Author Topic: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*  (Read 14399 times)

Offline lliving

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #75 on: March 25, 2019, 09:57:32 PM »
Did they ever show Alpha enter the fair?  Perhaps she rode in with a cleaned up group of whisperers and she used her people to collect/capture people one by one.  Although you would think their lack of social skills from years of mumbling like walkers would make them stand out at such a joyous social event. .  I think it’s likely Henry got nabbed when he went to check on the banging pipe.  Of course they will likely never explain how seasoned survivors like Tara or Enid would go anywhere alone with someone they didn’t know. Probably better to ignore the plot holes, I guess


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Offline darkron9

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #76 on: March 26, 2019, 08:17:24 AM »
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And published!

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Terrific review. 

I was able to watch most this episode (mom had urgent business that pulled me away from the show so I missed the dunking booth scene) so your review filled in the gaps. 

I was starting to like the Highway Men...  But those guys ended their time on the show well giving the captured group one last chance to inflict damage on their captors.  May the Highway Men get the best seats in the house at that big Bijou Theater in the sky.

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #77 on: Today at 07:24:02 AM »

Offline chocolateshake

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #77 on: March 26, 2019, 11:37:41 AM »
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Did they ever show Alpha enter the fair?  Perhaps she rode in with a cleaned up group of whisperers and she used her people to collect/capture people one by one.  Although you would think their lack of social skills from years of mumbling like walkers would make them stand out at such a joyous social event. .  I think it’s likely Henry got nabbed when he went to check on the banging pipe.  Of course they will likely never explain how seasoned survivors like Tara or Enid would go anywhere alone with someone they didn’t know. Probably better to ignore the plot holes, I guess


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They didn't.  They could have done that.  They set it up, but then they didn't.  The whole opening sequence was introducing a couple of characters that subsequently got killed by the Whisperers.  That's how Alpha got the hair and dress she wore in the Kingdom.  That group of 4 from Hilltop headed out in a wagon.  So they could have taken all the clothes and the wagon and pretended to be the group of 4.  They didn't though since they showed how the wagon was overturned during the attack.  Then later on the highway men found the overturned wagon.  So Alpha and any other whisperers would have to have walked in.  Since the only people close enough to do that are from the Kingdom, wouldn't the Kingdom guards be suspicious about a group of people they don't know?

Offline perc2100

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #78 on: March 27, 2019, 09:44:31 AM »
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But if they had, it wouldn't have been so much of a shock at the end when you saw the heads.
I agree; we don't need to know every detail - we just need 'moments' to pack emotion and effectiveness.  I have my criticisms of this season, especially the back half, but for me how the last episode set-up and concluded the "moment" was pretty perfect.  The show presented to us Alpha walking around freely amongst all of the other people, she was clearly acting suspicious with some sort of plan, and we saw it how it played out in the finale scene.  I don't know specifics about everything, provided a 'moment' achieves the effect it's supposed to: in this case, it totally did, and was clearly meant as more of a shocking, visceral moment

Offline omraged9

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #79 on: March 28, 2019, 10:31:35 PM »
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Clearly Alpha dug a tunnel with her bare hands and spirited people out underneath the Kingdom's walls... ;)

One question they never answered in either the comics (that I recall) or the show... what happened to the bodies of the victims?

I thought it's been said or shown on the show that the Whisperers like to feed their victims' bodies to the walkers? Kind of like feeding their 'pets' in a way.

I did think the guards at the fair were surprisingly lax about letting anyone in. I guess not everyone in each group were alerted enough about the dangers of the Whisperers.

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #80 on: April 01, 2019, 12:40:26 PM »
Hmmm... that sounds vaguely familiar about the bodies. I will have to check that out!

My review of the season finale episode has been published.

