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Issue 193 Discussion And Farewell

Discussion in 'The Walking Dead Comic Series' started by Neuropyramidal, Jul 3, 2019.

  1. Neuropyramidal

    Neuropyramidal Well-Known Member

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    Looks like this is it.
     
  2. Neuropyramidal

    Neuropyramidal Well-Known Member

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    Ok, I just read it. It made one or two interesting points, and painted a plausible world existing a couple decades after the apocalypse. But I can't help but think that this could have been the start of a cool TWD reboot. Instead of an end. Again, my bias. End of an era.
     
  3. Jag

    Jag Well-Known Member

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    It was interesting a good end. So the final 3 covers indicated what..? Carl killing himself?

    I agree could be a great starting point for a reboot or an expansion to see how far they have come to see what Carl does to preserve all of what his father died to build
     
    #3 Jag, Jul 3, 2019
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2019
  4. TROR

    TROR Member

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    It's been a long time since I've posted and lurked on these forums. Just had to say my final goodbyes with this issue. Such a bitter sweet finale to a series I've been following since high school. I'm sad it's over but I'm happy with the note it ended on. So long, The Walking Dead.
     
  5. lastcat3

    lastcat3 Well-Known Member

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    Ok massive spoilers for anyone who plans on reading this issue for themselves. If you do then do not read on.
    S
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    Issue opens up with a Walker walking around close to a farmhouse. It is eventually killed by a bearded man who looks somewhat similar to Rick. He has an eye patch and yes it is indeed Carl.

    Sophia runs out of the house after the Walker was killed and we find out Carl and Sophia are now married. It has been a timeskip of probably twenty to twenty five years. Both Carl and Sophia could probably pass for being 35/maybe 40. They talk about what just happened and Carl asks Sophia if Andrea saw it. Sophia tells Carl that Andrea isn't even awake yet.

    Carl and Sophia talk about the walker further as it has been years since any of them had seen was as the patrols generally stop them before they get that far into the zone. Carl tries to think of reasons as to how it could have gotten this far in and suddenly Hershel comes to mind and he asks Sophia if Hershel was in town (they are currently living in an area not far away from the main Commonwealth town).

    Carl goes into town and indeed finds Hershel. Hershel has started a business where he runs a bit of carnival show where he shows off the roamers. For most folks in this timeline it has been years and years since they have seen one (some never have) so seeing a walker is a real event. We find out that the walker escaped from Hershel's trailer and he is mad when he finds out that Carl killed it. Since the walker was the property of Hershel there would be a penalty for Carl killing it killing and he tells Carl that he is going to tell Sheriff Kapoor about it.

    The next day Sheriff Kapoor comes over to the farmhouse and is understanding of the situation but says that there are rules still to go by and that Carl will have to come into town the next day for a hearing over the situation. Kapoor says that they will try to make it no more than a fine. Andrea walks into the room and greets Kapoor and he mentions how sweet she is. Sophia tells Andrea to go to her room and pick out a dress because the three of them were going to have dinner at the Sutton farm that evening.

    Carl and Sophia are talking with Earl Sutton later that evening. They say they are worried about him and Sophia brings up him possibly moving to an area where there would be more people his age around. Earl says he has done his time in civilization and just wants to live the rest of his time out in the country. Carl and Sophia thank Earl for inviting them to dinner and they begin to head back home to the farmhouse. Along the way they just talk about how peaceful things are now compared to how they used to be.

    THe next day Carl and Sophia head into town for the hearing. Carl and Hershel both tell their sides of the story. The judge is about to make a decision but then the president walks in who happens to be Maggie. She goes up to the judge and has a private conversation with her and afterward the judge says that there will be no formal charges but that Mr. Grimes would have to find a suitable replacement to hand over to Hershel. Afterward Carl, Sophia, and Maggie talk and says that the judge was going to hand out a fine that the couple couldn't afford so she suggested something that they could handle. Carl leaves and Sophia and Maggie continue to chat. They still consider themselves to be mother and daughter but there does seem to be a bit of a feud between them now. Sophia admonishes Maggie for the behavior of her son and says that Maggie has allowed Hershel to turn into another Sebastian.

    Sophia meets back up with Carl on the way back. THey flirt a little and Carl challenges Sophia to a race to Andrea's school. Sophia teases him and she gets a head start while on horseback.

    Later that night Sophia tells Carl that Andrea is asleep and asks if he'd like to go to bed. Carl tells her not now and that he needs to go out and clear his head before his trip tomorrow. She asks him when he is going to be back and Carl says he doesn't know.

