The Walking Dead Episode 408: "Too Far Gone"
Wow. That was an intense, emotional episode. I still feel rung out.
Everything under the cut contains spoilers for Episode 408: "Too Far Gone" which aired last night. Do not read further if you haven’t seen the episode!
Whew. Okay, where to start.
Let's start with Daryl, because I looooves him. And because HOLY SHIT using a walker as a shield to get through enemy lines and then blow up a tank and then then then the whole shooting of Mitch with the arrow was the definition of badassery. YES, YES IT WAS. Also loved him slowly creeping around getting the guns and handing them out, and the carry-over from the previous episode of him asking Bob if he was okay (are you drunk right now, Bob?) and Bob's sort of exasperated, insulted "Yes!"
But I do have to admit… they have to make Daryl fallible soon. His badassery is kickass and all, and I don't think I would have changed anything in this particular episode - I just loved it all too damn much, even though the bullet that hit Bob went right through him yet none of the bullets that hit Daryl's shield-walker passed through - hey, I can handwave it because it was just so fucking awesome. But for a while now Daryl has been pretty damn "perfect"… and I think I need to see a crack in the armour. Just to prove he's still human.
I know people have been anxious to see Daryl's reaction to Rick's news, and I think the show played it almost exactly right. Daryl was shocked and angry. First he was mad at Rick for making a unilateral decision, then he didn't want to believe that Carol could have done such a thing. She is his closest friend (I believe next to Rick himself) and of course he wants to think the best of her, believe that Rick's got it wrong. He couldn't reconcile the horror of Carol's actions with the Carol he knows ("that ain't her") but in the end he knew that Rick wasn't lying to him. He knew that Carol really HAD committed such a horrible act. And he was going to stand by Rick and go face Tyrese.
(An aside: which they never got to do because of… what… somebody pinning a rat to a board? What the hell is up with that?)
And that led ever so nicely into the scene at the fence when the Governor showed up. Rick says "I don't make the decisions" but… it's just not up to him anymore. They look to him as a leader whether he wants it or not. When the Governor insists, Rick looks to Daryl. If Daryl had said "hell no", Rick would have HAD to yell back that it's a council and send, like, Daryl and another council emissary down to the fence. But Daryl gives him the nod… because Daryl trusts him to make the right decisions. Even now. I think Daryl knows that what Carol did was unacceptable and that Rick was right to send her away. He doesn't like it - she's his friend. But he understands it.
I thought Rick's speech at the fence was brilliant. He's trying SO hard to be a good man. And he IS a good leader. He tried to appeal logically to the Governor, and when he said they could live together that was an act of desperation but I get the feeling that he really would have tried to make it work. The safety of his people was the most important thing (which again, ties back to his decision to exile Carol.) Then when that didn't work, he tried to appeal to the decency of the Governor's men, rightly picking out stupid Aunt Tara as the one who was wavering the most. He did everything he could to turn the situation around.
I also really liked that this episode picks up immediately after the previous prison episode. They set it up nicely that the mass automatic weapon killing of the fence-walkers just happened, thus explaining why there were no walkers at the fence when the Governor arrives. Otherwise that would have been a major blunder. (And I also liked that it didn't take long for tons of walkers to arrive. Showing how fast they accumulated and why they were always an issue and the prison group sort of could never get them under control.)
The Governor's "Liar" was chilling. (I have never really been overly fond of David Morrissey. I always hear how he is killing it in this role, and while he's been fine I've never been blown away by his acting. Tonight I was blown away. He nailed it.)
I had a feeling that Hershel was a goner but I still gasped when The Governor sliced him. And then Hershel crawling away because omg he's not dead and The Governor stalking after him - that whole thing was shocking and heartwrenching. And watching Maggie and Beth's reactions - again, spot-on acting. I could FEEL their pain.
(Speaking of Maggie, I love that the prison portion began with a lighter note of her and Glenn being happy and Glenn joking around. I've not always been super-behind this couple - if only because their storylines then tend to revolve around them as a couple (Glenn more so than Maggie) instead of focusing on them as individual people. At the same time, I'm not against them as a couple, either. But this was probably the first time that I thought they seemed fully and completely natural and couple-y together, and it worked so well.)
