I called it! And now according to the preview for the next 3 episodes of Walking Dead, the show is ruined.

Good call, Morn! It didn't make a lot of sense that Jadis was standing near where Rick was. I guess Rick was on the bridge, but I would think the blast would push him back from the bridge. I guess when the bridge collapsed he fell in and got washed down stream and up on, or climbed on, the shore. The whole gang would have been very close to the helo coming down too.

Pretty good episode I thought.

I guess in the previews they have Judith around 7, and a new group coming in. Could be interesting.

I just think the way it ended showing that Judith is older and basically taking over where her dad and brother left off seems corny and is getting pretty tired. I guess I'm just tired of the repetition is all.

Good point. You could see Judith as just taking the place of Rick, and taking new folk in seems like the same repetition. They show her being adventurous, which is something nobody else was last season. At least they're evolving the walkers.

I thought one the of the better parts was when they followed the train tracks to Terminus. They went through that at a good pace. Needs more of that. Settling down doesn't really make for this type of show.

I think the evolving Walkers are actually going to turn out to be the whispers. I really have no problem with Judith being older it just seemed like they turn it into a children's show. The way she introduced herself she sounded so happy and cheerful about introducing herself but I know that's just bad acting and I take into account that it is a little girl but still... there is honestly a part of me that doesn't want to watch anymore and wants to just leave it at this. Rick got out. He lost his son and his wife and I know he loved Judith like his own but she was not his daughter. She will take over in his place, unlike in the comics, Carolyn or Ezekiel die, they will live happily together even if it's in the zombie apocalypse, and Negan, as much as I love the character, will rot in his jail cell.

SPOILERS - Evolution

Watched last show Evolution. It is indeed the group called the Whisperers, and not an evolution of the zombies.

This line isn't as interesting, as it's just another group of people, rather then upping the ante on the threat from the zombies alone. But it's probably for the best considering it's important not to look to closely at the science of the zombies, cause otherwise, they really couldn't exit as is. Namely, they couldn't move/live without consuming water (which we've never seen them do), and circulate it with an energy source, but not that they couldn't get water somehow.

Cool ending where we discover the Whisperers by one acting like a zombie till the last minute, to then duck a strike by Jesus, and then stab him in the heart and kill him.

It's too bad they didn't do more with Jesus. I remember his first introduction where he was karate fighting against Rick and Daryl -- probably one of the best sequences of the series. Would loved to have seen him do a lot more of that throughout the entire time he's been around, especially the way the action had become so blasé. Not to mention they had hinted at some interesting opinions, but then back that off to him being a loyal servant of Maggie, only gently encouraging togetherness.

They introduced an interesting mystery: something happened in the core group that caused the three cities to separate. They hint at Michonne feeling she was double-crossed by someone close, possibly Maggie, which is why Michonne hasn't been to Hilltop in over a year and had no idea Maggie was gone to Georgie's group.

Now they're in a break until Feb 10.

Things in the future would be the small group currently surrounded by the Whisperers at the graveyard. Nagen has escaped; what is he going to do? They'll be discovering who the Whisperers are and what they're up to. Other than that, the new group of characters entering Hilltop which adds unpredictability.

I went ahead and finished the season despite being highly annoyed that they took the main character off the show. With that said, I watched it because of the whispers. I know a lot of people who don't follow the comics don't know about them. I don't read the comics either but a friend of mine who does told me about them a few years ago so when they showed in the preview for the last remaining episodes, at the end of Rick's last episode, when Aaron and somebody else were talking about the Walkers just raising basically, I knew it was them. The Walkers cannot evolve. When I heard one of them whisper don't let them get away that was the absolute definitive confirmation for me.

That reveal was creepy though. I mean the tension was nowhere near as high as it was when Negan Finally Revealed himself, knowing that someone was going to die. However, this was scarier than that. The way they said that final scene up with the lighting, the setting, The Whispers, And the fact that poor Jesus got killed, it was a great scene!

