We are back to dissect “The Damned” which featured the return of the loveable…..or totally forgotten character named Morales, and lots and lots of action. We need plot development damnit! Today, we have a nice lineup of featured commentators, and I thank them for their time and sacrifice. There’s a theory that every time somebody answers a question at 9Deuce.com, a spider dies. So keep up the exxxxxcellent work. Any comments in bold is from Kent.
The 9
- Should we start fearing for Morgan’s life after he made his declaration?
Briana: Well yeah! That was my first thought! He’s dead now bc he said he doesn’t die! Lol! Plus, it feels a little like Glen to me. Reminiscent of the dumpster maybe dead thing and then he’s not dead and then he gets killed! (Please…..pretty please, let’s never have another dumpster incident that makes zero sense ever again.)
Bob: No. Morgan has a true war mentality. You can be the most effective killer with the belief that you yourself cannot die. (That’s just like me playing Deathrow against the Convicts….well close.)
Bitty: I really feel like as long as Rick is alive so will Morgan be. They keep each other grounded. (Rick can’t die. It’s in Andy’s contract.
Brian: Nope that man is a ghost living amongst the mortals. (That was damn near poetic.)
Kristi: I’m worried for him. Why did he have to go and say Morgan doesn’t die!? (As I noted in my response, Andrea says something similar in the comic and it becomes somewhat of a mantra for her and Rick, so I think that’s why he said it. I miss Eastman.)
Chris: I’m not sure. I like Morgan as a character. He’s so conflicted. I’m hoping that if he does end up dying that he finds some kind of peace. (I don’t think Morgan gets enough credit as one of the better done characters, and of course Lennie James is a great talent.)
Raylene: I say yes unfortunately that was a pretty bold statement to make. He lives with his demons daily and at times he was the moral compass. (Moral compasses do well in TWD. Just look at Gabriel saving Gregory!)
Eric: He knows his time is limited. But he doesn’t act impulsive. (I like that so many of things he does seem rationalized, like he at least thought before doing.)
Kent: Well, in the comic, Andrea said something similar. She lasted a hell of a lot longer than Morgan did in the comics, as he would already be gone. So natural instincts suggest that he’s a goner at some point this season. I think he still has 1 or 2 full seasons ahead of him. When the quiet ones come, then I will start worrying.
- Should we start to fear for Eric’s life or will he be fine?
Briana: Again, another one I totally expected to die in the episode. It would be really sad but that’s why it will probably happen.(We haven’t had a sad death in a while. We are totally due!)
Bob: Oh, dead. Deader than dead. He was dead at his inception of the show. (You’re right. If you look through the history of the show, there’s been a handful of people that were instantly identifiable as one borrowed time. I always felt that way with Noah, Dale, Bob, Otis, and so many more. By the way, I have seen Otis in 2 things this past week: Stranger Things season 2 and The Devil’s Candy which also starred Ethan Embry who played Carter in TWD. )
Bitty: Dead. And probably Aaron too. (Aaron will be fine. Jesus needs a man in his life unless they plan on turning Daryl’s character gay.)
Brian: yup hes a goner.
Kristi: He will probably live. I feel like them making seem like he will die means he is going to live. (You and Chris are of the same mindset, which I find surprising, but I am all for something surprising to me, like the Scavengers turning. Surprises are great!)
Chris: I have a feeling he’s going to pull through. This seems like one of those “Walking Dead” things where they make you think someone is going to die, only for them to miraculously survive. Eric also needs more screen time so that people become more invested in him, otherwise his death won’t mean much. (The odd thing is that somebody like Tobin has had more, and better screen time than Eric, who is definitely a more important character in my opinion. Also, where the hell is Kent? I haven’t seen him all season.)
Raylene: I don’t think Eric is made for the combat life. Scouting may be more his thing. I think he’ll die if he has to be fighting more. (He is a better scout, but Aaron is such a better recruiter. I wish they had done more with his character, as Chris mentioned.)
