The Walking Dead Fear the Walking Dead General Discussion Thread

[Leenie]

Did not check out the last two episodes, and I have no desire to. Based on what I've heard about the two final episodes, I'm not missing anything at all, apparently.

I'm going to agree with one of the previous comments about how dumb it is to have this series set in L.A., but have it focused on some neighborhood in the suburbs. I mean, I get that the show has a budget, but why oh why set it in a big city then?

Congrats on your cheap cash grab, AMC.

 

[Elevator Man]

Yeah FTWD isn't anything special, but I'm planning on checking out season 2 anyway. Hopefully the producers and writers get their act together next season.

 

[BestGirl]

It was a good finale. The scene where Nick and Strand were stuck in the hallway was legitimately terrifying. I loved all the shots of LA in flames, even thought they really should've set the show in a smaller city. Too bad about Liza. Someone had to die but I would've preferred it be Alicia or Chris. At least Strand is still alive. He's really grown on me.

It was ridiculous how they bore such a grudge against their neighbors for such a petty reason. The worst part of the episode.

I'm looking forward to seeing this motley group try to survive the collapse of civilization.

So the Hispanic ex wife didn't think twice about leaving the family before. But now when the soldiers in the helicopter want her to get in she has second thoughts. Hahahaha oh my god this show. Wow.

She left voluntarily before because she thought the situation was being brought under control and she would just be volunteering with the sick until they could all return to their homes. When the soldiers asked her to get into the helicopter I think she realized things were falling apart and Nick was in danger.

Ah, ok.

Was the neighbor they didn't tell walking a dog? Because that would mean the mother/daughter team is responsible for 2 dog deaths. Because those neighbors are gonna be zombie food.

Not telling anyone what was happening was really cold, but I guess it depends how far away the arena was from the suburb. If it was far away the zombies would be dispersing all over the city and the neighbors would have plenty opportunity to drive away.

 

[BestGirl]

Watching it now. I realize they have a budget. But does it strike anyone else as odd that they don't have any grenades, or grenade launchers, or any ordinances to hit the horde with?

Maybe they ran out of grenades or something, seeing as how they've been battling a city for days.

 

[chamber-music]

The Guardian summed up the episode pretty well

This episode was really about retribution and people paying for their misdeeds. The soldiers locked the living in with the zombies at the Coliseum and now there’s an even bigger swarm of zombies coming after them.

Daniel tortured Soldier Andy and he comes back to shoot his daughter in the arm.

The soldier who bargained with Strand and took his cufflinks gets eaten alive by a zombie and Strand takes his bounty back with him.

Chris was annoying as hell the whole season and finally some soldiers beat the snot out of him. See, everyone is getting what they deserve.

I'm going to sound like a bad guy but I actually cheered when the soldier knocked his punk arse out. Dude is so annoying, even when he is right. Plus he got KO'd like a beyotch!

I was happy to see Chris get knocked out as well. His whiny character is the most annoying on the show for me.

honestly it felt like there was no one in charge or in command there at all, just pockets of soldiers at different posts. Guess it's their training but I really don't get how those soldiers didn't have a better escape plan, with them knowing just how bad things were out there

We saw desertion and descent in the ranks in this episode and the last. You could tell the military as an organization was breaking down. The evac helicopter didn't bother risking to land and operation Colbalt meant no one was around to back up the soldiers left on the ground.

The soldiers had been taking out walkers on the streets. There didn't seem to be many walkers around . The soldiers certainly were not expecting or prepared for the huge coliseum herd of walkers.

 

[Teelie]

Every aspect of the military's handling of this situation was ridiculous but it is the expected depiction of the military when all hell breaks loose. They are utterly incapable of succeeding but some random civilians will somehow come out of it better off and mostly unscathed.

It isn't exclusive to The Walking Dead universe either. Just about any post-apocalyptic end of the world type of story always shows the military failing where people with little or no training somehow save the day.

 

[Drizzle]

I binge watched the first season in preparation for TWD coming back. I gotta say, I liked the way it started but it ended pretty flat. Hopefully it picks up in its second season.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Every aspect of the military's handling of this situation was ridiculous but it is the expected depiction of the military when all hell breaks loose. They are utterly incapable of succeeding but some random civilians will somehow come out of it better off and mostly unscathed.

It isn't exclusive to The Walking Dead universe either. Just about any post-apocalyptic end of the world type of story always shows the military failing where people with little or no training somehow save the day.

Maybe they are more used to think by themselves than the military
More seriously, if the military could keep it together in this kind of situations it would not be really post apocalyptic, ie, everyone for himself.

 

[chamber-music]

Most armies are not trained for the apocalypse. I would not expect the military to cope with the collapse of modern civilisation.

I don't think you could say for certain how anyone would cope in an apocalyptic situation. Some unlikely people may rise to the occasion while those who look most equipped to deal with it may flounder.

 

[Teelie]

This is the events leading up to it though and everything before it with the occupation camp was still a messy way of handling it. They did slowly unravel up to the point the zombies breached but even before that they weren't behaving very well.

