The Walking Dead The Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 5 "Self-Help" General Discussion

[Jason Kane]

Oh I bet that's

Spoiler

Beth in the fire...

We're not that lucky!

 

[danoyse]

I don't think Michael Cudlitz likes being on The Talking Dead.

He was like this at Paleyfest a few weeks ago too, it was so funny. He gave his whole speech about how Abraham’s mission was to get to Washington DC, and if the group didn’t want to go with them, he’d go without them if he had to.

His answer was so intense that everyone was just quiet for a few seconds, so he got up, dropped the mike, and walked out up the aisle high-fiving one.

Later, when Norman Reedus was going around taking questions during the Q&A, they found Cudlitz in the back, so he ran up and got him to ask a question. So he said, “Hi...I’m a first time caller...” and he asked Scott Gimple, “Mr. Dimple? When are you gonna bring Abraham on the show??”

So Scott Gimple deadpanned, “Well, he is on the show, and he’s played by you.” So Cudlitz just stood there like

It was HYSTERICAL. He’s really funny.

 

[danoyse]

So in the comics Abrahams family got raped and killed??!! I knew the comics go dark but I didn't know it got that dark.

In the comics....

Abraham was divorced, but he went back for his family when the zombie outbreak started, and they were hiding in a grocery store with some of their other friends and neighbors.

After a few months, they found out that the some of the men in the store were raping the women when Abraham and the other guys were out on runs. They threatened to throw them out if they didn’t comply, so they didn’t tell anyone. Abraham’s daughter and wife had been raped, and the son was forced to watch because he tried to stop them.

When Abraham did find out, he and the other men killed the rapists. One, he explained, was a kid who used to mow his lawn. They all did terrible things, but Abraham had been the most brutal of all of them.

That wound up scaring his family even more, seeing how brutally he killed them. So the next morning, he woke up and found that the wife had taken the kids and ran off.

When he found them, the wife and son were dead, but the daughter had turned into a walker, and he was forced to shoot her.

There’s no Daryl in the comics, and Abraham was the one with Rick when that group attacked them and Rick chewed the guy’s throat out to protect Carl. After that happened, he told Rick that whole story, saying how what he’d done had essentially cost him his family.

 

[<(o_o)>]

Everyone should kick Eugene's ass & leave him for the zombies to eat for him wasting their time & resources.

 

[Jason Kane]

 

[Mister J]

Captain Mullet's revelation came a bit sooner than I expected. I was just waiting for Abraham to go to town on him. The fallout should be good... whenever they flipping get around to that segment again.

 

[raisethe3]

Eugene is starting to tick me off man. Seriously, they should have left his ass and let him get eaten by the walker. He so helpless/useless around.

 

[Drizzle]

 

[bullets]

Everyone should kick Eugene's ass & leave him for the zombies to eat for him wasting their time & resources.

I think the group won't take much to forgive him. There was never a guarantee that it would work if he was telling the truth. Abraham will never forgive him though.

 

[Evelisse]

Well doubt its Beth in the fire, next week looks like another semi flashback, a way to give us some more Daryl/Carol time, pretty much showing everything that happened from the time they went chasing the car up til either Carol was captured/rescued/went under cover and Daryl shows back up at Ricks camp (I think to rally the group for a rescue of Beth and Carol)

They must be saving Morgan for some badass moment during the midseason finale.

 

[Elevator Man]

I agree about how next Sunday will play out. It's gonna be a predictable ep since we already know Carol got apprehended and that Daryl (possibly) brought Noah to Gabriel's church. With that said I'm still curious of how it'll unfold.

 

[Brother Jack]

I agree about how next Sunday will play out. It's gonna be a predictable ep since we already know Carol got apprehended and that Daryl (possibly) brought Noah to Gabriel's church. With that said I'm still curious of how it'll unfold.

There's a good chance Carol is faking it to get inside the compound. My guess is that they meet Noah on their way to the hospital, he tells them what's going on, and they hatch a plan to get inside and get Beth.

 

[Kane52630]

Another really great episode, I love how we get two great comic moments in one single episode that also worked really well together.

 

[Sawyer]

Yaaaaaaas.

 

[sherman]

If I were abraham I would be sad about my wife but I would mostly be angry that she ran away and got herself and my children killed.

 

[Hidan]

Decent episode overall, although the second weakest in the season with the second episode being the weakest so far. Still a really good season so far though.

 

[Havok83]

whoa at Eugene's revelation

 

[Comics]

Eugenome Reject!!

 

[Rowsdower!]

If I were abraham I would be sad about my wife but I would mostly be angry that she ran away and got herself and my children killed.

Yeah, seriously. He only did what he did to protect them and (presumably) in retaliation for what those men did to them. And then they treat HIM like he's the monster.

 

[bullets]

If I were abraham I would be sad about my wife but I would mostly be angry that she ran away and got herself and my children killed.

