TWD 4x16 "A" episode discussion (Season 4 Finale) ... **SPOILERS WITHIN**

[rongravy]

I watched it whilst finishing up cooking, and eating, spinach stuffed chicken breasts and stuff... I enjoyed it, but I'm wondering if it was Beth being offered up for dinner. I still need to rewatch this again tonight, but I'm also going to rewatch last week's. My kid said Carol and Tyreese hadn't made it to Terminus yet, so it's gotta be Beth. Stick a fork in her, she's done...

[facestabber]

Hell of a season gents. And as always I thoroughly enjoy the commentary from this forum. Friggin October!!!!

[sandrock74]

We needed the reveal of...   Beth burgers for all to add some punch to the end of the episode and increase the sense of overall danger and dread. As it stands right now, it doesn't seem like something inescapable to me. I mean, next time they open the train door, everyone should swarm it en masse. That would negate the threat of the snipers, who should be hesitant to open fire on their own people. It's obvious that they are wanted to be kept alive, so suddenly attacking with all 12 people would tip things into their favor. Besides that, still no sign of Carol and Tyreese, who we know are headed to Terminus, so, you know, potential reinforcements. Tyreese could buddy up with the "Termites" (Andrew Linclon's description) as a handyman/carpenter who likes to use his hammer and Carol could become their gardener, planting pretty flowers for everyone to look at...

[facestabber]

My gut tells me tyrese and Carol observed this capture from the perimeter.

[AcesandEights]

My gut tells me tyrese and Carol observed this capture from the perimeter. Probably a good even money bet, I'd guess.

[Moon Knight]

Much better than last years finale and intense as hell. I'll offer up my thoughts tomorrow. Still need to take it all in. The ending was great but damn what a tease, I knew it! Great seeing Hershel again. He'll be missed next season.

[ProfessorChaos]

We needed the reveal of...   Beth burgers for all to add some punch to the end of the episode and increase the sense of overall danger and dread. totally agree. seems they spent too much time on flashbacks, and i get what they were trying to do there, but the finale just fell flat for me, like most of the last half of the season, truth be told. it was a decent episode, but really didn't deliver in the ways i hoped it would, and i guess the same could be said for the whole back half.....aside from "the grove", no episodes really left me on a high since they left the prison....and a couple had some really craptacular moments that had me rolling my eyes. hate to toot my own horn, but i had a suspicion that nobody from the main group would end up biting the dust. nice to see most of the group reunited, and it will be interesting to see how they get out of the jam, but i think i'm going to go back to watching them all in one go at the end of the season rather than tuning in every week. watching this show on a week-to-week basis isn't really the best way to take it in, in my opinion. a better finale than last season, but not as strong as the ending to seasons one or two in my book. EDIT: and bravo to amc for some epic trolling of all their fans, first by vetoing the resounding "no" majority vote (something like 70% to 30% in favor of no) on their bullshit fan-romance crap, and even better, how about that marketing campaign for the so-called finale? EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!! at least there's still the telltale games series, which continues to impress on every episode....

[Trencher]

Yeeeahh! Michonne lives! Good episode some hollywoody things but not too dire. I still have some small hope for Beth since I doubt that the hunters have the ability or courage to drive around in zombie country looking for people to pick up.

[Legion2213]

I enjoyed that a lot! A new walker to marvel at (run over zombie) Rick with probably the best kill of the season (throat bite) Rick with most sustained brutal kill of the season (multiple frenzied shanking of child rapist guy) Rick telling Daryl he was his brother seemed right and wasn't as corny as it should have been. Cage full of human skeletons/butchered carcass's - Super awesome! The group running past containers with people crying for help inside them - chilling Beth still out there with creepy mortician person IMO. Probably chained up in his basement or something. Expected Joe's gang to last into S5, totally wrong there, I'll kinda miss Joe, he was a good character. Agree that Carol and Tyreese must have seen the abduction, otherwise, they are just walking into a trap themselves and it would be hard to engineer a believable escape for the group next season. The whole episode really worked for me...now all I need is a time machine to fast forward to Season 5! Edit: Daryl and Michonne really need to be packing some firearms for human encounters, they were horribly outgunned in that standoff, "D" with one chance to fire a bolt and "M" with no chance of taking anybody down at all, she offered no threat to those people, only Rick & Carl with any chance of defending the group there...they deffo need to be packing a sidearm next season.

