TWD 8x14 "Still Gotta Mean Something" episode discussion... **SPOILERS**

[MinionZombie]

Please keep all talk of episode 8x14 "Still Gotta Mean Something" specifically inside this thread.

If you have a theory for a following episode, please use the "spoiler tags" (visit the HPOTD FAQ to find out how to use them if you don't already know).

Similarly, if you're going to discuss plot points from the comic book, please use "spoiler tags" - not everyone is up-to-date on them, and some people don't read them at all.

Enjoy!

Directed by: Michael E. Satrazemis
Written by: Eddie Guzelian


A Heaps prisoner makes a discovery; Carol searches for someone in the nearby forest; Rick and Morgan find themselves in the company of strangers.

[Moon Knight]

Going by that description it’s best to believe Negan is going to find out about Dwight.

[JDP]

As I pointed out in other threads, I thought it was strange that Simon would have allowed Jadis to live. So, it seems like she just got lucky and passed for dead. She was certainly marked for extermination as well. But this prompts the question: how did she get the chance of pulling such a stunt in the first place? She was right in front of Simon and his men when the massacre started. She just stood there gaping & watching the massacre unfold. Seems very unlikely that Simon would have allowed her to just wander off.

Did Negan find Laura wandering around on the side of the road? She seems to be the only missing person thus far that Negan would recognize and care to pick up and bring back to the Sanctuary (Gregory is also missing, but Negan wouldn't really care about him enough to stop & pick him up and take him back to safety.)

[Moon Knight]

As I pointed out in other threads, I thought it was strange that Simon would have allowed Jadis to live. So, it seems like she just got lucky and passed for dead. She was certainly marked for extermination as well. But this prompts the question: how did she get the chance of pulling such a stunt in the first place? She was right in front of Simon and his men when the massacre started. She just stood there gaping & watching the massacre unfold. Seems very unlikely that Simon would have allowed her to just wander off.

Did Negan find Laura wandering around on the side of the road? She seems to be the only missing person thus far that Negan would recognize and care to pick up and bring back to the Sanctuary (Gregory is also missing, but Negan wouldn't really care about him enough to stop & pick him up and take him back to safety.)

I thought of you immediately once that flashback aired of Jadis. I also knew you would be the first one to point out how impossible it was. Haha.

Look, Jadis just took off, man. It can happen. :D

As far as the mystery passenger. It has to be Laura. However, I don’t think she’s gonna talk about Dwight. Not until she speaks to Dwight himself first.

[MinionZombie]

Who's Laura, again? So many names and characters to keep a track of!

It was good that they explained how Jadis survived - just a shame that they didn't link it up properly with the previous episode (i.e. the staging of the scene in the earlier episode where the massacre happened). They need to watch out for little slip ups like that, but I'm willing to let the awkwardness of the setup slide and just enjoy it.

Henry - as I've said before, damned if you do, damned if you don't. Any decision (or even indecision) has a consequence. Good to see Henry get a bit of sense in his head about the reality of vengeance, and the mirroring of Henry in that sunken stream with the walkers was very close (and intended, of course) to the Season 2 scene where Rick leaves Sofia in a very similar-looking spot. It didn't work out for Sofia, but Henry was lucky - all that crashing down on Carol in-the-moment was potent and powerful stuff!

Loved Rick going into ruthless mode - as soon as that jacket comes out you know some serious shit is about to go down. The dive bar stuff was pretty sweet, but seeing Rick take out those guys was still quite stunning, the sheer brutality of it, but loved the callback to Season 1 and Morgan saving him - then that ties in with Carl as well as the 'good Saviour' guy. Good arc for Rick in this episode.

Interesting stuff with Jadis/Negan. I enjoyed it. I wonder what this helicopter stuff is about - who are they? Where are they from etc? There was mention of a helipad at the junkyard, but evidently the Heapsters had only just made one to try and get them to land. Good seeing the softer side of Jadis, the more human side (I'm so glad all that 'Heapster talk' bullshit is done with), and I'm quite liking her character now after a rocky start (mainly because of aforementioned 'Heapster bullshit').

