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The Walking Dead: The Judith and Negan Show (Comic Spoilers)


HokieStone

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Well, it's been a few days and I had to search for the old thread and found it locked.  I guess that shows how much interest there is in the show.  Couple of quick thoughts on the season 9B opener:

- Judith's babysitter needs to be fired

- Not looking forward to angsty Henry and Lydia starting a romance, only to have Lydia betray him to the Whisperers (although I will look forward to Carol going Whisperer hunting)

- Just get to the dumb fair already

- I think the Whisperers are dumb - at least some of them.  Who keeps walking down a covered bridge pretending to be a zombie when you have a guy with a crossbow just picking you off?

- The start of the anti-hero Negan.  Do we just forget he bashed people's skulls in? 

- Another pregnancy?

- What's the fate of Michonne (I believe Danai Gurira announced she's leaving the show)

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I was waiting for someone to open a new thread.  Didn't want to do it myself. :)

I have to admit, totally loved all the Negan and Judith shit.  I usually hate kid actors, but she's fucking adorable.  I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old.  I like how they've introduced the Whisperers, they've done a good job there.  Can't really complain about much in the opener.

I don't think they'll be getting to the fair until the end of the season.  If you know the comics, that obviously will be the end of the season.

Negan needs more substantive redemption - instead of just wanting to go home cuz he likes a little girl - I agree.

As for Rita's pregnancy..this is comic spoilers, right?

Michonne leaving the show actually solves a big problem if they can get her on the Rick "movies."  She was waiting until Judith was ready, then they go off.  Still doesn't explain what Rick was doing for six years, but it's a start.  Anyway, not surprised the actress is leaving.  She has a great future and needs to pursue it now.

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I am ok with the show so far, I was rooting for Rick and Co. to lose the war and this season to be from the Saviors POV so this is a good plan B for me.

I am not a comic reader but I have spoiled myself so I don't care. I love the idea of the Whisperers group and how they use them as a mobile army. Do the comics explain how they sleep? I mean walkers can go on forever but people can't, so how do the whisperer people rest, eat, drink, pee etc? I guess they could work in shifts and patrol the same general area so the sleeping ones can find the herd when they get up?

To me the worst part about the season is the fair talk. To me it doesn't even make a bit of sense. They are already trading together and know of each other so why the need to put all of them in a vulnerable situation? Just for plot reasons?

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3 minutes ago, dbunting said:

I guess they could work in shifts and patrol the same general area so the sleeping ones can find the herd when they get up?

Yes, this is as good, if not better, than any explanation given in the comics.

4 minutes ago, dbunting said:

They are already trading together and know of each other so why the need to put all of them in a vulnerable situation? Just for plot reasons?

The idea of the fair is supposed to be a celebration.  That these three communities can come together and celebrate their (agricultural, I guess) achievements.  After six years, I don't think that's an unrealistic practice at all.

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6 minutes ago, DMC said:

The idea of the fair is supposed to be a celebration.  That these three communities can come together and celebrate their (agricultural, I guess) achievements.  After six years, I don't think that's an unrealistic practice at all.

Except that the communities are each withholding from the others and very distrustful when it really isn't truly warranted. Really though, with the new threat any fair talk should be off and all focus should be on alerting each community and defeating the new foe.

Also there are four communities right? Hilltop, Kingdom, Alexandria, and Seaside. Or are you counting Alexandria out since they said no to it?

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1 minute ago, dbunting said:

Except that the communities are each withholding from the others and very distrustful when it really isn't truly warranted. Really though, with the new threat any fair talk should be off and all focus should be on alerting each community and defeating the new foe.

Also there are four communities right? Hilltop, Kingdom, Alexandria, and Seaside. Or are you counting Alexandria out since they said no to it?

Yes, I suppose there are four communities.  That was just a counting error.  As for the communities in conflict, that screams of a narrative device to prolong the season.  The show actually got rid of the Saviors - who are the obvious dissenters and are in the comics - so them eventually uniting is rather boringly expected.

