<now I remember why I don't visit here often>

 

I thought this was a fantastic episode, and I give it a solid 9.

I guess I am different than most in that I did not like all the resistance to Rick's instinctual feelings, and that's not just because I am a shameless Rick fangirl. He is the only one that would be taking his children to this place, and he had every right to be cautious. I don't know why we have any reason to trust Aaron more than we did to trust the people of Woodbury or Gareth and Terminus. Just because he may have been alone (or plus one) does not mean he was not intending on leading them into a trap. I understand from those that have read the comics (I am reading, but am not yet to this point in the story) that ASZ is ultimately going to be a good place, but knowing what we know now at this point in the story, I think I would be just as skeptical as Rick is. I am not saying they have to blindly follow Rick by any means, but I also think it was unrealistic for the rest of the group to think this was going to be any different than any of the other situations they have found themselves in. Nothing else has been what it seems, so why do they think this would be? At this point, it would seem too good to be true. Plus, I thought Aaron was doing a horrible job of making himself seem trustworthy. /endscene

This episode definitely got my heart racing with the epic walker scene. The Richonne-ing was strong with this one, and I legit squeed when she put her hand on his. Rick and Judith always make my ovaries explode. I am very excited to see what the ASZ will bring!

 

i gave it an 8. it was solid, but i feel like we didn't get a whole lot of unknowns here - maybe not for comic book readers anyways. i really want to see how they handle being inside Alexandria and meshing with everyone in there.

 

Dont forget typical Canada too,,,,actually you may as well want to cover the rest of the world. Wake up and smell the millenium my friend. None of us are naive to believe that hate mongering and intolerance still dont exist but we just don't want to hear it. Its called evolving. If you want to live in a world wearing blinders to the fact that what YOU find disgusting may be something you want to keep to yourself, then thats your problem. It all boils down to the same word....bigotry and you are right....there is no room for it on the internet or in the world anymore. You may as well throw out your TV, stop reading magazines, take a hammer to your computer and just resort to looking out your window for entertainment. I happen to like gay Kitty's and straight Kitty's and blue Kitty's and purple Kitty's etc etc etc..

 

This is the first episode of the second half of the season that I really liked. So I'm going with a solid 8. No significant complaints from me either on this one. I really liked the Rick/Michonne scenes too and am glad to see her taking a more assertive role.

I'm really glad that they seem to have rediscovered Glenn. He stepping forward again as an important member of the group.

Well done overall.

 

I totally get what you are saying but I think a few things are going on:
1. The survivors are so desperate to find a safe haven that they were willing to give this guy a chance and they didn't want Rick to just shut it down.
2. I don't think the other survivors were advocating the blind trust of Aaron and this new community but they wanted to give it a cautious chance. I think they figured that they can handle whatever trap they might be walking into as long as they are vigilant and stay and work together.
3. They also want to save Rick before he is "too far gone". I think they saw that he was teetering on the edge of being in a place where he would never be able to fit back into society and they wanted to bring him back from that. Really could have backfired on them if this turned out to be ANOTHER axis of evil.

And I agree with entirely that Aaron was making himself look shady as hell at times.

 

Purple kitty's sound so amazing.

 

I know, I wanted to understand their excitement, but I just think it was a poor decision for the entire group to go traipsing off towards ASZ, especially after Aaron's comment about "the people making them stronger". It brought back horrible memories of Terminus for me (and I know that was the point), and I just couldn't trust a word out of his mouth. I totally understand they are looking for a safe haven, but "auditioning" for a stranger who already knew way too much about them would not have been my first choice. If they would've found it on their own, done their own reconnaissance, and been able to make an informed decision before putting themselves at the mercy of this too good to be true "recruiter", I would've been on board. Believe me, I am desperately waiting for them to find a safe place to call home for awhile.

 

Yeah, I'm surprised they didn't split up and leave some of them outside for a rescue mission, if needed.

 

I think everyone in the group empathized with Rick. They were just sharing their feelings. I don't see that as resistance, I see that as them being there for one another. As the leader, it's not Rick's job to be trustworthy and diplomatic. His focus is keeping the group safe. It's everyone else's job to pull him back when necessary. Let me re-iterate: that is their job. Rick needs that from them, just like they need Rick's ruthless leadership methods.

