TWD 8x03 "Monsters" episode discussion... **SPOILERS*

[Moon Knight]

That same thought crossed my mind about the Saviors numbers. It’s almost comical at this moment. It’s like how a video game constantly spawns enemies so the player can grind some experience levels. It is what it is but I’m just suspending disbelief and putting faith into the numerous outpost containing pockets of Saviors.

[JDP]

That same thought crossed my mind about the Saviors numbers. It’s almost comical at this moment. It’s like how a video game constantly spawns enemies so the player can grind some experience levels. It is what it is but I’m just suspending disbelief and putting faith into the numerous outpost containing pockets of Saviors. My impression from the episodes since the Saviors were introduced in the show is that they have a very sizable army, distributed around several areas. Certainly the largest group of people we have seen in the show so far. The "numbers" issue has been brought up a couple of times in the show, the latest one being when Negan boasted that Rick does not have the numbers for this fight, implying his "piss patrol" will eventually lose. Also, if those garbage people are still upholding their agreement with Negan, that further inflates the ranks of the Saviors as well.

[MinionZombie]

My impression from the episodes since the Saviors were introduced in the show is that they have a very sizable army, distributed around several areas. Certainly the largest group of people we have seen in the show so far. The "numbers" issue has been brought up a couple of times in the show, the latest one being when Negan boasted that Rick does not have the numbers for this fight, implying his "piss patrol" will eventually lose. Also, if those garbage people are still upholding their agreement with Negan, that further inflates the ranks of the Saviors as well. And similarly with the trash heap wankers - do we know how many they've got. We saw a bunch of them form the circle around our gang, but we don't know if that was them all or not (I'd imagine there'd be more of them hidden within the trash piles or out scavenging). Ultimately there is the practicalities of production - you can only afford to pay a certain number of extras in any given episode, more for some, less for others, depending on the other demands of the script. There is an inherent issue with the sheer size of the cast now. We've got some good additions from other groups - e.g. Gregory, Jesus, Ezekiel, Jerry, Negan, Simon - as additional big names, and there's a few familiar faces (e.g. the lady with the bow & arrow for the Kingdom), who I would like a little bit more characterisation afforded in little fits and starts generally - but, again, the constraints of an episode's structure does battle with this sort of thing. If they had time to improv certain things you could flesh out some of the supporting players a bit more effectively BUT with them having to do feature film scale set pieces plus all the story stuff inside 8 production days, it's a tough ask to filter in little bits of this and that. It would be nice to work some of these bit players into the orbits of the bigger characters a bit more (like they did with Morgan and the blonde haired young guy with the little brother), but to also manage a bit more of it outside of the episode in which they did. Affording Eric and Aaron some good screen time at the tree - which ultimately paid of handsomely with that wonderful scene of Eric as a walker shambling off to join the herd in the distance - was in itself not a problem. The problem was that Eric hadn't been given enough screen time generally. However, compare it to supporting players like Denise and some of them get a good bit of integration ... however, circling back to the sheer size of the cast, I certainly don't envy the writers having to juggle all those intersecting characters across sixteen episodes per season with some arcs coming and going across seasons, with further plots dipping in and out of several seasons. It'll be a complex undertaking ... circling back to the 'Negan needed some cover to hide behind' issue of 8x01, the TWD writing staff could use someone whose sole job was to specifically look for all the 'small issues and moments', who would make very minor tweaks to resolve slip ups that can distract the audience to a disproportionate degree, and would suggest small character beats for the supporting players using brief and effective bits of characterisation to give you a sense of someone while not necessarily giving them a load of screen time (which would take away from our beloved leads). A great example of giving a supporting player plenty of on-screen value and memorable moments is Gerry.

[kidgloves]

Enjoyed this episode as well. Balls on Gregory. Actors doing a fine job. Not missing Negan strangely.

[Moon Knight]

Enjoyed this episode as well. Balls on Gregory. Actors doing a fine job. Not missing Negan strangely. Negan, Dwight, Simon, Eugene, Michonne, Rosita, Gabriel, and Carl all barely had screen time. Most dude to real life commitments. We haven’t even seen Jadis and her people yet. I also don’t mind but I fear bottle episodes coming soon. Like I said before, Xander Berkeley is doing Gregory some amazing justice. He’s so hateable but really enjoyable.

[MinionZombie]

Negan, Dwight, Simon, Eugene, Michonne, Rosita, Gabriel, and Carl all barely had screen time. Most dude to real life commitments. We haven’t even seen Jadis and her people yet. I also don’t mind but I fear bottle episodes coming soon. Like I said before, Xander Berkeley is doing Gregory some amazing justice. He’s so hateable but really enjoyable. 1) The trouble with having such a vast cast of characters, and when you've got so many it's unfair to hold them 'hostage' to just your show when they're not in every episode. It's one of those awkward practical things, unfortunately. 2) No bad thing. 3) Hmmm ... both Gimple and Nicotero have stated that the structure of this season was going to be different to previous seasons, so I'd hope that the volume of "bottle" episodes particularly exhibited in Season 7 won't be returning. "Bottle" episodes aren't bad in and of themselves, but when they're overused (which is very easy to do) they become a problem. I'd be fine with a Negan origin story episode, for instance. 4) Berkeley is nailing the role, absolutely agreed on that, and he's so entertaining to watch as Gregory. The Gregory/Maggie stuff in the comics is one of my favourite plotlines, so I'm stoked about seeing it all play out on screen.

[Moon Knight]

Some of the best episodes were bottle episodes, heck, I believe Morgan was in all of them with the exception of “The Grove”. It becomes an issue with me when they put together a structure like season 7. Big episode then bottle episodes until the last couple episodes. F that. I believe when the story shifts back to the Sanctuary the story will stay there the entire episode.

[shootemindehead]

Better episode over all this one. Some nice action and the poor old gay lads having to deal with some awfulness stole the show. The scene where Eric is walking off to his new buddies was quite well done I thought. Plus, did he say that it was Aaron that shot him? Not too sure about the 'They Live' style scrap between Morgan and Jesus though. But, Jesus hase some moves. Well...after all, he IS Jesus. Amen.

[MinionZombie]

Better episode over all this one. Some nice action and the poor old gay lads having to deal with some awfulness stole the show. The scene where Eric is walking off to his new buddies was quite well done I thought. Plus, did he say that it was Aaron that shot him? No, Aaron was saying sorry because he convinced Eric to join the war effort. Eric had previously been more of a 'hang back and let the others get on with it' mindset, but eventually the need to take on the Saviours became too great and Aaron convinced him of that - so, to Aaron, he is the reason Eric got shot even though he didn't actually do it himself.

[shootemindehead]

Ah right. You must take notes when you watch this stuff.

[MinionZombie]

Ah right. You must take notes when you watch this stuff. hehe, nope ... I miss plenty of things first time around as my mind has a general habit of wandering. Talking Dead helps solidify certain things, but I'd remembered that Aaron/Eric thing from beforehand.