The Last Of Us

 I do not play video games, so I had never heard of the game The Last Of Us. When I heard Craig Mazin was making an HBO series with Pedro Pascal, it sounded interesting. Reviews were good, so I started watching, because - as the name of the blog implies - I like a good zombie show (even if it's not technically zombies).

And then Sunday's episode dropped and like just about everyone I was absolutely floored. After two episodes of "the world as we know it ending" and "this is why the plague it terrible" that established the world of TLOU, the show crafted an unbelievably moving story of love and the meaning of life. What's more, the roughly 60 minute short film nestled within a broader apocalyptic story featured two men rather than a heterosexual couple. Further, it didn't feel gimmicky. The reason Nick Offerman's Bill was a reclusive survivalist was precisely because he was closeted and resentful of the world.

I rewatched it last night, just to see if it was really as good as I thought or just "novel." It absolutely was as good as I had thought it was, in fact a second viewing allowed me to see just how well crafted an episode of television it was. It stands alone brilliantly as a stand-alone episode, but it also points to the broader theme of the show, which Bills says at the heartbreaking conclusion: "You were my purpose."

Oh, and Nick Offerman should start writing that Emmy speech.

Walking Dead Liveblog

OK, here's another problem I have with the Walking Dead universe.  The food issue.  Walkers are stupid, clumsy and slow.  There would be ABUNDANT game: deer, rabbits, squirrels, wild dogs and cats.  Don't believe me?  Try catching one.

***

If they are near DC, they are in the Chesapeake estuary.  There would be freaking water.  Stop throwing up obstacles just because.

Well, at least that was a solid plan for large scale zombie killing.  I'll give them that.

***

And there's the first deer we've seen.  And it's dead.

Oh, and there are the dogs!  Dinner time!

***

Interesting that the people behind "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" think that TWD was a good market for their advertising.

Daryl cries.  I have a hunch that will be a meme by Monday morning.

***

I've been waiting for them to stumble upon someone else.

Naturally they get hit with a sharknado...

I'm not sure I buy Maggie's torment.  I mean at this point...she already thought Beth was dead, then she wasn't, then she was.  I get that that's traumatic.  But really?  After everything else?

Interesting speech by Rick.

***

Carl used to be a bad ass, not he's a babysitter?

I have to say, the production values in this season are pretty high.

Sorry, not a sharknado, but a deadnado.

And that's the pivot.  You had to bring them to real depths before tempting them with a way out.

Beth

It's not quite the death of Sophia, but the death of Beth got me more than I thought it would.

Walking Dead Liveblog

Well, we're back.  Let's see what Terminus has in store for us.  Cannibalism?  I think that's all that's left.
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Well, I guess the FCC doesn't have much say over AMC.

OK, that was a helluva cold opening.  And I do mean cold.
***
Carol might be the baddest ass in a show full of badasses.

And she's got a little MacGyver in her, too.

At what point does Tyrese turn hardass?
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OK, Rick's kind of a badass, too...

"We're still those people, we have to be."

Yeah, whatever lets you sleep at night, Glenn.
***
Teddy Bears... Jesus.

Greg Nicotero is a sick, sick man.

I'm guessing Tyrese is about to go full maniac.
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Respect the Mullet.

Daryl and Carol.  I got verklempft.

Rick and Carol.  More verklempft.
***
WHAT A REVEAL AT THE END.

Walking Dead Liveblog - Season Finale

Ah!  Herschel!

You know, Scott Gimple - the latest "showrunner" - has a really good sense of how to set a story.  Great opening.
***
"Who are we?"  Apparently people who allow guys to die.

"You get to come back."  This finale seems to be about Rick going back into the darkness.

Nice that they are getting back to the desperation of the road.

Wow.  Getting the confrontation into it early.
***
Don't put down the crossbow, Daryl.

Oh... damn...

Rick...um...Rick.
***
Rick's a better brother than Merle, by the way...

Still wondering what Terminus really is.  I guess we are about to find out.

Michonne is a better mother than Lori, by the way...

So suddenly this is Monsters, Inc?

OK...So Terminus is about as bad as we might have thought.
***
Did they just kill off a whole bunch of regulars?  Couldn't have.  Glenn, Maggie, hell, they just added Abe.

Post-apocalyptic Legos...

Once again, no one in the apocalypse can shoot unless it's walkers. (I guess they meant to miss.)

Oh, and they are cannibals.

This is going to be a ridiculous cliffhanger.
***
It's a veal pen.

