In which “Now” just means “What?”
Kim: After the excruciatingly long “Tale of Morgan” episode of last week, The Walking Dead returned with a little more excitement, and I do mean “little.” I have to believe that all of the talky and feely and stuff is setting up for an epic mid-season finale – and yes, it’s already time to start talking about that because it’s coming up very quickly.
This episode left me with far too many questions, and while I’m used to questions in this show, these are the kinds of questions that I don’t really want to have. They are nagging pieces that just won’t go away, kind of like herpes, and no one wants that.
1.) How did Rick get out of the RV? I mean obviously, he got out and ran, but what drove him to that point? Why did he run to Alexandria and not away from it, making all kinds of noise, drawing the herd away, and then just slinking off in a different direction? What’s going on with his hand all cut open and soaked in walker blood? Regardless, this sets up a flashback show, which I’m seriously tired of. I’m terrified it’ll be 90 minutes of Rick in the RV until he sees the sun and hallucinates Dale’s face super-imposed on it, urging him to get out and try.
2.) How come we didn’t get to see anyone tell anyone that Glenn and Nicholas are MIA? I’m extremely concerned about why people wrote their names on the memorial wall. Glenn didn’t even make it to The Talking Dead, and yet the folks in Alexandria are memorializing him. No one saw them die, so how do you know? I’m bothered that people gave up on them. So the whole “what was said” thing is pretty freakin’ important.
3.) How can you have the nurse/doctor lady kissing on Tara when I thought for sure she was cut out for Eugene? Don’t you care about my mullet-wearing friend? He deserves some lovin’ too and I thought the quirky, anxiety-ridden nurse lady was perfect for him.
4.) Why is everyone acting like Abraham, Sasha, and Daryl are already lost? I mean Rosita is awfully touchy. Maybe, like me, they’re expecting them to have been back already. I mean they were just taking them 20 miles down the road and were half way there the last time we saw them.
5.) What are we going to do about Dave Grohl?
6.) Rick is kissing on Jessie in an open garage, in the evening, with a light on. Didn’t he just tell everyone to keep the lights to a minimum or even off? Why doesn’t Rick follow the rules? This explains where Carl gets it from.
7.) Is Carl in the house? Will someone please cut his hair or make him wear the hat again? Please?!?!?!
8.) What happened to Deanna? I mean she was looking pretty ashen, almost the gray of a walker. Every episode she looks worse and worse. And is she the only person who doesn’t know how to kill a walker?
9.) Maggie is pregnant and the person she decides to share this gem with is Aaron? Does it seem odd that he would be the person she confides in, or is that just me?
10.) Where the fuck is Carol?
Shawn: Now that we had spent 90 minutes in Morgan-town, I hoped we would pick up where we had left off and in the 60 minutes of “Now” that we would bring our few spread-out folks all up-to-date. Alas, that may not happen for another few episodes. I will say that when we get to the mid-season finale, I am already preparing the “the half season would have played out just as well told chronologically” piece. Separating the stories hasn’t really added to the suspense or drama. And sticking with one group hasn’t helped me “get to know” the characters any better. I also have some irritations that could use some salve. I don’t think the episode was a complete failure – so don’t read that into my questions – but I do think it was the weakest hour of this season.
1.) If you give me an hour and a half of Morgan, then why don’t you use that momentum and make that story at least matter just a little bit to this week’s episode?
2.) Are you really going to try that hard to get me to care about the Alexandrians by taking away my core cast? I don’t think that’s the best way. You really gave me more Carl than Daryl, Morgan, Carol, Michonne, Abraham, and Sascha? And Carl should at least pull out the “I was shot and almost died” story a bit more.
3.) Rick and Jessie are a thing now? I feel like the timeline here is pretty condensed but didn’t he just get back from the RV (somehow) and just found out that there was a Wolf attack and that most of his crew are still out there? And she seems okay that he shot her husband not long ago either? I know that the “future” is uncertain but this all seems very sudden.
4.) Deanna has a background in town planning? Conveniently locating a blank map of the town, Deanna whipped out a map for the next 15 years with farms and shit. Then she tops it off by showing off her Latin skills. Haven’t we made plans like this at both The Farm and The Prison? Her character is an enigma for me. I think I like her mostly. Then I have my suspicions. So much so that at the end when she walked up to beat on the fence, I thought for sure she was going to open it in some weird suicide wish.
5.) Can we get more Swamp Thing Zombies? I have become desensitized to most of the zombies. I like when we see some character we knew even briefly. I think the suicide zombie lady was the one from the “note” a couple episodes ago. But I loved the sewer-dwelling, slippery-muddy-sticks-hanging-from-them walkers. By this time, there have to be some super grody zombies that haven’t seen sunlight in over a year. I like the variety.
6.) Finally, I know you like to end with a cliffhanger or question but where is that blood coming from at the end? Is that a walker? Is it David Grohl? Is it Gabriel? Please say it’s Gabriel. I know the wall is going to have to give in pretty soon but can we just wait until you catch us up on all the other questions first? Then we can start the next half season on the run again with all our new couples and kids who just learned how to shoot a gun. Excellent idea.
Oh yeah, where’s Carol?
