7.05: The Walking Dead - Go Getters

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Carl and Enid (Photo by Gene Page/AMC)

Saddled with grief and surrounded by enemies, members of the group try to find safety at the Hilltop before it's too late.

 

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This one was truly beautiful episode, and it did fit perfectly in the general narrative. There was nothing it missed, even if Maggie has been for past few weeks out for the count. She had done remarkable recovery for the trauma she received. Females are like that. They are stronger than men to cope with mental and physical trauma. Men, handle those things different. They mostly get broken at inside and they grieve for a long period of time, while woman just get on with the business.

Maybe nature made us that way over the time, and evolution has made all mammal mothers to be able to dish aside mental and physical distress. Especially, while they're carrying a baby. But one thing I have to mention is that not all men are like Gregory. He is a d1ck. There's no doubt about that. At least in my mind.

He is worse than Father Gabriel. In fact, I could as well call him as Judas.

Jesus did a wrong thing, when he let Gregory - the lizard - to remain in charge of Hilltop. That place is a paradise compared to Alexandria. They even have managed to keep their doctor alive all this time. It cannot be all thanks to Jesus, even though I estimate he was a big factory to keep Hilltop running, while the world outside changed. Maybe it also his fault Hilltop hasn't a lot armament. Only a blacksmith producing centuries old technology, while there is still so much out there that can be scavenged.

The land belong to the zombies. Walkers, crawlers, biters, bloaters. Whatever you want to call them.

Without a fortified position to call as a base, there's not much future out there in the wastes of yesterdays world. Saviors tried their very best to take Hilltop out from the game. They committed a sound strike by ingeniously driving an improvised sound blaster in the camp and letting the horde to march in as if they were an invading army. If Maggie hadn't got on top of their trailer, zombies could had won and Saviors would have had easy pickings.

I don't think they even counted the ways they could have committed sabotage. Maybe someone even had their eye on John Deere's tractor. That machine alone could provide all the food they need. Saviors included. It's just human nature to whirr up our chaotic nature and instead of focusing on common enemy, they hate each other.

Instead of Judas, I could call Gregory as a minor antagonist. He and Simon are much a like. They both admired Gregory's mantle piece as if they saw themselves as victors and great leaders. We know from the past that karma will deal with eventually. All these bad seeds will even get harvested in one event that no doubly make them regret the past. Just as it happened to the Governor.

Maggie is right choice to lead Hilltop, and I'm glad she treasured Hershel's and Glenn's teaching properly, while Carl and Enid cannot help their nature.
After all, they are teenagers. People who will rebel against everyone. If Rick had stayed strong, instead of acting weird, Carl would have stayed Alexandria and let Enid to wander off.

At least that was probably what he had in his mind, before his nature took over and Carl followed his heart instead thinking clearly. It was so sweet to see him and Enid enjoying teenage romance, without them ever realising it and a lot other thing were about take place. Including that kiss.

Does that remind anyone? Maggie and Glenn perhaps?

 

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As a side-note. I counted fifteen men inside Gregory's mansion, probably same amount outside. There are probably ten to twenty more at Savior's main base. Rest would be civilians. All in all, I estimate Savior's armed people be around fifty to sixty people from what we have seen. How many of them are proper killers instead bullies with guns?

 

[nixie]

Refreshing, I enjoyed this. Maggie has developed a lot over the seasons, the tractor and that punch were brilliant.

How on earth did Gregory ever get to be leader.

I'm worried for Carl, Negan may decide he has had enough of his defiance, this will likely lead to not only his own demise but Daryl's as well. Daryl will not stand by if he thinks Negan will kill Carl.

 

[REBerg]

Oh, yeah. Gregory is definitely a piece of, uh, work.
Spineless, cowardly grave robber that he is, however, he did demonstrate an amazing ability to change gears when he opened that closet door. Oops, no Maggie and Sasha. Here, have a bottle of Scotch.
Negan's merry men probably would have found the whole case, anyway. It was a real measure of Gregory's fitness to lead when, following the total looting of his headquarters and his ceremonial kneel-down, he thought he had done well.
Maggie will be an exponential improvement over Gregory, although she may need to deck the creep a few more times in the transition.

 

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It was a real measure of Gregory's fitness to lead when, following the total looting of his headquarters and his ceremonial kneel-down

When he knelt at dirt, I was expecting to hear a zipper sound.

I'm worried for Carl, Negan may decide he has had enough of his defiance, this will likely lead to not only his own demise but Daryl's as well. Daryl will not stand by if he thinks Negan will kill Carl.