Ah, there are the regulars!

Looks like Tyrese and Carol to the rescue!

Yes.  Yes they are screwing with the wrong people.
***

I like this half season, because it was about character development.  The Governor story got tedious, but this could be very interesting.

And, Rick Agonistes was never THAT interesting.  Rick Badass is much more interesting.

TV Sunday

A few weeks ago, I was splitting time between Walking Dead, True Detective and Downton Abbey.  I'm down to Walking Dead after a tremendous (and unexpectedly optimistic) ending to True Detective.

I've always been intrigued but not invested in the mythologies that people create around well written shows.  The X-Files, Lost, you name it.  I prefer to let the story unfold the way the creators want.  Now sometimes in television, the creators don't know where they are going. But the beauty of True Detective was that it was a pre-written, contained storyline.  There was no temptation to outthink the audience and internet theorists.  Ultimately, they told a story about the conflict between the light and the dark.

Meanwhile, Walking Dead has finally decided to concentrate on characters.  It's made for a better show.

Walking Dead liveblog

Looks like we will be spending some time with Daryl MoFo Dixon.

Which means the guys writing dialogue get some time off.

So far, this is a nice storyline.  So different from the others.

I think Beth has always been an underwritten character.  Could be a chance to remedy that.

So...will this be the only storyline tonight?  I've rather enjoyed the multiple storyline format.
***
Nice set-up of Daryl's survival skills.  He knows what to take from a car, knows how to set up a camp, knows to go through people's pockets.

And now we have Walker pinatas!

This is pretty standard horror movie stuff.  Dark rooms, flashlights...you can do better Walking Dead!

Too bad.  Beth lost her wine.

So, let me get this straight.  A bunch of apparently wealthy people took refuge during the apocalypse in a golf club?  Couldn't there be a joke in here somewhere?

Tempis fugit indeed.  Maybe Beth could lend a hand?  Or is there another horror movie trope, where the girl stands around helpless?

"Peach Schnapps.  Is it good?"
"No."
And this is why Daryl is the most popular character on the show.
(That, and his impending sensitivity towards Beth.)
"Your first drink ain't gonna be no Peach Schnapps."
***
Is getting shit faced on the run during the apocalypse REALLY a smart move?

I think Beth is trying to do more than get drunk.  She's trying to get a little jiggedty.
***
Daryl, I think is a mean drunk.

Yup.

It's only safe to hug Daryl Mofo Dixon from behind.  This is a true thing.

Lot of commercials...
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Is this some sort of counter programming for the Oscars?  Because - while it's good - it's not as strong as the rest of the new season.

It's an ensemble, but Reedus is the clear breakout star of the show.  He just showed why.

Is Daryl gay?  I mean, Beth is really cute and pretty much all over Daryl.  Maybe it's his lack of self confidence, but it was the same with Carol.

Ummm, you've just started a bonfire.  You should run like hell before every walker in the county comes for dinner.

Walking Dead Deadblog

OK, time to pick this back up again...

Excited for the addition of Sargent Abe Ford.  But really was that die job necessary?  Or did he simply tint his hair with the guts of dead Walkers?

The kid who plays Carl is good, but he doesn't do mirth.  Glad we moved on from that.

The Rick,Carl, Michonne troika certainly lucked into a nice neighborhood.

Is there a more helpless feeling than hiding under the bed?  (That was a well done scene. Not seeing their face.)

Laughing Carl?  Soft Michonne?  WTF is up with this?

The two consistently excellent things in this show are the makeup effects and Bear McCreary's music.

How did that group (the intruders) possibly survive as long as they did being such colossal a-holes?

Uh, no, he doesn't...  Eugene is a liar.  You know why?  Mullet.

The multiple storylines are good.  Keeps the action flowing.

Loving the guy playing Eugene.  Creepier than a herd of Walkers.

Abe looks like the new "Moral Center".  That sort of messianic visionary the series needs.

Ah... Sanctuary.  The next great story point.

Walking Dead Summary

Carl decides to be an asshole.

Rick nears death.

Michonne deals death.

Hopefully get back to live blogging it next week.

UPDATE:

OK, good Carl is back.

Walking Dead Midseason Finale Liveblog

Watching last week's episode - The Re-Triumph of the Governor - and I have to say, I'm back to being ambivalent about the Governor's return.  Great episode, watching him bounce back from being Brian to being the Governor.  But the arc was probably too fast.  He kills Martinez for offering him a share of the crown and then grabs it himself five minutes later.

