Yeah but can you imagine what his digestive system is saying about all that friggin' corn!?

That can't be healthy.

But... back to zombies and such. I do rather hope Daryl sticks around, he might be a bit of an *** but he is at least funny with it. And kind of reminds me of home...

'Do you think we can just cut around that spot [on the deer]?' Good stuff...

M.

My problem wasn't so much with focusing on the characters. A zombie movie isn't good unless it focuses on the characters. But for some reason I don't care too much about the people who get hurt. It's a golden rule in film/series that you have to have empathy for the person that gets into difficult situations or you won't care.
I don't care about a racist, white trash redneck, and if he cuts of his hand... good for him, not so much a cliffhanger as it would be if it were Rick himself, you know. (unless he comes back with a chainsaw on the end of his bloody stump, which would be awesome ). Just kidding.

I think they kinda balanced it out the wrong way: making ep 1 quick into the action, ep 2 good zombie survival, but ep 3 all about the characters?

Scarab has a point with his reference to Lost: too many characters at once. The power of Lost lay in the fact that they focused on one character in a single episode, though. Last episode on the Walking Dead had me confused as to who the lead was.
A scattered brain works when there is little to think about - Zombies! Run!! *Boom* *moan* ACTION! *brainfuzz*
It doesn't work when you have to get emotionally attached.

Wow. That was a just a bunch of loose thoughts... My brain is getting pulpy.

I'll agree that the human part of the story is important, but I wouldn't say that the zombies are little more than a backdrop that could essentially be replaced by aliens or vampires or what have you. At least in our part of popular culture (the part that deals with everything that doesn't exist in the real world), the setting of a book or movie has always been important to the fans.

For example, fans of Firefly cite "no aliens" as one reason for its appeal, while fans of Star Trek cite practically the opposite: "interesting aliens". You could argue that Star Wars without Jedi would still be the same (the story of a young hero overcoming obstacles to redeem his father and save the galaxy), but that would make us nerds seem more grown-up than we really are. The lightsabers are a crucial part, dammit!

In my opinion, the series that has best combined the specific (sci-fi/fantasy) with the universal (human emotions/interaction) is Battlestar Galactica. They really did a good job of fleshing out pretty much every significant character on board (including several cylons), but they never neglected the space battles, the clankers, or the supernatural elements of the story.

think happy thoughts. . .Think Happy Thoughts. . .THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS!!!!

*rocking back and forth, shaking uncontrollably*

No, seriously it's hard to type this now! Hands still trembling! Bleep me gently with a chainsaw, This Episode Had Everything!! I just want to literally scream with equal parts horror and delight, but others nearby are sleeping *screams into pillow!* And I can't get into any detail 'cause Meri hasn't seen it yet!! *screams again into pillow*

All I can say is:

"He got what he deserved!"
"Nooo! Not Herrrr!!"
"I hope the Old People are Okay!"
"Where's the VAN!"
"I almost even hope Merle's okay." :-/
"Yay, fish fry! I want some!"
and then, "Ah BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEEEEP!!"

So, Until sometime Tuesday, Zombo-fanatics!

You're such a gentleman Pit... holding back any spoilers on my account.

Hopefully I can catch this awesomely epic episode with dinner tonight!

M.

I don't think you'll want to, the last half anyway.

...I knew that was coming but it still caught me unawares!

And yeah... where is that van, anyway? Kind of have a little theory on that but will hold my tongue for now...

I'm pretty good about eating and watching gross stuff.

Well at least since I got over the morning sickness.

Funny story... I have such an aversion to spittle (and tobacco) that when I tried to watch Kill Bill at the beginning of my pregnancy I ended up making a mad dash to the restroom when Elle gets that jar of spit up chew thrown in her face. The rest of the movie went fine for me... couldn't handle that scene though.

Blood and guts don't usually get to me.

M.

Zombies!

Have to agree gentlemen, Sunday's show was fantastical!