The only thing I am worried about though is that going to be the highlight of how they make the audience feel. I mean after the scene with Negan and the first episode after the break were really intense but after that it just went to shit. He was fun to watch but there was no tension whatsoever felt by me or anyone else I talk to about it. I just hope they can keep the flow going with the whisperers because this has the elements to be downright scary if they do it right.

Totally agree. They can't make this Whisperers thing scary and suspenseful. The setting in the last episode was done really well, with all the fog.

And yeah, I thought the Negan reveal, the battle Rick does trying to survive in that RV was cool too, and then the show slowly went down. I also thought the buildup and reveal of the Terminus was well done.

Well after putting a little thought into it, remember how everyone freaked the hell out over the mid-season premiere where it actually showed Glenn and Abraham get killed and everyone and their fucking brother started simultaneously having their periods all at once over it? I'm assuming that had a lot to do with why they didn't make Negan as brutal as he is in the comics aside from that one scene. There is only one Negan though and the whispers are an entire group where one has just as much Authority as the other. They live among the walkers and the way they whisper is creepy as fuck. I mean when the one who killed Jesus " you are aware you do not belong" and when they were walking past Eugene and Rosita, the one that said don't let them get away, both gave me chills. They have so much potential to put some actual horror back into this series with the whispers.

somebody offered up a good idea on the whole Jadis, helo-people "A"s and "B"s thing...

Noting the elaborate zombie biting devices Jadis used on Negan and Gabe, and the helo close by, maybe A is after bit, and B is before bit. Rick was a B.

So maybe they want recently bit people to research curing them.

It's odd, if they know Jadis is inflicting the bites, why wouldn't they prefer non-bit captured people where they would infect them themselves? Would fit better if they wanted accidental bites, but Negan/Gabe would have told them how it happened.

This show will get more seasons than Days of Our Lives. Judith will end up dying of old, in real life.

I hate this show now. Kill them all.

Yeah I really don't understand the point of this either. I mean I finished out the season because I figured that was The Whispers And I wanted to see how they brought them into it but yeah, we see Rick Grimes fly by and a helicopter and then suddenly Judith is the same age Carl was when all of this started. Seems legit... and in this for years time he never came back but we are supposed to believe he is still alive?

And I feel like once it starts back we are going to be right back at square one. I mean in the comics Negan sides with everyone to take out the Whispers so I assume that's what's going to happen now and he will be a good guy at least until they are gone but otherwise I am sure we are going to be going back to hearing Maggie talk half the episode about how the world is ours in her weird Georgia Peach accent and have Ezekiel, talkin like he's auditioning for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, going on about his motivational speeches. My point is this show is pretty much over.

And if they are just going to keep killing random characters, why can't they at least kill people no one gives a fuck about like Erin or Henry or Rosita or Enid or someone who the fans don't connect with and start to like. I mean was taking the star of the entire series from us three episodes earlier not enough?

And one more thing actually, is baby Herschel supposed to be dead now? I mean I haven't seen him since the time lapse unless I just missed him. I haven't heard anyone talk about him either.

Well, sorry you guys aren't digging it anymore. I'm still enjoying it.

Not sure about baby Herschel. I forgot all about him. I didn't even remember if he survived Maggie's distress during the initial Negan reveal. If he's alive, he must be with Maggie at Georgie's. The show it definitely going through some character changes.

But if you'll forgive me, as I'm still digging TWD, I'm trying to avoid hearing about spoilers coming from the comics and the TV interview shows, neither of which I've read/watched. I don't remember where I heard it, but I didn't want to know Rick was leaving this season. I foolishly read a clearly marked spoiler that was a theory about the Whisperers from the comic. I won't do that again. ::big grin::

Back when this season first started, Herschel had been born during the break between last season and this one. Since the time lapse though they haven't said anything about him or showed him or anything so I wonder if perhaps he died at some point in that four-year period.

how much do you guys want to bet that they only gave Daryl a dog so The Whispers could kill it and set him off? I could see that cliche coming.

I could see that. Guess it's easier than setting him up with a lady. Then again, TWD has been missing a pet dog.

Well I said I was done with it after Rick left but then my curiosity was piqued when I realized the whisperers were coming. Tonight is the mid-season premier and I want to see what they can do considering the reveal was very nicely done.

