The Walking Dead - Season 7

[meyers7]

I like Tara but the reason people are not gonna like this episode is because it was terrible & chock full of unnecessary diversion, plot holes, ridiculous fake-outs, inexplicable decision-making & action that make TWD a 2nd rate show.

Well I would disagree, except for the fake-out, that was pretty weak.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Well I would disagree, except for the fake-out, that was pretty weak.

Defend
There was no freakin' reason for a full diversion episode of this crap other than to save $ paid to main cast and prolong the Negan plotline. The entire episode coulda been done in a 2-minute speech via the girl at the end describing Negan executing all the men, the girls escaping and now hiding and maybe add that they uncovered an arsenal on the bridge (1hr simply to justify Rick gets guns, duh of course he's getting guns whether someone has them, he finds them in a hole or it rains frogs & guns next week). Should have been a 5 minute scene tops. Bells, larder, soup!?

Even money that we go back to Kingdom now and we leave Jesus & Carl in the back of the truck for another week. Building that drama and 1000% ignoring it is just bad storytelling.

 

[Deadrody]

Defend
There was no freakin' reason for a full diversion episode of this crap other than to save $ paid to main cast and prolong the Negan plotline. The entire episode coulda been done in a 2-minute speech via the girl at the end describing Negan executing all the men, the girls escaping and now hiding and maybe add that they uncovered an arsenal on the bridge (1hr simply to justify Rick gets guns, duh of course he's getting guns whether someone has them, he finds them in a hole or it rains frogs & guns next week). Should have been a 5 minute scene tops. Bells, larder, soup!?

Even money that we go back to Kingdom now and we leave Jesus & Carl in the back of the truck for another week. Building that drama and 1000% ignoring it is just bad storytelling.

Same kind of thing as leaving Glenn under the dumpster last year unnecessarily. Too clever by half.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Is the only analogy for how TWD treats its audience LOST? I only saw an occasional episode of LOST, but seems they also had lots of rabbit holes that were only interesting or worthwhile because an overzealous audience prescribed deep meaning. TWD has a little bit of that and mostly even dumber viewers like myself that keep watching regardless of plot b/c cool sand zombies.

 

[UConn990411]

Is the only analogy for how TWD treats its audience LOST? I only saw an occasional episode of LOST, but seems they also had lots of rabbit holes that were only interesting or worthwhile because an overzealous audience prescribed deep meaning. TWD has a little bit of that and mostly even dumber viewers like myself that keep watching regardless of plot b/c cool sand zombies.

Honestly, I think it comes down to TWD writers just not being very talented.

They have a comic book to use as a guide, and they still can't avoid giant plot holes.

 

[Dove]

Ya know how much I cared about Tara? I didn't even realize she was off for 9 episodes (I knew she was a prego, tho).

And to think so many of the last run of shows is all within a 3 week span. Seems like a year.

 

[Fishy]

Welp, that was crap.

This was purely a budget move.

This is how you keep the psycho Fonzi story line going for two years on the cheap.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Honestly, I think it comes down to TWD writers just not being very talented.

They have a comic book to use as a guide, and they still can't avoid giant plot holes.

I honestly can't blame the writers or even the show-runner b/c these things happen under 3 different show runners and presumably many writers. It is simply a serial cash grab by Kirkman & whomever else benefits from the 'net' of the series. They consistently drag out story-lines, stick with locations and do episodes with limited actor appearances. Then they'll toss audience a bone/big action episode to keep the majority of the gravy train audience tuning in. Push comes to shove business wins over story 100% of the time on this show.

 

[meyers7]

Defend
There was no freakin' reason for a full diversion episode of this crap other than to save $ paid to main cast and prolong the Negan plotline. The entire episode coulda been done in a 2-minute speech via the girl at the end describing Negan executing all the men, the girls escaping and now hiding and maybe add that they uncovered an arsenal on the bridge (1hr simply to justify Rick gets guns, duh of course he's getting guns whether someone has them, he finds them in a hole or it rains frogs & guns next week). Should have been a 5 minute scene tops. Bells, larder, soup!?

Probably not. Oceanside is a location in the comics. Looks like they might use it here in the TV series too. So not really a diversion, but rather an introduction of a new locale.
But yea, they got guns. (and yea, probably one way or another, Rick's Gang is gonna get them)

Even money that we go back to Kingdom now and we leave Jesus & Carl in the back of the truck for another week. Building that drama and 1000% ignoring it is just bad storytelling.

Even money? Hell I'll go 1-10. I'll put up $1000 and you can put up $100.



