i wasn't crazy about the mid season finale either..

that said, i'm pumped for february 8th..

 

I was upset to see Beth go. I remember them saying it was time for some of the key actors to go. I knew these days would come but I wasn't ready for that loss. I am excited to see what they have in store for us in February.

 

What were they going to do, anyway?

I watched Sunday's marathon, including Coda, and had a couple of questions come to me as well.

First of all, why not talk to the 2 surviving cops/hostages separately? I would want to get a feel for each of them as individuals and see how much their takes on the situation gibed or differed.

More importantly, Rick et al. have just been told on several occasions that Dawn fears looking weak. When Dawn first demanded Noah, the female hostage (was she Licari?) tried to reason with her, only to be told to shut up. The group was already close to the door. So why the hell even engage with Dawn about Noah? The group certainly had the fire-power to withstand whatever the wardens could throw at them, if the wardens even responded to Dawn's command to do so. That's the crux of my argument: Rick knew Dawn wasn't a highly respected leader, he had heard Licari try to talk her out of the Noah demand, and they're all close to the door. Turn to your group, mutter something like, "Be ready to go," and then say no deal and haul ass. Because I really don't think Dawn's crew would have necessarily sprinted to catch them. I think Licari really did have a sense of honor, and she respected the way Rick's gang had treated them. I think there would have been enough of a delay to get them out the door. Alternatively, Rick could have requested a 1-1 with Dawn, emphasizing the ideas of "Let's talk, as the leaders of these groups." And then just put it out there: if you're worried about losing face, I think you'll actually gain respect by being reasonable.