Talking Dead with Ambrosia: After & Inmates

Warning: Spoilers Ahead
The usual disclaimer: You know how Talking Dead works. Since the point of the post is as if I’m in the conversation taking place on the show, clearly I will be talking about the episode. Ergo, if you have not yet watched it, you’re going to be pissed if you read this.

Now that I’ve gotten than out of the way, can I just say about Inmates:
CAROL! Oh my God! *flails*  I know she’d be back. A little later than I’d hoped/anticipated. I mean, I wanted her to show up for the battle, maybe be one of the heroes, and she did say that she came back at the end, so in a roundabout way I got my wish.

But let’s start at the beginning.
After was a little too ‘boring’ to write about on its own. I know it was rich in information, but it spoke for itself. It seemed extraordinarily fitting that the first people to reunite were Michonne and Rick and Carl. Carl, as per usual, couldn’t stay in the house, otherwise he’d still have both shoes.  I was happy to see Michonne’s past, I was happy to see her not give up. And being that I find Danai Gurira absolutely beautiful, seeing her in her old life, glam and lovely, was great.

Other than that… yeah. I have nothing to say about that episode. No major opinions other than what was stated above. Moving on to Inmates.

First off, most episode titles have had a bit of a tongue-in-cheek meaning, and I’m still working this one out. Yes, there was the close up of the ‘hitchhikers may be escaped inmates’ sign, and yes, technically, everyone walking in the area had escaped the prison, just trying to figure out if there’s more to it than that, like a freedom thing, like they’re free from…what?

Jim Gaffigan nailed it with the whole episode being about forgiveness. Truth-bomb.

If you saw a sign promising sanctuary for all, would you trust it?
Probably not. Especially now, coming so quickly off the Woodbury thing. I’d be like, forget that, it’s a trap! I don’t think I’d ever go back to any kind of village or community. I’d keep my own people close and that’s it. Never again.

So, Hardwick had me cracking up with his comments about Lizzie: “She will kill you in your sleep.”  “I finally found my passion.” She has definitely become…hardened in this time. Listening to her parrot all the things that Carol taught her, but in less of a teaching method and more of a robot voice, was just odd. I honestly thought she was going to kill Judith. I can’t tell whether or not she intended to when she had her mouth covered or if she really was just trying to keep her quiet. “She was trying to silence that baby.” Yeah, for good. She clearly can’t stop at just bunnies.

Maggie and Glen’s search for each other contrasted with Tyreese and Sasha’s search is pretty interesting. I agree that there’s a pragmatism about it. Maggie and Glen are operating emotionally. Tyreese and Sasha are both like “My brother/sister is tough and he/she is fine. We’ll find him/her.” And with that, with this whole mentality of ‘let’s survive and keep moving forward,’ it adds to the drama surrounding Karen. Will part of him realize that whoever killed Karen thought they were making the right choice? I’m dying – dying – to find out if he is ever going to find out that it was Carol and that’s why she was gone. I mean, Rick, Daryl, and Maggie are the only ones who know. Carol’s not going to say anything, and I’m sure if they all meet up, Daryl won’t. That leaves Maggie and Rick.

Alanna Masterson may have summed up my entire feelings on a baby during the zombie apocalypse. No one needs a crying, zombie-attracting, not-at-all-independent baby around. It’s just… it’s a bad decision. And really, how many people have all of our survivors killed in order to save them in the long run? How is a baby any different? It all goes back to when Lori was pregnant in the first place.

Lizzie and Mika = Merle and Daryl? Wow. Excellent observation, person who commented on Twitter (Hardwick said your name too fast for me to properly credit you, sorry). I think I can see that similarity. One bossing the other around, maybe a little too violent and hard for their own good.

If Beth wasn’t there to motivate Daryl, do you think he would have just given up?
I don’t think Daryl would give up, but I agree with Joe Kernen, that he’d just regress to his old anti-social self. I feel like right now he’s just questioning having so many ties to people, and just thinking about how so much of what he’s been through lately might have been avoided if he’d just stayed alone. His offhand comment to Beth about how faith didn’t help Herschel… ugh. So cold but it probably wasn’t intentional. All the same, if he never formed these relationships, he wouldn’t be here.

