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My thoughts. Zalis Send a noteboard - 02/12/2011 02:36:46 PM
First, I have to officially eat some crow. When I first saw the trailer for the show I mheh'd it thinking the zombie theme would wear thin really quickly. Well, Season 2 up to this point hasn't even had many zombies in it and even those who have appeared have represented more than just the cliche zombie. And I take my crow fully, the show has has really been character driven and has a pull to it that brings me back every week. Kudos to the writers and actors.

Yeah, I would agree. It's also why the folks wanting zombie slasher porn are whining for "moooaaaarrr zombieeeeez." I prefer the character-driven approach, though, since zombie media is pretty stupid otherwise. It's like how BSG was about the characters, not the space tech, though the space tech plays into the plot. WD is about the characters, not the gore porn, despite each kill being pretty gory.

I have found this year's presentment of zombies to have a message. The herd in the "herd" in the beginning and the zombie hanging from the tree showed the hopelessness being a zombie. They are truly apocalyptic creature, left to wander until they decay into a mess of rotted flesh. They truly have no souls, nothing left of humanity in them. It is a truly sad end for mankind. And then the zombies pull out the zombie in the well, the bloated and rotting piece of flesh that one cannot see and not feel a little sorry for. What are the producers doing? They are making us feel bad for the zombies who would most definitely eat us in a heartbeat given even a second to get close? Combined with the slaughter in the end and the discovery of Sophia I found myself thinking the first half of the season might be some of the best writing of the show so far.

It makes us answer the question for ourself: How do we see them? Do we feel any compassion for them? Or just the ones we knew? Do we dare to? I like it.

Speaking of Sophia, did you see it coming or were you surprised? Interestingly, I didn't see it coming. I was surprised when she walked out. By the way, how did Glen not see her from the top view?

No -- I did not see it coming. I thought maybe it would be a child, but then it was her... It's just a TV show and all, but that hit me hard as far as those things go. It was poignant enough knowing Herschel & Co. were watching their infected loved ones get gunned down, but then the show turns around and does the exact same thing to the survivors and audience with Sophia... Ouch. At least Rick showed his backbone again by being the one to put her down, so Shane can shut up with his babble about him. As for why Glenn wouldn't have seen her, she was the last to come out and was likely the most timid (and least capable) zombie of the bunch.

Also, that was much better than any plot that would've involved Merle actually returning at this point.

Also, do you think Herschel knew all along or didn't realize that was the girl they were looking for? Some things up to this point can now be reinterpreted a little if thinking of it in terms that Herschel knew all along. The two that stick out to me most are the weird looks the group got when Daryl (I think maybe it was Shane?) asked the group "Has anyone thought about what we do if we find her and she's a walker?" That is my paraphrase but if I recall correctly, Herschel was there and gave a weird look. Also, could it be that he was so adamant that they leave because he knew that once it came out that there were walkers in the barn and that Sophia was one of them that they would kill her?

All possibilities, I guess. I can see his viewpoint, though. He still views the Walkers as people and hopes for a cure. So, perhaps he had hope for her. Or maybe he didn't have the heart to tell them, knowing they wouldn't want her to go on "living" like that. Either way, it was lose/lose for Herschel.

Speaking of Herschel, I really don't like him. I don't like his character and I am really hoping the group moves on. In the preview for the return in Jan/Feb Herschel tells Rick they have to leave and shuts the door and Shane goes off on him and tells him he has become just as delusional as Herschel. Shane is really pissing me off but I think he is right. Herschel is delusional, danger surrounds the farm on all sides and he thinks he can rope up walkers and store them in a barn until a cure comes (not comprehending that the world outside is destroyed and there probably will never be a cure?) I think even Maggie has come to the conclusion that Herschel is wrong in his thinking of them as people.

I think the show is a bit unfair to Herschel, as it sets him up as a man of convictions, right about some things, yet a major obstruction for our survivors. That would be okay for a normal person, but he is a figure of authority and it affects the whole plot. So, people end up seeing him as just some kind of hillbilly, Bible-thumping bigot who's deluded himself into thinking the Walkers can be cured. Well, that's not entirely irrational for a medical man who's seen close loved ones turned. Regardless of what people think of him, he's managed to keep his people & estate relatively safe. That, and we naturally root for Rick, but it's unavoidable that two leaders will butt heads when they have to coexist in those circumstances. So, our Rick-rooting has us naturally disliking Herschel, regardless.

Speaking of Maggie, she is totally hot!!! :P
Seriously though, I am having a little bit of a hard time with the love affair between her and Glenn. They have some hot, end of the world sex and now they are in love? Not sure I'm buying it but we'll see.

Yeah, she's hot... but odd. She jumps on Glenn, but then proceeds to confuse both us and him. Maybe female moodiness just annoys me, at least when it seems irrational, but it seems she's finally come around. I'm not sure if she's right about Glenn being a natural leader, especially since we already have Rick & Shane who are capable, but he certainly does have room to grow as a character.

Daryl has become a favorite of mine and I love the dynamic of Sophia's mom beginning to mother him and get him to be proud of himself for doing the right thing in contrast to Merle's "fathering" him to be a hateful bigot. Daryl's character is some of the best writing on the show.

I think everyone has been rooting for him this season. They had me convinced that they'd find Sophia, too. I'm glad that this isn't another show where she immediately jumps onto another man character. Btw, I don't think anybody remembers Sophia's mother's name... heh.

I think Shane is beginning to piss everybody off and Andrea is starting to aggravate me too. And, I am tiring of Dale's constant philosophizing. I would love to see Dale put in a position where he has to make a decision to action that confounds everything he professes in his "wisdom". Not sure what needs to happen with Shane and Andrea but they are really starting to bug me.

Shane went off his rocker, but I think the results of his episode freaked even him out. That may show that he was partially right, but enough to shock him back into his place. Andrea actually annoys me less now, as she's stopped hating life and Dale doesn't have to keep her on suicide watch. And with Dale, I've found him to be the voice of reason for much of the season. Until this episode where he takes the guns, he's made a lot of sense to me. Plus, he has the best crazy eyes since Michael Hogan as BSG's Colonel Tigh.
The sword might be grateful to the forge fire, but never fond of it.
This message last edited by Zalis on 02/12/2011 at 02:45:19 PM
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