This week, Carol and Daryl try to learn the Whispserer’s routine, Eugene makes contact with a mysterious lady, there’s a bad flu, and Negan is charming Alpha. My name is Kent, and I ask 5 weekly questions and then people answer them. Any comments in BOLD are written by me. I hope you enjoy and if you or someone you know may want to do this blog, contact me, leave a comment, etc.
1. What’s up with this stomach bug? Is this like the flu at the prison so they can kill off some characters right before the big war? Is Siddiq responsible in some capacity? Did Gamma somehow contaminate the water supply?
Raylene: I would’ve thought Aaron took the walker out of the water once he helped Gamma. I doubt Siddiq will give a great speech like Herschel did. Another thing Siddiq is the root cause of Carl getting bite bastard. (One thing is for sure, Siddiq will not have a funny quip about Spaghetti Tuesday. And I thought about Siddiq a bit. He is responsible for Carl getting killed, and is then rewarded with having sex with, arguably, the best-looking female in the group, and then has his life spared by Alpha. Whatta jerk! I still like Sid though. I just can’t stay mad at him.)
Chris: It has to be contaminated water. The only thing I don’t understand is that Aaron would have told someone by now, so why hasn’t he? The plot thickens…. (Right, he would have removed the body, right? Plus, they are boiling or purifying the water by now, wouldn’t you think? Also, would walkers be able to contaminate the water? They all have this illness or whatever.)
Kent: I like where Chris’ head is at about Aaron. He’s on the verge of having something big going on. The water makes the most sense, but it can’t be, can it? If it is the water, I think most fans will call that shit out. We just got done having people get sick in Fear from tainted water which was used in season 4 of TWD. Let’s not make this a thing. By now, everybody should know the rules. Also, didn’t the water or food get tainted in Fear while on Otto’s farm or whatever you want to call it? This leads me to believe that someone has tainted something after the purifying process. You can imagine that they go through a purifying process and keep clean water stored. Which is where Aaron could be playing a role or someone else that we aren’t considering.
2. Rosita’s demeanor toward Eugene was a little different this week. What has changed, in your opinion?
Raylene: I think because you don’t know what you got until it’s gone. Eugene gave her space no longer catering to her. (I had a few South Park videos in mind. This one should have been used when Rosita went off on Eugene, but I failed.)
Chris: She probably feels like she was “mean” to him and feels bad. I don’t think she was, he needed to hear that she didn’t love him, but I’m guessing that’s why. Plus she might actually miss him. For as much as he might annoy her, he’s always been there for her. (I think that she misses him, despite all the negatives. She may also regret how she told him what he needed to hear.)
Kent: She misses him and part of me thinks that she simply isn’t happy with her current arrangement with Gabe and Siddiq. It has to be awkward. Eugene was also incredibly awkward, but also a familiar and harmless awkward. I think that if she had the choice between the 3 guys right now, she may consider Eugene. I think Gabe is in last place currently.
3. Eugene made contact with ____. This lady lives in a community and had a nice, yet cautious conversation with Eugene. In your opinion, was Eugene foolish during this exchange? Also, she said that if she heard anybody else, she would end communications. Obviously, she will hear somebody else eventually. Who do you think it will be?
Raylene: Eugene should have been more cautious but he’s still burnt from the realization with Rosita. I say eventually Maggie blows it for him. (I can see Maggie trying to be head bitch again and making things worse.)
Chris: It was absolutely foolish to give out info to someone you don’t know. But, it’s just Eugene being Eugene. He tends to talk too much when nervous, excited, or pretty much all the time. I’m guessing she’ll hear Rosita come to visit. (Eugene likes the sound of his voice and he misses a good conversation. That is something that he has had with only a handful of characters, like Abe, Rosita, and the person who we don’t talk about.)
Kent: Rosita definitely makes the most sense to me. I have 3 different scenarios in my mind. If this lady starts forming an attachment in any way to Eugene, then it will be Rosita and the lady will only hear a small part of the conversation that misleads her. The next option is hearing someone talking attack strategy which would concern the lady and that could be a Michonne, Maggie, Carol, or even Yumiko. Finally, why not be Nabilla? They already showed her helping Eugene. It would give her a little something extra to do and I feel like she is one of the most underutilized characters that is simultaneously universally loved.
4. Carol and Daryl had a lot of time together again. Why is Carol seemingly against telling Daryl the truth? Will they get any useful information from the captured Whisperer?
Raylene: Carol was upset that Daryl didn’t believe her about seeing The Whisperers. I say he gives them the wrong information. (I could see her being pissed about nobody believing her. That would be something spiteful that Carol would do.)