I don't think he's going to get caught, while Jesus is walking with him. Together they are quite formidable, especially if Carl acquire a gun.

 

[Culhwch]

Pretty average episode, but it gets points for its total lack of Negan, and the reappearance of Ninja Jesus. There should be a spin-off show where Ninja Jesus, King Ezekial, and Shiva just roam the land, killing zombies and solving people's problems. Morgan would have gotten an invite too but he's been a bit of a drag lately.

I'm confused about how Maggie, Sasha, and - especially - the bodies of Glen and Abraham arrived at Hilltop. I thought Sasha and Maggie walked to Hilltop while Rick and his crew took the RV (and, I assumed, the bodies) back to Alexandria. Did they all drive to Hilltop, and drop the bodies off along with the ladies? That was weird, and weirdly unexplained...

Also - rollerskates, kids? Seriously bad idea if you are suddenly set upon by zombies. Trip over, you're screwed. Have to leave the road for the woods, screwed. And then they get to Hilltop, and just decide to have a little bit of a pash in pretty much full view of the Saviours loading the trucks. Guys! At least make it look like you're taking some cover! Stand behind a tree! Crouch behind a rock! Cover your faces in dirt and stick random bits of foliage in your waistband!

Also, also - last week we watched Negan and his men take 'half' from Alexandria, and they seemed to go right over that place. I don't see why Simon's men wouldn't have gone all through Gregory's mansion, and find Sasha and Maggie's hiding spot. They did a pretty bad job of searching everywhere. Because if I were a Saviour I'd assume that the Hilltop folks were hiding things, and I'd be looking in every closet I could find.

I've been willing to suspend my belief for this show for the better part of seven seasons, but this season (and last season a little too) it really feels like the writing and direction have gotten a little lazy. I'm still watching because I'm invested in these characters, but it's trying my patience from time to time.

 

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I'm confused about how Maggie, Sasha, and - especially - the bodies of Glen and Abraham arrived at Hilltop.

They were really close to Hilltop, when Negan murdered Glenn and Abraham. Maybe the film is somewhere in their production reels, but it didn't make it into the edit. The graves at Alexandria were empty, plus there is the fact that they might have said no to Maggie, and delivered them to Hilltop despite what she was saying. I don't see that as a huge plot-hole.

Also - rollerskates, kids? Seriously bad idea if you are suddenly set upon by zombies. Trip over, you're screwed. Have to leave the road for the woods, screwed.

Very true. Well, lol, it's another one those things TWD hasn't got right. But at least it was a clever way to cross the distance with a style. In practical terms, you're absolutely correct.

I've been willing to suspend my belief for this show for the better part of seven seasons, but this season (and last season a little too) it really feels like the writing and direction have gotten a little lazy.

The problem is that they have been loyal to the original story-line. In it Kirkman got many things wrong, but as I pointed out in the last episode, would they have been willing, Alexandria's outcome could had been very different. And in this one, if they'd found Maggie and Sasha it would have ruined the plot, but made things more intriguing, even more tensile than what it is at the moment.

Instead of realism AMC is delivering Kirkman's artistic depiction of these events. If you want realism, FTWD's has gone long strides towards achieving it, but even them, they take artistic liberation instead of delivering the real deal. This war could be so, so much nastier than what it already were.

If I'd been in Ninja-Jesus boots, I would have taken Maggie and Sasha out from the back and into the woods. And later on, let Sasha unleash sniper hell on them. She is good with long arms and if she's been willing she could have hunted whole lot of them down all on her own.

 

[REBerg]

When he knelt at dirt, I was expecting to hear a zipper sound.

I was expected a beheading.

I'm confused about how Maggie, Sasha, and - especially - the bodies of Glen and Abraham arrived at Hilltop. I thought Sasha and Maggie walked to Hilltop while Rick and his crew took the RV (and, I assumed, the bodies) back to Alexandria. Did they all drive to Hilltop, and drop the bodies off along with the ladies? That was weird, and weirdly unexplained...

Yeah. That made no sense to me, either. Where was Gregory while the graves were being dug and the bodies being buried instead of burned per Hilltop policy?
More evidence of slipshod management.

 

[Judderman]

Perhaps Negan is a little worried. Why lure in Walking Dead to massacre Hilltop people? If the saviors has dealt with the Walking Dead the next morning that would have left several hours of slaughter to have passed. If he is sending a message then is messing up the community and future supplies really going to help him? Though maybe he doesn't need as many supplies with the Alexandrians in tow. Not that the Alexandrians have much food growth.

The tractor scene was pure comedy. A very lighthearted episode overall. Negan's lieutenant has some similarities to him but appears considerably less threatening.