That was some knock-down drag-out fight between Rick and the Governor. I was leaning forward into my TV screen, holding my breath. And then then THEN when Michonne appears and makes good on her promise in the RV to kill The Governor and that blade appears through his chest? I literally screamed "YES BABY THAT'S RIGHT, YOU MOTHERFUCKER". Yes, I did. And I did a fistpump. (lol me. I get very invested, okay?)
What else? Yay, Meghan's also dead! As soon as she started digging at that sign in the mud, I KNEW there was gonna be a walker there. And that? That was some awesome mud walker. I actually went YES! out loud when she got bit. Alas, her stupid mother and equally stupid aunt survived. And Alisha the random lesbian turned out to be another stupid sheep, so I'm glad she's gone.
Creepy Lizzie interrupts the girls - who have ONE JOB, which is to get themselves and Judith to the bus - and reminds them that CAROL … ugh… told them that they have to be strong and fight. And what happens? The girls ABANDON THE BABY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COURTYARD and take off. Now granted, if they hadn't been there Tyrese might have died. BUT Tyrese is an adult who understands the risks and can fight back. Judith is an innocent. You always protect the innocent. Ugh ugh ugh. Basically those girls are responsible at least in part for Judith's death. (And I'm trying really really hard not to blame them and to realize that they are kids and they are impulsive and don't fully understand the consequences of their actions, but but but JUDITH.)
And I've gotta say this, simply because we didn't see her body (thank GOD): if it turns out that somebody else grabbed Judith and took off with her and we just didn't see it, I think I'll be equally annoyed and relieved. Relieved because OMG BABY SHOULD LIVE but peeved because it will seem like the blood and the empty carrier were a cop-out. (And I honestly don't think she IS alive… simply because why would someone, in all that chaos, stop and take her OUT of the carseat instead of just lifting it up by the handles and running? Doesn't make sense.)
I held strong when Hershel was slashed. I held strong when The Governor chased his crawling desperate body and killed him. I held strong when Rick and Carl found the carseat and Rick started crying. And then when Carl shot the walker and then kept shooting and shooting even when the gun was empty and broke down and bawled I LOST IT. Totally bawled my eyes out along with him. Carl made me cry.
Ugh. What else?
Oh, I'm also glad that Sasha and Bob had that little chat before the shit hit the fan. Bob needs someone to remind him that he does have worth, that he helped, that his contribution is what kept her alive. I think that he thinks he is worthless - and I want that to change. I really LIKE Bob, you guys. And did we see what was in his box?
So in the end, everyone is separated. I'm not even sure I've got straight where everyone is. I need to rewatch! I think this is right:
Tyrese went off with Creepy Lizzie and her sister Mika and the other kids, who ran ahead of them.
Maggie took Glenn to the bus but then left to look for Beth, but couldn't find her. She found Sasha and Bob instead. Bob got shot (in the shoulder?) and the bus took off without them. So we've got Sasha, Bob and Maggie together.
Glenn is in the bus with a bunch of redshirts.
Rick and Carl are together.
Unfortunately stupid Aunt Tara and stupid Lily (?) are still alive. Presumably they will find each other.
Beth left the bus to find the kids and Judith, but couldn't find them. So she's now with Daryl. AND BOY DO I LOVE THAT. I was saying in either an earlier commentary or in… it might have been in a reply to a fanfic I wrote… that I don't think there will be a "Daryl/Beth" but I think it would be really, really intriguing if there was. I just think it would be a really interesting dynamic. And I think that applies to ANY interaction that Daryl has with Beth, not necessarily romantic. I see similarities in the two of them and I'm really fascinated to find out what happens when they're on their own together.
I think I've covered mostly everything. Really really LOVED this episode. So glad that the Governor's gone, so interested to find out where the story goes from here. Come on, February!
If you want to talk about the ep, feel free to comment! BUT PLEASE TAKE NOTE: NO SPOILERS FOR THE COMIC BOOKS OR UNAIRED EPISODES. I know almost nothing from the comics and I don't want to know. Spoilers seriously ruin my enjoyment of a show. So please… be careful. Thank you.