Eric: Gut wounds are very hard to treat without modern technology. He can bleed out very fast. He is most likely a goner (I know that this is an odd tie in, but there was a film in 93 called A Perfect World. It was really good, at least to me, and had Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood. My point is, in the film, there is a gun shot to the belly and your comment reminded me of that.
Kent: He dead. This is kinda spoiler-ific, so skip to the next question if you don’t want my theory. I won’t be offended. In the comic, they did a scene where Abe’s woman, Holly, ended up getting caught during this assault on Sanctuary. Negan brings her back, and she has a sack over her head. When they remove the hood, Denise is busy patching up Heath. Holly then bites Denise and she tends to Heath’s wound before dying. Soooooo, with that knowledge, it is very easy to see something similar play out. Gabriel gets returned with a bag over his head and he ends up biting somebody who is tending to Eric’s wound, let’s say and hope it is Tara.
- Whose side were you on between Tara and Jesus?
Briana: I hate to ever agree with Tara’s dumbass but definitely her. We’ve learned from our mistakes here people. If you go to a place to kill everyone, you kill everyone dammit! (That was the most mean spirited reply about Tara, so you definitely got a point.)
Bob: In this world on the show, Tara. POWs take resources and manpower which the Axis of goodness does not have. I would bet this is part of Negan’s plan. Also, like any POW, you are to resist and attempt escape to keep enemy resources from being used effectively. (I loved how you put this into some real perspective. That is the type of critical thinking I enjoy. You are spot on here.)
Bitty: Tara! Take them out. Anyone at an outpost is more than a “worker”. (I gotta disagree here. I definitely feel that there are people who are simply workers because it’s that or Lucille. Look at Oceanside…or don’t. Fudge that place!)
Brian: Tara.. KILL THEM ALL Jesus is too soft. (I feel that you would be a good apocalypse companion. I would not be.)
Kristi: I dont care for Tara but Im on her side here. Jesus is being way too emotional about this. They would have no problem taking them out. I think they need to think the same way. (Have we gotten past the whole point of having some humanity? I would say yes, but it’s a good talking point nonetheless.)
Chris: This is tough. I agree with both of them in some regards. It would seem smarter to just kill the Saviors. (Jesus does have a valid point. I’m actually surprised that nobody here sided with him. )
Raylene: I have to say I agree with Tara killing them is just the way to go (She was good on Talking Dead though after.)
Eric: In that instance, Tara. They were there to clear the building and take no hostages. Jesus was in the wrong and it almost got both of them killed. (Much like Morgan, I enjoy the term clear.)
Kent: This was the meanest thing that I have done to any of you. I asked a question that practically forced you to agree or take Tara’s side. Kudos to Bri for calling her a dumbass.
- How excited are you to see Morales back?
Briana: I wouldn’t say excited but I am definitely intrigued! It took me a minute to realize who he was and then I had to explain it to the rest of my house. He doesn’t seem to have any loyalty to the original group though so I’m interested to see where this leads. (I also had to explain. I wish they would elaborate on the Vatos some day, but the deleted scene in the season 2 opener did explain it.)
Bob: I forgot about him.
Bitty: Who? Now you know I’m not the only one who had to google him then re-watch his episode to remember him. I’m excited to hear his back story and where he’s been.
Brian: It plays well with my point of view that Rick was a dirty cop under Negan’s control and now there maybe someone else who knows Rick’s secret. (I really do love this theory.)
Kristi: I have a hard time remembering characters, so I really don’t remember him.
Chris: I’m excited, but I’m curious how many people remember him. A friend of mine who has watched every season didn’t remember him. I’m sure we’ll get some backstory next week. (I really would enjoy a backstory for him and his family. I always wished that we had gotten more stories on certain characters, and he was gone from the show before they could elaborate. I always wanted more on Milton, Shumpert, and T Dog.)
Raylene: Sure let’s see how this stuff plays out I am curious if it’s just him or if the wife and kids have survived.
Eric: I was for a split second. But his actions kinda ruined it. I hope he reconsiders his turncoat ways. Though his actions do bring up the “ Rick is the villain” thought (it’s all about perspective. I actually don’t think that they can ever give us Negan’s backstory for fear of having too many fans empathize with him.)
