The Walking Dead

[BloatedGuppy]

**SPOILERS FOR TONIGHT'S EPISODE YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

Spoiler: HEREIN BE SPOILERS. FAIRLY WARNED, BE YE.

Has this show turned a corner or what?

Rick sucked, and was an intolerable Mary Sue. Rick is now sweaty and desperate and amoral and awesome.

Lori sucked. Lori is now dead. (Props to Andrew Lincoln for his acting at the end of the episode, very powerful)

T-Dog never got any lines and was a pointless ancillary character. T-Dog is now dead.

Carl was useless, irritating baggage. Carl is now hardcore.

Andrea was stupid and gullible. Andrea is...uh...well, 4 out of 5 ain't bad.

After S2 I was very, very close to writing this show off as an utter waste of time. I hated half the characters and barely cared about the ones I didn't hate. The pacing was abysmal, the budget was bare-bones, there were hardly any zombies. Every 4-5 episodes there would be a strong 10 minute span that would bring me back for another few weeks, but generally speaking I was chronically disappointed with the show. It was getting so I'd turn in just to see how it would let me down this week.

It's kind of awesome now. Rick is awesome, Daryl is awesome, Maggie is awesome, Hershel is awesome...

What show is this?

This is a good show!

 

[White Lightning]

I don't like The Walking Dead. I watched the first season and was like "I do not like this and shall not watch it ever again". Someone almost turned it when I was in the room, but luckily I was able to cut off their arm before they could, so what was sure to be a major crisis was averted.

Captcha: apple juice

I don't like Apple Juice either. Well I mean I'll drink it but when I do I'm not happy about it, I mean if there is nothing else I'll drink it but it's like the literal last resort.

 

[The Rookie Gamer]

On a lesser note,

Spoiler

I was really surprised to see that one inmate Rick locked away come back, and it was awesome to see him get blown away by the other. I'm wondering if he's just going to fulfill T-Dog's role, but I'd be happy if he got more growth. The Governor is also still a charming murderer, and I wonder if he'll redeem himself. Probably not, but I like that actor.

 

[Olas]

Currently fighting my way through season 2 in hopes of something worthwhile down the road. I feel a bit like the characters in the show in that respect. I'm slowly losing hope though.

The characters are currently too busy accidentally shooting or injuring themselves or one other to worry about zombies.

 

[BBboy20]

Spoiler

Thanks to Season 2, I was not emotionally effected by Lori's death at all (maybe I really am that much of a monster). I also didn't like how T-Dawg was taken out: at this point of time, I expect the group have the eyes at the back of their heads and even after getting bitten despite being capable of being able to quickly look behind him in an open area, he went down like a ***** instead of just punching the fucking shit out of those two walkers; he's already dead, may as well take as much out with whatever fingers he may have left.

Yes, I care MUCH more for the character that wasn't really pivotal over the one who was having a baby; talk about reversal of expectations.

 

[IndomitableSam]

Spoiler

All I could think of was "get rid of the baby... get rid fo the baby" at the end. Seriously. It'll make noise and just be a drain on everyone. ... I'm not a good person, really. I'm also really impressed with Carl this season - really enjoying his growing up.

Also eager to find out who it is screwing with the group - and if they took Carol. I need to order the omnibuses soon, I think, see the differences.

 

[Blunderboy]

Wait they've only gotten that far?

*returns to his comics*

Everything I hear about the series makes me glad I stuck with the comics.

 

[Ranorak]

Slightly off topic, but this seemed like a good place to ask.

Never watched the show. I always thought it was just another crappy show with stock characters and stupid characters making stupid choices so they find themselves in trouble.
i.e. Lots of "spectacle" no substance.

some media I read seems to reinforce this, but my friend claims otherwise.
Is he just wrong, or is there some redeeming value in this series.

AKA, should I watch this?

 

[IndomitableSam]

Slightly off topic, but this seemed like a good place to ask.

