Stunt Granny Conversation: The Walking Dead – Season 5 – Episode 9 – What’s Happened and What’s Going On
Screen cap by the WashingtonPost.com
Jeremy: Soooooooo, let’s get into this. Purposely didn’t include any names or events in my text.
Kevin: I was just guessing when I sent the return text because of the timing of yours. So were you reacting to Tyreese being bit?
Jeremy: Yeah man didn’t see that coming. I figured, and now looking back it was too obvious, that Noah was done for.
Kevin: Tyreese was starting to develop a character so he had to be killed. I was surprised at how much self delusion he had in dying.
Jeremy: I have read a lot of comments on how pointless the episode was and blamed his slow death. I really enjoyed the change in tone. I like the hallucination aspect of losing life.
Kevin: Yeah, it was far from a common show. The music, the vibe, everything to me seemed different than normal.
Jeremy: I could have done without Beth singing again but anytime the Governor shows up just to berate someone is fine with me.
Kevin: David Morrissey is always welcome on my TV. Martin talking trash to him was cracking me up too.
Jeremy: Martin’s gum chewing was incredibly obnoxious. What he was saying resonated though as it became more and more clear it was Tyreese using these figures as fragments of his regrets or admissions.
Kevin: He should have plenty of them too. Tyreese could never quite get his head screwed on straight after the Carol incident. He forgave her but that doesn’t mean he recovered.
Jeremy: He went from badass, killing all the walkers, by himself and then fell apart. his internal conflict went on a long time. I did like the fact he used the Governor, who had issues with peace and forgiveness, act as his voice as it pertained to Carol.
Kevin: Didn’t think of it that way. I was continuing to stay surprised at them going back to the delusions. I would have thought Tyreese would have gotten all of his anger out with Carol considering their time together with the girls.
Jeremy: On one hand you had the girls repeatedly telling him things were better, basically his coping mechanism to process what happened. Then you have the governor berating him for allowing it to happen. bob saying it was all good in his stupid smiling Bob way contrasted with Martin telling him it is his fault. What a horrible way to die.
Kevin: It probably was not aided by Rick & company trying to amputate his arm in order to try and save him. thought he was too far into the process. Even though it was all within a day, I’m uncertain of the time line. I’m not sure how The Walking Dead does that.
Jeremy: Yeah as soon as he was bit and Noah took off is when I texted you. I thought they would go to the well again but as it was established Noah is a horrible sprinter Tyreese never stood a chance. The wonderful editing of the girls holding his hand and then cut to the amputation was striking.
Kevin: That was the other interesting thing about the filming. Sometimes Tyreese would snap out of it and something would be there. Sometimes, he snaps too and it’s nothing. The amputation was the most jarring of the events. I did think it was clever of Tyreese to use his bitten arm against the zombie in that snap to incident.
Jeremy: I guess when you are done for whats the harm? How you feel about the removal of Tyreese? Was his character arc done? Having not read the comic it felt as if he was replaced by Abraham in the muscle department.
Kevin: Your comment about how long he’d been fighting his inner demons made me realize how long he’d been on the show. But for as long as he was around, I never got too attached to him so it doesn’t bother me at all. Have Abraham be the muscle. He’s going to be his own variety of head case.
Jeremy: I thought prolonging his death throughout the hour was a unique sendoff. No one has been given that treatment. Seeing even more pain on the surviving members though was a bit tough. They did everything to try and save him. Him finally having peace, seemingly, and letting go was pretty rough. Everyone else died in a brutal way
Kevin: I didn’t think of that either. Quite a send off for Tyreese. I would imagine that people would have to crack from time to time just from the sheer brutality of the world they’re in. Michonne flipping out stuck with me since she’s mostly calm.
Jeremy: I agreed with her at the beginning. Why not try and salvage the place? For the first time ever the show will not be in the Atlanta region. Rebuild the walls and see what comes. of course then it was pretty clear that it was destroyed form inside out
Kevin: I wouldn’t have wanted to stay there. It looked more run down than any place they’d been to previously. I did think it was smart to keep the groups split up in case things got hairy.
Jeremy: OK we got two different things here. I agree on the smarts involved splitting up for a cavalry to ride in for help. In the exact same episode they still refuse to kill stray walkers and let their guard down.
Kevin: That was an odd moment. I was surprised they left the one stranded in the car. They seem to kill sitting ducks all of the time. What was up with the truck and ground full of walker body parts though? Do you think that will factor in later? Or was it just the town’s way of dealing with walkers?
Jeremy: Seeing all of the body parts strewn around outside and then in the truck it has to come back in to play. There was a line over the radio of people reverting to cannibalism. It has been established, mostly, if you cook the tainted meat you don’t turn.Only thing I could think of.
Kevin: They get to DC, the president is on a pile of bones eating a giant leg bone.
Like a turkey leg at a Renaissance Festival.
Jeremy: If they really wanted to go full nutso that would work. But there needs to be a smarter plan in place though form the writing team. Anything that move and is a walker, even if pinned down or immobile needs to go. it is too easy of a crutch to keep using.
Kevin: I doubt that’s the plan. They haven’t gone back to the well on too many subjects. Even the local tyrants have different quirks to make them tick so they even feel fresh.
Jeremy: As soon as there was a walker behind the door it was obvious someone was getting bit. It just so happened the wrong person did. You would think by now with all the suffering of being absent minded safety would be priority one
Kevin: You don’t look forward to everyone calling Noah “Everybody Loves Chris” in every single review until he eventually dies?
Jeremy: I don’t see him lasting much longer as well.
His skills when they opened the door to the commune was hilariously bad.
But again, strategy , um, there was an opening in the door right? start a stabbing. Why take em all on?
Kevin: They had a special effects budget that they needed to use or else their budget for killing zombies wouldn’t be as big for season 6.
Jeremy: Ok yeah that seemed to be the best explanation. The head shot especially.
Kevin: They’d been using those cheap shots at the prison at least once an episode so no reason to do something different in the same situation just different location. The head shot stunk. I just don’t get CGIing it.
Jeremy: it fit the hallucinogenic nature of this episode. Trying new things?
Kevin: They seem to throw in these weird episodes just to keep everyone off guard. I think they try new things all the time. Good for them.
Jeremy: If they work then yes. You have this thought; boy it sure sucks to have a sibling on the show right now.
Kevin: It sucks to have anyone. The family deaths hit harder but they’ve all got to be tough. I don’t know any reason to try and save Tyreese other than not wanting another person from the group to die.
Jeremy: I think the reasoning was it worked with Herschel. Pretty sure everyone watching thought the same thing but then Noah wasn’t there for that and never knew him.
Kevin: Noah is a waste of space. I agree with you that he dies sooner rather than later. They don’t seem to like the younger characters on that show.
Jeremy: I don’t want to sit through episodes of him getting used to life on outside
Kevin: At least from the previews, it didn’t look like we’d have that. I’d be far more interested in Eugene’s road to redemption.
Jeremy: I skipped the previews for next week. I do that with all the shows now.
Stupid I understand but I still like not knowing what is coming up
Kevin: Just like spoilers for the wrestling shows I watch, by the time that episode airs, I’ve forgotten the spoilers.
Jeremy: If you mean reading TNA spoilers and forgetting I am with ya.
Kevin: I haven’t read spoilers in years but even Smackdown spoilers got forgotten between Tuesday and Friday. But do we not have anything else to say about this episode that we’ve devolved into talking about wrestling?
Jeremy: Pretty much.
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