I would take that bet, but I already know you'll be wrong (again). From the preview we're back in Alexandria and The Sanctuary (with Jesus and Carl). You just have to pay attention.

 

[Deepster]

I honestly can't blame the writers or even the show-runner b/c these things happen under 3 different show runners and presumably many writers. It is simply a serial cash grab by Kirkman & whomever else benefits from the 'net' of the series. They consistently drag out story-lines, stick with locations and do episodes with limited actor appearances. Then they'll toss audience a bone/big action episode to keep the majority of the gravy train audience tuning in. Push comes to shove business wins over story 100% of the time on this show.

I guess that's what my issue sort of came to be. Stagger around the woods, lose a character, stagger around the woods some more, lose a character. Lather, rinse, repeat. Nothing seemed to be going anywhere.

I also remember hearing that these series have a shelf life of 5-7 seasons. I may have said this before. Anything more than that and the story gets too watered down, stale and viewers just don't have the general desire to sign on for longer than that. Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc. This show sounds like it's getting a little stale on the shelf.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Even money? Hell I'll go 1-10. I'll put up $1000 and you can put up $100.
I would take that bet, but I already know you'll be wrong (again). From the preview we're back in Alexandria and The Sanctuary (with Jesus and Carl). You just have to pay attention.

Congratulations on watching the previews. It was a sarcastic comment, yet I still underestimated the shittt show reaction to the Tara episode. No one is betting on things already in comic books and the can.

 

[meyers7]

Congratulations on watching the previews.

They are kinda hard to miss.

 

[meyers7]

I guess that's what my issue sort of came to be. Stagger around the woods, lose a character, stagger around the woods some more, lose a character. Lather, rinse, repeat. Nothing seemed to be going anywhere.

Well that's one reason they've tried to move on from that (stagger around the woods). They are trying to get into the society building phase now.

Of course now you have people complaining about them being in the same location all the time, but that's kind of how society works.

Eh, some people are gonna whine no matter what. Guess it's more fun than changing the channel.

 

[meyers7]

I also remember hearing that these series have a shelf life of 5-7 seasons. I may have said this before. Anything more than that and the story gets too watered down, stale and viewers just don't have the general desire to sign on for longer than that. Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc. This show sounds like it's getting a little stale on the shelf.

Well they are set for at least 1 more season (Season 8). We'll have to see after that. Even at that it's a pretty good run. But they are sill pulling in pretty big numbers. #1 for Cable and even in the top 10 for Cable and Broadcast combined. More than any of those shows you listed pulled in. Heck, the Talking Dead is in the top 10 for Cable.

It's still making money, it'll be around for a bit yet.

One of their producers said this a year or so ago....

“I happen to love working from source material, specifically because we have a pretty good idea of what season 10 is gonna be. We know where season 11 and 12…we have benchmarks and milestones for those seasons if we’re lucky enough to get there.”

 

[Dogdeacon]

Insomuch as 3 little pigs is society building.
The Governor & Prison was the strawhouse
Terminus the stickhouse
Negan the brickhouse (so now the 3 little pig societies have to work together)
In between houses they ran into various other Big Bad Wolves including the hospital cops, 'taken' crowd, and the brazenly named actual wolves.
Its always us v them. We have protagonists and antagonists and in between or during a bunch of hand-wringing-whining from our protagonists on how they act like antagonists.

 

[meyers7]

Insomuch as 3 little pigs is society building.
The Governor & Prison was the strawhouse
Terminus the stickhouse
Negan the brickhouse (so now the 3 little pig societies have to work together)
In between houses they ran into various other Big Bad Wolves including the hospital cops, 'taken' crowd, and the brazenly named actual wolves.
Its always us v them. We have protagonists and antagonists and in between or during a bunch of hand-wringing-whining from our protagonists on how they act like antagonists.

Well actually they now have 5 different societies, each set up a little different. And yes, the point now is how will they (or won't they) work together.

Society building.

I imagine in the future, if we get that far in the story, they will have to set up some kind of governance between the different societies.

 

[UConn990411]

I guess that's what my issue sort of came to be. Stagger around the woods, lose a character, stagger around the woods some more, lose a character. Lather, rinse, repeat. Nothing seemed to be going anywhere.

I also remember hearing that these series have a shelf life of 5-7 seasons. I may have said this before. Anything more than that and the story gets too watered down, stale and viewers just don't have the general desire to sign on for longer than that. Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc. This show sounds like it's getting a little stale on the shelf.

That's the problem - the show literally has no purpose.

The show was substantially better when we thought Eugene had a cure. At least there was a point to it all.