I wonder if Daryl and Beth will come across Carol and Tyreese next? The smushed grapes that Daryl & Beth found while tracking and then the group of walkers feasting by the tracks, I’m assuming those are the same grapes Mika stepped on when she ran away, and then that area by the tracks, those walkers are probably eating the guys that had been bitten and mauled but the walkers that Tyreese tried to fight off. Right? So how far behind Carol and Tyreese are they?

Similarly, is the entire season going to be leading up to Terminus? The promo shots tend to be something of an easter egg, and it used to be Rick standing at a torn-down fence. That all made sense in the long run. Now it’s Rick and Carl walking along the tracks. The tracks are obviously important, and now this whole Terminus thing…

Abraham, Rosita, Eugene.
I have no major opinion on them, having not read the books. At some point, I feel like maybe I should, but I feel like I’d just get confused with two different stories happening (I decided to look up some stuff about Carol in the Walking Dead Wiki once, and yeah…completely different story there, especially how she ties in to Lori, Rick, Michonne, Tyreese) or I’d start being like a lot of other people who get pissed when they don’t match. Anyway, I want to know if they have anything to do with Terminus?

Sneak peak: I feel like they’re getting worse and worse with the sneak peak cliffhangers. DAMN, just give me another second. Or, edit it like a trailer. Cut out whatever she sees and just show me her reaction. Give me something!

Talking Dead with Ambrosia: Too Far Gone

Warning: Ahead be Spoilers
 And lots of them.  By now you all know Talking Dead, and if you don’t, you’re an idiot, you know it talks about the episode that just aired, and since I’m posting here as if I’m in that conversation, clearly I will be talking about the episode. I’m gonna go ahead and make this extra long just in case you ignored the warning and you’re glancing down anyway, just trying to make sure you don’t see anything that you’re not “supposed” to, so that you can’t turn around and bitch and complain that you saw spoilers here. If you’re still reading now, anything from here on out is your own fault, suckas! 

This was… wow. Okay. Where do I start? I’m jumping ahead of Talking Dead and I just want to discuss the show, like, live.
First off, the little pep talk that the Governor gives his people – and make no mistake about it, telling Hershel not to call you the Governor doesn’t suddenly make you not the Governor. Lily is starting to see through him, which is great. From that exact moment I started to get a little tingly.

Daryl’s reaction to Carol was a little…anticlimactic. But I imagine at that point he’s just like, well, it’s done. There’s not a whole lot I can do about it now. I like that he decided to go tell Tyreese, and didn’t just send Rick to go do it. Lauren Cohan’s feeling that Daryl wanted to be part of the decision makes a lot of sense, and I agree that it’s an excellent point that when the Governor showed up, Rick was suddenly, ‘I don’t make the decisions, the council does.’ Well… Carol was part of that council. She made a decision. You’re the one who vetoed it. So… Who makes decisions?

By the way, has anyone figured out if Michonne was on the council?

“I have a tank!” Okay, Guv’nah, if we’re done measuring penis sizes here, can we get on with things? The speeches that the Gov and Rick delivered to each other were poetic, and honestly, I would be interested to see them all trying to coexist n the prison together. Almost like a revisitation to the beginning of Season 3, when we first meet Axel, Oscar, Andrew and their douchebag leader. Anyway, the best part of that whole thing was this overwhelming sense that you knew – you just knew – someone was dying in the next five minutes.  Scratch that, the best part was Daryl taking the bin of guns, all ‘doo-de-doo, nothing to see here,’ while he’s arming everyone.

Once again though, the more important of a character you are, the more dramatic of a death you have to have. Hershel bravely trying to drag himself away, despite knowing that he was done for… Even though I knew it was all coming… I jumped at every swing of that sword. Tara and Lily were both like, ‘uh, no, I’m good,’ at this point, which, again, made me feel tingly. At this point I wondered if they would run to the prison camp for protection, and maybe to join them. Either way, it’s obvious at this point we’re having a moment similar to the end of Season 3,  after the Gov has gunned everyone down, and they find Karen and she explains what happened to Tyreese and Sasha.

