I think you need to switch to decaf. And you're missing a lot of the point regarding the safe zone. The whole point is that we are finding out that the residents there are naïve, and don't really realize how dangerous things are. This is why they allowing so many flaws regarding security around the fence slip. And it was explained who the transparency is directed towards: anyone at ASZ can come watch the interview tapes. So all the residents know what was spoken. Washington D.C. isn't part of Virginia, but she only said that for a certain amount of time there were almost no walkers around. As long as they had a few weeks and some equipment and solid workers, they could have constructed the wall. Maybe later on, they started seeing an increased walker volume. As for the semicircle, makes perfect sense. A full circle would have them going through D.C., which may not be wise.

And if the CDC didn't know what was going on, I doubt a random congresswoman would.

 

I asked myself most of those questions while watching it and pretty much agree, but gonna attempt at answering them anyway

Northern VA was evacuated: Counting DC that's ~5M. Quite an evacuation! So much so that in two years they've been living in a largely zombie-free - and human-free - world? Just sit happily behind the walls without issue? They encountered a zombie horde on the drive in, so they can't be too far away. Hmm. Worth a question.

Those walls probably block out sounds..its not like the prison where everything is see-through...I think pockets of people can remain obvlivious to the appocalypse if they are secluded enough....In those flash back governer episodes Tara, that other lady that Govey was romantic with, and that little girl were all living in their apartment and hardly leaving

Her husband designed the walls. That'd require a lot of equipment, crew, and experience. So where is it, and her husband? Why are the stanchions supporting the walls on the OUTSIDE? Why are there no towers or parapets to see out? Why does the external treeline come right up to the walls? And am I wrong, or is the (sole?) gate too narrow to let vehicles in? Which is why the caddy and RV stayed outside. You'd want them in just to load, unload, service, etc. Worth a question.

at first I thought the support beams were on the inside but after rewatching I realize they are on the outside. I'm not an architect but that still seems to be in reverse of the way it should be setup...i have no ideas on this one

The videotaping: It's for "transparency". To whom? As a sheriff, Rick should object to being videotaped like a suspect. Can he see some other tapes? Ties into no one being in Aaron's photos. Worth a question.

I think she wants to keep a history..she probably has a God complex from being in congress and being the facilitator of alexandria and wants to make sure her and the first "settlers" of the new world are documented......thats my theory anyway...as for Rick not questioning it, every group has their safeguards and rituals....Ricks group has the 3 questions and AAron didn't question why rick knocked him out so it seems normal to me that he didn't react much to the video request

I can't believe in a new environment the group hasn't totally scouted Alexandria inside and out. This'd be right up Darryl's alley, particularly since the place is giving him a bad vibe. But he's rather gut a possum.

They are trying to hard with the Darryl "loner" image. It would have made more sense for him to be scouting or doing something else. But then again, he could have just been really hungry


Other question areas: Aiden said they'd made a large SEMICIRCLE reconnaissance. Why a semicircle? There could be good stuff a short distance in the other direction. Worth a question.

They purposely wanted to show them as dumb, just like they were dumb in the way they handled that walker that would have bit aiden if nobody intervened

The hairdresser's husband gives Rick a curt hello. Surely Rick remembers something about community relations. Follow up. It gives you access to someone's else's info. Worth a question.

I thought that was weird too that he didn't say anything back....I think they are just trying to portray him slowly adjusting, he is probably in shock, still, it was weird to not have him say anything

For a group as tired, scared, rightfully paranoid, and desirous of some stability in life, they sure are quiet.

Look at how they got F'd over at terminus, I think this reaction is totally normal

And why couldn't Rick have said something like "They won't make us weak. We'll make them strong." instead of "We'll take over."

He doesn't trust them yet...all the guns being in one place is a horrible idea, they are obviously not total survivalists and can put him and his "family" in danger by being stupid....plus he doesn't trust them yet and he's gotten a little cold after all thats happened...its also possible all the bad-ass-ness has gone to his head a little, between taking out Joe with a neck bite, stabbing the dirtbag over and over (the one on top of carl), and then, making a promise to someone he's gonna kill him with a certain machete, and then doing it, with also saying "I made you a promise"......thats so much bad-ass-ness.....he's ready for anything....just my theory

 

As for scouting, Carol is making a map, at least, but not being too overt about it... keeping up her harmless Suzy-homemaker act.

 

Great thoughts, all logical questions. Exposes how difficult it is to write a show like this and try to cover all these holes in something written so quickly to appear weekly versus a movie that may have years of writing and re-writing before it's produced. There are tons of illogical issues in The Walking Dead, you have to not focus on them too much or it can ruin the show for you, but they are fun to discuss.

Just to discuss the whole rick and hair dressers' husband thing, of course in real life you'd have simply walked up to the porch to meet the guy and have a discussion, any ex cop would naturally approach him just due to the nature of being a cop, you confront issues to force information to be exposed to you, you don't walk away, leave things to fester or grow in the unknown. But that's not good tv.

The whole giving up their guns with not a single one of them holding any guns back in reserve... well we know that would never happen in real life.. but good tv.

 

I dont understand why everyone thinks the braces are on the wrong side. If the braces are anchored at the base properly and attached to the supports correctly then outside is better. When the wall is pushed on from outside, the brace is in a state of tension. Inside, the braces would be in a state of compression. Steel tensile yield strength is higher than it's compression yield strength. Also when you reach compressive yield strength the beam would buckle, whereas when it reached tensile yield it would begin to stretch. Reg was an architect and architects have basic engineering skills.

