TWD 2x01 "What Lies Ahead" episode discussion... **SPOILERS WITHIN**

[AcesandEights]

Just saw it on DVR a few hours ago. Pretty decent start to the season. There were a few things I took minor issue with (dragging pace & unnecessary decision to field dress a zombie), but let a lot of it slide, for the most part. Put me down for Dale and Shane sounding like pompous overweening asses

[rongravy]

I thought the whole gutting the zombie part was kind of lame. You can't see it, but you get to hear what was definitely a bit too much as far as the gutting is concerned. Sounded like he was hacking away at a giant rice crispie treat. The show was ok, but I need to be careful about getting my hopes up too high. It can dampen things. And Dale is being a complete butthole.

[ProfessorChaos]

i wish that i'd stuck to my guns and avoided all trailers, clips, etc, as i felt like already seen half the episode before it even aired. even at that, it was still great. great moments of tension, drama, and excitement, topped off with amazing special effects/make-up. the cgi kills were more authentic looking and the walkers looked gnarlier than ever. the casting, writing, and performances by the actors are all phenomenal, specifically glenn and daryl. stephen yeun is really bringing glenn from the comics to life in a very satisfying way. he's exactly how i always imagined the character would be...just the way he reacted and shifted uncomfortably in his seat when the RV broke down...great stuff. and norman reedus' daryl went from a redneck dipshit to an extremely valuable asset to the group and team player. it will be interesting to see where his loyalties lie when his big brother shows back up....anywho, glad to see the writers fleshing out these characters more. my only negative was that i too felt that the scene checking the walker's stomach for bits of sophia was over-the-top and not really needed. not that i found it that disgusting, it just took a long time and seemed to drag on. i wonder how long it's going to be till we hear what jenner told rick and merle comes back into the picture...very much looking forward to meeting a certain few new characters next week and whatever else is in store for us.

[bassman]

i wonder how long it's going to be till we hear what jenner told rick and merle comes back into the picture... . That seemed more out of place to me than the gutting scene. "The doctor at the CDC told me something. He told me.....he told me.....well it doesn't matter." WTF? Probably the cheesiest line of dialogue in the series so far.

[ProfessorChaos]

yeah, that was a bit silly. forgot about that part. having read the comics, i'm about 90% certain in my head that i know what was said, but i just wanna hear it officially.

[bassman]

I'll have to go back and check, but I think Lincoln also looked directly into the camera during that opening scene. Everything about that scene didn't sit right with me. Everyone else is worried about Dale and Andrea, while im over here wondering which one of the writer's kids wrote and directed the opening 5 minutes....

[ProfessorChaos]

fuck, forgot about that part too....yeah, that opening was a bit weaksauce. should've had another flashback of lori the whore and shane the rapist getting it on.

[Vulture Lives]

I'll have to go back and check, but I think Lincoln also looked directly into the camera during that opening scene. Everything about that scene didn't sit right with me. Everyone else is worried about Dale and Andrea, while im over here wondering which one of the writer's kids wrote and directed the opening 5 minutes.... I agree that the writing during the opening scene was bad. It definitely didn't set a good tone for the rest of the episode.

[shootemindehead]

I thought the whole gutting the zombie part was kind of lame. You can't see it, but you get to hear what was definitely a bit too much as far as the gutting is concerned. Sounded like he was hacking away at a giant rice crispie treat. The show was ok, but I need to be careful about getting my hopes up too high. It can dampen things. And Dale is being a complete butthole. I thought it was great!!!!!!!!!! Yuk. My wife nearly puked. -- -------- Post added at 04:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:48 AM ---------- That seemed more out of place to me than the gutting scene. "The doctor at the CDC told me something. He told me.....he told me.....well it doesn't matter." WTF? Probably the cheesiest line of dialogue in the series so far. Yep, that was really clumsy. In fact, i thought the whole monologue at the beginning was badly handled. I think we all know or suspect what Janner said. But, mentioning it to Morgan is redundant and either way it was only inserted to remind the audience of the scene in series 1.

[Wyldwraith]

. If the gun was together I think she would have shot the zombie and it would have been the end of her and everyone. This line of reasoning keeps coming up. What I don't get is why so many are willing to assume a gunshot from Andrea in the RV would've gotten anyone but Andrea killed. After all, the zombie herd was already in the area, so not like she's drawing zombies to them that weren't already there. That, and if the hiding under vehicles strategy was working, why would it lead anyone to believe that a zombie swarm rushing the trailer would have been "the end of everyone." Why? Were the zombies drawn into the RV by this hypothetical gunshot from Andrea suddenly going to stop, drop and roll under the cars? As for Andrea not being responsible: Look at how it's been the 2 guys with training that have caused or almost caused all the ACTUAL problems created by irresponsible shooting. Again, all I'll say is that forcing people to make decisions your way, when there's a great possibility that doing so will lead to a horribly violent, or violent and then agonizingly wasting death is immoral IMO. I love one of the comments from the preview of Episode 2. "The group's split up, and we're weak." Well well, is it any wonder? They keep splitting up like its an episode of Scooby Do, and the loudest personalities are doing things to alienate members of the group. Not the path leading to unity and cohesion, that's for sure.