Basically the second half of this mid-season has been setting up a renewed clash between the Governor and the Group.  Interestingly, it was not the Governor feeding the Walkers.
***
How do you capture Michonne?

I call bullshit.
***
Now we know why they call him the Governor. Silver tongued sociopath.

Lily is the new Andrea.

That little scene between Herschel and the Governor is maybe the best 30 seconds of the show.
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Is there any "Brian" left?  Or is it all Governor?

So, Glenn and Maggie... They still alive?

BTW, I don't think Glenn will be that happy the Governor is still alive.

And, at last, the confrontation between Rick and Daryl.  And at this moment, the Gov returns.  Nice structure.

Does anyone notice that Herschel and Michonne have been missing for a day?

Hmm, the psychopath on the inside... still guessing that it's that crazy girl.
***
Governor leaves the only thing he cares about alone?  Brilliant.

Yeah, saw that coming...
***
Psycho Carl is back.  Maybe Carl is the Interior Psychopath?  Nah.

Yeah, as soon as Herschel smiled, you knew he was a dead man.

Sin begets sin.  The Governor has become irredeemably lost.

Wow.  Big finale to the half-season...
***
Typical Walking Dead.  They can hit a Walker between the eyes, but can't hit human center mass.

Nice body count.

I was expecting Michonne to be the one...

Carl?

Carl!

Judith?  Messed up.  Messed up.

Lily with the coup de grace?  Nice.

Wow, Clara?  Wow.

That was a great episode.

Nice to see they haven't lost their storytelling chops with all the turnover on the show.

Walking Dead Liveblog

The return of the Governor.  I guess this was inevitable.  Still, I'd have liked to have developed some other storylines.

OK, after that opening, I'm glad to see the Governor back.
**
Wow, he really seems to be doing some sort of penance.

Or maybe he's paranoid.

The Gov was always so hard to read, that's working great now.

The family in the apartment definitely begs the question about how many small survivor groups might be out there.

And it occurs to me the Governor's presence explains why all those Walkers showed up at the fence.
***
Have you noticed that most of the women to survive the apocalypse are kind of hot?

It's kind of weird rooting for the Governor.
***
First aid as foreplay.  Romance at the end of the world.

Well.  This is a pretty interesting episode as a stand alone, but I wonder how we get back to the prison.
***
Nice chess metaphor.

How did these schlubs survive this long?

Ahhhhh, that's how the Governor comes back...

Or maybe not.  But somehow we have to go from little tamed Brian to the rage filled Governor again.
***
Road trip!  And a little sexual tension between the sisters, methinks.

OK, that was awfully gross.

Solid episode.  Got us out of the prison and reintroduced the perils of the road.

Walking Dead Liveblog

Will Herschel die?  Glenn?  The drug run group?

It's been a while since we've killed off a main character, so I think we're due.

Is Rick going to do something to Carol?  We have dramatic music, so maybe...

Lizzie is kind of nuts.  But she's a rational kind of nuts in this world.  She and Carol both.  That's a pretty messed up relationship.
***
Interesting.  Carol is using the logic that Rick using during the Ricktatorship.

Gas costs Hell during the apocalypse.

Tyrese is a little bundle of happiness, isn't he?

Oh, I think Tyrese just can't let it go...

It's interesting how the prison is a place of death with the sickness, but outside the prison is so much more tense.  Death is the prison seems depressing, because the prison was safe, but death outside the prison seems expected.
***
Carol may have just saved her life, if Rick was planning on killing her.

Ah... the crew.  The guy from Season Two.

"Anger makes you stupid and stupid gets you killed."  Words to live by.
***
As Marilyn Manson said, the show is really about morality.

This much talking, some one is about to die...

OK, someone besides her.
***
We are entering the carnage-zone of the show.  The last fifteen minutes is usually about death. I still have a bad feeling about this episode.

Again, too many walkers, mathematically speaking.

Now really isn't the time for an intervention.

Daryl just Big Dogged the hell out of Barksdale.
***
Wow.  An excommunication.  That's a first.

Carol seems to be taking this well...Can't decide what to make of that.

Hunh.  While exiling Carol was a big move, that's not the sort of big move I was expecting.
***

The professional wrestler on Talking Dead just made more sense than Marilyn Manson did.

Walking Dead Liveblog

So, the Voice of Phineas (or is it Ferb) died in the shower for no apparent reason.

