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The Walking Dead S2 (UK pace); Yay, boo, agh, sniffle, etc.
Topic Started: Nov 9 2011, 11:05 AM (200 Views)
Scruff 815
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Yeah, sorry about the UK pace part, but we are 6 days behind the US with this show, and if I make it a US pace thread then I'm never going to be able to talk about it. Feel free to talk about episodes I haven't seen yet, please just use spoiler tags!
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So obviously, this thread is going to be pretty spoilerific in terms of the whole first season of The Walking Dead, and up to the most recently aired episode of Season 2 in the UK, and I'm not going to bother spoiler tagging them. So if you're not up to date, don't read any further!

Thoughts on season 2 so far? Here be mine.

E1) Excellent. Loved the tension of the 'hiding during the zombie migration' part that just went on and on and on, loved the ridiculous levels of gore (o hai screwdriver in the eye), loved all the character stuff. My only gripe was the strangely badly-acted and badly-written opening scene monologue, which felt very rushed; like it was tacked on at the end because the producers realised they weren't a show that did 'previously on...' segments and they needed to remind people what had happened.

E2) Hmm. Not a lot happening here then. Blondey spent some time moping around and then Fat Man Who Is Predicatbly Going To Die In The Next Episode gets locked in the school with Shane right at the end. Super. Though it was nice for Dale and T-Dog to get some more airtime. Oh, and the church scene was pretty good. Weirdly slow episode for only the second episode of the season though.

E3) Meh. Pretty shit, all in all. The little girl is STILL missing, we're still stuck in a traffic jam while we wait for something to happen, and then Shane does that. Now it was good and all, but that should've smacked me in the face with shock, and it didn't. It was fucking obvious in the previous episode that Otis was going to die ("I'll be right back!!"), and whether it's due to bad writing or great acting, I knew from the opening scene of Shane shaving his head that he'd killed Otis. So it just became a question of waiting for it to happen, rather than being genuinely shocked like I should've been. See other shocking moments in TV history such as: discovering the identity of Laura Palmer's killer in Twin Peaks, the very end of the first season of 24, 'that' death mid-way through season 4 of LOST, etc. Though I did quite like suicide zombie.

Overall.. I'm pretty fucking disappointed with this season so far. And it's a shame, because I love the show, and I think that's why I'm getting frustrated. Every week I'm thinking "this'll be the week where something happens" and it just doesn't. I'm left with sitting around, looking at a traffic jam of broken-down cars. I can't help but feel that because this season is 13 episodes long (rather than the 6 episodes of the first season) they're just dragging it out. But that shouldn't be happening yet. Where I'm up to, the entire show is up to 9 episodes. Ever. It shouldn't be running out of steam already. Especially when you compare it to the first season. Think of how much happened in it in such a short space of time; yet it still left loads of room for the great character moments that elevate it beyond all other similar shows. (o hai Falling Skies, you big bag of shit, you)

This is coming off very negative I know; I'm getting damn frustrated with it because I love the show so much. I know that as soon as it picks up I'll be loving it again. I look forward to being able to post happy stuff about how awesome it is :thumbup:
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Braythor
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Ok, I'll try and keep my comments to where you've seen up to. I don't know when the UK air dates are, as I don't have the channel it's on and instead download it every Monday. But it appears I've seen one more than you, Scruff, which I'll keep in mind.

Well, I pretty much agree with what Scruff said about the first two episodes. I'm glad they gave T-Dog a bit more work because, frankly, in the first episode I was like 'who the fuck is that?', so the fact that I didn't even remember him suggests something was missing.

My main gripes are with some parts of the story that revolve around Carl getting shot. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for children being shot, but it's turning into a fucking religious message, and I hate it when shows do that (hello Falling Skies, I hate you too).
However, the impact it has on Shane and the subsequent issues there I think are great, and easily make him the most interesting character in the show at the moment. I agree that the school incident was predictable, but when you start thinking about the why of it and combine it with everything else he's done, there's some really good points crop up about the fragility of moral values in a world where social stability and the associated laws have broken down. Shane's a good guy, but he's fucked up enough times for him to want to leave the group. Fair play to him, I would too. But then of course Otis shoots Carl, so Shane has no choice but to not only stay, but to do whatever he can to help Carl, and by association, Rick and Lori. He has his guilt to deal with over betraying his best friend, his shame at lying to Lori, his personal feelings for her which he must try and ignore (and which isn't helped by the fact that she pretty much hates him), and then his chance at dealing with these things by leaving the group have now been dashed by Otis. The shower/flashback scene showed perfectly the effect on Shane all these things have had, and that the guilt he feels over what he did to Otis is more focused on his own motives behind the act, rather than the act itself. He'd love to think he did it to save Carl, but he knows there was more to it than that. Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't 'gone postal'.