Meh... right back to the same old same old.

SPOILERS

I liked it. Thought it was pretty well done. Effective scene with ferreting out the Whisperers on the bridge. Those scenes make the series. The Negan situation was interesting, I wasn't expecting them to wrap it up in one episode. He'll probably ask to be released and stay in Alexandria, become a leader there.

Okay this half of the season is off to a pretty good start, I will admit. I re-watched last week's episode before this week's episode and it's getting good, but aside from the fact that they disguise themselves as Walkers, I don't see The Whispers to be anywhere near as much of a threat as Negan and the savior's were.

TWD has some new life with the story of the Whisperers... group of people who live outside, animistically, are able to fool the zombies by wearing zombie skin masks, smell and walk like zombies, and even heard them around.

TWD is also slowly recounting an event that happened in the recent past that made all the communities and many key characters separate.

Better ep than most.

I like where they're going with this. The ep before, there's a scene where Daryl and group trick the Whisperes zombie group to walking over an enclosed bridge, then flushes the Whisperers out and captures one. Classic TWD scene, that I hope I see a lot more of.

I immediately regret every bad thing I said about Walking Dead. This half of the season has been amazing! Alpha is amazing! Beta is a badass motherfuker! And this is just a theory of mine, but I somehow have a feeling at this Fair coming up, the king and quite possibly the Queen might lose their heads. Can't we just trade for Henry? ::big grin::

ya, at the end of the last ep two whisperers find the entry of, I think, The Kingdom (doesn't look like the entry of Hilltop or Alexandria). So that sets up maybe a giant hearded walker attack.

I thought maybe they'd figure a way to get Negan free with a Whisperer attack on Alexandria during the Fair, where they let Negan out so he doesn't die, and he leads a group, with Michonne's little boy, to the Fair... wins his freedom.

In Wiki, the summary of the last ep reads Michonne/Daryl go to the Kingdom and are being followed. I didn't see that, did you?

No I didn't see that either, but I'll check and watch again tonight because I've been watching all the previous episodes each week, because that's how much I'm into this season. I mean she may be despicable and a terrible human being, but Alpha's voice, especially when she is talking low is so sweet and soothing.

But to get back to last week's episode though, since it was mostly backstory I got confused quite a bit. For example, when we saw the manhole, I thought that had to do with Judith and I didn't even know that it was Whispers that found it until you just told me. I guess I wasn't paying as much attention last week is I should have. This might be a bit of a spoiler though but in the comics Ezekiel and Rosita both get beheaded. I can't stand Rosita anymore and I want her gone. As far as Ezekiel goes, I don't want to see him go because he's a good guy but it's almost inevitable and I somehow have a feeling Carol might go as well since she's being referred to as the queen and is the king and queen both fell it would completely turn so much upside down..


Did they ever say what happened to Maggie? I mean I'm confused and wondering what is in the present and the past because a few weeks ago they were talking about Jesus in present tense so I'm just confused all around haha.

I think she's taken a break from the show.
Far as I know she's not dead/written out...last I saw she hanged some guy that tried to kill her?
Then, I dunno.

Yeah that was Gregory, the former leader of the hilltop. He was a piece of trash from the beginning and should have died way before he did but she was around until the end of the last half of the season but now they are just referring to her as being gone which is why I got confused. But I still wonder why Ezekiel and Carol are talking about Jesus in present tense. The only thing I can think of is they've got the timetables of everything going on all out of whack which is why I think it's going to have to do with the shock and all that's going to happen later. I don't expect anything major to happen tonight other than the fair starting and maybe at the end of the episode we find out the whispers are coming in, but we won't get the money shot until the season finale.

I just read that tonight's episode is going to be 85 minutes long. I guess that means we'll get 15 minutes of TV show haha. Something might happen since it's an extended episode.

Holy hell what an episode!

That was certainly unexpected! I won't say anything for the people who haven't watched it yet but some asshole spoiled the ending for me since I'm on the west coast and the episode already are by posting a picture. If I hadn't seen that it would have shocked the shit out of me and it still kind of did. All of that and he never even got to hit it.