[Zombie Snack]

Great episode to end by far my favorite season to date.

[MinionZombie]

My gut tells me tyrese and Carol observed this capture from the perimeter. Yeah, with all that gunfire, I'd imagine Ty & Carol & Judith rocked up just as the fire fight started - so it makes it seem obvious the place isn't safe, so they do a look over the place, and perhaps see their team getting captured - and where they've been put ... how they stage a rescue, only they know, but I can't wait to see! Great episode to end by far my favorite season to date. Yep, this has been an excellent season and the most consistent of all of them. Well done Gimple & Co! Hell of a wait, but I'm glad our group is (almost entirely) joined up once more ... even if it is in dire circumstances. Tense as hell episode in general. I'm glad they didn't do anything bold-but-stupid like kill off Rick ... but I was getting nervous with moments like him showing Carl how to trap rabbits. The attack of Joe's gang was gripping as well - and oof, the threat over Carl was scary as all get out. That said: Comics reference:   When that happened in the comic, Carl was - and still is - much younger than his TV show counterpart, and it went a little bit further and was really disturbing. Rick unleashed the beast, but who could blame him? I liked the flashbacks to the early days of the prison - the contrast between setting up their home and losing it, putting down your arms to grow food and lead in a different way and then having to go ballistic on a despicable gang of thugs, the stark contrast in Carl versus Patrick (adept gun cleaning versus the joy of Lego) etc ... the latter also ties in with Carl & Michonne's conversation, which was a nice way to tie her experience with what Rick had just done, and why they went to the places they did, but how they can still come back, but what I also thought was chilling was Carl confessing to "thoughts" ... very vague at this point, but that's interesting food for thought for season 5 perhaps. A young boy going through puberty - hormones all over the shop, trying to figure out the world, trying to survive in the apocalypse ... that's gotta throw up some dark thoughts ... the things you could do and most likely get away with ... disturbing stuff to consider. So it wasn't some big grand finale - we had the 'big bang' in the mid-season finale ... this is more leaving us with lots to look forward to in season five, and really, many season finales go that way - they goad us with something to wait for, so fair enough. I thought it worked very well thematically, too, for the reasons laid out above.

[bassman]

I loved the forshadowing of what happens at Terminus with Rick's rabbit trap. He basically describes the ending of the episode right there. Also, in a blink and you'll miss it sort of way, as the group is being chased and "shot at" through the Terminus complex, you can see A's painted on every door they go through. So if they were lead to train car A, it makes you wonder what's going on in train car B? Someone also mentioned to me(I missed it), that apparently you can hear a slight hint of The Governor's theme during Rick's final line and the light coming through the train door casts a shadow onto Rick's face that looks just like an eye patch. I haven't gone back to check this myself, but thought it was interesting if true.

[facestabber]

Minion, it took you longer than usual to respond, I was getting worried. Season 4 has been a great ride. The evolution of Rick Grimes has been drastic. From the guy in season 1 that goes back to the park to mercy kill bicycle zombie to a man who bites another mans throat out. Completely justified might I add. Makes me wonder if Shane would finally approve of Rick. Shane understood earlier on about the level of ruthless a person needs. Cant say I agreed with Shane's approach often but I think Rick has evolved to what Shane was wishing/hoping he would. Its a shame to because the thought of this Rick teamed up with Shane would be a damn dangerous duo. Well as long as Lori wasnt around as a distraction. As mentioned above and repeated by many here including myself. Michonne's Katana and Daryl's crossbow are useless against armed men. I realize they are trademarks of the character but I hope it comes to an end. Well Michonne's Katana is easy enough to carry while toting a firearm of some sort. And it is very useful to dispatch Walkers without using all to rare bullets. But the crossbow needs to end if Daryl wants to contribute out on the road. Certified Daryl Dixon fan here but I hope the crossbow is confiscated and smashed by the termites and Daryl picks up an AK after slaughtering those sick fuckers. Michonne. She is now human. I think she needed to tell someone about Andre's death to help herself heal just as much as Carl needed to hear the story. Andre's fate was unneccessary and avoidable. As a parent I can see giving up. We finally can see where her hesitation and silence was rooted. Took me awhile to like her in season 3 but I dont wish to see her die. She is as tough as any guy there. I love the way Danai plays her.