Chris: Carol is hell-bent on getting what she wants, which would be Alpha’s head. Daryl is using logic and reason, clearly something Carol doesn’t want right now. I don’t think the Whisperer will talk, but I hope he sees Lydia. That would complicate things. (Man, you are on point with developing some intrigue this week. First Aaron, and now Lydia. You keep this up.)
Kent: Sometimes I like Carol and Daryl, sometimes not so much. I think I like it in really small doses. I don’t like the episodes when they focus on that relationship though. Like Rick and Michonne worked well when it was on the side. I do think that Carol is in Terminator mode. She thinks that she can make anything happen and if you say no, leave her alone. She hasn’t learned her lesson yet, despite everything. Ezekial dying may put her back in her lane. Carol is fantastic, and I love watching her kick-ass, but there isn’t a single person that can fully bring down the Whisperers, although Negan may try proving me wrong.
5. Negan and Beta stole the show this week. It appears that Alpha may be getting a little annoyed with Beta’s attitude and protective nature. We all feel that somebody is going to die in this weird triangle of Alpha, Beta, and Negan. Is there any possibility that Beta kills Alpha? Is there any possibility that Alpha sacrifices Beta?
Raylene: Nobody’s Ass better be sacrificing Beta I could see him doing it trying to protect Alpha. Beta is my man. I may predict that Alpha dies by Lydia. (Lydia is the dark horse, along with Aaron. They both can do so many different things. I am so curious about how it plays out. It’s nice to have intrigue back in the show.)
Chris: I think it’s more likely that Beta kills Alpha. I don’t see Beta leaving the show anytime soon. (I am inclined to agree. It’s okay to have a short run as long as you made an impact. The Governor comes to mind. He is still an all-time favorite of mine. Alpha’s death just needs to make sense.)
Kent: I think we are being shown these cracks in Alpha’s armor, pretty much all season. Think about it. Carol shot at her, and she did nothing. Gamma’s sister attacked her, and she gave Gamma a title and role. The place where Alpha hangs out remembering Lydia. Now she is being as careless as Eugene is, only she’s not being careless with someone on a radio. She’s being careless with Negan. I think the show has foreshadowed her demise pretty well.
6. Do you find it weird that Negan has arguably been the featured character of this season? It certainly hasn’t been Michonne, surprisingly. One could argue for Carol, Daryl, Alpha, or Beta. Is it a good thing to feature Negan this much?
Raylene: I hate that I like Negan now he’s not the moral compass so he should be ok. (Who is the current moral compass? Daryl? Ezekiel? Michonne?)
Chris: While Negan got a lot of screen time, I think Carol has been the featured character. This season feels centered around her quest for revenge. As far as I am concerned, they can feature Negan as much as they want. His scenes are always entertaining. (I still say that it has been Negan’s season so far, but I also can’t disagree with Carol. Perhaps it’s more a 1A and 1B scenario. The odd thing is that it could come down to who kills Alpha. That feels like the big thing.)
Kent: I’m saying it is Negan and I’m not disagreeing that it could be Carol. Both are on their own unique quests. Carol’s is more relateable while Negan’s has been more fun. I would like to know each of their times on screen this season. Carol had the caffeine episode so she may have a small lead. It’s going to be close. Yes, I have considered tracking this data, but I haven’t so far.
Final Thoughts – If Carol doesn’t get to kill Alpha, will she be angry with whoever does get the kill?
Raylene: Yes because when Lydia kills her mom that’ll just rub salt in the wounds. Carol blames Lydia for dumbass Henry. (We see in this week’s preview that Carol is talking to Lydia. That is a dynamic that I really want to see play out a bit more because if Lydia got the kill, that would be something.)
Chris: I think it depends on the circumstances. For example, let’s say Daryl killed her after she attacked him, I don’t see her being mad. However, if Negan does it, she will be pissed. (If Negan gets the kill, she’ll be pissed. I have zero doubt about that.)
Kent: If we consider the possible Alpha killers, that will provide an answer. We know that if Negan does it, Carol will harbor some ill will, despite the fact that she should be happy. If Lydia does it, will the grudge about Henry be too much to overcome, or will she see the beauty in a child getting vengeance for an abusive upbringing like Sophia had with Ed? If it is Aaron, well nobody thinks it will be Aaron. Gamma seems to be taken out of the picture for now as well. Maggie and Michonne are on play, but in the 1% realm and I think that she would accept that. I think that she would prefer Ezekiel to get the kill over Daryl. How bout that?