couldn't agree more.... opening day is only hours away now.... sports aren;t happening tonight
Is they cannibals???
idk rick just took a healthy bite outta that dudes neck
That was insane!
March 30th, 2014 at 10:02 PM ^
son of a bitch..........
March 30th, 2014 at 10:06 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 10:11 PM ^
...when they found out they are screwing with the wrong people."
Cannot wait for next season!
March 30th, 2014 at 10:15 PM ^
Was very close to giving up on the series.
The last two episodes finally had some plot development - too bad we have to wait.
Rick going full carnal was even more disturbing than the lame girl executions. I really thought that might be the "jump the shark moment."
So, these last two episodes have me back on board. But if next season is another obvious milking of the cow by AMC, they might lose me.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:24 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 10:37 PM ^
Right up there with Carl shooting his mother.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:53 PM ^
Was a great piece of television. You're way off base on this season as a whole, as well.
Ah, come on now. I like the walking dead - I'm not trying to harsh anyone's mellow. But it wasn't a "great" piece of television. It was great shock value, but there was nothing especially amazing about it to me. And it is so fucking lame that Carol - of all people - is the judge that decides who is too fucked up to live. Why doesn't she put a bullet in her brain already if she's all about sacrificing for the good of the group.
How am I way off base?
They spent an entire episode with Daryl and Beth looking for booze and playing "Never Have I Ever." You can't tell me that wasn't disappointing.
They could do character development without giving plot development a week off. It's possible. But they are obviously stretching it out, which is bringing down the quality.
There were many episodes this season where I totally zoned out and just had it on in the background while getting work done. Compare that to tonight where I actually was sitting in front of the couch, eyes glued to the screen.
More episodes like tonight, please.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:58 PM ^
Yeah, that episode was called "Still," and it ended with Beth and Daryl flipping the bird at "us." Which was kinda like the writers doing it to the viewing audience. Coincidentally enough, I had already extended my middle finger to the TV, as well.
This season was a disaster, and not in a good "Walking Dead" way. Tonight, I'll give credit where due. The Hunters scene was about as good as it gets.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:01 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:03 PM ^
I love character development and build-up as much as the next guy. But you don't have to bring the entire main narrative to a screeching halt to do it. effectively. Other shows do this so much better than TWD does.
I enjoyed tonight's episode, but it DOES seem like they know they can milk this as long as they want to, and as a result, individual episodes suffer for it. Some, like "Still," a great deal.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:17 PM ^
lolwut
It's not about wanting gratification - it's about not wanting to be given the middle finger by AMC execs.
Look at Breaking Bad. That series is so acclaimed because every episode served a clear purpose in advancing the plot and every scene, every shot served a purpose. The writing, directing and acting wove together flawlessly.
Even the slowest BB episode - the fly in the lab - was enthralling television because of the acting, the direction and the suspense of whether Walt would tell Jesse that he let Jane die. A suspense that was paid off ten-fold in "Ozymandias" (side note: best single episode of TV i've ever watched. JMO).
Do we really think any kind of similar pay-off will come of "Still"? Sure, TWD doesn't have the actors that BB has (with some exceptions, of course). Sure it might be apples and oranges to compare them. But if you're going to pull off episodes that don't advance the plot, you need better writing and better actors than TWD. I'd rather have them just advance the plot. And that includes cutting down on gratuitous zombie fights.
When's the last time a zombie has killed a main character? When a zombie fight happens I am totally uninterested.
As for them not dropping the F-bomb. Why don't you just drop that into there yourself and put yourself in a happier place. Talking Dead actually went into some detail on this and said they filmed the line the way you wanted... From the comics... But ultimately went without. I'm guessing it will be on some Director's cut one day.
For a story that has covered so much ground in 4 seasons I don't know why people are in such a rush to get somewhere. Are you late for something? Is the show behind schedule? Do you just want it to be done already? Shame on the writers for trying to get you invested in characters before chopping their heads off.
Well, I addressed the Fly episode in the post above yours. The Fly episode, while slow, did serve a purpose that was paid off mightily in the third-to-last episode of the series.
But where exactly have we gone in 4 seasons? Not far if you ask me. Our merry band of heros is pretty much in the same spot they were at the end of last season - in a fight with a merry band of villians.