I feel like it was one of the best episodes this season.
I'd seen one version of that scene via the comics a few years back...though at the time the only noteable cast member that happened to was actually Ezekiel - At the end of one issue you saw a head on a pike with Dreads, I think we were meant to assume it was Michonne, then you got the reveal next issue.

To be honest, I think something I've been waiting for has been achieved with this episode - to bring (at least most of) the core cast back together, to cut loose some of the dead weight characters, and to potentially set up a "new" ongoing core cast.

For me, since the prison so many people have dropped in and out of the show...it would be nice to see the kind of core cast we had season 1-3...it's not like nobody died then, but it just seemed like it worked better.
Splitting up for ages then the seperate communities each with slightly different ideals...it's made it feel disjointed and to be honest it's difficult to keep up with it.

It's just hard to bother with the new characters as most of them have been cannon fodder for too long.
Personally, I can deal with the characters they chose to kill off, and I don't think at this stage any of them are a huge loss to the show.
I hope what we get from this is a closer knit "community" and some characters that get the chance at a little depth and longevity.

It was nice to see Carol and Judith have their moment.

TV Rick would have taken them to war already over this...I wonder who will light the fuse this time around...I mean probably the "smart" thing to do would try to avoid more conflict, but you know that's not gonna happen.,

I don't think the killing is done yet. We still have one more episode left. I'm terrified that Ezekiel and Carol both are going to get it. Carol is going to do something, you can't deny that. I just hope she doesn't fuck up and get herself killed. But yes! I loved that they brought the cast back together finally. I just don't understand a few things about the ending. When the woman was talking to Ezekiel she asked him about me shown, didn't she? At had me wondering how she knew her name and then towards the end she asked her her name and she told her but that scene took place after the scene with Ezekiel so that confuse the hell out of me as to how she knew who she was in the first place.

I also found it a bit cheesy that after Alpha cleaned herself up and then got back into dirty hobo looking mode, the dirt around her mouth and eyes were exactly the same as before. That seemed a bit far-fetched if she was just smearing dirt on her face.

All I can say is I can't wait until Negan gets loose. I know what happens. It's going to be awesome if they do it on the show the same way they do it in the comics. Poetic Justice!

Also, that music at the end and when you could just see the tip tops at the top of that Hill, that's when my stomach started to sink. That scene was so beautifully well done. Carol played it perfect!

As I recall...while I'd love to see the scene and how he justifies himself doing it as a "See, I'm a valuable ally???"
I think how it'll play out is that they'll let him out to help them, not yknow isolate him to the outerskirts like they did in the comic...and then yeah it'll look like he's turned on them, then that will happen.
Though in the comic, despite him acting like a dog wagging his tail over it, as I recall with that act he ended up making things a lot worse.

I feel like this version of Negan is a lot more kind of "A lost guy who ended up running a dictatorship and became a bit power mad" rather than the absolute psychopath he was in the comic.
This one actually (at least) seems a little more genuine in wanting to redeem himself - in fact I wouldn't be surprised if the show ends up spinning him into a main character.

But in the comics doesn't he turn a new Leaf all together as well? I mean given how his story began, with his wife And everything, it would be enough to set anybody over the edge. Look what happened to Morgan. Who's to say in the beginning Negan wasn't just like that only instead of only instead of meeting someone like Morgan dead who grounded him, Negan just wondered alone until he started building up the savior's. I mean in the comics, Negan wasn't even his real name. It was the name of a gym teacher he hated and use the name because it was something he hated. I'm not sure why that emotive a to him but it did. Just like on the show though, in the comics he wouldn't kill women or children. Whether it be the comics or the show he has a heart. I mean he was nice to Carl and he's nice to Judith. Even though him and Rick were enemies, he also respected Rick. When you stop and think about it and that type of situation, one group is just as bad as the other. I mean technically they did start this shit was Negan in the savior's but the point is everybody's doing everything they can to survive and protect their own and what they consider good for them is not going to be good for other groups. The point is they are all exactly the same. Some are more evil than others but they would still bring hell to anything they saw as a threat.

