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Thursday, March 5, 2015

The Walking Dead 5x12: Remember


In last week's post I brought up the quote from Spock in the Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror", “It was far easier for you as civilized men to behave like barbarians, than it was for them to behave like civilized men." I think we’re seeing evidence of that in this episode of The Walking Dead. Rick and company have found themselves in a relatively tranquil gated community complete with modern conveniences. It becomes obvious they have no idea what to do with that.

When dissecting this episode I suppose the first thing to decide is whether or not you trust Alexandria and their people. I’m taking them at face value. I think they’re a group of people who found a sanctuary that shielded them from the zombie apocalypse. They're genuine (although some are douche bags) but, having been shielded from the zombie apocalypse, they are a bit soft. In other words, I don't think they're perfect but I don't think they're evil.

Rick's group is hardened. Possibly too hardened. Rick's group has become so distrusting (and also so obsessed with not being "weak") that you wonder if they can integrate themselves. Daryl isn't even trying. Carol is integrating only in the interest of undercover intelligence. Rick isn't sure what to do but he's definitely suffering from PTS...and so is the rest of the group...probably. Michonne is the only person who seems to accept where they are and what they have found. That's interesting since, when we first met her, she was the most isolated and “feral” of all.

This episode (and apparent new status quote) is new for The Walking Dead. We've been conditioned to be on Rick and company's side. They may be antiheroes at times but they were always the protagonists. However, in this new setting we are forced to wonder if they are now the enemy.

We have seen Rick's group fight zombies. We have seen them fight against other humans. We have even seen them fight amongst themselves (probably too often). Now we are going to have to see them fight against what they've become. Can they accept and embrace a benevolent community with modern conveniences? Will the town be able to hold up against the zombie apocalypse? Will Rick’s group ruin everything?

I don’t know what may happen. But, whatever is going to happen, I’m happy that it’s going to be something new. Or the entire town will end up being raping, cannibal puppy kickers...

Other Thoughts:
I was pretty sure that it would've been a bigger issue for Rick's group to agree to give up their weapons. Heck, Season 2 Walking Dead would've spent an entire episode on it.

Abraham seems overly concerned about people named Deana.

Playing the doting house wife aside, Carol has been relatively quiet these last episodes. I'm not even sure if she thought going to Alexandria was a good or bad idea.

I do wonder about the logistics of Alexandria's indoor plumbing and electricity but my knowledge in that area is so limited that wondering is about all I can do.

Have we ever seen Rick completely unshaven and without stubble? Maybe in the first few episodes?

Carol seems suspicious that the Alexandria group are just "giving away mansions." Uh...what else are the going to do with them?

When Rick told Deanna that she hadn't given himself and Michonne jobs yet she says, "I have, I just haven't told you yet." We now know they were to be constables but Deanna had to know how ominous that sounded, right?

I will say, for the most part the townsfolk seem very understanding of Rick's group's quirks and apprehensions. Even the kids treated Carl alright.

Speaking of kids, where was Enid off to? Maybe to report back to another group of people?

Jessie's husband is pretty damned creepy, right?

What was Rick looking at when he came to the rundown house outside of Alexandria where the zombies swarmed him? He seemed pissed about something.

The whole "pregame ritual" scene rang a bit false for me. Capturing a zombie to torment it was fine but I find it hard to believe they wouldn't just kill it once it got loose. I understand that the idea is that Alexandria has had it pretty good and they're not taking zombies seriously but Nicholas was just talking about how that zombie killed two men. So they do no how dangerous zombies can be and have felt the ramifications.

That being said, Nicholas is an incredible douche.

Why was Daryl allowed to keep his crossbow? Not that I don't want Daryl to have his crossbow...I'm just asking.

5 comments:

  1. "Look, I can be a hardass, and I know I'm a douchebag. But someone got to call the ball around here, and that someone is me. If you are in this crew, you'll do exactly as I say"

    Oh, mimimimimimimimi, you silly little lieutenant. You're no hardass, and you ain't got what it takes to qualify even as a douchebag. I'm as little surprised as Glenn that that loser got four of them killed last month.

    What was Rick looking at when he came to the rundown house outside of Alexandria where the zombies swarmed him? He seemed pissed about something.

    He hid a gun there in the previous episode before entering Alexandria and found now it was gone.

    Enid, she has her zombified family put aside somewhere and tries to sneak some food to them, bless her little heart.

