The Walking Dead

[Mikey D]

That was 85 minutes of pure **** that would have been followed by 5 minutes of almost greatness, until they decided to end on the ultimate **** tease.

I did like casting the Comedian as Negan, though.

Thank Christ Game of Thrones comes back in three weeks.

[McMetal]

Here is my personal ranking of who I would prefer to see die based on how much I like the character/future potential:

1 Sasha
2 Rosita
3 Aaron
4 Eugene
5 Abraham
6 Maggie
7 Carl
8 Michonne
9 Daryl
10 Glenn
11 Rick

The main problem I have with killing Glenn, conceptually, is that it destroys the last vestige of true family in this world. There are no other couples with kids. (their own, anyway) Having Glenn and Maggie and baby would provide a nice counterpoint to the onslaught of everything around them. There is a lot you could do with those 3 as far as writing potential. I still feel like we've only just scratched the surface of Glenn...

The best option of all, IMO, and one I am really sad they did not take, would have been for them to kill Carol. She's been around long enough that it would have the dramatic impact they are looking for, and her character wants to die anyway, and she's more or less worthless now so it would have been a nice alternate route.

Also, the more I think about, the more surprised I am that one of them didn't stand up there at the end there and volunteer for batting practice. Take one for the team as it were. That seems like something one of them would have done, out of some sense of guilt or sacrifice or whatever. Guess they were all too in shock.

[BillCable]

Also, the more I think about, the more surprised I am that one of them didn't stand up there at the end there and volunteer for batting practice. Take one for the team as it were. That seems like something one of them would have done, out of some sense of guilt or sacrifice or whatever. Guess they were all too in shock.

Or easier explanation - they were writing for the cliffhanger.

Seems like Aaron, Rosita and Sasha are the only three he didn't address directly.  But that might be because they're the least popular characters, rather than indicative of who he's going to off.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the writers themselves haven't fully committed to who's gonna die.  They're probably gathering polling data to see what would give the strongest response without hurting business.

And this really hamstrings them when it comes to promoting the next season.  You can't really show any making-of clips or on-set photos of any of the mains besides Rick, Carl, Carol and Morgan.

[Jeff]

I'm going to place my bet that next season will start with Rick telling Negan how his favorite gun is also named Lucille.  #problemsolved #BvS

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the writers themselves haven't fully committed to who's gonna die.  They're probably gathering polling data to see what would give the strongest response without hurting business.

And this really hamstrings them when it comes to promoting the next season.  You can't really show any making-of clips or on-set photos of any of the mains besides Rick, Carl, Carol and Morgan.

Agree with all of this. 

Such a dumb mistake to end on the easy "who's going to die" cliffhanger.  I fully expect next season to end with a "who shot JR Mr. Burns Rick" cliffhanger.

Would have been much more impactful IMHO to kill the person and let it stew all summer wondering what was going to happen next...   

[evenflow]

I personally hope it is Sasha. No attachment to her but it would be a huge let down. Realistically I hope it is Maggie or Darryl.

[Matt_Fury]

Bill, the way I read it was that they've been reconning Alexandria for a while.  They knew where the group was headed and had the manpower and equipment to block them no matter what they did.  That's why Rick is so scared at the end of the episode, they jad no idea the size and capabilities of the Saviors.

[BillCable]

But how do you recon "pregnant girl gets sick"?  And set up appropriate roadblocks 20 miles away?  What's the effective range of a walkie-talkie?  Looked it up - in a forested area it's 1/2 to 2 miles.  So they'd need a chain of 40 guys just to relay data back to the first roadblock to let them know to abduct the X-marks-the-spot dude and get him ready.

Then there's the log blockade.  They'd have 2-3 hours to set that up once they got word the RV was moving.  That's assuming a very cautious RV driving speed, which may or may not be realistic.  Even with heavy equipment, stacking that many longs is going to take an entire day.  I suppose we could assume they blocked that route ahead of time, anticipating the confrontation. 

It's just borderline preposterous.  All of it.

[GrandMoffNick]

I'm confused about people's shock at a cliffhanger in a tv show

It felt like a rip-off.  For the entire second half of the season, they've been hyping up to this huge death, and then they don't give it to us?  That's just weak.

Did they?  I'm legitimately asking this question. I've lost track of what the show hyped and what we hyped knowing what happens in the comic.

