So if Herschel gets bitten and they keep him in the barn as a courtesy to his rules, would that make him Herschel Walker?
Hershel wasn’t armed and it was possible they could have gotten the drop on Glenn had Rick been a bit slower. As for gaining, well, thugs often times have a problem with risk assessment.
The thin guy had predator written all over him. Too cheerful and inquisitive, and too charming, but not in an organic and sincere way. Rick could sense the glibness and wasn’t going to lead them to the farm.
They were Hollywood short-hand for Philly Street Guys that certainly weren’t going to play nice. I imagine they were going to attack/kill Rick’s group anyway, but decided to try and charm Rick into giving them the location of the farm.
The zombie world is a sociopath’s wet dream.
I did see the previews, and based on that it seems a good idea that Rick killed the two guys in the bar, as there’s more coming after. They may be pinned down, but at least they don’t have live enemies in the room with them. I heard the live guy outside say “We’re just looking for our friends” and the two Rick killed had mentioned being “scouts” for others.
Those guys were just “off” Folks are being delicate about it in this thread, but the fat guy didn’t ask about “women”. He asked about “vulgarity deleted”. That alone would have had me planning how to get rid of him.
They made it pretty clear they were predators. They wanted to find the group, to raid and then move on. The questions were not aimed at finding a haven, no questions about safe places, they just wanted to find vulnerable people. As soon as they split into a one in front, one behind formation (so the cop can’t watch them both) it was like wolves hunting prey. They had decided to attack Rick, and felt Glenn and Herschel could easily be coerced to tell them where the farm is. It was nice seeing Rick’s job experience Used in the show, as he became suspicious early in the conversation and kept adding things together.
Not a bad episode. A little slow though, but partially redeemed by the ending.
However, was I the only one who thought it seemed out of character for what’s-her-face to profess her love to what’s-his-face so soon? Not neatly enough build-up there to make it seem realistic, considering what we’ve seen of her demeanor.
Yeah, especially the “Philly” guy with the Boston accent. Is that Marky-Mark’s brother?
Overall, not a bad episode. Loved the sickle through momma’s head, and the arm falling off from the back of the truck. The scene with Lori rolling the car was pretty :rolleyes: though.
In a zombie apocalypse, bad punsters will get the Otis treatment.
I think its both… why can’t it be both?
Hell, I was suspicious, and I don’t have a cop’s instincts. The thin one talked too much, was too superficially friendly, pushed too hard. It felt like a sleazy guy at a bar trying to talk the girl into just one more drink.
Glen and Herschel felt it too, but they didn’t have the training to act on it. Damn good shooting on Rick’s part.
Yeah, those guys set off alarm bells like crazy. And din’t “Rene” say, as he entered the bar, something like: I can’t believe they’re still alive? Made me think they had been tracking them or somehow knew who they were.
I thought they were simply thinking they would be zombies in the bar - but your interpretation makes more sense in retrospect.
That was nice; I also liked the way Herschel and Glen followed his lead (I was worried that Herschel might be too drunk to understand where Rick was going).
She’s been Hot and Cold Girl since Day One with Glen. No reason for her to get rational now.
I kind of expected this episode to play out the way it did. I was okay with the slower start, it seemed to fit with what would be expected - a big aftermath, the shock of what had happened at the barn and that impact on both Hershel’s group and Rick’s. I kind of figured that since this was a mid-season premier we’d end the episode with a bang (no pun intended), some type of development in the last 10 minutes or so. It all was quite good and what one would expect for a t.v. drama…
…until Lori’s field trip to town reminded me that the writers on this show are f-cking idiots and have to always do SOMETHING brain-numbingly stupid with a character. This time, for absolutely no good reason, Lori takes off on her own in a car to go to town. Ignoring EVERY SINGLE DAMN LESSON LEARNED so far on survival and WITHOUT A SINGLE DAMN LOGICAL REASON for doing so. This constant stupidity is really starting to take its toll on me with this show.
