Actually, it's *because* of the GNs that I can't watch the show. I've read the omnibus, and it's pretty heavy. So I'm cheating and reading along. Don't judge! ;)

LCT said...

Hi Tracey! Thanks for hanging out here at tvisawesome. Questions: Did you try to watch and can't? Or is it more that you feel that you won't be able to watch the horrors as laid out in the GNs played out on the screen? For what it's worth, I am finding it fascinating how they deviate from the GNs in certain ways. I think they have done a pretty terrific job in creating different story lines that work better for the medium of TV. For example, the character of Shane goes away pretty quickly in the GN, but on TV he sticks around and represents something completely different. Also, it keeps me interested since I'm never sure when it will deviate. The TV show also allows for a lot more emotional connection with characters. Or maybe that's just me and I think of all of these characters as my little friends that live in the box in my living room. :)