I mentioned to my sister in law as we watched this last night, "there are people who have no idea about the craziness that is about to happen

[Dave]

I don't read the comics, so I'm assessing this as a pure TV show.

I have no problem at all with the cliffhanger.  Sure its a tease, but some of the best shows do this all the time (Game of Thrones, Lost, Breaking Bad, etc.).  Heck SW E7 ended with a bit of a cliffhanger about what happens next with Rey and Luke, and we still have no real idea of Rey's heritage.   If you don't like cliffhangers you probably shouldn't be watching TV, or movies, or reading books that are part of a series.  Either that or load up on Xanax for season finales.

Like I said, I have no idea what the story line is in the comics and where it is "supposed to go" from here, but I mostly really liked the last episode.  I agree all the roadblocks seemed like way too much trouble to go to even if they did have thirty scouts with walkie talkies, or a drone, or whatever.  But I just chalk it up to creative license to build the tension and show Negan's power.

I am looking forward to next season and how Rick and the crew decide to handle Negan's power, how they may try and build an alliance with others, etc.  I'm guessing they're not just going to play nice and hand over 50% of everything for too long.  **edit - I just read a snippet about how the comic series plays out and it sounds like some solid material for next season.**

And I ended up liking the Carol/Morgan story line as well.  They found some new friends and it might give Carol a shot at some moral redemption by seeing how a different "society" has managed to survive and deal with the moral challenges of a Negan/zombie world.

I felt this season was fairly solid overall.  Its gonna be a long summer...

[Diddly]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the writers themselves haven't fully committed to who's gonna die.  They're probably gathering polling data to see what would give the strongest response without hurting business.

Several cast members (Chandler Riggs, specifically) claimed that the cast doesn't even know who was killed and won't find out until the new season starts shooting this summer.

It's a shame this episode will be remembered for so many negative things because JDM as Negan was amazing, and Rick going from confident to hopeless at the end was cool too.

[BrentS]

Apparently there are some internet photos floating around that claim you can see the outline of a certain characters silhouette shadow on Neegan during the last POV scene.   The speculation is that "clues" were planted in the episode on who the victim was.    I haven't bothered to go look for these photos yet. 

[Dave]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the writers themselves haven't fully committed to who's gonna die.  They're probably gathering polling data to see what would give the strongest response without hurting business.

Maybe that is how they do contract negotiations at AMC.  Either agree to a lower contract price or we'll choose you to be Lucille's victim.

[GrandMoffNick]

I haven't looked at those photos. Not sure I want to.

The more I think about the cliffhanger the more I think it's a lesser character. If it had been Glenn, etc. We'd have talked all summer about that. If it's Rosita, etc. Don't show it now so we wonder/talk all summer

[McMetal]

Apparently there are some internet photos floating around that claim you can see the outline of a certain characters silhouette shadow on Neegan during the last POV scene.   The speculation is that "clues" were planted in the episode on who the victim was.    I haven't bothered to go look for these photos yet.

I just spent the better part of an hour searching for these pictures and I came up empty, so if anyone finds a good link please share. Kirkman definitely said there were clues on TD, so I am keen to find out what. I think it has to do with how they were lined up and where he ended on just before "it".

[Jesse James]

I've had some things going on so I couldn't watch the last half hour till tonight, and man all that rage is justified IMO.  I agree with Bill and Mikey on this, completely.

I'm probably in the minority here but that dude's neck would've snapped (Hell he was even on chain, not even rope) or his head come off clean...  That was lame, but whole aside thing there.

The whole season built up how the Alexandrians were dealing with something unknown, acting unlike themselves, and it was going to slap 'em in the face.  It was a giant big fart of nothing at the end though.  The POV death scene?  Ugh.  Very lame of a show I didn't expect this from.  I'm usually a huge champion of TWD but this one **** the bed as far as I'm concerned and I hope they don't do season ending cliffhangers again.  They're lame.  Let fans stew for the repercussions in the following season.

My bet's been on Abraham.  His storyline's done IMO.  Then again so is Sasha's.  Frankly I'd prefer Sasha's head be the fruit salad, but I'm wagering Abraham is.  They're going to pull that "Hah it wasn't Glenn!" Mind F.

I'm let down, and I'm sure I'll be equally annoyed (more so, actually, I'm sure), as I trudge through Talking Dead to see the behind the scenes stuff, and attempt to ignore to the lame "We'll get through this" stuff.