<p>The story lines are weak are, the acting only fair, and there are inconsistencies and plot holes all over the place. But…zombies! I watch just for them, and last night was A+++ in that regard, from the opening eyeball shot onward. The makeup and special effects folks deserve a special lifetime Emmy award. Yeah every now and then I do ponder the theme of carrying on and reproducing in the face of total hopelessness, and consider the group dynamics of a random assortment of people thrown together by fate, but primarily it’s…zombies!</p>
<p>SPOILER ALERT</p>
<p>Okay, so here’s something that I don’t understand. Last season we learned that everyone is already infected with the zombie virus - you don’t neccessarily “catch it” from a zombie bite or scratch.</p>
<p>So why cut off Hershel’s leg after he’s bitten? He’s not going to catch the virus - he’s already got it. Is the bite of a zombie deadly for other reasons?</p>
<p>Don’t know why this bothers me, but it’s one of those inconsistencies that MommaJ alluded to.</p>
<p>We had DVR’d the latest episode and watched last night. Highly satisfying dose of zombie gore. Hacking of the leg was also a nice touch! Slept soundly afterwards. “Walking Dead” is my bedtime story . . .</p>
<p>“So why cut off Hershel’s leg after he’s bitten? He’s not going to catch the virus - he’s already got it. Is the bite of a zombie deadly for other reasons?”</p>
<p>It is fiction, not at all a true scientific physiological phenomena. The show certainly does not explain or rationalize it in a logical manner but I can see someone saying the virus from the water is in different form and when a person dies, the virus transformed somehow and metastasised into the form that makes a person a zombie. Getting bitten directly from a zombie, you get the post-mortem form of virus and it will turn you into a zombie.</p>
<p>Or maybe - the bite of a zombie contains other noxious bacteria or viruses that WILL kill you. Then once you’re dead, the latent zombie virus kicks in…</p>
<p>I think the baby about to be born will carry the immunity antibodies to vaccinate everyone.</p>
<p>Disclaimer – I’m not a life sciencer and have no idea what I’m talking about.</p>
<p>^^^hmm…I like that idea, but S1 informs me that “isn’t how it goes in the graphic novels” but declined to comment further under the household anti-spoiler rules. We have enjoyed the show – I watch from behind a pillow, he narrates the icky parts. And we both yell at Lori and Rick for being such incompetent parents. Shane was a jerk, but at least he usually knew where Carl was!</p>
<p>You get bit, you die from the infection and disease, you rise. You get bit, we cut off your leg, you maybe live?</p>
<p>Hey, Carl didn’t get lost a single time this episode!</p>
<p>DH is out of town, so I tried to watch it by myself (even in the daylight, mind you). I could not do it. </p>
<p>As gory as the visuals are, I think the sound that goes along with it (SQUISH_GURGLE) is as bad as the sight.</p>
<p>Funny story:I have a friend who worked in wardrobe on WD for a couple of seasons, including the first part of this one (she is now working on the Hunger Games movie). She told a story one day this summer of being on set and there was a snake in the road by where they were filming. She went up to it to check it out—everyone else ran screaming in the other direction. Somehow, considering the content of that show, that visual my imagination conjured up (Zombies running from a snake) was too funny…</p>
<p>Hey, Donna - I thought Carl seemed much more mature, more hardened by life than he did last season. Guess that hunger and zombie-killing will do that to a kid.</p>
<p>"Hey, Donna - I thought Carl seemed much more mature, more hardened by life than he did last season. Guess that hunger and zombie-killing will do that to a kid. "</p>
<p>Or growth spurt after 6 months of hiatus.</p>
<p>Reviving this to ask:</p>
<p>Okay! What’s up with the governor and his aquarium? Does anyone know?</p>
<p>Carl still annoys, just in a different way. But it was cool that he got the meds for the sick old guy who got his legged hacked off.</p>
<p>"Okay! What’s up with the governor and his aquarium? Does anyone know? "</p>
<p>First I thought, he preserves the heads of his family, then I saw that he has the heads of a lot of people including one of the pilot that they just helped. The governor is not what he appears to be at first, probably evil or crazy delusional character. Michonne got the right vibe and instinct about him, and there is going to be conflict or clash between him and our original group of protagonists led by Rick. Not that I know anything, but with the little bits and pieces from the previews, it seems that is where they are going next.</p>
<p>^^^I agree. I think the aquarium area is the governors home theater. 
Its probably his form of relaxation at the end of the day to watch different TV channels at the same time. Also, the governor has some sort of R&D dept. where the doctor determined that Michonnes walker-pets become docile if their jaws and limbs were hacked off. The aquariums could also be the governors version of specimens preserved in jars that you see in labs and some museums. </p>
<p>I find it curious that the governor was sensitive and curt in not revealing his real name when Andrea said, Never say never. He was probably a psychopath, a serial killer on trial pre-Apocalypse.</p>
<p>Now that the mid-season finale is over - any comments? reflections? criticisms?</p>
<p>I can’t believe we have to wait until February now for more episodes…</p>
<p>Just reviving this thread now that the season has started up again. Any comments?</p>
<p>Personally, I am tired of Rick’s crazy act and Glen’s bravado, but I’m thrilled to see Darrel back and even pleasantly surprised at Merle, who appears to have a budding friendship with Hershel…</p>
<p>Episodes are becoming redundant. Shock value is wearing thin. I too am ready for Rick to snap out of it and lead everyone into action. It is also time for Michone to be a force. I can’t see the plot extending for too much longer. We are down to a handful of characters we care about. Any chance the show would wrap with a cure and hope for new civilization?</p>
<p>^ I agree…shock value is wearing thin. The 2nd half of this season has not started strong at all. Rick’s act is getting old, same with the governor. I miss the Sophia walking out of the barn moments.</p>
<p>I tried getting in to this show because all my roommates love it. I can’t. I just can’t. It’s just not that good. I don’t see the hype.</p>