    Their little compound will be zombie-infested by the season finale if they're going to leave the gates open and unguarded like that for having their little fisticuffs.

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  2. Oh, right, there were the three "unfitting" men Deanna told she had had to exile from Alexandria to certain (ha!) doom, so it could be them hanging around somewhere near and it was to them who Enid sneaked out to take provisions to. She did have a packed back-pack, didn't she, or do I disremember?

    Daryl too has the airs of not fitting in, so there may be talk of his continued tolerance there. I love how they were given a spotless house and the first thing he did was gut the opossum on the wooden porch. That's gonna stain.

    We didn't meet Deanna's architect husband yet, did we? I know someone's harbouring a zombie former loved one there which is going to bite the townspeople later on, literally.

    But, goddamn, the patrol brats. Do the idiots think the zombies have any concept or care even for their revenge torture? I love how the show made Glenn the point-of-view character for their stupid stupidity. He's not the ultimate survivor character by any means, but compared to that lot he might as well be.

    Also, a local commentator made an apt point about them giving to skinny limping Noah a job in the outside patrol. Like, yeah, okay...

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  3. I'm a little unclear on whether Alexandria is specifically the name of this development, but it seems to be, which of course is weird because Alexandria, Virginia, is an actual city near Washington. Maybe it's sort-of both — the residents have adopted the name because as far as they know their enclave is the only civilized part of Alexandria left. I have to wonder, though, if we're also meant to equate it with Alexandria, Egypt, renowned as a great center of culture in ancient times.

    // Playing the doting house wife aside, Carol has been relatively quiet these last episodes. I'm not even sure if she thought going to Alexandria was a good or bad idea. //

    Yeah, I've found this whole second half so far strange in terms of not so much the absence but the silence of various characters. From what I know of TV production, and given a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, it's possible that beyond the difficulty of serving all the characters the sheer size of the cast has, financially, meant restricting shooting days and thus screen time for the actors. Which is fine if they're written out of the scenes entirely, so long as it works plot-wise, but odd for the viewer when they're around and not speaking up when they'd be expected to.

    I did enjoy Carol's subterfuge, though, mitigated somewhat by my concern over just how completely dark into distrust she, Darryl, and Rick have gone.

    // Deanna had to know how ominous that sounded //

    Unnecessarily, for sure. I can see why she wouldn't want to share in that particular moment in front of everyone, but that doesn't explain why she couldn't have taken them aside by then. Cheer with a Jeer, as TV Guide used to say (maybe still does), for Tovah Feldshuh doing a nice job making Deanna seem very much the politician.

    // Even the kids treated Carl alright. //

    I'd think it's hard for him to be around other kids, domesticated ones anyway, given all he's been through. That being said, at his age no matter the recent past, I can't believe we didn't get a "DAD HEY DAD THEY HAVE GIRLS HERE REAL GIRLS DAD LOOK" moment.

    As for Enid, I honestly just took her excursion as wanting to get out of there, needing a periodic escape from civilization after so long in the wild, but nefarious or at least simply anti-Alexandria espionage is totally possible.

    // What was Rick looking at when he came to the rundown house outside of Alexandria where the zombies swarmed him? //

    Like Teemu said, Rick had stashed a gun in a can. The one who burst out from under the scrap wreckage didn't compute, however, unless he had been planted.

    // Not that I don't want Daryl to have his crossbow...I'm just asking. //

    I wondered the same thing.

    I'm not sure it's been long enough since Terminus, by the way, for most of the group (or the viewers) to not go there when the gates open up and Darryl announcing they brought dinner.

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  4. Oh god no the one(s) who took Rick's gun from the can so planted the zombie there deliberately under the wreck pile! I didn't catch that one.

    He said, wanting to believe the creators' willingness and capability to trusting the audience to catch these carefully planted plot things without over-explaining every little thing, trying to disregard the turning-in-air van happenstances the best he can.

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  5. "Abraham seems overly concerned about people named Deana.
    "
    Yeah, his delivery had me LOLing.

    "We didn't meet Deanna's architect husband yet, did we? I know someone's harbouring a zombie former loved one there which is going to bite the townspeople later on, literally."
    Let’s hope not because we had the very same thing with the Governor.

    Jessie sure did her best to phrase everything to imply there was no daddy around...

    BTW, am I the only one who got the vibe that for a couple of episodes, Micheonne is making the move on Rick ? Maybe too subtly for him.

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