# The Walking Dead; 5.09 "What Happened and What's Going On" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169 "2015-02-09T00:51:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/41 "2015-02-09T15:46:51Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > He wasn’t. Everybody threw a shovelful of dirt on the grave; he was finishing the burial job. > > I am beyond tired of these people doing amazingly stupid things to get killed. We’re now, what, three years into the zombie apocalypse, and we’re still seeing folks who should have survival instincts hard-wired into their psyche being incredibly unaware of their surroundings. > > This one was particularly egregious, because Tyreese _ **saw the walker’s shadow and heard the walker in the other room.** _ Letting the walker sneak up on him from an adjoining room goes beyond “suspension of disbelief” and is well into the realm of “suspension of any semblance of storytelling.” > > If you (writers) want to kill off Tyreese, then do it logically. Tyreese goes in to kill the walker, but the kid is wearing an old football helmet so that Tyreese’s first shot with the hammer doesn’t work properly. Or the door was rigged somehow to slam back into a person when it opens (which would make sense, given how the neighborhood was fortified as a compound) and it catches Tyreese off-guard. Or SOMETHING other than “this person who has survived for three years after the zombie apocalypse becomes momentarily stupider than dirt.” My opinion is that he was committing suicide by zombie, even if it was subconsciously. He clearly had been wavering in his resolve for quite a long time, so became less and less careful and concerned about protecting himself. His hallucinations while he was dying confirmed the internal conflict about whether it was worth living. On the other hand, maybe that’s just the story I’m telling myself to justify lazy writing. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/42 "2015-02-09T15:47:45Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > He wasn’t. Everybody threw a shovelful of dirt on the grave; he was finishing the burial job. Thanks. That makes more sense. It was hard to tell since the action was shot with a close-up of his face. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/43 "2015-02-09T15:50:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Tyrese died of exsanguination doe to amputation. But the zombie bite hit an artery-- you had to look quick because they only showed the blood gushing out a few times. > > Which makes one wonder-- what is the use of doing the amputation and creating more damage if you can’t cauterize the wound right away? Just apply a tourniquet and get the hell out of there. Or, fucking cauterize the wound before leaving! Bite victims contract a fever and die. Cutting off (Herchel’s?) leg stopped the venom or bacteria or virus from infecting him. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/44 "2015-02-09T16:01:00Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > One other thing. Were they saving on money paid to cast members by having only half the group in the episode? I think it was a matter of focusing our attention. Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, and the actors portraying Glenn, Maggie, and Carl are all in the opening credits, so they would have gotten paid even though the never appeared in the episode. It made sense plotwise that the group would have split into two vehicles, that Rick would not be in the same car as Daryl. Having only half the group in the ep worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/45 "2015-02-09T16:24:15Z")
Gotta come back to the magic trip from GA to VA. It bugs me. They spent all of the show up to now and never left a 50 mile radius (implied) of Atlanta, and through the use of a cinematic touch of looking out a dirty window of a moving car at a road sign, the trip was not touched on or explained in any way. From Atlanta to Richmond is a 8-9 hour trip gong 70 without dodging walker, smash-ups, or having to siphon fuel. I would imagine in TWD-time, it should be days or a week to cover that distance. Why not take the trip to show some of what is happening in SC, NC, etc? It’s hard to go from GA to VA and not at least go near Charlotte, or the Raleigh/Durham area. In addition Richmond/Petersburg is a huge metro area, seems like lots of stories could have been told. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/46 "2015-02-09T16:28:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Tyrese died of exsanguination doe to amputation. But the zombie bite hit an artery-- you had to look quick because they only showed the blood gushing out a few times. > > Which makes one wonder-- what is the use of doing the amputation and creating more damage if you can’t cauterize the wound right away? Just apply a tourniquet and get the hell out of there. Or, fucking cauterize the wound before leaving! I caught that he died because of the loss of blood, but I thought they had found that just the bite didn’t cause death. And yes, they should have gone with a tourniquet as that would have really helped. I guess basic first aid is also gone out the window. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Bite victims contract a fever and die. Cutting off (Herchel’s?) leg stopped the venom or bacteria or virus from infecting him. As I said, I thought that wasn’t the case and they only thought that originally. In that case anyone bit would be a goner as the blood doesn’t move that slow. I will admit though that I don’t really keep up with all the goings on of the show, I just watch it. One does have to admit that Tyreese at least had a good thought when the second zombie bit him but sticking his already bitten arm in to its mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/47 "2015-02-09T16:31:03Z")