Whence do we go from here? Oh, yes, rats at the fence.  Delicious artisanal rats plated en fur, with a chain link remoulade.

Episode one of this season was just a taste to give us a sense of what they are about to lose.  Because this show is as sadistic as the Governor without enough sleep.

And the pretty girl is always the one they kill first.  Not that they aren't milking it for all it's worth.

Well, I guess they passed on subtlety...
***
Well, I'm no longer hungry.

Oh, Glenn and Maggie have their own place!  It's a one room walk-up, but nice views.

I got it!  The food is contaminated!  That's why the pig died.  The worms!

You know, skulls don't crush that easily.

D block?  More like Dead block.  Amirite?
***
Bald, bearded fat guy reminds me why this is a good show and not just a horror show.

Great.  Everyone is both infected and now liable to die from a completely unrelated illness.

That girl is kind of twisted.

Carol has become a certified badass.

Not much Tamiflu in the apocalypse.
***
Little sister speaks the truth.

Again, where are all these Walkers coming from?  There aren't enough people in Georgia to create all these Walkers.

Could be the return of the Ricktatorship?

So, I'm guessing Michonne had a child...

The eyes have it...
***
Rick - like Cincinnatus, must leave his fig and vine for some slaughter.

Carl has become the good kid he once was, but I imagine he will morph pretty quickly back to Kick Ass Carl.

Whoa.  Teared up completely at that scene with Michonne and Lil Asskicker.  Never seen that actress before this, but she's something else.

Pork is the other white meat.  Human is the other other white meat.

And the pig scene is pretty damned emotional, too.

I know that Walking Dead has zombies and a lot of gross-out stuff, but that last fifteen minutes had me in tears.  I can't say the same for Game of Thrones or most episodes of Breaking Bad.  But all the Kewl Kids love irony more than tears, so...
***
Good luck, Carol.  She's nuts and your luck with little girls isn't so good.

A little Shane moment there.

Just a little medical tip: if you think the pigs have flu, don't stand around with their blood all over you.

Um... damn.
***
Talking Dead makes me want to never listen to another Paramour song.

Walking Dead Liveblog

From the opening, are we to believe Rick has beaten his sword into a plowshare?

Because I can't imagine that lasting too long.
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Who is "Mr. Dixon"?

I'm starting to wonder where all the walkers are coming from.  There simply aren't enough people in Georgia to create the population density of these walker hordes.

Wow, all sorts of romance happening in the prison.

And I guess we're also employing as many actors from The Wire as we can.

Hmm, they always start the season with a huge jump in story.  Certainly no exception here.
***
Why is there a blue Scottish woman in the Georgia woods?

Even after the apocalypse, kids are still assholes.

Even after the apocalypse, there are still nerds.
***
D'Angelo Barksdale is always causing problems.

At this point "It's Raining Men" should probably start playing.
***
I kind of dread seeing the blue Scottish woman's husband.

Why would the ceiling start falling in all over the place?  That doesn't make sense.

Beth looks like she needs a new boyfriend.

Rick is one seriously tormented soul.
***
How did THAT guy survive this long?

I always wondered if animals "turned".  I guess not.

Tyrese is kind of a big baby.

When is Daryl going to get romance?

Hm.  What killed nerd boy?

World War Z

I finally got out to see World War Z.  Part of any complaint has to be: It's not as good as the book, because movies never are.

One of the tightropes zombie movies in particular have to walk, I think, is balancing the fantastical elements of zombies with the human elements of how people cope with the end of the world.  If the first part doesn't work, then the whole thing feels contrived.  If the second part doesn't work, the whole thing feels pointless.

WWZ does much better with the latter part than the first part.  Pitt is very good, as are the supporting cast.  There is a palpable sense of sadness by the late stages of the movie in Wales.  The human jeopardy feels real.

The zombies themselves are excellent.  One thing they do, which I appreciated, was to really minimize gore.  Your average episode of The Walking Dead is a smorgasbord of viscera and blood.  WWZ is remarkably bloodless, which makes the violence less gratuitous.  There's no effort to make "gore porn".

The actual zombies are clearly a mix between Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later and insects.  They don't run so much as swarm.  The scenes in Jerusalem in particular are frightening because of the speed and numbers.

The main problem in Brooks' novel is that he never really gives a good explanation for where the zombies came from and he makes them too invincible.  He has them wandering the abyssal plains of the ocean, where their skulls would be crushed by the water pressure.  Why?  Because he needs them to, to take away the refuge of islands. That's where the contrived element takes over.

