The Walking Dead: Crossed Show Only
November 23, 2014 7:42 PM - Season 5, Episode 7 - Subscribe
Tara finds a yo-yo.
Also:
- I'm seeing double here! Four comas!
- Successful escapes! But not the good kind like you want.
- Abraham sits in an uncomfortable position in the sun without water for a very long time.
- Rick. Rick. RICK.
Also:
- I'm seeing double here! Four comas!
- Successful escapes! But not the good kind like you want.
- Abraham sits in an uncomfortable position in the sun without water for a very long time.
- Rick. Rick. RICK.
I found this episode mostly frustrating. This was about what I expected for the pennultimate midseason episode, though, since it basically functions to move the characters to where they need to be for the midseason finale.
I wanted to shake stupid Sasha for falling for Bob II's obvious trap. I think I yelled at the TV during his endless sililoquy for her to just move closer so he could headbutt her already since it was so painfully clear what was happening. I wanted to shake Abraham for being so effing boring and sitting like a masochistic dehydrated lump the whole episode. I wanted to shake Gabriel for being unbearably annoying at this point in his willful patheticness since I really just can't take his schtick anymore even if it is genuine.
I loved Maggie pointing the gun at Abraham. I loved Glenn and Rosita fishing and I loved Tara being Tara. Can we please get more of them? They all make me happy.
posted by gatorae at 8:05 PM on November 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
I wanted to shake stupid Sasha for falling for Bob II's obvious trap. I think I yelled at the TV during his endless sililoquy for her to just move closer so he could headbutt her already since it was so painfully clear what was happening. I wanted to shake Abraham for being so effing boring and sitting like a masochistic dehydrated lump the whole episode. I wanted to shake Gabriel for being unbearably annoying at this point in his willful patheticness since I really just can't take his schtick anymore even if it is genuine.
I loved Maggie pointing the gun at Abraham. I loved Glenn and Rosita fishing and I loved Tara being Tara. Can we please get more of them? They all make me happy.
posted by gatorae at 8:05 PM on November 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Heh. The title's kinda funny for comics folk.
This was better than I had hoped, by far; the episode description provided by my cable service just said something about group members fortifying the church, and I was sure we were going to get an entire episode of a baby crying and Michonne talking to the comically useless rev. I admit, I did love that the very instant he left the church he got a nail in his foot and fell down. What a maroon.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:24 PM on November 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
This was better than I had hoped, by far; the episode description provided by my cable service just said something about group members fortifying the church, and I was sure we were going to get an entire episode of a baby crying and Michonne talking to the comically useless rev. I admit, I did love that the very instant he left the church he got a nail in his foot and fell down. What a maroon.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:24 PM on November 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
The title's kinda funny...he got a nail in his foot
Just sayin'.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:30 PM on November 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Just sayin'.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:30 PM on November 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Oh, I hadn't thought of that! But no, the title is a pretty clear shout-out to something else.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:35 PM on November 23, 2014
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:35 PM on November 23, 2014
"Ok here's the plan, it's smooth and well thought out and we can be out of there by the next commercial break"
"but what about my plan, it's super risky and could easily get most of us killed"
"Ok let's do that one, I mean when do hostage swaps ever not work"
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:48 PM on November 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
"but what about my plan, it's super risky and could easily get most of us killed"
"Ok let's do that one, I mean when do hostage swaps ever not work"
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:48 PM on November 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
Interesting use of sound in the beginning – Judith crying, Carl pounding the nail, Gabriel scratching at the bloodstains. It created an oppressive feeling that expressed Gabriel's state of mind well.
As Gabriel crawled out from under the church, I thought "he's not gonna last long out there" – and then he jogged off into the graveyard. SYMBOLISM!
But in general, yeah – I hope and expect that Gabe will become walker chow sooner rather than later, and that few viewers will be upset about that. (Either that, or he's about to betray the group at the church somehow. Or he's going to get himself up shit creek, and our heroes will risk life and limb to rescue him.)
I guess I'm gullible, because Sergeant Bob's kung fu blindsided me – I really thought he was on the up-and-up until the very last moment. Why on earth would he do that, though? He could have gone back to the hospital, told Dawn about the plan, and dealt with Rick and company from a much advantaged position. Instead he tipped his hand, and risked getting caught while escaping from people who were about to let him go anyway. (Or maybe I misunderstood the nature of his deal with Rick's group?)
