TWD 4x09 "After" episode discussion... **SPOILERS WITHIN**

[MinionZombie]

The mid-season premiere! Please keep all talk of episode 4x09 "After" 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! The Walking Dead Episode 409 – After: “As Rick deals with old wounds, members of the prison have to come to terms with their new environment and ask themselves if survival alone is enough.” Written By: Robert Kirkman Directed By: Greg Nicotero

[rongravy]

My kid was texting me today from work of some way he claimed we could watch the episode early through XBOXONE. Apparently, by the time he got home, whatever screw up was already fixed. I was hoping to lord it... I would've still treated tomorrow night's premiere like she was fresh out of the box, though. My wife wasn't home when I would've watched it, so I could've gotten the full scoop and acted like I was just really good at guessing what the episode was about when it comes on officially. Too bad because she would've freaked. Alas, a butt ton of woulda/couldas in there that will now never come to fruition. Phooey. Either way, I'm hoping to get up super late so I don't have as long to wait for the show. So-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o close... Hoping it gets cray cray.

[kidgloves]

Wahaaay. We're back. Didn't seem that long tbh.

[bassman]

My kid was texting me today from work of some way he claimed we could watch the episode early through XBOXONE. Apparently, by the time he got home, whatever screw up was already fixed. I was hoping to lord it... I would've still treated tomorrow night's premiere like she was fresh out of the box, though. My wife wasn't home when I would've watched it, so I could've gotten the full scoop and acted like I was just really good at guessing what the episode was about when it comes on officially. Too bad because she would've freaked. Alas, a butt ton of woulda/couldas in there that will now never come to fruition. Phooey. Either way, I'm hoping to get up super late so I don't have as long to wait for the show. So-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o close... Hoping it gets cray cray. Surely another "accidental" leak from AMC. But yes, the episode is already out there...

[facestabber]

Damn happy today is finally here. Looking forward to the discussions to follow.

[Zombie Snack]

I really really really really really wanted shoe grabber walker to sink his teeth into Carls leg.

[Wyldwraith]

At one time I would've agreed, but Carl has become a lot more interesting lately. In part I believe because we don't often see characters his age as anything but helpless burden/dependents in your typical zombie fare. Was good stuff hearing him get all that stuff off his chest while Rick was unconscious...though of course one wishes he'd have had the stones to say it to a conscious Rick. Rick DID let the prison group down by sliding into the delusion that they could simply fence the zombie apocalypse out and go on with a pre-apocalyptic sort of life. One wonders how things might've been different had Lori survived...because it was really her death, and Rick's subsequent breakdown due to it that set things up in Rick's head for the Farmer Rick-style complacency. Carl DID have a point about Rick knowing the Governor was out there, no doubt seething with rage and plotting revenge. Yes, I realize the "plague" so drastically reduced manpower that even if up until that point they'd instituted tighter security it would've probably fallen apart when damned near everyone got sick. What resonated with me though was the realization that it wasn't everything going south at the Prison that caused Carl to turn his anger on Rick...it was the fact that in Carl's mind Rick simply abdicated his responsibilities and therefore didn't even try to head off what ultimately happened. That, and Carl never had any patience for Farmer Rick to begin with. Was interesting to see Michonne fall back on her Walker-Camo act...and even juicier was the Walker in the herd she was plodding along with that bore a STRONG resemblance to Michonne. The actress did a great job of conveying the medley of complex emotions that sight provoked in a non-verbal way. Something I still wonder about is where Michonne ever found a master-crafted katana in the modern American South. Don't have any problem with it...just would love to see a webisode of how that came about.

