Fear The Walking Dead: SEASON 2B (2x08-2x15) discussion...

[JDP]

And in some cases a very minor tweak would give enough reason for an action - e.g. Nick sleeping beside the vehicle shell rather than on it. You could tweak it so that Nick stumbles up to the thing completely exhausted. He sees the roof, tries to climb up, but is simply too weak to do it - so he slumps down beside it and passes out. Then the thing continues as-is, with him waking up to find dogs attacking him, and a sudden burst of energy gets him up onto that roof. Yes, totally. It's not like it would have taken much to make the situations in this episode be more reasonable and easy to accept. Just plain "lazy writing" here.

[Moon Knight]

The majority of the scenes in that episode were "cool" and well shot, but the problem is that all those situations we are shown were the result of Nick turning into either a moron or a suicidal maniac for some unexplained reason. His decisions in that episode made very little sense for a normal person who is perfectly capable of rational thinking and still values his life. Just "lazy writing", as many keep pointing out. Nick himself pointed out in the episode that he was making stupid decisions. Nick wasn't the problem for me other than the zombie camo. I do agree with better tightening on the writing these last three episodes could have been even better. Like JotD pointed out I think this back half has been stronger than the first so far.

[MinionZombie]

Like JotD pointed out I think this back half has been stronger than the first so far. Yeah, I'd say so too. Being stuck on that boat was so limiting, and that farm-type place with the crazy lady running it was kinda naff. These last three have been more interesting by comparison, but we're coming from a low base and they're continuing to make really silly slip ups.

[Neil]

OK... Two episodes into this half of the series... And apart from characters doing stupid stuff, I'm quite enjoyed it Onto the third episode now... BTW, why is episode 9 reminding me of this epic trailer?

[shootemindehead]

Cos it's set in a hotel? Have to say that's what came to my mind too. Gave me a goo to go play it again. Even though 'Dead Island' had its issues, it was blood atmospheric. I wonder if there's a mod where you can get the guy who constantly says "I heard this scourge came from outer space. Came down on a goddamn meteor" and drag him out to the zombies.

[Moon Knight]

Where the f*ck is Ofelia? Lol

[JDP]

Where the f*ck is Ofelia? Lol Maybe she went raiding all the mini-bars that are still accessible (i.e. in the rooms without zombies in them.) But I think you wouldn't find much in them, that lady with the keys to the hotel seems like she pretty much took most of the snacks and drinks already. Or maybe she's gone a bit insane, like Nick in the first mid-season episode, and is just aimlessly wandering the hotel doing random nonsensical things for no apparent reason.

[MinionZombie]

2x11: Pablo & Jessica Fairly entertaining, a decent episode. Felt a bit closer to some of the characters here (e.g. Strand). One thing with their 'lure the walkers' plan, though - it relied on luck with them luring two different streams of walkers to the same entrance of that pier at the same time (admittedly the only entrance). In reality you'd want to do that in two batches, perhaps ... then again, with the plan meaning a jump into the water you'd have to do it in one lest you jump off a second time and get bitten by a floater. I understand why they'd do it in one go - it's much more efficient storytelling, and the main reason not to do it in two is the risk for whoever jumps off the pier the second time. Ratings update for last week's episode (2x10): So, 2x09 was 3.66 million ... ... 2x10? Another drop - 2.99 million. I'd imagine we'll see an uptick for the finale, but eep ... I'd be getting a little bit nervous with the figures continually sliding like this. I'd be really surprised to see this cancelled any time soon, I just don't think that'll happen - but might there'll be a budget cut? Honestly, if that meant fewer episodes per season I'd be perfectly fine with that. 15 episodes of FTWD for Season 2 is way too much - not enough content stretched over too many weeks.

[JDP]

2x11: Pablo & Jessica Fairly entertaining, a decent episode. Felt a bit closer to some of the characters here (e.g. Strand). One thing with their 'lure the walkers' plan, though - it relied on luck with them luring two different streams of walkers to the same entrance of that pier at the same time (admittedly the only entrance). In reality you'd want to do that in two batches, perhaps ... then again, with the plan meaning a jump into the water you'd have to do it in one lest you jump off a second time and get bitten by a floater. I understand why they'd do it in one go - it's much more efficient storytelling, and the main reason not to do it in two is the risk for whoever jumps off the pier the second time. Also, I would always be nervous of the possibility of some of them somehow making it back to the shore. You never know. Zombies don't drown and the group doesn't know how far will the tide take the zombies to. Maybe it doesn't take them very far away from the hotel.

[Moon Knight]

I looooooooved the ending with Strand! He's become my favorite character by far. The last fifteen minutes were really enjoyable but Nick's story I just don't care for anymore.