Rosita has always bugged me a little; she seems like little more than halfhearted fanservice (are military-issue booty shorts really the most practical attire for the apocalypse?). They started developing her a little more in this episode, which is welcome.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:12 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
As Gabriel crawled out from under the church, I thought "he's not gonna last long out there" – and then he jogged off into the graveyard. SYMBOLISM!
But in general, yeah – I hope and expect that Gabe will become walker chow sooner rather than later, and that few viewers will be upset about that. (Either that, or he's about to betray the group at the church somehow. Or he's going to get himself up shit creek, and our heroes will risk life and limb to rescue him.)
I guess I'm gullible, because Sergeant Bob's kung fu blindsided me – I really thought he was on the up-and-up until the very last moment. Why on earth would he do that, though? He could have gone back to the hospital, told Dawn about the plan, and dealt with Rick and company from a much advantaged position. Instead he tipped his hand, and risked getting caught while escaping from people who were about to let him go anyway. (Or maybe I misunderstood the nature of his deal with Rick's group?)
Rosita has always bugged me a little; she seems like little more than halfhearted fanservice (are military-issue booty shorts really the most practical attire for the apocalypse?). They started developing her a little more in this episode, which is welcome.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:12 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, Rick sure does like long pistols. Such long, solid, powerful pistols.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:26 PM on November 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:26 PM on November 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
I was so frustrated by the Bob II and Sasha stuff. I just wanted to scream at my TV, "I know he is full of shit and is going to eventually attack her, can you please stop insulting my intelligence by thinking you are tricking me into believing he is just a friendly, swell dude and get to it already!". One thing that is kind of interesting, though, is that you can absolutely look at his situation from his perspective and see him as the hero escaping from the clutches of a villain.
posted by The Gooch at 9:47 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by The Gooch at 9:47 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Slow. Boring. Disappointing. Predictable.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 10:21 PM on November 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 10:21 PM on November 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Man, I thought Gabriel was going to hack at Carl with that machete for a second. And yes, it's hard to sympathize with him.
Rick definitely should have killed the cop that tried to kill Daryl.
You think Abraham has his stuff back together now? He needs a new mission.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 7:23 AM on November 24, 2014
Rick definitely should have killed the cop that tried to kill Daryl.
You think Abraham has his stuff back together now? He needs a new mission.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 7:23 AM on November 24, 2014
I kept waiting for somebody to bite it. I'm kind of glad nobody did. There was enough suspense and tension without it being over the top, that I just kept thinking, somebody's about to get it. It was a good episode because of that, but ultimately I agree that in hindsight it felt a lot like moving people into places.
Michonne is criminally underused this season. She better get to save the group using a jump off of a sunlit rooftop as her sword blade gleams for an instant before hitting its targets. I feel like the main officer in Grady Memorial just isn't playing the part uniquely enough. I think there should be a hint of crazy in her portrayal because so many of the things she does just seem to cry out for that. Subtle face movements, a demeanor, something. She's as bland today as the moment she arrived. She looks the same in every single scene. If you're going to give us a villain, give us an actual character. Not one that is over the top, but somebody at least half full.
posted by cashman at 7:46 AM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Michonne is criminally underused this season. She better get to save the group using a jump off of a sunlit rooftop as her sword blade gleams for an instant before hitting its targets. I feel like the main officer in Grady Memorial just isn't playing the part uniquely enough. I think there should be a hint of crazy in her portrayal because so many of the things she does just seem to cry out for that. Subtle face movements, a demeanor, something. She's as bland today as the moment she arrived. She looks the same in every single scene. If you're going to give us a villain, give us an actual character. Not one that is over the top, but somebody at least half full.
posted by cashman at 7:46 AM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
My thoughts: It was nice to see Rosita finally get some characterization. Are we really doing the alive or undead thing again with Eugene? Is there anyone here who didn't see Sasha getting taking advantage of by Officer Friendly from a mile away? I don't really care about Gabriel's story and I'm not sure why they're continuing to drag it out, but the idea that he could pry up those floorboards without KORL or Michonne hearing it is ludicrous.
