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The Walking Dead


deluca67

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I get all the complaining about the inconsistencies, but when you're watching a show about a zombie apocalypse it might be a little bit ok if things don't quite match up with reality all the time.

There's a big difference between buying into a show with a far-fetched concept and that show being wildly inconsistent about the world/story it's portraying.

 

The Matrix is a movie about humans logging into computer simulation to fight evil robots using kung fu. Sounds pretty silly, right? And yet it's a really satisfying movie because it builds this entire universe, establishes its rules, and sticks to them over all three acts.

 

In The Walking Dead, the zombies are as fast or slow, or as strong or weak, as they need to be in any particular scene. The pilot episode had a concept where the father/son that Rick meets didn't want to fire a gun because the noise would attract more zombies from all directions; I don't think this ever came up again. Half the conflict comes from the characters making obviously poor decisions.

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There's a big difference between buying into a show with a far-fetched concept and that show being wildly inconsistent about the world/story it's portraying.

 

The Matrix is a movie about humans logging into computer simulation to fight evil robots using kung fu. Sounds pretty silly, right? And yet it's a really satisfying movie because it builds this entire universe, establishes its rules, and sticks to them over all three acts.

 

In The Walking Dead, the zombies are as fast or slow, or as strong or weak, as they need to be in any particular scene. The pilot episode had a concept where the father/son that Rick meets didn't want to fire a gun because the noise would attract more zombies from all directions; I don't think this ever came up again. Half the conflict comes from the characters making obviously poor decisions.

 

Yes! And there's another scene where they camouflage themselves among the zombies by rubbing entrails on themselves but the zombies catch onto them when the rain starts to wash it off. Ok so how about putting a liver and some fava beans in your pocket and roam about freely?

 

Also Michonne uses similar camouflage by pulling two zombies along with her after removing their arms and lower jaw. So she walks freely among a pack of other zombies because she's connected to two of them with a rope? But somehow they would detect her if the ropes weren't there?

 

We're supposed to feel some sort of dread when a certain character is seemingly trapped in a situation, but you can't feel it properly when you don't know if the rules they've been teaching us the whole time will be followed or not. Will the zombies sense of smell work? Will their hearing? Will they be fast or slow? Has a loud hissing moaning zombie snuck up on the group undetected again?

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Yes! And there's another scene where they camouflage themselves among the zombies by rubbing entrails on themselves but the zombies catch onto them when the rain starts to wash it off. Ok so how about putting a liver and some fava beans in your pocket and roam about freely?

 

Also Michonne uses similar camouflage by pulling two zombies along with her after removing their arms and lower jaw. So she walks freely among a pack of other zombies because she's connected to two of them with a rope? But somehow they would detect her if the ropes weren't there?

 

We're supposed to feel some sort of dread when a certain character is seemingly trapped in a situation, but you can't feel it properly when you don't know if the rules they've been teaching us the whole time will be followed or not. Will the zombies sense of smell work? Will their hearing? Will they be fast or slow? Has a loud hissing moaning zombie snuck up on the group undetected again?

 

I know I've been yelled at for providing spoilers here in the past but I feel I need to let you all in on the secret that is causing these inconsistencies: THE ZOMBIES HAVE MAGIC!@

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There's a big difference between buying into a show with a far-fetched concept and that show being wildly inconsistent about the world/story it's portraying.

 

The Matrix is a movie about humans logging into computer simulation to fight evil robots using kung fu. Sounds pretty silly, right? And yet it's a really satisfying movie because it builds this entire universe, establishes its rules, and sticks to them over all three acts.

 

In The Walking Dead, the zombies are as fast or slow, or as strong or weak, as they need to be in any particular scene. The pilot episode had a concept where the father/son that Rick meets didn't want to fire a gun because the noise would attract more zombies from all directions; I don't think this ever came up again. Half the conflict comes from the characters making obviously poor decisions.

 

They've used the bullet gun thing a million times. Remember the last two episodes of season 2? That herd of zombies started to follow Rick and Carl once Jr shot zombie Shane. And then there was last season where the prison alarms attracted a ton of them. The prison is now overrun by zombies mostly due to the sound of the big battle.

 

I don't see any problem with the way they handle sound attracting them. They need to be fairly close in order for it to be a big deal. If they hear a gun shot from 2 miles away, they may start heading in that direction, but something else will wind up distracting them long before they get there.

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But half the fun of watching a good tv show is thinking about and guessing what might happen next. You need to rely on rules that have been followed in the past in order to have a framework of what might be to come. If they are inconsistent with the rules of that universe there's no way to have an investment in wondering about where he plot might go next.

There's a big difference between buying into a show with a far-fetched concept and that show being wildly inconsistent about the world/story it's portraying.

 

The Matrix is a movie about humans logging into computer simulation to fight evil robots using kung fu. Sounds pretty silly, right? And yet it's a really satisfying movie because it builds this entire universe, establishes its rules, and sticks to them over all three acts.

 

In The Walking Dead, the zombies are as fast or slow, or as strong or weak, as they need to be in any particular scene. The pilot episode had a concept where the father/son that Rick meets didn't want to fire a gun because the noise would attract more zombies from all directions; I don't think this ever came up again. Half the conflict comes from the characters making obviously poor decisions.

 

I guess I just watch these types of shows for the mindless empty entertainment calories that they provide. Just like how I wouldn't try to dissect the musical nuances of a pop radio song or the culinary wizardry of a Big Mac.

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Finally caught the episode from Sunday.... It was better than last week.... Carol kinda came outta nowhere, that was a lil gaudy I suppose.... And again they make it seem like a main character died (this week Glenn, last week Rick) but we can see right through the scenes knowing that Glenn wasn't on the bus, etc...

 

I never read the comics, but we're back to another group of "possibly evil" army guys now.... I will keep watching but I have been underwhelmed by the first episodes since the break.

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Wow, two shows in one.

 

All the Rick/Carl/Michonne stuff was great. Rick's escape from the 2nd floor while the house filled up with gang members was really well done, and the pink room with the dead family that Michonne found was incredibly eerie. If it needed a grade, it'd be a solid A.

 

Then there was the other plot line -- where Glen and that girl were hanging out with a bunch of cartoon characters: hillbilly army guy, swimsuit model "army girl" in hot pants and a tank top, and sling blade guy who is "smarter than you" but was apparently not smart enough to bother to learn how to use weapons in the 2+ years since the zombie apocalypse started. Sure, why not? This wasn't just bad, it was SyFy channel movie bad. Sharknado bad. Chris Hardwick said these are important characters from the comics so maybe this will suck a little less moving forward.

 

BTW, is it wrong that I'm sorta jealous of Daryl? Like a zombie apocalypse wouldn't be that bad if it meant running around the woods with Beth?

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