Is it just my ignorance or don't women's bellies get bigger several months into having a baby growing in it?

Now it appears the control of Hilltop by Alexandrians is inevitable, if not already cemented by Maggie and Sasha. Just left for the alliance with the Kingdom to be sorted out and the Negan natives to be further unsettled. Nice episode but again this season is so far not surprising or exciting enough.

Obviously if Negan discovers Maggie is at Hilltop that is a big problem.

Good point by culwych that the dead bodies couldn't really have been brought to Hilltop by Maggie and Sasha. Perhaps a body part each. Even if they were not so far away they wont be dragging bodies, particularly with Maggie sick. Also the Saviors would have enjoyed going through Gregory's room. I think the writing quality has dropped a bit. Probably the comic writing quality it was based on did too. I have had criticisms for every episode this season except perhaps the Daryl episode. The previous season I mostly loved. Still salvagable though.

How are Carl and Jesus going to get off the truck without being seen but not so early that they don't know where the truck is finally going? That resolution could be fun/shocking.

 

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Where was Gregory while the graves were being dug and the bodies being buried instead of burned per Hilltop policy?

In fever after his stabbing. Maggie and him has been out for count for a good long while.

Why lure in Walking Dead to massacre Hilltop people? If the saviors has dealt with the Walking Dead the next morning that would have left several hours of slaughter to have passed. If he is sending a message then is messing up the community and future supplies really going to help him?

Because it was a war declaration. Stupid Gregory couldn't understand it even thought it was pretty obvious they meant business. I didn't hear a single shot, when doors swung open next day and Savior's walked in as if nothing had happened. It was all thanks to the fear.

When the Governor did same thing at Prison Yard, everyone knew. All people were also at the fence, ready to eradicate the zombie bomb. Not here. Minimal security resumed after the incident.

Is it just my ignorance or don't women's bellies get bigger several months into having a baby growing in it?

Not all of them. Some of them stay flat for a while.

 

[Judderman]

Not all of them. Some of them stay flat for a while.

But isn't she almost due now? Maybe not.

 

[Judderman]

Because it was a war declaration.

The Hilltop community would be destroyed if that was the case. I don't think it was as strong as that.

 

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The Hilltop community would be destroyed if that was the case. I don't think it was as strong as that.

Well...

Rodney Ho of AJC's Radio & TV Talk chatted with Jesus himself, Tom Payne, and he explained that scenes were left on the cutting room floor that would've filled in those blanks.

"Payne did clear up a couple of things that were not readily apparent in the episode. He said the Saviors were able to do what they did by caputuring the Hilltop guards (who don’t have guns) and tying them up. That scene was shot but the editors didn’t like it after the fact. (“It looked like a barbershop quartet all strung up,” he said.) The Saviors also locked all the residents inside their homes to make it more difficult for them to deal with the walkers. Plus, most of the Hilltop residents are not trained to fight. So Simon, the Savior leader/Negan understudy, was genuinely surprised when he came back the next day and found everyone alive and well and the walkers all gone and cleared out."

Tom Payne Reveals The Walking Dead Deleted Scene

Also Fans have voted according to the ratings:

Since this season's premiere, the ratings have dropped each week. Episode two saw the biggest decline, as the viewers dropped to just under 12.5 million. Week three saw the the ratings dip again, with only 11.72 million viewing the episode.

Episode four only saw a slight drop, as the Sunday viewers came in at around 11.4 million. This week, just under 11 million viewers tuned in for the show.

While The Walking Dead is still the most-watched series on Sunday nights, it's decline is troublesome. The last time ratings dropped below 11 million was in season three. The show has seen steady numbers for the last three seasons, but fans rare beginning to tune out.

Many theorize that fans are losing interest now that they've discovered who Negan killed. Once they saw the nefarious villain kill a couple of beloved characters, some fans didn't want to watch the show any longer.

In addition that that resolution, audiences have complained that the series is changing directions too often this season. Each episode has followed a different storyline, and many viewers just want to see a cohesive plot from week to week.

The Walking Dead Ratings Drop To Lowest Since Season 3

 

[Culhwch]

I really haven't liked this move to every episode focussed only on one character or place. They stepped away from that slightly this week, with events in both Alexandria (briefly) and Hilltop, but the past two or three seasons seem to be dominated by restricted-POV episodes. I'd rather they touched upon various storylines each week, which I think would improve the pace, remove the need for filler, and increase the overall quality. Occasionally they could throw in a restricted episode where warranted, like the introduction of the Kingdom episode. Otherwise keep it moving.