# The Walking Dead; 5.16 "Conquer" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311 "2015-03-29T23:45:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/201 "2015-03-31T22:37:49Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Yeah that’s what they said, but there’s no shortage of zombies. I think they said Northern VA was evacuated, but that still leaves DC & Maryland. That whole region is pretty densely populated. Guess that’s where all the zombies are migrating in from. I know we just have to accept what they tell us. Evacuated to where, I wonder? In zombie lit and film, we’ve seen so many smashed, overrun “rescue stations” and “evacuation camps,” that they’ve become a bit of a cliche. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/202 "2015-04-01T02:01:13Z")
Well within 50 miles of Alexandria, VA (well, the real one, which may or may not be the same as this fictional version) are the Pentagon, the White House and the Capitol. They all deserve at least a look-see (or a lampshaded reason why this is impossible) under the circumstances. Heck, Ronald Reagan Airport should be worth checking out and it’s even closer. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/203 "2015-04-01T03:35:18Z")
Will the survivors of the world ever be able to launch some type of offensive to eliminate all or most walkers? ---
**Author:** ![Why\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b782af/32.png) [@Why\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_Child)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/204 "2015-04-01T04:57:08Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Doesn’t this episode demonstrate that corpses make good bedding material when you need some introspective me-time? Well, after digging that big pit, she was dead tired! (Sorry, I just had to say it. :o ) It **does** seem that if you wanted a nap, that would be a good place to sleep. If smearing yourself with zombie guts is a way to camouflage yourself, then she was safe there. > [@Laggard](#): > > Will the survivors of the world ever be able to launch some type of offensive to eliminate all or most walkers? I seem to remember an episode of “The Talking Dead” in which they said that the soft & squishy walkers were the older ones, from the original outbreak. If it _were_ to happen, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere near a hospital; and there would be a period of disbelief that this “person” was trying to eat you. It stands to reason that there would be more walkers that were older by now. It seems to me that once they decompose into almost laughable threats (one good _SMACK!_ and it’s over,) then all they’ll have to deal with is the walkers that people have killed or died of natural causes. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/205 "2015-04-01T13:37:44Z")
Biggest weakness for me was not banging on the door of the truck at the canning place before opening. The characters have often used sound as a means of flushing out walkers in buildings, why would they not do it for a truck? ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/206 "2015-04-01T14:42:11Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well within 50 miles of Alexandria, VA (well, the real one, which may or may not be the same as this fictional version) are the Pentagon, the White House and the Capitol. They all deserve at least a look-see (or a lampshaded reason why this is impossible) under the circumstances. Heck, Ronald Reagan Airport should be worth checking out and it’s even closer. Also all of DC, all of the VA and MD suburbs, Annapolis, MD and even Baltimore is under 50 miles depending where exactly you want to measure to and from. It makes the notion that this safe enclave of Alexandria has so few people absolutely ridiculous. I guess people from outside the area can suspend disbelief, but I basically have to pretend they’re out in the country. That’s how it is depicted, anyhow. They haven’t once show them scavenging in a real urban or suburban environment, so the show writers are either ignoring the realities of the area or implying that they only scavenge in rural areas despite being in a suburban/urban area. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/207 "2015-04-01T14:45:51Z")
It’s probably cheaper to pretend they’re out in the country. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/208 "2015-04-01T14:48:14Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > It’s probably cheaper to pretend they’re out in the country. And easier to shoot (film). ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/209 "2015-04-01T14:49:08Z")
> [@theR](#): > > Also all of DC, all of the VA and MD suburbs, Annapolis, MD and even Baltimore is under 50 miles depending where exactly you want to measure to and from. > > It makes the notion that this safe enclave of Alexandria has so few people absolutely ridiculous. I guess people from outside the area can suspend disbelief, but I basically have to pretend they’re out in the country. That’s how it is depicted, anyhow. They haven’t once show them scavenging in a real urban or suburban environment, so the show writers are either ignoring the realities of the area or implying that they only scavenge in rural areas despite being in a suburban/urban area. It also bothers me that the community is so small and hasn’t been in real danger in the approximately two years they must have been there. The DC metropolitan area is one of the top 10 most populous in the country yet they’ve suffered no real danger of zombie hordes or the roaming human predators that we see in every area the Grimes group has visited to date. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/210 "2015-04-01T15:18:52Z")