I think we're going to have a pretty big body count next episode, I expect to lose either Beth or Carol (I will riot) and possibly another member of Rick's group when the hostage exchange inevitably goes sideways.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:35 AM on November 24, 2014
I think we're going to have a pretty big body count next episode, I expect to lose either Beth or Carol (I will riot) and possibly another member of Rick's group when the hostage exchange inevitably goes sideways.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:35 AM on November 24, 2014
Say what you will about the hospital's lack of resources, but it appears they've got no shortage of suture. Beth's face is like a 16th Century sampler.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:01 AM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 9:01 AM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
He could have gone back to the hospital, told Dawn about the plan, and dealt with Rick and company from a much advantaged position. Instead he tipped his hand, and risked getting caught while escaping from people who were about to let him go anyway. (Or maybe I misunderstood the nature of his deal with Rick's group?)
I think it has less to do with the his deal with Rick's group and more to do with the internal politics of the cops' group. Remember earlier when the female cop was talking about how the deal with Rosita wouldn't work because Rosita knew the cops wanted her out and Bob II in? Bob II shushed her, but not by saying she was wrong, he said, "Rosita doesn't know that." Unless of course she does, or Bob was concerned enough that she does that he wasn't willing to stake his life on being traded for by somebody that might not want him back.
Of course, if she doesn't trade for him (because she doesn't really want him back), but then he escapes and makes his way back anways, that pretty much forces the simmering coup d'etat to an immediate resolution one way or the other.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:09 AM on November 24, 2014
I think it has less to do with the his deal with Rick's group and more to do with the internal politics of the cops' group. Remember earlier when the female cop was talking about how the deal with Rosita wouldn't work because Rosita knew the cops wanted her out and Bob II in? Bob II shushed her, but not by saying she was wrong, he said, "Rosita doesn't know that." Unless of course she does, or Bob was concerned enough that she does that he wasn't willing to stake his life on being traded for by somebody that might not want him back.
Of course, if she doesn't trade for him (because she doesn't really want him back), but then he escapes and makes his way back anways, that pretty much forces the simmering coup d'etat to an immediate resolution one way or the other.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:09 AM on November 24, 2014
Jeeze Abe, how the hell are you knees holding up?
Forget the knees; I'm worried about his residual John Cooper back injury from Southland! Also, I suspect Gabriel has a big ol' case of tetanus in his near future. Not a pleasant way to go.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:01 AM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Forget the knees; I'm worried about his residual John Cooper back injury from Southland! Also, I suspect Gabriel has a big ol' case of tetanus in his near future. Not a pleasant way to go.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:01 AM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
mstokes650, that's not Rosita. That's Dawn.
(I won't lie, though; I had to look up Tara's name before posting this thread.)
posted by Sys Rq at 10:31 AM on November 24, 2014
(I won't lie, though; I had to look up Tara's name before posting this thread.)
posted by Sys Rq at 10:31 AM on November 24, 2014
Ah, so it is. Shouldn't post when I'm on cold medicine. Do we know Dawn's last name?
posted by mstokes650 at 12:09 PM on November 24, 2014
posted by mstokes650 at 12:09 PM on November 24, 2014
of the Dead, I think.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:18 PM on November 24, 2014 [27 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 12:18 PM on November 24, 2014 [27 favorites]
*slow clap*
posted by entropicamericana at 12:34 PM on November 24, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 12:34 PM on November 24, 2014 [9 favorites]
Brandon Blatcher: Cool to see Daryl and Tyreese disagreeing with Rick and that not being an issue. Rick listened, like a reasonable person. He's grown!
Ray Walston, Luck Dragon: "Ok let's do that one, I mean when do hostage swaps ever not work"
I'm siding with support for Rick growing to accept the feedback from his fellow group members. My wife and I were talking about Daryl growing the opposite direction of Rick. Daryl had extended time with Beth and Carol to change his view of how to deal with situations, while Rick has been faced with betrayal after betrayal, so he's quicker to turn to "kill those who go against you, so they can't turn on you later, living or undead."
I was happy to see Tara finding the silly joy in everything, especially after DC finally went bust. Part of me is skeptical that everyone could be so gullible, but then I realize a hope for a cure is a pretty good reason to live, and gives you a real focus in life where the only other goal you have is simple survival from day-to-day.
And I'm irked that it took the Eugene group so long to realize hey, Eugene is actually helpful with his weird little "science tricks." I'm also surprised they haven't picked up any Britta-type water filters when they go on supply runs.