    THe next day Hershel is talking to an unnamed older man at a store and then heads out the door. A little kid runs up to him and tells him about something and Hershel is alerted to his trailer where now all the walkers have been killed. We then see Sophia and Andrea waving Carl off as he leaves for his trip (it seems Carl has a job of sending goods around the colony and is supposed to find a walker while he is out there). He goes to a store and fills up a wagon with supplies and then is officially out of town. Once in the country someone calls to him about how he thought he could sneak away. It is a woman of similar age to Carl and she is waring his old sheriff's hat and it is indeed Lydia. She seems to be an outdoors woman who is helping Carl out on his trip. They make plans on what places they should go to and how long it would take. Carl mentions a place called Springhaven he wants to go to and Lydia asks him why he wants to go there....but then realizes why. Carl and Lydia are seen by a house. Carl is at the front door and Lydia is standing next to a tree with a gravestone titled Lucille. No one answers the door and they leave.

    Carl and Lydia spend the rest of the day going to different sites to drop goods off to along the way they look up at the sky at a flock of birds and Carl says that this was what it was like before people started coming over to the country. It gets late and they make camp. Lydia tells him it would be ok for him to sleep in the tent as well and Carl tells her that he doesn't think Sophia would like that and that Conner likely wouldn't either. Lydia tells him that she's not going to try to **** him and that she just didn't want him to be out there freezing at night. Carl does go in the tent after she says that and later that night Lydia comments about Carl's eye patch and asks him why he wears it. She then teases him if he remembers how she used to lick him and says that the eye never bothered her and it only made him more attractive to her. Carl gets defensive after that comment and tells Lydia that he doesn't wear the eye patch for Sophia. He wears it for Andrea because he doesn't want her to see the scars that the previous world caused as he wants her to live in as normal of a world as possible. Lydia says she sorry and they fall asleep with Carl's back turned toward her.

    THe next day Carl and Lydia reach a train station and Lydia apologizes again about what she said. Carl tells her not to worry about it. They get on the train which is heading west. After some time a worker on the train tells everyone to get off as this is as far west as the train goes for right now. Once off Carl and Lydia comment about how they can't believe what they are seeing as they have entered the Western Front. They meet Eugene and make a comment about all the great work he has done with the train routes. THey then run into Laura and she says that she likes it out here better where there is less 'Rick Grimes' worshiping going on. Carl and Lydia drop off their supplies and head back on a train heading back to the Commonwealth region.

    Once back in the Commonwealth area Carl hands Lydia her cut and tells her she is a good friend. Lydia tells him yeah I love you to. Carl heads back home and Andrea runs up to greet him. She tells him mommy is mad and goes inside. Sophia found out about the additional walkers that were killed and is yelling at Carl because of it and said they will likely arrest him over it now. Carl tells Sophia it was the right thing to do in order to keep his daughter safe. Sophia tells him Andrea is safe when he is home and not when he is in jail. As they talk Sheriff Kapoor comes to the house again.

    One of the Commonwealth guards tells Carl that he doesn't think this is right and that he thinks those things should be outlawed. Carl thanks the guard and he is taken into a room that is a holding area prior to the hearing. Sophia walks in the room and the guard tells her she only has five minutes. She apologizes for getting mad at Carl earlier and says that judge Hawthorne is doing that trial so hopefully that is a good thing but unfortunately Hershel has upped the stakes by claiming it was a threat on his own life. We see the courtroom and Judge Hawthorne and it is infact Michonne. Carl and Hershel give their arguments and Michonne sides with Carl and says that people don't need to forget what it used to be like and she puts forth a motion to outlaw the ownership of walkers throughout the Commonwealth. She also says Carl is free to go with no punishment.

    Carl and Michonne talk for a bit in her office about the old times. Later we see Carl and Sophia walking out of the courthouse and they look upon a statue of Rick Grimes from his speech at Commonwealth. Carl makes a statement of how they are exaggerating his appearance and Sophia tells him that that is how people want to remember him. Carl gives on final look back at the statue.

    Later on Carl and Sophia are standing on their porch and start talking about how nice it is and how much they have. They begin to start kissing and then we hear a 'Daddy! Daddy!' Andrea comes to the front door and wants Carl to read her a book before bed and Carl tells her that she is just trying to find a way to stay up longer. Carl walks Andrea up to their room with Sophia looking back at them.