Traditional zombies are easy to kill because they are slow and witless.  WWZ changes this by making them lightning fast and massive in numbers.  It also gives a nice apocalyptic explanation for the zombie plague: Earth has to erase the stain of human damage.  It feels more like the Morningstar virus books, which did a great job with "zombie science" but were atrociously written with cardboard characters.  In this sense, WWZ borrows from two different sources to create a really compelling and scary zombie threat.

The movie does fall apart on "zombie science" at the end, I think.  Pitt's "solution" doesn't make sense.  Given the swarming behavior of the "zekes", the solution suggests a considered reflection on the point of zombies that doesn't work.  For me anyway.

What made the book so good was its episodic retelling of a disaster that had already happened.  The book captured that sad, guilty feeling among the survivors.  WWZ is clearly intended to launch a franchise.  It will be interesting to see if they continue that episodic feeling.  Frankly, given the choice to downplay the splatter factor, they should consider moving the whole thing to TV.

Walking Dead Finale Liveblog

OK, we've had about five weeks of build up.  Better be worth it.

They've been running the previous seasons all week, and it really looks like Season Three is just amazingly better than the earlier ones.  Hope they can pull off an amazing ending.
***
Oh, Milton...You aren't likely cut out for this.

Nice speech from the Governor about the intent of evil.

Yup, Milton was not cut out for this...

Wow, they're giving some good lines to the Governor...
***
The new talking version of Michonne could be on her way to being Team Grimes Co-Captain.

Well, that's one way to ring the doorbell.

If Team Grimes is smart, they'll be hitting Woodbury right now.
***
Now, someone pretty much has to die tonight, right?  I mean we killed T-Dog and Lori, who dies tonight?

Aside from Milton, obviously.

Shut up and get the handcuffs off, Andrea.

They can hit Walkers in the head from 150 meters, but they can't hit regular people center mass from in close.

Damn, Carl...
***
Once again, Team Grimes has the tactical sense of a newt.

Well... that evens the odds a bit.

If the theme of season three is "no one survives alone" and the Governor stands apart from that, then his downfall is pre-ordained.

Yoga: It can save your life in the zombie apocalypse.
***
So far this episode has been less bloody than an NCAA basketball game.  Not sure where the last 15 minutes go.

After the slaughter of his own people, I don't think they can extend the Governor to next season.  I think that story has run its course.

Carl will be running for Governor soon.  Damn.

Hey, Beth finally got to kill someone!

Is that supposed to be a cliffhanger?
***
Ah, it goes to 10:05.

I think we need to see some Tyrese/Governor combat.  I just feel like Tyrese will be the agent of justice.  Giving it to someone on Team Grimes - like Daryl - who may deserve it more seems too pat.

OK, they lock Andrea and the Governor in a room together after she turns.

Hmmm. moving Woodbury to the prison.  That's an unusual choice.

Not sure what to think of the ending.  Not quite the pay-off I thought it would be.

So the Governor is still out there with Martinez and Shumpert.  Carl is getting harder than diamonds.  A bunch of worthless old people in the prison.  And why didn't they move to Woodbury?

Walking Dead Liveblog

If I can tear myself away from Florida Gulf Coast.  I have them in my bracket.

I don't actually have a bracket.
***
And now the preamble to the final episode.  Hopefully something - you know - actually happens tonight.

Oh, no.  You're not really going to believe the Governor on this Michonne swap thing, are you?  How can Rick be both childishly naive and also a hard ass?

Merle: Voice of Reason.  Glimpse into the mind of insanity.  Good thing they have an actor who can pull both off.
***
Carol is rapidly becoming one of my favorite characters.

Daryl's hair cut now makes him look like Adam Lambert.

Daryl gets to deliver the point of season three: You can't do anything without other people anymore.

Herschel and Rick reach the right point together.  And now Merle takes things into his own hands, which makes him a good guy in his mind but a bad guy in the mind of the group. Brilliant.
***
Could be Daryl's big moment with Merle.

Glenn and Maggie are the lone light of normality.  Yeah, that's doomed.

Car alarms really are a pain...
***
Michonne digs the knife in pretty well.

Mathematically speaking, where do all the Walkers come from?

Nice Glenn.  Very romantic.

Merle is going Governor hunting.  I don't think that will end well.
***
Merle is indeed a sick puppy.

The Governor is a Biter...
***
Now, will Daryl go Hulk on the Governor?

