Assumming Scott Gimple was responsible for this bit & for the hitchhiker bit, he's at least got a talent for the world-revealing throwaway mini-sidestory. Both were really well-done and not overplayed.

without reading the other posts on here, this is my question;

So we are back where Rick worked, yet he didn't know there was a huge Prison nearby?

Or

We are to believe they drove for an extended distance to get back here for a few guns which may or may not, but mostly are not there?

I was always under the impression that they were quite a ways away from where they started???

now I will look through the post.

I just don't get this big obsession with people fretting over whether Rick knew or didn't know there was a prison nearby.

Hightailing to a prison in case of a zombie apocalypse would not be the first thing on my mind due to the fact that the prison is likely to hold a shitload of violet, convicted PRISONERS. Even if nearly all of the prisoners were dead and turned (i.e., like what happened in TWD), you still have the problem of having to clear said prisoner zombies. Hell, the Governor knew about the prison, but didn't think it would be feasible for them to clear it and they have probably 10x the number of people in their group.

I guess people are talking about it because..you know...It's idiotic and makes no sense whatsoever?

When they came across the prison I would have expected some dialogue that went somewhat along the lines of, "there's the prison. I knew it was somewhere around here, yada yada yada". Instead we got nothing that would make you think they were even aware of the Prison.

That's just poor writing and construction of a story.

It's as if the people who were from the area only find out something about the area when we do.

That's not good.

Here is Kirkman's answer:

From this interview:
http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/03/03/wa...kirkman-clear/

Following his explanation, the prison is not really that close by. Of course, now everyone will start ripping into the logic of making such a long trip...

Yea. One line would have fixed it. Have Rick say something about someone he knew who ended up in the prison. Or something.

The whole time, I didn't know they were only twenty miles away from where they started. And I guess that we don't know how far away they are.

If it was a long drive, would it have been worth getting a few firearms?

Just seemed jarring that all the sudden they're back in their hometown.

The thing about reading the comics (cue people searching this post for spoilers to bitch about) is that none of this nitpicking occurred for similar types of logistical crap. Or at least, it wasn't really an issue in the Letters section.

Oh, good. Thank you for posting that. Now I can get some sleep. I've been up since Sunday worrying about this.

I am not going to nitpick this as I believe the producers/writers wanted Morgan earlier/season 1/2 but the actor was not available. When he became available they wrote him in and to get Rick to interact with him.

But we just had a cop in this thread say he doesn't know about even half the prisons in his area. Do you think random cops have some encyclopaedic knowledge about everything crime-related that exists near them?

The reality might frighten you.

Hell i'd bet a majority of local cops don't even know all the prisons in their city, let alone the whole state.

Yeah fans bitch and moan in the letters section, but they didn't take issue with the whole prison thing. Suddenly everyone is fucking Rand McNally when it applies to the show. It's ridiculous.

He was a sheriff's deputy, why would he know about every maximum security prison in the state? It's stupid nitpicky bullshit.

It's people trying to find flaw where there are none.

Come on guys. No love for this story?

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/2145...ted?hpt=us_bn8

It's not idiotic or nonsensical. You're trying to find cracks where there are none.

Rick was a sheriff's deputy who probably handled booking and likely shipped a bunch of criminals to various prisons all over the state.

He likely stood in his jurisdiction and tended to his own field of work.

Retreating to a maximum security prison during a zombie outbreak is the last thing to do, but by virtue of the fact that it was capable of being overthrown by the group, Rick took on the task and risked his group for the sake of shelter.

Awwwwww.

When I lived in Illinois --- a large state with a lot of prisons --- I knew a lot of law enforcement officers. The cops, especially county sheriff's employees, knew where the prisons were because they frequently had to go to them either to question inmates about cases or transport inmates back to their jurisdictions for court proceedings (appeals especially).

It's a valid criticism, especially considering the prison is apparently relatively close to Rick's jurisdiction. About the only way to justify it would be that because they were moving around so much Rick just didn't realize where they were when they stumbled on prison.

Rick was a cop in a little podunk town of probably less than 3000 people. There's really no reason for him to know the exact location of every prison in the state.

Actually the poster said he couldn't name that many in his state, not area.

I have two brothers that were and are cops. They have had to go to local prisons sometimes. As a cop, even in a small town, you know where the local prisons are.

My point is that either he should have known the prison was there or they are too far out to be going back to this place anyway since it's so far away.

Either way it doesn't make any sense.

LOL

I guess if common sense in a show is bullshit to you but I'd at least like the writers to TRY to act like they respect the viewers somewhat.

It's a show about freakin' zombies so I'm not trying to say everything should be realistic but if you are creating a show and present it as possible and realistic then do your best to make things add up.

The show is a pile of crap when you get down to brass tacks but it can be enjoyable still.

It would still have a county court, so he would certainly know the location of a prison a few hours away. Not to mention, prisons are major employers in rural areas.

Ah, thanks.

I don't know why that's an issue. Im a deputy in Harris county (Houston), and I could tell you where two are off the top of my head, Humble and Huntsville (not counting the county jail downtown). I can almost guarantee that in the event of a zombie apocalypse (if zombie fiction didn't exist, like in TWD) I wouldn't think, "to the prison!" Im sure I world be surprised to stumble on whatever prison we did in Texas.

Rick woke up from a coma to find that the world he once knew had been overrun by walking corpses. Everything is in ruin. Towns looks nothing like they once did. He just killed his best friend and is slowly losing his mind. Damn him for not having a perfect sense of direction!

I used to love this show, but now that people pointed out the prison thing, I can't stop thinking about it. It's consuming my life. I think I'm done with The Walking Dead.