Not sure what was up with all the storm-trooper firing, these people couldn’t hit shit. I couldn’t believe that the bus left, but then again, they had to do what they had to do, right? Good on Lizzie for that headshot. Sweet revenge by Michonne, though I would have preferred her to take out his other eye first, then run him through. My friend that I was watching with suggested that she should have cut off his arms and jaw and made him her new pet. I was actually expecting Carl to shoot the Governor off Rick, similar to the way he saved Rick from walker Shane back in Season 2, but this works. Michonne had to have a hand in taking the Gov out, it was only right. And it was fitting for Lily to pull the final trigger, literally and figuratively. The way he just put Megan down without a word, no sympathy, nothing, when Lily brought her to him… it was good for her to be the one to go, okay, boom. Loved Carl kind of losing his shit for a second thnking Judith is dead, a good foil to Rick losing his mind after finding out Lori was dead.

However, they’re all scattered again, similarly to the end of Season 2, with the exception being that in 2, they all headed off in the same direction (except Andrea). We’ve got:
1. Michonne. Where the hell did she go after helping Rick?
2. Rick and Carl. And Rick is wounded. Pretty badly. Carl’s got the only weapon.
3. Daryl and Beth. Both armed, both unscathed.
4. Maggie, Sasha, and Bob. All armed, but Bob’s got that gunshot wound.
5. Tyreese, Lizzie, and her sister. Everyone’s in one piece, I believe. But are they in the prison? Lizzie said they had to defend it.
6. Judith. Um… where did she disappear to?
7. The other 2 kids that were previously carrying Judith
8. Bus full of randos and Glenn
9. Tara and Lily

With everyone separated, where does that leave us? And there’s still the ultimate unknown out there, Carol. Will someone run into Carol? Melissa McBride is still part of the opening credits, with I know doesn’t sound like a big deal, but keep in mind that Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) is still in the post-break credits, implying that she’s not a regular character, despite the fact that she’s been in every episode this season (except the obvious ones where no one from the prison was), and once again, she’s on the council. Then again, David Morrissey, ended up in the opening credits, even though he was only in three episodes, plus a 15-second appearance in one more.

A funny moment on Talking Dead, all the praise for Jeffrey DeMunn as Dale… he said he wanted to leave in solidarity with the exit of previous director Frank Darabont, and then he changed his mind, but the producers were like, no, fuck you, you’re out. And…isn’t Robert Kirkman one of those producers?

I can’t even begin to get into how moved Lauren Cohan was by the whole thing, but I did even comment to my friend, about that ‘last dinner’ that they all have together on the last day of shooting with whoever died? I bet that one was really emotional. I can’t imagine it not. And it goes to show what a fan favorite Hershel is that his death nearly overshadowed everything. I mean, other than the fact that the prison is lost and everyone is scattered, was anything else in that episode as important? Even the excitement over the Governor dying doesn’t quite quell the pain.

I think the idea of the ‘one-two’ punch for the Governor’s death is very satisfying. Everyone got their licks in that needed to, although I think Daryl and Maggie deserved a shot at him too. David Morrissey definitely brought such… such je nais se quoi to the role that you can’t help but like him, then you hate that you like him, so his death had to be a dramatic send off. It would have felt empty if it was quick.

Questions: Why did the Governor want the prison after saying it wasn’t safe last season?
Well, in agreement with both Robert and Lauren, yes, the Gov just needed something to do, something to take over, and yes, anything with walls is better than what he had now, and he only thought it was unsafe compared to what he had in Woodbury.  However, my opinion is that he didn’t think the prison was safe and defensible, but then he saw that it was when he attacked it. For all we know, at that point he already decided on the prison as a back-up plan if necessary.

I was happy that they pointed out that the walker they zoomed in on at the end was Clara, because we had forgotten about, my friend and I. We turned to each other and said, “Lori?” “Janis Joplin?”

So the first half of the season has ended with us still not knowing what the deal is with the rats, but yet raised a further question of who the f is dissecting them? And what exactly does Bob have in that box of his. Booze? Rats? Furthermore, what came first, the rats being fed to the walkers, or the rat that was autopsied?

All I know is this, February 9 can’t come fast enough.