And yes... where is that van... and better yet... who has it? We are just assuming Merle has it, maybe the zombies took it for a joy ride

I'd been wondering if they were going to do something like the camp attack to be honest. There were so many people at the camp that just aren't in the comics, having them get munched by zombies is a good way to thin out the cast

M.

...The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that Merle, somehow, rounded up a bunch of zombies, loaded them into the van, drove them out to the camp and turned them loose.

Sure, there had been a flesh muncher or two near the camp before but that many? All of the sudden? C'mon... they couldn't have done anything to have drawn that horde in, could they have? Not without it having been seen by Rick and crew as they made their way back to Atlanta, right? And it's not like in the trades where the 'camp invasion' was precipitated by Rick and Shane teaching the rest of the survivors to shoot (cuz, hey... hasn't happened in the series and Rick doesn't even have the guns back to camp... *shrugs* )...

Makes one wonder....

And why no helicopter after Ep 2?



The plot thickens...

The helicopter. I'd forgotten about that.

Although that might just be a really long set up for something that happens in the comics quiet a bit later... *shrug*

And yeah... Merle being responsible for the attack had crossed my mind too. But sheesh... he's one hardcore Redneck if that's the case. Almost certainly dehydrated and hungry he not only manages to cut off his own hand, but manages to cauterize the wound and then round up a slew of zombies into a van with only the one hand without getting eaten himself? Possible yes... but dang!

M.

...and that's about where my conspiracy theory train of thought runs off the tracks.

I mean, supposedly Merle took out those two "geeks" that Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-dawg found after he hacked his hand off... bad@$$ enough, right there... shows that Merle's definitely tough as nails and hardcore even losing blood and minus an entire hand... Is he bad enough, though, or smart enough for that matter, to have rustled a pack of zombies into a van, drive them out to the camp, and turn them loose on the others? Without getting munched himself? *shrugs*

Probably not the case at all, really, just one of those 'thoughts' I had as the episode unfolded/wrapped up... I like to instigate.

Last episode was a great balance between all the ingredients that makes the genre interesting!

I really enjoyed the twist with the 'homies'. Unexpected, plausible, nice!

You were totally right, Pit!

I'm a bit late to the party, but here are my thoughts on the episode:

Good episode overall, and the ending was "to die for". (Very innovative humor on my part.) But here's something I wonder: Now that it's established fact that dreams predict the future, what other crazy things will come to people in their sleep?

Also, I'm not quite sure I understand the "gang". If they were in fact a bunch of criminals, I don't buy the idea that they of all people would suddenly care enough about a hospital full of old people to help them. If they weren't real gangsters, why did they kidnap Glenn?

As for the conspiracy theory about Merle being responsible for the zombie attack, there's one major hole in it, isn't there? For all Merle knew, Daryl was still in the camp and ruthless as he may be, I don't think he'd send the walking dead to kill his own brother.

My "conspiracy theory" was really little more than me being facetious and over the top, really... I seriously doubt that Merle had anything at all to do with the zombie attack on the camp... more than likely those zombies simply wandered closer and closer to the camp with each passing day (possibly drawn in by the sounds and such made by the survivors, etc) and, by sheer coincidence, attacked while Rick and company had gone back to Atlanta. *shrugs*

As to the "gangsters" minding the Old People, it's really not too much of a stretch... "Gangs" are often created to give their members a "family" more than put together for some group need to be criminals, after all (the criminal behavior undertaken by gangs is often validated, at least from their perspective, by some sense of 'taking care of our own')... So, when the "authorities" (people who are paid to protect and serve or whatever) ignored their own duties in deference to "looking out for number 1" and flat-out abandoned the old folks, Guillermo and his crew moved in and took over where "the system" failed them yet again. Don't know if you missed it or not, but the little old lady who "interrupted the negotiations between Rick and Guillermo" was G's grandmother, hence his interest and dedication in taking care of a hospital full of old people.

Glenn was taken hostage as a bargaining chip to be used in G and the vatos "negotiations" for Rick's bag of guns and/or the return of their own captured "homey"...