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Offline perc2100

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #81 on: April 02, 2019, 10:53:40 AM »
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I did think the guards at the fair were surprisingly lax about letting anyone in. I guess not everyone in each group were alerted enough about the dangers of the Whisperers.
IDK: think about the situation, with all of these totally new people swarming into the community.  I suspect they were told/"trained" to keep a lookout but if none of the Whisperers were acting super suspicious I can see them easily getting missed (think about alllll of the weapons and contraband that can be snuck into airports via lax TSA or lame technology).  I mean, as much as they people have been through they're mostly looking for a) zombies and b) aggressive/suspicious bad guys (in this case, dirty bad guys who dress in the flesh of zombies).  It's not like they're highly trained CIA or MOSSAD or something.  These are just ordinary people in a seemingly loosely organized huge gathering that seemed to have minimal security checkpoints

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #82 on: April 02, 2019, 11:10:01 AM »
Michonne also made a really good point in the season finale, that the Whisperers were able to sneak into the fair because the communities didn't know each other. She blamed herself, becuase the people in other communities wouldn't have instantly known if someone was from Alexandria or not.

Offline perc2100

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #83 on: April 02, 2019, 12:34:06 PM »
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Hmmm... that sounds vaguely familiar about the bodies. I will have to check that out!

My review of the season finale episode has been published.

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Lots of great stuff.  I'm conflicted on how I feel about this significant change-of-pace, though it kinda feels like the way GoTs goes about their business, no?  Huge penultimate episode, more chill and reflective finale (Sporanos often did that as well, especially down the stretch).  My 17 year old son said the same thing, that "The Calm Before" would've made for a better (or, more honestly, a more typical) finale while "The Storm" feels like a more typical season opener.

To add to some of Jun's awesome thoughts:

*lots of mental gymnastics in this episode.  Why not hunker down in the theater and wait out the storm? Why not shut off the main water valves?  How the eff does fire, let alone the mass fires, happen from frozen pipes?
There are others, but those basics are in my head this morning
*I like how there was a lot of hope in this ep.  Seems like a rare season finale of TWD where you walk away feeling pretty good about situations going into the next season
*part of me is annoyed with the complete lack of development of anything.  I don't need uber drama to end the season, but there was very little character development.  The break-up seemed a little like "forced drama" to me, though I get that's how many normal people would react in a similar situation.  This episode felt like an episode of THE HOBBIT of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS, but even Peter Jackson know he had to do something and not have our Fellowship just walking for 60 min.  Like I said, I'm a little torn between the "OMG WTF nothing's happening the ENTIRE episode?!?!" and "OK: kind of nice to take a breather here at the end of year nine."
*I dug the 'zombies-buried-in-snow' gags.  Cool idea!  I sometimes wonder if the zombie gag comes first and then the situation (i.e. "wouldn't it be cool to have zombies attack our heroes while buried in the snow where our heroes won't see them" and then "OK: so we have a big snow storm....").  The homage to a zombie movie GOAT, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, was a not-too-subtle nice touch
*it was nice to see Negan where he should be at this point: remorseful, helping, but with this brand of wit.  IMO at this point in the books is when Negan began to be interesting for me (I wasn't a fan of his insanely comic-booky "eeeeeeeeevil" personality during the all-out war stuff in the books, and I personally think that once again the show took an over-the-top 1-dimensional Big Bad and gave them dimensions/made them better in general).  I do look forward to seeing him hopefully take on a more pro-active role next season vs Whisperers
*they obviously have left the door open for Maggie to return if her series gets canceled (and it's on the bubble, I think).  Just like TWD producers, I suspect, they sent plenty of message and haven't heard back.  If her show gets canceled I suspect she'll be back next season
*I think this show is severely missing a legit lead.  Darryl, Carol: they don't have the charisma or presence that Rick had - great co-stars but kinda lame main character/leader (Ezekiel is a MUCH better character/actor on the show right now IMO).
*The setup for next season is exciting, particularly for the Commonwealth.  That's the good news.  Michonne is a HUGE focal point for that (current) ongoing storyling.  That's the bad news, as she's leaving fairly soon into first half of next season.  IMO the producers might've thrown a huge paycheck at the wrong actor; Michonne is a horribly one-dimensional character and has been for 9 years (same as in the comics).  She didn't really start to become an actual human being until The Commonwealth stuff, and just like Carl is too bad the actor/character may be exiting just when the character is about to enter a potentially huge storyline from the books.
*Whisperers storyline has taken FAR too long.  It's not even a good storyline in the books, IMO.  I'm shocked they didn't wrap this up by now so they can start fresh with the Commonwealth arc next fall.  I'm bummed, since The Whisperers are one of those "much cooler in concept than in execution/ongoing story" and dragging it out will make this feel old/stale too fast.  In the books we would have already have seen the most interesting aspect of them (the heads on sticks) and the rest plays out like every other 'big bad' does.  We've likely been there/done that.  Several times.  Hopefully they dispatch of The Whisperers quickly (like the Terminex peeps) and move on
*I like the new showrunner.  This was a much better season than the last couple (several?).  And like I said, The Whisperers arc was a very weak/bad one in the books.  The Commonwealth is a MUCH more interesting story (less zombies - more societal drama) and I can't wait to see what the show runner/writers do with GOOD source material!