I dug it. :thumbsup:

TWD 8x14 Meme:

https://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/jacket-edition-walking-dead-8x14-meme.html
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wL0-X9Co7w4/WsJV3r2cgII/AAAAAAAAFsU/k4sszTn8mvkzA14ffrsHB3G0zGAvEEjfACLcBGAs/s1600/The_Walking_Dead_Season_8_Meme_Rick_Jacket_Going_O n_Down_8x14_DeadShed.jpg

[Moon Knight]

Laura is the blonde Savior that witnessed Dwight turn on them before shooting Dwight and running off into the woods.

Rick and Morgan’s bar scene was awesome. But, Rick is a dick. I get it, but his word doesn’t mean anything anymore. Where know how this ends up, though.

I love Jadis more and more with every appearance. Underneath all the trash lies a more complex troubled character. I love how they are slowly stripping away those cartoonish layers.

Negan was also great this episode. They are really giving viewers a peek inside the lovable psychopath a lot earlier than the comics did. I think we can all figure out why.

[Neil]

OK... Really enjoyed this episode. But fearing we're not going to get that Negan flash back episode now :(

[Moon Knight]

OK... Really enjoyed this episode. But fearing we're not going to get that Negan flash back episode now :(

People would just complain about it. It’s just how it is now.

[beat_truck]

This episode had some pretty decent stuff, but did anyone else think that some of the editing was awful? It's almost like there was a scene missing. One second Negan is all tied up, and all of the sudden he has a pistol and a road flare!?!:rockbrow: I thought I just wasn't paying good enough attention, but I saw folks elsewhere mentioning the same thing.

A Negan backstory episode would have been good, but I think doing it a earlier on in the storyline would have been a lot better. That way, instead of just being a bully with a bat making one liners, people would have understood his character better. That's just my thoughts, though.

[Neil]

It's almost like there was a scene missing. One second Negan is all tied up, and all of the sudden he has a pistol and a road flare!?!:rockbrow: I thought I just wasn't paying good enough attention, but I saw folks elsewhere mentioning the same thing.
Yeh, if there had just been a long shot over his body, with him looking up and seeing a bag several yards away? And then him slowly scooting off?


A Negan backstory episode would have been good, but I think doing it a earlier on in the storyline would have been a lot better. That way, instead of just being a bully with a bat making one liners, people would have understood his character better. That's just my thoughts, though.Yeh, I think we've missed that opportunity now...

[MinionZombie]

RE: Negan backstory episode - aye, they definitely should have done it earlier, but with the bits of backstory we've been given thus far (particularly in the episode where he was trapped with Father Gabriel), it'd be somewhat pointless now. Although I'd still like to see some kind of 'then/now' episode which could contrast Negan then to Negan now, to fill in a few of the gaps remaining in his backstory (e.g. how his modus operandi came to be and the thinking behind it).

RE: The editing of the Negan on the cart moment - I think it's done that way to provide more of a jolt/surprise when he shoots at Jadis. However, sometimes it might be time constraints and they just can't shoot everything as they're up against it (particularly when shooting outdoors). They mentioned on Talking Dead, for instance, that they were running short on time leading into doing the death of Jared.

Speaking of Jared's death - awesome and brutal as all get out - I would have liked to be able to chew on it for a little longer, Morgan and Jared nose-to-nose almost as Morgan holds him there to be feasted upon, but as I mentioned, there was only so much shooting time available. It's amazing that they make these episodes in a mere 8 days!

So the place where Henry was hiding from the walkers was familiar! It was actually the same location where Sophia was left by Rick in Season 2! Obviously not the same location inside the world of the show (as we're now in a different state entirely), but a fun callback for keen-eyed viewers. :)

And Eugene's in trouble - surely this plotline will resolve, somehow, very soon?

One thing I've been wanting to see this season - but haven't yet - is...
COMICS SPOILER:

Maggie versus Gregory - specifically where it comes to a violent head - that was an awesome storyline in the comics, but with only two episodes left this season, I just don't know if they'll find the time to put it in there. I suppose we may get it - seeing as Gregory escaped with the saviours, but went elsewhere ... right? I didn't miss him back in Hilltop or anything, did I? I really hope we get that plotline before the season is over. It'd be weird to not include that stuff considering where the story is going with Maggie and the leadership of Hilltop.

[Moon Knight]

The Sophia callback was a nice moment of closure for Carol. Nice touch.