The pacing of this episode was not the normal, run of the mill welcome back to the series mid season premier hullabaloo that most are accustomed to. With that said, taking the episode as just that...an episode, and not crippling it with MSP expectations I thought the ep was pretty good. Actually I give a great deal of kudos to Frank Dillaine. It takes some serious acting chops to not only carry an episode that centers around your character but add to that he had an episode that centers around his character only (from the main cast) and did so with very little actual dialogue. I just do not believe that anyone else from the cast could have pulled off such a feat as eloquently as Frank Dillaine was able to. His performance alone gets a high 8 low 9 on the 1-10 scale IMO.

Were some of the scenarios far fetched? Yes, I will not disagree with that. Should this have been the MSP? Probably not the wisest move BUT I have no clue if this needed to be the MSP in order to effectively set up the remaining episodes. Benefit of the doubt comes into play. So, with that said I am willing overlook what I have come to expect from a MSP and simply embrace "Grotesque" as an above average character study. An episode that effectively used flashbacks to give us more insight into Nick, his addiction, and the relationships that revolved around said addiction and how that has shaped his character up to this point. An episode executed by an actor who clearly has a great career ahead of him - the kid is good!

Best line of the episode: agree with @PepperAnn "you should be dead" Nick: "shoulda woulda coulda, story of my life"

 

This deserves TWO gifs:

First gif - hats off to you m'lady for putting into words what I was unable to



Second: just a simple understated "bravo"

 

First, it sounds like a whiny bunch of you believe Nick is real. Uh. It's FICTION. Nick is the sole creation of writers. When THEY write him into dumb situations, when THEY choose to create uncaring-for personality traits, that's the WRITING. There are many of you obviously very confused.

 

Who's Nick?

 

He's this fat guy that gives me ugly ties at christmas.

 

Oh he sounds pretty likeable, I don't get what all the fuss is about.

 

My chimney goes right into the furnace, so he usually arrives via the toilet. Last year I put a fake butt there, with a brownie hanging from it.

 

Imagine my confusion reading this before I knew you meant Santa lol. It took longer than I care to admit.

 

Santa?

I'm talking about my stalker. Ralpholo Turtle.

 

I was so pissed to find out a mis season premier was a bottle episode, but watched it with an open mind..only to find out the only plot development was that he went from Town A to Town B. Waited a few months for this? I get the flashbacks and learning more about him but can't that be done at another time? Really disapointed.

 

I found it more interesting than the whole first half of the second season. And probably the whole first season too. It was about survival, in much the same way as Rick Grimes's tribulations in the very first episode. Lesson: don't eat cactuses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I am SO SICK of this stupid counter-argument. It's like you just don't know what else to say so you resort to this. Newsflash....we are not talking about the actor, we are talking about the character. Which requires us to live in that world for a moment. Jeez we aren't all idiot FBer fanboys and girls who confuse reality from fiction. Jesus how else do you talk about a show?

And btw, if you feel the need to remind us that it is fiction.....what do you call your rants about him being a drug addict? Frank Dillane is not a drug addict that I know of......OH WAIT....you are talking about the FICTIONAL CHARACTER.

Find a better argument.

 

Alas, no better argument could be found and the villagers rejoiced

 

What's wrong with bottle episodes?

And, to be honest, I don't even know if we can call this a bottle episode.

 

Depends on the bottle:

Bad Bottle:



Good Bottle:

 

I completly agree. The episode was great, because Dillaine carried it with much talent. I never even missed the others and I at least do like Salazar and Strand too. Some of the things happening to Nick might have been far fetched, but this is a story not a documentary. I liekd that episode a lot and I'm eager to find out, where Nicks story is getting. He seems to be a survivor and he only begins to understand that. Without his drugs and his motehr, who treats him like a child, he seems to do fine against all odds.

So to answer the starting post: I care about Nick and I really liked this episode. I can't wait to see, how he fits in with this new community.

Edit: Love the TRex gifs :zombies_lol:

 

Nick is the best character on the show and the only one I "care" about. Everyone else is either low energy or annoying and I wish the rest of the family would be eaten by zombies.

 

They ruin the pacing. Most of the greatest shows ever don't even use them. I don't see why it's needed to just isolate one character.

 

When you're dealing with character-driven stories that have large casts, why wouldn't you isolate one or two characters for better focus?