5.03: The Walking Dead - Four Walls and a Roof

[ctg]

"Rick and the group find themselves pitted against some very nasty people, but they might just have a plan to gain the upper hand."

Abraham and his M16, mmmmm

 

[Jesse412]

Episode 3 "Four Walls and a Roof"

Spoiler

Loved the 'tainted meat' moment to open the episode. I like seeing Rick and Abraham butt heads. The scene where they slaughter the hunters was brutal although they deserved it. Michonne gets her sword back! RIP Bob Stookey. I liked seeing Tyreese step up for Sasha at the end. While I don't like seeing the group separated again the stories are generally better when they're not in a big group. Looking forward to finally seeing what happened to Beth next week.

 

[ctg]

Spoiler

What a good man needs is a four walls and a roof to keep the Enemy in bay. You look carefully at what quotes Gabriel has put on the notice board(s) and you'll see that the book which guided his life has direct references for the dead returning back to the living. They are really morbid ones, if you don't know the context, but if you do you'll understand that they'll talk about man's struggles against the nature and situations they were put into, just like it is with Gareth's gang.

I'm sorry if this upset you, but I believe once upon time Gareth's people were good ones, and the situations they faced drove them towards the madness, just like it happened to the Governor. He too was once a good man and he tried to return back to that path after he'd gone crazy and slaughtered loads of people. And just like it was with him Gareth didn't see his error but thought that he'll can go back to his old ways and made his flock prosperous again after he'd taken care of the problem with Rick.

And that was what he were trying to explain to Bob at the beginning of the episode, and again to Rick when the situation came to head. But his error was the he didn't understood that the error he'd made to drive his people towards cannibalism, while there were still people in the world weren't going to be a good decision. Instead it was always going to be seen in the eyes of survivors as dreadfully bad one.

Just look at the Terminus and the land they had around it, or even the vegetable plots they'd placed in the inner yards. If only they would had done what Rick did under Hershel guidance in the Prison, they could had been able to live off from the land and possible grow their flock with good people that has real skills. But no, it was going to happen. They had to flow with the times and become bad instead of choosing to stick with good, like Gabriel did.

What Gabriel flaw is, is cowardice. He did what he'd always done and when the situation came to head, he didn't see a way out from it because the fear had rooted so deeply in him. And that became almost his ending if he'd confessed his sins to Rick and his people. Would he'd done it in the first place, he wouldn't had to have to go in and see the dead spouse trying to come in to sink her rotten teeth into his flesh. Then again that same thing applies to Abraham.

Ultimately he is an Alpha male in charge of his pack of wolves that consist Rosita and Eugene. So seeing that things weren't going to get any better in this one of the darkest episode in all five seasons, he did the only thing he knew and tried to back before things got really bad. But luckily Rick and his people aren't first time practising the dance and it was really emotional to see his message at corner of the map. And that is one of the reasons why Abraham is one of my favourites characters of all of them. He has a big heart that compensates his fierce temperament.

Therefore I too would like to apologise for being a dick. I'm sorry.

PS. I too look forward seeing what really happened to Beth next week.

Spoiler

PPS. I really loved the way how this episode was taken out from the pages of the original prose even if it didn't follow faithfully down to last dot.

 

[JugoZille]

I love season 5 so far. Very fast-paced.

 

[markpud]

Loved this episode although it was pretty hardcore!

Gabriel is nothing but a coward who locked himself away and let his congregation die.

Rick and Abraham's confrontation was immense. Part of me wonders what would have gone down if Glenn wasn't there to mediate? It probably wouldn't have matched the slaughter of the Termites but it would have been brutal nonetheless.

I loved the scene of Rick and co leaving the church, then the camera lingers in the wide shot as they dispensary into the night, and Gareth's crew slowly emerge from the other side. Beautifully done, even if it was all part of the misdirection that Rick's team had fallen for Gareth's plan. Including the school(?) full of zombies - that was a wonderfully ghoulish scene straight out of Romero with them pressed up against the glass. And it cracked a little. But that didn't matter!

I was wondering if Carl was going to take the first shot, but he has calmed down a fair bit from his season 2 murderousness!

Glenn, Maggie and Tara's reaction to Rick & co putting the Termites down. Do they recognise their friends any more? Is Abraham any better since he was part of it? The note on the map was a nice touch and one wonders how long it'll be til these 2 groups reunite?

