This week, we find out Anne’s true intentions, who has been killing the Saviors, and Maggie is on her way to see Negan. My name is Kent, and I ask 9 episode-specific questions, and 2 bonus questions, and that’s how we get the 9 Deuce. 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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- Soooooo, it wasn’t Dwight, Carol, or the Whisperers that Justin saw last week. It was the Oceansiders. Was this a good reveal or did you start booing your TV screen?
Bob: I liked the shock. I am not convinced that’s how Justin would have reached to Oceansiders…. (The shock was worthy, I’ll give it that.)
Kristi: I liked it. They had good reason to do it. I’m glad Maggie and Daryl walked away and let it happen. (I don’t know if I liked Maggie and Daryl walking away like that. I have arguments for both sides. If they don’t let the ladies kill Arat, then they probably lose partnership with a group that was working together with them. Losing Arat is going to send the Saviors into a spiral that is going to be tough to negotiate.)
Chris: I thought it was a good reveal. It wasn’t expected, but since Oceanside is part of this show, it’s a good thing that they might actually be important. Plus, I can’t argue with their reasoning behind the killings. (The killings are totally justified. Unfortunately, part of this whole peace treaty among groups needs to be adhered to. I get it, but in order to move forward, this type of thing can’t happen, so now we get more drama. I think that was the goal, and it was achieved.)
Raylene: I did not expect it so by that it was a good reveal. I will boo everything until I get my Whisperers I’ve aged so many years waiting for them! (Keep waiting….and waiting.)
Kent: It was a good reveal that had me booing my TV screen. At least they gave the group a purpose. That is something that the comic book does too often. They introduce characters and seemingly forget them for months on end. I really wanted it to be Dwight, and I believe Daryl thought it was Dwight
- Anne appears to have been playing Father Gabriel in her human trafficking. Will she have a change of heart, or is Gabe screwed? Also, if you want to guess what an A or a B is, have at it.
Bob: Nah, no change of heart. I keep thinking A is Alpha and B is Beta. Like a wolf pack. Or Assinine and Best, or Alive and Biters. Props Governor. (Oh man, I do love me a good Governor reference. When I was watching it, I wondered about the Alpha and Beta, but I can’t connect the dots to make that work yet based on other things I know.)
Kristi: No change of heart but I don’t think he will die. Maybe she’s testing his abilities to see if he is an A. I would agree with Bob that A is for alpha and B for Beta. (I do think that she is testing him on some level. It’s quite fascinating.)
Chris: I never can tell with Anne/Janis. Gabriel seems to get himself in these situations a lot. I don’t know what an “A” or “B” is, but considering Gabriel is currently a “B”, I’m guessing that’s not a good thing……(Sooooo b is bad?)
Raylene: Anne you shady bitch I don’t think he’ll be walker bait. I think A’s are the ones that show signs of strength that they say join us as a Whisperers and B’s are the ones they just add to their walker herd. (That would be an odd way for the Whispers, but I don’t think that is quite it.)
Kent: Okay, let me just settle this aspect now. Spoiler alert, but you probably know this already. The Whisperers is a group in the comics and they are coming to the show. Alpha and Beta have been cast, and they are the leaders. With that being said, their group mentality doesn’t seem to be based on whether you are one or the other. They are very animalistic, and that’s why they have the leaders, but everybody kinda does their own thing. That is why I don’t think it is Whisperer related, plus those MF’ers don’t have a helicopter and supplies. They are roamers. I could see it have something to do with personality type though, regarding the A and B. Perhaps something as simple as will they fall in line and be useful, or will they put up a raucous?
- Did anybody find it weird how high Maggie’s kill count was this week? Also, did anybody pick up on the Night of the Living Dead Easter Egg at the cabin?
Bob: No on the easter egg. No, Maggie is in full his name was Robert Paulson mode. (Take a bow for the Robert Paulson comment.)
Kristi: No. Didn’t see the Easter egg. What was it? Maggie annoys me but she is a bit of a badass since Glenn’s death. Not surprised by the amount of killings. (The Easter Egg was the truck and gas pump by that cabin was a call back to Night of the Living Dead.)
Chris: Not really. Maggie’s a badass and I’m glad they are showing it again. I did not see the Easter egg. (I would have liked to see Maggie more aggressive the past 4 seasons quite frankly. It seems like she has been stuck too often taking the back seat and allowing Michonne, Sasha, and Tara be badasses. Rosita’s character also suffered in that regard, in my opinion. She needs more screen time.)
Raylene: This show has always been unrealistic with one person’s walker kill. Tyreese and his hammer kills, Rick when Carl was shot by fucking Ron and he cleared a crazy amount in Alexandria. No, I did not pick up the Night of the Living Dead. Barbara they are coming to get you, Barbara. (2 things here. 1. Tyreese was a big hoss and his kill count was totally viable in that short of a burst, especially compared to Rick and Michonne last season. 2. I the Night remake, Bill Moseley (Otis from Devil’s Rejects) plays the brother who does the “They’re coming for you Barbara” bit. It’s available free on Crackle and stars Tony Todd (Candyman).