One thing that people might like was that the voice on the radio was actually Andrew Lincoln(AKA Rick Grimes) speaking with his normal accent. I never would have recognized it if I hadn’t found out later. Also, one thing that no one’s mentioned which I think is being hinted at, is that in one of the scenes in the gated community, as one of the character is talking, right behind them we see scrawled on the wall(and the camera focuses on it so we can’t miss it) is the phrase “Wolves not far”. Now, maybe I’m reading too much into it, maybe it’s a red herring and another example of the producers tweaking the fans, or maybe it’s a reference to actual wolves(after all in such a world I could see populations of feral animals exploding. However, upon rewatching at least one of the armless, legless Walkers that fell out of the truck had a W carved into it’s forehead. Maybe there’s not a connection, but I think the “Wolves” are the ones who did that to the walkers. And yes, I also realize that W could just mean “walker” and maybe I’m either jumping to conclusions or getting played by the writers. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/48 "2015-02-09T16:33:44Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Bite victims contract a fever and die. Cutting off (Herchel’s?) leg stopped the venom or bacteria or virus from infecting him. Yes, but I think they got to Herschel much quicker than they got to Tyrese, though I may be misremembering. It’s the same with snake bites. Once the venom spreads, it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/49 "2015-02-09T16:40:55Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > I caught that he died because of the loss of blood, but I thought they had found that just the bite didn’t cause death. And yes, they should have gone with a tourniquet as that would have really helped. I guess basic first aid is also gone out the window. > > As I said, I thought that wasn’t the case and they only thought that originally. In that case anyone bit would be a goner as the blood doesn’t move that slow. I will admit though that I don’t really keep up with all the goings on of the show, I just watch it. > > One does have to admit that Tyreese at least had a good thought when the second zombie bit him but sticking his already bitten arm in to its mouth. It is completely the case that a bite will lead to death from infection. That blood flows to fast for amputation to prevent the infection may be true in real life, but it’s apparently not true according to the writers of the show or in the show’s universe. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/50 "2015-02-09T16:46:39Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Yes, but I think they got to Herschel much quicker than they got to Tyrese, Yes, Rick whacked his leg off almost immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/51 "2015-02-09T16:50:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, Rick whacked his leg off almost immediately. That’s probably why they were able to save Herschel but not Tyrese. It’s not clear how long Tyrese was there before they got to him, but it was quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/52 "2015-02-09T17:14:08Z")
Might be interesting to develop a character who gets bit, gets the offending limb chopped off, but not quickly enough, so they still gets a _slight_ infection. Part human, part zombie. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/53 "2015-02-09T18:37:21Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > There was graffiti referencing someone or something named Wolf and that town looked like more happened than just being overrun by Zombies: the houses looked like they were hit with weapon’s fire and someone cut all those people in half. They were setting up the next Bad Guy I guess. Not a reader of the comics, but in the previews for next week they did show actual wolves so I assume that is what the graffiti meant. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/54 "2015-02-09T19:18:15Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I think it was a matter of focusing our attention. Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, and the actors portraying Glenn, Maggie, and Carl are all in the opening credits, so they would have gotten paid even though the never appeared in the episode. It made sense plotwise that the group would have split into two vehicles, that Rick would not be in the same car as Daryl. Having only half the group in the ep worked for me. They were all in the episode, at the end during the funeral. This episode actually had more cast than usual, as everyone still alive made it into at least one scene (though some were only at long distance and out of focus) plus they brought back six dead characters. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/55 "2015-02-09T19:30:29Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, Rick whacked his leg off almost immediately. It bugged me a bit that Noah left to get help but I never heard him yelling for help. Maybe they don’t want to make too much noise but at that point I’d be yelling. Instead, it took way too long for Rick to find Noah hiding and then he’s all “Ty’s been bitten!” Way too late. At least the priest would have been yelling “help, help, help!” You pretty much know when someone runs off with someone else saying “no, wait” it isn’t going to end well. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/56 "2015-02-09T19:30:50Z")
I see they’re back to driving old, beat up vehicles that fire on three cylinders instead of grabbing one of the 200 million better vehicles that are just lying around. Rick’s beard is way too well trimmed. The endless exposition in this episode had me yawning. Get on with it, already. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/57 "2015-02-09T20:02:41Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Might be interesting to develop a character who gets bit, gets the offending limb chopped off, but not quickly enough, so they still gets a _slight_ infection. Part human, part zombie. The infection from the bite isn’t what makes one a zombie. Everyone is infected with the zombie virus. But you have to die in order to activate it. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/58 "2015-02-09T20:05:35Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I see they’re back to driving old, beat up vehicles that fire on three cylinders instead of grabbing one of the 200 million better vehicles that are just lying around. Rick’s beard is way too well trimmed. The endless exposition in this episode had me yawning. Get on with it, already. I haven’t seen any of these millions of better vehicles supposedly lying around on screen. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/59 "2015-02-09T20:27:49Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Not a reader of the comics, but in the previews for next week they did show > > actual wolves > > so I assume that is what the graffiti meant. There were also W’s carved in some of the bodies. I think Wolf is a person. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169/60 "2015-02-09T20:31:33Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Might be interesting to develop a character who gets bit, gets the offending limb chopped off, but not quickly enough, so they still gets a _slight_ infection. Part human, part zombie. There is a fan theory that Rick already is exactly that from Day One. Some details [here](http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/5-insane-but-plausible-ways-your-favorite-tv-shows-could-end/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-09-what-happened-and-whats-going-on-open-spoilers/712169.md?page=4)