The Walking Dead

[InSpades]

I think Rep. Deanna Monroe is a smart lady who recognizes that her community has been fortunate to avoid major conflict thus far. She sees Rick and his crew as someone who can protect the rest of them when conflict inevitably comes (I'm betting the 3 men she exiled are not dead but will come back with help in an effort to take the place). We have not met a lot of the folks who live in Alexandria, but if Aiden and Nicholas are two of the best fighters, then the people in this place are not very badass. I cracked up at Aiden attempting to sucker punch Glenn and getting flattened instead.

I won't be even remotely surprised if Daryl leaves the community to live on his own in the wild for a little while. Eventually, he will decide to come back, probably at an opportune moment when his skills as a fighter are really needed.

Mysteries that need to be addressed soon:

• Who took Rick's gun and how could anyone outside our group know he hid it there?
• Who beheaded all those people from Noah's home town and then put their heads in the truck a couple episodes ago?
• What was up with the thinly veiled anger when Pete (Jessie's husband) was talking to Rick? Was that jealousy or something else?
• Where is Enid, the teen girl, going when she leaves Alexandria? Could she be tied to some people who want to take over Alexandria?
• Was there a reason Carol chose to invent a new persona for herself and lie about her pre-Zombie life?
• How long will it take for Rick to become the leader of Alexandria? I'll put the over-under at 2 more episodes. And will he become leader by force or from Deanna asking him?

I truly think the best moments on The Walking Dead have come when our group feels safe and are not constantly dealing with Walkers all the time. I am happy they have found a new home and am eager to see how everyone is impacted once they take a shower (I'm talking to you, Daryl!).

-Jason "in contrast with the image of the Alexandria folks as being incompetent fighters is Aaron tracking our group for a long time before recruiting them to come to Alexandria" Evans

Definitely agree about the exiles coming back to haunt Alexandria. Put in their position... how could you not come back and try to take the place over? Especially if you met up w/ some more powerful group.

Enid would be my 1st guess on the gun. Or the exiles.

As for Carol... I think she's just playing things smart/safe. If they think she's a nice little old lady then maybe she can use that to her advantage should things go bad. She's definitely laying it on a bit thick though.

[JasonEvans]

Definitely agree about the exiles coming back to haunt Alexandria. Put in their position... how could you not come back and try to take the place over? Especially if you met up w/ some more powerful group.

I wonder if Alexandria will be attacked by people or zombies first. While I am sure both will happen, I could see a big wandering Zombie hoard as a good initial show of the value of Rick's group. Thanks to the evacuation of Northern Virginia, the area has been largely free or lots of zombies. It would be interesting to see how clueless Aiden and Nicholas dealt with a lot of walkers until Rick, Michonne, Glen, Abraham, and Daryl showed them how it is really done.

-Jason "I hope we get to see more of Alexandria next week -- for example, how are they getting food? Do they have a farm?" Evans

[bjornolf]

Maybe Daryl's job will be hunter for the group? This would allow him to leave the city and have his solitude while remaining nearby.

I loved Carol's transformation. So clever, though I'm surprised Deanna didn't at least partially see through it.

I think the "exiles" were hiding in the cabin or whatever it was and took it as soon as Rick left.

Daryl's dinner line ALMOST as good as Michonne's two from last week. I loved it!

[fuse]

Jason pretty much nailed all my questions.

Here are my theories:
Pre-teen girl (Enid?) is a spy for the Wolves (the supposed zombie bifurcators from a couple episodes ago).
Enid has been watching and has the blender gun.

Carl's relationship with Enid leads to outside the walls trouble.
Rick's real or imagined relationship with his hair cutter leads to inside the walls trouble (or Glenn and the congressman's son).

Lots of interesting setups. Was it me or was Gabriel nowhere to be found in this episode (on screen, anywhere)?

Rick already thinking to take over the town is a dark shift.

[ncexnyc]

Enid is definitely someone to watchout for and isn't who she says she is. Notice how easily she gave Karl the slip. If she wasn't doing something shady, she wouldn't have needed to go into stealth mode.