[clanglee]

I really really really really really wanted shoe grabber walker to sink his teeth into Carls leg. Oh me too!! It was a great episode.. . . I just have one major problem with the whol Micchone thing. I can understand her two previous zombies on chains being so docile. They had been around her so long that they no longer saw her as food and were no longer aggresive. But these two new ones. . . one minute they are impailing themselves on spikes to get her. . . and then . . all pf a sudden. . just because they no longer have arms or jaws. . . they are docile little kittens? Makes no sense. THEY don't know they can't eat her, they are brainless automotons. How would they know they no longer have the means to get her and ingest her? And why would they just go where she wanted them to just with a little guide rope? Shouldn't they be chasing her? Instead she is somehow able to follow just behind them and all the other zombies just dont pay her any attention? Silly

[Legion2213]

Not a great season opener IMO. I did like Carls initial reaction to seeing the big TV and console set-up, before the realisation sank in that it was all useless apart from a couple of cables. Also liked his message on the bedroom door - "walker inside, got my shoe, didn't get me" I think Michonne can walk with the dead because she is so calm and doesn't panic, the walkers seem to be reactive creatures rather than pro-active. I also think that black female walker with dreads reminded her of herself as well...which is why she flipped out and butchered them all. Edit: Glad she took care of Hersh as well...he deserved the peace of a proper death! Opening shot of all the walkers milling around also rocked...very "Dawn-like", evoked a real twinge of GAR nostalgia for me!

[sandrock74]

Not a great season opener IMO. It wasn't.

[MinionZombie]

Yeah, a mid-season opener. I wasn't expecting some big, grand episode - certainly not after 4x08's massive ruck ... a quieter affair, and I dug it. Good to focus on just Carl and Michonne (with some Rick). I liked all the father/son stuff - Carl's growing up, but he's not the all-capable and all-knowing badass he thinks he is ... it was a really good arc for this episode, and particularly with Carl being around about 13, it speaks to every father/son relationship out there ... there will come a time when you finally go head-to-head with your own Dad and start challenging his authority as you stride out on your own, but at the same time you're inevitably going to make mistakes and fall flat on your arse again, at which point you realise your old man's not so controlling after all ... and likewise, a father realises his son has to be let loose somewhat to become his own man. An excellent character episode. I did find an issue with Michonne's new pet walkers suddenly being docile, but at the same time it'd just take up too much screentime to show them calming down - you just need the essentials - Michonne needs protection, she gets two new pets, the end, so fair enough. Good stuff for Michonne too - having been a loner, and then having finally gained something new that was worth holding dear, she instantly lost it all. Heading back into the woods as a loner, but then it all comes flooding back - good to see some backstory on her pet walkers (and that she had a child) - and that she eventually came around and tracked down Rick & Carl. Wise to get this stuff inside a single episode. I wonder if we'll get three episodes on-the-trot covering different pairings of groups, by the end of which we get the band back together? I also dug the moment when Carl found the boy's bedroom with the sweet gaming set up etc. A little glimmer of what he once was, that he's still somewhat of a child, and then the realisation that it was all gone. A strong episode all-round. I knew it would be a quiet one, and liked that ... and a spiffing opening too (I had wondered if they'd address Hershel's undead head, so I'm glad that they did). ... TWD 4x09 Memes:   http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2014/...king-dead.html

[Legion2213]

It wasn't. Yeah, a mid-season opener. Oh, I see...like that is it...fecking smart arses! Oh, yeah, another little life lesson for "the carlster" little boys can't shoulder barge doors in... And for the record, it wasn't a bad episode, just not a great one...but hey...TWD is back, and that's all that counts!

[Trencher]

I thought it was a great episode, it had exploration AND well written character development, in the comic Carl spends most of his time sitting by Rick and I am glad they did not go that route it would have been cheap. Very nice stuff.

[Moon Knight]

Man, great start to the second half of the season. I loved how peaceful and quite it was; with Michonne's killing spree a needed exception, this was a cool episode. All the little touches like Carl not being able to shoulder ram the door open like Dad and the console and tv setup- great stuff. Glad they addressed Hershel' s head too. The last episode ended so explosive that the following episode needed to slow things down a bit as our survivors try and catch their breath; sometimes with unpredictable situations. This episode also felt extremely different. All the prison haters should feel happy. Marvelous stuff.

[MinionZombie]

Was it just me, or during the scene where Michonne is walking through the woods with the gaggle of walkers, the puppet zombie in that single shot ... was that a reference to An American Werewolf In London? It looks an awful lot like the guy who gets savaged by the wolf at the beginning and then appears all mangled as an undead version of himself in the porno cinema. You can see a couple more glimpses of the puppet in this video. Gotta love a bit of zombie puppet work.