Monday, November 28, 2016

The Walking Dead: Season 7 Episode 6 - Swear


Hello everyone and welcome back to our season 7 discussion of The Walking Dead!  Well, it happened.  We hoped it wouldn't, but it did.  We got our Tara/Heath episode.  It wasn't horrible, it wasn't great either.  But, I'm sure it played an all important puzzle piece in resolving the mystery of this season's big question.  How on earth will they take on Negan?  Oceanside may contain one very important key that Rick and crew will need to unite these colonies and rise up against their oppressor.     But we're going to need Tara to stop lying about it! Let's dive in.

Discussion Points


  • Throughout the episode we got flashbacks of how Tara/Heath's scavenger trip went.  They went further than expected in their 2 weeks and didn't find a whole lot.  Cans of okra and a bottle of aspirin.  Heath is done and he's having issues with what they did at the satellite station to Negan's men (and more importantly WHY they did it).  Heath said he does get it now that he's been brought out of his Alexandrian bubble.  Every man is in it for themselves.  You take out who you have to, you take what you need so that you can keep going.  Tara doesn't subscribe to that philosophy totally.  And that's probably why we got the ending we did.  
  • Heath and Tara moved on towards the shore and ran into an abandoned bridge of vehicles and possible supplies.  They found a mound of dirt that was dumped out by trucks.  While they initially thought it was there for some kind of construction project, they soon found out it was a method of taking down a bunch of walkers who were buried underneath.  SAND WALKERS!! We learned eventually that Tara and Heath got split up at this moment.  Tara fell off the bridge and found the current and ended up at an inlet near the shoreline they were trying to get to.  Heath, well we thought for a minute he bought the farm, but it appears he is just MIA for now. 
  • A couple girls found Tara washed up on the shore.  We later learned that this is Cyndie and Rachel.  Cyndie (I checked the comic spelling) was sympathetic to Tara.  Rachel, not so much.  Tara stealthily took food and water and a weapon provided by Cyndie and then followed Cyndie to their encampment.  
  • She found a settlement comprised all of women and girls.  She also observed they have a huge arsenal of guns and ammo (Ding Ding Ding!!).  There wasn't a lot of time to process at that moment because it turned out they were all after Tara!  But we have time to process.  What's the one thing that Rick and crew lost a few episodes back?  Yep - guns.  It's the biggest threat to taking out Negan.  Rosita has one gun and Eugene is making her a bullet.  But, if Tara eventually gives up this location they'll have access to more.  But will they take what they need and kill the rest?  Or would they align themselves with Oceanside, Hilltop, Kingdom and take on the Sanctuary?  
  • Tara was able to take out a girl name Beatrice with the but of B's rifle, but then she was surrounded by the rest of the group.  She came to meet Natania, the group's leader.  Long story short.  They were working for Negan and at some point, he and the saviors killed all the boys/men 10 and older.  Shot them all in the head.  The women were meant to keep working for Negan, but they all snuck away and built this hidden community complete with bells and sirens to detract walkers from the area.  They keep the place hidden by killing any person that finds their establishment.  It was to be Rachel's first time killing someone, but Cyndie believed in another way.  The group was conflicted on what to do with Tara.  They wanted her to stay due to her skills and could see right through her "fishing boat" lies.  
  • Tara explained about Alexandria and what they did to Negan's crew at the satellite station.  What we didn't know at the time was that this was the clear signal to Natania to take out Tara.  They told Tara that they would send her with guides back to Alexandria and work on some kind of an alliance.  But, what really happened was Beatrice and Kathy were ordered to kill Tara.  Tara was able to pick up on this and bolted.  Cyndie ended up aiding her escape too, not without repercussions from her group in the end.  
  • Cyndie helped Tara get to the bridge and helped her cross it.  Tara was unable to find Heath but kept trekking onward back to Alexandria, scavenging a key pair of pink sunglasses. 
  • She had learned from the Oceanside folk just how big Negan's operation was and that Alexandria's people are probably already dead because of what Rick and team decided to do.  When she arrived home with a bobblehead for Denise, Eugene's face said it all.  It was all explained to her.  Glenn, Abraham, Denise, the new arrangement.  
  • Rosita demanded that Tara give her one sliver of hope on something she found out there.  Rosita said she would personally go out and do whatever needed to be done.  But, Tara, still trying to believe that there is more to humanity than taking what you need to survive, said she saw nothing out there.  Cyndie also forced her to SWEAR that she wouldn't tell her people about Oceanside.  And she kept that promise. 
Obviously, Oceanside is going to factor into this revolution.  But how will they be brought into the fold?  Will Tara eventually admit to what she saw?  Whenever that happens, people will be unhappy with her withholding that information.  Maybe some other tragedy will happen to the group as a last straw.   Maybe Heath will return having learned the same information.  I'm sure there's a variety of ways it could go, and I'm sure the comics could lead the way a bit too.  

But for now, I pass on the discussion to the TV Addicts Blog community!  I look forward to your thoughts.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and see you next week!