[MinionZombie]

Nice to see how Madison and Strand got out of trouble - getting their gore on for the first time (having learned it from Nick). They seem to be becoming a bit of a power couple - and nice to see Strand take a silent role in Madison's negotiation with the wedding party survivors. I'm enjoying this part of the plot and dig the set up of the hotel ... but how long will it really last? It's an operating business in real life, so I can't imagine they'll hang around there for long. That mother of the bride is casting all kinds of shade. But did you notice that Nick and Luciana (who is a character I'm starting to like more and more now) barely had any blood on them whatsoever in this episode when they went out and about? Less so than before, even, so it seemed. Their t-shirts had old bloodstains on - but surely the idea is to keep the gore fairly fresh, too? Also, I would always be nervous of the possibility of some of them somehow making it back to the shore. You never know. Zombies don't drown and the group doesn't know how far will the tide take the zombies to. Maybe it doesn't take them very far away from the hotel. It was supposedly a rip tide - but yeah, I think I'd prefer to go room-by-room and kill them all. That way I'd be sure. Also, to do that, I'd make sure I was wearing some sort of improvised armour - especially on my forearms. Sure, it'd take a long time, but with them locked in rooms they're not going anywhere. Deal with the ones outside first, fortify the location, then deal with the individual walkers locked in the rooms. Like with Dawn of the Dead (yes, I'm aware in TWD land no characters have ever heard of zombie movies - they don't exist in that world) ... nevertheless, they sealed the place up and then dealt with the zombies. Mind you, that wouldn't be as spectacular as leading a herd for a long walk off a short pier.

[Moon Knight]

The issue of lack of blood on Nick and Lucianna was just another example of bad lazy writing. The fact that nothing has really happened to build a connection and they just decided, "Hey, we need these characters to grow a strong bond so that viewers can get emotionally invested, oh I know, let's have them f*ck!" Ugh this is why I'm so happy Daryl and Carol never hooked up. I care more about their relationship because of it, it's how it's done.

[MinionZombie]

The issue of lack of blood on Nick and Lucianna was just another example of bad lazy writing. The fact that nothing has really happened to build a connection and they just decided, "Hey, we need these characters to grow a strong bond so that viewers can get emotionally invested, oh I know, let's have them f*ck!" Ugh this is why I'm so happy Daryl and Carol never hooked up. I care more about their relationship because of it, it's how it's done. The Daryl/Carol relationship has been one of the very best things about TWD. Both have been abused by people close to them, they've both grown a huge amount during the apocalypse, they've both had to change a hell of a lot and do things that trouble them - Daryl had to learn to become more than a loner, to think for himself, to allow himself to be a part of a group ... Carol had to become a warrior, but didn't do so cleanly, and as a result of some mistakes and allowing herself to be as brutal as needed she's now reached a point where she can no longer continue in that vein and has to change all over again if she's ever to live with herself. Their relationship is far more complicated than "you're hawt, let's fook!". There's a mutual understanding, similar experiences, a mutual search for healing and redefinition, and they've supported each other throughout the show. They were both on the outskirts of the group for different reasons and have become indispensible at the same time. They might have stuffed up Andrea's character towards the end, but they took Carol - who was, let's be honest, pretty naff in the comics - and turned her into an incredibly rich character whose journey has been deep, varied, and hugely rewarding to watch. I like Luciana, but her relationship with Nick has been very quick and is kinda shallow, I gotta say, that we're already at the kissing stage after only four episodes.

[JDP]

Nice to see how Madison and Strand got out of trouble - getting their gore on for the first time (having learned it from Nick). They seem to be becoming a bit of a power couple - and nice to see Strand take a silent role in Madison's negotiation with the wedding party survivors. I'm enjoying this part of the plot and dig the set up of the hotel ... but how long will it really last? It's an operating business in real life, so I can't imagine they'll hang around there for long. That mother of the bride is casting all kinds of shade. But did you notice that Nick and Luciana (who is a character I'm starting to like more and more now) barely had any blood on them whatsoever in this episode when they went out and about? Less so than before, even, so it seemed. Their t-shirts had old bloodstains on - but surely the idea is to keep the gore fairly fresh, too? It was supposedly a rip tide - but yeah, I think I'd prefer to go room-by-room and kill them all. That way I'd be sure. Also, to do that, I'd make sure I was wearing some sort of improvised armour - especially on my forearms. Sure, it'd take a long time, but with them locked in rooms they're not going anywhere. Deal with the ones outside first, fortify the location, then deal with the individual walkers locked in the rooms. Like with Dawn of the Dead (yes, I'm aware in TWD land no characters have ever heard of zombie movies - they don't exist in that world) ... nevertheless, they sealed the place up and then dealt with the zombies. Mind you, that wouldn't be as spectacular as leading a herd for a long walk off a short pier. Yes, but a riptide might not necessarily carry the zombies to a place where the sea itself later on might not carry them back to shore:

[Trin]

Just watched 2X08... wow... Walking, walking, yawning, walking... Flashback, flashback... Main character break with reality... Implausible, wtf, implausible... They pretty much did a "best of" of all the things I hate about TWD. I will say that I found the dog attack completely believable. I can't imagine Nick crawling on top of the bus when he first sits down. He was clearly cold and suffering early signs of exposure. I'm more surprised he didn't crawl inside the thing. I literally spent the entire episode cringing at the sunburn he must be getting. I couldn't think about anything else.