Monday, November 30, 2015

The Walking Dead: Season 6 Episode 8 - Start to Finish


Hello fellow walkers!  We've reached the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead and it was a pretty intense episode.  I will admit that it wasn't quite AS intense as I expected.  I thought Alexandria would be burnt to the ground by a fuel tanker by the end!  They took a different approach which was equally interesting and suspenseful.  It's been a long holiday weekend for me so this may not be the most comprehensive recap, but we'll make up for it in comments.  I'm just lucky that I was able to watch the episode the night it aired!  Let's dive in! 
Discussion Points

As we know, the watch tower collapsed into the wall at the end of last week's episode.  Ron was about to shoot Carl, Carol was about to expose Morgan's secret, Glenn and Enid were strategizing on how to get back into Alexandria and Rick was front and center at the broken down tower.  

Carol/Morgan, Denise/Wolf, Eugene/Rosita/Tara
  • Carol and Morgan's conversation got interrupted by the wall collapsing and they ended up in the thick of things.  Carol took an unexpected fall injuring her head and Morgan helped her back inside his compound.  Morgan tried to keep Carol from going to the basement saying they need to put their conversation on hold until she heals and the situation at hand is dealt with.  Carol eventually disregarded these demands and found her way downstairs. 
  • Denise ended up with some alone time with the wolf and he was still talking in riddles about how the Alexandrians don't deserve to be alive and are already dead.  Denise had the same level of hope as Morgan suggesting that he didn't start out this way so he could change.  And she began to work on his infection. 
  • Eugene was by the wall with a walkie and received Darryl's message from a couple weeks ago. We heard Eugene say help into the walkie before running.  He ended up with Rosita and Tara in  some garage.  
  • Rosita did some complaining about things for awhile.  She assumed Abraham was dead, Tara remained optimistic.  Eugene finally showed some usefulness by being able to pick a random lock.  A lock which just happened to lead to Morgan's basement cell.  (Coincidence?  Writing convenience?  You decide!)  
  • This all led to a showdown between Carol and Morgan in front of the wolf.  Carol did not want to hurt/kill Morgan but would if that was how she had to get to the wolf.  Long story short, Morgan disarmed Carol and took her down, then the wolf took down Morgan and unbound his hands with Carol's knife.  Denise pled for their lives and the wolf took a liking to Denise.  Rosita and crew came in armed but the wolf used Denise as leverage to get out (and took their weapons).  It remains to be seen how far he'll get considering there is a herd of walkers out there! 
Glenn/Enid, Maggie
  • Maggie had a struggle with the herd of walkers but was able to make her way back to the elevated look-out she'd been standing on looking for Glenn in a previous episode.  She was stuck there surrounded by walkers.  
  • Glenn had to convince Enid that their friends were still alive in there and they had to go help.  He also revealed to Enid that Maggie was pregnant.  Glenn had a plan to get in based on what direction the walkers were headed.  By the end of the episode we see them at a clearing on the wall but he spots Maggie surrounded.  Stay tuned next year to find out the rest! 
Rick and Crew