We've learned nothing of the outbreak (even though we now have a character who apparently knows everything about it).
We're stuck geographically. We could use a change of scenery which is why this Terminus was so welcome even if the story is a "been there done that" with Woodsbury.
A change up of main characters would be nice. Or just a slimming down. Kill Carol already. She supposedly served her purpose by being the character that would kill an unarmed child. Now get rid of her. Give Tyrese some freaking screen time already. Get back to bad ass Glen.
Hell, the more I write the more I finding myself wanting more character development. That would be better than "woo zombie kills." The zombies have become an annoyance, not a fear. But perhaps this season is the pivot away from zombies and towards the truly more scary villians - humans. That'd be a nice change.
March 31st, 2014 at 10:28 PM ^
First off , the comics were never about what caused the outbreak. Only the survival. If you had read the comics you can't be 100% certain they are villians. They could be at the alexandria safe zone settlement or the Saviors base.
Secondly, sorry if it's not as fast paced as you'd like. End of the world and all, you'd imagine it might take more than a few years to travel to DC from Atlanta fighting off zombies, wasters and starting a settlement for around year. I'm not a film school student but the govenor destroying the prison changed every single characters story arc in a profound way. What are you exactly looking for?
Maybe I'll just shut the fuck up. I'm popping off about things I know nothing about... I still don't have my writer guild card.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:18 PM ^
be those that need a continuous fix of Duke Nukem or Doom.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:24 PM ^
So Terminus is obviously a group of cannibals, right?
I feel dumb for asking, but normally in TWD these things are laid out a little more obviously.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:31 PM ^
It would appear that they represent the group called, "The Hunters" in the series. You may google that at your own pleasure but be prepared for possible spoilers.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:55 PM ^
Thanks - no sarcasm. Sounds I may or may not be right but it hasn't necessarily been made obvious so I won't research/spoil.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:48 PM ^
I went 0-for-2 today, as far as I'm concerned.
20 minutes of commercials, 10 minutes of pointless and unneeded flashbacks...maybe 10 minutes of decent action (the tense showdown with the Hunters was total badass)...but then....the episode totally ran out of gas and chugged and sputtered to the end.
It still amazes me that they can show SO MUCH gore on TV but can't use the f-word. Which would have made for a far superior closing line: "They FUCKED with the wrong people." THAT would have been an ending line worthy of a finale. Even if they had to "partial bleep" it. I was expecting such an epic and awesome closer...and then clunk. Roll credits.
Oh well.
Go Tigers. At least Norman is totally down with that.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:58 PM ^
Great call on "They fucked with the wrong people."
And AMC's done that with Breaking Bad!!! They just kill the sound for the "fuck" but the impact is huge.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:07 PM ^
Absolutely, BB -- I had forgotten. Hank's line right before he was killed. Skyler's epic "I fucked Ted" line...and there are surely plenty more.
I wonder why TWD doesn't do this?
March 30th, 2014 at 10:26 PM ^
Call Rick Grimes. Woof, Woof.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:40 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 10:48 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 10:56 PM ^
That was my exact thought this time a year ago, which makes me feel as though AMC is purposefully slowing the plot down to milk the ratings.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:51 PM ^
I found it interesting that it was Hershel trying to turn Rick into a farmer. But Rick's instincts were right - peace wasn't going to last.
March 30th, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:04 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^
That entire scene might have been top 5 (or better) all-time for the series.
March 30th, 2014 at 11:14 PM ^
Just don't forget to floss.
March 31st, 2014 at 12:48 AM ^
Just keep in mind, and know they have strayed off the comic trail already, but its not going to be long before they catch up to the comic.
Honestly though, I find myself liking the show less with each season so far. First season was my favorite and I liked the pacing for the most part. The show has been hit and miss for me since. I found this season overall to be pretty mediocre, with the exception of a couple episodes.
I still like the show, but its bordering on losing me. The first season was also my favorite, after that was when Darabont was fired/left the show. Thats when AMC dropped the the budget for the show. It can be better. But those who are comic fans I think its falling further and further off the track.