Kent: I feel like they were trying to rebuild her character as much as possible to make her seem as badass as possible so when the time comes for her exit in some capacity, it may hold even more power. I don’t know if there is a point yet, but I am starting to believe that she isn’t going to die but rather leave. Maybe to find Georgie. Or maybe she gets traded with Anne’s people. Or maybe she goes on the Michonne leave of absence. I think they’d prefer to not kill her in case her show doesn’t succeed. That is unless she said that she wouldn’t return, which is entirely possible.
- Should the group have considered giving the Saviors some weapons to protect themselves with? Would this have eased the tensions or made things worse?
Bob: It should have been done IMMEDIATELY. Now, this chasm exists that will be very hard to overcome. (It appears that you and I are the only ones on this particular side of the discussion. I wholeheartedly agree. I’ll explain more in my response.)
Kristi: I don’t think the needed guns. I mean, they were pretty protected from walkers with all of the lookouts. They had tools that would have been a great weapon. They overreacted. (If they had weapons, maybe they wouldn’t have been getting got by the Oceansiders. That is a whole other what if, which is why they did the story this way.)
Chris: No. Giving them guns would have made things worse. Jed seems like he’d be pretty trigger happy. They have plenty of weapons to protect themselves from walkers. (But they had nothing to protect against Cyndie’s posse. I hate how that name is spelled.)
Raylene: My initial thought was no because Mud aka Jed is a hot head( Shane JR) but perhaps the blonde female could have benefited with one. (Laura is her name, and yes, she along with some others, should have had some.)
Kent: To the people saying no, I propose this. Your group loses a war, and now the enemy wants to integrate you into their group. But there are plenty of dangers out there. If they give you very little to protect yourself, are you going to want to integrate with this group? Nope! You’re going to feel like you are slave labor and bait. And eventually, you’re gonna get pissed off. The solution was simple. Give them a limited amount of weapons. Have Eugene determine who would be the best people to have them. Have them as small group leaders, so that when you went out, you had something in case things got bad. Laura, for instance, would have been a good person. I thought Arat was a good candidate and same for Regina. Now, they have slowly been getting taken out by Oceanside, and they should be pissed off. It’s almost as if you get to be a part of the group, and you are going to work for this large group. Oh and just to let you know that we’re serious, some of you may have to die. Are we still talking this group or the Saviors under Negan’s leadership? They sound similar to me.
- Simply because this seems to be the big point of this season and the reason for why things are going to happen moving forward I’ll ask this: Whose side would you be on between Rick and Maggie at this moment?
Bob: The Savior’s. Rick is incredibly weak. Maggie is…insane. (Under Eugene’s guidance, the Saviors are in a decent place. Also, is he still manufacturing ammo?)
Kristi: Rick. Just because I still think Michonne is badass and I want to be on her side. (Would you take Michonne over any other female on the show in a fight? Obviously, it depends on the scenario. I think I take Carol first, then Maggie due to both having a wide range of skills and tactics.)
Chris: Both. I agree with Rick’s vision for the future, other than the letting Negan live part. (Yeah, as I say in my response, if I was living that experience, I’d be so pissed at Rick for letting Negan live.)
Raylene: I have to say Rick because humans aren’t the true enemy anymore. (You say that…)
Kent: I feel if I had given the option for Ezekiel, most of you would have chosen him. I am digging that Maggie has a low tolerance for shenanigans. If you’re a happy law abiding citizen, I would think Maggie’s would feel safer and you may feel that justice is dispensed more fairly. Rick’s justice is all over the place. As a fan, I’m happy that Negan’s life was spared. If I was living that life of one of the random people, I’d be superfly pissed at Rick for allowing Negan to live.
Final Thoughts – Maggie is heading to Alexandria to possibly meet with Negan. Will she get the opportunity to meet Negan face to face during this trip?
Bob: Nope. I am sure Alexandra has some hardcore Rick supporters that won’t let her see him.
Kristi: I’m not sure. We see Michonne with him in the previews so I don’t know that Maggie will get in.
Chris: I really hope so. I’m sure Negan will have some great lines!!!!
Raylene: I say yes she will it will be a chaotic time for some fun.
Kent: I enjoy the fact that none of the 4 responses are the same. A nope, uncertain, hopeful, and a yes. That covers the spectrum pretty well. I’m not sure who else aside from Michonne can get in Maggie’s way. Realistically, Michonne isn’t that big of an obstacle to overcome. Aaron isn’t an obstacle and I don’t know where he lives now. Rosita is probably the next biggest obstacle, and actually a more difficult obstacle than Michonne, if we’re being honest. Michonne is a badass when the environment fits, close combat. Maggie has a much more diverse arsenal. I want Maggie to see Negan, for the conversation. I think Michonne will try to talk Maggie out of it and it will be lame as hell and have me flipping my TV off.
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