We finally got Naomi/Laura’s backstory at FEMA and her daughter Rose. That all pales in comparison to the ending with the standoff that resulted in John getting shot. Where do we go from here with only 2 episodes until the midseason finale? My name is Kent, and for Fear The Walking Dead, I only ask 5 questions and some final thoughts to make this blog a little more compact your reading pleasure. 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, whatever. The contact info is at the bottom of this blog.
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- Charlie tried taking some responsibility while talking to Althea. Do you think that she does something bad in the midseason finale?
Bob: I am very tired of her, so she will live forever. (Ah, the Tara phenomenon. Sigh. Even Sons of Anarchy had the decency to kill off ______.)
Chris: I’m not sure. She betrayed them already, so I won’t be surprised. I’m just interested to see if Mel’s injury was part of a plot to take the stadium. (It feels all too convenient. Simultaneously, we have now seen what Ennis is capable of, and that doesn’t feel like Mel’s method.)
Kent: Everything felt odd about this whole scenario. The idea of taking Charlie and then Mel in after everything. None of the group is this stupid…..right? After everything, are we supposed to believe that Mel would have been allowed in the stadium? Charlie, I can understand because she’s a kid. I’d really struggle to turn her away, I think Charlie is the cause of Madison’s demise, whether intentional or not, and that is why she worded things the way she did to Althea.
- Should Nick and Alicia have gone to find Mel?
Bob: LOL. NO!!!! That was ridiculous. All of a sudden they all became bad decision makers. (I hate the impulse and stupidity that they had to insert. I get it, without stupid decisions, TV isn’t as interesting. Still, it’s a moment of frustration.)
Chris: Absolutely not. But, following walking dead tradition, good guys make terrible decisions….(This was the most Walking Dead decision of the whole season.)
Kent: I understand the whole ideology that nobody is gone until they’re gone, and that’s fine. If you’re new to the show, just know that every season or half season has a theme that leads to the finale. I think that has been true for every season. This was the best way to put that to practice. If they truly believed in that ideology, then it makes sense. Of course, it that was me obviously I wouldn’t try to help somebody who is threatening my family and me, unless it is out of need for something beneficial.
- Is Ennis’ attack with walkers covered in oil and a fire on the ground the single greatest attack in the Walking Dead franchise? If you say no, tell me what you think was, and please don’t say anything to do with Oceanside.
Bob: I was thoroughly impressed with the clever nature of the attack. I am shocked there is no plan or system in place to avert a mass of walkers, on fire or not to pull them away from the stadium. No noisemakers, no using the horn, no driving – no firecrackers. Nothing. Just sit back like we all did in awe. (I am so mad at what I am about to say here, but that is one of the few things they did well at Oceanside. They had those backups plans and diversion tactics. I think Hilltop is in a similar situation in that you would have suspected that they’d have other means, but they don’t really.)
Chris: It was very epic and well-planned. However, there was one attack that was more efficient. In season 2, Maggie attacked Glenn using only her body, and he was completely defenseless. I miss Glenn. (Much like Glenn, I didn’t see that one coming. Well done.)
Kent: I loved this and I am split between this and one other huge attack. I do wish to offer some honorable mentions though. Carol in the season 5 premiere orchestrated the big explosion. That still may be my favorite episode for that show. The downside to that was that it wasn’t plotted out or meticulous, it was typical spur of the moment and get really F’N lucky. I can’t rank it higher. Then there was that time when The Governor brought a tank with him. I repeat, a tank! The flaw of course is that you are bringing a tank to the building that you want to take over and have your people live in it. Visually, it was great, but some very flawed logic. Then of course there was Rick’s assault on Oceanside. That is self explanatory. The walker tipped arrows was amazing too, but it can’t be #1 as Tara is still alive. With that said,the only attack that I feel truly rivals this is TWD’s season 6 finale. The way that Negan placed his men covering every possibility and slowly closing in and funneling them to the exact place that you want your prey. That was downright brilliant and sadistic. Unfortunately, I still believe that they killed the wrong person. And by the way, had they just had Negan bash in Maggie’s skull, it would have solved a lot of issues. Negan would have been more universally hailed as a villain, which is how they should have handled it. Secondly, we wouldn’t be having the current situation with Margaret. I hope Gregory takes over!!
- Do you think that Naomi actually made a deal with the Vultures?
Bob: Naomi is about her survival. Any deal would be predicated on that. She is so extreme into survival she will do whatever she needs – she is blind to regular ethics and morality. (I like your last line, it is very true. I think whatever soul that she may have felt that she had, I think it disappeared when she discovered what happened at FEMA. Once you go down that crushing of a road, I can understand exactly why her character does these things, and that is a part of why this season is brilliant. The writing for most of the characters has been incredible.)
