The Walking Dead (AMC + Darabont) - Page 34

I fall squarely in the middle of this. Yes, the explosion - described as one step below nuclear - was intended to destroy everything inside a sealed building. But the building was not sealed once they used the grenade to get outside. Jenner also said the detonation was designed to burn the air. Thus it makes sense the fireball would whoosh out the opening towards the atmosphere. On the other hand, Jenner did seal the inner chamber, so the fireball that made it to the upper levels would likely be less severe than the lower levels. In any case, its the execution of the CGI fireball that made the whole thing hokey. They basically showed a nuclear sized mushroom cloud, and then people ducking behind sand bags and uncovered jeep. It was laughably bad.

Mushroom cloud......that explosion leveled the building, it blew out all the other windows, and completely pulverised the concrete walls of the building. It was never going to be stopped by one extra window.

Episode 5 showed a single lab being sterilized by a fireball. The CDC building was completely leveled. Very different.

Hopefully next season most people who are bitching wont be back in this thread. This was a great finale. This set the tone for next season without a dramatic, unrealistic cliffhanger that is resolved in the first 10 minutes of season two episode one.

MRI of a zombie answered the age old question of... is there any of you left? loved it.

The building exploding was a little silly, based on the explanation that VI gave us. First off all... if it is chemicals in the air that causes the explosion... presumably, they'd suffocate. As for the building being blown up, it is plausible, remember they're trying to contain the worst of the worst of weaponized viruses. Just blowing up the air wouldn't really seal the deal. You need to bury it deep... just in case. So I buy it.

Agreed. We need a gif we can run into the ground, stat.

Was it an MRI or something else? I can't recall. If it was an MRI, then MRI + firing a bullet into the head = lol.

I think it's funny that Shane's driving one of those jeeps with no doors, windows or anything and it's not like a walker could reach him or nothing.. Throughout the show, gas is a big deal so why not ditch the indefensible jeep and ride shotgun with Daryl, no one else was in the truck with him and they could have put all the supplies into the bed of the truck around the motorcycle. Speaking of Shane, I like how they showed what he did with Rick in the hospital, it should cut down on that lied/didn't lie to Lori argument that would have continued until next season. The dude was panicking, he went with the head against the chest and lips since the army was executing people on sight in the building and was frazzled and trying to do his best. I'm not excusing his rapey-time with Lori later in the episode but it's nice to see he wasn't a full on lying douche about it.

I'm definitely intrigued with what they'll bring next year and how it will play out (will there be a specific season long arc?). There's of course room to grow but I'll give them a chance especially since they'll have a full 13 episode season to work with next year.

This show is just perfect for nerds. This thread and the back and forth that has been happening is just proof of that, and reminds me when I starting getting into the nerd debates way back when I was 12, and Star Wars came out, and I love it. I love this thread.

I was always forgiving during those debates, and that hasn't changed. I love this series, even though I can totally see the faults that are pointed out. Last night's episode was no exception. I had a ton of fun with it. Engaged at points, laughing at it at points, but generally enjoying it.

I enjoy this thread more though.

They deleted the scene where there's no more room for Shane in the camper. Before they close the door on him, Lori looks at him in disgust. So he's forced to ride solo in the unsafe jeep. They also deleted the scene where he drives to the nearest YMCA and:

[insert]Shane shower drinking image[/insert]

That's fine but even if I couldn't stand Daryl I'd ride with him in a vehicle that actually had doors. Again, that's just me though.

Can we all just agree that the CDC blowing up like some outdated Vegas casino is retarded in the first place? Is it even remotely plausible that the emergency system for one of the most sophisticated research facilities in the world would involve blowing up like a two-bit spaceship?

On that very specific note, I may have a small treat to add to the CHUD review.

This whole 'season' has felt rushed and flailing. AMC should have either waited until they had a proper 12 or 13 episode season planned or not at all. This whole CDC business felt like it would have been a 2-3 episde mini-arc in a full season, not the "hey we're here/oh there's no cure/we're out of gas!/hey let us out/lol fireball" treatment they give it here. The year wait for the next real season is not going to do the show any favors.

Doors or not, the jeep is a working vehicle that has value even if it's to just eventually strip it for parts for the other vehicles.