Kent: Hell yeah I was excited! I know some of you feel that he is kinda betraying Rick, but he’s not from my perspective. He was part of a group and knew Rick for like 3 days. Technically, it was Shane’s group or Dale’s at the time. Now it is Rick’s group, but at the time, Rick was just another father and husband. We all have a certain amount of affinity towards Rick, well maybe not Brian, but that shouldn’t skew our perspective of how things played out back then.
- Did it seem like Mara allowed that walker to just bite her without any fight whatsoeve?
Briana: A little bit, yes. It was like she realized, they’ve won and just gave into it.
Bob: I blame tonic immobility and panic.
Bitty: Yes. I think she knew her jig was up.
Brian: She realized that she was caught in the trap and the only way out was to join the herd
Kristi: It did seem like she allowed it. You see her hand kinda grab his arm, as if she is accepting it.
Chris: I think she just didn’t see it in time. By the time she saw it, it was already on top of her.
Raylene: Yes she was looking around realizing what was happening I figured she’d been more alert of her surroundings
Eric: I think that she was so shocked with the tactic of letting her friends turn to walkers, she didn’t have proper time to react. Plus I don’t think she was a true fighter like the rest of ricks group
Kent: I agree with most of you to varying degrees. Some of you seem to think that it was more her giving up or accepting her fate, and others think of it was a shocked or delayed reaction due to everything happening on the spur of the moment. I really thought that she was beyond overwhelmed mentally and she simply froze and by the time she could react, what was the point? Almost in too deep. I watched the death like 8 times. Don’t judge me.
- Is it smart to take all of these Saviors as prisoners?
Briana: Of course not! Again, we’ve been down the prisoner road with people like them and it just doesn’t work. They are brainwashed into thinking this is how life is supposed to be now and I don’t think they can change many of them from that belief. (Seriously, how many times have we gone down this road? I can offer multiple instances, but aside from Michonne, Axel, the black prisoner dude who I really liked, Aaron, and Jesus, prisoners haven’t been great. Randall comes to mind.)
Bob: Not at all. Tiger food. (Shiva approves this message.)
Bitty: Hell no. I don’t like the idea. Unless there is another plan for them. (I would be intrigued if it was a good plan. Then I look back to the people that they took in from Woodbury and then think, wow, they are all dead! Plans tend to fail in this show.)
Brian: I like the idea. It gives my man Negan and his innocent people the ability to have friends behind the enemy lines. (I am very curious about your perspective on Eugene with Negan. We need to talk soon and have a few drinks.)
Kristi: They should just take them out. I don’t think them having that many people that are against them around is wise. Just a big group that can plot against them. (This group should know better. Look how well Terminus went. They should all be dead, but Gareth and the Termites were stupid and it’s like history repeating itself, only it’s with “our group”.)
Chris: I don’t think so. The saviors are very dangerous and deceptive. While they may have helpful info, I doubt they will be very sharing. (Right? If you were captured, honestly, you are probably a happy Savior working and obeying the rules and surviving. Then Rick’s jerkoff group shows up and ruins everything.)
Raylene: Nope kill them all (Even Jared?)
Eric: Hostages only complicate things. Anyone showing aggression needed to be put down. These people already showed what they can do. (How often do hostages truly help somebody? I wish there was some statistical analysis. If TV and films are any indication, you almost always get caught or die when you bring hostages into play.)
Kent: Unfortunately, while there are probably some who would be happy to work towards a happy common goal, the way that this has gone down, they can’t ever trust Rick’s group. So stab them all, no bullets because they used all of them on Negan’s windows like morons.
- Will Jared (the long haired guy that has long antagonized people and is in Gavin’s group and used to mess with Richard) make it to the midseason finale alive?
Briana: Well even after your description and googling him, I can’t figure out his role in all this so I’m going to say no, he won’t lol! (Sorry, I tried my best to describe him, but I didn’t do a great job.)