    In the room Carl reads Andrea a book that may seem like a scary story but it is actually a story about hope. THe book then goes on to tell the story of Rick Grimes. Carl tells Andrea that it is the story of her grandfather. Andrea tells Carl that he tells her that every time. Andrea then says 'Read it again'

    There is a last full page panel of Sophia and Andrea at a gravestone. THe story pretty much leaves it up to the reader of who the gravestone belongs to.
     
  6. Rapscallion

    Rapscallion Well-Known Member

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    @lastcat3,

    Hershel Rhee wasn't just saying goodbye to a store owner; he was leaving a hotel without paying his bill.

    Hershel's a spoiled brat who uses "My mother is the president" line to get what he wants. I think if Kirkman decides to continue TWD, Hershel's future won't be so bright.
     
    #6 Rapscallion, Jul 3, 2019
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2019
  7. Rapscallion

    Rapscallion Well-Known Member

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    I just read the (apparently) final issue.

    It's too bad that we never got to see Carl and Sophia become a couple, grow up, and marry, because one criticism of the comics was that Sophia was a background character for so many years.

    I liked Carl's sense of pride and sense of loss at being the son of "the legendary Rick Grimes".

    I didn't like that the dead have become a rare sight. I also didn't like that a reason and a cure for the virus was never found.

    I was surprised that Negan only had a cameo in the final issue. I wonder if that was Kirkman acknowledging that Negan couldn't replace Rick as so many fans expected.

    Judge Michonne Hawthorne's speech to the courtroom was great.

    Hershel Rhee was a fool for operating a traveling show of zombies, but I did like the scene where he ranted about not getting to meet his father, and that there are no stories written about him, or statues built for him.

    The story Carl read (written by Sophia) to his daughter Andrea was great and even got me misty-eyed.

    Good issue. Too bad it ended so suddenly, but ending it with Carl happy and with a family was a good way to end it.
     
    #7 Rapscallion, Jul 3, 2019
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2019
  8. lastcat3

    lastcat3 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah though a future Carl/ Sophia romance was becoming pretty obvious over the last few years of the comic Sophia definitely was still underused. Many of her brief appearances were just there to give subtle hints to the future romance between the two.

    It definitely is upsetting that we saw so little of Sophia when she seemingly became such a major player in the story during the timeskip. My guess is that Kirkman hadn't always planned to end the story immediately after Rick's death and he likely had plans to develop Sophia more later on. The ending we got would have still fit if the comic went on for five or ten more years. The story could have been told up until all the zones officially got established and there was a 'real' connection between all these areas of the country.

    My guess is that Kirkman has had this epilogue ending planned out for awhile but he was always playing it by ear in terms of when he wanted to end it. I imagine he was probably just feeling a little burned out during the Commonwealth arc and so just decided to end the series once the Commonwealth's initial arc ended.
     
  9. DragonRacer

    DragonRacer Well-Known Member

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    I... was not expecting this sudden end. What a strange year this feels like so far overall.

    I think Kirkman wrapped up this epilogue issue in a satisfactory way. Happy to see Carl happy and settled. I kinda feel like calling that time period "The Trials" is a bit strange, but maybe that's just me.

    Overjoyed that Negan lives, of course! So sad I'm never gonna see him again, though. :(
     
  10. lastcat3

    lastcat3 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah Negan surviving all the way to the end (and having a cameo in the last issue) was really just a nod to all the Negan fans out there. He really didn't have any relevance to the story any longer and hadn't for quite some time. He could have easily been dispatched after issue 126 (and arguably should have) and it wouldn't have changed anything from that point forward. Kirkman easily could have had some other character kill Alpha.

    To be honest I think the only reason Negan did have any type of significance at all in the story after issue 126 was the fact that the character had a lot of fans and Kirkman enjoyed writing for him. In all honesty the character probably should never have left his jail cell.
     
    • Winner Winner x 1
  11. naossano

    naossano Member

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    Epilogue could have been worse, but i am a bit disapointed that it ended there. I really enjoyed the last few arcs and i was eager for more.
     
  12. Stealth

    Stealth Well-Known Member

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    Waited some time before commenting on the final issue of the comic. I read the last volume over the holidays again and had the same feeling I did the first time, but it was even more magnified now. I just didn't like most of the future scenes. A lot of it didn't feel real to me.

    For me it would've been better if the last scene was an older Carl reading the exploits of Rick to his daughter with a bit of a recap of the intervening years. The whole Hershel with the walker thing, and Carl being charged, didn't work for me.
     

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