Fucken grenade. Table for one, please. I'll have the crow.

Just watched it, initial ten seconds post credits is that that was a hell of a turnaround episode. Still extremely telegraphed though. I'll catch up and return.

The CDC shouldn't have been a 2-3 episode arc. It was the perfect timeframe. If they had a week there or even a few days they could have gone out and scavanged for fuel to buy more time to pull out the supplies or find a better place. I like that there was an oasis in the wasteland and it was a ticking bomb waiting to go off.

I say season 2 starts off with him heading back to thier town and getting a hot shower at the police station, but slower and maybe with a montage of memories of dirt and grime.

I liked that the shining beacon of hope that was the CDC got unceremoniously yanked out from underneath them in the course of one episode.

And I really hope next season deals with the others' opinions of Rick. That's two of his ideas now -- going back for Merle and the guns and the trip to the CDC -- that have somewhat blown up in their faces; people besides Shane have to be questioning his decision-making at this point.

Perfect gift for Shane: Cup holder for shower.

Oh come on, now people are nitpicking a fucking explosion? Yes, it probably wouldn't have exploded like that. But who gives a fuck?!

I thought the explosion looked a whole lot like a controlled demolition with the added fireball from the decontamination. A lot of fire and smoke, but shaped to make the building collapse, not explode outward.

That's how I saw the explosion too, Richard.

Have you ever stood 150 feet away from a controlled demolition?

You say "nitpicking a fucking explosion" and I say questioning the plausibility of a mechanism around which the entire emotional and narrative conflict of the episode was based.

This isn't shooting a gas tank and a car exploding. This is the CDC apparently employing a system that will destroy the structural integrity of a closed environment with a bomb, set to a giant ticking timer. They can't do better than a cartoon?

EDIT: And I don't care about them ducking in cars and surviving the explosion. That's fine- typical movie logic. It's the silly bullshit that led them there that's the problem.

No, but Tommy Lee Jones did in Volcano, so there you go.

Man, I need to rent Volcano. Haven't seen that in forever.

*Mayday*

I didn't survive watching six seasons of Lost without suspending belief. My problem wasn't just with how coincidental it seemed, but also with how quickly the writers seemed to want to get it out of the way. That seems like the case with a lot of things on the show, including the character. They set them up (sometimes barely) and then brush them aside. How are you supposed to feel for them if you don't know them at all? The father and son in the first episode are really the only two characters I give a shit about at this point and they brushed them aside too! At least they set them up! The black woman was laughably under developed. Why is she sticking behind? Because SOMEONE actually has to...(and also because the writers realized they had too many characters and none of them were developed).

The CDC could have been a really interesting thing to play in, but instead there's a random countdown clock that's set to detonate. I just don't buy it and it's not just about how about them finding it just in time. It's also about Jenner letting them in. And it's about how the show doesn't know how to take interesting set-ups and stick with them. It'd rather kill them, wipe the slate clean and get shit out of the way. Not good.

ETA: Is that the only CDC in the country? Do you think other random buildings were assigned to blow up on the same day? Are there a series of government buildings just randomly exploding all over the country? That's kind of funny to think about, no?

Well, I guess the security at the CDC would never be able to employ bomb-sniffing dogs. The poor mutts would freak the fuck out pointing at the walls all the time.

I really doubt the dangerous stuff in the CDC was in the actual structure of the building. It was probably underground where Jenner was. Collapsing the building just makes sure the site is good and buried.

Well why didn't you say so
These are all valid complaints, your original post just really sounded like you had a big problem with the timing of them showing up, specifically.

EDIT: I wonder how a lot of you feel about the end of Predator?

Caught up with the thread and I will say i agree with all of the low points but for some reason this episode just seemed to hide the clunky parts better. I have a theory on that though.

Last night I watched the previous five episodes and knowing what was coming in each one they fared a little bit better. I think that people who have read the comics are going to be predisposed to like this because they can wait for story beats. That also ties into why I felt this episode was a touch better even though it did have some outrageously clunky parts. I was fresh off a runthrough and watched this on my lunch break. Maybe I should have given it more time and distance.

So here goes my "turn around" on my initial post.

