TWD 9x05 "What Comes After" episode discussion... **SPOILERS**

[Moon Knight]

Did you folks catch the garbled radio traffic when Jadis heard someone's voice say "there's his gun". Referring to Ricks .357. Or am I imagining things? I did catch that but wasn’t sure what was said. Did Judith have Rick’s gun? I was too excited to notice haha. It has been confirmed that six years has passed.

[facestabber]

I did catch that but wasn’t sure what was said. Did Judith have Rick’s gun? I was too excited to notice haha. It has been confirmed that six years has passed. Yes Judith has the Python. And this season has really stepped it up. 7&8 really had me feeling down. But I like where this is headed.

[JDP]

Did you folks catch the garbled radio traffic when Jadis heard someone's voice say "there's his gun". Referring to Ricks .357. Or am I imagining things? The radio exchange: Some guy: What was that? Was that the bridge? Another guy: Rick! He blew it to stop the herd! Sounds like Maggie's voice: Move north, break up the rest, bring some guns!

[Moon Knight]

Yes Judith has the Python. And this season has really stepped it up. 7&8 really had me feeling down. But I like where this is headed. Same feeling 100%. When the episode ended I was like damn I can’t wait till next year to see the future, then realized “wait, this starts next weekend!” Lol damn I love Kang.

[MinionZombie]

Same feeling 100%. When the episode ended I was like damn I can’t wait till next year to see the future, then realized “wait, this starts next weekend!” Lol damn I love Kang. Fuckin' A - Kang has worked some wonderful voodoo on TWD. The one thing I'm a big iffy about is Judith having Rick's gun. I get that she's kind of taken on these parts of her family - the hat (she's now the second person to inherit it after Carl did in season 2), the katana (Michonne), and the gun (Rick) ... however that gun is just too damn big for a child. I'd have preferred a smaller lookalike, with the actual gun placed on the mantle back at their home as a sort of memory/shrine to their dearly departed father/partner/leader (although we know he's alive). Especially as the katana is a smaller version, you know? It'd make sense to have a smaller version of Rick's gun, rather than the actual one. However, that is only a teeny tiny gripe. So ... three TV movies starring Rick Grimes. Interesting! I assume they'll fill in the gap with Anne/Jadis along for the ride, and take place during that six year gap. Could we possibly see Rick return somewhere along the time line? I've got no idea how they'll fill in the six year gap (plus however long passes before we may get Rick back on the main show). And here's something - will Michonne have had a child in the intervening years? She and Rick tried for one earlier this season, so especially with the time jump, it could well be that she had become pregnant and discovered as much after the apparent 'death' of Rick. Blimey. Six years ... but it's nice to know that these characters do actually get some time to live, you know? They were so rarely afforded that opportunity under Gimple's regularly compressed time frames (which meant that deeper character development - relationships and the like - felt a bit 'pushed for time', a bit rushed - Abraham/Sasha, for instance). Anyway - like you said Moon, it's awesome that we only have to wait just one week to find out what comes next, not three months, not six months, not two seasons, lol ... just a week. My head's swirling! ... In terms of the chopper and those at the bridge - Jadis/Anna is a fair distance down river from the bridge, and as the chopper approaches her we get a sense of the sound/distance situation from her position to the chopper coming at her. The folks at the bridge have also just been quite near a very large - and LOUD - explosion, plus they've got a herd of walkers to deal with, PLUS they've just lost their beloved leader (so they believe, anyway). So being able to hear/see the helicopter is a stretch. But I don't expect JDP to accept any kind of explanation, so I'm not even entering into that, but I'm putting forth my thoughts on it for everyone in the thread nonetheless.

[JDP]

In terms of the chopper and those at the bridge - Jadis/Anna is a fair distance down river from the bridge, and as the chopper approaches her we get a sense of the sound/distance situation from her position to the chopper coming at her. The folks at the bridge have also just been quite near a very large - and LOUD - explosion, plus they've got a herd of walkers to deal with, PLUS they've just lost their beloved leader (so they believe, anyway). So being able to hear/see the helicopter is a stretch. But I don't expect JDP to accept any kind of explanation, so I'm not even entering into that, but I'm putting forth my thoughts on it for everyone in the thread nonetheless. Because your "explanations" sometimes don't make any sense. Case in point: the above new set of unrealistic excuses. If you seriously expect that the group could possibly have missed a helicopter blatantly and loudly flying and hovering around the NEARBY VICINITY where the bridge is, you must be living in an alternative universe! You can easily spot helicopters much farther away than that. They are loud and perfectly visible even at fairly great distance. For the group not to notice this helicopter they should have been much farther away than where Jadis/Anne and Rick were. You can appreciate how close that location is to the bridge in the shot where Jadis/Anne is looking at the column of smoke coming from the burning bridge. No one but a blind and deaf person would have failed to notice a hovering helicopter from such a distance!

