# 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:** 5
**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, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/81 "2015-02-17T18:29:50Z")
When they reach Wash DC, they find that Congress, debating what actions to take against the Apocalypse, is locked in partisan gridlock. They tried to pass a resolution condemning the Walkers only to find that the resolution would violate the ADA, and so even that was shelved. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/82 "2015-02-17T18:30:26Z")
I’m thinking Aaron’s group will have something to do with the severed torsos we saw in the prior episode. Whatever that means. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/83 "2015-02-17T18:37:54Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I’m thinking Aaron’s group will have something to do with the severed torsos we saw in the prior episode. Whatever that means. First thing I thought of was using them to create a moat of snapping torsos, intimidating. Why are the survivors not using Michonne’s patented neutered zombies as free labor at least? Strap The baby to the back of one on a leash, same for backpacks of goods. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/84 "2015-02-17T18:40:34Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > When they reach Wash DC, they find that Congress, debating what actions to take against the Apocalypse, is locked in partisan gridlock. They tried to pass a resolution condemning the Walkers only to find that the resolution would violate the ADA, and so even that was shelved. Thanks, Obama! ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/85 "2015-02-17T18:47:55Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > The Southern United States is currently suffering a real world drought. Lake water levels have receded, streams have dried up, rainfall doesn’t occur often enough, and the water table has dropped. Wells no longer hold water. > > Daryl was digging in a stream bed to see if there was any water under the dirt, sand, and dead frogs. Nope. The real world drought is in the southwestern US which is a completely different geography and climate than the east coast. But … even if there were a drought in Virginia, small creeks and ponds may dry up but larger waterways and the underground aquifier would take months (if not years) to recede, especially with the lack of humans causing drawdown. The vegetation would also show the effects of a severe drought which was not the case on the show. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/86 "2015-02-17T18:52:04Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > The real world drought is in the southwestern US which is a completely different geography and climate than the east coast. > > But … even if there were a drought in Virginia, small creeks and ponds may dry up but larger waterways and the underground aquifier would take months (if not years) to recede, especially with the lack of humans causing drawdown. > > The vegetation would also show the effects of a severe drought which was not the case on the show. Just adding, fair enough if the show set up an ongoing drought in the plot, but if they did, I missed it. ---
**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, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/87 "2015-02-17T18:55:29Z")
Speaking of vegetation, you’d think they’d all be skilled herbalists by now. I’m sure there’d be a fair amount of edible wild salad greens around. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/88 "2015-02-17T19:05:25Z")
> [@grude](#): > > First thing I thought of was using them to create a moat of snapping torsos, intimidating. > > Why are the survivors not using Michonne’s patented neutered zombies as free labor at least? Strap The baby to the back of one on a leash, same for backpacks of goods. I had that in mind too. Only so much you can do with snapping zombie torsos! Good point on zombie-beasts-of-burden. Also, you’d think the cars would be stuffed full of survival equipment: Tents, weapons, traps, water harvesting gear, etc. I’m assuming they made the trip north during the intervening 3 months the show was off-air for the break. You’d think they’d have scavenged a shit-load between now and then. But perhaps they were already near the end of their supply as they approached Noah’s home town? For me, that’s where the writing gets frustrating. You know you’ve got an episode of the gang about thrist, starvation and basic survival off the land… why not set that up in the prior episode that was _begging_ for a B-story? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/89 "2015-02-17T19:21:33Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > [snip]if that was a small tornado or storm strong enough to topple the trees we saw, how did the barn itself survive? It didn’t look to be in great shape to begin with. Having lived in tornado alley most of my life and having seen old wood sheds standing intact next to tornado demolished brick homes, I though nothing of it. Tornadoes have been officially and scientifically classified as weird shit. ---