.
Everything under the cut contains spoilers for Episode 408: "Too Far Gone" which aired last night. Do not read further if you haven’t seen the episode!
Whew. Okay, where to start.
Let's start with Daryl, because I looooves him. And because HOLY SHIT using a walker as a shield to get through enemy lines and then blow up a tank and then then then the whole shooting of Mitch with the arrow was the definition of badassery. YES, YES IT WAS. Also loved him slowly creeping around getting the guns and handing them out, and the carry-over from the previous episode of him asking Bob if he was okay (are you drunk right now, Bob?) and Bob's sort of exasperated, insulted "Yes!"
But I do have to admit… they have to make Daryl fallible soon. His badassery is kickass and all, and I don't think I would have changed anything in this particular episode - I just loved it all too damn much, even though the bullet that hit Bob went right through him yet none of the bullets that hit Daryl's shield-walker passed through - hey, I can handwave it because it was just so fucking awesome. But for a while now Daryl has been pretty damn "perfect"… and I think I need to see a crack in the armour. Just to prove he's still human.
I know people have been anxious to see Daryl's reaction to Rick's news, and I think the show played it almost exactly right. Daryl was shocked and angry. First he was mad at Rick for making a unilateral decision, then he didn't want to believe that Carol could have done such a thing. She is his closest friend (I believe next to Rick himself) and of course he wants to think the best of her, believe that Rick's got it wrong. He couldn't reconcile the horror of Carol's actions with the Carol he knows ("that ain't her") but in the end he knew that Rick wasn't lying to him. He knew that Carol really HAD committed such a horrible act. And he was going to stand by Rick and go face Tyrese.
(An aside: which they never got to do because of… what… somebody pinning a rat to a board? What the hell is up with that?)
And that led ever so nicely into the scene at the fence when the Governor showed up. Rick says "I don't make the decisions" but… it's just not up to him anymore. They look to him as a leader whether he wants it or not. When the Governor insists, Rick looks to Daryl. If Daryl had said "hell no", Rick would have HAD to yell back that it's a council and send, like, Daryl and another council emissary down to the fence. But Daryl gives him the nod… because Daryl trusts him to make the right decisions. Even now. I think Daryl knows that what Carol did was unacceptable and that Rick was right to send her away. He doesn't like it - she's his friend. But he understands it.
I thought Rick's speech at the fence was brilliant. He's trying SO hard to be a good man. And he IS a good leader. He tried to appeal logically to the Governor, and when he said they could live together that was an act of desperation but I get the feeling that he really would have tried to make it work. The safety of his people was the most important thing (which again, ties back to his decision to exile Carol.) Then when that didn't work, he tried to appeal to the decency of the Governor's men, rightly picking out stupid Aunt Tara as the one who was wavering the most. He did everything he could to turn the situation around.
I also really liked that this episode picks up immediately after the previous prison episode. They set it up nicely that the mass automatic weapon killing of the fence-walkers just happened, thus explaining why there were no walkers at the fence when the Governor arrives. Otherwise that would have been a major blunder. (And I also liked that it didn't take long for tons of walkers to arrive. Showing how fast they accumulated and why they were always an issue and the prison group sort of could never get them under control.)
The Governor's "Liar" was chilling. (I have never really been overly fond of David Morrissey. I always hear how he is killing it in this role, and while he's been fine I've never been blown away by his acting. Tonight I was blown away. He nailed it.)
I had a feeling that Hershel was a goner but I still gasped when The Governor sliced him. And then Hershel crawling away because omg he's not dead and The Governor stalking after him - that whole thing was shocking and heartwrenching. And watching Maggie and Beth's reactions - again, spot-on acting. I could FEEL their pain.
(Speaking of Maggie, I love that the prison portion began with a lighter note of her and Glenn being happy and Glenn joking around. I've not always been super-behind this couple - if only because their storylines then tend to revolve around them as a couple (Glenn more so than Maggie) instead of focusing on them as individual people. At the same time, I'm not against them as a couple, either. But this was probably the first time that I thought they seemed fully and completely natural and couple-y together, and it worked so well.)