Talking Dead with Ambrosia: Internment

Warning: Spoiler Alerts
 If you are familiar with the Talking Dead, you know it talks about the episode that just aired, and since I’m posting here as if I’m in that conversation, clearly I will be talking about the episode.

So…in an effort to return to the old format, I’ll just follow along with the show.

Jumping into the Carl and Rick working together discussion, Rick actually asking Carl for legitimate help and giving him an automatic weapon is a huge deal. I think what happened with Carol, regardless of how he feels about it, the whole ‘you can be a farmer but you can’t be just a farmer,’ really hit home. So he’s looking at Carl and thinking, he might be a kid, but he can’t be just a kid. So to let him actually participate in something useful was pretty awesome. Additionally, when he explained to Maggie that he cut Carol loose, he seemed to be questioning his own decision, yet again. Interestingly enough, his being wishy-washy is exactly what made Carol make decisions. I’m still on Team Carol. Yeah, maybe she jumped the gun, but I think the battle that went down in the quarantine-block today shows that she was on the right track.

What do you think Carl would be like now if Lori survived?
I think I have to agree with Chris on this one. If Lori were still around, she would be trying to shelter Carl even more than Rick has been – in all honesty, I think Rick has been trying to keep in sheltered as some sort of tribute to Lori. Look back to when Carl was trying to be like Shane, and he went and did crazy shit like steal Daryl’s gun, got all up in Randall’s face. So now that he’s a little older, puberty is hitting, if Lori was trying to hold him back like a child, he would probably be like, I’m a man, bitch. It’s funny to think about that now, you’ll notice that since Lori’s been dead, there’s been a lot less public outcry of ‘Carl, get in the house.’ Almost like she was the reason he didn’t want to be in the house…

Will Carol hold a grudge/attempt to sabotage the group?
No. Her goal was to protect the group. She’d never deliberately hurt them. A previously discussed theory that she would join up with the governor for whatever reason seems to be null at this point, but maybe she met up with Sam. I’m hoping she’ll come back into play at a time when they need help the most.

Was it a good idea to have such a large community or is a small group safer?
I see both sides to this. Large community means you have more people that you can task with more things. If you have a group of say five, then you either A. can only have 1 person doing certain tasks at certain times, or B. have every one doing one thing at a time. For instance, let’s look at this flu. One person gets it, if you’re a small group, you’re probably all gonna get it anyway. There’s no one who’s not sick that can go get meds. Or, maybe only one or two of you is fine. But that’s only two of you making the run, and three sick people left to take care of each other. You don’t have someone to spare to go reinforce the fence.

Speaking of the fence, I realize nearly everyone is sick or on lockdown, leaving only Maggie (conveniently. I mean, with everyone that died, we’re pretty much back to the original crew again) to be on fence patrol, but before that, or even in spite of that, why wasn’t there a regular clean-up of the fence walkers? I suggested that there should be five-to-ten people who go down there every hour and just clear everything out for say, ten minutes. Clear away whatever you can, thin the herd. Imagine how much less pressure they’d have there.

 If Glen had gotten sick first, would Carol have been able to kill him?
Yes. I think she may have felt even worse about it, but she would have forced herself to do it. There’s a pretty good chance she would have let him die first, but I’m not sure. Similar to Breckin, I thought Glen was a goner.

Leading us to Lizzie, she is going to be pretty bad ass. That was genius, the way she taunted Henry away from Glen, she clearly knows what it takes, and even thought she might have shown some hesitation at some things before, that might be behind her now. Also, I want to mention, I think Carol knew Rick was going to do something when he took her on the run in the last episode. When she was talking to Lizzie, in hindsight, it was definitely a farewell conversation. A lot of people think Rick made up his mind in the moment, maybe when Carol called him out, but I think he already had a plan, and that she knew it.

Who should take Carol’s spot on council, Maggie, Tyrese, or Lizzie?
I actually forgot that Maggie wasn’t on the council. I could have sworn she was. Daryl, Herschel, Glen, Sasha, Carol… was that really it? Sasha was in there, right? I know Michonne sat in, but is she actually part of the council? Anyway, I’m going to say they just leave the position empty.