11 comments:

MJ said...

I'd forgotten some of Tara's past - like Denise. Doh ! Didn't get the joy at the bobblehead right away - but did remember eventually. Think I am glad Tara did not say where those guns were and kept her secret. For now any way. Was shocked to realize in the show's timeline that from before the finale to now has only been 2 to 3 weeks. They said 2 but then Tara stayed for a day or so and then had to walk back to Alexandria - which would be days - so thinking closer to 3 now.

Again - tiring of the singular story per episode. It's good for a few but now that we are 6 in - enough ! But I guess this is how Gimple will continue to do it.

Don't blame these women who just want to stay hidden and get by on their own - but it won't last.

It does seem that there is hardly any good people left in the world. With the exception of the Farm and Alexandria our group hasn't met too many of them any way. I am dyign to know Negen's back story - who he was in the world before the apololypse !

MJ said...

Oops - meant to add that they really got us with that walker woman who had Heath's hairdo ! LOL Wonder what happened to him - besides the BTU kidnapping him for some threat !

Mike V. said...

Ugh...my browser just randomly closed after I responded to all of this!!! Oh well, I'll do the short version. lol

Yeah 3 weeks makes sense. Carol needed time to heal too. I didn't think too much time elapsed.

I'm thinking Gimple changes up the episodic style every half. So maybe we'll get multi-storylines or ensemble eps in 2nd half.

Nope...it won't last but don't blame the women either.

That Negan story has to be coming, I agree!

They definitely got us with Woman Heath Walker! lol And no clue where he ended up...but I'm sure part of it has to do with his other tv/movie commitments that limits his time on the show. We just assumed he wouldn't make it. This is the other way they can go.

MJ said...

Yeah - I don't get why he fake out with Heath since we know he's not staying. Why not just kill him that way and be done ? Hmm - we shall see. Several co-workers did not even remember who he was he'd been so absent for so long. LOL

Agree - Gimpel will change it eventually but the last 2 seasons - after the premier - it tends to drag a bit. Some of these characters just do not deserve 70 mins of air. Easily we could just have had a little Carol mixed in with Tara. Or even some Hilltop. Just saying. :-)

Mike V. said...

Oh come on...you know they love fake killing people just to kill them the next season! lol Yeah...I'm sure my wife didn't know who Heath was either. I don't know if we don't know he's staying. He might be able to do both projects depending on scheduling. Like if he's only in one episode this season and comes back later...I dunno. we'll see.

I totally agree. It's nice to flush out characters, but some of these episodes are a drag. It's like every episode has had a different setting and we haven't really revisited them in other episodes. (except for maybe 2 extra minutes an episode in Alexandria) Hopefully this will be corrected in the 2nd half.

MJ said...

Not a spoilery link - but it does tell you where you can get Negen back story should you choose to do so. boy - Kirkman is starting to leave no stream of revenue unturned. LOL
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/the-walking-dead-scott-gimple-on-when-well-get-negans-backstory-212918742.html

Mike V. said...

lol...no thanks I don't want to do homework to watch TV! lol If they don't feel it's important enough to include in the show then it should stand on its own! Nice Lindelof reference though.

Of course, I say all this but I am starting to consider reading the comics. :)

MJ said...

Yeah - you mentioned you might read them.

ugh - just realized earlier - I am screwed for next weeks mid-season finale. The Giants play the Cowboys sunday night. Oh boy.

Mike V. said...

I'm a little conflicted this week where I'd rather watch Westworld's finale! lol But I'm sure I'll stick to TWD for the recap. (which appears to be less populated with comments these days!)

Jason B. said...

They definitely had me with the Heath fake out haha. I was really thinking he would die this episode too. I'm glad they went the route they did though, mostly because they've already prematurely killed off too many Alexandrians haha. Nicholas and Denise, notably. There was also a comic character named Holly that only got a brief mention in the show, last season, and then was promptly killed haha. But all of their stories have been going to extra characters that we already had in the show, so I definitely understand the reasoning.

Oceanside threw me for a loop haha. Going by the comics it wouldn't have been introduced until probably season 9-ish, but I like what they're doing with it. Also there are only two notable characters from Oceanside in the comics, and both happen to be males lol. So they are just about as different as they could be, besides sharing the same name and being by the ocean. But it's hardly been touched on in the comics, we know almost nothing about it. A lot less than we know about the show version haha.

I'm with you guys on the episode pacing. I enjoy the stories themselves and like the development that they are giving to the new communities, but then not seeing each new community for several episodes completely takes you out of their stories. The next two episodes definitely seem to follow several groups and stories, and they are both 90 minutes I believe. The second one might be a little shorter. Yeah, my guess is that the second half of the season will have combined story lines, at least in most of the episodes. I'm hoping that this time they stick with it going into season 8.

Mike V. said...

Sorry I didn't get to this sooner Super J. Thanks for the insight from the comics!

Pacing was definitely better in ep 7 and certainly seems like it will continue into 8. We'll see how that carries forward into the 2nd half!