This was generally a good season, IMO.  But, it's been hard for me to stay engaged now that this is seemingly "The Darryl and Carol Show."  I'm hoping for either way better material for the actors, or better actors to step up.  Best case scenario is the former, and with so many liberties this season taken from the source material there was ample opportunity for writers to give those characters more to do.  I'll miss the King and Queen stuff, but only because I like Zeke.  FWIW Zeke would've been killed the previous episode of the show was faithful to the books (kudos on that misdirection, TWD showrunner!!), with his being one of the zombie heads on a stick.  So we're in uncharted waters here (in the books he had a thing with Michonne which put her both a) in a dark place and b) in a revenge type o mood vs Whisperers which transitioned nicely to Commonwealth story lines and her arc) and I look forward to the gift of more Zeke!  For the first time in quite a while after a season I'm feeling optimistic about the direction of the show and I look forward to where it goes from here

Offline perc2100

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #84 on: April 02, 2019, 12:39:10 PM »
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Michonne also made a really good point in the season finale, that the Whisperers were able to sneak into the fair because the communities didn't know each other. She blamed herself, becuase the people in other communities wouldn't have instantly known if someone was from Alexandria or not.
Exactly.  I think of just smallish family reunions and what not that I've attended and times when kids were playing and after wondering "who's kid is that? Is she a cousin or something?!" and I never thought about it when it was just some rando at the park at the same time.  There would've needed to be crazy planning for security and I'm willing to give the (fictional) community members the doubt that either a) they couldn't think of every possibility imaginable that would be someone in danger or b) they didn't have the resources necessary.  I mean, there aren't photo ID w/rapiscan checkpoints into the compound to check for bad guys.  And what are the odds of finding people from each community who literally knows every name/face in their neck of the woods?  I mean, I don't really know everyone in my condo building, let alone my corner of the complex let alone the entire complex!  It seems unrealistic that with all those people there would be handfuls of folks who know literally everyone from their personal community.  Trying to coordinate that sort of security would've likely been impossible & as long as no one looked too suspicious they likely could've come and gone as they wanted

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #85 on: April 02, 2019, 01:06:07 PM »
You make a lot of good points, Perc!

It does seem that they are trying to bring Maggie back. IMHO, she makes a better 'lead character' than Michonne or Daryl, or possibly even Carol. I would guess that even if her new series is renewed, that she might be available for a few episodes in between. I have never understood the appeal of Daryl as a character, but I know there are those out there who love him.

The issue with rushing to the Commonwealth is what happened with GoT: they are risking getting ahead of the source material. The Commonwealth storyline is right in the thick of things (I am a few issues behind, because I get the volumes, but I am current through Volume 31/issue 186) and isn't really ready for 'prime time', so to speak. I am also looking forward to the rest of the Whisperers' storyline and Negan's (probable) involvement, because I enjoyed that part of the comics.

As far as Michonne leaving, she can't play the same role in the TV show that she does in the comics (regarding the Commonwealth) because her background is different in the TV show, IYKWIM. But there could be a similar type of connection played out with another character, or that connection could be through something else (say, if Rick happens to be at the Commonwealth). 

I agree that this season has been better than the past seasons in terms of excitement, even with the departure of major characters.

Offline perc2100

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #86 on: April 03, 2019, 11:15:39 AM »
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You make a lot of good points, Perc!