Abraham was definately the lesser of two evils and his actions were somewhat justifiable. I guess it was early enough in the apocalypse where they thought they would actually stand a chance off on there own. I'll try to give them the benefit of the doubt , but his ex wife sealed her own fate.




Anyone notice when Eugene was caught spying and talking to Tara there was a set of books called "we all fall down" visible on the top shelf behind him. This show is really good about dropping little clues or interesting things in the background

 

[Rowsdower!]

One thing I had an issue with in this episode (and this is the only time I've really noticed this), is it seemed like you could get away from/avoid contact with zombies just by walking at a leisurely pace. When they fought the zombies at the truck and later in the flashback scene with Eugene, it seemed like a guy with no legs could have outrun them.

Do a better job with this, AMC. The zombies need to feel like a genuine threat.

 

[Comics]

One thing I had an issue with in this episode (and this is the only time I've really noticed this), is it seemed like you could get away from/avoid contact with zombies just by walking at a leisurely pace. When they fought the zombies at the truck and later in the flashback scene with Eugene, it seemed like a guy with no legs could have outrun them.

Do a better job with this, AMC. The zombies need to feel like a genuine threat.

Unless they've been well fed, the zombies would definitely slow down as their bodies deteriorate. I get what you're saying about adding tension and danger but thats not how it would work out.

The sheer numbers is the danger. It's called Hoards of Zombies for a reason.

 

[Sun_Down]

I thought this episode was a bit underwhelming until the big reveal at the end. Not Eugene's secret (which was painfully obvious from his first appearance), but the revelation that Eugene quite literally saved Abraham's life. That really resonated, and it was a theme the show hadn't really covered yet. It very nicely explained why Abraham - who seems like a smart guy - would fall for Eugene's story.

I say it was underwhelming for two reasons. One, I don't think we needed 55 minutes of buildup to that scene on the road. The library stuff added only a minimal amount to the story. Second, Abraham's characterization was, in classic Walking Dead fashion, abruptly turned on its head. He had thus far been intense and dedicated to the mission, but reasonable and willing to make a fair deal. Suddenly, he was completely irrational and unreasonable. I get why they did it (to create the tension that led to Eugene's confession), but it was way out of the blue.

I do like the direction of this season, though. Especially these episodes that focus on the smaller groups. And the trio of newcomers have been really interested additions. I had given up on this show after Season 3, but binged the crap out of Season 4.

 

[danoyse]

Abraham was definately the lesser of two evils and his actions were somewhat justifiable. I guess it was early enough in the apocalypse where they thought they would actually stand a chance off on there own. I'll try to give them the benefit of the doubt , but his ex wife sealed her own fate.

Yeah, I think what he did scared them so much that they just didn't feel any safer with him anymore. It looked like it was fairly early on in the apocalypse, so they weren't as numb to stuff like that as people are now.

Anyone notice when Eugene was caught spying and talking to Tara there was a set of books called "we all fall down" visible on the top shelf behind him. This show is really good about dropping little clues or interesting things in the background

I love when they do that. When I was re-watching Season 4 on blu-ray a few weeks ago, I noticed the kid's room that Carl went into in the first episode after the prison had Stephen King's "The Stand" on the shelf.

 

[danoyse]

I thought this episode was a bit underwhelming until the big reveal at the end. Not Eugene's secret (which was painfully obvious from his first appearance), but the revelation that Eugene quite literally saved Abraham's life. That really resonated, and it was a theme the show hadn't really covered yet. It very nicely explained why Abraham - who seems like a smart guy - would fall for Eugene's story.

I say it was underwhelming for two reasons. One, I don't think we needed 55 minutes of buildup to that scene on the road. The library stuff added only a minimal amount to the story. Second, Abraham's characterization was, in classic Walking Dead fashion, abruptly turned on its head. He had thus far been intense and dedicated to the mission, but reasonable and willing to make a fair deal. Suddenly, he was completely irrational and unreasonable. I get why they did it (to create the tension that led to Eugene's confession), but it was way out of the blue.

I do like the direction of this season, though. Especially these episodes that focus on the smaller groups. And the trio of newcomers have been really interested additions. I had given up on this show after Season 3, but binged the crap out of Season 4.

I don't think Abraham had been all that reasonable. It was only because Eugene shot up the truck that he wound up going with Glenn last season, and even then all he talked about was when they would split up to go to DC (and they did split up briefly). He nearly got into a fight with Rick over it two episodes ago and was willing to leave them with two people missing and Gareth's group stalking them. He was already talking about taking the bus right after they got to Gabriel's church.

I read the comics, so I knew Abraham's backstory and I knew Eugene was lying all along, but my family doesn't, and when we were having dinner last night before the show, my mom and sister both said they thought Abraham was running from something.