I don't quite know where they're going with the missing girl. Her mother has been put to one side, and it's feeling a lot like when the redneck chopped his hand off and disappeared. I'd like to see some closure on these little threads. Even if it's just a scene of them dying, I think that would add to the whole feeling of futility.

Back to the good points, I'm liking Daryl more and more as a character. He was always the most survival-orientated of the group, but now they're finally showing that he's not just some dumb hick, which was obvious from the start but it felt like they wanted to entertain the notion for a while.

I'm going to chuck in a spoiler tag because I'm not 100% sure on the next bit. Some of it is definitely episode 4, some might or might not be.

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Edited by Braythor, Nov 10 2011, 02:33 PM.
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Scruff 815
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New episodes air on a Friday night here, 5 days after the US airing. I tend to watch them on Saturdays or Sundays, and I guess by the time I write this, everyone else will have already seen the next one ;)

So, episode 4. Better than the previous 2, definitely. I agree with your thoughts on Shane becoming very interesting; the actor playing him is doing an excellent job so far this season. I am also enjoying Daryl. The well scene was pretty funny, and it certainly added to the feeling that eventually, even the safest havens are found by the zombies. It was nice for Glen to get some, too, but I agree that the WHAT IS A TROO BLOO HERP DERP thing was stupid.

Unfortunately I think there's going to be at least one more full episode at the house, given that the little girl is still missing, and clearly someone is living at the house that Daryl found. That'll take it to nearly half the season spent in that same damn location. Even though e04 was an improvement, I still want them to get on with the main story and get back to more pressing matters, such as... What did the CDC guy say to Rick? Where is the black dude and his kid from the first episode? Where exactly are our survivors headed? And what the hell was that zombie migration all about?
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Braythor
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I was gonna wait until the weekend to post about E05, but I thought I'd do it now as it's still fresh in my mind, so one big spoiler tag heading your way.

Spoiler: click to toggle


So, fun times. Unfortunately, I just found out the series only has two more episodes before a mid-season break until February. I hate it when they do shit like that. But then, I suppose it (hopefully) means a shorter break till season 3...
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Scruff 815
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Episode 5 is done! Agreed, best episode of the season so far (other than the first episode, anyhoo). The character stuff was excellent without feeling like it was dragging, the scene with Daryl in the canyon was intense as fuck, and it was good to see Michael Rooker again. He really is an excellent actor. Though as soon as he started ranting I remembered that the show used to be full of swearing; now we have extreme violence on a regular basis but very little in the way of language. C'est la vie ;)

I want Andrea to die. Now.

The ending was excellent too. With only two episodes to go before a mid-season break (agh) I think something major has to happen soon. All the conversation about whether Sophia is alive or not seems to lead in to the possibility of her being found (one way or another) very soon, and Shane is clearly getting agitated about the group not moving on.

So overall, still not as happy as I should be (the likes of Fringe are pissing on Walking Dead so far this season), but much happier than I have been.

And how come you and I appear to be the only people watching Walking Dead?! ;)
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Braythor
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Again, posting while it's fresh in my mind.

I dunno why there's only me 'n' thee...maybe other people don't care enough...

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Edited by Braythor, Nov 21 2011, 10:34 PM.
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Braythor
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And so, the final episode before the mid-season break.

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Edited by Braythor, Nov 30 2011, 02:35 PM.
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EPYON ZERO
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I have been watching it as well. The final episode aired here on Sunday night. I wish I could say something about it, but I think even if I were to type how it made me feel it would ruin it for you. Let's just say it was worth watching.
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Scruff 815
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I'm up to date! Huzzah! OK, firstly, my final episode thoughts:

Slow to get going, but once it did.. Blimey. That whole last scene (from where Rick comes back with zombies on leashes) was incredible. The whole 'firing range' part made me super-uncomfortable, even though I'm totally on-side that zombies aren't people and need to be put down. And poor Sophia being a zombie... That changes things, since Hershel must've known from early on that Sophia's been in the barn all along. Not only was it fitting that Rick kill her to reinforce his allegiance, but it was a nice throwback to the opening scene of the first episode of the first season, where Rick killed a young zombie girl.

In other thoughts, I actually really like Dale. Yeah, he might be sticking his beak in, but people have been looking to him to be 'daddy' of the group for a while; plus, for all his interference he's usually right. He didn't want Andrea to have a gun. Andrea got a gun and nearly killed Daryl; one of the most important people in the group. He called Shane on what kind of man he is, being totally right about what Shane did (unnecessarily) to Otis, and Shane nearly killed him. He didn't want Shane to have the guns. Shane got the guns and fucked up their chances of staying at the farm. Plus, Dale is super-astute; he knew about Shane and Laurie and was simply there for her without judging her.

Shane.. Yeah, he's right in that the group shouldn't be fannying about treating zombies as people. But that's about it. It's not like the group have anywhere better to be, and although it would (and has) made for a crap TV show, staying on the farm would've been their best chance for survival, were Hershel not such a nutjob. Also Shane is 100% wrong in giving a gun to someone else's kid. Just because he has his own "I'm Carl's daddy now!" issues doesn't give him the right to act like it.

