4.03: The Walking Dead - Isolation

[ctg]

A group leaves the prison to search for supplies; the remaining members of the group deal with recent losses.

This episode has been written by Robert Kirkman. So you should in for a special treat. And although I do not expect Carl holding hands with Sophia, I thought it would especially convey the isolation they're feeling inside the Prison fences.

 

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*** Spoilers ***

If there is one question which roots from watching The Walking Dead, it is: What would you do to survive ... would you kill an innocent person to increase your chances?

But then if you would put the question in front the TWD players, you could realise that they've gone past this sort of hypothetical game long time ago. You could also realise that in the extreme situations people are capable of doing almost anything. And they don't wouldn't bat lid on moral quandaries. Just like Shane didn't think two seconds when he decided to waste Otis.

Back then we condemned him as an evil person, but in this case I think you would accept what was done to Karen and Nick was done in the name of greater good, wouldn't you?

And the surprise twist is in the perpetrator, as Kirkman does his usual and shows sweetly innocent Carol tipping the petrol can and then striking the flame. But that is the reality. She has realised that the prisoners has to survive no matter what, as there no steady stream of inmates coming in everyday.

So does that make her Shane like evil?

​

 

[ctg]

Hhhhmmmm. I seem to have lost all my American commentators. :-C

 

[Dave]

So does that make her Shane like evil?

No, but I can't say exactly why.

It is to do with the reason Rick found her out - "Is there anything you wouldn't do for the people?" - She did it for the benefit of the others - Shane did everything for the benefit of himself.

It is a question of: Does the end justify the means?

 

[ctg]

I wouldn't say end justify means and you kind of saw it with Tyreese, when the gang left him fend for himself*. And even though it was a wicked scene for the comic lovers, what I mean is that she understood it pretty well about what she'd down and the only way out from feeling guilty is going down the path of redemption. By accepting who she is and turning it for good.

* There was seventy nine hundred walkers in that hoard.

 

[Culhwch]

All I can say is go Carol. No, definitely not Shane evil. Doing it for the greater good. In a way she's probably doing what Rick would have done last season - well, did do, remembering the hitchhiker - but in what's probably a more sane way.

And I don't know why you're saying that they left Tyrese to fend for himself, ctg - they had a plan, he didn't follow it because he's having a bad mental health day. If anything, Bob was selfless in standing and waiting, calling back for him to come. I'd have probably just run for the trees, myself...

 

[ctg]

Why not to waste couple of rounds to clear out a path for him when they had an obvious chance? The horde, even though it's massive, isn't that fast because the zombie physics still work. So getting him out from the car was one thing but leaving him standing in the middle of a swarm was another. Therefore in a way I saw them leaving him to fend for himself just like they to others at back in the farm. And to be honest they haven't been scared about letting loose couple of rounds when it was needed.

But a question: knowing that the hoard is heading their way and especially towards the car wouldn't that be a enough of distraction for them go around and check the power plant/veterinary place at behind the scene? Would you guys do that or would you head back in the prison without the medicine?

 

[Culhwch]

I think the bigger question is, what's there that has attracted all those zombies?

 

[ctg]

You mean what you used to be there? Well, people as I assume that somebody used to live there. And they are no more as the theory goes that these hordes goes through anything that lives and they move from a place to another to find something to eat.

 

[Dave]

I think Culhwch has a point - We have seen Zombies attracted to blood, to noise/gunfire, to living humans and to animals. None of those things seemed to be present on a deserted road in the middle of a wood. It does beg the question: what is there? However, we have seen them moving in large packs before and they could have been unlucky enough to drive into one on the move.

As for Tyrese, he seemed to have given up hope. You can't really help someone unwilling to help themselves. Once he showed that he really did want to live then their attitude changed accordingly.

 

[Culhwch]

I'd have to watch it again, but I thought the horde wasn't just gathered in the middle of nowhere, but rather around the veterinarian's college that the group was heading to. And coupled with the voice that Darryl picked up on the radio, I wondered if there is a group of survivors there, or if there very recently was (with a taped message still broadcasting).

 

[ctg]

With the strength that radio message was coming through I would assume the broadcasting station was much farther away than at the collage. But I admit I might be wrong about it, as the producers might have not gone in with full science and there indeed were (or still is) some survivors stationed in there.

If you look at this crop here, you'll see they are not all just stationed around the college but the horde has started to wander towards the woods without no particular reason. Or then it is like you say and what we see is the tail bit and they're truly heading towards the build up area.

 

[Culhwch]

Knew I'd spotted the building, but I thought the horde was closer to it than the above screenshot shows. Which does make it truly odd that that they are all just milling about a couple of hundred metres away from this big building...

I wouldn't rule out that the signal was coming from the college just based on the strength alone - mostly because it makes sense from a story standpoint. But it could be that whatever equipment this band of survivors is using is weak or underpowered (power being as scarce as it is), or else Darryl just didn't have time to tune the radio properly before running into the horde.

Also, I'm sick of people in this show driving without paying attention to where they are going! EYES ON THE ROAD, PEOPLE!

 

[Dave]

Okay, I hadn't spotted the building and I hadn't realised they were so close to their destination. In which case I think we are meant to believe that the radio broadcast comes from inside, however I agree that it seemed clumsy writing.

Just taking the radio part alone - either you would give up all hope of ever contacting anyone by radio and keep it switched off all the time (it would drain the battery), or, you would keep the radio switched on every time you went out anywhere in the car, just on the tiny off chance. What you would not do, is to start tuning it in, just as you arrive at a place with a potential to find hordes of zombies on the road, when you don't need the distraction.