The Walking Dead
I've marathoned this show in the last 3 days, and apparently I have lots of opinions. Cut because it might interest all of two people. Spoilers ahoy, obviously.
Having caught up to the last episode that aired (2.07 -- just in time for the hiatus to end on Sunday!), I've decided that I have kind of a love-hate relationship with this show.
Hate
1. Some of the characters I liked in the beginning are really grating now. Dale was kind of endearing at first, but in S2 he rapidly turned into a controlling bore & maybe his concern for Andrea is not supposed to be creepy but it really comes across that way. And Carol. I like her interactions with Daryl (more on him later!) but other than that I mostly want to slap her. I can't believe that she never ONCE went out to look for her kid! I can believe that she's a doormat considering her asshole dead-husband, but you'd think in this case she would be the first one out there trying to find her daughter instead of standing around on a road looking sad. Also, Rick, to a lesser degree. I liked him well enough in S1, but now he just bores me 95% of the time.
2. I think the writing is a bit hit & miss sometimes. The 'rules' of the world are kind of inconsistent (I realize that this is a specific issue of mine because I need things to make SENSE). In S1 they make this big deal of slathering themselves in zombie guts so the dead can't smell them, but in S2 zombies apparently can't smell anymore? "LOL let's just hide under these cars & we'll be totally fine!" Also sometimes they make all of the survivors look like morons. Trying to keep quiet at all times so they don't attract any walkers, but then they go and do target practice in a field? Clever. Also, wouldn't you want to save ammo for emergencies? Plus the storyline with the old farmer keeping zombies in his barn was kiiiiind of dumb.
3. Some of the acting is pretty terrible. Lori is the main offender in this category, though. I swear if you put her on mute you really can't tell if she's happy or angry or scared. Also the Shane/Lori/Rick triangle bores me to tears, and the pregnancy thing only made it worse.
4. I hate Andrea. Actually I hate pretty much all of the women on this show. I wish the writers wouldn't make them all either meek & scared or just plain stupid -- if it wasn't for the men they'd all be dead in a ditch and it pisses me off. The gender roles are straight out of the 50s. Lori & Carol are reduced to 'moms/caregivers' & Andrea is an IDIOT. Also the Andrea/Shane moment made me want to gouge my eyes out.
Love
1. DARYL. Norman Reedus, where the fuck have you been all my life? I LOVE HIM. He's the perfect blend of competency (UNF), jerkiness and insecurity. He looks like he might explode at any given moment, but he really TRIES and he wants to be needed and uuuugh he kills me. I loved that he was the only one who really thought he could find Sophia. I worry though, because he's apparently become such a fan favourite. I hope that the writers don't soften him up too much, or try too hard to make him into a badass/superhero. And I hope they don't throw him a love interest. Please please don't pair him up with Carol! I just want them to be friends! I think he's much more interesting on his own dealing with his issues. I'd be up for seeing more of him with Merle though, even if it's just in flashback. I look forward to his scenes the most, and in terms of character development he's the only one I really care about. Also, I didn't really see the attraction when I saw photos of him on Tumblr (prior to watching the show), but now that I've seen him in action I have seen the light. *__*
2. Glenn. Glenn is adorable. But I like him better when he's being a BAMF than when he gets caught up in secrets and drama. I wish he and Daryl would take off together and have their own spinoff show so I wouldn't have to watch Lori & Co anymore.
3. Zombies. The walkers are awesome. I don't really enjoy gore as a rule but I make an exception for zombies, and I find it entertaining that they keep finding new inventive ways to dispatch them. Daryl pulling a bolt out of his side & using it to shoot a walker in the head with his crossbow? FAVOURITE. The only zombie I had a hard time dealing with was the one in the well, but I think that's because it brought back unpleasant memories for me of that time I found a bloated corpse. :| DNW. I just really like post-apocalyptic worlds in general, but zombie plagues are best of all. XD Even though I dislike so many characters, I'd probably keep watching just for that aspect alone.
I've heard that the 2nd half of S2 is action packed, so I'm hopeful. I think the first half of the season suffered from too much repetition with storylines that dragged on. The only interesting bits were Daryl's. I liked the ending of the last episode, but I hope they move away from that farm & get back on the road.