How will Tyrese react to finding out about Carol, will he be mad at Rick for letting her go or go after her for revenge?
I think he’ll be upset at first. But then, once he accepts she’s not there to take revenge on, he’ll get over it, especially after talking to Michonne about letting go. However, once he sees that people can survive, meaning that Carol’s good intentions were moot, all bets are off. I’m really more anxious to see Daryl’s reaction. Rick’s procrastination at telling him was such a hilarious moment for me.

How will Carol’s absence affect Daryl’s confidence and emotional stability?
He doesn’t need her; he has Michonne. In all seriousness, no, they had each other’s back. Look when they first got to the prison, when Carol went missing, and how distraught and angry he was. He’s going to go off on Rick, and he’s going to go try to find her. Which is really going to put a damper in that Michonne action he’s got.
I really got on board this Micharyl ship.

Could Bob be a spy?
I like the theory that Bob is the Governor’s mole, that does fit. But… Bob was a loner, I don’t think I could see him getting in cahoots with anyone. Who knows?

If everyone was sick and there’s a limited supply of meds, who to save first?
I agree with Herschel, then Caleb. You need the medically trained people to stay healthy, in order to keep the rest of you healthy. Then I’d move on to my warriors, like Glen, Maggie, Sasha. Maybe Carl.

Why was it important for Herschel to shield the kids from killing the dead people?
This is pretty simple, and Adam nailed it. He was just trying to keep a smidgen of innocence for them, and yes, definitely needed to keep the right attitude for the people who hadn’t died yet. Reverse placebo effect.

What is the biggest threat: the weakened population, the megaherd, the governor, or the downed fences?
I think they can handle the herd, and they’re going to work with the fences, but when you throw the downed population and the Governor hovering around, they’re fucked. As far as finding steel… don’t they have a workshop in there? Where do they make the license plates?

Oh, the Guv’nah. The shit is going to hit the fan so hard. I think he’s just spying for now. Has a mole for sure, he has to. Based on the sneak preview, it looks like he still has Martinez and the black guy (seriously, have we ever heard his name or heard him speak?) as his henchmen. I’m still up in the air about the mice being his doing. There’s no other explanation, unless his mole was behind it. But then… we need to know who the mole is.  Anyway… I think he’s coming for Michonne first, Rick second. Michonne just because he’s had a hard-on for her all along, Rick because he bested the shit out of him. I can’t wait for next week!

Talking Dead with Ambrosia: Indifference

Warning: Spoiler Alerts
 If you are familiar with the Talking Dead, you know it talks about the episode that just aired, and since I’m posting here as if I’m in that conversation, clearly I will be talking about the episode.

Okay, so, taking a cue from Limasse’s post, I might not follow the previously set format either, but it seems like that doesn’t matter. The entire conversation seemed to center on just a few things, and that’s probably what I’m going to hit too. Here goes:

Carol. OMG. What? WHAT?!  A part of me had an inkling that something was going down when Rick selected her for the run. Granted, he had no one else out of our main cast to wake, but that could have been the chance to introduce us to more people from the Woodbury crew, or the other wanderers. The first episode is how we first got to know Bob, just from his actions during the run. So when Rick asked Carol. my first thought was, he’s gonna kill her out there. Then they were okay, so I let my guard down, and then boom!

I’m not sure this is the end of Carol though. She’ll be back. Maybe not until the end, but she’ll return. Pair up with the Governor, maybe? Chris Jericho brings up a great point that Carol didn’t fight it, that she didn’t beg to come back. I think it’s because she was done with Rick a long time ago. And the thing is, in that little interview with Andrew Lincoln, he’s right, she was the leader the whole time, just in a slightly less obvious way. She called a lot of shots, teaching, training, going out to take care of the water, pointing out issues and problems, and I think Hardwick is onto something with the idea that Rick was threatened by her.

There is definitely going to be a huge divide in the prison over this. I’m curious to see how Rick explains her absence. I think he’ll give a version of the truth. ‘Carol was responsible for Karen and what’s his nuts. She won’t be coming back.’ Not sure he’ll own up to the fact that he kicked her out. Also… I’ve been seeing some postings on Facebook that Daryl will be missing from at least two episodes. Maybe he goes off to find Carol?  As far as

This does leave things open for Michonne and Daryl now… and after reading Limasse’s points last week, I see it. They had a few flirty moments. And I do think that would be the ultimate irony, his original racist ass and her glorious ebony-skinned self. Plus, they are the two biggest baddasses who’ve softened up the most, particularly towards each other.