**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, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/90 "2015-02-17T19:32:58Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Having lived in tornado alley most of my life and having seen old wood sheds standing intact next to tornado demolished brick homes, I though nothing of it. > > Tornadoes have been officially and scientifically classified as weird shit. QFT. In the 90s, a friend of mine saw her house reduced to firewood by a tornado that somehow spared the houses on either side of hers. ---
**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, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/91 "2015-02-17T19:35:50Z")
Once more, set to music this time (hum along, any tune that suits you): The world of WD died quickly, no more than a month, probably more like two weeks. There are now a tiny number of normals left. The ones who died or turned had little time to use up any resources. The “enemy” does not even foul or ruin resources, much less use them. Every person who was killed and eaten or turned would have dropped their entire stash of resources, where it would lie until the next, now-rare human came along. There is absolutely no reason to portray this world as anything but a parody of the last man on earth let loose in The Mall of America, or any WalMart. Every survivor should be equipped like a Navy SEAL. Every group should have a Mormon-like tribulations stash. There should be many hoboes or roadies who travel with nothing more than a backpack, knowing that there is an endless supply of food, water, ammo, clothing, cars, gas, tools, medical supplies etc. (barring some erosion from time, exposure, etc.) This whole Mad Max wasteland-in-the-heartland just drives me effing batty. Not to mention that stopping in a fruited area, building a small, highly defended and self-reliant base, then expanding it one house or city block at a time is an absolutely ‘duh’ strategy that only seems to be implemented in the most limited way by the most evil-minded, who are evil because it is all a wasteland out there. AAAAAUUUUUGGHHHHHHH! ---
**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, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/92 "2015-02-17T19:37:08Z")
> [@grude](#): > > First thing I thought of was using them to create a moat of snapping torsos, intimidating. > > Why are the survivors not using Michonne’s patented neutered zombies as free labor at least? Strap The baby to the back of one on a leash, same for backpacks of goods. I can imagine using zombies to carry goods, but no parent from Earth is going to let one carry her or his baby. Judith is not a burden. Judith is a motivation to keep going–not just for Rick and Carl, but for the whole group, except maybe Noah and Fuckwit Gabriel. Sasha as much as said so in this episode. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/93 "2015-02-17T19:45:41Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I can imagine using zombies to carry goods, but no parent from Earth is going to let one carry her or his baby. > > Judith is not a burden. Judith is a motivation to keep going–not just for Rick and Carl, but for the whole group, except maybe Noah and Fuckwit Gabriel. Sasha as much as said so in this episode. I’m from earth and I’d do it, it helps keep Judith alive two ways one by masking her from attacking walkers and two freeing up her parent to dispatch said walker. Or at least get one of this papoose things and strap Judith to your back Rick. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/94 "2015-02-17T19:48:21Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Once more, set to music this time (hum along, any tune that suits you): > > The world of WD died quickly, no more than a month, probably more like two weeks. There are now a tiny number of normals left. The ones who died or turned had little time to use up any resources. The “enemy” does not even foul or ruin resources, much less use them. Every person who was killed and eaten or turned would have dropped their entire stash of resources, where it would lie until the next, now-rare human came along. > > There is absolutely no reason to portray this world as anything but a parody of the last man on earth let loose in The Mall of America, or any WalMart. Every survivor should be equipped like a Navy SEAL. Every group should have a Mormon-like tribulations stash. There should be many hoboes or roadies who travel with nothing more than a backpack, knowing that there is an endless supply of food, water, ammo, clothing, cars, gas, tools, medical supplies etc. (barring some erosion from time, exposure, etc.) > > This whole Mad Max wasteland-in-the-heartland just drives me effing batty. > > Not to mention that stopping in a fruited area, building a small, highly defended and self-reliant base, then expanding it one house or city block at a time is an absolutely ‘duh’ strategy that only seems to be implemented in the most limited way by the most evil-minded, who are evil because it is all a wasteland out there. AAAAAUUUUUGGHHHHHHH! LOL I have been saying this from the beginning, I give up. Michonne’s “clean shirt” comment was laughable since every super walmart in the south has enough to clothe the group for six months or more. It seems the writers don’t want realistic post apoc action, they want long after post apoc action with slowly dwindling survivors like The Road. It made sense there! ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/95 "2015-02-17T20:46:05Z")