Never watched the show. I always thought it was just another crappy show with stock characters and stupid characters making stupid choices so they find themselves in trouble.
i.e. Lots of "spectacle" no substance.

some media I read seems to reinforce this, but my friend claims otherwise.
Is he just wrong, or is there some redeeming value in this series.

AKA, should I watch this?

Only way to decide is try it out. Season 2 isn't very good, but I've heard this is because AMC only gave the show the same budget they gave them for season 1... which was 6 episodes long. Season 2 was 12 or 13 or so. So they were really stretched thin money-wise, hence being on the farm with little action.

Season 3 has really turned it around.

 

[IndomitableSam]

Also eager to find out who it is screwing with the group

Spoiler

It was the prisoner, the one who attacks them with the same axe used to break the lock on the gate and who was in the generator room when the alarms came on. He's dead now.

Spoiler

Really? I didn't think they'd be that obvious... I can't remember if the person laying out the deer was wearing a prison uniform or not. Ah well, I was overthinking it.

Still don't know what's happened to Carol, though.

 

[Swiftkillz]

I thought it was the guy watching Carol from the shadows in the one ep where she was practicing on the walker corpse.

 

[King_Julian]

Its an amazing show, one of very few good ones on tv at the minute.

 

[DirgeNovak]

I still think the show has too much action and not enough character developement (Telltale's game is soooooooo much better in that regard), but PARTAY TIME! So long, *****!

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Spoiler

Thanks to Season 2, I was not emotionally effected by Lori's death at all (maybe I really am that much of a monster).

I agree. Through that whole scene I just felt oddly detached. Everyone I've talked to hated the character, and they turned her into a bit of a sad sack in Season 3; her death was inevitable. The whole time I was thinking "jeez they're really milking this death scene. Do they really expect the audience not to have seen this coming?"


The problem now is that I thought The Governor's amoral & cynical reasoning was supposed to contrast with Rick's idealistic "keep hope and humanity alive" outlook. But if Rick is now desperate and broken it seems like the two men would get along famously.

 

[xXD2aSsiNnsXx]

i Realy Like The Walking Dead Serie's its Epic how they Surviving the Apocalypse .
it would be cool if it was Real Life X

 

[crazyrabbits]

Rick sucked, and was an intolerable Mary Sue.

Uh...that's not what a Mary Sue is. It sounds like you're trying to pigeonhole the term (which is typically "character who can do no wrong") into a justification for why you don't like him. He started out the series by shooting a zombified girl in the face, has carried remorse for people he couldn't save throughout the series, and basically told everyone to fuck off last season because he was in charge and everyone was browbeating him because of his actions. The entire purpose of his character arc is to be stable in the face of the world falling to pieces around him.

Other than that, I agree with the rest of your points.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Uh...that's not what a Mary Sue is. It sounds like you're trying to pigeonhole the term (which is typically "character who can do no wrong") into a justification for why you don't like him. He started out the series by shooting a zombified girl in the face, has carried remorse for people he couldn't save throughout the series, and basically told everyone to fuck off last season because he was in charge.

Other than that, I agree with the rest of your points.

I know what a Mary Sue is.

Mary Sue is a derogatory term primarily used in Fan Fic circles to describe a particular type of character. This much everyone can agree on. What that character type is, exactly, differs wildly from circle to circle, and often from person to person.

TV Tropes Wiki doesn't get to set what the term means; the best we can do is capture the way it is used. Since there's no consensus on a precise definition, the best way to describe the phenomenon is by example of the kind of character pretty much everyone could agree to be a Mary Sue. These traits usually reference the character's perceived importance in the story, their physical design and an irrelevantly over-skilled or over-idealized nature.

In this case I would be using:

The interpretation that Mary Sue is a character that is idealized to a fault. A very influential interpretation, this one tends to get applied to most discussions. This theory posits that a Mary Sue is an unrealistically capable and virtuous character, one who simply lacks flaws and is depicted in an overly positive light.

Rick's Dudley-Do-Good impersonation in seasons 1 and 2 was grating in the extreme. IMO, naturally. I actually liked Shane MUCH more than Rick until Shane became a bug-eyed cartoon.