Comic spoiler:


This season really sucks. I thought the comic version after the fall of the prison up until the point above was mostly boring and poorly done but the show somehow has managed to make it worse. Sad thing is that I think I know how the season will end and everyone will be talking about how amazing and edgy the show is...completely ignoring the boring journey to get to that point.

I got caught up on this season's episodes last night and today. The Eugene reveal was predictable.

I thought the same thing about the driving (not paying attention) but then, apparently, it was because of Eugene's sabotage. Poorly executed, but it would have been worse if it was just because he wasn't paying attention.

Regarding the previous episodes:

[Talking dead spoiler]

I don't actually know what would happen if glass got into a fuel tank, but it looked like the equivalent of blowing a tire so it jerked them around and they ran into a junked car.

Again, I don't quite know what people need. Should Abraham have yelled "I've somehow lost control of the vehicle! Hang on!"?

Wow.

This season has started off better than any season since the first. To think this season sucks says to me that this show is not for you.

Glass in the fuel tank 'might' cause a rupture in a fuel line if some portion of it was rubber or plastic. So they may have just stalled if fuel couldn't reach the engine. More likely it would've just been caught in the fuel filter. It certainly wouldn't cause anything like a blown tire.

It's not a question of what people 'need' it's just that when things don't make sense, people question it.

Regarding the editing, I wasn't referring to the Abraham back story. I was thinking about how there were no vehicles ahead on the road, until they lost control, then they were suddenly strewn all over. Also how the 'ramp' vehicle was much further ahead, but then they immediately struck it, and of course, ramped off it. Many movies/shows are guilty of the mystery ramp, so that's a criticism that's hardly limited to this show.

The water showed how soft/weak the walkers bodies are... since the water caved in heads, chests and took off limbs. So they're very weak and light... except when they're on a 200+ pound human - all of a sudden they're Arnold Schwarzenwalker. A little consistency from the writers would be nice.

Exactly. As presented, Abraham wasn't paying attention, swerved to miss a car, lost control, hit an SUV and overturned.

If Eugene's explanation was that the glass rubbed through a fuel line near the exhaust manifold, causing a fire, that's what they should have showed: Flames erupting from the engine compartment, which could have startled Abraham, causing him to hit the SUV.

Would have been just as exciting, and it would have made sense later.

Doubtful putting glass pieces in a fuel tank would do anything at all. They'd just sink to the bottom and stay there. They'd never get past the filter.

Anyhoo they say stuff like that so that dingbats don't cause actual damage to real property.

Good thing the bus crashed, because if the glass in the gas tank didn't work, Eugene was going to try the banana in the tailpipe trick.

Anyone else watching Eugene slamming into the pavement at the end have a flashback to Apollo Creed in Rocky IV?

I agree. I really did not like last season, this season is much better.

On the topic of the comics ... it was shortly after the Hunters storyline that I felt the book started to go to shit. They started killing people left and right for shock value and didn't really advance the overall plot, keeping it more of the same.

I've only read up to around #115 or so though and I'm hoping the show changes quite a bit of comic material going forward.

Re: Character specific episodes

Fact of life. Been going on for over 50 years, since days of Rawhide, Gunsmoke and 77 Sunset Strip. Star Trek TNG did it a lot.
Economics. Allows several episodes to be shot simultaneously on several sets. The actors will jump over to another set for quick group scene.
Mon-Thur
Set A: Festus is holding down fort in Dodge City
Set B: Matt is escorting convict to state prison
Set C: Kitty is taking stagecoach trip
Fri
Everybody meets on saloon set to shoot interactive scenes for all three episodes
Presto! Three episodes in the can in one week of shooting.

Haha! Classic.

I don't remember what issue you are at but the comics have gotten pretty boring. I am a few months behind though.

Somewhere right before the "All Out War" branding on the covers. I'd like to see some of the plot move forward, though I have a feeling they will just find another group to fight with yet again.

Agreed about the show, and agreed about the comic. Although the comic took an interesting turn the last few issues that finally made it interesting for me again.

Obviously, I disagree but I'm watching the show because I do like seeing how it differs from the comics and I do have hope that next season will be it's best when they deal with a certain new character. To be fair, I disliked the events that we're seeing in the comic version as well. The funny thing is that in the earlier seasons, I actually didn't dislike most of the changes they made. However, some of those changes have had a profound effect on where the show is today and the characters involved. I could go into detail but that would probably be better suited for a comic vs. show discussion.

Rick's group has a purpose. They have to find every group of maniacs left in the world so Rick can argue with their leader and we can have some drama when a character on borrowed time has his or her life threatened repeatedly.

I had a little bit of an issue with this, but not enough to mention it. Since you bring it up though ... The way they portrayed it (loud bang, smoke coming from underneath, Abraham losing control) was as if it was a blown tire. My first thought when the bus flipped was "which tire was it?" My second thought was "how the fuck do you lose control when you have tandem tires?"

Like Maggie's character shift, this really felt like a sloppy re-write. It was as if it started off as a blown tire, but then somebody figured out they could make it more believable and advance a story line AFTER the initial footage was shot.

Plus I always have an issue with "ramping."

The way Eugene explained it, the glass ruptured the fuel line and fuel sprayed close to (or on to) the spark plugs. This would have caused a fire or explosion, not uncontrollable swerving. (I agree with a previous poster, the glass would have just settled to the bottom. I won't even complain about that though.)

They may not fall for the banana in the tail pipe, but they almost fell for the intestines in the intake.

PS - Anybody think Eugene may be dead?

I do. Braindead, at least. Because it looked like the back of his head was smashed pretty hard after he received that second punch.

even if i didn't already read about eugene and his bullshit, you pretty much could figure it out. he just spouts off technobabble when confronted about what he'll do. it was pretty clear from early on he had no idea what the fuck he was talking about.

That was the least shocking reveal in television history. Was anyone surprised that Eugene had no cure or was not even a scientist?

This was a pretty terrible episode if you grade it on cinematography, editing, writing, and acting (Espinoza can't act out of a paper bag).

The opening episodes had shown more promise up until this one, which totally destroys the narrative's momentum. It felt like a lot of last-minute changes were put into this episode. Abraham's story should have been spread over a minimum of two episodes.

The emperor has no clothes. I still have no idea how this has become the highest-rated cable drama in history. It's mindless zombie entertainment that takes itself far more seriously than it should.