In a previous episode, Deanna’s late son informs us that four scavengers were lost last month during scavenging raids. Based on the number of people who show up for Deanna’s firelight community meeting and those people we see at the cocktail party, those four people represented at LEAST ten to fifteen percent of the population. I can only presume that these poor lost folk had no relatives in the Alexandria Safe Zone, and that no one particularly gave a damn about them, since no one seems in the least bit concerned that people are vanishing in numbers just so Porch Dick can have his beer. I have visited DC, but I am unfamiliar with the area. Didn’t occur to me until mentioned above that Alexandria would be fairly close to Baltimore, which would be, to my presumption, ALIVE with zombies and armed scavengers… and surely there’s a military detachment, considering the presence of the seat of government? Or were they in charge of this evacuation? It is notable in the original comics that the Alexandria safe zone had a lot more people… and that the military and government never reappear, either in the current time frame or that of the new comics being published (two+ years after the discovery of the Alexandria safe zone). ---
**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:** [April 1, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/211 "2015-04-01T16:55:17Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > \ > Daryl, of course, could handle them all singlehandedly with his hands behind his back, but this would not solve the problem of integrating them into Alexandria. Or Glenn. > [@rocking\_chair](#): > > this needs to be in the credits instead of meadow zombie. > > the mental picture is a surreal blend and somehow beethoven’s 6th is playing… I think [Peer Gynt: Morning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2gDFJWhXp8) would be much creepier. 🙂 ---
**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:** [April 1, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/212 "2015-04-01T17:12:59Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > It is notable in the original comics that the Alexandria safe zone had a lot more people… and that the military and government never reappear, either in the current time frame or that of the new comics being published (two+ years after the discovery of the Alexandria safe zone). (Added spoiler tags.) Please box spoilers from the comics. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/213 "2015-04-01T18:36:12Z")
My apologies; I didn’t realize that some people were not aware that the time frame of the comics is considerably ahead of that of the TV show – the comic was in print years before the show began to air. Some of the people are dead. Others survived. Although there are comic characters who are dead who are still alive on the TV show, and vice versa; the two do not correspond completely as far as characters and events (most notably with Daryl, a major character on the show, who does not exist at ALL in the comics). Again, I apologize, and hope I have not spoiled anyone’s enjoyment of either medium. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/214 "2015-04-01T18:40:54Z")
We all know the comics are ahead and the show doesn’t perfectly follow the comics, but many of us haven’t read the comics and don’t plan to. It’s really easy for spoilers from the comics to slip in. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/215 "2015-04-01T19:23:15Z")
So, are the walkers skulls getting easier to crush? Darryl took out three with one swipe of a chain. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/216 "2015-04-01T19:33:23Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > So, are the walkers skulls getting easier to crush? Darryl took out three with one swipe of a chain. Darryl has a poetic license for chain swinging. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/217 "2015-04-01T22:57:59Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Or Glenn. > > I think [Peer Gynt: Morning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2gDFJWhXp8) would be much creepier. 🙂 somehow beethoven seemed the thing for a frolicking litte girl luring the zombie… gynt is perfect for the zombie walking in the meadow. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/218 "2015-04-01T23:39:10Z")
The biggest problem with Glenn becoming the “Moral Compass” of the show is… … What happens to every other character that became a MC? Dale; Zombie Chow T-Dog; ZC Herschel; ZC Bob; ZC Tyrese; ZC Beth; ZC becoming a Moral Compass is _not_ a good thing in TWD-verse… ---
**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:** [April 2, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/219 "2015-04-02T01:59:13Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > becoming a Moral Compass is _not_ a good thing in TWD-verse… Yeah, it’s a Big Red Shirt. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311/220 "2015-04-02T02:36:16Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > The biggest problem with Glenn becoming the “Moral Compass” of the show is… > > … What happens to every other character that became a MC? It’s almost as dangerous as being the only black man in the group! Better watch out Father Gabriel! I too kind of have a problem with the population of Alexandria being a bunch of soft clueless dipshits after two years of zombie apocalypse. They make supply runs outside the wire. They send patrols to find other survivors. They’ve taken casualties. And yet they have no idea what they are doing? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-5-16-conquer-open-spoilers/716311.md?page=12)