[Mr_Shadow]

You know, it really hasn't been established, in the Walking Dead universe, that zombies remember things about their past. In last year's season finale, Jenner goes into detail about his research on the zombified brain. He specifically states that nothing about an individual returns. Memories are gone. Remember the display of his wife's brain? Jenner's wife was killed only a few moments after reanimation, they didn't really study any memory. They based it off what part of her brain was still functioning after her death, who knows maybe after a while other parts of the brain slowly "wake up" and they partially remember parts of their former selves. I'm pretty surprised Daryl is still hanging with the group, he must actually care for some of them. If my brother was missing and I knew he was still alive, I would of left everyone the moment after the camp was attacked seeing Meryl wasn't there. But he stayed and helped dispose of the bodies the next day. He's capable of surviving on his own and living off the land, why stay with the rest who are holding him back? Putting him in more danger.

[Vulture Lives]

Jenner's wife was killed only a few moments after reanimation, they didn't really study any memory. They based it off what part of her brain was still functioning after her death, who knows maybe after a while other parts of the brain slowly "wake up" and they partially remember parts of their former selves. Your theory could end up being correct, but it's just speculation on your part. I was told that memory retention among zombies has been "established as canon for a long time." Maybe that's true in Romero's zombie universe, but it hasn't been established in the Walking Dead universe. In fact, Jenner's research from last year's season finale seems to strongly suggest otherwise. You could speculate that Jenner's research was possibly incomplete... you could speculate all day long about a lot of different things... but we have next to no reason to doubt Jenner's research at this point in the story.

[Wyldwraith]

Hmm, I can think of a few good reasons for Daryl to stay with the group. Almost all of them are the basic common sense stuff of group abilities vs solo capacities though, such as: What happens if he takes the sort of tumble down an incline that Rick did when leaving the highway to go after Sophia, but breaks a leg? If he was alone that'd be a death sentence. With the group it'd just mean a splint and becoming a passenger in their RV slash ambulance. Plus, maybe he realizes that trying to find his brother off on his own would be next to impossible and would get him killed because sooner or later he'd get caught up in his micro-tracking, and a Walker would get the drop on him. Can't watch your own back and all. I think he's the fair type, and thinks if he's benefiting by being with the group, he needs to "pay his own way" as it were.

[fishfast41]

Ok here goes .. I loved it, great episode,after waiting so long, I'm thrilled that this was soooo good. Great character development here,Daryl and Dale, especially. Daryl obviously really cares about these other people. Check the look on his face as he explains to Carol that searching for Sophia at night would be pointless and dangerous.He didn't even hesitate for a second to help T-Dog.Did anyone notice the SS logo on his bike's gas tank? Extreme situations like this bring out the best and the worst in people,and this guy obviously has changed for the better. Great stuff, and well acted.We see the opposite in Dale. He's been The Grandfather of The Western World, an obvious good guy till now. I agree that his actions at the CDC were wrong. He should not have coerced Andrea as he did.Very selfish. The sequence where they argue about it was beautifully written and acted. This guy's worse side is being brought out by the situation.More great stuff here. Now for the bad. These people act like complete morons , given the situation they are in. Shane talks about firearms training as being necessary..He is correct here. But..... WHY IN THE HELL HAVEN"T THEY BEEN DOING THIS SINCE THE BEGINNING? They had some guns , now they have a bag full of guns.Enough for everyone to have one. Kids included. Weapons acquisition and training everyone should be a HUGE priority here. Throughout the show so far, no one has shown any interest in this. WTF? They made a big deal out of going back to Atlanta to get the bag of guns,putting themselves in extreme danger doing so. Why? Was this the only bag of guns in the world? Obviously not,because outside the CDC, we see lots of dead soldiers and their weapons and they don't even take a minute to pick any up. They had time to siphon gas, why not to pick up a few weapons? And why not just poke a hole in the bottom of the gas tank and collect the fuel in a pan, much faster. Ok, what about security?? We saw last season that the zombies like to sit in cars when not walking around. So these dingalings start wandering aimlessly through a huge traffic accident,children included.And half of the adults are not armed in any way!!! The people who are armed should be close to and guarding those who are scavenging, ALWAYS! The only sensible thing they do in this area is have Dale posted on the RV's roof with his binoculars.Any time they stop, guards should be posted, and armed people should check the area BEFORE any unarmed person is allowed out of a vehicle. Let's go back to 1st season for a moment. These idiots are partying and drinking around a campfire,with NO ONE keeping watch.Didn't we hear Morgan say in the first episode that the zombies are more active at night? Well, they certainly paid the price for such stupidity. BUT DIDN'T THEY LEARN FROM THAT LITTLE SMORGASBORD? You would think that people with any common sense at all would decide to revamp their security procedures after that. Maybe show a little interest in teaching everyone proper firearms use? I get that this is entertainment, not a survival documentary, but I'm having trouble with believability here.Our heroes should not act like fools with basic survival, when they are in a survival situation. Don't get me wrong, I really like this show,but this realllllly needs fixing.

[bassman]

Everybody keeps mentioning the bike with the SS logo. I was always under the impression that was Merle's bike. He was the real racist and in the first season you see it sitting around the camp and Daryl drives a pick up truck with the bike in the bed. I think he just ditched his truck in favor of Merle's motorcycle in season two. Makes sense to me, anyway. Merle was the "white power"-spouting racist wearing leather clothing(a staple of bikers), while Daryl was the hunter in the sleeve-less shirt, crossbow, and old pick up truck. There's also a special feature on the SE blu ray/dvd where Laurie Holden is sitting on the bike and pointing to the logo saying "this is NOT mine".