Bob: Yes, and he will even kill someone important contrary to some orders or expectations. (I can see him taking out Morgan, Diane, or even Shiva. Boy, that would piss some people off, myself included. I really like Diane.)
Bitty: Are we really talking midseason finale? Didn’t this season just begin? How many episodes in this season… and no hopefully he’ll go down in next episodes walker raid. (There are 8 episodes per half season. Two have gone past, so he has 6 more to live or die for the question.)
Kristi: I don’t think so, but I’m often wrong so probably. (That’s pretty much my luck and thought process, so you are not alone.)
Chris: I sure hope not. I didn’t think he was going to live through that scene! (I was so engaged in the show that I was convinced that he was going to get got by Morgan. It makes more sense for him to live to be the spokesman for the hostages.)
Raylene: Nope I don’t think he will I believe Morgan may even get the kill (I hope so. Morgan deserves it in a way to do it in honor of Benjamin.)
Eric: I think he needs to go away. He had already caused enough problems. And will only prove to be a danger in the future (Some people just don’t deserve to live, in my opinion, and this dude really doesn’t deserve to, which is why he’s a good character I suppose.)
Kent: Jared seems like he will get got by some unforeseen circumstances. Not by Morgan or Ezekiel, but random walker attack. I think when he des die, it will feel incredibly satisfying and therapeutic to most fans.
- This was a fairly action packed episode. Did it feel exciting for you or rather dull?
Briana: A little of both, I get that it was intended to be exciting but it was mostly a bunch of shooting that led to no where so part of me was quite dissapointed. Loud does not equal exciting! (I agree with you. If we knew more of Negan’s people then a shoot out is exciting. Right now it’s like watching Han Solo shooting a bunch of nameless Storm Troopers. We have no real reason to care about these people living or dying.)
Bob: A second episode where I could choose to stop watching. The hammer-cock at the end had zero effect and impact. Anyone can disarm a guy with a gun that close, FYI. (I was wondering that same thing about the disarming. It seemed a tad sloppy, but this wouldn’t be the first time that the show got sloppy. Carol and Daryl in the falling ambulance is still the funniest one.)
Bitty: I’m a fan of the action of course but looked at the clock 31minutes in and was shocked how fast the episode was going!! I hate when the episode is slow but hate when it flies by. I have trouble finding a middle of the road episode. (It went by way too fast in my opinion. I dread checking my watch when viewing the show.)
Brian: Dull. Rick is a basket case and will let his desire to hide his past lead him to his death at the hands of Carl. (We really need to get you writing some TWD fan fiction.)
Kristi: I enjoyed it. It was exciting.
Chris: Tons of action! It was great to see a lot of the lesser known characters get into the action. (I will say, I really did like to see some of the lesser characters get some shine, especially Eric. I don’t like his character too much, but someone like Tobin and Francine got to shine. Unfortunately, so did Tara.)
Raylene: I know they have to build up the story line but I have been rather bored
Eric: it was. I enjoyed it. I wish they were all like this. (I think it is fair to assume that Eric enjoys action flicks.)
Kent: I felt that this was too much action for a follow up to the action from the season premiere. The pace is too much and not in a good way like Game of Thrones was. With so many characters, if we are going to have action packed episodes, lots of people need to die so they don’t have to tell as many stories. I liked it, but could go for some episodes where they do 3 different stories throughout. That is when it flows at it’s finest.
- Do you like it when Ezekiel is playing his king role or when he goes out of character briefly?
Briana: It is nice to see him laid back once in a while but I think at this point, the king is who he is. I think the people we pretend to be are the people we want to be deep down. And after a certain point, it’s no longer an act. So as much as I enjoy laid back Ezekiel, Long Live The King Y’all! (Thank you for including the y’all. It was needed and appreciated.)
Bob: Fake it til you Make it. I love it!! (That’s been Russell’s mom’s motto from the beginning. It had to be said.)
Bitty: LOVE IT! We immediately rewound it twice just to hear him. Team Ezekiel all the way. (Team Ezekiel? The hell is this? You going to say #EzekielStrong next?)
