# The Walking Dead; 5.10 "Them" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773 "2015-02-16T01:05:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 17, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/41 "2015-02-17T02:19:22Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Makes for better television. People do not repeatedly tune in to watch nice people being nice to each other. Mr. Rogers notwithstanding. ---
**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 17, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/42 "2015-02-17T02:44:37Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Makes for better television. People do not repeatedly tune in to watch nice people being nice to each other. My point is that people seem to be deciding that Aaron is a menace based on the fact that he IS NOT ACTING MENACING. And by people, I mean both fans online and the show’s characters (based in next week’s preview). As I’ve written ere this, the group is becoming so jaded and corrupt that it won’t be surprising if they become a threat to innocents. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/43 "2015-02-17T03:27:58Z")
Were those dogs supposed to be wolves? We saw wolves mentioned in graffiti last episode. ---
**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 17, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/44 "2015-02-17T03:36:22Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Were those dogs supposed to be wolves? We saw wolves mentioned in graffiti last episode. No, they were strays gone feral. At least one had a collar; its name was Duke. ---
**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 17, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/45 "2015-02-17T04:01:36Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > I loved this episode. The episode wasn’t showing us what it is like in-between “action” we see in the usual episodes. It was showing us that the group is coming apart, physically and emotionally, after this much time. They’ve been surviving like this for awhile, but you can’t operate that way forever. Things are worse than they’ve been in the past. Rick’s “This is what we do” type speeches about survival were falling on deaf ears. No one believes it anymore, it is just a matter of time. On many levels, they literally and figuratively have nothing left and they’re each coming apart and are beginning to fall apart as a group and as individuals. > > I thought this episode did a great job in just setting our characters in an incredibly dark and empty place, a place where any thought of hope is just gone. They’ve been through too much, there is no happy ending, there isn’t sanctuary. How many times did they think there would be better days ahead, even safety (the farm, the prison, Sanctuary) only to find the world is just a place of death and violence? Yeah, I really liked this episode, too. A day in the life of surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. I was not bored at all. > [@kopek](#): > > Within a hundred miles (probably south) of Washington so we’re probably talking Virginia. No really great source I can see but even during a killer drought (all the dead frogs) I would expect something. > > The whole hoard thing at the doors bothered me a little. At first when they went from the hoard at the doors to the survivors waking up my thought was that it had been a dream sequence. At first, I thought it was Maggie’s dream. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > I actually think Aaron will end up being good. It’s too predictable to have another guy who seems good and ends up bad. I had an eerie flashback to Ethan in _Lost_, but that could’ve been purely emotional. I assume he’s the person who left the water for them. ---
**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 17, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/46 "2015-02-17T04:02:44Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Were those dogs supposed to be wolves? We saw wolves mentioned in graffiti last episode. No, just feral dogs, but it looked a few of them were “saber toothed”. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/47 "2015-02-17T04:03:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > My point is that people seem to be deciding that Aaron is a menace based on the fact that he IS NOT ACTING MENACING. > > And by people, I mean both fans online and the show’s characters (based in next week’s preview). As I’ve written ere this, the group is becoming so jaded and corrupt that it won’t be surprising if they become a threat to innocents. It’s a matter of trust. Considering the current life and times, every stranger is suspect. My take is that Aaron has not been as forthcoming with information as Rick’s group would like. That doesn’t build trust. Simple questions require simple, and direct, answers. Especially when dealing with a tired, hungry, suspicious group of very experienced killers. I’ll suggest that while Aaron is not acting in an obviously menacing manner, he’s not acting in a very trustworthy manner, either. Aaron knows that the leader of this group is someone called Rick. How does he know that? That question requires an answer. Rick wants to know the size of Aaron’s group. Aaron wants to debate the meaning of truth. Wrong answer. The fact that Aaron had a flare pistol is immaterial. It could have been a signaling device or a self-defense weapon. A whistle, or if he can whistle, would be just as effective. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/48 "2015-02-17T04:14:15Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Were those dogs supposed to be wolves? We saw wolves mentioned in graffiti last episode. According to the Talking Dead, Maggie said they were dogs. Dogs with BBQ sauce on their fur. I found that difficult to swallow. How do you train dogs to ignore BBQ sauce? Maggie also mentioned that the animal wrangler(s) gave commands in German. I would like to know if the dog snarls were CGI or old fashion rubber bands? ---
**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 17, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/49 "2015-02-17T05:26:15Z")
Apropos only of this thread: a mob of zombies or other menacing creatures is a HORDE, not a hoard. A hoard is a collection of treasure a dragon might sleep on. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/50 "2015-02-17T07:02:54Z")