But since then, it's been back to our "heroes" running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and villains that are more comical than scary.

 

[Dogdeacon]

That's the problem - the show literally has no purpose.

The show was substantially better when we thought Eugene had a cure. At least there was a point to it all.

But since then, it's been back to our "heroes" running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and villains that are more comical than scary.

I don't think many thought Eugene had a cure, but there was sort of a plan to get to DC and some hope for an inhabited or uninhabited oasis. Its telling that they rarely do anything that isn't scavenging or fighting. Minor lip service to food here & there but rarely so much as a line about other aspects of survival (clean water, clothes, gas etc..). Negan's demand that Alexandria 'go find him something interesting' was actually a desperate plea for help from someone trapped in the writers room.

 

[Dove]

QUESTION:

In Season 2 or 3 we saw the Governor's group taking out the US Military. So we know there is military out there.

Yet, that's the last time we see them. Are we to believe there is actually no semblance of government or military anymore. Really hard to believe. Especially right outside the Nation's capital.

 

[intlzncster]

In the apocolypse do Maggie and Michonne really find painted on jeans beneficial?

I guess.

I've been pondering this question for a while now, and I think I have the answer.

In the apocalypse, you are constantly being grabbed at by undead eating machines. The baggier the clothes, the more they have to hold onto. So skin tight gear is ideal for those in the field.

 

[Deepster]

I've been pondering this question for a while now, and I think I have the answer.

In the apocalypse, you are constantly being grabbed at by undead eating machines. The baggier the clothes, the more they have to hold onto. So skin tight gear is ideal for those in the field.

Let's be honest. When we first met Michonne, she was safely walking smack dab in the middle of a pack of zombies because she had taken 2 walkers, removed their arms and jaws and carried them with her on chains. No one ever does that now, right? That'd make too much sense.

 

[intlzncster]

Let's be honest. When we first met Michonne, she was safely walking smack dab in the middle of a pack of zombies because she had taken 2 walkers, removed their arms and jaws and carried them with her on chains. No one ever does that now, right? That'd make too much sense.

Hey man, I'm trying over here.

 

[meyers7]

QUESTION:

In Season 2 or 3 we saw the Governor's group taking out the US Military. So we know there is military out there.

Yet, that's the last time we see them. Are we to believe there is actually no semblance of government or military anymore. Really hard to believe. Especially right outside the Nation's capital.

They pretty much established that in season 3. When Rick was talking to the prisoners they were trying to get across to them that there was no government, no police, no military, no TV, phones, etc.

Although we saw the police still acting like police in Season 5 at Grady Memorial, but nothing beyond small bands. I suppose there could be some semblance out in the midwest, where the population wasn't as great (less walkers to overrun everything).

 

[StoweD210]

I think this week's episode had the potential to be better if Tara's character had been developed more or used for recently before this episode. There were a few lines played for humor that would have come off better if we knew that this person is a sarcastic jokester.

On a more general topic, I've been meaning to post something about Meyers7 comments about the "lack of intel" about the Saviors. Dogdeacon's mention of Lost got me thinking about one of the frustrating things about that show. A staple of Lost was that someone would go into the jungle, encounter/learn something new, come back to camp and, when asked what happened, say "Nothing." That sort of thing happened a lot with the group's dealings with the Saviors last season. The only time someone started to point out how little they knew and the potential danger was when Glen started talking about it seconds before he was captured in the finale.

 

[meyers7]

I think this week's episode had the potential to be better if Tara's character had been developed more or used for recently before this episode. There were a few lines played for humor that would have come off better if we knew that this person is a sarcastic jokester.

I think they've established that she's very sarcastic over the past couple seasons. That's one of the main reasons I like her, because she's sarcastic. Not sure how people would miss that part of her???

On a more general topic, I've been meaning to post something about Meyers7 comments about the "lack of intel" about the Saviors. Dogdeacon's mention of Lost got me thinking about one of the frustrating things about that show. A staple of Lost was that someone would go into the jungle, encounter/learn something new, come back to camp and, when asked what happened, say "Nothing." That sort of thing happened a lot with the group's dealings with the Saviors last season. The only time someone started to point out how little they knew and the potential danger was when Glen started talking about it seconds before he was captured in the finale.

Agree it would probably be much better if they sat down and IDK "debriefed" when people went out and came back. But, but it might be somewhat like Veterans, who never really talk about "what they did". Seems like most of the characters would pretty much be in a state of constant PSTD. However, yea it would certainly be to their benefit to try to fit all the pieces together.