The Walking Dead - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

[afcneal]

Im kind of at this point too, the Zombies are not even central to the story anymore, which is a shame. I don't feel the story has moved on much at all this series, just variations of the same episode.

Me too. The characters were what made it, but they're no longer developing and (remember Lost?) the storyline resembles padding to fill a series. I know nothing of the comic story, but assume Negan has many more fighters than a few truck loads? Can't see Eugene doing a great deal of anything though.....

[Papa Hotel]

Me too. The characters were what made it, but they're no longer developing and (remember Lost?) the storyline resembles padding to fill a series. I know nothing of the comic story, but assume Negan has many more fighters than a few truck loads? Can't see Eugene doing a great deal of anything though.....

I feel they've gone too far with the character development to the point where it's forced and the dialogue is a bit too "Dawson's Creek"; really contrived and faux-deep and I often sit asking myself what the f**k they're talking about. I don't think the show knows what it is anymore. I watched it for the thrills and kills but those are long gone. Even the zombies are confused caricatures nowadays, there's more effort put into the zombie makeup than giving the audience what we first started watching it for.

[robcat]

Im kind of at this point too, the Zombies are not even central to the story anymore, which is a shame. I don't feel the story has moved on much at all this series, just variations of the same episode.

Dare I say that it's not really meant to be about zombies, but rather about what people do and how society breaks down in a post-apocalyptic world.

I agree though that they have rehashed similar stories with each series i.e. "baddy of the season". I don't think they can keep doing that for much longer. That said, Negan/The Saviours are probably the most compelling baddies in 7 series, so I wonder if they're going to stretch the Negan storyline out into the next series, even though it would probably be better pacing to bring it all to a head now. (I think pacing has always been the problem with the series though).

[Dazzler]

Decent finish to an average season. No spoilers though.

[robcat]

Decent finish to an average season. No spoilers though.

Minor spoiler.







I think it's more like a great season with a bit of an average finale.

I think my previous comment is valid, in that it would've made dramatic sense for Negan to get his comeuppance at the end of this series, but the character has obviously been such a success that they're going to stretch the storyline out for another year. The problem with this is that they can only repeat the deal/betrayal/twist thing so many times.

I think the Walking Dead is like Game of Thrones, in that they need to start wrapping things and try and finish on a high.

[RobDad]

I'm also in the 'watching out of habit' camp. And not sure why episode after episode recently features Sasha (or saaarrshaaa or whatever their pronunciation!) Staring into space looking about to burst into tears, literally in every scene. That just seems to be eager character at the moment, they focus on one trait and dress it up as amazing acting - I'm so over a lot of the characters now, they just look bored IMHO. I'm sure they're glad of the paycheck, but if we're bored imagine how they all feel!

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[nickyboyo]

Carl didn't have a one way argument with Lucille, Michonne took a slap or two (please bring her back with 2 dismembered zombies as guard dogs), and Carol saved the day-


Shoot yeahhhhhh, don't get much better than that y'all....

[Captain Morgan]

Glad we saw a little more of the new(ish) character Tony, he's G-R-R-REAT.

[kevkojak]

Minor spoiler.







...it would've made dramatic sense for Negan to get his comeuppance at the end of this series, but the character has obviously been such a success that they're going to stretch the storyline out for another year.

I'm not sure how true to the source material they will stay, but I suspect Negan will be around for more than another year.

Personally I love him as a baddie, looking forward to seeing just how they deal with him now. The situation with Glenn was in both the comic and the series so no shock there, but Daryl is a totally new character for the TV show, and obviously has a score to settle, so maybe they'll do away with him after all...

[robcat]

I'm not sure how true to the source material they will stay, but I suspect Negan will be around for more than another year.

Personally I love him as a baddie, looking forward to seeing just how they deal with him now. The situation with Glenn was in both the comic and the series so no shock there, but Daryl is a totally new character for the TV show, and obviously has a score to settle, so maybe they'll do away with him after all...

He's a cracking baddy (in more ways than one), no doubt about it!