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Ok episode. It's fun watching people being caught off guard by the whisperers. I rewatched Jesus's final action scene and it's pretty hilarious in hindsight. He's all neo from matrix style on the real zombies and all the whisperer has to do is duck. Yes, duck and it's game over.it definitely is going to be a problem from now on.

Fortunately the original zombies still have special ninja powers though - music man didn't notice the half zombie on the ground until it grabbed his angle so focused was he on the standing one. Either the guy has serious tunnel vision or it's another bad case of the director assuming characters can only see whst we the viewer sees. I suspect the latter.

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  • 2 weeks later...

wow - this show really has fallen off the radar. 2 weeks and no comments? I guess the previous week had very little to comment on.

I was thinking if I were the actor who played Karl I'd be even more pissed now that they've clearly transposed the comic Karl stories onto that idiot son of Ezekiel. I mean, they can't even use the excuse of him being clearly older than the kid who should only be 2 years older as this season has moved things along by about 9 years so that his age would be fine. He clearly pissed in one of the showrunners cornflakes as someone wanted him off the set. And it can't be acting that ousted him as there are plenty of other offenders on that front.

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1 hour ago, red snow said:

I was thinking if I were the actor who played Karl I'd be even more pissed now that they've clearly transposed the comic Karl stories onto that idiot son of Ezekiel.

I don't know if the dude who played Carl should be too pissed - at least now he doesn't have to play that very stupidly written role.

I like how Enid gave a "when I was your age" speech to Henry.  I know it's supposed to make sense because of the time jump, but watching a 19 year old actress try to lecture a kid that's supposed to be, like, 2 years younger than she actually is was just ludicrous.

I liked  the way they introduced Alpha by Lydia's unreliably narrated "flashbacks" in the second episode.  That was creative and well executed.  Other than that, everything's either been meh or bad.

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1 hour ago, DMC said:

I liked  the way they introduced Alpha by Lydia's unreliably narrated "flashbacks" in the second episode.  That was creative and well executed.  Other than that, everything's either been meh or bad.

Agree w you on this part, at first I was like, really, another abused woman who cuts her hair, don't give us a poor mans Carol. Then it started changing some and I was like ahh...nevermind.  

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5 hours ago, Martini Sigil said:

Well it's been slightly less stupid than the last two seasons.... hooray? 

 

... and I guess there are no more bullets?

Same thinking here, WTF has Eugene been up to? They could / should have shown every single person at Hilltop on the fence holding a gun aimed at the Whisperers (even if they were unloaded) as a show of strength. This is why that world needs Shane, Rick and Negan. 

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I just watched the last three eps in a row. Goddamn, Henry is an annoying little squit, isn't he? Actually, everything about the Kingdom is slightly annoying if I'm honest.

The bit with the deaf woman in the corn was actually good (sorry, I am rubbish with names in this show because my mind wanders). Why can't they do more things with zombies that are actually good? I even liked the bit at the end where she insists on leaving with Daryl. Also, bonus baby? Result!

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4 hours ago, Isis said:

I just watched the last three eps in a row. Goddamn, Henry is an annoying little squit, isn't he? Actually, everything about the Kingdom is slightly annoying if I'm honest.

The bit with the deaf woman in the corn was actually good (sorry, I am rubbish with names in this show because my mind wanders). Why can't they do more things with zombies that are actually good? I even liked the bit at the end where she insists on leaving with Daryl. Also, bonus baby? Result!

I don't even bother learning the names of the new zombie fodder cast. The show is slipping back into the bad habit of characters disappearing for episodes at a stretch whereby their absence makes me suspect time dilation is at play. Where is Negan (has anyone noticed he's been gone). Where's lil rick? Is Gabriel still in the show?

Henry is a pain to watch - he's Karl but without the harsh life-lessons making him frustratingly naïve.