We’ve never seen feral dogs before have we? That was cheap. They know darn well we saw “wolves” last week and we’re primed for a werewolf attack or something. And the vampire fangs? Then Aaron shows up all nice and clean and knowing Rick’s name. He IS NOT NICE. Or, if he is nice, the writing is stupid and he deserves to die for being nice. It’s too unrealistic. Yes, I know what show I’m watching. Maybe he’ll act all religious like a saint or prophet and Gabriel will gut him. The tornado seemed a bit divinely and spiritually inspired. We’ll need to quash that nonsense. I didn’t mind it being a quiet episode. I know there’s nail-biting ulcer-causing terror coming up. I really don’t need that all the time. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/51 "2015-02-17T07:18:06Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Don’t know why, but that really bugged me. I half expected him to look at the camera and wink. Like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojuLwwASMaU) (about 7 seconds in)? ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/52 "2015-02-17T13:44:40Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > The tornado seemed a bit divinely and spiritually inspired. We’ll need to quash that nonsense. A few others have mentioned the rain and I guess it seems I’m reading this entirely differently. It fit perfectly into the theme I mentioned a few times already - there is no salvation and this group is loosing all faith in surviving. The rain was immediately welcomed as relief, but it was obvious to the group within moments that it was deadly as it became clear this wasn’t just a rain storm but a dangerous weather event. They were desperate for water but so paranoid they wouldn’t even drink the water presented. Then even when through apparent Divine Intervention (to them) at their darkest hour the skies open up and provide water… AND A MOTHER F-CKING TORNADO TO KILL THEM! ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/53 "2015-02-17T14:19:40Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I didn’t mind it being a quiet episode. I know there’s nail-biting ulcer-causing terror coming up. I really don’t need that all the time. I hate the supposed “quiet” scenes with meaningful dialogue going on. I spend them in nail biting fear, staring at the trees behind their talking heads, waiting to see or hear something unexpectedly attacking them. I didn’t know what to make of the sudden change of pace from “Zombies at the door, Judith’s on the floor, it’s all over but the screaming” to “oh, god must’ve dropped a tree or ten on the horde, it’s all okay”. I’m still unclear as to how much of it really happened? And I also don’t trust Nice Guys™ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/54 "2015-02-17T14:46:23Z")
Pretty much everything I came to say has been said, and well. On one level, this was a great episode - very cerebral and internal, giving us a bit of a feel for what that world would be like to live in. Not visit, not wander through, but live in… for the rest of your short, brutal and nasty life. But OTOH, it’s 100% in line with the absolutely brain-dead shit we’ve watched for at least four seasons now. No forethought. No planning. No attempt to gather resources. Not one acquired survival skill among the dozen adult survivors. And, of course, the insistence that this is a postapocalyptic world whose resources have been used up. The deus-ex-tornado stuff seems almost sensible in that respect. But yeah, I first expected them to roll credits on the zombie attack, and then assumed it was either Maggie or Daryl’s dream sequence. The flow from that white-knuckled intensity to the wakeup scene to the tornado? scene was as ham-handed as anything in a really bad B movie. And I’ve said all along, not being a reader of the books and not knowing if this was ever intended, that it’s the “survivors” who are the walking dead, not the reanimated. IMVHO, the only proper ending for this is a series of final battles that wipe out one handful of the group after another, ending with Rick and Carl and the baby and a Designated Other, and then panning up and up and up and up to show the endless world of nothing but walkers. It’s as foregone as the world of Chtorr… they are walking dead, like all remaining humanity, and they know it. ---
**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 17, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/55 "2015-02-17T15:16:06Z")
The only thing that bugged my about Rick referring to his group as “The Walking Dead” is that isn’t something a real leader does. It’s a huge morale downer. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/56 "2015-02-17T15:25:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The only thing that bugged my about Rick referring to his group as “The Walking Dead” is that isn’t something a real leader does. It’s a huge morale downer. I think that was exactly the point, as much as some have rolled their eyes at shoehorning in the phrase. Rick’s gone through quite a few changes personally, but I don’t think he’s ever given up on hope - he just quit as leader because he felt he wasn’t up to the task. Now, even he’s outta hope, outta rope and knows they’re running outta time. I don’t know squat about the books or where/whether Aaron and the other clues might mean, but I agree that it looks like we’re headed for a flop: the new community will be good, and Rick’s crew will be too damaged and paranoid to handle it. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/57 "2015-02-17T15:46:27Z")
Quiet episodes work better if the actors and characters are more engaging. The quiet episode with Carol and Daryl worked okay, for example. This was just stretching a small story a thin as you possibly can. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/58 "2015-02-17T15:51:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The only thing that bugged my about Rick referring to his group as “The Walking Dead” is that isn’t something a real leader does. It’s a huge morale downer. That didn’t bother me though partly because of my Dad. He was in WW II and basically “V+90” – in until the end of the war plus 90 days. Or death. Or crippling wound. He said something much like Rick did about the guys counting the days being the ones who bought it in dumb fashion. But folks like him and his friends who had already admitted they were “goners” and just went day to day were the ones who made it. WW Z is much like WW II – there is no “365 and a wake up”. You are in it until its over and all the Zs are gone or a cure is found. So trying the same mentality – or at least explaining the mentality – made some sense. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/59 "2015-02-17T16:04:42Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > You are in it until its over and all the Zs are gone or a cure is found. Only the second. Assume some way is found to eliminate every walker (say, on the Americas). Every single person who dies will turn unless their brain is destroyed, and while you might inculcate a cultural precept to immediately stab deaders in the head, there will always be those who die alone or isolated, and away you go again. A cure is the only possible end, but following the cure would have to be total extermination of the existing walkers. Unless there are forces we don’t know about, Earth as a home for humanity is dead in WD. And there’s only that series ending I sketched a few posts above. Anything else would just be a cliffhanger, even if they sterilize Hawaii and rebuild a paradise there. A few turned dead, or even a few walkers shambling up out of the surf… and away goes paradise again. It’s a world of five billion Terminators. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/60 "2015-02-17T16:09:31Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The only thing that bugged my about Rick referring to his group as “The Walking Dead” is that isn’t something a real leader does. It’s a huge morale downer. [Obligatory ‘Family Guy’ clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEi4I6UWuDQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773.md?page=4)