Brandon Blatcher: Jeeze Abe, how the hell are you knees holding up?
I figured his legs fell asleep, and he was too stubborn to ask for help getting up, and was waiting for everyone to wander off before he tried to stand.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:19 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
Ray Walston, Luck Dragon: "Ok let's do that one, I mean when do hostage swaps ever not work"
I'm siding with support for Rick growing to accept the feedback from his fellow group members. My wife and I were talking about Daryl growing the opposite direction of Rick. Daryl had extended time with Beth and Carol to change his view of how to deal with situations, while Rick has been faced with betrayal after betrayal, so he's quicker to turn to "kill those who go against you, so they can't turn on you later, living or undead."
I was happy to see Tara finding the silly joy in everything, especially after DC finally went bust. Part of me is skeptical that everyone could be so gullible, but then I realize a hope for a cure is a pretty good reason to live, and gives you a real focus in life where the only other goal you have is simple survival from day-to-day.
And I'm irked that it took the Eugene group so long to realize hey, Eugene is actually helpful with his weird little "science tricks." I'm also surprised they haven't picked up any Britta-type water filters when they go on supply runs.
Brandon Blatcher: Jeeze Abe, how the hell are you knees holding up?
I figured his legs fell asleep, and he was too stubborn to ask for help getting up, and was waiting for everyone to wander off before he tried to stand.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:19 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
FelliniBlank: I suspect Gabriel has a big ol' case of tetanus in his near future. Not a pleasant way to go.
Did he forget what happened last time he ventured out? And then he can't brain thezombie walker* with a big rock because hey, she's wearing a little golden cross necklace. You already shut out your congregation, buddy. Get off your cross and figure out how you can survive in this terrible new world.
* Only after watching the Honest Trailer for The Walking Dead did I notice that no one calls them zombies.
Ik ben afgesneden: Slow. Boring. Disappointing. Predictable.
Interesting. I actually thought it was rather suspenseful, for the limited conflicts there actually were. I could see a number of different ways the scenarios could play out, too, and none were surprises, so I figure it's somewhat hard to shake the viewer the viewer can mention 20 options for the scenario to play out, and the show follows one of them. I thought it was well-balanced, though it's clearly leading up to a big mid-season cliff-hanger.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:27 AM on November 25, 2014
Did he forget what happened last time he ventured out? And then he can't brain the
* Only after watching the Honest Trailer for The Walking Dead did I notice that no one calls them zombies.
Ik ben afgesneden: Slow. Boring. Disappointing. Predictable.
Interesting. I actually thought it was rather suspenseful, for the limited conflicts there actually were. I could see a number of different ways the scenarios could play out, too, and none were surprises, so I figure it's somewhat hard to shake the viewer the viewer can mention 20 options for the scenario to play out, and the show follows one of them. I thought it was well-balanced, though it's clearly leading up to a big mid-season cliff-hanger.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:27 AM on November 25, 2014
It was all metaphor. The episode is called Crossed, Gabriel mentions the cross, when he pulls up wood from the floor it forms a cross, he gets a nail through his foot just like Jesus on the cross, and then he nearly kills a zombie but stops because she was a Christian, again, exactly like Jesus.
posted by maxsparber at 8:45 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 8:45 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
Jesus was Jewish. Or did you mean Jesus almost killed a zombie? Was that in one of the gnostic gospels?
posted by entropicamericana at 9:12 AM on November 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 9:12 AM on November 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
TWD storytelling is too traditional for Gabriel to just get gratuitously eaten after all that investment in his angst. He is destined to advance the plot in some way, probably by burning in hell as foretold on the side of his church.
posted by cardboard at 9:48 AM on November 25, 2014
posted by cardboard at 9:48 AM on November 25, 2014
Judging from the preview for next week, I think it's easy to tell what comes next for Gabe. (Can we discuss the content of previews or is that considered a spoiler?)
posted by entropicamericana at 9:58 AM on November 25, 2014
posted by entropicamericana at 9:58 AM on November 25, 2014
Jesus was Jewish. Or did you mean Jesus almost killed a zombie? Was that in one of the gnostic gospels?
