# The Walking Dead; 8.08 "How It's Gotta Be" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163 "2017-12-11T01:32:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [December 12, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/61 "2017-12-12T23:34:22Z")
The show used to be really, really good. Some of us are lamenting the fact that it is longer so good, while hoping it will return to something like it was in the past. I keep watching because I think it can redeem itself. If it doesn’t, then at some point I will probably stop watching. But I’m not there yet, and I’ll continue to criticize it as long as I keep watching, if I think it deserves criticism. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/62 "2017-12-13T00:07:09Z")
**[Moderating]** > [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > You know it’s funny, a bunch of you guys consistently talk about how stupid these people are when you intentionally waste time watching, and ruminating about, a show that you clearly don’t like - just so you can run to a message board and bitch about the stupidity of the show you have just voluntarily subjected yourself to. And some of you have been doing this for the whole fucking run of it. > > Lemme ask you a question, if you’re so fucking good at this why aren’t you making a bazillion dollars doing the writing instead of collecting pixel-points for being the hindsight smart guy? > > As to their stupidity has anyone ever considered the ubiquity and degree of PTSD that would be manifest after how many years and how much atrocity? As far as I know, PTSD is not known for bringing forth rationality and crystal clear thinking. > > Fucks sakes, most of you seem to think that all of these people ought to be Napoleon, or Alexander or Rommel or something. > > It’s a fucking TV show. Sit back, watch it and enjoy it or do something else. > > Jesus wept. And it’s any less pathetic to come into threads on message boards to complain about people watching a show and complaining about it? That’s called threadshitting, and there’s a reason we don’t allow it here. If you don’t want to participate in the discussion, then stay out. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/63 "2017-12-13T02:32:49Z")
I’m watching because I tend to ignore the Fallacy of Sunk Costs when it comes to TV. I’ve invested years in this show when it used to be good, and I’ll be damned if I’m not going to see it through. However, if the writing continues to be this bad, that may change. We’re very near the point of dropping the show. But if the show is going to be a trainwreck, at least we can eke some enjoyment out of it by analyzing the wreck and complaining about the driving. In the last episode, the strangest thing was that I had just been thinking, “You know, Carl has become the most interesting character on the show. Perhaps they can kill off Rick, who seems to do nothing now but run around with his eyes bugged out making ludicrous choices, and put Carl at the center of the show.” So of course they killed him off. He was the only one left who seemed to act like a real person. Can’t have that. I actually thought they were going to kill Michonne, because that character has gone off the rails as well. She used to be cool and smart and cut her way through the zombie apocalypse in style. Now she just sits around being scared and demanding to do stupid things like drive to an enemy compound, “Just because she has to see it.” Her character has been so weak this season I thought they were doing it on purpose to lessen the fan blowback when they killed her off. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/64 "2017-12-13T03:45:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **[Moderating]** > And it’s any less pathetic to come into threads on message boards to complain about people watching a show and complaining about it? That’s called threadshitting, and there’s a reason we don’t allow it here. If you don’t want to participate in the discussion, then stay out. As you wish ---
**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:** [December 13, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/65 "2017-12-13T05:34:03Z")
I was a bit surprised that Carl’s a goner because he’s still alive in the comics and he’s been the basis of major stories. I guess other characters will take over his role in future TV versions of those stories. Perhaps we’ll see a new young actor who’ll become a surrogate Carl. ETA: I thought about using spoiler tags, but I’m not spoiling anything. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOldKJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GoodOldKJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOldKJ)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/66 "2017-12-13T05:49:56Z")
What if that bite wasn’t from a Walker but a Whisperer? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/67 "2017-12-13T05:59:30Z")
He would get hepC or something, who wants that curse. You know, no meds or liver scans to be had. I kid, he’s a dead duck. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/68 "2017-12-13T11:40:05Z")
