TWD 2x08 "Nebraska" episode discussion... **SPOILERS WITHIN**

[Andy]

Seems to be one of the characters people are currently split on. I see him as savvy and knowing he has to "work" people, like he did when he lied in an attempt to stall the group while searching for Sofia. So the character definitely has it in him to read people and react socially to manipulate things to where he feels they need to go, but a lot of people are reading maliciousness into his character where foolishness is more usually the more likely offense (unilaterally removing the firearms). All in all, he is another person who is (usually) acting in a believable, but not always likeable manner. In other words, he has a need to control people. The whole beef with shane is down to dale liking andrea and andrea liking shane. Did anybody see my post on the previous page?

[Neil]

Be too much of a coincidence if they come to blows with the "other group" and...   ...Merle is one of them?

[Thorn]

In other words, he has a need to control people. The whole beef with shane is down to dale liking andrea and andrea liking shane. Did anybody see my post on the previous page? This is in fact the case as I see it, Dale is not a cunning manipulator of people, who is twirling his mustache trying to move chess pieces around in a game of thrones-esque manner. He is an old guy who has a thing for Andrea, and does not want to see her hurt by a guy who he does not like or trust and who he sees as a threat both to the group and to his own happiness. Think about what Dale has seen from Shane, from what he has heard from Shane, from what he has endured from Shane... he has EVERY right to view him as a bad character. 1. Rick in Shane's sights in the woods. 2. Relationship with Lori and Shane 3. Shane beating the crap out of people with undue force in the camp. 4. The whole Otis thing. 5. Situation in the woods with the guns. 6. Barnageddon ... I am sure I am missing a lot but add into that Shane moving in on the woman he either covets for his own, or is trying to protect in fatherly fashion and you have a man who is going to do what he can to make his voice and opinion heard. I just don't see Dale as evil, is he pushing his agenda? Sure, but who isn't? -- -------- Post added at 10:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 AM ---------- Be too much of a coincidence if they come to blows with the "other group" and...   ...Merle is one of them? Based on one of the previews I had the same thought... it would be VERY interesting.

[Andy]

From watching episode 8 again, i think Shane is starting to realise he needs to take a less hardened approach with the group, his dialogue with Carol seemed genuine to me. I also think Rick is starting to see that Shane is right about alot of things and man up. The effects of Barnageddon (i like that thorn btw) are far reaching and i think as a result, Rick and Shane are coming together personality wise. Meanwhile Dale is just a cock and waiting to die. if you are reading the comics but not got past the prison yet, do not click below.   I really hope they kill him off the same way they do in the comics where he gets bit by walkers, captured by cannibals, knocked out, dismembered, then wakes up while their all eating his legs, thrown back at the group and finally shot by rick. Id LOVE to see that happen to the old c*nt!!

[AcesandEights]

if you are reading the comics but not got past the prison yet, do not click below.   I really hope they kill him off the same way they do in the comics where he gets bit by walkers, captured by cannibals, knocked out, dismembered, then wakes up while their all eating his legs, thrown back at the group and finally shot by rick. Id LOVE to see that happen to the old c*nt!! I just have to ask out of morbid curiosity: who does Dale remind you of?

[shootemindehead]

I just don't see Dale as evil, is he pushing his agenda? Sure, but who isn't? Agreed. I think Dale generally does things that for the betterment of the group, as a whole. Even if they are misguided sometimes and downright silly at others (re: Andrea at the CDC and the gun thing). His agenda seems to be for the group, because the group is his last shot. He's an old guy, with not a lot of time left in relative terms and the group is all that he's got left. Sure, he has a thing for Andrea, but how that is going to manifest itself in the TV show remains to be seen. Shane, on the other hand, is chipping away at the harmony the group has, or can have, with every passing episode. His actions are EXTREMELY selfish. He covets his "best mates" wife and he pushes the situation in a direction HE wants to see it go, regardless of any detrimental effects. On top of that, he is an EXTREMELY distrustful person and is giving off an air of danger, that's having a negative effect on the group overall. He can be a useful addition to the group and can be correct at times (re: the barn, which in the end worked out OK because Rick intervened with Hershel and calmed the fiery situation down), but he is clearly a man who is cracking under the stress of the situation and the realisation of the fact that he cannot and will not possess his friends wife in the end. Even THAT alone makes him a danger to the "harmony" of the group overall and Dale and Lori (and Rick too) is realising it. Like "not getting the love for Shane", I am also "not getting the hate for Dale".