Brian: This show is full of people playing different people to hide their pasts. I wish others would be as honest as he is. (I really loved this response and now I don’t even like my response.)
Kristi: Both! He is the shit! What ever role he is in, I am always happy to see him on the screen. (You’re right. He is an absolutely delight to watch. In a show full of great acting talent, he still stands out in a positive way.)
Chris: I like both. Those moments when he drops his character just make him better. He’s the best character on the show! (I can’t argue with that. I am still incredibly fond of a few others slightly more like Carl, Carol, and Morgan, but still, he’s in the conversation, so that speaks volumes. I hope that h is around for a good amount of time.)
Raylene: I do enjoy when he shows both sides (He does both in such interesting ways.)
Eric: I like him in his “King “ role. I feel when he breaks character, it kinda ruins the fantasy he has built. (I have been trying to figure out if he is doing it to charm Carol or if he does it because he knows that Carol sees through it.)
Kent: I will say the King role because with that comes Jerry, and Jerry is fucking awesome.
Bonus Deuce
- Will we see “Super Daryl” next week?
Briana: Hmmm.. I hadn’t thought about it. We are definitely due for some crazy Darryl action! He’s been broken and beaten and this episode, he got a reminder of that. He will either use that to fuel the fire or retreat, in going with fuel! (The fact that he was broken seems like the perfect thing to get him back in his Daryl groove.)
Bob: I don’t really know what to expect. I figure we may see some awesome escape.
Bitty: it’s due.
Brian: Darryl is a tool!!! (Man, you just upset some female readers. I salute you for that.)
Kristi: I think Super Darryl is long gone. Ever since Beth, he just seems like a softy. Its gotten to the point that he just bugs me. ( i go back to the Daryl and Beth episode where they burned the house down as the point where Daryl lost it. I hated that episode, still my least favorite. I also didn’t like Beth unless she was singing some Tom Waites.)
Chris: We haven’t had super Daryl in a bit, so it’s probably time again ????
Raylene: Yup we’re due for some ridiculous Daryl action
Eric: He spent so much time being a hostage, I’m glad to see him “Back”
Kent: It’s going to happen. I guarandamntee it. And if I am wrong, you will have long forgotten my stupid words.
- Should we start fearing for Tobin’s life?
Briana: The type of character he is, of course. He could go at any time.
Bob: Red Shirt on borrowed time.
Bitty: We always should fear for everyone’s life… duh it’s the apocalypse.
Brian: I think he will stick around
Kristi: I’m more concerned for the tiger. (As you should be.)
Chris: I think pretty much anyone could die this season, and the lesser known ones are more likely to die. I’m sure a main character will die at some point too.
Raylene: Yes especially if they start giving him more screen time
Eric: no one is safe.
Kent: So this was just a running joke for me if I am going to be honest. I was waiting for somebody to call me out for asking the same question 3 times. This episode was not very deep from a story standpoint, so I had to resort to it. The fact that all of you went along with it, I thank you. Tobin lives the thug life. That dude ain’t dyin’.
Final Thoughts
Brian: Rick is losing control of both his mental state and the ability to clearly lead. At this point his desire to find a cure is being blinded by the need to keep his past hidden. I think he knew this virus was about to hit and feels guilty that he did nothing to stop it. Now he must live with the guilt of being the cause of this world and hide the fact that his one time boss Negan knows his secrets.
Kristi: What’s up with the baby and why didn’t Rick take her? He’s just going to take all the adults and leave the baby? That confused me. (I’m hoping that Kent is taking care of Judith. He seems like a good father figure.)
Raylene: As in wrestling I’m ready for some heel turns
Eric: All that gun fire….not a single reload. 30 round magazine going full auto will only last a few minutes. I would have like to have seen more technical work with the rifles. (This made me laugh out loud for a bit. It reminded me of the season 2 finale with Herschel having unlimited ammo in his shotgun. You are very on point here.)
Kent: Can we please get some more Eugene and Carl? Also…….Kill Tara!!!
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