[Moon Knight]

MZ- don’t even argue. No point. I had the same thought initially about the helicopter and how no one saw it, though. It did seem pretty close but with what was going on I could accept it. I also agree about Judith and the gun. It’s a cool moment but definitely needs to be filed under the department of suspension of disbelief. The hand canon would also blow her away lol. Btw, Michonne looks so badass as the new leader in Alexandria.

[shootemindehead]

Jesus, that was poor. I suppose if the show takes a nosedive after this, we can just end it there.

[facestabber]

Why even argue over seeing/hearing the helicopter. We saw a glimpse of the time jump and no one had the opportunity to even discuss the helicopter. I believe the intent of the show is that everyone believes Rick died in the explosion. So even if someone saw a helicopter in the sky, if they didn't see Rick being loaded into it, it's a mute point. With The consensus that Rick is dead why consider a random helicopter swooped in for him. Whoa wait a sec, thought came mid sentence. Father G knew Jadis had a radio contact. Regardless, what would they do? Chase a helicopter of unknown origin on horseback? My mind is on the fact Rick Grimes is alive and I get to see his story more. Expanded elsewhere. I'll take that all day every day.

[Moon Knight]

The way Rick’s story came full circle was very satisfying.

[JDP]

Why even argue over seeing/hearing the helicopter. We saw a glimpse of the time jump and no one had the opportunity to even discuss the helicopter. I believe the intent of the show is that everyone believes Rick died in the explosion. So even if someone saw a helicopter in the sky, if they didn't see Rick being loaded into it, it's a mute point. With The consensus that Rick is dead why consider a random helicopter swooped in for him. Whoa wait a sec, thought came mid sentence. Father G knew Jadis had a radio contact. Regardless, what would they do? Chase a helicopter of unknown origin on horseback? My mind is on the fact Rick Grimes is alive and I get to see his story more. Expanded elsewhere. I'll take that all day every day. Consider the "coincidences", though: 1- A helicopter shows up out of nowhere shortly after Rick blows up the bridge, 2- Rick's body is nowhere to be found, 3- Jadis/Anne also strangely "disappears", 4- Father Gabriel knows that Jadis/Anne has been up to some shenanigans involving some mysterious outside group that nobody knew anything about. Do you really have to be Sherlock Holmes or Lt. Columbo to be able to put two and two together and realize that there is something VERY SUSPICIOUS going on here??? All these facts warrant an investigation, no matter how long it takes to unravel the mystery. The group should not just sit idly by and let six friggin' years pass without looking into the matter, or, even worse, nobody actually noticing anything. Hopefully this is not what will happen and the "helicopter issue" will be addressed.

[DayoftheZ]

I have really enjoyed this season so far and this was a strong episode. I have a problem with Rick surviving and not coming back to the show though. I do not buy that he wouldn't do everything in his power to get back to Judith, Michonne, Darryl etc.... Unless the films follow the line of Rick trying to get home it will not make sense. For me a more satisfying end would have been him giving his life to save the others. A true hero ending.

[shootemindehead]

I do not buy that he wouldn't do everything in his power to get back to Judith, Michonne, Darryl etc.... Unless the films follow the line of Rick trying to get home it will not make sense. Yeh, this is what I thought with that ending. Although, it's possible Rick didn't actually make it. The time jump was a terrible idea though and I don't think it was needed really. Just didn't really enjoy this episode at all. Found all the "wake ups" quite irritating and that ending was just...nah. While the first half of this series has been pretty good over all, I think the show is in a terminal decline without Rick Grimes in the lead. Shame really.

[Moon Knight]

The movie specials will be about Rick and his situation. I loved the ending as a comic book fan.

[MinionZombie]

The movie specials will be about Rick and his situation. I loved the ending as a comic book fan. Yeah, there was a big old time jump in the comics as well, but it played out a little differently here on the show where we've kind had a medium sized one and then the big one. The true test will be to see how the show feels without Rick in it, however we've got such a rich cast of characters and a new era in the TWD universe six years down the road - indeed, the time jump makes a lot of sense in that we don't waste any time pining over the loss of Rick Grimes, seeing characters weep and mope around and generally stay a bit static. We as an audience have been prepped for this departure for months now, so it makes the most sense to have a good episode like this which works well as a tribute to the character - his heroic effort to lead the walkers away from their civilisation - and have a clean break, to jump forward and see straight away how they've reorganised. The seeds of intent have been laid out - e.g. Michonne's charter - so we don't need to see any step-by-step enacting of that stuff, let's just dive right into the new territory. I watched Talking Dead and I don't quite believe Gimple when he says that's the end of Rick Grimes on the TV show. I'd imagine he'll be back at some point (e.g. perhaps when it finally draws to a close), but they need to not have the audience getting distracted with expectations of a return anytime soon (I refer back to the 'clean break' mentioned above). To be honest I find his overt coyness regarding upcoming stories kinda irritating (he's been doing that shtick for years now). Yes, we get that you can't spoil anything, but stop trying to be so clever. Angela Kang doesn't try to play any games with it, she just states she can't say anything specific but offers a mild tease here or there and her infectious energy for TWD shines through - that's all you need.