I'm not familiar with the comic books, but I guess it's more common for the arch-enemies to get away at the last minute. I think with live action, skin-of-the-teeth escapes are a bit harder to swallow.

[wildheart]

I was a little disappointed, all the dreamy flashback stuff seemed like packing. Rick on his knees yet again? This whole series has been painfully slow, average at best.

[Papa Hotel]

I may have missed the explanation from earlier in the season as I watched it in zombie autopilot, but can anyone tell me why Maggie didn't appear to be pregnant last night?

[RobDad]

Yes, Maggie is apparently pregnant but they're not making any sort of effort at a fake baby bump are they?! - Negan always makes me chuckle too, the way he does that funny 'leaning back and wobbling about' thing - I swear Jeffrey Dean Morgan (I think that's right) needs to get off his Hollywood diet and eat a square meal, he doesn't look like he has the strength to swing 'Lucille' - must weigh about 10 stone soaking wet!


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[wellsy]

Glad we saw a little more of the new(ish) character Tony, he's G-R-R-REAT.

Love what you did there.

[andy tims]

I thought the season finale was very good, even if the timing of the cavalry arriving to the rescue was ridiculously fortuitous.

[Dazzler]

I think what I'd like is to see the 'war' concluded by say episode 4 (maybe half season). Then I'd like to maybe skip a little and have someone else in charge of Alexandria and Rick and a few other being on a long distance recon-mission - that way we would get back to plenty of walker action, different places, new communities etc. Would be a nice change of pace.


Tony was GREAT chomping on that guy's head.

[o u t a t i m e]

So, how long do we have to wait now to see what happens next?

[kevkojak]

He's a cracking baddy (in more ways than one), no doubt about it!

I'm not familiar with the comic books, but I guess it's more common for the arch-enemies to get away at the last minute. I think with live action, skin-of-the-teeth escapes are a bit harder to swallow.

*****SPOILERS*****

In the comics, Rick decides not to kill Negan as it would devolve the Alexandrians to the level of The Saviours. Instead, he builds a bloody strong prison cell for him, where Negan remains for a good while (at least a season, in TV terms) while the new threat, the Whisperers, take centre stage... until Negan (inevitably) gets out.
He is currently back at Alexandria, and in the last issue fought alongside Rick & co, actually taking charge and playing the hero when Rick lost his balls while defending the town from walkers. God knows where it'll go now, I'm lost, but I doubt the audience will ever accept him as a good guy.

[snowman]

I can't help thinking that Rick is utterly useless now.

He gets them all into trouble and does nothing to get them out but luckily is saved by Carol and Maggie.

Some action, but no proper resolution... I think I'm done...

M

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[Devonian]

As someone who has watched all 7 series in the last couple of months so it is all very fresh in my mind, series 7 was at best quite slow and the finale was a bit of a damp squid. The first 3 series were excellent, the last 4 have seen some decent plots spread out over too many episodes - too much filler.

I don't buy Negan's character. He's like the smiling assassin but I just don't rate him as a baddie. He's not believable enough (yet in the Good Wife he acted his part very well), nor are the people around him. It's like he's tortured everyone (with the iron of course) and they are just scared of him so follow like sheep.

When Negan first turned up why didn't they shoot them all? It would have been easy.
When they were first captured because they were out looking for Carol, why didn't anyone ever tell her? It was her bl**dy fault!
Why did Rick continue to not tow the line so Negan kept punishing them all?
Why do I keep telling everyone at work it's becoming like Lost - lack of a plot?
Will a polar bear appear?
The woman leader of the group that betrayed them when Negan turned up - why has she the worlds most stupid lego style haircut?
Why am I even typing this?

Agghhhhh!

When's next season start?

[robcat]

As someone who has watched all 7 series in the last couple of months so it is all very fresh in my mind, series 7 was at best quite slow and the finale was a bit of a damp squid. The first 3 series were excellent, the last 4 have seen some decent plots spread out over too many episodes - too much filler.