Glenn needs a new form of courage now.

Rick admitting he was wrong seems like the end of the Ricktatorship.

Yup.

Oh, man.  The Governor takes the cake in sickness.

One doesn't usually say "Poor Daryl" because Daryl is such a badass, but... poor Daryl.
***
Really impressive performance from Michael Rooker.  He did a whole lot tonight.  Wish they had given him more moments like that before they killed him.

Also, from the preview, looks like the group is going to run.  My guess is it won't be that easy.

Walking Dead Liveblog

So... war.

Mo' Michonne!
**
Trying to explain the Walking Dead to my dad during commercial breaks.

Turn Milton and you win Woodbury.

Andrea... what a wuss...

Uh., Andrea.. Milton's gay...

Andrea-centric episodes tend to suck.  Just saying.
***
C'mon Tyrese.  Stay away from the dark side.

Hey, Tyrese.  Ditch the assholes.

Andrea sucks at killing Walkers.  Too histrionic.
***
Nice scene.  Tyrese's decency becomes his central defining characteristic.

Rule #1 of Zombieland: cardio.
***
Is this Morgan World?

Or Governorama?

Some nice visual compositions, but Andrea episodes...

Well, I had Michonne in the most zombie kills pool.  Guess I lost.

Two can play the zombie bomb game.
***
Oh, if the Governor is dead, that gets the Coen Brothers "No Country..." award for biggest off screen kill.  Of course, he ain't dead.  And I'm guessing Milton flamed the new zombie bomb at the pits.

Nice.  Nothing like violence against women by the Governor.
***
Andrea-centric episodes...

Walking Dead Liveblog

So, Rick and the Governor meet at last.  Nice teaser.
***
Could shoot him, but that's not a very dramatically sound move.

Andrea is like a post-apocalyptic UN.

Still can't get a read on Merle.  Switched sides?  Or still the Governor's man?

Oh, DAMN.  They know each other from before!  Did NOT see that coming!

It's a kill-off!  Way to bond, boys.

More bonding.  I sense a theme...

Well, Governor, have you tried to take phone calls from the dead?  Because Rick has.
***
I can take the gore and splatter of The Walking Dead, but the trailer for Freakshow weirds me out.

Dang, Morgan had some serious arms.

Beth with the exclamation point.  Poor Merle got emasculated a bit there.

Gov wants Michonne.

Great test for Rick.  Peace for the group versus a newcomer he doesn't entirely trust.
***
And Michonne cements her place in the group.

Why is when people are nice to Glenn, I get teary eyed?  Maybe because I came up "Glenn" on the Walking Dead Personality Test.

Uh, oh.  Sexytime in horror situations never works out well.

Alcohol is clearly the Governor's helper.

And Andrea makes another choice.
***
Wow, the Governor is a scumbag.  Who knew?

OK, was Rick seeing through the Governor or setting up Michonne?

Seeing through him.  Kind of.

Go to war, Rick.  It's the only way.
***

Walking Dead Liveblog

Just watched last week's episode again.  Loved the Tom Waits song.  Loved it.  But I hope they don't do much more of that.  Keep the pop songs to a minimum.

Apparently the big thing that happens after the apocalypse is a lot of leaves get on the road.

Carl is jealous.  Which is sweet.  And Rick gets to be Dad to Carl again.

That backpack dude is having a shitty day.
***
Well, that's a barbeque I could skip.

My guess is a survivalist has made himself a little home.  And Carl went and ruined his day.

Ah ha!  Morgan makes a comeback.  Hope his kid is OK.
***
My bold prediction: Morgan has lost his son and has been driven mad by everything around him.  He becomes a foil for Rick who so close to walking down that road himself.

Oh, Morgan has a rec room.

Told you!

Michonne made a funny.

And now Michonne made a Walker Kabob.

Um... wow...
***
So... Is Morgan redeemable?  And by extension is Rick redeemable?  And will they get all his cool guns?  And a new crossbow for Daryl?

OK, that's awful.  Morgan wins worst story award.

Will Rick be "strong" and end Morgan's misery?  Isn't that what Morgan is telling him?  Asking him?
***
Oh, right.  Carl and Michonne.  Kind of forgot about them with all the awfulness.

Despite all my rage...

Really? A picture?
***
Michonne: Battle Tested, Carl Approved

One more time with backpack guy?

This time they pick him up?

Yeah, or that...

(Great panel on Talking Dead.  Smart for a change.)