In Season 8 we said good bye to Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs), well now comes word from several reliable sources that Andrew Lincoln will only be in 6 episodes next season before he makes his exit from the popular show. For me and other die hard fans this is devastating. I am sure that fans want the producers and writers to find away to keep the show on for a few more seasons, but why?
In my opinion the show should call it a day and go out on top. Why wait till the ratings drop and risk getting canceled with out a farewell show. As much as I like Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, I don't want them to see them change his character to make him a leader. Now he is a leader but not a Rick Grimes leader. How would the fans like it if Negan some how became the leader?
If they do not end the show in season 9, then they should have a 6 episode final season 10. I am sad about saying this, but I do not see a true happy ending for our favorite heroes. They could have some great tribute shows in the final season. and then have the best ending they can have for the remanding cast members.
I don't want them to keep the show going just to keep the show going. Creativity and creative writing will die and show runners might also say good bye.
I want to see this show end and end strong with Greg Nicotero and company.
It was good to see Ricks group finally fight back. However they suffered heavy loses. King Ezekiel lost his pet tiger Shiva. I felt so bad for him. It seemed to impact him the rest of the season, he was different.
Negan was Negan but I believe he lost his leadership ability over his group. he was still a jerk but he could not use his style of intimidation to lead and each episode he lost a little more, but I was still on guard for him to strike back hard. it never happened.
They fight went on and on and I am still not sure about the story of Jadis. I believe Jadis was about Jadis and keeping her group safe but Eugene fixed that and I was upset with myself that I felt bad for her which means there has to be more to her.
But in episode 8 "How it's Gotta Be" all of our hearts where ripped out when Carl got bit. We all hoped this was not the end, but in episode 9 "Honor" Carl died. I cried like a baby when Rick put his head on Carl shoulder and broke down at the end of epd 8. Carl wrote letters to everyone including Negan, but the one that impacted the season final was the one he wrote to his Dad, the one that made Rick decide to save Negan. I wanted to reach into the screen and beat Rick with Negan's bat myself.
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But I have to question myself, was rick wrong to save Negan. Maggie seems to think so and it seems she will team up with Daryl to take down Rick. Is Maggie wrong or right? Am I team Rick or Maggie? Will season 9 be the last season for Rick or Maggie or both?
Carl's Death has impacted the future of the story more so then Negan Killing Glenn or Did Negan's action lead to Carl's Death? I have heard it said that season 8 will change the whole series and I believe that. I am curious to see whats next and how many more seasons the show will continue.
The other day I was watching a repeat of "The Walking Dead" and thought to myself are horror fans desensitized to zombies or are we suspicious of everything? Have horror TV programs and movies made us ready for anything because of the fictional reality and believable situations they feed our mind? There was something about the old black and white shows that came out in the fifties that would just freak you out. I remember the first time I saw the 1960 Classic "Little Shops of Horrors" and that little ugly potted plant said feed me. I ran to the corner of my bed room and hid. it scared the living snot out of me.
I was freaked out at just the thought of something like could happen. When the movie ended I carefully turned the TV off and went and got myself a glass of milk. We had potted plants in the house and I swear they looked at me from that point on. The 1986 remake staring Rick Moranis entertained me, but did not have the same effect. It did not challenge my imagination.
The first time I saw a zombie movie was "Night of the Living Dead" from 1968. I was addicted to zombies from that day on. But as movie quality got better, I was less scared, It was like I was ready for the undead , Or was I? I still have nightmares about a Zombie Apocalypse. Walking Dead still gives me a chill, but I am more into the drama. If a favorite character gets killed by one, I get tense. But it depends on how it happens. When Dale got killed in "The Walking Dead" Episode "Better Angles" That got to me, that was a creepy episode. It's when the Walker comes out of no where and grabs you. Same with horror movie or shows, it's when the horror hit's you before you know you have been hit.
I think movies like the remake of the 1982 Poltergeist this year, The Paranormal Activity series that started in 2007 and 2010 Insidious movies, 2013 Conjuring series including 2014 Annabelle they are working on the surprise factor again. Alfred Hitchcock once talked about this in a interview. It is to make the audience forget about the danger in the room because of the drama of the people. Sound familiar? The Walking Dead famous line "Kill The Dead, Fear The Living". Think about it. The Walking Dead has more drama and problems with the living then the Dead. If it was not for the Governor Rick and his gang would have kept the prison. But that would have killed the show and then it would be boring. And what about Carl killing his mom before she turned.
How do we define what is scary and what is boring? What scares you may make someone else laugh. Clowns scare me to death, they make children laugh.