I somehow stumbled upon a comic spoiler that said Andrea and Amy were living in the RV with Dale and speculation around the camp was that a big threesome was going down all the time. DeMunn, as great as he has been, did a fine job with lackluster material but I did sigh a little at the fanwankery that appeared to be going on.

I don't think Random Black Lady(whose name is actually Jackie if I recall) sold me on why she wanted to stay. I also was confused as to why she and T-Dog seemed to be sharing a mother-son/husband-wife moment there for a sec. Clunky writing that had no basis in earlier episodes other than, "hay! last two black folks for a hundred miles!"

Yeah, I felt that a cop ought to have a few more basic EMT skillz than Shane was letting on. Also, fuck listening for a heartbeat, you didn't feel him breathing when you put your hand over his eyes and nose?

Telegraph of the prison/governor danger? Fucking people who dropped comic spoilers earlier piss me off.

Actually, as a medical professional, zombies kinda make sense to me. Not in a truthful something could cause it way but in just what was explained. Basic brainstem functions that control the kind of activity zombies get up to. Except breathing. Breathing is a pretty big brainstem function. That irked me.

Oh, so it's absolutely the new Lost then WRT making it up as we go along?

I wish you would explain why you buy Jenner letting them in. Why would he if he wasn't going to be evil to them? Killing them in a fireball isn't what I consider evil because I never for once thought they wouldn't get out and the show would pick up with other survivors next season. I mean specifically you either make him a mad scientist or you do a call-back to Jim for fresh samples and you end the episode on a cliffhanger. That would have been better use of this hour.

The explosion was crap. They pissed away too much budget on zombie make-up and not enough on real blood and real fire.

And you are incorrect on Jenner sealing the lower levels. He never reseals the door when he lets them out. This would explain why the entire building went which most likely would not have happened but for the open lower level door. The design of the system is logically to incinerate the lower laboratory levels completely in a sealed air environment where the CDC building uptop could be used again once they reopen the labs.

I'm glad that this shows conventions can now be blanketed to the entire genre. WTF?

It was actually a virtual MRI. I can see that the tape they were shown was computer generation and video of the MRI data but yes, a gun much less a bullet in an MRI machine? Ridiculous and made me groan.

So yeah, the show continues to be clunky in both writing and direction. The acting raised a bit for some of the more egregious offenders. Next year I can hopefully find a friend who will let me watch it at their house so I don't have to pay to be so angry. Realistically though, how many episodes of continued SSDD could those of us who dislike the show give them? One seems to be too little, three sounds about like my breaking point next year.

You know, I get finding things that you don't like about the show. What I honestly don't get is the people that have been complaining basically since the beginning but STILL stuck around FIVE episodes later. If I found a show to have so many flaws, you can bet I'm not staying with it that long. It's one thing to hang on for maybe an extra show or two to see if improves but the whole season? Makes no sense to me.

And I'm also sure that many of these people will ALSO wait the year for the next season and be back watching it then to. Why not just say "Hey, I wanted to like this, but it's not for me" and move on?" Why keep watching? You have to know what you're going to get by now.

I'm not talking about those who find a flaw here and there, this IS a discussion thread after all. I'm speaking on those who have been complaining about the lazy, sloppy writing and inconsistent acting but still watched the whole season. Huh?

I have to say, I wasn't crazy about the CDC as a story point. I felt like it was too early to go there in the narrative. The whole "should we go on?" angle could have been handled in many different ways. I would have preferred to see them hit a CDC somewhere down the road, in season 2 or 3, and maybe in a different city, like Washington.

I will say that season 1 didn't quite live up to my expectations. I was thoroughly entertained, and hold out hope that the show will find its legs and be the great show I know it can be. Right now, it is simply a good show. I do agree that there is something wobbly going on with the writing and I think Devin sums it up perfectly in his summary.

I think it's funny though how the nitpicking has turned to this defensive stance with people saying stuff like, "It's not nitpicking to say that the CDC wouldn't blow up like that!". Yes, that is still nitpicking, sorry. Until you've seen how a CDC building would properly explode under the exact conditions outlined in the show, you have no grounds to say what would or wouldn't happen. As Dickson pointed out, no one was running from fireballs.