I got a little sarcastic at the end there.
posted by maxsparber at 10:19 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
I got a little sarcastic at the end there.
posted by maxsparber at 10:19 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
I think Eugene is dead. I expected that he was going to come out of the coma a full-on zombie before the end of the ep and kill Maggie, possibly in front of Glenn.
posted by nushustu at 11:09 AM on November 25, 2014
posted by nushustu at 11:09 AM on November 25, 2014
Eugene made some not dead noises at the very end of the episode.
posted by maxsparber at 11:36 AM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by maxsparber at 11:36 AM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
I got a little sarcastic at the end there.
Well, to be fair, like the cross-wearing walker, Jesus 1) was a zombie and 2) got impaled on a thing. Just not in that order.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:19 PM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well, to be fair, like the cross-wearing walker, Jesus 1) was a zombie and 2) got impaled on a thing. Just not in that order.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:19 PM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, Eugene is not dead nor a zombie -- he was talking (rather hoarsely) at the end of the episode, and zombies don't talk.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:02 PM on November 25, 2014
posted by Jacqueline at 4:02 PM on November 25, 2014
Jesus was a lich, not a zombie.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:02 PM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Jacqueline at 4:02 PM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
Part of me is skeptical that everyone could be so gullible
On the one hand, yeah. On the other...I consider some of the things that people believe in real life to keep themselves going, and it doesn't seem so farfetched.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 6:38 PM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
On the one hand, yeah. On the other...I consider some of the things that people believe in real life to keep themselves going, and it doesn't seem so farfetched.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 6:38 PM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
(Can we discuss the content of previews or is that considered a spoiler?)
I personally don't mind, since I always watch the sneak peeks (and they never reveal significant plot points anyway), but it's a gray area. If anyone objects, I'm happy to treat sneak peeks as off-limits.
I had actually forgotten to watch the latest one, though. Holy shit – every time Gabriel is on the screen, they may as well have a subtitle reading "THIS MAN IS A PRIEST" in blinking 144-point type.
We know he's a priest. (His name is Gabriel, and he's still wearing a white collar several years into the zombie apocalypse, for crap's sake. It's not exactly subtle.) What else is he? Even priests had lives before they were ordained, have hobbies or interests that aren't the Bible, make and laugh at jokes, and occasionally utter sentences about things other than religion. But Gabriel is just all Jesus, all the time, in a way that feels very superficial and one-dimensional.
This is a problem I have with a lot of characters at various points in the show, really. Whenever any character has screen time, even if they're just a bit player in the current arc, we should be learning more about them. But so many TWD characters just remain cardboard cutouts until the writers finally decide, many episodes later, that they should probably give that character some dimension.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 7:01 PM on November 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
I personally don't mind, since I always watch the sneak peeks (and they never reveal significant plot points anyway), but it's a gray area. If anyone objects, I'm happy to treat sneak peeks as off-limits.
I had actually forgotten to watch the latest one, though. Holy shit – every time Gabriel is on the screen, they may as well have a subtitle reading "THIS MAN IS A PRIEST" in blinking 144-point type.
We know he's a priest. (His name is Gabriel, and he's still wearing a white collar several years into the zombie apocalypse, for crap's sake. It's not exactly subtle.) What else is he? Even priests had lives before they were ordained, have hobbies or interests that aren't the Bible, make and laugh at jokes, and occasionally utter sentences about things other than religion. But Gabriel is just all Jesus, all the time, in a way that feels very superficial and one-dimensional.
This is a problem I have with a lot of characters at various points in the show, really. Whenever any character has screen time, even if they're just a bit player in the current arc, we should be learning more about them. But so many TWD characters just remain cardboard cutouts until the writers finally decide, many episodes later, that they should probably give that character some dimension.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 7:01 PM on November 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
Paging Pater Aletheias to the thread...
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:27 PM on November 25, 2014
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:27 PM on November 25, 2014
I knew that Bob wasn't long for this world as soon as Gabriel showed up, and I think that Noah's arrival means that our pacifist preacher won't be around much longer.
Black men on The Walking Dead are like children in Addams Family Values; when a new one shows up, one of the old ones is about to die.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 1:35 PM on November 26, 2014
Black men on The Walking Dead are like children in Addams Family Values; when a new one shows up, one of the old ones is about to die.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 1:35 PM on November 26, 2014
Sad but true. Someone more ambitious than I should make an episode-by-episode chart. I really started noticing the pattern back in Season 3.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:29 PM on November 26, 2014
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:29 PM on November 26, 2014
Speaking of which, have you ever looked at the character list on the TWD wiki? Characters with a green box are alive; characters with red boxes are dead.
