TWD 7x10 "New Best Friends" episode discussion... **SPOILERS WITHIN*

[shootemindehead]

I think Season 2 has been getting a better and better reception as time has gone on. Perhaps, but it's still generally considered the worst. But, hey, if that's the worst it gets, then I'm ok. It is littered with simne really stupid stuff though. That zombie in the well scene? WTF? Let's take that guy out of the water, sure it'll be grand then. watching Season 2 on your own schedule helps paper over the pacing troubles of 2A. We agree on this, that binging is the way to go. But still, binging doesn't eliminate the stupid. I think Season 7 - thus far - can be considered as uneven as Season 3. There's some awesome stuff in there, but there's also too much filler scattered around and certain elements that different people dislike for different reasons. This one started off with one of the best episodes of any TV show I've ever seen and I said it at the time, I feared that they'd shot their bolt. They kind of did. Now, they may up the game in the next 6 episodes, but who knows. As it stands, this whole season ( <- I'll never get used to that, I feel like I'm talking about the weather) is going down as one large filler at the moment. In some ways it's difficult. Team Rick need to be under Negan's thumb for enough time so it's not a case of 'boo hoo, we are Negan' and then two minutes later they're all of a sudden back to Team Rick mode - that'd be silly - but the pacing of 7A was definitely troubled Pacing is difficult and even when it's essential, it can still feel wrong. I'm blue in the face telling "kids" that 'Dawn of the Dead' is supposed to be "boring", cos the film has to show that the survivors have reached their end game. The need to understand that the mall is not their paradise, it's their prison. The long stretches of them becoming bored needs to be on screen. "But...but...in the remake, they didn't get bored....."

[Moon Knight]

I loved season 2 and it still has my all time favorite character and episode. I remember people complaining about being stuck on the farm and wanted new locations and now, well, lol. For real, though, Season 2 was fascinating to me. My main issue with this season are the bottle episodes and now we are getting another this week. Joy.

[MinionZombie]

I'm blue in the face telling "kids" that 'Dawn of the Dead' is supposed to be "boring", cos the film has to show that the survivors have reached their end game. The need to understand that the mall is not their paradise, it's their prison. The long stretches of them becoming bored needs to be on screen. "But...but...in the remake, they didn't get bored....." Now the Walkers are more of a nuisance as bickering humans forgot how to be humane. In short, for me, the show is losing its magic. Still love the characters and will still watch. They were a huge problem in 6A with the whole quarry full of walkers and the swarming of Alexandria. But you can't have an entire season, or every season, dominated by walker threats as it becomes stale, likewise it can't all be about human threats as it's a zombie show - so they have a pretty good mixture in there, I think. Other humans would be a considerable threat - especially as they've made it this deep into the ZA. My main issue with this season are the bottle episodes and now we are getting another this week. Joy. Do you mean 7x11, or 7x10? Next episode we'll be seeing what happens with Eugene at the Saviours' gaff, but hopefully we'll get some general propulsion forwards in the whole escalation to war. I do feel that some episodes are missing a step or two towards the whole drive to war, or the element they provide isn't meaty enough to satisfy or provide enough momentum (e.g. the Oceanside episode gave us one thing: they have a weapons store - and at the best part of 50 minutes of telly time, it didn't feel enough. I know we get introduced to a new community in that episode - but it was too many new faces/communities in too short a time (three within six episodes) - it's hard to explain ... the pacing and structure feels off and a bit frustrating). Anyway...

[Moon Knight]

MZ- I'm talking about 7x11. Like, at least throw in the Hilltop, I really don't want to spend entire episode with the Saviors.

[MinionZombie]

MZ- I'm talking about 7x11. Like, at least throw in the Hilltop, I really don't want to spend entire episode with the Saviors. I see what you mean, about not wanting to necessarily spend an entire episode in one of these relatively new locations - it's nice to mix things up and have 2 or 3 stories to follow throughout the episode. It's not always a good way to go as sometimes a singular story can work wonderfully (I know I've said it before, but 6x04 - the Morgan-centric episode - is great). The key is having a compelling story to explore in that hour of drama.