I suspect we might have some internal tension within the group over how they manage their new found home. Rick, Carol, and Daryll seem willing to take charge of the community, but I'm not so sure Michone would be down for that.

[JNort]

Perhaps Daryl becomes a spy! Maybe she will secretly ask him to see if he can merge in with the Wolves and tell no one he is doing so cause she be lives a spy is already among them...

[moonpie23]

rick is becoming 2 fries short of a happy meal...

[FerryFor50]

rick is becoming 2 fries short of a happy meal...

Yea, I feel like he's going all Shane on us, especially with the menacing look he gave the hubby of the woman he's got a thing for.

And Carol? WTF. Cold blooded.

What was up with the scarlet letter? Everyone wears an A and brandishes it like it's a membership card? And the walkers have W on their foreheads? Perhaps it's similar to medieval crests/flags. The zombie apocalypse was a giant reset button on human history.

Will be interesting to see how all of these dynamics play out. The whole time, Rick's been telling the people of Alexandria that people are the threat now. And he's right - except, it's his group that's the threat.

[fuse]

Fearless predictions with 3 episodes left in the season:

I am expecting a lot of cliffhangers and action.

Daryl had a quote last night about the horse, something about they become what they were / were meant to be, which sure felt like foreshadowing about the group.

I am willing to be wrong, at current pace it feels like trouble within the walls will happen before trouble outside the walls (maybe Enid and the Wolves wait until next season as Alexandria tears itself apart between those that never really knew the apocalypse and those that are trying to recover / forget.)

Carol's charade can't last much longer.

Sasha sure feels like she is being set up as the next cast member to be voted off the island, so I am guessing she is safe.

What's up with Gabriel being literally invisible for 2-3 episodes and possibly being the focus of next week?
I have a feeling we will find out what kind of lost soul Gabriel is, I suspect whatever he chooses to preach on is going to incite an event.

The only bummer is three episodes left this season. I assume there are budget and timing issues, based on its popularity, feels like Walking Dead could be a year round every week show. I don't read the comics, I know there is some divergence from the source material. I wonder how much of the comic is left to draw from?

[budwom]

I just thought the walkers with the W on their foreheads were ardent Bush supporters, but maybe I've misread that...

[ncexnyc]

Is it feasible for the Wolverines to extend from Noah's base all the way to Alexandria?

Wasn't our group three days without water, albeit part of it on foot from Noah's base?

Definitely don't like the Rick we have seen recently.

[FerryFor50]

Is it feasible for the Wolverines to extend from Noah's base all the way to Alexandria?

Wasn't our group three days without water, albeit part of it on foot from Noah's base?

Definitely don't like the Rick we have seen recently.

Wolverines? Is this Red Dawn? :-P

Also, don't assume that Noah's old base is any way related to this.

[bjornolf]

Wolverines? Is this Red Dawn? :-P

Also, don't assume that Noah's old base is any way related to this.

On Talking Dead Sunday night, they mentioned a group called the Wolves, who were apparently a big deal in the comics.

[FerryFor50]

On Talking Dead Sunday night, they mentioned a group called the Wolves, who were apparently a big deal in the comics.

Right. But they're not the Wolverines.

[moonpie23]

observations:

1 - bye bye noah...didn't like you anyway, although, now that you're gone, i don't remember why...

2. Carol might be the baddest mf'r in the group

3. rick is crazy

4. our team is gonna wipe the floor with their team...



as rick said at the end of last year, when they were in the boxcar at terminus "they have no idea who they're screwing with"


let's get on with the big show down...

[bjornolf]

Anybody else have a flashback to Pulp Fiction when Eugene was riding in the passenger seat with his finger on the trigger (very unsafe practice, by the way). The hair was even similar.

It's been a BAD season for the brothers of the group.

[fuse]

Preview for next week showed four tombstones.

Deanna's son
Noah
Tara (?)
+1?

Gabriel stirring up trouble which will play into Deanna's reaction that her son died.
Deanna already suspicious based on conversation with Maggie.

