I completely agree with Juice. That was the worst season finale of the show to date. There were way too many commercial breaks and all that build up led to absolutely nothing. No clues, no hints, nothing. I also didn't like how they made Rick seem like a complete pussy while Carl was looking like the tough guy.
On "Talking Dead," Gimple said that both those things were on purpose, with an intentional cliffhanger. That sort of seemed like a cop out, though. His point was this story concluded with stripping Rick down of all his confidence, and next season's story starts with dealing with who died. And, he agreed that if they did what they did - not resolving who died - that they damn well better deliver with a good season 7. Meh. I think the days of "Who Shot JR?" are over. I think they're more likely to piss off and lose viewers, than to generate off-season buzz. I also got the impression that the cast does not know who died. I doubt they're going to invest in an actor's salary for another season if they'll show up for filming on day one and find out they're done. So, I fully expect Season 7 to begin with a bunch of episodes that feature Carol / Morgan with their new friends, "meanwhile, back at Alexandria" and flashback / backstory for the characters. They invested a shit ton of money in building the Hilltop Community, so that's definitely going to be featured.
I did watch "Talking Dead" and while I kind of agree that there wasn't really another way to do it, I too think it was a cop-out. I don't know if I like how they're saying it's the end of one story and season 7 is the beginning of another. Why does there have to be such an abrupt ending? I don't think it's feasible to think Rick would submit to Negan so I'm curious to see what this "new story" will be.
Are you guys all fucking retarded? Do you know what the job of a show runner is? It's not to make good tv, it's to get you to continue to watch their show. Were you all expecting to get a completely satisfying resolution to a story here? Cause no. In the comics, it's Glenn, in the show, it can be goddamned any one of these people (though Kirkman said there were hints as to who it was, so give it two days MAX and internet nerds will have a definitive guess). People on this thread have been shitting on this show since season two, and yet here we all are, pretending like we're better than. Like we would write a better finale. Like we could come up with better stories. Like we know how it should be played. But we're still watching, and we're going to continue to watch. Because they are very fucking good at telling a story that keeps us invested. For what it's worth, my initial impression is that it's Eugene. I almost said Rosita, but there was all that business of Eugene giving his knowledge to Rick, and also because the angle on the trees in the final shot makes me think it's someone from the left side of the semi-circle. I actually hope it's Arl (he can't C).
Could I personaly write a better ending? Probably. With the sheer number of good shows these days, it is only a matter of time before the audience for this show drops off enough to not justify the budget. You can tell when a show has a quality production staff it can be more glaring now than ever before. People orginally migrated away from network tv because they were tired of this type of shit. Why keep watching if all you are going to do is bitch? Chalk it up to modern internet social dynamics I guess. We like to share in collective misery. I friggin loved Dexter, never missed an episode on Sunday nights, but made it about 3 episodes into the 5th season before I jsut stopped caring and watching all together. I never finished the show and from all accounts I didnt miss much. With the options availible and newer options every week, the production team should fucking know better.
TV shows are as powerful as last week's Nielsen ratings, and thats what keeps them on the air. If this show was consistently terrible, no one would watch. But quality-wise this one has been all over the place. I dont think its unreasonable for the people who watch it to ask for better consistency, especially when its been proven to be possible. Plus there is a sunk cost fallacy at hand here. Ive been watching for episode one, for better or worse, I'd like to see the continuation of the story. As someone who read most of the source material that end scene was the most pivotal one in the entire story before and after, it just felt cheapened by an AMC cash grab.
Regarding criticism that the ambiguous ending was just another in a long line of Walking Dead stunts, Gimple responded, “We have to do an episode that justifies [the cliffhanger] to you. We have to do something so great and so intense that you’re like, ‘OK, all right, fair play.’ That’s the challenge that we have, and we’re going to do it. We’re going to deliver you something fantastic. “We want you to be one of those people in that lineup,” he added. “We want you to feel that suspense and that terror and that pain. We’re going to deliver you a story next season that justifies it.”
The ending was cheap, sure. That isn't the problem. It was all of the goddamned build up, the indulgent long scenes watching Morgan ride his horse, the endless walking and flashing of a hole ridden wood pane with the captured behind it breathing heavy and the bullshitting and talking and driving. FUUUUUUUCK. Could have gotten that episode done in 30 minutes, tops. Tease it out as some amazing thing having an 'hour and a half' finale. Fuck you. It was an hour and 4 minutes. I know because torrents don't have fucking commercials and it was a waste of the extra 22 minutes. That is why I'm done with this show. I'll read what you Idiots post and have vicarious internet anger instead of personally violent Elvis anger.