> [@grude](#): > > LOL I have been saying this from the beginning, I give up. Michonne’s “clean shirt” comment was laughable since every super walmart in the south has enough to clothe the group for six months or more. What if the only survivors of the zombie apocalypse were dullards? ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/96 "2015-02-17T21:28:48Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > What if the only survivors of the zombie apocalypse were dullards? I think this is how the original idea for \*The Walking Dead \*was pitched to network executives. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/97 "2015-02-17T21:44:48Z")
> [@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. > [@leftfield6](#): > > I think so too, but our team of wanderers are too far gone to be able to accept it, and THEY wind up being the bad guys. Lot’s of angst to talk about there. I like the idea that our group turn out to be the bad guys this time, but I long ago gave up on the writers of this show. Aaron’s group are going to be the next Big Bad, no doubt in my mind. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > 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. I dunno; we’ve seen some people hoarding zombies on this show already. 😃 > [@MeanJoe](#): > > \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! Would it have killed them to put just one tiny little shark in the mess of trees and zombies that the tornado left behind?!? > [@Dante](#): > > Are we not talking about Abraham getting cut by Sasha while she went off reservation? I’m thinking he’s done for… That’s what I was thinking, too - get zombie gunk all over your knife, then cut your buddy with it? That’s not hygienic. > [@doorhinge](#): > > I assume Rick’s Walking Dead (™) reference was his way of telling the others how he, personally, keeps putting one foot in front of the other, day after day. Daryl, who is more of a TCB (taking care of business (Elvis-style)) kind of guy, immediately rejected Rick’s motivation. “We ain’t them.” Rick, I assume, tried to clarify by responding, “We ain’t them”, but failed to explain how “We ain’t them” is different from “We ain’t them”. That part of the script must have blown away during the tornado. 😃 This is the kind of shit that bugs me - they try to do something deep and meaningful, and it’s just gibberish. > [@Spoke](#): > > \ > The writing is just awful. No decent character development. No decent comic relief. \ They desperately need comic relief. It would elevate the show to the next level - all the best dramas have had comic relief (think Walter White flinging a pizza onto the roof of his house). > [@Spoke](#): > > What if the only survivors of the zombie apocalypse were dullards? Well, now, you might be onto something there… ---
**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, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/98 "2015-02-17T21:47:37Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I assume Rick’s Walking Dead (™) reference was his way of telling the others how he, personally, keeps putting one foot in front of the other, day after day. Daryl, who is more of a TCB (taking care of business (Elvis-style)) kind of guy, immediately rejected Rick’s motivation. “We ain’t them.” Rick, I assume, tried to clarify by responding, “We ain’t them”, but failed to explain how “We ain’t them” is different from “We ain’t them”. That part of the script must have blown away during the tornado. 😃 No. Daryl said “we ain’t them” and Rick said “no, we aren’t them”. 😃 ---
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/99 "2015-02-17T21:48:36Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > …The handler stated that the dog was trained to respond to voice commands from any human. Having the commands in a language other than English was one way of keeping the target suspect from giving successful a “halt” command to the dog attacking him. The German for “halt”: “halt.” 🙂 > [@cmyk](#): > > Only so much you can do with snapping zombie torsos! For a group that ‘earns its living’ by invading walled compounds and taking resources found inside, zombie torsos would be a very useful and effective weapon. What you do is roll up to the walls and call out that you are going to come in and steal all their stuff. A fair number of the inhabitants will come to the wall and shout defiance and work on reinforcing the wall and gathering defensive weapons and such. Then you get out your handy catapult and start pitching biting torsos over. (They’re easy to handle, as compared with limbed zombies.) All you need is one good contact between zombie teeth and defender flesh–though you’ll probably get several. Pitch enough torsos and you might even cause a death or two–and immediate zombification. Then the zombies within the walls do your work for you, reducing the defenders to fully-dead or zombified. At your leisure, you can pull down the wall, go in, take care of any slow-moving walking dead, and gather your prizes: food, water, weapons, etc. ---
**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, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773/100 "2015-02-17T22:05:40Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Or at least get one of this papoose things and strap Judith to your back Rick. How? There’s not one single baby-carrier left anywhere on planet earth. And they just don’t have time to make one out of sticks and big leaves. So there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-10-them-open-spoilers/712773.md?page=6)