Will Rick kill Peter (doctor who is allegedly beating his wife that Rick likes) or will it be Carol (prison murder rehash)?

Will someone from the group kill Gabriel?
What form of justice will their be in Alexandria? There's been some foreshadowing in the past couple episodes about rules / new world order. We see the one guy asking to quit being the foreman of the work crew because Abraham was better. What fate will there be for the Alexandria guy that cost Noah his life?

My guess is things are about to hit the fan in Alexandria, which means final episode may give us the "what about Enid" or the speculative Wolves cliffhanger.

While I like most of the major characters, it seems AMC has figured out the group is too big and is actively thinning the cast. While some of the effects were not great, this was the goriest episode I can remember in a while.

[bjornolf]

What fate will there be for the Alexandria guy that cost Noah his life?

Nicholas cost Deanna's son (Aiden is it?) HIS life too. Now, Aiden probably would gave died anyway, but he had no chance once that guy stopped helping Glenn and took off. Of course, it'll be his word vs. Glenn's, but I like to think Deanna sees the value and experience Glenn brings and would be more likely to believe him, though after Gabriel's jerk move, who knows?

[bjornolf]

Will Rick kill Peter (doctor who is allegedly beating his wife that Rick likes) or will it be Carol (prison murder rehash)?

I don't think this is the same as the prison murder. That was to protect everyone. This is a visceral reaction she's having to seeing an alcoholic, abusive husband beat up on his wife. Pete is absolutely no threat to her (anymore... would have been to the old Carole) or the group like the sickness or the girl (Lizzie?) was. This is personal.

[JasonEvans]

Nicholas cost Deanna's son (Aiden is it?) HIS life too. Now, Aiden probably would gave died anyway, but he had no chance once that guy stopped helping Glenn and took off. Of course, it'll be his word vs. Glenn's, but I like to think Deanna sees the value and experience Glenn brings and would be more likely to believe him, though after Gabriel's jerk move, who knows?

It is going to be interesting to see how they handle the investigation into Aiden's death (and Noah's). I am sure the show will have Nicholas lie and say that it was Glenn's fault. Nicholas will probably even say that it was planned by Glenn to get Aiden out of the way. Now, in real life it would be clear that Nicholas is a coward and his story would fall apart upon any reasonable questioning, but the show probably won't go that way. It is worth noting via the incident with the construction crew that the people of Alexandria have a policy about fleeing and leaving friends behind, so when Glenn says Nicholas just wanted to leave Aiden behind and when Eugene says Aiden tried to steal the truck and flee it should ring true to Deanna. But, I suspect Deanna's ability to think rationally will be clouded in her grief over losing her son.

I'm wondering why Gabriel was so eager to speak out against our heroes. Is he still that traumatized by the massacre of the cannibals in his church? Or maybe does he worry that Rick and Co know his big secret about allowing his parishioners to be massacred and he wants to find new folks who will not know how far he fell? Either way, Fr. Gabriel picked sides.. and he picked the wrong one. By the way, Gabriel has now been passed by Eugene on the "I'm completely useless in the new world" scale putting him only one spot above the bottom rung (currently occupied by Judith) so you'd think he would be thankful to the group for keeping him alive for so long.

It is a total guess, but I am betting next week we will lay the seeds of the battle for control of Alexandria. The fight will begin but be extended into the season finale. The finale will produce serious casualties on both sides (Deanna dies, perhaps putting drunken Pete in charge?) and there will be some kind of standoff in the finale that would seem ready to cost a lot more lives, but then something will happen outside the gates -- perhaps a breach with Zombies coming inside or (more likely) the "Wolves" or some other group will attack and force the two sides to ban together to fight them off. As a result, the old and new Alexandria residents will have to form a new community for their own safety... with Rick as the new man in charge.

Just a guess, but that is how I see it playing out. Then, next season will be all about a united Alexandria versus the forces that want to get inside the gates. Not entirely dissimilar from some of the stuff with the Governor and the prison.

-Jason "why was Carol being so mean to Sam? Shouldn't she be continuing to butter him up so he won't tell anyone about the guns?" Evans