[AcesandEights]

Someone also mentioned to me(I missed it), that apparently you can hear a slight hint of The Governor's theme during Rick's final line and the light coming through the train door casts a shadow onto Rick's face that looks just like an eye patch. I haven't gone back to check this myself, but thought it was interesting if true. Reaaaally!? That'd be a cool touch. Now that's worth a second viewing to verify. Thanks for the tip off, Bassman.

[MinionZombie]

I loved the forshadowing of what happens at Terminus with Rick's rabbit trap. He basically describes the ending of the episode right there. Also, in a blink and you'll miss it sort of way, as the group is being chased and "shot at" through the Terminus complex, you can see A's painted on every door they go through. So if they were lead to train car A, it makes you wonder what's going on in train car B? Someone also mentioned to me(I missed it), that apparently you can hear a slight hint of The Governor's theme during Rick's final line and the light coming through the train door casts a shadow onto Rick's face that looks just like an eye patch. I haven't gone back to check this myself, but thought it was interesting if true. 1) In the chaos of being shot at you'd not have time to figure out you were being forced in a particular direction, necessarily, and just want to get the hell out of there, but I did notice the letter "A" written along their 'path' ... I hadn't thought of the foreshadowing with the rabbit trap, so good catch on that! I love the amount of foreshadowing going on in this season - it shows they've thought long and hard, across the entire season, about this story and have drip-fed little glimpses and hints of things to come. 2) It must be a sort of remix of The Governor's theme, but yeah, listening closely, I can sense the vibe of it seeping through. Whether it was intentional or not, I'm not sure, but Rick's right eye is definitely hidden in shadow ... so yeah, it could very well be intentional (not seen Talking Dead yet, so maybe they say on there). Minion, it took you longer than usual to respond, I was getting worried. As mentioned above and repeated by many here including myself. Michonne's Katana and Daryl's crossbow are useless against armed men. I realize they are trademarks of the character but I hope it comes to an end. Well Michonne's Katana is easy enough to carry while toting a firearm of some sort. And it is very useful to dispatch Walkers without using all to rare bullets. But the crossbow needs to end if Daryl wants to contribute out on the road. Certified Daryl Dixon fan here but I hope the crossbow is confiscated and smashed by the termites and Daryl picks up an AK after slaughtering those sick fuckers. hehe ... I was out shopping for a new suit (a friend's wedding is coming up soon and I need a new one) ... didn't have the right size combo in stock though, so will have to try another outlet. Yeah, their weapons are iconic to the characters, and I understand people having their signature weapons that they're comfortable with, but they do need to give Daryl and Michonne a good backup for these sorts of scenarios - perhaps this will be a learning experience for them? ... As for Beth ... I'm not so convinced she's been taken by the 'Terminites' (haha, I love that name for them) ... the car she was driven away in had a cross on the rear window, so I'm thinking it's someone entirely different ... some sort of religious nutjob ... maybe someone who turns out to be okay, but whose M.O. isn't exactly sane. Yeah - the squashed walker was awesome too. I love that they're still finding cool and unique zombie scenarios for these walkers. There's a little story to them, as well as a sweet-arse bit of effects work on show. ... TWD 4x16 Memes: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2014/...king-dead.html Tagged the others so that they don't force everyone to do a lot of additional scrolling.