I want to delve into why TWD is growing away from me a bit more and would love the perspective of "Die-hards." I argued above about lack of plot advancement, but the more I think about it, the less I think it has to do with plot advancement.
1. Streaming vs. Watching in Real Time
This is an interesting dynamic. I watched the first two season on Netflix and was totally hooked. Now I watch in real time and am always feeling that we're always stuck. Perhaps it was because those so-called slower episodes in the first two seasons I was able to move right to the next one. Perhaps TWD doesn't really generate the water-coolertalk and benefit from the week off to build suspense, Don't know.
2. The Character Development Sucks (maybe?)
I don't mind character development. As I said, I enjoyed the "Fly" episode from Breaking Bad. But after 4 seasons I am invested in two characters: Rick and Carl (Hershel before). That's it. If any other character were knocked off, I would shrug and say whatever. I am not an expert on screenwriting, but I do know that I don't care about Daryl's amazingly cliche' background. I don't care about Michonne's background - in fact, she was more interesting when we knew little about her. I'd love to see more from Tyrese. I couldn't care less about Carol's character. Literally, that character sucks. Not in a love-to-hate Joffrey sort of way, either. I groan whenever she is on screen.
3. Where is "X" today?
Speaking of characters - going so many episodes just without seeing characters is annoying. How do we invest in Tyresse if he's never on screen? The only deep character, Rick, is missing from screen so often. How about take out some of those zombie kills and show us what the fuck Tyrese and Carol are doing for a couple minues. Speaking of zombie kills...
4. Woo CGI budget let's kill zombies!!!
The pointless CGI zombie kills. Ugh. When will they end. As I said above, we know that the zombies aren't killing any main characters. The zombies have become the most annoying part of the show. We need more characters like the Claim Gang. That was an interesting dynamic (with great acting from their leader, BTW). The gratuitous gore is another middle finger to those of us that were interested in the intellectual side of the show at the beginning. Bringing me to...
5. The lack of intellectualism
What is this zombie outbreak. Why is it happening? What is going on outside the woods of outer-Atlanta? There's so much to explore. Why did it take until the end of the penultimate episode to get any hint of the Terminus people? Where was the foreshadowing? A lesson from LOST would have been great here. Little snippets of insight into this other group of people would have really built interest and momentum into them meeting up, even if it still took the entire season.
I'm assuming it is supposed to be more of a character study - what happens to otherwise normal people under these conditions. I get that. But I argue that it's failing as a TV show (yes I know I'm describing a ratings boon as failing). The character development has been so cliche' and, IMO, boring.
I don't know, just thoughts. I critique because I do like the show. But I find it flawed and wish it was appointment viewing (ala BB or GoT) and not only appt viewing if nothing else is on Sunday night.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I've enjoyed reading up on TWD today and, in fact, it's kinda re-energized my interest in the series - though I guess that's what a finale is supposed to do.
I don't think anyone was surprised by the people at Terminus being "bad." Therefore, I think it would have been awesome to go "The Others" route from LOST and really go creepy and give us this building tension of Rick & Gang walking into a trap. But that's neither here nor there.
Grantland, as always, had a great recap. A better wordsmith than I summed up my thoughts:
Just because I know I’m tempting internet IEDs from Walking Dead loyalists, let me first make something clear: I’ve watched this show since the beginning — hell, I was at the first Comic-Con panel where Frank Darabont flooded the room with zombie extras. And despite its adorably adolescent imperfections, I’ve always found levels on which to enjoy it no matter how illogical or just plain silly it gets. Basically, I’ve invested enough time in this series that it’s much more fun for me to have fun watching it. But this season, and these past eight episodes especially, have tested my patience with their aimlessness. Obviously there were some notable exceptions — say, Carol forcing Lizzie to stop and smell the roses — but Season 4 has overall felt like one long, meandering field trip to the county Museum of Existential Ennui. I’m all for character development and brownie points to TWD for attempting to fold that into the genre, but having people explicitly vocalize their internal struggles over and over doesn’t always count as character development. Sometimes, it’s just an extended couch session with me, the viewer, serving as unpaid therapist.
The rest is much more complimentary of the episode and series in general. That was the bitchy paragraph. It's all a good read.
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/the-walking-dead-finale-recap…