[Trin]

I'm going to avoid all the Dale, Shane hot head, Shane/Dale, Shane/Carol, Rick gunfight, Lori car crash stuff. I have opinions, of course (I always do) but that stuff has been well discussed. I want to focus on two things: 1) They did a very good job with Herschel in the aftermath of barnaggedon. I bought that he didn't know about Sophia. I loved how they confronted it with Shane accusing him of knowing. I loved how he had a self-destructive impulse. I bought that he re-evaluated himself and his leadership. It was well written and well acted. His character seems much more believable now. The situation seems much more believable now. 2) The possum zombie during barnaggedon... Call me nitpicky but I really see this event as indicative of what is wrong with TWD. It just makes no sense whatsoever and can only be evidence that the director wanted a cheap scare moment. From a plausibility perspective we must conclude that the zombies can lie in wait to snatch their prey. That implies intelligence and if they are intelligent in any way then it supports Herschel's position of trying to save them. I don't believe they meant to do that. But at the same time it got in there. Leading to the bigger concern that NO ONE associated with this series stopped during filming, scratched their head, and said, "Hey, this is glaringly stupid and doesn't make sense." Woe is us if the girl somehow got infected by that. Overall a good start to the second half of season 2.

[shootemindehead]

Cheap scare, nothing more. It was just bad film making. Perhaps zombies can be stunned? Maybe she got stunned and was disorintated until the girl went over?

[ShadowMan]

If you look closely when the "posum xombie" is shot, she gets hit in the side of the head/face. This could have affected her to the point where she was just dazed and not completely shut down.

[MinionZombie]

If you look closely when the "posum xombie" is shot, she gets hit in the side of the head/face. This could have affected her to the point where she was just dazed and not completely shut down. Aye - in the shoot out at the end of 2x07 I saw that that zombie went down with just a shot to the jaw, I was figuring maybe the angle 'grazed the brain' or stunned it ... but I did spot that it wasn't shot in the forehead, so I was like "hey..." but of course that came back. Now, how I would have staged that scene is like this: The girl (who is now in a spot of bother - surely she was scratched or something ... I think we might see some examination of infection and contamination here) is distraught at seeing her zombified mother gunned down, and all is quiet - but then they hear this god awful gurgling rasping wheezing sound coming from the body pile (but so far no movement) so they're all looking around trying to spot which one is still in the game - then they notice some twitching and movement - the girl darts over, seeing that her zombie mama is still kicking, she's scratched out-of-shot, they drag her away and Andrea still finishes the job like an Amish farmer. A slight tweak - essentially replacing a not-so-plausible jump with a spine-tingling chill ... and I firmly believe the latter lasts far longer than the former.

[Thorn]

Agreed. I think Dale generally does things that for the betterment of the group, as a whole. Even if they are misguided sometimes and downright silly at others (re: Andrea at the CDC and the gun thing). His agenda seems to be for the group, because the group is his last shot. He's an old guy, with not a lot of time left in relative terms and the group is all that he's got left. Sure, he has a thing for Andrea, but how that is going to manifest itself in the TV show remains to be seen. Shane, on the other hand, is chipping away at the harmony the group has, or can have, with every passing episode. His actions are EXTREMELY selfish. He covets his "best mates" wife and he pushes the situation in a direction HE wants to see it go, regardless of any detrimental effects. On top of that, he is an EXTREMELY distrustful person and is giving off an air of danger, that's having a negative effect on the group overall. He can be a useful addition to the group and can be correct at times (re: the barn, which in the end worked out OK because Rick intervened with Hershel and calmed the fiery situation down), but he is clearly a man who is cracking under the stress of the situation and the realisation of the fact that he cannot and will not possess his friends wife in the end. Even THAT alone makes him a danger to the "harmony" of the group overall and Dale and Lori (and Rick too) is realising it. Like "not getting the love for Shane", I am also "not getting the hate for Dale". Very well said, Dale is Dale he is an old guy with eyes and ears on everyone. He is not a fighter, he is contributing as best he can using his own special talents. Those being mechanics/automotive, and being the eyes and ears of the camp. Is he overly concerned about Shane? I don't think so given what he has seen of the man. Is he overly in the business of Andrea? Maybe but he has a thing for her parental or otherwise and that leads a person to overstep your bounds ESPECIALLY when you see them going down a road you yourself can not condone or justify. He is an old timer he has been around the block once or twice before, his block just was free of flesh eating undead ghouls.