The Walking Dead: Tell It to the Frogs   Rewatch 
November 21, 2014 9:03 PM - Season 1, Episode 3 - Subscribe

Rick arrives at the camp in Atlanta.
posted by escape from the potato planet (10 comments total)
 
Ah, Carl's shirt. He would go on to wear that shirt for what seemed like an eternity. I think he got shot in it, got his hair cut in it in this episode, and wandered off many a time in it. Also Shane was horrible with the gun safety through a good part of this.

I don't typically watch this episode a lot because while Merle's part was memorable and we got the introduction of Daryl, I just don't find a lot worth watching.

I did think that it was pretty nice the way upon first watch of Lori and Carl reacting to Rick's arrival at the camp seems initially like they are both excited to see him, if shocked, but then the more you really look at it, Lori is actually a bit horrified.
posted by cashman at 9:23 PM on November 21, 2014


Cheesy cheesy music when Rick sees his family for the first time.

It took like 5 of them to kill that walker eating the deer. I miss how scary the walkers were in the first season. I can't believe that no one ever gets a scratch fighting walkers anymore. I understand that the show's about humans now, but in the first episodes just a thumbnail scratch could kill you and that was terrifying. Now Zombies are just part of the scenery.

"What do you know about it old man? Take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond."

Lol at "Choke hold's illegal!"

Lori's all like "Rick'll show you how to find Merle". Then she gets mad when Rick goes. She's so wind chimey and annoying, no wonder Shane goes nuts.

I really liked the end scene - first glimpses of what's Shane's going through and how he deals with it. I also like how every few episodes they have this really emotional peak at the end with a song that really amplifies the emotion. I'm don't think they're doing that anymore - I remember several episodes in the first two seasons like that but can't think of any since season two.
posted by natteringnabob at 11:18 AM on November 22, 2014


They were worried about scratches, but I don't recall any scratches ever leading to deaths. I've asked in other threads, can someone correct me on this?
posted by 2ht at 6:14 PM on November 22, 2014


Watching Shane beat the shit out of Ed is immensely satisfying.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:43 PM on November 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


I remember several episodes in the first two seasons like that but can't think of any since season two.

3/12 (Clear) had a good ending song over the infamous hitchhiker scene. And a couple of episodes later at the end of Prey. Another one when Beth and Daryl burn up the house in season 4 - "Still". Another when they arrive at Terminus at the end of "Us", season 4 episode 15. There are probably more too.
posted by cashman at 6:40 AM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


cashman - thanks for reminding me! Maybe whether I remember it has more to do with my reaction to the scenes. I do remember the Clear one now. I didn't really enjoy the Still episode so maybe that's why I forgot it.

potato planet - I think this is why I enjoyed the Rick/Shane character arc. Even when Shane was full on dickhead (beating the shit out of Ed) I could sympathize with his motivations and sometimes even cheer him on. He was a fully developed, believable villain to me, unlike the governor or the Terminus hipsters.

2ht - guess it makes sense that they were afraid of something that they didn't know for sure and now they know it's nothing to worry about. But Michonne cut off the arms of her pets as well as the jaws - seems like she was worried about scratches too.
posted by natteringnabob at 9:08 AM on November 23, 2014


Well that may have been to prevent them from grabbing her or other objects.
posted by tofu_crouton at 11:05 AM on November 23, 2014


I actually remembered Shane as a rather annoying character, and was kind of dreading having him around for the rewatch – but he's more complex than I had remembered. He's a selfish, hot-tempered, overbearing man-child, and he's too ready to take charge of situations – some of which, at least, can be attributed to the fact that he's a cop, and he's used to taking in charge in volatile situations (and not having anyone stop him). But he does have good in him – the kindness he showed to Carol and Sophia, for example. He often shows both sides with the same action – when he was joshing around with Carl, he was partly keeping the kid's spirits up out of genuine affection, and partly just being an irresponsible kid himself. When he beat the shit out of Ed, it was equal parts anger at injustice, and the self-righteous entitlement to appoint himself judge, jury, and executioner.

So, yeah – he's definitely more believable as a villain than many of the other Big Bads, who just do it For The Evulz. I hated the Governor arc; I just never found his motivations plausible. The Terminus folks were less irritating, but they probably would have gotten on my nerves if they'd stuck around longer. The people at the hospital, so far, strike me as especially one-dimensional , motivated only by the need to provide the protagonists with Bad Guys to come into conflict with.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 1:23 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


It's unclear exactly how the virus is transmitted. Indeed, much about the workings of the disease is unclear.

At various times – even later in the series, I think, when they're more experienced with the workings of the disease – the characters warn each other to avoid getting zombie goop in their eyes or mouths. (I mean, I wouldn't want zombie goop in my eyes or mouth either, but they seem to be specifically saying "don't catch the virus".) And yet, with all the zombie guts that get splattered in every episode, it's hard to imagine how any of them have avoided eye or mouth contact so far – I mean, their clothing and hair are often smeared with the stuff.

As for bites – it seems reasonable to suppose that it's the saliva that carries the sickness (assuming that walkers' salivary glands still secrete saliva), and that the teeth have to break the skin. Scratches are presumably the same way – if they manage to break the skin, then their goop gets into your bloodstream, and you're gonna turn.

But all of this, of course, is further complicated by the fact that everyone already has the virus – so why do bites or scratches do anything at all?

The only sensible explanation: walker bites don't kill you because of the virus, but for some other reason – heck, maybe they're poisoned or something. And then you die, and then you turn because you already had the virus, and were gonna turn when you died anyway – whether you died from a zombie bite or from eating expired beef jerky.

But I think they just don't want us thinking too much about it, which works for me.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 1:37 PM on November 23, 2014


But I think they just don't want us thinking too much about it, which works for me.

This.
posted by cashman at 4:13 PM on November 23, 2014


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