There's an awwwful lot of red boxes.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:38 PM on November 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
There's an awwwful lot of red boxes.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:38 PM on November 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have a question: was the bible Gabriel found supposed to indicate that one of his flock was a zombie in the school or that one was a termite?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:58 AM on November 27, 2014
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:58 AM on November 27, 2014
I so don't care about Gabriel.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:18 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:18 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Slightly adjusted predictions for the mid-season finale:
1. Walker passes church. Walker is distracted by nail with living human blood on it. Walker crawls under church. Problemo time for those inside.
2. Before Rick et al can attack the hospital, they themselves come under attack by the now tipped-off police force inside. Things look grim.
3. The firetruck people return to the church, in the nick of time to rescue those inside.
4. Things looks really grim for Rick et al. However, Eugene and Abraham crash through the police attack lines in the firetruck, sacrificing themselves (final mission for Abraham, redemption for Eugene) in the process.
5. Rick et al get to the hospital, but just as chief policewoman pulls a gun on Carol. Cut to end of half-season.
posted by Wordshore at 5:27 PM on November 30, 2014
1. Walker passes church. Walker is distracted by nail with living human blood on it. Walker crawls under church. Problemo time for those inside.
2. Before Rick et al can attack the hospital, they themselves come under attack by the now tipped-off police force inside. Things look grim.
3. The firetruck people return to the church, in the nick of time to rescue those inside.
4. Things looks really grim for Rick et al. However, Eugene and Abraham crash through the police attack lines in the firetruck, sacrificing themselves (final mission for Abraham, redemption for Eugene) in the process.
5. Rick et al get to the hospital, but just as chief policewoman pulls a gun on Carol. Cut to end of half-season.
posted by Wordshore at 5:27 PM on November 30, 2014
We know he's a priest. (His name is Gabriel, and he's still wearing a white collar several years into the zombie apocalypse, for crap's sake. It's not exactly subtle.) What else is he? Even priests had lives before they were ordained, have hobbies or interests that aren't the Bible, make and laugh at jokes, and occasionally utter sentences about things other than religion. But Gabriel is just all Jesus, all the time, in a way that feels very superficial and one-dimensional.
>Paging Pater Aletheias to the thread...
I was off on Thanksgiving travels. You guys should have used the Pat-signal. I'm always scanning the clouds for signs that a conversation somewhere has touched on the lives of pastors.
From what I can tell, the producers of the Walking Dead, like most people involved in television, really don't know much of anything about pastors or the religious practices of American Christians outside the basic stereotypes. (I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Bible verses posted in Gabriel's church all refer to people rising from the dead, which makes me wonder if Gabriel was bored, going insane, or genuinely grappling with the theology of the zombie apocalypse when he posted those.) For example, in early season two, when Otis shot Carl, the group was hiding out in "the Southern Baptist Church of Holy Light" which is a weird name for a church, although I suppose it's a possible one. Inside it were several crucifixes and statues of Jesus, which looked to me like your standard-issue Catholic trimmings, and something you would not find in almost any Protestant church and certainly not a Southern Baptist one. I don't expect AMC to have a seminary grad on retainer to do church-related fact-checking for their series (although I am available at a reasonable price), but you'd think someone around would know that Baptist churches and Catholic churches have very little in common.
Father Gabriel's Church is at St. Sarah's Episcopal, and to my non-Episcopal eyes, they get the signage right and the decor seems plausible for a rural, Southern congregation. "Father" is not the standard term for Episcopal priests, but it is used sometimes among priests who lean heavily toward the Catholic tradition. So on all the basics I'm giving TWD an A. Certainly nothing glaringly out-of-place.
But you still have this problem of Gabriel being a one-dimensional character, which is a issue the Walking Dead has had before, but it's especially grating with Gabriel because clergy are so often completely one-dimensional in TV/movies. They are either saints or they are con men/predators. I certainly know a few real life clergy who seem to steer every conversation toward Jesus, but most of them cheer for their favorite sports teams, enjoy a night out at the movies, and--Catholics excepted--spend time with their spouses and families. (And why is Gabriel single? Episcopal priests can marry, and usually are married. I mean, sure, single priests are possible, but rare. Or do the producers not know that married clergy are accepted in the Anglican tradition?)