Dude, that was long-winded.
Having caught up to the last episode that aired (2.07 -- just in time for the hiatus to end on Sunday!), I've decided that I have kind of a love-hate relationship with this show.
Hate
1. Some of the characters I liked in the beginning are really grating now. Dale was kind of endearing at first, but in S2 he rapidly turned into a controlling bore & maybe his concern for Andrea is not supposed to be creepy but it really comes across that way. And Carol. I like her interactions with Daryl (more on him later!) but other than that I mostly want to slap her. I can't believe that she never ONCE went out to look for her kid! I can believe that she's a doormat considering her asshole dead-husband, but you'd think in this case she would be the first one out there trying to find her daughter instead of standing around on a road looking sad. Also, Rick, to a lesser degree. I liked him well enough in S1, but now he just bores me 95% of the time.
2. I think the writing is a bit hit & miss sometimes. The 'rules' of the world are kind of inconsistent (I realize that this is a specific issue of mine because I need things to make SENSE). In S1 they make this big deal of slathering themselves in zombie guts so the dead can't smell them, but in S2 zombies apparently can't smell anymore? "LOL let's just hide under these cars & we'll be totally fine!" Also sometimes they make all of the survivors look like morons. Trying to keep quiet at all times so they don't attract any walkers, but then they go and do target practice in a field? Clever. Also, wouldn't you want to save ammo for emergencies? Plus the storyline with the old farmer keeping zombies in his barn was kiiiiind of dumb.
3. Some of the acting is pretty terrible. Lori is the main offender in this category, though. I swear if you put her on mute you really can't tell if she's happy or angry or scared. Also the Shane/Lori/Rick triangle bores me to tears, and the pregnancy thing only made it worse.
4. I hate Andrea. Actually I hate pretty much all of the women on this show. I wish the writers wouldn't make them all either meek & scared or just plain stupid -- if it wasn't for the men they'd all be dead in a ditch and it pisses me off. The gender roles are straight out of the 50s. Lori & Carol are reduced to 'moms/caregivers' & Andrea is an IDIOT. Also the Andrea/Shane moment made me want to gouge my eyes out.
Love
1. DARYL. Norman Reedus, where the fuck have you been all my life? I LOVE HIM. He's the perfect blend of competency (UNF), jerkiness and insecurity. He looks like he might explode at any given moment, but he really TRIES and he wants to be needed and uuuugh he kills me. I loved that he was the only one who really thought he could find Sophia. I worry though, because he's apparently become such a fan favourite. I hope that the writers don't soften him up too much, or try too hard to make him into a badass/superhero. And I hope they don't throw him a love interest. Please please don't pair him up with Carol! I just want them to be friends! I think he's much more interesting on his own dealing with his issues. I'd be up for seeing more of him with Merle though, even if it's just in flashback. I look forward to his scenes the most, and in terms of character development he's the only one I really care about. Also, I didn't really see the attraction when I saw photos of him on Tumblr (prior to watching the show), but now that I've seen him in action I have seen the light. *__*
2. Glenn. Glenn is adorable. But I like him better when he's being a BAMF than when he gets caught up in secrets and drama. I wish he and Daryl would take off together and have their own spinoff show so I wouldn't have to watch Lori & Co anymore.
3. Zombies. The walkers are awesome. I don't really enjoy gore as a rule but I make an exception for zombies, and I find it entertaining that they keep finding new inventive ways to dispatch them. Daryl pulling a bolt out of his side & using it to shoot a walker in the head with his crossbow? FAVOURITE. The only zombie I had a hard time dealing with was the one in the well, but I think that's because it brought back unpleasant memories for me of that time I found a bloated corpse. :| DNW. I just really like post-apocalyptic worlds in general, but zombie plagues are best of all. XD Even though I dislike so many characters, I'd probably keep watching just for that aspect alone.
I've heard that the 2nd half of S2 is action packed, so I'm hopeful. I think the first half of the season suffered from too much repetition with storylines that dragged on. The only interesting bits were Daryl's. I liked the ending of the last episode, but I hope they move away from that farm & get back on the road.
Dude, that was long-winded.