[Moon Knight]

I see what you mean, about not wanting to necessarily spend an entire episode in one of these relatively new locations - it's nice to mix things up and have 2 or 3 stories to follow throughout the episode. It's not always a good way to go as sometimes a singular story can work wonderfully (I know I've said it before, but 6x04 - the Morgan-centric episode - is great). The key is having a compelling story to explore in that hour of drama. "Here's Not Here" and "The Grove" are two of my favorite episodes so I'm not totally against the format. This season just seems unnecessary to have so many with all the different characters and locations we have now. My main point is we shouldn't have to wait weeks to get back to certain characters and storylines. The Kingdom was introduced in 7x2 and we didn't go back until 7x8.

[facestabber]

They were a huge problem in 6A with the whole quarry full of walkers and the swarming of Alexandria. But you can't have an entire season, or every season, dominated by walker threats as it becomes stale, likewise it can't all be about human threats as it's a zombie show - so they have a pretty good mixture in there, I think. Other humans would be a considerable threat - especially as they've made it this deep into the ZA. Do you mean 7x11, or 7x10? Next episode we'll be seeing what happens with Eugene at the Saviours' gaff, but hopefully we'll get some general propulsion forwards in the whole escalation to war. I do feel that some episodes are missing a step or two towards the whole drive to war, or the element they provide isn't meaty enough to satisfy or provide enough momentum (e.g. the Oceanside episode gave us one thing: they have a weapons store - and at the best part of 50 minutes of telly time, it didn't feel enough. I know we get introduced to a new community in that episode - but it was too many new faces/communities in too short a time (three within six episodes) - it's hard to explain ... the pacing and structure feels off and a bit frustrating). Anyway... Minion as you said Walkers were featured heavy in 6a. But my point is that they aren't the threat they once were. We see the group herding, or in a sense playing with this gigantic force of Walkers. IMO they would have never considered that move in the first few seasons. Admittedly they have more experience and knowledge of Walker behavior but I do not experience the level of dread and fear for our survivors anymore regarding the living dead. I think they've lost that element.

[Moon Knight]

Minion as you said Walkers were featured heavy in 6a. But my point is that they aren't the threat they once were. We see the group herding, or in a sense playing with this gigantic force of Walkers. IMO they would have never considered that move in the first few seasons. Admittedly they have more experience and knowledge of Walker behavior but I do not experience the level of dread and fear for our survivors anymore regarding the living dead. I think they've lost that element. Fair point but it was bound to happen. I remember reading this arc in the book and thinking the same exact thing.

[MinionZombie]

"Here's Not Here" and "The Grove" are two of my favorite episodes so I'm not totally against the format. This season just seems unnecessary to have so many with all the different characters and locations we have now. My main point is we shouldn't have to wait weeks to get back to certain characters and storylines. The Kingdom was introduced in 7x2 and we didn't go back until 7x8. Oh, "The Grove" ... yes, one of my all-time favourite episodes. There were many reasons why that worked so well - it tied up a season-long arc with Lizzie and Micah, and while Tyreese had only been around since the middle of Season 3, he was a commanding presence - and of course we had Carol as the lead in the episode, so you've got one of the strongest (and O.G.) characters leading the way. It also had a very well written and quite contained story with a devastating climax, a great use of music and scoring throughout. Plus, the ramifications of that episode reverberate still to this day through Carol. I know what you mean, narratively we're getting stretched thin at the moment - your point about The Kingdom is spot on. Hopefully now we can start pulling these disparate threads together into a more cohesive whole and close some of the gaps. Minion as you said Walkers were featured heavy in 6a. But my point is that they aren't the threat they once were. We see the group herding, or in a sense playing with this gigantic force of Walkers. IMO they would have never considered that move in the first few seasons. Admittedly they have more experience and knowledge of Walker behavior but I do not experience the level of dread and fear for our survivors anymore regarding the living dead. I think they've lost that element. You've already answered yourself for me, hehe. In the first few seasons they were only a few weeks in to the ZA. Now they're two years deep. I don't agree though, they still get into tricky situations - Glenn and Nicholas on the dumpster? Scary as shit. The swarming of Alexandria? Bloody nora! There is an element of audience desensitisation involved, so they do have to work hard to up and ante and wring out the tension from the situation, but I feel they do a pretty good job of that most of the time. Not all the time, but most of the time.