Now saying that the CDC blowing up was a bad story point is different. That is a legitimate complaint. But c'mon, if you're going to nitpick details, just own up to it.

I understand that Richard, and I understand that the fault lies with the overly enthusiastic CGI effects guys. But that explosion is rediculously out of scale, and not really indicative of the results of a system designed to contain and destroy dangerous micro-organisms with flash burning. That part of the episode is just silly at worst.*

The real problem with an episode which is supposed wrap up the first season is what Butler pointed out. The whole CDC detour came up last episode out of nowhere, resolved no story arcs whatsoever, and only managed to be successful in whitling down the survivor group by one nameless redshirt.

Jenner nearly had the group believing that 'they were it', there was no one left, no hope, and no reason to go on. When two episodes back Rick's group had already seen another relatively large group of survivors in the old folks home. Now granted, Jenner just spent the last month completely isolated and wallowing in guilt, and self-pity. And I get that this character is supposed to represent the dangers of losing hope.

I also think Jenner may represent the science side of the Faith vs. Science debate, and the idea that science does not offer the strength man needs to survive a global catastrophy like this. The problem with that is that the show didn't balance that with any kind of flip side argument. Maybe that will come next season. To me however, this was not a very satisfying end to the first season.

*In spite of Sabastian's post I stand by this. I have a hard time buying that what was shown on screen is a realistic portrayal of an outbreak prevention method. It's way too showy, and why completely demolish a building infrastructure when flash burning a labratory, or locking down a vault will suffice. Zombie apocalypse aside, imagine if an outbreak really ocured, would the CDC building suddenly just explode in a huge fireball? Can you imagine the political fallout of everybody seeing that on the 6:00 news?

Speaking for me personally, I made a decision to invest in the six episodes for a few reasons:

The concept
AMC's recent track record with other shows
Six is a far cry from 13-22 episodes since I am paying per on Amazon

Why did I stick around instead of chucking it after how horrible the first half was? Well, as I said, six isn't too much to drop dime on and be upset about my monetary investment for what I got.

What did I get? A Pilot that showed what kind of promise the show could live up to. I don't think even the rabid detractors like myself will give the Pilot any shit. They came out swinging and got dropped by a young Mike Tyson for the next five episodes.

Why will I give it three next year? Because of the writer shake-up, the pilot and the concept overall.

I say it in nearly every post I have made; the show has some polished exterior points but they let the rickety clunker underneath show through way too much.

For me it boils down to I expect better from Darabont after The Mist and I expect better from AMC.

I liked the season finale, but I am very forgiving. My only real issue is it's now clear that Lincoln isn't that great (his best acting in all 6 episodes was cycling away like a terrified spaz in his hospital gown, after spotting that half zombie). Bernthal is fine though, despite being given some pretty thankless stuff like that admittedly lulzy shower montage.

I'm definitely there for season two. Prediction: in a fit of jealous rage Shane will kidnap Carl, and Rick will just go around shouting HE TOOK... MY SON

I think Jenner was referring to organized government institutions when he was talking about there being no one else left. There was no hope of some nation or group of scientists swooping in with a solution.

While I respect your response, this still makes no sense to me. You're going to watch NINE episodes of a series that really hasn't done it for you so far? At this point, it seems you're watching just to complain really.

And again, I'm not even getting into whether the complaints are VALID. I'm just saying that if I thought I had valid reasons not to watch a show, I certainly wouldn't for nine episodes. But some people are into masochism, so I guess there's that.

Nope, he specifically refered to this being mankind's "extinction event". That sounds pretty final to me.

eta: And the count down clock was a little on the nose, symbolism wise.

The explosion is dumb. Very very dumb.

Not wanting to call it dumb and have someone rub an article --INSIDE THE CDC's EXPLOSIVE EMERGENCY SYSTEM!-- from five years ago or whatever in my poorly-researched face, I called the CDC.

The CDC guy agreed: it was very dumb. I'll talk about it more in the review.

I enjoyed the episode quite a bit, and I still chuckled at this. Its kind of weird to me that none of these characters have ever seen a zombie movie. At least Glenn, who showed flashes of Hurley-esque wisdom earlier in the season, should be pointing out that maybe zombies starve eventually and that they probably aren't the last 10 human beings in existence.