I have been posting on this board for almost 7 years. I think my record speaks for itself. And, that answer is, yes. I am fucking retarded.
I keep watching purely because I'm a sucker for all things zombie, they have the best make up/effects, and it usually gives me a kick ass zombie dream on Sunday nights. Honestly don't know how anyone could care about the characters or story enough to be pissed off about anything. Besides some decent singular episodes, the show has never been high quality. At best, they build tension well...sometimes. And I haven't watched a show with such a slanted show:tell ratio since Dexter. I skip through most attempted character development scenes, but I wouldn't be surprised if I hit play and saw a character look straight into the camera to say "I'm feeling like this now!" That people watch it live and subsequently suffer through commercials is hilarious. The source material seems pretty great though. That said, all I could think during Neegan's scene was how giant his head and skinny his body looked. My sarcastic remarks ruined some of the tension for my roommate, but it's all I could focus on.
For me it'll be either Eugene, Maggie or Glenn. Abraham would be a ballsy death but I doubt they would go there. I think the finale would have been far more effective if they finished with a dead pregnant Maggie with her face beaten in.
I skipped commercials too, I would never subject myself to watching this show with them. It's awful enough without. As someone said, I'm sure they'll fill half of the first half (before they take another mid season break) wasting time with shit no one cares about like Carver back at Alexandria, Carol healing from multiple gunshot wounds and being emotional with Morgan, some new dumbass character storyline with a back story no one cares about, and then two episodes before the break we'll get to find out that whoever died is also someone nobody cares about. Probably Eugene or the gay guy. I'd prefer if the Comedian just killed all of them and we got to follow them around for the rest of the show. And yes, it is possible to come up with good season finales that resolve things while also setting up new stories for the next season. See: most of the shows heavily discussed between here and the old board.
Ok, folks, after several days of thinking, and being in a different drunk state of mind (any time I call you guys "fuckers" assume I'm shitty), I have a slightly different attitude. I still believe noone should be pissed. Cliff-hangers are a staple of the TV trade, and as Kirkman said on "Talking Dead" almost every comic ended in a cliffhanger, so you should expect no better from the show. I understand why people are mad at this one. I honestly can't disagree that showing us one shot of who the victim was would stop us from watching next season. I also think it would have assuaged many people's ... I don't want to say guilt, but desire for blood. People knew someone was going to die this ep. Showing them who would not have ruined their story arc. My pro-Gimple response is that this cliff hanger, no matter how much people may hate shot "who shot JR" now, is going to create (and already has) such a media outburst that the show may top it's (already cable-ruling) 11 million viewers per week numbers for the premier. I have also changed my opinion of who died. On "Talking Dead" Kirkman said that the character who died was "beloved by all.". Ruling out Rick and Carl (If anyone screams feed the kid's other eyeball to his father"), the remaining beloved characters are Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, and Daryl.
Is anyone actually pissed? It was a shitty finale, but I don't think anyone here is pissed over it. It's just a TV show. But according to Chris Hardwick, he's been getting death threats over it for some reason. I feel bad for the guy, he essentially had a meltdown on the TWD subreddit. I would be surprised if it's Maggie or Michonne. Their storylines in the future become important. Killing either of them would negate a big chunk of future plot, which they have already hinted they're going in the direction of. Daryl is a wildcard since he's not in the comics, so it could be. Glenn is my pick for reasons spoilered previously. I rewatched the episode, and I liked it a bit better. I cant get over how spot on the casting of Jeffrey Dean Morgan was. After his performance in Watchmen, hes perfect for Negan.
The leader of the first group they encountered in the road while transporting Maggie, who was kicking the hostage, was Trevor Phillips from GTA 5.
Jesus Christ that was a brutal hour of television. It was a hour of torture porn, essentially. I thought that Glenn and Abraham were going to get it, but did they really need to show Negan beating their skulls into paste? It was almost too much. At least we finally have a character that has a sense of humor, even if he is a sadistic sociopath.
During the show, I thought several things completely wrong: - I thought one of the women was going to get punished for Darryl jumping up, not Glenn - I thought Rick was going to escape on the hanging zombie by climbing up to the bridge or something when he jumped - I thought Carl was going to lose his hand for sure Since there is original source material and since it's several years in, I'm glad they can still keep me guessing.