@jonnieblack said:

@LadyGigi said:

@jonnieblack said:

@LadyGigi I guess we will disagree about Carol/Rosita. It's all good.

Oh it's alright. The point comes down to rivalry and which female character fight style you like better. Right now, I think Rosita could very much be a substitute if Carol were to die. I really like Rosita now that I understand her more.

If I am choosing a female character's fight style, I would pick Michonne. I'd love to be handy with a katana. She is getting deadly with a gun too.

Yeah yeah. Everybody picks Michonne or Carol. I'm bored with them both.

I think the show is attempting to be a little more cerebral beyond the novelty of shooting or hacking through walker heads.

I remember while reading Stephen King's The Stand, after the initial thrill of a virus getting out and wiping out much of humanity, it slowed down and got all philosophical. Writers want to explore the humanity of such events more than just titillate us with a circumstance that gives us a moral pass to act out our most primal, violent urges in a relatively consequence-less environment.

I mention The Stand because Frank Darabont has done great work on several Stephen King books, including The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. While I don't believe he was attached to The Stand, clearly the idea of humanity being wiped out stuck with him, because he created TWD and, although there's been a lot more exploration of the gory side of engaging zombies, story tellers still want to tell stories that connect emotionally.

I don't know what kind of trauma I'd sustain in a zombie apocalypse, especially if I'd lost my family in gruesome ways in front of my eyes. And in those times when the chase is off, the adrenaline has stopped pumping, and I can sit for a moment of quiet, I might begin to mourn, and who knows how long that should take.

As we watch "a show" from the safety of the reality of our nice normal lives, let's not disconnect from the emotional story so far that we grow overly impatient as the writers tell their story.

The show did reach those heights two or three seasons ago pre-Terminus. The writing was great and photography really distinctive. "The Grove" is one of the best ever episodes imo. Now, it's clearly evident that the standard has slipped quite a bit.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

I think the show is attempting to be a little more cerebral beyond the novelty of shooting or hacking through walker heads.

I remember while reading Stephen King's The Stand, after the initial thrill of a virus getting out and wiping out much of humanity, it slowed down and got all philosophical. Writers want to explore the humanity of such events more than just titillate us with a circumstance that gives us a moral pass to act out our most primal, violent urges in a relatively consequence-less environment.

I mention The Stand because Frank Darabont has done great work on several Stephen King books, including The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. While I don't believe he was attached to The Stand, clearly the idea of humanity being wiped out stuck with him, because he created TWD and, although there's been a lot more exploration of the gory side of engaging zombies, story tellers still want to tell stories that connect emotionally.

I don't know what kind of trauma I'd sustain in a zombie apocalypse, especially if I'd lost my family in gruesome ways in front of my eyes. And in those times when the chase is off, the adrenaline has stopped pumping, and I can sit for a moment of quiet, I might begin to mourn, and who knows how long that should take.

As we watch "a show" from the safety of the reality of our nice normal lives, let's not disconnect from the emotional story so far that we grow overly impatient as the writers tell their story.

Ditto. Very well stated. Thank you.

@LadyGigi said:

@jonnieblack said:

@LadyGigi I guess we will disagree about Carol/Rosita. It's all good.

Oh it's alright. The point comes down to rivalry and which female character fight style you like better. Right now, I think Rosita could very much be a substitute if Carol were to die. I really like Rosita now that I understand her more.

Carol died? Huh? Who, what, when, and where?! Please don't get me excited.

pleasekillcaroloff.com

@DRDMovieMusings said:

As we watch "a show" from the safety of the reality of our nice normal lives, let's not disconnect from the emotional story so far that we grow overly impatient as the writers tell their story.

As much as I agree with that sentiment, pace is equally important. I didn't mind delving deeper into each character's psyche but not at a glacial pace.

Maybe you're OK with dating an airheaded blonde who wants to tell you all her deep and meaningful thoughts about why her friend of five years suddenly became a backstabbing cow and whatnot. However, I would prefer to hear the short version and move on to the next thing or otherwise dump her for someone who is more succinct than that. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

From the Stephen King movie references, since he is the master of exploring the human condition, The Mist was one of my favourites and we saw so much character development in such a short space of time that a movie allows and we got our gore in too. We saw how humans can so easily turn against one another, be it under the guise of religion or otherwise. I'm all for the emotion but it has to be conveyed succinctly, for me.

@larz9 said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

As we watch "a show" from the safety of the reality of our nice normal lives, let's not disconnect from the emotional story so far that we grow overly impatient as the writers tell their story.

As much as I agree with that sentiment, pace is equally important. I didn't mind delving deeper into each character's psyche but not at a glacial pace.

I'm all for the emotion but it has to be conveyed succinctly, for me.

Fair enough. But I hasten to maintain, even trained military can experience shell shock. There's realism at play here, she was just a mild-mannered house wife, not Rambo in disguise. I've seen tough-talking guys go complete wimp when situations (yes, plural, don't ask) got real. We've allowed the movies to desensitize us to the reality of trauma - we're not all ready to become action heroes, and I appreciate the subtlety and complexity of Carol's character.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

Fair enough. But I hasten to maintain, even trained military can experience shell shock. There's realism at play here, she was just a mild-mannered house wife, not Rambo in disguise. I've seen tough-talking guys go complete wimp when situations (yes, plural, don't ask) got real. We've allowed the movies to desensitize us to the reality of trauma - we're not all ready to become action heroes, and I appreciate the subtlety and complexity of Carol's character.

All points raised are excellent and more than just plausible. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not attempting to detract from the nuances and complexities. I appreciate them as much as the next guy. I'm simply hoping for a more succinct way of exploring all those elements.

@larz9 Gotcha! And, I wouldn't mind if they picked up the pace, to be honest!

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@larz9 Gotcha! And, I wouldn't mind if they picked up the pace, to be honest!

Yes, well, season eight will hopefully do just that. If not, accumulate and binge watch with the 30 second skip function living under my thumb.

I like her character and hope she's making a worthy comeback. But in my opinion this whole season, a couple of characters suffered, because there was so much they tried to cover and separate stories of single people were all over the place. And even with the episodes focused on one person or place, didn't really do much for me - or the storyline of that person or event.

The second episode in 'The Kingdom' was great. Probably the best of the season. Instead of building on it, they gave us episodes filled with uninteresting characters and subplots. So, in the finale, it just felt like Ezekiel and co just walked in randomly off set!

@jupit said:

I like her character and hope she's making a worthy comeback. But in my opinion this whole season, a couple of characters suffered, because there was so much they tried to cover and separate stories of single people were all over the place. And even with the episodes focused on one person or place, didn't really do much for me - or the storyline of that person or event.

Which characters suffered?

@jupit said:

I like her character and hope she's making a worthy comeback. But in my opinion this whole season, a couple of characters suffered, because there was so much they tried to cover and separate stories of single people were all over the place. And even with the episodes focused on one person or place, didn't really do much for me - or the storyline of that person or event.

The storyline was a boring incoherent mess. All we got from the character development was Morgan and Carol are now out of pussy mode. Big whoop.

@movie_nazi said:

@jupit said:

I like her character and hope she's making a worthy comeback. But in my opinion this whole season, a couple of characters suffered, because there was so much they tried to cover and separate stories of single people were all over the place. And even with the episodes focused on one person or place, didn't really do much for me - or the storyline of that person or event.

The storyline was a boring incoherent mess. All we got from the character development was Morgan and Carol are now out of pussy mode. Big whoop.

I was happy to see Carol and Morgan out of retirement. I was disappointed to see that Rosita was injured. I hope she heals up fast to join in the next battle.