I don't buy Negan's character. He's like the smiling assassin but I just don't rate him as a baddie. He's not believable enough (yet in the Good Wife he acted his part very well), nor are the people around him. It's like he's tortured everyone (with the iron of course) and they are just scared of him so follow like sheep.

When Negan first turned up why didn't they shoot them all? It would have been easy.
When they were first captured because they were out looking for Carol, why didn't anyone ever tell her? It was her bl**dy fault!
Why did Rick continue to not tow the line so Negan kept punishing them all?
Why do I keep telling everyone at work it's becoming like Lost - lack of a plot?
Will a polar bear appear?
The woman leader of the group that betrayed them when Negan turned up - why has she the worlds most stupid lego style haircut?
Why am I even typing this?

Agghhhhh!

When's next season start?

I know where you're coming from (and realise it's tongue in cheek). Obviously there's little to be gained by over-analysing a TV program based on a comic, but I find I can only suspend my disbelief so far.

The biggest ask is that such dim-witted, slow-moving zombies brought the world to it's knees in the first place! Everywhere? Even across water? Islands?

The whole Saviours storyline is built around the various scenes with Negan, and has resulted in Bond-like scenarios where there's a series of overly-complex, improbable life or death movements, that the characters manage to escape from at the last minute in order to move onto the next confrontation. In any "realistic" scenario, Negan would've got a bullet in his head from a disgruntled minion, and by the same token Rick's group would've been dispatched of much earlier.

I found the second half of the finale very weak, in that it was unrealistic how the upper-hand passed from The Saviours to "our" guys and back again so easily.

As I said though, no point over-analysing it - it's popcorn entertainment, that's never going to stand up to close scrutiny. Best off enjoyed for what it is - chewing gum for the brain.

Don't even get me started on the way Star Wars, a kids film (and quite a weak story, that is badly scripted and acted), has been over-analysed and venerated!

[Scepticalist]

The biggest ask is that such dim-witted, slow-moving zombies brought the world to it's knees in the first place! Everywhere? Even across water? Islands?

Without trying to get too scientific, it's an airborne infection that manifests upon death. Geographical barriers are probably not much of an issue.

This refinement of the Zombie process is actually one of the better ones - only contracting from a bite or similar always stretched my belief in the apocalypse scenario.

[robcat]

Without trying to get too scientific, it's an airborne infection that manifests upon death. Geographical barriers are probably not much of an issue.

This refinement of the Zombie process is actually one of the better ones - only contracting from a bite or similar always stretched my belief in the apocalypse scenario.

It's not the spread of the infection, it's more the fact that the entire world's security forces seemed to have been incapacitated and unable to deal with zombies that move at (less than) walking pace!

[skmark]

Without trying to get too scientific, it's an airborne infection that manifests upon death. Geographical barriers are probably not much of an issue.

This refinement of the Zombie process is actually one of the better ones - only contracting from a bite or similar always stretched my belief in the apocalypse scenario.

One thing that bugs me about this version of the zombie idea is the unrealistic '2nd life' of said zombies. In WD we must be what 3 years on from the outbreak and yet they are still coming across trapped zombies from 3 years ago that are still alive......how is the infection overcoming basic biology? Surely if they've not eaten or drank in three years they would have completely rotted away never mind still be able to stumble about? At least a supernatural zombie has some reason to remain in existence....these things just defy logic. But maybe I'm just thinking about it too much

[Brighty]

Lego hair womans scrap yard tribe annoyed me. Why would an entire group, who all seems to have american accents, only be able to speak in broken pidgin English? She just reminded me of the hulk, 'Hulk smash" " Hulk want sleep with Rick"

[robcat]

One thing that bugs me about this version of the zombie idea is the unrealistic '2nd life' of said zombies. In WD we must be what 3 years on from the outbreak and yet they are still coming across trapped zombies from 3 years ago that are still alive......how is the infection overcoming basic biology? Surely if they've not eaten or drank in three years they would have completely rotted away never mind still be able to stumble about? At least a supernatural zombie has some reason to remain in existence....these things just defy logic. But maybe I'm just thinking about it too much

Without a doubt, you have to have make a fairly significant willing suspension of disbelief (as you do with most fantasy stuff). The "how do zombies work" question is something you have to ignore IMO e.g. everything needs energy to move etc.