 

[KingCheops]

I would not expect the military to cope with the collapse of modern civilisation.

For starters the modern military is highly dependent on infrastructure and supply lines. If a ZA happens as fast as this one did the window for getting all the correct equipment in all the correct places is very short.

It's also possible that the CDC messed things up by thinking they were close to solving it when in fact they weren't. Could be that the military didn't roll everything out right away because they thought a cure was forthcoming.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Man... tough crowd.

Personally, I loved the whole show. I was hooked from the first episode. I liked the balance of characters and didn't really find any of them annoying or bad. I actually liked the families and the drama that came with them. People seem to really dislike Chris, but I actually really liked him. He's a kid who seems to really want to help people. He participated in the pre-riots because he wanted to initiate change to help people. He did everything he could to protect the daughter (whose name I'm blanking out on). He has the makings of a hero... but he's young. He's got that annoying youth thing going, which I think is why people dislike his character, but I think as he's forced to grow up in this apocalypse, he'll turn into more of a young Glen type of character. Salazar is my favorite character thus far. I think it'd be cool if they were building Strand up to be the show's big villain. That's my prediction.

Really, Ophilia is the only useless character in my eyes at this point. I guess she's really just there to keep Salazar going.

 

[Elevator Man]

Ophelia contributed more for the group than Alicia has, who mostly whined about her dead boyfriend, vandalize and hung out in empty houses, and playing dress up. She's the only character that hasn't proved her worth yet, imo.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Man... tough crowd.

Personally, I loved the whole show. I was hooked from the first episode. I liked the balance of characters and didn't really find any of them annoying or bad. I actually liked the families and the drama that came with them. People seem to really dislike Chris, but I actually really liked him. He's a kid who seems to really want to help people. He participated in the pre-riots because he wanted to initiate change to help people. He did everything he could to protect the daughter (whose name I'm blanking out on). He has the makings of a hero... but he's young. He's got that annoying youth thing going, which I think is why people dislike his character, but I think as he's forced to grow up in this apocalypse, he'll turn into more of a young Glen type of character. Salazar is my favorite character thus far. I think it'd be cool if they were building Strand up to be the show's big villain. That's my prediction.

Really, Ophilia is the only useless character in my eyes at this point. I guess she's really just there to keep Salazar going.

They deliberately left the gate open, allowing zombies in to kill their neighbors.

That's a dick move.

 

[BestGirl]

Most armies are not trained for the apocalypse. I would not expect the military to cope with the collapse of modern civilisation.

I don't think you could say for certain how anyone would cope in an apocalyptic situation. Some unlikely people may rise to the occasion while those who look most equipped to deal with it may flounder.

I agree with this.

They deliberately left the gate open, allowing zombies in to kill their neighbors.

That's a dick move.

From what I've heard, it was Travis who was last through the gate and should've closed it. Since he's a nice guy, he probably just forgot. The real dick move to me was their not telling their neighbors what was going down. I don't even know why that scene was left in there, since it made Ofelia and Madison look awful and made no sense anyway.

 

[Teelie]

I would like to see their decision not to tell the neighbors, not to close the gates, not to do a damned thing for anyone else have a repurcussion on the group at some point in season 2.

 

[X-Ray]

Most armies are not trained for the apocalypse. I would not expect the military to cope with the collapse of modern civilisation.

Since this was set in L.A. they should have used the Marines from San Diego who actually did real life training a few years back for a zombie apocalypse. No joke. Google it.

 

[O_B_Juan]

I would like to see their decision not to tell the neighbors, not to close the gates, not to do a damned thing for anyone else have a repurcussion on the group at some point in season 2.

This would be awesome. It's the perfect Kirkman quirk.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Most armies are not trained for the apocalypse. I would not expect the military to cope with the collapse of modern civilisation.

I don't think you could say for certain how anyone would cope in an apocalyptic situation. Some unlikely people may rise to the occasion while those who look most equipped to deal with it may flounder.

I do not buy the depiction of the US military in this show. Granted, we've never seen a zombie apocalypse, but we do have a bit more experience in seeing how militaries deal with horrible, hopeless situations. The Germans' defense of their home turf against the Soviets in World War II comes to mind. Which they did believe was the end of their civilization. Typically the armies would fight to the last man, or until they simply ran out of ammunition.

American soldiers are not trained to kill and detain American civilians. More importantly, they're not conditioned to abuse civilians that way. The way the soldiers were depicted, you would think they came from some third world militia.

Now, I can certainly see individuals, or even small units going rogue. But the US military is a huge organization, with thousands of people who essentially dedicate their life to service. If these conditions continued for years and years, then yes, I think that would take a toll on the psyche of the average American soldier (marines, sailors, etc included). But I don't see the American military throwing away all its values in the course of a couple of weeks.

And that's not even getting into the other problems of their depiction. Like the total lack of close air support, armor or any sort of incendiary weapons. A couple of grenade launchers, and the zombie horde is a lot more manageable.

I can appreciate the lack of resources, since it's a TV budget, but the moral depiction still seems incredibly poorly written. Cobalt and all that.

