TWD 9x04 "The Obliged" episode discussion... **SPOILERS**

[Moon Knight]

Yeah, I’m not gonna blame a horse on that one. Shit happens and Rick paid for it. Easy as that. Edit- MZ that wasn’t directed at your post. I agree with what you’re saying. Horses don’t think like humans. Horse got scared, Rick gets knocked off. I actually really like how that happened. Can’t see Ric getting bitten or taken out by a Savior.

[JDP]

Two different horses, two different scenarios - they both got skittish about the encroaching walkers (understandably so). The sequence had sod all to do with Rick's handling of the horse and all to do with the horse itself and how it got scared. Rick needed to be close to guide the herd, but the horse had enough of that shit and wanted out (even if it only moved to the bottom of the frame in the final shot ... fickle damn thing). So yeah, nothing to do with Rick, everything to do with the horse itself. I doubt any of us would be calm or collected with two herds of flesh-munching zombies coming at us. Another totally unconvincing excuse. We can see that Rick mishandled the situation and allowed the zombies to get closer until he finally lost control of the horse. The horse was not panicking before when Rick first mounted it and rode it, even with the zombies approaching it, and it is still not panicking right after throwing off Rick, it is in fact still around not running off to somewhere else, with the zombies still approaching the area. We can very safely assume that this horse has seen zombies up close before, and is now used to them. It doesn't easily panic and go running away like crazy when it sees them. Plus the point is that in the pilot episode it was done in a way we can believe the whole thing. Rick and the horse were truly trapped by the encroaching zombies. Here there is no such situation. We can plainly see at least two very easy ways out of it, with plenty of open space and no zombies around anywhere in sight. There is no reason for the horse to panic or Rick to have lost control of the situation.

[facestabber]

The interaction Rick had with Eugene, Carol and Daryl have my focus far greater than whether or not the horse scene was shot correctly. I hate the fact that Rick Grimes story is coming to an end. But I'm thankful that he is leaving on respectable and honorable terms. And that includes Maggie. She's blinded by hate, which I understand completely but Rick is trying to fulfill a bigger picture. As anticlimactic as some may say about him falling on rebar, Daryl Dixon knows he was doing that to spare everyone else. That was very selfless of Rick. Would I rather he ride away with Daryl? God damn right I do. But like Hershel, Rick risked his life for a greater good.

[Moon Knight]

The interaction Rick had with Eugene, Carol and Daryl have my focus far greater than whether or not the horse scene was shot correctly. I hate the fact that Rick Grimes story is coming to an end. But I'm thankful that he is leaving on respectable and honorable terms. And that includes Maggie. She's blinded by hate, which I understand completely but Rick is trying to fulfill a bigger picture. As anticlimactic as some may say about him falling on rebar, Daryl Dixon knows he was doing that to spare everyone else. That was very selfless of Rick. Would I rather he ride away with Daryl? God damn right I do. But like Hershel, Rick risked his life for a greater good. From everything going on in these last few episodes that dude once again argues over the dumbest things. The saddest moments are Rick’s interactions with his fellow survivors knowing those will be the last. Eugene, Carol, Dary, all good stuff. Rick risking his life was definitely the right choice. Whether he made the right choice of attempting to save the bridge we’ll just have to wait and see. Also, anyone else notice the Walker way back in 9x1 that collapsed onto the rebar during the museum trip? The way Rick looked at it now has a lot more meaning behind it.

[JDP]

From everything going on in these last few episodes that dude once again argues over the dumbest things. "Dumbest things"??? It is the sloppy way the most important character in the show is absurdly being written off! LOL!

[Moon Knight]

"Dumbest things"??? It is the sloppy way the most important character in the show is absurdly being written off! LOL! Oh I ain’t just talking about this post or this section. You just love baiting people into arguments where you are never wrong.

[facestabber]

I think many people are on edge due to Lincolns departure. This show has passionate fans for sure. In 2010 us Romero/Zombie fans finally received validation and quality entertainment on tv. TWD is my favorite tv show in the history of my lifetime. I know it doesn't have the magic it once had, but it's certainly not because actors/directors aren't trying. So at times what is on the screen doesn't agree with us. So people complain. Not because they hate the show, but because they love the show and don't want it to go away. I am more apt to air my grievances here than to casual fans. I guess we all have different levels regarding attention to detail. Example for me is much of the gun play is terrible, but many here have no problem with it. I don't think this show has much more time left, so I am trying to just have fun with it.