So, was there in any walkers in the last episode? That’s unusual if that’s the case… Also, I had lost interest at that point, but did the King survive? His people? I know there was a bus rescue or something… I’m starting to recall he could have been captured by the Saviours, but it changed a bunch of times over that period and was too dark to see a bunch of stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/69 "2017-12-13T18:33:38Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > They were settling down for the night to show up during the day. But it was already daytime. They could have approached Oceanside as soon as they arrived, and avoided being suspicious nighttime lurkers. If you want to wait until the next day, camp farther away, dammit. I doubt Carl was bitten by a Whisperer, since 1) that would be a terribly inept way of introducing Whisperers, and 2) that question always is indirectly about Carl not dying, and Carl is going to die, confirmed by Chandler Riggs. While #1 wouldn’t be surprising, #2 closes the door on the possibility, IMO. If you wanted to use a bite to introduce the Whisperers, the better bite victim would be Gabriel – he also seems to be suffering from a bite, but he doesn’t seem to be in a rush to die, nor does it seem like he’ll be off the show anytime soon. Ezekiel did survive. I think Nabila got most, if not all, of the Kingdom out of there on the bus and Ezekiel shut the gate behind 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:** [December 13, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/70 "2017-12-13T20:11:57Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > So, was there in any walkers in the last episode? That’s unusual if that’s the case… Yes. Michonne went all medieval on one in Alexandria. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/71 "2017-12-13T21:57:55Z")
I didn’t hate this episode but it was kind of boring and the show thinks the characters are more interesting than they are because they don’t spend time developing them. It’s fair to criticize an entertainment. You don’t have to do better to hope a show you like does better. I don’t hate watch shows but I will stick with a show for awhile hoping it does better. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/72 "2017-12-13T22:02:51Z")
> [@Geek\_Mecha](#): > > But it was already daytime. It was dusk when they got out of the distillery, they would have arrived at night time. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/73 "2017-12-13T23:36:20Z")
Wasn’t Carl in the “flash forward” that Rick had of himself as an older man in the first episode this year? ---
**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:** [December 13, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/74 "2017-12-13T23:50:42Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I was a bit surprised that Carl’s a goner because he’s still alive in the comics and he’s been the basis of major stories. I guess other characters will take over his role in future TV versions of those stories. Perhaps we’ll see a new young actor who’ll become a surrogate Carl. > > ETA: I thought about using spoiler tags, but I’m not spoiling anything. This was pretty innocuous, but do we need the OP to put something about spoilers in future threads? I’m not super anal about avoiding all spoilers, but I usually don’t want to know what happens in the comics. Just seem like if you must mention the comics, just spoiler it. It’s easy enough to do. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/75 "2017-12-14T21:31:37Z")
I have heard Chandler Riggs is bringing a lawsuit, because he had some time left on his contract. Has anyone seen this printed or reported anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/76 "2017-12-15T00:04:21Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I went back and watched the Carl scenes and, in hindsight, it was obvious. From his letter to Rick to his exchange with Negan: > > “Do you want to die?” > > 'No, I don’t. But I’m going to." > > It makes sense that they would go ahead and kill off Carl. He has the Walt from Lost problem. The last three seasons have covered only a few months and Chandler is just too old now to be playing a 14-15 year old. Oh, so THAT’S the believability problem with this show? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/77 "2017-12-15T00:10:17Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Wasn’t Carl in the “flash forward” that Rick had of himself as an older man in the first episode this year? Yup, More of a day dream than a flash forward perhaps. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuQ97kKcrzM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuQ97kKcrzM) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/78 "2017-12-15T18:15:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have heard Chandler Riggs is bringing a lawsuit, because he had some time left on his contract. Has anyone seen this printed or reported anywhere? It’s a bit unclear, the one site that I glanced at says he was fired from TWD because that was necessary to the tv storyline, where it’s going. (???) He said he just bought a house in Georgia… And there is a lawsuit or two going on, again, unclear, as someone is suing for back wages. It may be Chandler’s father doing the suing. If the young man had a contract for the next few years and was fired, well, of course there would be repercussions, who would want to just shrug and walk away? (There always seems to be a lawsuit or two going on with big tv shows.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/79 "2017-12-15T18:30:21Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have heard Chandler Riggs is bringing a lawsuit, because he had some time left on his contract. Has anyone seen this printed or reported anywhere? [This page](http://horrorfreaknews.com/chandler-riggs-fired-twd-according-actors-dad/22445) has a now-deleted tweet from Riggs’s dad. > [@](#): > > It’s interesting to note that Riggs’ father claims his son had been told his character would be around for at least 3 more years before abruptly switching gears. Still, it’s difficult to tell whether the actor’s dad is airing a legitimate concern, or illustrating a severe case of sour grapes. What do you guys think? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163/80 "2017-12-15T18:32:05Z")
uh oh, sounds like someone’s got a “stage dad.” wasn’t this same guy making noises about leaving the show after season 7? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-8-08-how-its-gotta-be-open-spoilers/804163.md?page=5)