I agree, I'm glad they cut down the cast. I preferred the smaller cast of the first 3 seasons. And the cast lost will not be missed... not critical to the story.

Also agree the communities would be better off leaving the Whisperers alone, considering they can kill quite well without any help of hoards, plus they have the hoards to knock down walls and overrun communities. But ya, there will probably be conflict.

The Communities can kill the Whisperer leaders, but they wouldn't know that would do any good. They'd have to sell them on a new way of life.

I'd still like to see what's up with Georgie, Maggie, and the Helo-people.

Alpha walked around the Fair listening and asking questions, she could easily find out who Michonne was, and a ton of anything else. But Alpha probably didn't know what she looked like... which is why she asked Michonne who she was, but knew of her.

Alpha cleaned up for the Fair, and i couldn't even recognise her -- and then when she went back to the woods, she put on the charcoal and mask for safe walking. So it's normal she'd have the eye makeup back.

Hm...I mean he stopped outright killing the "good guys"...though I think he still didn't really like them, like, at all. "Fuck you" kinda attitude the whole way.
He did have a moment when he broke down and talked to/apologised to Lucille, which is actually the name of his dead wife, for not being there.
That was about it.
He's been pretty scarce in the comic for a while now.

Jeez Sculpt, I said the woman so it wouldn't spoil anything for those who haven't watched it yet but never mind haha. I think with Maggie, they are acting like they don't know where she's at because supposedly Lauren Cohan needed a break from the show. I think they still could have given her a story as to why she isn't there rather than everybody just saying she's gone. But yeah, if anybody thinks they are going to take that shit lying down and they are mistaken. I mean Negan killed Glenn and Abraham out of Revenge for the group killing some saviors. The Whispers started this by Killing Jesus but all of this happened because they wouldn't give Lidia back. No one, especially Carol of all people, is going to let this go.

But yeah, I'm glad they cut down this cast. I'm guessing that's why they brought all of them on there so they could have a good amount of deaths without many people we like and no dying. I don't really understand why they killed the two women that we like that they did, but I guess they had to kill somebody. I always thought mean it was kind of hot. Fuck it, if anybody is reading this damn it they deserve to get spoiled lol

But yeah, I didn't recognize Alpha either. I mean I knew it was somebody from The Whispers but I just didn't realize it was her. Even when it showed her walking up to Henry without the wig, it still didn't look like her.

If Dog dies we riot! I have a feeling though that's the only reason they put him on the show though :-(

SPOILERS

I don't think saying Alpha was at the Fair is a super spoiler. But ya, avid watchers don't tend to read TWD forum posts when there's new ep they haven't seen. Folks are more worried about the comic readers revealing key reveals that haven't come out in the currents eps.

All the leaders agreed an attack on any of the Communities is an attack on all, and that they need to respond.

For some reason they killed Jesus, rather than just following them. Not sure why the Whisperers did that. It's a story reveal, but seems like a plot hole... why would the Whisperers do that? They don't get anything out of it.

They picked the perfect time to make that pact and sign that decree, didn't they? But yeah, even if they didn't, Carol would go on her own after them if she had to. I think we are going to see some more deaths Sunday but somehow I have a feeling they are going to let Negan come out and play ball at the very end just to get the fans excited for next season. I don't really know much about the comics other than just the key things I see others talking about on Facebook but I saw the pictures of Alphas demise and if they do it that way it's going to be awesome. I love the picture of Negan saying wait until he gets a look at you.

I also just realized how badly I butchered the text in that last message and I'm really going to have to start keeping an eye on that. I was trying to say I thought Enid I was kind of hot. Also, I forget their names, but the two guys that played music that got killed, I didn't think they would last all that long anyway because the idea that they were carrying around all these instruments with them during the zombie apocalypse, just seemed a bit dumb and naive. I can respect why they wanted to do it but natural selection will always win. I am not trying to call them stupid but at the same time I'm not exactly calling them wise man either haha. I'm anxious to see how they're going to end the season.