Chris: I think Mel wants to keep her because he thinks she would be a good fit. Plus she has valuable medical skills. (Mel is a guy who understands the true value of a medic. We had hoped that Negan did, but he didn’t in the end. It’s a shame that Mel didn’t have more screen time because I thought his character was well crafted.)
Kent: I don’t know if it was a deal. I think they viewed her a non-threat. I know that the better narrative is her having made a deal. I just think that they viewed her as harmless and offered her an opportunity to be peaceful with them, but not necessarily join them.
- Sorry to beat this dead horse, but will we finally find out Madison’s fate in the midseason finale? Is her fate tied to the rage that Alicia, Nick, Strand, and Luciana have?
Bob: I am going to just go with Madison is alive and we will find out at the mid-season.
Chris: i bet they are angry because they think she’s dead, but I think she survives.
Kent: I have flip-flopped on this one a lot. Obviously, they are going to find her at the stadium (at least I think that is the case). The question is what condition will she in. I think her death would be very powerful after the principles that she has tried to instill in the group. I think that she lives, but I would not put any money on that prediction.
Final Thoughts – Give any final predictions that you have or any other thoughts on this episode.
Bob: I find it interesting that Luciana, Strand and Alicia are the villains now. Alicia looks downright insane. Very good acting by everyone. (Not only do I agree with you, but since sometime in season 3, I feel that Alicia has done an amazing job. Like, everything finally clicked for her as an actress and they gave her better things to work with.)
Chris: I’m very curious as to Madison’s fate, as well as what’s going to happen to Alicia, Strand, and Luciana. They are being consumed by rage. I think while they are all ready to kill each other at the stadium, Madison will make a dramatic return. (We all know something of interest is happening. I can absolutely see that scenario play out.)
Kent: My prediction is that a female character will get killed. Whether that be Madison, Luciana, Charlie, or Naomi. Alicia and Althea I feel are off limits, but I could see any of the other 4. But what if Madison is crazed and sees Althea and thinks that she’s there to cause her harm? I can see all sorts of crazy things happening. I have faith that whatever they choose will feel logical. Also, this was clearly the worst episode of the season, and it was still good. Even looking at IMDB, the previous low score was 7.4 for the Buried episode. This one got a 6.5.
Bonus Question – It is now being reported that Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) will have 6 more episodes remaining on the main show. Lauren Cohan supposedly only has 6 episodes for the coming season. This is obviously huge news as Rick and Maggie are 2 of the 3 or 4 most central characters for the upcoming season or 2 if you went by the comics and common sense. Carl is dead. I would like to know if you think the show will last beyond 2 more seasons. Do you think they will kill off either or both of those characters? Aside from Daryl, who is getting a huge pay raise, name a few characters that you think will be major players along with Daryl. Add any other thoughts because this could, and probably should be it’s own blog. Let’s face it, the season 9 preview blog will have a lot of these questions.
Bob: I bet Cohan will stick around but not consistently. Michonne, Eugene, Daryl and Jesus will be very large but I can’t imagine this show lasting beyond 2 more seasons.
Chris: I just can’t see the show without Rick. I think the new major players will probably be Daryl and Carol, maybe Enid (knowing the writers, Tara….UUUUUGGGHHHHH…..) I know the ladies love Daryl, but he can’t carry the show. I can’t fault the actors for wanting to do other things. It will be sad when it ends, but all good shows have to end eventually. At least Game of Thrones isn’t ending…..oh….. well….. HBO is making a Watchmen series! (I didn’t know about the Watchmen series. I am so intrigued. I have been begging for 2 decades for HBO to make a legit 8-10 hour mini series for Stephen King’s The Stand. I also thought that the Dark tower could have been a TV show. That seems unlikely for awhile now.)
Kent: I think that the show will be fine for a bit, but it will feel empty. The Office never felt the same once Steve Carell left. He wasn’t always the best or funniest, but he was the glue guy, same as Rick is. Daryl is a good #2, but I don’t think he can be the leader. He can not be the leader but still be a huge focus while allowing others to take over various places. I thought Daryl would become the leader of the remaining Saviors. I really thought that was going to be a possibility. I fear that if they kill off Rick, they may have Michonne go do her comic thing. I think Carol and Ezekiel rule jointly for awhile. Hilltop will be ruled by Jesus and Enid perhaps. I can see Maggie dying during birth. That would be a reasonable way to end her role, although redundant, I think I’d prefer that to her getting bit or something silly. As for Alexandria, I think Eugene will run it by default. If Rick is killed off, no Carl, and then if Michonne takes an extended break, Eugene and Rosita become the default leaders Also, I think Negan will have his face turn quicker than he does in the comic. I’ll go so far as to speculate that Rick sacrifices himself to help Negan after Negan tries to help Rick with the Whisperers. This would greatly expedite Nega’s turn.
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