TWD 11x03 "Hunted" episode discussion... **SPOILERS**

[MinionZombie]

Please keep all talk of episode 11x03 "Hunted" 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: Frederick E.O. Toye Written by: Vivian Tse

[Moon Knight]

Absolute banger of an opening! The Reapers are no joke! That horse scene though… nah. Good to see Rosita and Magna do something.

[MinionZombie]

Another good episode. The pacing is really keeping up, too, it's not dawdling. Quieter moments are nicely placed in between more tense or action packed moments. There's about the right number of walker moments and hard character choice moments thrown into the mix etc. Hopefully we won't be on this journey to find food for too much longer as then the pacing will begin to drain like it did in Season 7 (i.e. time progression for the characters vs time progression for the viewers - e.g. Maggie's first trimester was literally YEARS for us). And Gabriel, man - that whole 'there's no God here' moment - awesome! Absolute banger of an opening! The Reapers are no joke! That horse scene though… nah. 1) Aye. These folks are highly trained and no joke. When that one turned around behind Maggie, up those stairs in the murk, was genuinely a bit of a jump scare - but I dug it how she used her newfound knowledge of the railings to dispatch them. Maggie is well written and shits all over so many female characters that the Disney conglomerate squeezes out of it's mousey wee arsehole. Maggie doesn't always get things right, isn't always brilliant at everything, has to learn from her mistakes, uses accrued knowledge to make better decisions or get the upper hand, and so on and so on and so on - all the while being a proficient ZA survivor, a fighter, and a mother battling with her own inner demons (e.g. with Negan). A fully rounded character who feels real and someone who the audience can actually get behind, someone who doesn't have to tear down other people to make herself appear stronger etc. Maggie's one of TWD's best characters - much like Carol (who was a waste of space in the comics, but has turned into one of my favourites on the show). 2) Which horse scene? The happy clappy stuff with them rounding them up, or Carol doing what had to be done?

[Moon Knight]

Carol doing what she had to do. I get it shows how desperate they are but I don’t need to see all that. Just my personal opinion. I know it was a powerful scene but I’m so tired of seeing animals hurt on this show.

[MinionZombie]

Carol doing what she had to do. I get it shows how desperate they are but I don’t need to see all that. Just my personal opinion. I know it was a powerful scene but I’m so tired of seeing animals hurt on this show. How often do they actually do it, though? The actual filming of such scenes would be strictly overseen and rigidly rule abiding. They don't focus on the (fictional) horse's pain/shock/etc in dying and rather focus on Carol having to be the one to do it and Aaron then helping her. You have to show a certain amount so the viewer can actually understand what's happening, but the focus nor the intention of the scene certainly wasn't on animal suffering. I was more surprised that the kids were that picky about eating horse meat considering all the shit they've seen and been through. Mind you, it was interesting that it kind of showed Gracie (I assume?), Judith, and RJ being more sheltered than Glenn Jr (even though Judith has seen some shit out in the field and hasn't been entirely sheltered by any means).

[Neil]

Still get a bit of a myeh feeling when we see groups of psychopathic individuals (ie: The Reapers). Why instantly attack and kill everyone? Why make war on every other group of survivors? Surely this can't lead to more productive outcomes than not mindlessly killing anyone and everyone at first sight? How do they grow in numbers when they kill everyone they see?

[MinionZombie]

Still get a bit of a myeh feeling when we see groups of psychopathic individuals (ie: The Reapers). Why instantly attack and kill everyone? Why make war on every other group of survivors? Surely this can't lead to more productive outcomes than not mindlessly killing anyone and everyone at first sight? How do they grow in numbers when they kill everyone they see? We can't just assume about them yet, though. We've not really got to know who they are beyond their evident survival and combat skills. Hopefully there'll be a good story behind them, not some FearTWD style bullshit for one of their cookie cutter villains.

[Moon Knight]

Still get a bit of a myeh feeling when we see groups of psychopathic individuals (ie: The Reapers). Why instantly attack and kill everyone? Why make war on every other group of survivors? Surely this can't lead to more productive outcomes than not mindlessly killing anyone and everyone at first sight? How do they grow in numbers when they kill everyone they see? I have a feeling the Reaper group will have some pretty good motives and won’t end up being cookie cutter. They seem to have religious beliefs. Hopefully. Either way, they are pretty awesome so far. I have a real soft spot for seeing animals killed on screen. Humans I’m alright with