My issue is that even if you are prepared to accept the basic premise of the dead walking, and the immediate chaos that may have ensued, within that framework I still don't see how they weren't contained/destroyed.

And yes, we are overthinking it!

[tiny73]

Without a doubt, you have to have make a fairly significant willing suspension of disbelief (as you do with most fantasy stuff). The "how do zombies work" question is something you have to ignore IMO e.g. everything needs energy to move etc.

My issue is that even if you are prepared to accept the basic premise of the dead walking, and the immediate chaos that may have ensued, within that framework I still don't see how they weren't contained/destroyed.

And yes, we are overthinking it!

You may say that but I'm still preparing for that day with unbridled glee.

[robcat]

You may say that but I'm still preparing for that day with unbridled glee.

Your surname isn't Negan, is it?

[NikGixer750]

was a bit of a let down this season, was really hoping Carl was finally going to die!! I mean how did he survive getting shot point blank in the face anyway!!

They do seem a bit lost plot wise and I think initially the Negan plot was going end this season but they prob could not think of anything else to write about so will spin it out over 2-3 seasons.

[tiny73]

Well, having watched all seven series and watched the last episode tonight I can honestly say that I don't recall a worse episode in the whole seven series. Contrived writing, poor storyline and character introduction (lego hair yoda now seems am I) and a 1970's western cavalry ending has annoyed me somewhat.

I've really enjoyed the transition from "zombie apocalypse" to "occasional zombies and happening across strangers good and bad" to the current "breakdown of societal norms and creation of tribes" coupled with "just how far would you go to survive"? But this episode was tosh.

1/10. Must do better.

Harrumph.

[wombleh]

First episode was something else but I found the rest of the season really dull. I'm not sure how they managed that with negan and Ezekiel to work with, it should have been a binder. Sounds like they lost a lot of viewers after the somewhat brutal start so maybe played it safe.

Have been a huge zombie movie fan for many years and loved waking dead (except season 2 but that was forgiven) however I'm seriously debating whether to bother with the next one.

[Dazzler]

Sigh - I'm missing it already... despite my comments earlier...

[nickyboyo]

Sigh - I'm missing it already... despite my comments earlier...

Normally the viewing options available at this time of year aren't so bad, but with Game of Thrones being put back until July, it's going to be a long 3 months.

[doctorj]

If Michonne ever acts tough again I'll just be here rolling my eyes

[snowman]

First episode was something else but I found the rest of the season really dull. I'm not sure how they managed that with negan and Ezekiel to work with, it should have been a binder. Sounds like they lost a lot of viewers after the somewhat brutal start so maybe played it safe.

I can't see that can be true, though.

They can't have filmed episode 1 and then reshot all the others once it went out (and I can't imagine they had enough filler to re-edit them either).

Seems more likely they blew the budget on episode one and then just filmed people walking around or in a studio for most of the remaining episodes.

Aside from the, much derided, junkyard and fairground episodes, not much happened anywhere all series.

I'll see what the wife says about episode 1 next season, but it'll have to be great to get me back...

M

[alex]

Sigh - I'm missing it already... despite my comments earlier...

Prison break is a decent alternative. :)

[village]

There's too much thinking going on here.
How did a load of shambling zombies overrun the worlds military might? Who cares.*
Why are three year old zombies still being found trapped and fighting fit? Who cares.
Why hasn't Maggie got a big baby bump yet? Who cares.
Why hasn't anybody given Carl a proper haircut? Who cares
Why does everybody seem to have an inexhaustible supply of fuel for cars and stuff? Who cares


* although I would suggest it is the always increasing weight of numbers. A zombie takes you out,or you die some other way,and not only are your own numbers decreased but the zombie army numbers increase. And,lets face it,everybody dies at some point. As to the question of far flung islands and suchlike,have you never heard of zombie pirates?

