8.09: The Walking Dead - Honour

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Rick, Michonne and the dead boy (Photo by Gene Page/AMC)

Rick faces new difficulties after a battle. Meanwhile, the fight continues in other communities as core members face hard decisions.

 

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That photo above is the first one in the long series of photos I've used to promote the series that I feel really speaks about the fact that they're all walking dead. The actual dead, they already went through necromorphosis and reached the end state, while to them and especially for Carl the journey to afterlife is becoming real. Even if they could save him, I wouldn't want that to happen as it would speak volumes against the struggles Ricknation had to endure in their journey.

What would happen if Carl was immune?

Revolutionary things as not only he could do well in the combat, he could potentially help the Ricknation to become superstrong if they somehow managed to find a doctor, keep him or her alive, and they would have useful skills to either develop a vaccine or then use Carl as a stud so that they can breed themselves out from the zombie problem. The latter option is something I believe Kirkman would never allow to happen in his world. Not until much later. And the first one needs a lot of science and a clean room technology.

Nevertheless, Dr Evil could do something about it as he has a head that can understand science and technology, while almost all the others seems to have stuck in what they have. In the history of TWD Doctor Jensen was the only one I would have trusted to be able to do the miracle. And as he's been laying according to Kirkman and Gimple nearly two years under the rubble, Rick's crew would have to get superbly lucky on finding such person.

So to my mind Carl is doomed. There is nothing that can save him. The bite location, the time need to apply medicine, and the struggle with Negan's madness are all working against them. In other words, if I were standing in Rick's shoes, I would gather the survivors and move out as they did after the Governor blew out the Prison. It will be a struggle against the elements but to my mind they're now better equipped than what they were before Rick got idea to wipe out the Saviours.

As a nemesis Negan's gang has been the ultimate adversary. They have rebelled all the damage Ricknation and taken a pyrrhic victory against all odds. Somehow they even managed to retain their core numbers, while those at the outposts were all expendable. Ultimately as long as Negan survives there will be some people who he can manipulate. So, like Carl, Negan should be doomed to find the end in Rick's hands.

But he isn't. We all know that Jeffrey Dean Morgan has a contract with AMC for two more seasons. I think he will survive All Out War, maybe even become the King of Washington DC. So it leaves open what will Ricknation do to survive this odyssey?

The exodus is better option to my mind than staying in trying to survive this last man standing battle with a sadistic ******* we know as Negan.

These are my thoughts before this episode. I don't look forward reviewing it or even looking at it. Sorry.

 

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Oopsie, lol, a week earlier but still above reflects the feelings I have for the second half of this current season. Here's Danai on the current situation:

The katana-wielding warrior has acted as mother to the Grimes children after their mother, Lori, died in season 3. Even before forging a later romantic relationship with Rick, Michonne developed a bond with Carl — and actor Chandler Riggs.

"Carl and Chandler are a blessing to Michonne and to Danai, you know what I mean? I adore Chandler, and [for] Michonne, Carl is her healer," Gurira said.

"Everything she and Rick do is to protect Carl, so this is kind of the worst nightmare realized for him to reveal [the bite] at the end of the last episode. These are very resourceful people who do everything they can. Rick and Michonne don’t really stop easily. What do you do when that’s what you’re facing?"

"So, yeah," she added, "I was devastated. Michonne was devastated.”

New 'The Walking Dead' Midseason Premiere Clip Shows Michonne Taking Out Walkers

 

[REBerg]

Oopsie, lol, a week earlier but still above reflects the feelings I have for the second half of this current season. Here's Danai on the current situation:

New 'The Walking Dead' Midseason Premiere Clip Shows Michonne Taking Out Walkers

Does Michonne get that door closed? I'd bet she does, possibly running the gate latch bolt through the head of a walker in the process.

 

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Does Michonne get that door closed? I'd bet she does, possibly running the gate latch bolt through the head of a walker in the process.

I'm avoiding watching.

 

[Dave]

So, is this re-starting this Sunday? You really confused me with your post last Sunday. (I don't actually read what you say until after I've seen it myself.)

 

[REBerg]

So, is this re-starting this Sunday? You really confused me with your post last Sunday. (I don't actually read what you say until after I've seen it myself.)

Yes, it is -- in the States, anyway.

 

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So, is this re-starting this Sunday? You really confused me with your post last Sunday.

I bet it was comparable to my confusion on Monday, when I didn't see TWD anywhere. LOL

 

[REBerg]

Geez! How long does it take one teenage character to die?
As Carl's parting words of wisdom dragged on, I was ever more willing to jump in and deliver the coup de grâce myself.
I sincerely hope that Rick waking up under a tree in the middle of nowhere at the end does not mean that this extended swan song was just a dream featuring kindly Uncle Negan.
The rescue of Ezekiel provided much-needed action relief from the long good-bye.

 

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No man should have to bury their child, but we are all walking in the shadow of death. There is no easy way out. No second chances, even if some people do strange things in Kirkman's world. The final duty is a hard one, especially if you have to do it yourself. It's so much easier to just walk away and not think about it. Then again some people don't ever get a chance to bury their loved ones.

Sometimes you have to leave them behind. Especially in the warzone.