For that matter, Gabriel's wimpiness bugs me, too. Not that clergy are the most gung-ho killer types, but this is a guy who trained for leadership and ran a church. Not being able to think strategically about survival seems unlikely.
I so don't care about Gabriel.
Yeah. I'd love a pastor character I could cheer for, but Gabriel is so damn tedious. If he manages to die in an interesting way, it'll be the only interesting thing the character has done so far.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:50 PM on November 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
>Paging Pater Aletheias to the thread...
I was off on Thanksgiving travels. You guys should have used the Pat-signal. I'm always scanning the clouds for signs that a conversation somewhere has touched on the lives of pastors.
From what I can tell, the producers of the Walking Dead, like most people involved in television, really don't know much of anything about pastors or the religious practices of American Christians outside the basic stereotypes. (I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Bible verses posted in Gabriel's church all refer to people rising from the dead, which makes me wonder if Gabriel was bored, going insane, or genuinely grappling with the theology of the zombie apocalypse when he posted those.) For example, in early season two, when Otis shot Carl, the group was hiding out in "the Southern Baptist Church of Holy Light" which is a weird name for a church, although I suppose it's a possible one. Inside it were several crucifixes and statues of Jesus, which looked to me like your standard-issue Catholic trimmings, and something you would not find in almost any Protestant church and certainly not a Southern Baptist one. I don't expect AMC to have a seminary grad on retainer to do church-related fact-checking for their series (although I am available at a reasonable price), but you'd think someone around would know that Baptist churches and Catholic churches have very little in common.
Father Gabriel's Church is at St. Sarah's Episcopal, and to my non-Episcopal eyes, they get the signage right and the decor seems plausible for a rural, Southern congregation. "Father" is not the standard term for Episcopal priests, but it is used sometimes among priests who lean heavily toward the Catholic tradition. So on all the basics I'm giving TWD an A. Certainly nothing glaringly out-of-place.
But you still have this problem of Gabriel being a one-dimensional character, which is a issue the Walking Dead has had before, but it's especially grating with Gabriel because clergy are so often completely one-dimensional in TV/movies. They are either saints or they are con men/predators. I certainly know a few real life clergy who seem to steer every conversation toward Jesus, but most of them cheer for their favorite sports teams, enjoy a night out at the movies, and--Catholics excepted--spend time with their spouses and families. (And why is Gabriel single? Episcopal priests can marry, and usually are married. I mean, sure, single priests are possible, but rare. Or do the producers not know that married clergy are accepted in the Anglican tradition?)
For that matter, Gabriel's wimpiness bugs me, too. Not that clergy are the most gung-ho killer types, but this is a guy who trained for leadership and ran a church. Not being able to think strategically about survival seems unlikely.
I so don't care about Gabriel.
Yeah. I'd love a pastor character I could cheer for, but Gabriel is so damn tedious. If he manages to die in an interesting way, it'll be the only interesting thing the character has done so far.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:50 PM on November 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
Gabe's reluctance/inability to kill because of wimpyness or a cross seems like a retread of Herschel and his refusal to kill because he thought the walkers were still "redeemable."
Locking people out of the church still seems weird to me. The cannibals managed to force the door and they weren't even desperate--just pissed off.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 7:15 PM on November 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Locking people out of the church still seems weird to me. The cannibals managed to force the door and they weren't even desperate--just pissed off.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 7:15 PM on November 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Pater, just chiming in to say how very much I appreciate your insights into all things related to the ministry, especially the more banal aspects of daily life and clerical duties versus what's portrayed on TV and in films.
Thank you!
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 2:30 PM on December 5, 2014
Thank you!
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 2:30 PM on December 5, 2014
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Recaps
AV Club
The Supernatural...
The great part was that the cop just might be another reasonable person. So yeah, who can blame him for trying to get the upper hand? Plus, he chose not kill Sasha or grab her weapon.
Cool to see Daryl and Tyreese disagreeing with Rick and that not being an issue. Rick listened, like a reasonable person. He's grown!
Jeeze Abe, how the hell are you knees holding up?
Can't think of a good reason to give a damn about the priest and whatever his issues are. After a couple of years in the apocalypse I have little sympathy for people who seem unable to cope.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:03 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]