# The Walking Dead; 5.01 "No Santuary" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149 "2014-10-12T22:35:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/141 "2014-10-15T21:25:18Z")
> [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](#): > > Speaking of internal consistency, I’m still disappointed they showed zombies using tools in the first episodes and then promptly dropped that notion (When Rick was in a department store after escaping the tank, a zombie is shown breaking the glass with a rock). That was an homage to Night of the Living Dead which did have some zombies using items (the rock to break the car window at the funeral, the little girl killing her mother with a trowel). ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/142 "2014-10-15T21:30:14Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > It was primarily Glenn who made the almost moral argument that going back to “mop up” was crossing the line, and becoming more like the Terminians than he wants to be. So, yeah, Glenn was right. > > At the same time, Rick would have also been right to go back and make damn sure that he wasn’t leaving an enemy behind them. Let’s be honest, do we really think that the rooftop shoulder shot really took the head bad guy out? Not me. I’m convinced we will see him again, and he is already a cold blooded killer. Now they have behind them a cold blooded killer with a real reason to seek out Ricks group and get some vengeance. > > Plot says: leave him behind, leave some mystery. Reality says: I would have made sure that fucker and his disciples were zombie-chow. I thought it was Carol saying “you have to come with me” that dissuaded Rick from going right back. Then he reunited with his baby, blah, blah. But yeah, now there is a real whackjob after them whose whole universe was centered on Terminus, which is now up in flames and probably not recoverable. And his mom is a zombie, or got eaten. Both. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/143 "2014-10-15T22:35:49Z")
In case anyone else missed it like I did, AMC decided to put the post-credits scene on Youtube so we wouldn’t complain too much. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/omS_eXUmWL0/maxresdefault.jpg "An Unexpected Return: Episode 501: The Walking Dead: No Sanctuary") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omS_eXUmWL0) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/144 "2014-10-15T23:39:49Z")
It’s nice to have the good zombie show back, after suffering through a month of that awful one on Syfy. (Yeah, I could just not watch, I suppose, but not like a lot else on fridays). So was that Rick’s watch Carol found? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/145 "2014-10-16T03:51:39Z")
As a long time fan of Carol, I feel like this episode was pandering directly to me. And I’m OK with that. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/146 "2014-10-16T16:47:16Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > It’s nice to have the good zombie show back, after suffering through a month of that awful one on Syfy. (Yeah, I could just not watch, I suppose, but not like a lot else on fridays). > > So was that Rick’s watch Carol found? I thought it was the watch Herschel gave Glenn as a sign he, Herschel, was okay with Glenn & Maggie’s pairing. Which (assuming she knows Herschel is dead) would move her from _I’m here to rescue my friends_-mode to _I am going to kill every one of these motherfuckers and their dogs, if any_-mode. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/147 "2014-10-16T17:05:28Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I thought it was the watch Herschel gave Glenn as a sign he, Herschel, was okay with Glenn & Maggie’s pairing. Which (assuming she knows Herschel is dead) would move her from _I’m here to rescue my friends_-mode to _I am going to kill every one of these motherfuckers and their dogs, if any_-mode. Herschel gave Glenn his pocket watch. Rick sees it when they first arrive. That is why he jumps on the head Bad Guy with both feet and an ACP. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/148 "2014-10-16T17:06:46Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Herschel gave Glenn his pocket watch. Rick sees it when they first arrive. That is why he jumps on the head Bad Guy with both feet and an ACP. 🙂 I bow to your superior attention to detail. _I_ was distracted by the manliest of the manly arts: making fudge brownies. What means this acronym ACP? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/149 "2014-10-16T17:17:19Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > His speech could still be bullshit. He could have just fleshed out his lie a little bit. The sense I got from his “speech” was that he knows exactly Jack Shit about the epidemic. Throw out some technical-sounding jargon, and make it sound like you know what you’re talking about. I’ve seen firefighters and cops do it in front of people. I’m an EMT, and I’VE done it. A lot of times, when there’s some chaos that has people confused or on edge, someone who _sounds_ like an authority gets listened to, even if they have no idea. It’s a textbook case of “when in doubt, make it sound convincing.” ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/150 "2014-10-16T17:24:23Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > What means this acronym ACP? [Automatic Colt Pistol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Colt_Pistol). ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/151 "2014-10-16T18:06:43Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > I actually thought this was a great episode and take most of the things people here complain about in stride. I just thought it was funny to see like 10 walkers flawlessly navigate crossing the railroad tracks and then a few minutes later see Carol come upon the walker impaled on the pike. It’s not like it would have been hard to have a couple of them trip. There’s too much chance of injury. If an extra, directed to trip on the tracks, broke his or her teeth in the fall, the budget would could have been hit with thousands of dollars’ worth of reconstructive dentistry. Of course this doesn’t mean that the scene couldn’t have been written so as to avoid the inconsistency (walkers negotiate tracks easily, but walk into pike-fences). But that would have taken time and care, and that’s not going to happen with this show. Similarly, the implausibility of the “line of people wait patiently to be conked on the head and die bleeding in the trough” scene could have been fixed. For example, the writers could have set up a threat that would ensure docility: had one of the group placed in eyesight of the trough-kneelers, perhaps, while a Termite stood there with blade ready to slice off bits in the most pain-inducing way, if the kneelers fail to wait quietly. But this isn’t \*Breaking Bad \*or _Fargo_ or _The Sopranos_; viewers don’t come to this show for flawlessly-worked-out, meticulously credible story-telling. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/152 "2014-10-16T18:12:41Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Similarly, the implausibility of the “line of people wait patiently to be conked on the head and die bleeding in the trough” scene could have been fixed. For example, the writers could have set up a threat that would ensure docility: had one of the group placed in eyesight of the trough-kneelers, perhaps, while a Termite stood there with blade ready to slice off bits in the most pain-inducing way, if the kneelers fail to wait quietly. I wonder how the Nazis did it. For a while they were taking people out into fields and shooting them. ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/153 "2014-10-16T18:16:38Z")
Yeah, that issue (them being docile) does not seem problematic. There are plenty of examples of groups of people being led to very imminent deaths and behaving in a docile manner. Heck, the ISIS executions are pretty good examples. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/154 "2014-10-16T18:16:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I wonder how the Nazis did it. For a while they were taking people out into fields and shooting them. Are you referring to the mass killings known as the Holocaust? If so: weren’t most of those “people go quietly to their deaths” situations due to the people having no idea they were about to be killed? (Gas chambers disguised as showers, etc.) That psychological element wouldn’t apply in the case of the people lined up in front of the trough. They _knew_ they were about to be killed. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/155 "2014-10-16T18:19:17Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > Yeah, that issue (them being docile) does not seem problematic. There are plenty of examples of groups of people being led to very imminent deaths and behaving in a docile manner. Heck, the ISIS executions are pretty good examples. It’s been reported that the commonly-used tactic is to lead the victim out to the killing place and have him read out a statement every day for days on end–expose him, over and over again, to the fear that he’s about to die. By the 25th day or so, the adrenaline isn’t really flowing anymore. It’s become routine. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/156 "2014-10-16T18:34:53Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Are you referring to the mass killings known as the Holocaust? If so: weren’t most of those “people go quietly to their deaths” situations due to the people having no idea they were about to be killed? (Gas chambers disguised as showers, etc.) > > That psychological element wouldn’t apply in the case of the people lined up in front of the trough. They _knew_ they were about to be killed. At first they put everyone in a truck, took them out to a field and began shooting them with rifles. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/157 "2014-10-16T18:36:06Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Are you referring to the mass killings known as the Holocaust? If so: weren’t most of those “people go quietly to their deaths” situations due to the people having no idea they were about to be killed? (Gas chambers disguised as showers, etc.) Not all. Many were shot into mass graves. The same thing happened in Cambodia and other massacres over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/158 "2014-10-16T19:40:34Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > The sense I got from his “speech” was that he knows exactly Jack Shit about the epidemic. Throw out some technical-sounding jargon, and make it sound like you know what you’re talking about.\ That’s entirely possible - that he was a low-level worker at a virology lab, not some kind of high-powered virologist. > [@skylyn12](#): > > Yeah, that issue (them being docile) does not seem problematic. There are plenty of examples of groups of people being led to very imminent deaths and behaving in a docile manner. Heck, the ISIS executions are pretty good examples. People freeze when faced with imminent death, too - that is not uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/159 "2014-10-16T19:45:30Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s entirely possible - that he was a low-level worker at a virology lab, not some kind of high-powered virologist. > People freeze when faced with imminent death, too - that is not uncommon. Add to that the fact that Rick visibly did NOT freeze: he was trying to work his makeshift shiv out of his boot. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149/160 "2014-10-16T19:49:05Z")
I can see it both ways. Sometimes you panic and fight to the last breath, other times you realize there’s absolutely nothing you can do and just close your eyes and say a prayer and hope it’s over quick. What’s really sick is how the termites led people into the slaughtering room a group at a time and deliberately let them know what was happening. That’s just causing undue terror and suffering on purpose. Maybe they did it that way to harden the killers, but we generally don’t do that to livestock. Generally. Sick, sick, sick. Lead them into a separate slaughtering room one at a time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-01-no-santuary-open-spoilers/701149.md?page=9)