So let’s move on to Bob. Oh Bob. I can’t believe it was booze and nothing else in that bag. At least stuff meds in there too. That was crazy. The question is, was he an alcoholic beforehand, or was it watching everyone die that drove him to it? Tyrese isn’t really a loose cannon, he’s just going through some stuff. He needs his catharsis. I thought when he flipped out when he got out of the car that was it, but he’s still got a lot to work through. Rick went crazy when he realized Lori got eaten, Daryl got a little weird when he had to put Merle down. They’ve all had to deal with losing someone and they had a break because of if. Tyrese lost one person and has a sister he’s potentially going to lose.

Oh, and here’s a question to close with: The vet school was 50 miles away. When they were talking about heading back, they said it would take seven hours. So… they’re driving seven miles an hour?

Talking Dead with Ambrosia: Isolation

Sorry we missed the first two weeks! There was some confusion between a couple of us on who was going to take the job. But I’m back! First, the disclaimer:

Warning: Spoiler Alerts
 If you are familiar with the Talking Dead, you know it talks about the episode that just aired, and since I’m posting here as if I’m in that conversation, clearly I will be talking about the episode.

This week there was so much going on, so much I want to talk about, that I honestly don’t know if I can stick to the previously established format of responding as if I was sitting on the couch with the guests. I can’t wait to get into what they had to say, but I just need to get some stuff off my chest first.

Holy flying fuck, Carol. And Beth. Prediction number one – Beth is going to be the only one who survives the apocalypse. Carol, not Carl, is soon to be the governor 2.0. Who saw that shit coming? I had maybe one third of an ounce of fleeting suspicion, just based on the whole teaching the kids about knives, trying to toughen the girls up, that whole thing. but it passed quickly.  I honestly might – might – have suspected Caleb (Doctor S), say Karen and David died during the night and he quickly killed them and got it taken care of, and just never had a chance to tell anyone.

Now, I know that Carol has changed a lot. She’s definitely lost that grieving person she was in Season 2, and though we saw her start to take on a little more in season 3, this season has seen her in that major leadership position, on the council, coordinating things (like when she pointed out the fence issues to Daryl at the beginning of the premiere). It’s almost as if she just decided screw it, I’m not gonna sit back and watch the world go to shit around me, I’m taking control of my life.  I’m a little scared of her, to be honest.

I will say this though, Marilyn Manson brought up an interesting romance point, that Michonne and Daryl will get together, and the timing is perfect. I can’t remember if I ever mentioned it here or if it was just something I discussed with someone else (a quick skim tells me that I didn’t do it here), even though I personally ship Rick and Michonne, I think that she and Carol would be the two front-runners for being with Daryl. Here’s why:

Carol & Daryl: They’ve definitely bonded, starting in Season 2 when Daryl’s undeserved guilt over leaving Merle behind (undeserved because he had nothing to do with it) is what led him to constantly search for Sofia when everyone else just kind of gave up. Rick’s concern was for Carl – which makes sense – which likely left Carol with a feeling of, ‘but what about my child?’ and Daryl was the only one who saw that, who saw her. When you combine that to the abusive marriage she was in, and then we find out that Daryl was abused as a child, which is probably why he did go out of his way to continually search for Sofia. He knew, more than anyone, how important it was for Carol to have something to hold onto, something to live for. Daryl had Merle, he knew Carol needed Sofia. Once Carol began doting on him, she became a bit of a replacement for Merle. Daryl needed someone looking out for him, and might not have realized it until she started to do so. On the flip side of that, she needed to take care of someone, so he he became a replacement for Sofia. She’s softened him up a bit, given him connection to someone, and he’s hardened her up a little. She’s the yin to his yang. They do have some really cute flirty banter, and they did back in 3 as well, so it does have a natural feel.