It does seem that they are trying to bring Maggie back. IMHO, she makes a better 'lead character' than Michonne or Daryl, or possibly even Carol. I would guess that even if her new series is renewed, that she might be available for a few episodes in between. I have never understood the appeal of Daryl as a character, but I know there are those out there who love him.

The issue with rushing to the Commonwealth is what happened with GoT: they are risking getting ahead of the source material. The Commonwealth storyline is right in the thick of things (I am a few issues behind, because I get the volumes, but I am current through Volume 31/issue 186) and isn't really ready for 'prime time', so to speak. I am also looking forward to the rest of the Whisperers' storyline and Negan's (probable) involvement, because I enjoyed that part of the comics.

As far as Michonne leaving, she can't play the same role in the TV show that she does in the comics (regarding the Commonwealth) because her background is different in the TV show, IYKWIM. But there could be a similar type of connection played out with another character, or that connection could be through something else (say, if Rick happens to be at the Commonwealth). 

I agree that this season has been better than the past seasons in terms of excitement, even with the departure of major characters.

1. when you say IYKWIM I heard that spoken in Axel's voice  :P
2. I haven't thought of Axel in a loooooong time (maybe not since his demise in the show) until your post
3. I dunno if there'd be a rush/big concern about Commonwealth surpassing the source material.  First of all the Commonwealth was first introduced (kind of) in November 2017 issue of TWD.  In that issue the Whisperer war was dying down and a group of people had already spent a few issues on their journey to meet the voice on the other end of the radio of Eugene's.  The Nov. '17 issue ends with them finding Commonwealth 'welcoming party'/security to escort them to the actual place.  So obviously we're quite a distance away from when our 'heroes' first meet someone from Commonwealth in person.  It will likely be pushing 2 years between that point and when it actually happens (plus, it's an ongoing story in the books with IMO no 'easy' end in sight).
Also, for the most part the show isn't shy about straying from the material extensively (hi Ezekiel's head NOT on a stick, Rick/Michonne hook-up, Carl getting killed, Rick exiting, etc) so there's no doubt there will be brand new material added: especially since Darryl and Carol aren't anywhere NEAR The Commonwealth storylines.

Offline chocolateshake

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #87 on: April 03, 2019, 07:47:17 PM »
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It's not like they're highly trained CIA or MOSSAD or something.  These are just ordinary people in a seemingly loosely organized huge gathering that seemed to have minimal security checkpoints

They aren't ordinary people.  They are the survivors after years of conflict with walkers and other survivors.  They are the baddest of the bad.  They are the toughest of the tough.  They would eat your average CIA agent who has never even fired a gun let alone killed anyone for lunch.  These aren't doe eyed gullible people.  All those people are dead.  Well they shouldn't be anyways.  That's the problem.

I'm going with the internet conspiracy theory.  For me, that's the only thing that makes sense.  It does explain how the whisperers could have pulled it off.  It's just not that there were able to sneak people in.  It's that they knew so much about everything.  Like how did they know that Henry was the one to fix the pipes?  How did they even know there were pipes to fix?  How did they know where the pipes were.  How did they know how to bust they pipes so they would make that sound for Henry to come running?  The conspiracy theory makes all that plausible.

Offline chocolateshake

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #88 on: April 03, 2019, 07:56:07 PM »
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It does seem that they are trying to bring Maggie back.

Maggie is one of the sketchy things about the season finally for me.  They talk about how Maggie hasn't responded.  Like they sent her an email or left her a voicemail or something.  Yet during the same episode they kept pounding out the message that all the communities have been so isolated.  How would there be easy communication with Maggie?

That was minor.  The big sketch for me were the winter conditions.  On one hand they showed how tough it would be for the gang to not make it to shelter for one night.  They showed how walkers were frozen solid and would shatter.  How do the Whisperers survive the winter?  They don't build fires.  They don't have houses.  They don't even have coats.  They are just hanging out in the open.  Do they migrate to Florida for the winter?

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: Walking Dead Season 9 *Spoilers*
« Reply #89 on: April 03, 2019, 09:06:02 PM »
Yes, the Whisperers (like the animals they claim to be) migrated. This was clear when they showed them in a warmer place with plenty of green vegetation.