Rick got his thoughts together quickly and began to run from the herd shouting off commands for all the Alexandrians to lock themselves in their houses.  He took a few walkers out but found himself in trouble.  Deanna came to help him out, but got herself injured in the process.   Ron put his gun away behind Carl and began to run with him.  Michonne and Gabriel joined the posse.  Jessie came out of her house and shot down a few walkers allowing all of the above to come into her house.   Oh yeah and Sam bookended the episode with his innocence being shattered and those ants eating that food was just nasty! 
  • So Team Rick was pretty safe in the house and had enough food to last them until the herd all moved into a concentrated area.  Rick had a plan to wait them out and get to the armory and draw them away from town with flares.   That plan went to hell after Ron and Carl's conflict in the garage. 
  • As I had mentioned to much debate last week, I was pretty certain that Carl was looking out for Ron's best interests when he was helping Rick train Ron to shoot.  It seemed like I was correct in my assessment as he kept his cool with Ron this week too after their conflict.  It seems it was more than Enid he was upset over and he also was still mad over Rick killing his father.  So, it wasn't just Carl he was going to kill.  It seemed like his plan was going to be to kill everyone in that house.  I may have misinterpreted that.  Either he was suggesting they were all dead because the walkers were going to take them out or he was going to take them out so they didn't have to meet that end.  Regardless, he started with an attack on Carl in the garage.  Carl fought back in defense but the noise attracted the walkers.  Rick and Jessie came to a locked door and took an axe to the knob to try and get to them.  Instead of ratting Ron out, Carl came up with a different excuse for why things got as bad as they did.  I'm not sure Rick or Jessie bought it but Rick took Carl's word for it.  Carl did take matters into his own hand by taking Ron's gun away.  Carl had a heart to heart with Ron about everything above we discussed.  Ron suggested Rick was a murderer.  Carl retorted saying so was his dad.  He took things further by saying Ron's dad was basically an a-hole.  No arguments here!  So, maybe now that Carl looked out for Ron they'll be cool when we return for the 2nd half.  
  • Things did not, however, turn out as cool for Deanna in this episode.  Michonne was taking care of Deanna's injuries but it seemed one of them couldn't be mended.  Those dang walker bites are a killer!  Deanna had some final moments in this episode with Michonne and Rick.  She passed on the legacy of Alexandria to Michonne.  She promised to figure out what she wants to make the world a better place.  Michonne will probably continue to be a voice speaking out for civilization in contrast to Rick's voice for survival.  Deanna also talked to Rick about the leader he needs to be.  Those close the story from last week with Rick saving Spencer, Deanna said she saved Rick because he was one of them.  That's the "RIGHT" answer that Rick didn't give in last week's episode.  Deanna wanted Rick to protect the Alexandrians as much as he protected his own crew because they are his crew now.  So in the 2nd half we will see Rick fully take charge of things in town.   Michonne gave Deanna the option of a quick death but she didn't take it.  She said she'd take herself out when the time was right quoting this week's episode name.  In the end, she used her bullets to take out a few walkers in the house instead of using one on herself.  On talking dead the actress talked about how it was for the betterment of the community.  That was 3 or 4 less walkers that would be a problem for anyone else.  It was off screen but she probably got devoured by walkers a second after that.  RIP Deanna!  Good character, but she did her job to motivate our other characters! 
  • With the walkers taking over the house, Rick decided the only way to survive was to call back to season 1 episode 2 and GUT some walkers for some smelly wardrobe changes!  Everyone in that house put on bed sheets and got some walker guts smothered on them so that they could walk amongst the walkers.  I had one comment when I saw the whole crew walking through the walkers without any issue.  I know it smells but, why don't they do this more often since it's so effective!?  Obviously, it wouldn't be much of a TV show if they did, but it makes you think! 
  • So Rick and crew made their way out of the house.  Meanwhile Sam is scared *$%^less even though Jessie repeatedly told him to pretend he isn't.  (Good advice, Mom!)  While they stealthily walked out of the house through the walker herd, Sam decided it was time to ask his mother a question fairly loudly! "MOM???  MOM?!?!?!??!  MOM!?!?!?"   And that's how our episode ends folks!  
So not the climactic finish I would've anticipated for a mid-season finale, but it certainly left us on a couple cliffhangers.  Denise is taken, Maggie is still in peril, and Team Rick has a noisy kid on their hands in the middle of a walker herd!  It was mentioned on Talking Dead, but even Judith was being quiet during that escape!  Come on Sam!!  From the 2 minute prologue featured for the 2nd half of the season it looks like Darryl and crew run into a whole new threat which delayed them from getting back to assist in Alexandria.  We'll just have to wait until 2016 to see where things go from here! 

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings. Hope everyone has a great holiday season.  I'll see you in the comments and then see you next year! 


6 comments:

Mike V. said...

Just gonna say it now before anyone else does. My whole theory that Ron was going to kill "EVERYONE" is probably off. lol But he certainly was going to try and kill Carl!

MJ said...

Was in Holiday coma yeasterday - LOL. But I did watch it Sunday as well.

Some haters out there (still complaining that Glenn was in a certain death situation and that the show is just being manipulative) and while I had hoped that the group in the truck got back to Alexandria already I was pretty ok with the midseason finale. But where was Spencer ? Isn't it weird that he is practically the only character not shown ? Guess that is not true - lots of Alexandrians were not shown but we have spent more time with Spencer then those others. So is Carol's back broken ? They'd best not kill Carol !!! Nor Maggie - her perch looks pretty precarious to me. Am I the only one who thought that the doc was being killed by the Wolf ?