I feel like I’m a pendulum, swinging from love it to hating it usually within one episode. Every time the writers start building something good, they then have to resort to this type of stupid to generate drama. Take Carol’s scene in the RV. That was damn good drama, I fully expected blubbering mama stereotype. Maybe even some grief-induced affection between Daryl and Carol. Instead the writers and the actress delivered a pretty powerful moment with an (to me) unexpected reaction out of Carol. She latched onto the release of all her fears - her daughter wasn’t afraid, sleeping alone and hungry all this time. She was dead all this time. Even Lori’s pre-field trip plea for help to Daryl, you got this raw rejection from him of doing anything else for people that was a direct manifestation of the pain and disappointment of finding Sophia was dead/a walker. Finding Sophia alive meant something deep down to Daryl, he suffered pain and tribulation to find that child alive… and when it didn’t happen Daryl retreated into that tough-guy, out-for-himself defense mechanism to cope.
Then Lori goes off half-cocked on her own, on a FUCKING EMPTY AND STRAIGHT COUNTRY ROAD, and somehow doesn’t see THE ONLY THING ON THE DAMN ROAD and hits the walker and inexplicably floors the gas pedal and we get the DUKES OF HAZARD CLICHE car-flip that ends up being a bit of a mid-episode cliff hanger.
As always, I’ll keep watching this show. I have not read all of the comics but I’ve read enough to know how things play out with the original story’s characters. That alone will keep me watching to find out how things compare on the show. Of course the really brilliant moments will also keep me coming back but I just don’t know how many more stupid decisions I can take without truly beginning to route for the zombies to kill them all.
P.S. - My girlfriend and I were joking before the show that we are certain that in a parallel universe there is The Walking Dead show that follows an intelligent group of survivors who don’t do stupid shit and actually learns from past mistakes.
deep breath I feel better for venting, thank you.
That would be a better show, but not nearly as much fun.
I believe the scene at the bar is a good indication the group will be moving forward, and the show’s pacing as well. They have to, anyway; Sophia’s dead and it looks like there’s some bad folks a’comin’ into town.
I haven’t minded much of the slow-paced drama in this first half of season 2, and some of the dialogue seems to be sharpening up. Still, the fly in the ointment in this episode was Lori’s utterly idiotic insistence to go find Rick, Glenn and Hershel after they’d be gone only, what 2 - 3 hours at the most?
Then to ride Daryl’s ass about it, and calling him selfish after that entire Sophie ordeal. Then, of course, to hit a Walker from 150 yards away because she was looking at a map. She wasn’t acting like any human being would, even if they were delirious. It was abject contrivance on the writer’s part to plop in a plot development.
Dammit, it wouldn’t have been that hard to give her another reason to get in the car other than to go get the guys that were getting the guy. It just hadn’t been long enough to even begin to worry about them or the blonde.
I can let Dale’s psychic ability for figuring out what happened with Shane and Otis slide a bit due to his gut for picking up on the slimy dealings of Shane. I believe Dale hinted about the possibility to Shane’s face when he was hiding the guns in the woods, and Shane didn’t comment and stared him down smugly, as if to be almost an admission… Still, he was pretty damn certain to outright call Shane a murderer on a hunch. I think the writer’s could’ve slipped in a better clue for Dale to pick up on, if they have to have him figure Shane out for what he really is.
But yeh, that bar scene was taught with tension as soon as those strangers walked in: Too loud. Too “friendly”, then controlling and inquisitive, asking way too many questions and catching Hershel in a lie. All shifty and untrustworthy, right from the get-go. Once Fat Tony took a piss right there at the bar, it was clear to Rick that these guys weren’t there to just exchange news or beg for shelter, they were violent thieves at the least. I hope this is the Rick we see from now on!
The whole bar scene was wonderful. I bet that’s the last time Herschel tells Rick to get off his land.
I loved how Shane was being tender with Carol, washing her off.
I saw the last 15 minutes on the repeat but still missed a few minutes. Did someone say that “Rene” seemed to recognize Rick? It wouldn’t surprise me if Merle’s brother was in that group.
And she was letting him, which to me was just as surprising.
There’s no reason to believe anything the Philly Boys said, but otoh do you think any weight should be given to their comment about Ft. Benning? (I’ve never understood why the gang has any real hope for that place- true it’s a fort but it’s not like it’s sealed under a dome or is the most secure place on Earth.)
I really like how the writers are taking suggestions from the graphic novels but going their own way. The series, imho, is incomparably better, especially at characterization but also in plot development.
I like the way they played Herschel in the bar. He’d fallen off the wagon but wasn’t sloppy drunk and acting crazy. Somewhat impaired, but he could still think, even if he was so depressed. Neither he nor Glen did anything stupid during the shootout. I think he will make it, hope so anyway, because the rest of his family needs him.