And finally.. what was the deal with Daryl at the end? Was it Carol in the bushes, or someone else? They left a cliffhanger so if it's just Carol then I'll be disappointed - unless she's a zombie

 

[ctg]

Including the school(?) full of zombies - that was a wonderfully ghoulish scene straight out of Romero with them pressed up against the glass. And it cracked a little. But that didn't matter!

Why they were all inside the school and had not been able to find a way out or even crack that glass?

The conditions inside the buildings are getting worse ever day that goes by when it's not heated or properly maintained. That's fact. So taken that they were there one can assume that there are also a number of rotting corpses and if I know anything those things can cause horrific conditions inside derelict buildings. I'm not just talking about a bit of mould but all the other nasty stuff that will happen over time. So I would assume that those zombies had been locked there recently to clean the area from walkers.

I was wondering if Carl was going to take the first shot, but he has calmed down a fair bit from his season 2 murderousness!

I think that stuff is still hidden inside that boy but since he has been in so many conflicts he has learned to calm down and fire when he sees a target. Not before!

Glenn, Maggie and Tara's reaction to Rick & co putting the Termites down. Do they recognise their friends any more?

Sure they do. Why wouldn't they, when they have done the same stuff?

 

[markpud]

Sure they do. Why wouldn't they, when they have done the same stuff?

Tara hasn't. And Glenn & Maggie looked pretty shocked by it. I'm not saying they didn't recognise that the Termites had to be stopped, but the manner of it was particularly harsh, even for this world. A single swing of a machete etc would do the job.

Minor gripe is that no zombies turn up near the church with all that noise, even if the gunshots were suppressed, there's been no zombies outside there at all, except when Bob was dropped off. A big echoy church plus a baby = zombie magnet! But she is the world's quietest baby!

Interesting note from the "Talking dead" companion show, the church was built as a complete set, not least because filming such a brutal scene in a real church wouldn't have gone down well

 

[ctg]

I'm not saying they didn't recognise that the Termites had to be stopped, but the manner of it was particularly harsh, even for this world. A single swing of a machete etc would do the job.

I think everything had piled up inside Rick's guts. He'd seen his friends being escorted at the gunpoint inside Terminus, and then he'd ended up in same way, not talking about then finding out that they had guts on eating his friend's leg and threatening similar kind of fate to his children. A chilled man just putting a cap on Gareth's head would had been a tad more scarier than letting out steam.

The world he has been going through isn't a nice place, and he is not the same man after seeing so many of his friends getting torn in pieces by the undead kind. Not talking about putting down his own best friend and finding out that he'd been bonking his wife. A man could had been going bonkers from less and he did. Rick started receiving phone calls from dead people, and then he started following his wife ghost around the county without caring about what was really happening there. After that the only voice of reason suffered a horrific death in the Governor's hands when he swung down a sword and didn't manage to separate Hershel's head from his shoulders.

So, I know that this sounds cold, but it's better that he is letting out steam in single object than moving towards something worse even if it horrifies people around him. That's how I see it.

Minor gripe is that no zombies turn up near the church with all that noise, even if the gunshots were suppressed, there's been no zombies outside there at all, except when Bob was dropped off. A big echoy church plus a baby = zombie magnet! But she is the world's quietest baby!

I know. Bless her little cotton socks.

 

[JugoZille]

Rick and Abraham's confrontation was immense. Part of me wonders what would have gone down if Glenn wasn't there to mediate? It probably wouldn't have matched the slaughter of the Termites but it would have been brutal nonetheless.

Rick would have won. You do not mess with Rick! Nobody!! Maybe Chuck Norris might have a chance.

And finally.. what was the deal with Daryl at the end? Was it Carol in the bushes, or someone else? They left a cliffhanger so if it's just Carol then I'll be disappointed - unless she's a zombie

I think Carol might be dead. We will see in the next episode.
I only have one problem with TWD: Most of the time I know who will die next. At the end of season 4 it was obvious to me, that Bob will be the next dead person. There are many characters who cannot die at all (Rick + Family, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Michonne, etc.) or well, not very soon. Maybe if the actors get a better job offer. A little bit more GoT uncertainty would be great, but not possible anymore, because you have to design it right from the beginning.

