# The Walking Dead; 7.06 "Swear" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250 "2016-11-28T00:42:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/61 "2016-11-30T03:07:51Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > No, that’s not it at all. The zombies have always been secondary to me. It was the human interactions and watching characters grow as they faced the challenges of an apocalypse. Splitting the groups up weakens them to me, makes them less interesting without the interactions of people (characters) I felt I had come to know. So many new characters… too many, to me, too many to care about any more. And on FTWD, I just honestly never found characters that I really LIKED. I’ve been thinking about starting a thread about the various stages of Zombie Apocalypse. But generally, my favorite parts are while society is coming apart at the seams through small pockets trying to survive against overwhelming odds. My least favorite is when we start getting into the politics of post-zombie hunter/scavenger civilizations, which is where we are at now. Because it tends to turn into these sort of cartoonish uber-violent Mad Max societies. Honestly, I found Tara’s encounter with the armed Oceansiders a lot more tense and realistic than Negan’s over-the-top gruesome spectacle. To me there’s just something a lot scarier about being gunned down by a bunch of nervous idiots because you wandered into the wrong camp, as opposed to being beaten to death by a grandstanding warlord because of a tactical miscalculation. Probably because of its “ordinariness”. > [@Shakester](#): > > Can we please learn that Tara’s co-scavenger has a name - **Heath** - and stop referring to him by his skin colour? Because that’s kind of insensitive. > > I mean, Tara yelled his name about 20 times during the episode, so you had plenty of chances to learn it. Generally the “black guy” on Walking Dead doesn’t live long enough for me to remember his name. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/62 "2016-11-30T03:15:53Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Can we please learn that Tara’s co-scavenger has a name - **Heath** - and stop referring to him by his skin colour? Because that’s kind of insensitive. > > I mean, Tara yelled his name about 20 times during the episode, so you had plenty of chances to learn it. Since you posted this after my post, it seems like you’re referring to my post. If so, maybe learn to read better. I didn’t refer to Heath by his skin color. I referred to “unnamed zombie woman” by her skin color. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/63 "2016-11-30T03:17:09Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Can we please learn that Tara’s co-scavenger has a name - **Heath** - and stop referring to him by his skin colour? Because that’s kind of insensitive. > > I mean, Tara yelled his name about 20 times during the episode, so you had plenty of chances to learn it. What would you do for a Heath Bar? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/64 "2016-11-30T03:34:43Z")
Smack you. Heath bars suck! ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/65 "2016-11-30T04:26:54Z")
In his episode, we’ll find out he was chased by Negan’s men and walkers, ran all the way to a gloomy and windy hilltop where he fell to his death. Heath. Cliff. And the heights were wuthering. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/66 "2016-11-30T05:29:44Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Since you posted this after my post, it seems like you’re referring to my post. If so, maybe learn to read better. I didn’t refer to Heath by his skin color. I referred to “unnamed zombie woman” by her skin color. If I’d been referring to your post I’d have quoted it, so maybe learn that not everything is about you. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/67 "2016-11-30T05:34:44Z")
It’s not offensive or even insensitive to say the character is black. It’s an efficient way to identify an otherwise minor character except when there is more than one black character on screen at a time, since that would create ambiguity. Conveniently, _The Walking Dead_ rarely faces this circumstance. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/68 "2016-11-30T06:12:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s not offensive or even insensitive to say the character is black. It’s an efficient way to identify an otherwise minor character except when there is more than one black character on screen at a time, since that would create ambiguity. > > Conveniently, _The Walking Dead_ rarely faces this circumstance. No one said it was offensive to say that a black person is black. It is, as I said, a bit insensitive to use someone’s colour as the _only_ identifier when (a) his name is used plenty of times in the episode, and (b) when you use the names of every other character in the story _except_ the black guy. It’s simple respect. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/69 "2016-11-30T06:22:37Z")
Simple respect for who? Some fictional character on my TV? I’ll put in the effort level I like to learn and use character names, thanks. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/70 "2016-11-30T08:56:17Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > If I’d been referring to your post I’d have quoted it, so maybe learn that not everything is about you. Fair enough. Maybe learn to quote what you’re responding to. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/71 "2016-11-30T13:34:36Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Generally the “black guy” on Walking Dead doesn’t live long enough for me to remember his name. This. 100%. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/72 "2016-11-30T14:58:39Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Honestly, I found Tara’s encounter with the armed Oceansiders a lot more tense and realistic than Negan’s over-the-top gruesome spectacle. To me there’s just something a lot scarier about being gunned down by a bunch of nervous idiots because you wandered into the wrong camp, as opposed to being beaten to death by a grandstanding warlord because of a tactical miscalculation. Probably because of its “ordinariness”. Absolutely agreed. One of the reasons this was the best episode in a while even though it was all minor characters. Plus the Oceansiders had a motivation for what they behaved t he way they did and dissenters in the ranks. Much more engaging than the presentation of the Saviors right now. Actually the best encounter with the Saviors the show has presented us thus far was Carol running into them on the road. That was tense and well done. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/73 "2016-11-30T17:19:40Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Yes, it looked like that to me, too, which is why I said he wasn’t confirmed dead. Yeah I was agreeing with you but in hindsight it didn’t read that way. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/74 "2016-11-30T18:41:01Z")
So is it safe to assume Heath won’t survive his episode next week since Tara made it back to Alexandria before he did? ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/75 "2016-11-30T20:51:15Z")
> [@rainy](#): > > Absolutely agreed. One of the reasons this was the best episode in a while even though it was all minor characters. Plus the Oceansiders had a motivation for what they behaved t he way they did and dissenters in the ranks. I have to admit, I appreciated that as Tara was watching, the Oceansiders quietly interrupted their work, quietly got their rifles, and then not-so quietly started shooting, i.e. they had a system worked out among themselves that when an intruder is detected, they will respond in a calm disciplined manner, take up position and then open up with overpowering deadly force. It fails in that they all seem to have Imperial Stormtrooper aim, though, but if Tara had been killed in the first two or three shots (as is the goal, I gather), we’d have no episode. Instead we get to see a ridiculous amount of wasted ammo and a lot of missed shots (odd behaviour for a group who values concealment above all else), but what can you do, it’s TV. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/76 "2016-11-30T21:17:40Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I forgot that Tara and Black Guy existed. I membered, but I incorrectly thought Tara had been in the background somewhere when the mattresses got taken. Black hipster, I thought maybe the actor had left the show between seasons. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/77 "2016-11-30T21:53:38Z")
By the way, if one returns to Alexandria and Eugene is weeping, it doesn’t necessarily mean that some members of the group have been gruesomely bludgeoned into oblivion as a demonstration of arbitrary authority. It could just mean someone’s recently given him a wedgie. He’s kind of a bully-magnet. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/78 "2016-11-30T23:28:30Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I membered, Too much South Park? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/79 "2016-12-01T04:20:11Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Too much South Park? Is there such a thing?😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250/80 "2016-12-01T18:26:56Z")
The actress who plays Tara had been pregnant in the latter stages of last season, so when the writers got tired of standing her behind things they sent her off on a supply run ‘up north’. I’d forgotten Heath even existed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-7-06-swear-open-spoilers/773250.md?page=5)