"How do you like your whiskey, Shane?"



/-"With lots of shower water and a bit of shame, thx."

Yeah, Jon Bernthal can do those BUGGED OUT EYES like nobody's business.

For me at least, the curve for the show went like this; 1st episode: knocked my socks off, second ep: slight deflating but promise of better things: 3,4, and 5th eps: okay, writing is kind of crappy but hey, at least we're seeing zombie kills done by pretty solid actors, 6th: sweet moses I just watched a bottle episode where nobody acts like a reasonable, interesting human being. 2nd season: I think I'm going to give this a few more scenes in the first episode before I quit, or I might just not watch it all if something better is on.

There should be a separate thread devoted to people's plans regarding how many episodes/scenes/hours/minutes/seconds of season 2 they're going to watch.

This is why you are the shit.

My sentiments exactly. Well stated.

And yeah, looking forward to that CDC stuff, Renn.

Please try to understand what people are saying when they post comments, rather that just painting everyone who points out a flaw as negative ninnies and throwing out the very tired "If you don't like it watch something else!"

I'll watch whatever the I want as long as I can keep the power turned on. If something bothers me, I'll comment about it, if I really like something, I'll comment about that too, others will do the same. We don't all agree. Lord knows I have been guilty of doing the same thing, but I am trying to mature and make my posts actually worth something from time to time and trotting out tired old platitudes contributes nothing to the overall discussion.

At least Dr. Jenner agreed that it was a stupid system but he was right in pointing out that you don't want any of these biological germs getting out in the event of a massive power outtage/terrorist attack. For as "dumb" as that safe mechanism is it kind of makes sense that our "dumb" government bureaucracy would install such an implement to protect itself from a threat like terrorists. We all know that that government goes way overboard to "protect our safety" sometimes right? Its why we can't bring a bottle of water i just bought onto the airplane or we all have to take off our damn shoes.

This episode i think dissappoints people in that, we as a audience have known that they world is without hope. But the characters don't know that yet, they refuse to accept it (Rick in particular) and believe that somewhere theres CDC or military installation somewhere they can go for safety. And it just not going to happen. This whole season kind of reminds me of why an Origin story in a Superhero movie can be the most boring one, but you just have to get it out of the way before you can do the stuff you really want to do sometimes.

I didn't paint you as anything so don't assume or project what you feel others have done onto my commentary. I simply asked a question which I was honestly curious about. Pretty much everyone who's watched the show I'm sure found elements that they found flawed. I said I wasn't talking about that. Once again, I'm talking about those for whom the flaws have outweighed the positives yet are still there every week, and will be back next season (for two, or three, or four, etc. episodes).

This makes no sense to me, and so I was trying to find out why people would continue to watch something that has little appeal to them, since I would have given up long ago. And if I DID keep watching the whole season, I would say "Well, for some reason I continue to watch something I'm not interested in and I think is lazy, sloppy with poor acting so how am I going to complain about it when I've CHOSEN to keep torturing myself with it"

It would be like eating at a restaurant and not enjoying the meal, but coming back another FIVE + times and complaining about how bad it is. It's a person's prerogative, of course, but not one I can comprehend and so I was trying to find reasons why.

You may not LIKE the inquiry, but it's certainly not unreasonable.

This entire thread is hilarious, and the only thing that really gets my goat is when people say, "Well, I'm disappointed by Darabont here because of how great THE MIST was."

The valid criticisms people have with THE WALKING DEAD are the exact same criticisms that could be correctly applied to THE MIST. Actors who are asked to played a stereotype more than a character? Check. Background characters who seem to serve little purpose other than to die? Check. Sometimes stilted dialogue? Check. Crazy-ass coincidences? (Which is worse: our zombie-fightin' crew showing up one day before the CDC's gonna blow or Thomas Jane shooting everyone in that car 90 seconds before the Army shows up?) Cheeeeeee-eck.

Apparently, some things are in Frank's wheelhouse and some things he struggles with. But, so far, I'd say THE WALKING DEAD has more of the former than the latter. Bring on season two.