It also raises the question, what the hell are these soldiers fighting for?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I do not buy the depiction of the US military in this show. Granted, we've never seen a zombie apocalypse, but we do have a bit more experience in seeing how militaries deal with horrible, hopeless situations. The Germans' defense of their home turf against the Soviets in World War II comes to mind. Which they did believe was the end of their civilization. Typically the armies would fight to the last man, or until they simply ran out of ammunition.

American soldiers are not trained to kill and detain American civilians. More importantly, they're not conditioned to abuse civilians that way. The way the soldiers were depicted, you would think they came from some third world militia.

Now, I can certainly see individuals, or even small units going rogue. But the US military is a huge organization, with thousands of people who essentially dedicate their life to service. If these conditions continued for years and years, then yes, I think that would take a toll on the psyche of the average American soldier (marines, sailors, etc included). But I don't see the American military throwing away all its values in the course of a couple of weeks.

And that's not even getting into the other problems of their depiction. Like the total lack of close air support, armor or any sort of incendiary weapons. A couple of grenade launchers, and the zombie horde is a lot more manageable.

I can appreciate the lack of resources, since it's a TV budget, but the moral depiction still seems incredibly poorly written. Cobalt and all that.

It also raises the question, what the hell are these soldiers fighting for?

If anything, this episode resembled the Japanese internment camps, The Kent State shootings and the Fall of Saigon.

All historical events.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I don't know how well those work. Japanese Interment was all about racism, and everyone – even Republicans – agree that it should never have happened. The Fall of Saigon was the last Americans leaving a foreign country. They were never supposed to do anything other than evacuate.

Kent State is a fair case. Still, I'd say Ohio National Guardsman panicking and shooting protestors (and anyone behind them) isn't indicative of the military as a whole.

But I could certainly see that happening in isolated events.

 

[BestGirl]

Since this was set in L.A. they should have used the Marines from San Diego who actually did real life training a few years back for a zombie apocalypse. No joke. Google it.

Training is okay, but I suspect the playbook would go out the window in the even of an actual zombie apocalypse.

I do not buy the depiction of the US military in this show. Granted, we've never seen a zombie apocalypse, but we do have a bit more experience in seeing how militaries deal with horrible, hopeless situations. The Germans' defense of their home turf against the Soviets in World War II comes to mind. Which they did believe was the end of their civilization. Typically the armies would fight to the last man, or until they simply ran out of ammunition.

There were plenty of German deserters too. Not everyone fought to the last man. Bear in mind also that the Germans were fighting a foreign enemy. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, you'd be fighting your own citizens, and it wouldn't necessarily be entirely clear who was healthy, who'd been exposed, who was in the process of turning, or who was a criminal out to take advantage of you. That would generate paranoia among soldiers, no doubt.

American soldiers are not trained to kill and detain American civilians. More importantly, they're not conditioned to abuse civilians that way. The way the soldiers were depicted, you would think they came from some third world militia.

Now, I can certainly see individuals, or even small units going rogue. But the US military is a huge organization, with thousands of people who essentially dedicate their life to service. If these conditions continued for years and years, then yes, I think that would take a toll on the psyche of the average American soldier (marines, sailors, etc included). But I don't see the American military throwing away all its values in the course of a couple of weeks.

And that's not even getting into the other problems of their depiction. Like the total lack of close air support, armor or any sort of incendiary weapons. A couple of grenade launchers, and the zombie horde is a lot more manageable.

I can appreciate the lack of resources, since it's a TV budget, but the moral depiction still seems incredibly poorly written. Cobalt and all that.

American soldiers may not be conditioned to abuse civilians, but they'll probably do it if they think it's necessary to save the country (including their own families). We can't really say what the military would do as we'e never had a zombie apocalypse.

It also raises the question, what the hell are these soldiers fighting for?

Some soldiers - maybe a lot - already have bailed, based on the soldiers stealing the Clark family car. Like in any crisis, some people are going to follow the rules as long as they can, some will take advantage of the chaos to get whatever they can, and some will just run away as fast as they can.

 

[chamber-music]

The military was detaining people in that fenced neighbourhood for their own safety. It makes sense they would not want people wandering around so that they could get bitten and turned.

We also saw that soldier being distressed at the way things were being handled at the entrance of the fenced community.

I think the military in the show was stretched thin, overwhelmed and demoralized. The command structure was breaking down just like the rest of civilisation.

It seemed like they were losing a lot of men. Remember the ride along Travis went on which lead to an attempt to help some pinned down soldiers. The soldiers and the guy in charge of Travis neighbourhood seemingly died or were turned. The remaining soldiers abandoned their duties to get back to their families.

 

[Golgo-13]

I was hoping they actually showed what happened to the jackass National Guard leader, who was being an a-hole the whole season. Too bad he died off screen.

 

[Teelie]

So we assume. He likely did die in the library but I still adhere to the rule that unless (and sometimes even then) you see someone die on screen they are not truly dead and might have a deus ex machina return to explain away their certain off screen death.