I like Maggie. I hope she stays; she's a cool character, she's quite easy on the eye, we've been lacking in likeable female characters since Amy died, and she's bringing out some excellent traits in Glen.

However; for the 7 episodes we've had, I'm disappointed overall. The first season was only 6 episodes long and something huge happened every week, even with a shedload of character moments. Yes, The Walking Dead is a character drama first and foremost but so are many, many other shows that still manage to have things happen in every episode. What has happened thus far - including character development - could comfortably have happened in 4 episodes. 3 if some pointless stuff (zombie in a well, Sophia red herrings, etc) was excised. So hopefully the second half of the season will up the game a bit. Maybe once they get back on the road the pace of the show will improve somewhat :)
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Braythor
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Ok, we're back! I dunno the UK screening day, as I'm watching them the day after US air (thanks you interwebz) so I will chuck a spoiler thing in
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SgtMaj AJJ
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I agree, get out of that god damn house. The episode title was Nebraska, which we had a reference to in the bar. Any significance for them getting back on the road?
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Ka Five
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@Braythor

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@AJ

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Scruff 815
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I'm actually a week late posting this but I've been too busy to post. Argh. So Walking Dead airs on a Friday here, a few days after the US airing.

Gotta say, I was impressed. I've kind of come to peace with the fact that they're not leaving the farm this season given that there are only 4 episodes left, and this year will be remembered as "The Farm Season" (which in itself is kind of ridiculous given all the shit LOST took for having the gall to set 4 of its 121 episodes mostly in the much-hyped Temple), but as an episode it was damn fine.

Shane is still brilliantly unhinged, and I love how dangerous everything feels whenever he's on screen. The not-dead zombie getting a pick-axe through the head was fun. And the scene in the bar was the obvious highlight. I expected Renee From True Blood (who was the guy doing most of the talking) to stay around for a while, given that he's a recognised actor, but I guess not. Hopefully we'll see some kind of "home invasion" stuff starting to happen for the remainder of this season, as the other people from their camp show up looking for a place to crash.

If we could lose Blondie and Rick's wife along the way that would be ideal. The Walking Dead - proudly continuing the tradition of badly written female characters in most TV dramas.
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Braythor
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I'm late in posting about the second episode, and will be a bit more detailed when I've time. Sufficed to say, it was really good, and upped the momentum to a gear that the second series has not seen often.

Errr...that posted twice...dunno why (can the mighty moderatoring scruff delete posts?)
Edited by Braythor, Feb 25 2012, 07:05 PM.
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Scruff 815
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STOP DOUBLE POSTING, YOU ASSHOLE!
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Calm down Shane, he didn't mean to click the button twice. Sometimes things just happen.
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Braythor
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Ok, summary of thoughts on the second episode (or ninth, whatever...), before I watch the next one later today.

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Braythor
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Scruff 815
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Ugh, I have been lax! I'm still one episode behind you so I'm not clicking that spoiler tag, but thoughts on episodes 9 and 10..

9: AMAZING. Soooo well directed with the opening scene of the zombie trying to nom on Laurie and his face peeling back as he tried to fit through the windscreen. The scene in the bar was incredibly tense as well and I felt soo bad for Glen when he pussied out and blocked the door. Randall rescue was well good also. I am impressed.

10: I had a major problem with the opening flashforward to the zombie attack at the little town. It didn't need to be there - I was patient enough to wait 30 minutes for a zombie attack to come - and putting it there only gave me the usual brief "WTF have I missed an episode" feeling, with the added bonus of ruining the feeling of dread when the zombies actually started pouring out. Still, it was quite a zombie attack (even though some of the fuckers seemed to be running again, goddamnit), and the Shane and Rick fight was immense. Thought it was really good that Rick went back for Shane after seeing the two zombie cops without him going "HERPDERP SHANE AND I ARE COPS TOO DURRR" to explain it to the simpletons in the audience, and I appreciate that certain characters simply weren't in the episode, rather than being shoehorned in with some crap excuse for a story. The Laurie / Andrea conversation stuff was really good too, lots of grey area with both of them being right in some respects and wrong in others. And I'm very intrigued at the subtle clue-dropping of the previously mentioned zombie cops not having any bites on them.

Episode 11 is sat on my Sky box and waiting to be watched. Preferably later today :)
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Scruff 815
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DALE!! :( I has a sad. Why could it not be Andrea, or T-Dog? Why is Carl turning into such a creepy bastard? Why have the group now forced themselves into a situation where they have to kill Randall? Sadface.
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Braythor
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As much as I think it was funny that it was Dale, I totally agree with why couldn't it be T-Dog; what the fuck has he done recently? Nothing. At all.
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