From the current group I would say that Carol will be the next dead person. She just had her 15 minutes of fame as a one-woman-army. Time to die

 

[paranoid marvin]

Rick took out a lot of anger and frustration on those guys. I don't buy the 'saving bullets' excuse (although that too is pretty cold), he wanted to make them suffer as much as he could. And who could blame him after being lined up at the trough to be whacked? I do wonder how much psychologically doing something like that to another human being will tell on him later on; or perhaps after all they've been through it won't.

Anyway I'm glad the whole cannibal thing has been concluded, as it was really quite silly. Will be interesting to see how they deal with the (seemingly) split -up group storylines.

 

[svalbard]

That was fairly brutal. Loved the looks on the others faces as Rick and his group set to on the cannibals. It is also looking like Tyresse is one of the few to maintain his humanity. I had thought that he had beaten one the Terminal crew to death in the cabin, but he obviously didn't, although the guy had not the good sense to get out of dodge when he had the chance.

Rick is the type of leader you need in a post-apocaliptic world. Fair to his people, untrusting of strangers and merciless to his enemies.

 

[ctg]

Tyresse is one of the few to maintain his humanity. I had thought that he had beaten one the Terminal crew to death in the cabin, but he obviously didn't, although the guy had not the good sense to get out of dodge when he had the chance.

Tyreese is a difficult character to handle cos basically he's a big bear. One that can do serious damage to the undead kind but he's only one who sees that harming one of their kind - no matter the circumstance - is absolutely wrong. Especially after he'd seen what the girls did with his own eyes. He said to Carol: "Let's not tell them about the girls." And so far they haven't.

I don't think they ever will as that would shatter his soul and break his character completely. You would see an empty husk. Someone who would be close to the dead kind without actually being one. At the moment he still has it, but how long will it take before he's either dead or taken a step towards insanity? I don't know but I waiting something to happen, and in the meantime I'm glad there's another Tyreese lover among the commentators.

 

[markpud]

Tyreese's portrayal is very interesting, he's absolutely one of the toughest people in the group once he's psyched up enough, like last season when he hammered his way through a horde. But most of the time he wants to avoid conflict with the dead or the living, and that seems like it'll get him killed.

I have a feeling that his inaction will lead to Judith's death, and his own not long after that! Just a prediction

As for Rick, he seems to have found a resolve of steel but this brutality must take a toll. The Termites could have been put down more cleanly but the brutality of their dispatch matches their own brutality.

Spoiler: comic book spoilers

Rick's final (to date) confrontation with Negan is where he finally breaks this cycle of violence, but I think we're a fair way off seeing that on screen. End of season 7 perhaps?! I don't want that storyline to come round too fast and I wonder how quickly they'll get to Washington, as last season showed there's plenty of scope for trouble in short distances on the open road never mind something like 700 miles to DC.

 

[alchemist]

Loved this episode although it was pretty hardcore!

That was fairly brutal.

I have to say I thought this episode felt pretty tame compared to the ending of the last. I found the scene where Bob was eaten in front of his eyes one of the most disturbing things I'd ever seen, and I questioned whether I'd continue watching. In fact alchemissus has now stopped watching after being an avid viewer up until now. The scene in the church was brutal, but hey, they all deserved it.

 

[markpud]

It's good to have a range of reactions! I found the "Bob's Burgers" scene more comical (not only because it was directly out of the comic book). But the brutal takedown of the Termites shocked me more. Maybe because it shows the depths our "hero" characters have to go to, to survive.

 

[ctg]

I have to say I thought this episode felt pretty tame compared to the ending of the last. I found the scene where Bob was eaten in front of his eyes one of the most disturbing things I'd ever seen, and I questioned whether I'd continue watching.

Like I said in the first post, this episode is one most darkest there has been in the history of the Walking Dead.

Spoiler

The period in the comics is equally dark and it only gets lighter towards the end.

 

[Dave]

The executions were brutal but this is a lawless world and the Termites were evil people who deserved to die.

I'm curious about the ending too. I don't want Carol to be dead though.

 

[Culhwch]

The executions were seriously brutal, but rather cathartic. I think I despised Gareth even more than the Governor.

I feel like one of the main group isn't going to make it out of the first half of this season. I think Rick and Carl are safe, and maybe Darryl, but I have fears for pretty much everyone else...