I'm pleased they handed the girl back over as it didn't make much sense in the show to keep her (the comic had her in a much nastier/more abusive situation which would totally justify not handing her back over)

there's apparently a third spin-off in development

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4 hours ago, red snow said:

I don't even bother learning the names of the new zombie fodder cast. The show is slipping back into the bad habit of characters disappearing for episodes at a stretch whereby their absence makes me suspect time dilation is at play. Where is Negan (has anyone noticed he's been gone). Where's lil rick? Is Gabriel still in the show?

I gotta assume they save significant money (or at least what they deem significant money) by doing this.  Because yeah, it's stupid.

4 hours ago, red snow said:

the comic had her in a much nastier/more abusive situation which would totally justify not handing her back over

Yeah it was good they didn't play the rape card.

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11 minutes ago, DMC said:

I gotta assume they save significant money (or at least what they deem significant money) by doing this.  Because yeah, it's stupid.

Yeah it was good they didn't play the rape card.

It's frustrating how this show has been milked fir profit since season 2. At least GOT pumped money from their success into the show's production but Walking dead have cut corners with actors and slow story for a long while. The cynic in me would suspect they've gone into savings mode to funnel into the Rick specials or because they spent more thsn usual on the episodes prior to rick's departure.

I'm pleased they dropped that aspect of the whisperers too. Although they've added the leaving of babies which cry to be eaten instead. Not sure how long whisperer's will survive with that self-defeating "survival of the fittest" unless mute babies are born.

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Mediocre episode tonight though I think the last four of this half could be good. 

I think the whisperers, so far at least, come off as one of the weakest opponents in the show so far. They don’t have the foot soldiers and numbers that negan had, they don’t have any firepower, they just have the element of surprise, an invisibility cloak if you will, and that’s now gone since everyone knows their guise. It’s like a hot rookie quarterback who catches a couple teams off guard but once there’s film on the guy, a defense will properly prep for him and now all the sudden he’s found out and not as succesful. 

Tonight, for example, Daryl uses their own tactics against them, cuts away at their numbers, and leaves with boy wonder. I think alpha and beta are tough adversaries but that’s it. Their followers aren’t the saviors, or the governors people. They seem weak and probably hate their leader. One good firing squad and they’d all be wiped out. I’m not a comic reader so I don’t know, but I can’t see this battle with the whisperers lasting very long. They’ll probably lead a bunch of the dead to this fair and wipe people out, which will be a victory for them, but I don’t think they have numbers or weapons to make this a long term war.

i just wanna see Alexandria unleash the kraken and let negan out. Patience, as always...

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7 minutes ago, l2 0 5 5 said:

Tonight, for example, Daryl uses their own tactics against them, cuts away at their numbers, and leaves with boy wonder. I think alpha and beta are tough adversaries but that’s it. Their followers aren’t the saviors, or the governors people. They seem weak and probably hate their leader. One good firing squad and they’d all be wiped out. I’m not a comic reader so I don’t know, but I can’t see this battle with the whisperers lasting very long. They’ll probably lead a bunch of the dead to this fair and wipe people out, which will be a victory for them, but I don’t think they have numbers or weapons to make this a long term war.

This is tough to respond to without spoiling a lot from the comic, so I'll just say two things:  1.  They essentially weaponize the dead to nuclear levels, and 2.  Alpha proves very deadly during the fair in a way that now wouldn't be very realistic in the show.  But, in the end, yes, their threat is not really designed for combat the way the saviors or the governor's people were -- that's what makes them an interesting foe, not the same thing again.  As for Negan, I'll spoiler tag this - 

Spoiler

In the comics Negan infiltrates the Whisperers and kills Alpha in an effort to get Rick to trust him.

Don't have much to say about tonight's episode except - was I seeing things because I was too distracted, or was there another child sleeping in a room right before Michonne scolds Judith about talking to Negan?  And I'm not on crack, who the fuck is that child supposed to be?

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