 

I can understand that, but what I don't understand is why the rest of the group was not as skeptical as he was considering what they've been through. Knowing what we know right now in the story, this set-up screams of Terminus 2.0. I understand that the ASZ doesn't turn out to be too bad of a place (as I've mentioned elsewhere, I am not yet at this point in the comics), but I do not agree with their decision to have the entire group travel to this unknown destination with a creepy stranger who has been spying on them for two weeks. Like I said, I certainly don't expect them to follow Rick blindly into the night, so I understand that they are not always going to agree. I just don't understand why they didn't agree on this.

 

I gave it a 10, first 10 since No Sanctuary I think, but this one was special in a different way.

I loved that I was shocked by Rick punching Aaron, I loved the interactions between the characters, I loved that the other group members stood up to Rick (Not that he was trying to overpower them exactly) and corrected him when he was getting out of line, I loved the scene between Aaron and Eric, I loved the part where Glenn knew exactly where the battery was and that it was not so thinly veiled reference to the influence Dale still has on Glenn.

On a less serious point, I loved the flare lodging in the eye socket of the walker. I think this is one of my favourite episodes of the entire show.

 

I watched it once so far and I might try and watch it again tomorrow. I felt like the interactions between the group were kind of rushed and unrealistic. I could imagine them tying Aaron up and huddling up all paranoid like and discussing how to handle the situation. Maybe thats how I wanted it to happen and the point of how it actually happened was to show how the group is kind of fractured, bc thats how it felt to me. Maybe thats the case. I cant, for the life of me, figure out how they would even want to consider 'auditioning' for some weirdo (for all they know). I just felt like the episode was rushed to get the group into the asz.

There were moments that I loved. I didnt like the Rosita/Abraham thing going on, I didnt like Abe at first. However since they've given more insight into his character, I like him more and more. I appreciated the interaction between him and Rosita in this episode. Thats what I like about this show, they can do so much with such little screen time. I liked the walker scenes. The flarehead was really really good. Probably my favourite walker death so far. So clever. I also liked how Rick and Michonne shared a few 'moments'. When Rick picked up Judith from the backseat of the car in the end, I thought that was so sweet.

 

It's easier for the rest of the group to not be as skeptical because they don't shoulder the responsibility (and burden) of leading. At the end of the day, the group's safety is primarily Rick's responsibility, hence why he's the one most ready to make the tough decision at any moment, like slit someone's throat, put a bullet in someone's head or turn down an offer to join a safe community. He's the one that will shoulder most of the blame when shit hits the fan. That's why even if Michonne, Maggie or anyone else has a contrasting view to Rick, they will still respect him at the end of the day.

 

I totally agree with you - this is probably why I am defensive when Rick's decisions are put into question. I certainly would not want the responsibility that has been cast upon him. But yes, you're right, I can understand that it is easier for the rest of the group to allow themselves to be optimistic when the safety of the group is ultimately Rick's burden.

 

I gave it a 7. I enjoyed watching it, but I had difficulty buying the story of Aaron and his partner. Just how could they have stalked the gang without being noticed. Did they really have just a pistol and a flare gun between them?

I'd probably have upped it to 7.5 if I could have for the flare in the eye pumpkin on Halloween walker though. :zombies_cool:

 

I really enjoyed the characterizations in this epi. I could totally understand Rick's suspiciousness, esp. since he's the only one with kids involved. But I loved Michonne countering his "This is the safe option" in her own, understated way. (Also loved her comment: "To be clear, that look wasn't a 'let's punch this guy' look." Great quick humor.) I also liked the fact that while Aaron was patient and accommodating with Rick's less-than-hospitable reaction, he reached his limit when Rick tried to separate him from Eric. He said, "The only way you're going to stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me." The only thing that kept me from giving it a 10 was the applesauce scene. I felt like the writers were trying to wring uncertainty out of it, when Aaron should know damn good and well that Rick might well want to test it out on him first. So either bring something other than applesauce, or tell Rick you hate it but you're taking one for the team. That felt contrived. Overall, though, I loved it.

 

9! Loved this episode. Few friends are saying was too slow etc but i loved the way it showed how hard it is to trust and be trusted in TWD

 

I give it a 9, but it's so close to 10. Fantastic episode, been waiting a long long time to see this episode. Aaron and Eric are great so far. Directing and writing were on the same level. For now, this is my favorite episode of Season 5, part two.