[Moon Knight]

The gun play definitely is terrible. No doubt about that. As are the extras. I have many issues with the show and find many isssues sprinkled throughout. There is a reason it’s not on GoT levels of fan and critic appreciation. The budget and AMC are the root of those issues. I just decide not to focus on that and talk about what I do like about it; and this is a lot to like about it. With that said, this season is really strong so far. Gimple should have done seasons 4-6 and Kang should have taken over since 7.

[MinionZombie]

Agreed on the scenes Rick had with other characters, such as Eugene. I think those affirmations will have resounding effects for all of them, help guide them back to the right course when times get tough and so on. Wise words to live by, so-to-speak. Gripes such as the gunplay can be levelled at many shows, though, not just TWD. There are occasions where some some of those things do take the piss (e.g. Carl in the back of the supply truck with a bead on Negan - they just needed to tweak the scene by including a gun jam to throw a spanner in the works and it would have been fine and dandy), but the show gets so much right that the good dwarfs the bad by a considerable margin. I've also always believed that if someone is intent on focusing on the negative, especially the minute stuff, they're just going to spoil the experience for themselves. It's especially curious considering the shit that other shows or movies are allowed to get away with. Yes, we love the show, but part of love is acceptance. Seasons 7 and 8 certainly had bigger flaws that were bedded down in more ethereal things like story structure, but they also played better on second viewings according to your own binge-viewing schedule (rather than being viewed week-by-week). If you look hard enough you'll find flaws in anything, and if you keep focusing on those flaws you'll ignore all the good stuff.

[shootemindehead]

Gripes such as the gunplay can be levelled at many shows, though, not just TWD. There are occasions where some some of those things do take the piss (e.g. Carl in the back of the supply truck with a bead on Negan - they just needed to tweak the scene by including a gun jam to throw a spanner in the works and it would have been fine and dandy), but the show gets so much right that the good dwarfs the bad by a considerable margin. I've also always believed that if someone is intent on focusing on the negative, especially the minute stuff, they're just going to spoil the experience for themselves. It's especially curious considering the shit that other shows or movies are allowed to get away with. Yes, we love the show, but part of love is acceptance. Seasons 7 and 8 certainly had bigger flaws that were bedded down in more ethereal things like story structure, but they also played better on second viewings according to your own binge-viewing schedule (rather than being viewed week-by-week). If you look hard enough you'll find flaws in anything, and if you keep focusing on those flaws you'll ignore all the good stuff. That's never a good excuse though, for anything, in fairness. Something being shite in one thing doesn't allow another thing to get away with it. TWD has a LOT about it that's open to criticism and I've given my fair share of harsh words toward it and plenty of other stuff too on here. However, whinging about a bolting horse is just silly levels of non-criticism. I'm no hostler or anything, but I do know that horses can be spooked at the slightest thing and WILL buck if they don't want to go a certain way or do a certain thing. They can be freaked out by the slightest smell or sound, even ones that they "should" be used to. Professional showjumpers have been thrown from horses that they've ridden all of their lives, when their horse decided a jump wasn't for them. I've seen it happen first hand. While they are generally animals that will obey human commands, once trained, they still do have a mind of their own. In the show, there's nothing wrong with how the horse reacts. She's clearly frightened by the zombies coming down the road - there's a swell in the music to indicate a heightened tension - and she doesn't want to go the way Rick wants her to go.

[JDP]