Michonne & Daryl: It seems only fitting that someone like Daryl have someone with as much badassery as Michonne by his side (although I guess now you could argue that Carol has it). Additionally, I did mention at the end of last season that there was a moment of mutual respect between Merle and Michonne, which is something that Daryl and Michonne can further bond over, more than the small bond they seem to have now over their hatred of the Governor. On two occasions he’s expressed some sincere joy at seeing her. For instance, in the premiere when she first arrived. I can’t remember exactly what he said, basically that she was looking no worse for wear, and even though basically he was just saying, hey, you’re not hurt, you look healthy, it was the simple fact that he said it. He’s stating the obvious, but it could be taken as “Heyyy, look at you.” And now tonight, he explicitly stated, “I’m glad you’re here.” Not only that, but he called her back as she was starting to walk away to get oil for the car, just to tell her he was glad she was there. Additionally, she made a comment, asking if they were going on a run alone together, ‘just like in the old days,’ and they kind of smirked at each other. What happened in the six months between Season 3 and Season 4? And why did he seem like a lost little boy when he said she was just running away? Like a boy who is really into a girl and he can’t quite tell her…. Hmmm? Also, the fact that they were both pretty much loners who had to learn to connect to people. She clearly had some shitty stuff happen to her too (after that mini-meltdown when she was holding Judith – I’m thinking she had a kid that turned, and she had to kill him/her, or maybe she even killed him/her so as not to be crying zombie bait?) that we’ve never gotten into, and they could just lean on each other. Plus they both have silent but deadly ninja type skills.

Like I said, I still ship Michonne and Rick, and they could just as easily fill specific voids for each other, especially if I’m right with the fact that she had a child. But seriously, Daryl and Michonne… Manson may have been on to something. And then when you look at how Carol is now, has she maybe gonna a little bit too far too the badass side to be an appropriate match for Daryl?

Side note about the car… Even though Zack only had a small role, think about him for a minute. Do you really think he would have had a the factory stereo in that Charger?

Additional side note: Daryl alone in a car with three black people. How he’s changed…

So, something that they brought up on Talking Dead, leadership. Rick is clearly moving back into a position of leadership. I don’t think he was ever truly able to give up the position, because you see that the councilmembers still consult with him anyway. Honestly, I’m really looking forward to what’s gonna happen with the council now that Rick knows Carol is the one who killed Karen and Dave.

Seriously though. Carol. I guess I’m not that stunned, really having time to think about it, but… wow. When she gets all upset after talking to Tyrese – Hardwick raised this point – is she angry with herself for not actually stopping the virus in time? Is she angry because Tyrese just asked her to watch over Sasha and now she’s like, ‘Shit, now I gotta kill Sasha too?’ especially after she already killed someone close to Tyrese? Is she thinking about how she has to kill Lizzie? Is she reliving Sofia turning, over and over again? I really can’t wait. Remember last season when Rick started shutting people out (Tyrese and Sasha being great examples) to protect his group from outside threats? Well, will he see Carol as a threat from here forward? As mentioned on Talking Dead, that final scene was a moment where he no longer recognizes her. How will this change? And then there’s Carl. He tattled that Carol was teaching the kids about using knives but then told Rick he shouldn’t stop her. The knife lessons, by the way, are so obviously her attempt to prepare the kids for the world in which they’re living, something she didn’t do for Sofia, and maybe she blames herself for Sofia’s fate. Carl got a little bloodthirsty last season, and even though I think he was a brat about it, he may have had a point. I think I can see Rick being all like, Carol must go! and Carl stepping in to point out that she was trying to do the right thing. Herschel’s been pretty logical about everything, he’s definitely swayed way more towards science from the man of faith he used to be, so I could definitely see him being on Carol’s side, which may cause a rift between Herschel and Maggie, with Glen being sick.

And that leads me to Beth. Beth has quickly adjusted (maladjusted?) to the fact that attachments shouldn’t run so deep, and I see her believing in the side that says ‘they’re about to die, just kill them.’ It’s a bit eerie, how detached she’s gotten. Her previous coping mechanism had been to try to kill herself, so has she just retreated for far into herself that this shell is completely fake? Is she going to snap like Tyrese, or hell, like Carol at some point and just start killing everything?

On thing is for sure: Things are going to get ugly. Will we see some Lord of the Flies, and see them split into two separate factions?