 

The problem is they are not really anchored to anything. Just the ground, which wouldn't be very secure. They would be better used as supports on the inside rather than anchors on the outside. But of course, it wouldn't look as nice that way.

 

Well if they arent anchored at the base they serve little purpose. Anyway either way the fence is doomed. But I do think we are short changing Reg on his design, the braces are on the outside for some reason other than aesthetic. Often engineers do stuff that looks wrong, but is right when you crunch the numbers. An architect would have the engineering skills to design this fence.

 

I think most of the other users answered all the question, right. Or least we share the same perspective. Seems like I have read those same exact questions in other threads that have been discussed but here they are all listed. Least the wall, and video tapes, oh yeah also Jessie and Ricks interaction.
Daryl scouting, or why they didn't scout; I think cause they were brought there unlike Terminus where they had time to kinda scout. They can only crunch some much into a 42 minute episode. The safe zone is a major, and the longest standing location in the comics. So I think alot of these question will be explored and some even answered as the show goes on. I know alot of people want answers to these questions; but c'mon it was just introduced in 42 minutes. That's alot to crunch together. Plus add the reactions of the characters, introducing new characters. I would maybe conclude "bad writing" if these issues are not explored in the upcoming episodes but have a feeling it will be. I think this Sunday that is exactly what Daryl is doing outside the walls, scouting the area...
So I feel as if yes they are good questions; but some times things just have to unfold over time. A story has to grow from somewhere. As viewers we are literally just being introduced to a major location! If they touched on all of these idea/questions; it would have been a 4 hour episode!

 

I have a feeling we will get some of these questions answered in this next episode.

Being misled by what we see or think we see has become an art form of the show and this place is hardly an exception I am sure.

 

Basic engineering and anti-siege warfare calls for bracing on the opposite side of the aggression and force, if for no other reason to be able to repair and shore up your bracing during a siege from the protection of the inside of the wall rather than on the exposed exterior.

If your wall is so weak it requires bracing, it likely is not adequate anyways and you'd better be able to access your bracing to reinforce it without being killed by the enemy.

 

So, are these walls built this way in the comics? Were they designed to keep out walkers, without much thought about evildoers and ne'er-do-wells? What happens when another guy with a tank comes along? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

Basic engineering doesnt require the braces to be on the inside or opposite the applied force. Basic engineering dictates that the brace design resist whatever force is applied and not fail. If they have access to concrete, rebar, and anchor bolts to properly anchor the braces and the materials and skill to tie the braces to the fence columns then this is the better design. When engineers design things a safety factor is included usually a factor of 2 which means the design fails at 2x the anticipated force, this is probably why the wall is braced and it may be top heavy also. Just becuase its braced doesnt mean the wall is weak, just reinforced. The braces are considered part of the wall when calculating how much force the wall can resist.
As far as seige goes Alexandria isnt designed for seige, the braces arent the weak point the gate is. The gate isnt going to stop a vehicle ramming it. Once the gate is down enemies will pour in. Also during a siege the enemy is trying to starve you out and is sitting and waiting for this to happen by keeping you inside unable to leave. The wall basically is there to keep the walkers out. [MENTION=6618]Montyzuma[/MENTION] In the comic the wall is freestanding, with no thought given to people trying to take what they have.

 

Braces on the inside need little to no footing to be effective since the force is diverted down and into the ground. Braces on the outside need huge footings to be effective since a force load on the wall is attempting to pull the braces up and out of the ground... the weight of the footing is the only resistance. Bad design.

 

It's a fine design if it didn't actually ever have to function, if no one ever stressed it or attacked it, if no natural elements ever effected it, or basically if it existed in a comic book.

 

But it's not built like that in the comic book. In the comics

Now From the show I remember at Shirewilt Michonne wanted to clear cut the forest and use the trees to make walls. I wonder if this might be an idea at Alexandria. There are too many trees and I too am worried about the walls. The braces on the outside might have one benefit though, but I'm stretching for it. What if the braces are closer together than most vehicles are wide. Would the brace transfer the force up and prevent a car from getting through? Maybe Reg was worried about people the whole time.

 

No, the braces are 20' apart, according to Aaron's description at the cabin.

 

In both scenarios you have a force moving in x axis also not just the y axis. When the brace is on the outside the footer moves not only up but also forward. The weight of the footer isn't the only resistance. You also have ground pushing back. Same difference if the brace is in the back except its down and back. When the wall is pushed from the front with the brace in the back at some point the wall.will become a dead load on the brace.

And you came to this conclusion with knowledge from where? I know it wasnt from any classes in engineering.

 

In both scenarios you have a force moving in x axis also not just the y axis. When the brace is on the outside the footer moves not only up but also forward. The weight of the footer isn't the only resistance. You also have ground pushing back. Same difference if the brace is in the back except its down and back. When the wall is pushed from the front with the brace in the back at some point the wall.will become a dead load on the brace.

And you came to this conclusion with knowledge from where? I know it wasnt from any classes in engineering or physics.

 

Are you being silly or something, I don't give a crap whether a brace is stronger if it's inside the wall or outside the wall, the issue is practicality and reality.

You build your wall with the braces on the side of the enemy, I'll build mine with the braces on the sheltered inside side.

When one of my braces needs a repair, I'll do it in bare feet, in my PJ's sitting in a lawn chair while I'm drinking a lemonade.

When one of your braces on the outside of the wall needs repair you'll be doing it in fear of being killed by the enemy you built the whole damn thing to keep out in the first place.

I guess you'd make an argument for putting the lock on the door on the outside too?