That was some knock-down drag-out fight between Rick and the Governor. I was leaning forward into my TV screen, holding my breath. And then then THEN when Michonne appears and makes good on her promise in the RV to kill The Governor and that blade appears through his chest? I literally screamed "YES BABY THAT'S RIGHT, YOU MOTHERFUCKER". Yes, I did. And I did a fistpump. (lol me. I get very invested, okay?)
What else? Yay, Meghan's also dead! As soon as she started digging at that sign in the mud, I KNEW there was gonna be a walker there. And that? That was some awesome mud walker. I actually went YES! out loud when she got bit. Alas, her stupid mother and equally stupid aunt survived. And Alisha the random lesbian turned out to be another stupid sheep, so I'm glad she's gone.
Creepy Lizzie interrupts the girls - who have ONE JOB, which is to get themselves and Judith to the bus - and reminds them that CAROL … ugh… told them that they have to be strong and fight. And what happens? The girls ABANDON THE BABY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COURTYARD and take off. Now granted, if they hadn't been there Tyrese might have died. BUT Tyrese is an adult who understands the risks and can fight back. Judith is an innocent. You always protect the innocent. Ugh ugh ugh. Basically those girls are responsible at least in part for Judith's death. (And I'm trying really really hard not to blame them and to realize that they are kids and they are impulsive and don't fully understand the consequences of their actions, but but but JUDITH.)
And I've gotta say this, simply because we didn't see her body (thank GOD): if it turns out that somebody else grabbed Judith and took off with her and we just didn't see it, I think I'll be equally annoyed and relieved. Relieved because OMG BABY SHOULD LIVE but peeved because it will seem like the blood and the empty carrier were a cop-out. (And I honestly don't think she IS alive… simply because why would someone, in all that chaos, stop and take her OUT of the carseat instead of just lifting it up by the handles and running? Doesn't make sense.)
I held strong when Hershel was slashed. I held strong when The Governor chased his crawling desperate body and killed him. I held strong when Rick and Carl found the carseat and Rick started crying. And then when Carl shot the walker and then kept shooting and shooting even when the gun was empty and broke down and bawled I LOST IT. Totally bawled my eyes out along with him. Carl made me cry.
Ugh. What else?
Oh, I'm also glad that Sasha and Bob had that little chat before the shit hit the fan. Bob needs someone to remind him that he does have worth, that he helped, that his contribution is what kept her alive. I think that he thinks he is worthless - and I want that to change. I really LIKE Bob, you guys. And did we see what was in his box?
So in the end, everyone is separated. I'm not even sure I've got straight where everyone is. I need to rewatch! I think this is right:
Tyrese went off with Creepy Lizzie and her sister Mika and the other kids, who ran ahead of them.
Maggie took Glenn to the bus but then left to look for Beth, but couldn't find her. She found Sasha and Bob instead. Bob got shot (in the shoulder?) and the bus took off without them. So we've got Sasha, Bob and Maggie together.
Glenn is in the bus with a bunch of redshirts.
Rick and Carl are together.
Unfortunately stupid Aunt Tara and stupid Lily (?) are still alive. Presumably they will find each other.
Beth left the bus to find the kids and Judith, but couldn't find them. So she's now with Daryl. AND BOY DO I LOVE THAT. I was saying in either an earlier commentary or in… it might have been in a reply to a fanfic I wrote… that I don't think there will be a "Daryl/Beth" but I think it would be really, really intriguing if there was. I just think it would be a really interesting dynamic. And I think that applies to ANY interaction that Daryl has with Beth, not necessarily romantic. I see similarities in the two of them and I'm really fascinated to find out what happens when they're on their own together.
I think I've covered mostly everything. Really really LOVED this episode. So glad that the Governor's gone, so interested to find out where the story goes from here. Come on, February!
If you want to talk about the ep, feel free to comment! BUT PLEASE TAKE NOTE: NO SPOILERS FOR THE COMIC BOOKS OR UNAIRED EPISODES. I know almost nothing from the comics and I don't want to know. Spoilers seriously ruin my enjoyment of a show. So please… be careful. Thank you.
.