[Morning Wood]

There's too much thinking going on here.
How did a load of shambling zombies overrun the worlds military might? Who cares.*
Why are three year old zombies still being found trapped and fighting fit? Who cares.
Why hasn't Maggie got a big baby bump yet? Who cares.
Why hasn't anybody given Carl a proper haircut? Who cares
Why does everybody seem to have an inexhaustible supply of fuel for cars and stuff? Who cares

Why don't they just find a nice island to live on and kick back on the beach?

[Papa Hotel]

There's too much thinking going on here.
How did a load of shambling zombies overrun the worlds military might? Who cares.*
Why are three year old zombies still being found trapped and fighting fit? Who cares.
Why hasn't Maggie got a big baby bump yet? Who cares.
Why hasn't anybody given Carl a proper haircut? Who cares
Why does everybody seem to have an inexhaustible supply of fuel for cars and stuff? Who cares


* although I would suggest it is the always increasing weight of numbers. A zombie takes you out,or you die some other way,and not only are your own numbers decreased but the zombie army numbers increase. And,lets face it,everybody dies at some point. As to the question of far flung islands and suchlike,have you never heard of zombie pirates?

I largely agree with you; if we're willing to suspend disbelief to allow for a zombie apocalypse, we shouldn't be tied up in the other details.

The reason I asked about Maggie's bump was because I'm sure she was visibly pregnant previously, and she had been protected from danger by being sent to Hilltop yet there she was with a flat tummy in a gunfight, it made me think I'd somehow missed either a miscarriage or birth or the fight was set a significant period of time later.

[IAmATeaf]

What 12 or 10 did the garbage lady agree on with Neagan?

[arthurDALEY]

What 12 or 10 did the garbage lady agree on with Neagan?

Yes i did"nt catch that either !!

[zanderpants]

People


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[IAmATeaf]

Yes i did"nt catch that either !!

My sons reckon it was guns or people but either way it seemed like such a small ask to back stab?

[halfpasttwothirty]

Absolute rubbish. End of!

[kevkojak]

THREAD RESURRECTION oh yes!

Starts again tonight in case you've missed the billboards, TV teasers, Radio plugs and internet adverts... milking it much?

I watched the long trailer on YouTube and it looks good, seems to be a whole lot more action in this one (no more slow burners please WD). This storyline - All Out War - is set to be completed in this single season thank God, so they'll crack on and wipe a few characters out.





:::SPOILERS:::
There was a little teaser online yesterday showing the first 3 minutes of Season 8 Episode 1, basically just Rick giving a speech to his army.
In it, he states that Negan will die and Rick is going to be the one to do it.

Predictions? Will Rick have a moral crisis and keep Negan alive (as per the comics, where Negan is now a pretty important character on the GOOD side) or has too much water gone under the bridge for that, meaning he HAS to kill him for the fans?

[Dazzler]

Arrrgrh - time to put a bullet in Rick and change the writers.

[NikGixer750]

was a decent enough start to the season, it is annoying that they don't just kill him. I mean they used a sniper rifle to take out the two guards on the rooftop so why not just snipe negan whilst he talking. I know that would make it a short series but its a bit frustrating, and then suddenly rick cant shoot straight.

Hopefully a better season than the last

[andy tims]

Pretty underwhelmed by episode 1.

[jaytip]

was a decent enough start to the season, it is annoying that they don't just kill him. I mean they used a sniper rifle to take out the two guards on the rooftop so why not just snipe negan whilst he talking. I know that would make it a short series but its a bit frustrating, and then suddenly rick cant shoot straight.

Hopefully a better season than the last

This annoyed me a bit too. Taking out Negan while he was talking would/should have been easy, but as you say, there was no way they were going to take him out this early in the series.

[snowman]

Pretty underwhelmed by episode 1.

Likewise...

M