Talking Dead was too funny with all the Sam stuff - awesome the actor tweeted Chris and said he'd invite hiim to dinner but not Jason Alexander. Thought it was Ron I wanted to punch - he put them all in danger. Guess it really was over his dad as well as Enid. But I did not get that he was going to take everyone out. I felt like he just didn't care any more. - but I didn't see him shooting him mom and brother. But Ron could have at least put his hand on his brothers shoulder to comfort him walking out that door - or over his mouth to shut him up !

Def a plot convenience that Tara/Rosita/Eugene got in that house. But seriously - Rosita and Tara are pretty good shots. They should have taken out the Wolf holding a knife on the doc. The other 'convenience' and most used trick was having people fall as they are running (Deanna and Maggie) to put them in worse danger. It's in every horror movie ! LOL

Most hysterical was Deanna - couldn't hit the side of a barn until the end where each one was a head shot. Too funny - and convenient.

Yeah - Rick will take control of the town next half of the season - just at the saviors and the 'M' guy arrives (can't remember the name. Yeah the whole web said why don't the do this more often and Talking Dead answered it - risky to have that stuff on too much - and where would the fun in that be ? The really unreal thing is that any kid is going to cry when a sheet it put over her and she can't see. Pretty ridiculous - but I can live with that convenience.

Mike V. said...

Yeah I thought about the Ron thing more after I wrote it and even commented above. lol He was just losing it and not ready to take on this world. So he just assumed they were all going to die.

I missed that the Sam actor tweeted during talking dead. that's pretty funny! You know I don't think Ron and Sam ever shared a scene together until that last scene? lol

Definitely weird that Spencer was missing. But Rick did yell to everyone to get to your houses. I guess we assume people got to their houses. But no idea where he is. I just can't imagine them killing Carol or Maggie especially with her being pregnant now. But you never know I guess. Haters are gonna Hate. Taylor Swift got that right I guess. lol I enjoy the show and don't have time to deal with haters! I definitely thought Denise was going to get it in the end there.

Scott Gimple was interviewed by EW and said he wanted to change up the approach this season. The past 2 seasons were split into 2 different halves. This one is kinda going to continue so we left on a cliffhanger. And apparently episode 9 is going to be nuts! I can't believe we're already up to issue 100 in the TWD comic series...I guess "already" is a weird word to use in season 6. But I remember issue 100 coming out when the show was already on the air. I have never read an issue but this makes me think that the show is on pace to catch up at some point? I have no idea though. But surely the show will end one day whereas the comic will keep going.

I read probably in that Gimple interview that Rosita wouldn't risk the shot because there's a 20% chance she still could've hit her. They were being responsible. All contrivance! If they wanted the story to go a different way they would've taken the shot. lol

Apparently Neegan (N guy not M lol) is Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I watched the prologue and didn't recognize him unless that wasn't him that Darryl met. I'll have to watch again.

Well...conveniences aside, I'm glad to be taking a little break from TWD! Holidays are tough enough to get any TV in let alone recapping! Looking forward to its return in February though!

MJ said...

LOL on Quoting Taylor Swift ! Reminds me - heard just this weekend that your Idol is almost over. Sorry for you - know you've been following from day 1.

Meant to say - refused to watc Badlands just to see the clip - figured it would be on the web. But then Talking Dead aired it.

Yes - Negan. No - that was not JDM - but one of his lackeys. We have not actually met Negan yet. They had only hired the actor a few weeks ago. I belive he appears in the season finale. I LOVE JDM. ;-D

Mike V. said...

Are you kidding me? I'm super excited this is the final season of Idol! I've been wanting to quit blogging about it for years...but the show decided to do me a solid and announce an end date at the end of last season. So it got me even more excited for this final season. It's going to be one season long swan song to the show. I've had one vision for the series finale and that is getting every idol winner on stage at the same time. I'm sure they'll shoot for it, but I don't know how realistic it is considering Kelly Clarkson will be 9 months pregnant at the time. lol

Oh yeah I didn't record Badlands but then found out they reaired it on TD.

Did you read that he'll only be in the finale? That sucks...they're still working on season 6B (as gimple calls it) so I could see it being more than that. But if you read it then I'm sure it's true. Yeah JDM is pretty awesome. He even made Grey's Anatomy watchable until he became a ghost. lol

MJ said...

LOl on being excited to quit blogging Idol.

Pretty sure that is waht I read - he will appear in the Season 6 finale to set up Negen for next year as the big bad.