Do you remember the 1978 movie Phantasm? I was more afraid of the funeral home then the silver ball, and that big tall guy just freaked me out and I still don't know what the movie was about.
I don't know, it's just not a horror movie unless I am traumatized and have to think about changing my underwear.
The first time we see Shane Walsh was in the first episode "Days Gone Bye" where in a conversation with Rick Grimes he ask how are things with Lori, Rick's wife. It is obvious that Rick and Lori's marriage is on the rocks and may be past the point of no return. Question: Was Shane and Lori having sex before Rick got shot? In a the second episode of the second season, Lorie has a flash back when she was at the school talking to other mothers and she talks about the fight she had with Rick. I am thinking she has already given up on Rick and is having sex with Shane.
Shane seems like a great leader of the group and Lori and him are at that point of being a family with Carl, but in the episode "Tell it to the Frogs" Shane's world is shattered when Rick is reunited with Lorie and Carl. When you see his reaction it's heartbreaking as it is bitter. Shane fights his demons but over time he becomes even more bitter as Rick slowly becomes a leader of the group. Shane fights with Rick on every decision he makes. However, was Shane always wrong to challenge Rick? I don't think that in the first season that any of the group had come to reality of the new world they where now living in except Shane.
I often wonder if Rick and Shane could have come to a understanding and Shane was the leader what shape would the group be in? Maybe they would have taken Woodbury and over powered the Governor and fortified the prison and held their ground and maybe even got the tank and maybe more weapons.
While I like Rick, Shane had no problem being tough when he needed to be. Rick seemed to want to make everyone happy because of Carl. He wanted his son to see him as a true leader.
To Shane's defense, he was being ignored and Lori just dumped him as if they nothing happen and moved back to Rick's arms. Or so it seemed. I mean face it how would you feel if you was in Shane's place? The world has just ended, you find happiness and move on, but the old world including your best friend that you thought was dead comes back from the dead as if you have done nothing right and takes over. That my friend is a big pill to swallow.
Shane felt that Rick could not keep the Lori and Carl and the group safe. What was he calling safe? was he wrong? In the episode "Pretty Much Dead Already" Shane was right in killing the Walkers in Hershel's Barn. Hershel had some how convinced Rick to help him retreat two lost walkers from the creek down below his farm. Shane was pissed off and mad. In the world of the Zombie Apocalypse what is the correct way of communicating or educating people about the world around you?
But like greed, Shane had already lost control of his anger when he killed Otis in the episode "Save the Last One". But even I wonder if Carl would have survived if Shane had not of killed Otis. In war there is a term called collateral damage. Innocent had to die to save others. If they could have put Shane on trail, would collateral damage been a strong enough defense for a not guilty verdict? I think it was Shane's guilt of killing Otis that made him just not care and want Rick dead. In the episode called "Secrets" Shane makes it clear he wants Rick dead when he aims his shotgun at him while Rick is in the distance and unaware, but Dale confronts him. Shane denies what Dale thinks, but makes it clear to Dale he would have no problem killing him also. It was a back handed threat. At that point Shane was going to do whatever he had to do to get Lori and the leadership of the group.
However in the episode "Save the Last One" When Otis and Shane where at the school getting supplies, I do believe that Shane intended to get Otis out of the school and return him to the farm. But there was a boy dying and that was Shane's first priority, so he shot Otis and sacrificed him for Carl. You could very well debate and say that Shane had other motives, and that is a fare argument. Shane returns to the farm as the hero,and that's when things being to unravel for him when they have a memorial for Otis. They ask him to say some words about Otis because he was the one that was there in his final hours. This is where Shane's guilt starts to eat at him, and I am not talking appetizer, but big chunks like a walker chowing down on new meat. This is where the battle for Lorie and leader of the group really starts or at least the way I see it. He does not have a plan at that point, but he knows what he wants.
After the memorial, and the rest of the season Shane takes on Rick. You could say they are no longer best friends. In the episode "18 Miles Out" Rick and Shane fight it out for the first time in trying to come to terms with Lori and the baby that is on it's way. Rick makes it clear that even if the baby belongs to Shane, it will know Rick as the father. That was another notch in a mind that is already ready to lose it. They make it back to the farm with nothing settled. Then Shane takes Rick on a walk in a episode called "Better Angles" The title of that episode says it all. With what happen to Dale getting bit and Carl knowing it was his fault, and then Rick kills Shane just to have Carl shoot Shane after he turns. It makes you wonder about Shane. Maybe he was a angel, but he was not the best. Carl was Ricks Angel shooting Shane the Walker, but Carl was no Angel to Dale.Come to think of it. Was Dale the better angel? He always watched out for everyone. But that is another part of the series.