In Carl words: "I got bit." Like old man Hershel he acknowledged that he is already dead, and I think he pulled the trigger to make it easier for everyone. Still that leaves the need to bury the dead. I guess he couldn't think the other way and go to exile to save Rick ailing sanity from getting torn apart as people go missing in the battlefield. Nobody knows until they are found and with Carl's determination he could had gone far away to never be found again.

But then we wouldn't have Sadik, "the doctor" who knows how to treat some of the difficult symptoms. It is almost as if the production is laughing at our face. Here's someone who certainly going to die, because TWD bible cannot allow doctors to survive.

I don't believe in Rick's dream. There cannot be peace and prosperity in Kirkman's world because that would shatter the image of apocalypse. As a leader he should step down and let Dwight and Daryl to handle the business. Death to tyranny, a saying goes. As an example it takes much more to be the leader, who stepped down than being one, who stayed stubbornly.

In a way it's what happened to Morgan at the end as he couldn't let go, he ended trading Gavin's life for the blood on innocent boy hands.

Geez! How long does it take one teenage character to die?

Forever, and again. Glenn's death took months to resolve. This drama was much, much shorter and in the binge watch session it'll be over in a blink.

 

[Dave]

Geez! How long does it take one teenage character to die?
As Carl's parting words of wisdom dragged on, I was ever more willing to jump in and deliver the coup de grâce myself.

I don't believe in Rick's dream.

If the sequences we keep being shown since the first episode of this season are only Carl's dreams then I will not be happy.

Morgan needs to be locked away.

Also, how did Carl find time to write letters, and prepare the shelter, and do all the other things that he did, while dying of his injuries, in the middle of a war, and one that supposedly lasted only a matter of hours (or a few days) at the most?

 

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Also, how did Carl find time to write letters, and prepare the shelter, and do all the other things that he did, while dying of his injuries, in the middle of a war, and one that supposedly lasted only a matter of hours (or a few days) at the most?

I have learned from my own experience that when you face the situation where you have limited amount of time left, you'll find time to do surprising things. Letters are not complicated things. Combat soldiers do it everyday, but in Carl's case, I think it's fair enough to assume he'd already composed what he wanted to say in his head. He just never had a motivation to do them before.

 

[nixie]

Morgan has completely lost it, he shouldn't be around people.

Shall we open a book on how long Sadik will last? My money is on 2 weeks.

The episode was torture and not in a good way.

 

[Dave]

I have learned from my own experience that when you face the situation where you have limited amount of time left, you'll find time to do surprising things.

So, that's why people leave writing Christmas cards until the last post?

 

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So, that's why people leave writing Christmas cards until the last post?

I don't know.

 

[svalbard]

If the sequences we keep being shown since the first episode of this season are only Carl's dreams then I will not be happy.

From my understanding of the episode the dream sequences are all Carl's

It was an an overly wrought episode but a major character like Carl deserves a long good bye. The action scenes were good. Morgan is now officially AWOL. Is this where he takes off and joins the Fear gang?

 

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Is this where he takes off and joins the Fear gang?

We don't know.

 

[Judderman]

Well not surprisingly most of the episode was whimpering about Carl. They really dragged it out, which was particularly annoying as there didn't seem to be any point in having him killed off for a little bite. Well, unless Sadik is going to be a massively important character or Rick will be dramatically changed. Rick's daughter is still far too young to have much of a role herself for a few years (unless time passes at the end of the season).

The Morgan and Carol attack scenes were great. But that was perhaps 10 minutes out of 45. Also why didn't any of them comment that the boy was walking up? One of them would have seen him.

This article is on the right lines about pointless character deaths. Compared with Game of Thrones where significant character deaths lead to a change in direction for the story.

'The Walking Dead' Just Made A Huge, Unforgivable Mistake All Over Again

 

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The Morgan and Carol attack scenes were great. But that was perhaps 10 minutes out of 45. Also why didn't any of them comment that the boy was walking up? One of them would have seen him.

Small people are not easy to spot when you're looking for adult sized targets. Carol and Morgan never thought that boy would have followed them back at the Kingdom, because of the sheer amount of danger associated to the operation. Everything was clear. Nobody had seen Henry sneaking around until it was all too late to do anything.

Would you be able to spot him lurking in the shadows with that colouring?

He looks so sorry in that picture. But, if you look into history, boys are like that. They feel responsible, especially oldest ones (not all). Carl was protective till the end. Henry might be like that from now on as he knows he can kill an adult man and get away with it. To comics Carl that was a huge problem. He went through a really dark period on the road to Alexandria. Henry might acquire some of those plotlines or not.

The way TWD is going forward is floating in the air as AMC knows that Fear's method work better, and we are seeing that same pattern in these break-in-the-pattern episodes Kirkman and Gimble has casting around. There are seven episodes left, so if they want to go full bore ahead, I think we are going to see pacing similar to what we saw in the Fear. And that leaves nobody safe.

The only person we know for sure to survive this season is Morgan. So can we count Henry will survive this war till the end and not commit any more heroic assassinations? Also in this world is better for the children to learn how to kill sooner than later? Will it twist their psyche?

 

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One thing Rick's gang need to is to take Eugene out. If they need another genius level character they can invented her out from blue. So he should be on the kill-list and a priority target after the regroup.