That's never a good excuse though, for anything, in fairness. Something being shite in one thing doesn't allow another thing to get away with it. TWD has a LOT about it that's open to criticism and I've given my fair share of harsh words toward it and plenty of other stuff too on here. However, whinging about a bolting horse is just silly levels of non-criticism. I'm no hostler or anything, but I do know that horses can be spooked at the slightest thing and WILL buck if they don't want to go a certain way or do a certain thing. They can be freaked out by the slightest smell or sound, even ones that they "should" be used to. Professional showjumpers have been thrown from horses that they've ridden all of their lives, when their horse decided a jump wasn't for them. I've seen it happen first hand. While they are generally animals that will obey human commands, once trained, they still do have a mind of their own. In the show, there's nothing wrong with how the horse reacts. She's clearly frightened by the zombies coming down the road - there's a swell in the music to indicate a heightened tension - and she doesn't want to go the way Rick wants her to go. Trying to compare genuine horse accidents with what we saw in the episode is what truly is "silly levels of non-criticism". Being involved in such an incident myself when I was young, as you say the panicked horse just "bolts". I wasn't thrown off the horse (not for lack of trying on the horse's part) but it ran like crazy from what "spooked" it and there was no way I could stop the damn thing. The horse owners had to follow me on horseback and get a firm grip on the reins in order to stop it from running away. Here we see no such thing. The way this scene was shot is nowhere nearly as believable as the one in the pilot, that simple. In that one we could see why would the horse panic and why Rick couldn't do anything about it either. There truly was no way out of that one for the horse. It had nowhere to try to run to. The strange thing there would have been for the horse to not panic. But here we can plainly see the horse isn't panicked by the approaching zombies. It is quite calm all throughout the sequence, despite there being approaching zombies nearby all the time, and even after throwing Rick off it is still calmly hanging around the area, quite unconcerned by the slowly approaching zombies. It has plenty of open spaces to go to when the zombies do get close enough for it to actually panic and want to get away from them. We can see the horse isn't trying to get away at this point. The zombies are simply not close enough for it to panic and want to get away. - - - Updated - - - Comments from the website I took that picture showing that Rick could easily have gotten out of that situation: https://www.thisisinsider.com/walkin...k-live-2018-10 "The thing that bothered us most is that when the final scene zooms out, you can see there was another road for Rick to travel down. Instead of panicking, why didn't he just run off with the horse down that other roadway? It seemed like a no brainer." Spot on! It is in fact Rick, not the horse, who panics and eventually loses control of the situation. The horse was quite calm through the whole thing, and it is still quite calm after throwing Rick off. If anything, it is Rick's erratic actions when he sees the other approaching zombies that eventually confuse the horse and lead to his being thrown off. Absurd. Rick is a seasoned survivor who should have known better and remained more calm and in control of the situation, not easily panic by the appearance of more slowly approaching zombies.

[Moon Knight]

Sometimes I feel like I’m

[MinionZombie]

Rick didn't want to go down that road for specific reasons - he doesn't want to sacrifice the bridge (and everything he's been striving to build post-AoW). Very simple and stated clearly in the episode. Daryl suggests leading the herd across the weak bridge as their combined weight will collapse it and wash the walkers away. Rick chose another plan. What Rick wasn't anticipating, when he opted to spare the bridge and lead them elsewhere, was that the second herd (again, referenced earlier in the episode with Eugene talking about two distinct herds that hadn't - at that time - joined together) were bearing down from the road he wanted to go down (so it seems). It's a four-way junction, so the only options are either leading them to Alexandria (yeah, right) or leading them across the bridge - his plan goes out the window, he's trying to think around it, but the horse gets spooked and says "fuck this".

[shootemindehead]

Trying to compare genuine horse accidents with what we saw in the episode is what truly is "silly levels of non-criticism". Being involved in such an incident myself when I was young, as you say the panicked horse just "bolts". I wasn't thrown off the horse (not for lack of trying on the horse's part) but it ran like crazy from what "spooked" it and there was no way I could stop the damn thing. The horse owners had to follow me on horseback and get a firm grip on the reins in order to stop it from running away. Here we see no such thing. The way this scene was shot is nowhere nearly as believable as the one in the pilot, that simple. In that one we could see why would the horse panic and why Rick couldn't do anything about it either. There truly was no way out of that one for the horse. It had nowhere to try to run to. The strange thing there would have been for the horse to not panic. But here we can plainly see the horse isn't panicked by the approaching zombies. It is quite calm all throughout the sequence, despite there being approaching zombies nearby all the time, and even after throwing Rick off it is still calmly hanging around the area, quite unconcerned by the slowly approaching zombies. It has plenty of open spaces to go to when the zombies do get close enough for it to actually panic and want to get away from them. We can see the horse isn't trying to get away at this point. The zombies are simply not close enough for it to panic and want to get away. - - - Updated - - - Comments from the website I took that picture showing that Rick could easily have gotten out of that situation: https://www.thisisinsider.com/walkin...k-live-2018-10 "The thing that bothered us most is that when the final scene zooms out, you can see there was another road for Rick to travel down. Instead of panicking, why didn't he just run off with the horse down that other roadway? It seemed like a no brainer." Spot on! It is in fact Rick, not the horse, who panics and eventually loses control of the situation. The horse was quite calm through the whole thing, and it is still quite calm after throwing Rick off. If anything, it is Rick's erratic actions when he sees the other approaching zombies that eventually confuse the horse and lead to his being thrown off. Absurd. Rick is a seasoned survivor who should have known better and remained more calm and in control of the situation, not easily panic by the appearance of more slowly approaching zombies. One word...bollocks.

[JDP]

One word...bollocks. It certainly fits your absurd "replies" very well. - - - Updated - - - Sometimes I feel like I’m In this case you should rather post a graphic of a horse beating a dead Rick, which is what the show is quite sloppily using to write off the main character, LOL!