#and i think maggie also has pretty complicated feelings towards negan

[katierosefun]

yeah i'm rewatching dead city again.

[shimmershae]

My thoughts on Episode 3--Hunted.

 Most of you lovelies already realize this, but my thoughts tend to zig and zag quite a bit, lol.  So.  To save some of you the headache and spare you from seeing spoilers you’d rather not see yet, I’m again placing them behind a cut.  

First things first.  I have totally turned into Yvette Nicole Brown with her TWD notebooks, lol, and I’m not even sorry.  I just felt like it would be fun to go back when the final episode is in the books and see how well my thoughts from these early episodes line up with what I’m feeling when we say our (not-so) final goodbyes.  

But that’s enough about that. Let’s get to this thing.  

It really is insane how very much I love Melissa McBride.  Just hearing her doing the previously on TWD recap voiceover makes me ridiculously happy.  

Cole!  Dude!  We hardly knew ya.  

Not gonna lie.  That first shot of Maggie in all the chaos reminded of a shirt I’ve seen.  It says--”Well, well, well.  If it isn’t the consequences of my actions.”  

I have to hand it to Angela and the rest of her team.  These opening scenes--on all 3 episodes--have been BOMB so far.  They really hook you in right away.  At least IMHO.  

I realize I’m behind the game on this little tidbit, but how much do I adore the fact that Dog is now in the opening credits?  

Okay.  Alexandria might look like it’s been on some kind of post-apocalyptic bender but all our girls are looking beautiful as ever.  Maybe it’s Maybelline, lol.  

I love to see Kelly and Carol still gravitating toward each other.  It really speaks to each woman’s heart.  Carol wants to make amends so badly and Kelly just has the most lovely, warm, forgiving heart.  

Carol’s point about Alexandria still needing the horses to help with the heavy lifting and pointing out the walls and rebuilding won’t matter quite as much if they’re limited by their  hunger and what they can physically lift on their own isn’t wrong.  But I’m sure the same viewers that were okay with Daryl and Co. going out on Maggie’s suicide mission (using the same reasoning) and saying it made sense for the bigger picture will pretend not to recognize that the same element is there in Carol’s desire to go out there and look for the horses.  You know.  Because it was Carol’s idea and not that of their fave(s).  

Aaron, Man.  Or maybe I should say Angela.   You just had to put a pit of dread in my belly mentioning Buttons like that.  RIP, Buttons.  You deserved better.  I’m still traumatized.  

Look at all the babies bonding.  Look at RJ getting to sit at the big kid table.  

“My mom always comes back.”  She damn well better.  Those babies need her.  Until she does, though, Uncle Daryl and Aunt Carol (and Aunt Rosita and everybody else) are going to be there.  

Anyway.  Poor RJ.  He barely ever gets any lines, lol.  

Hershel and Judith are obviously the mini-adults in this group and baby Rhee is already more cynical and jaded than his sweet daddy was until they reached Alexandria and the wheels started to come off.  

So.  Does Maggie just think everybody’s already dead here or what?  Hmm.  

You know.  Any building can be creepy AF when the lights are off and it’s dark, lol.  Any building.  

So much darkness so far this season.  I’m going to have to invest in some blackout curtains.  I just know it.  

Where are all those stairs leading?  Why am I thinking of Hitchcock?  Am I mixing up my scary, suspenseful movies?  Probably.  

Of fucking course, Maggie dropped her flashlight.  Thank goodness she had that lighter at the ready just before Ghost Face Reaper took a swipe at her.  

Is that Father G with a screwdriver impaled in his thigh?  Listen.  These people deserve a Mega Bottle of pain killers and a week just vegging out in a soft, luxurious bed.  

All these horror movie tropes.  Some of them are cheesy, yes.  But I’m totally here for it.  

LMAO.  That’s it, Maggie.  A good old punch in the nuts works every time.  

Alden really is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.  

Negan is still Negan.  Self-serving and looking out for number one.  But I believe the man really does feel the group is his group too.  He’s like that long lost, sketchy uncle nobody wants to acknowledge much less invite to the dinner table, but that bond?  However thin?  Is there.  

I am both hating that Maggie is being forced to work with the man that murdered her husband (my baby Glenn) and finding it fascinating the lengths she’s willing to go to survive.  This your plan, Angela?  

Rosita and Carol!  How sad is it that the last really significant scene I can remember the two of these women sharing was way back?  Before Rick and Co. attacked Negan’s outpost and Maggie and Carol were subsequently taken?  If only the show had done more of these kind of scenes.  

How much do I love all the girls working together?  Gimps would never.  They’d all be stuck back at Alexandria minding the kids and the community.  

Shallow aside--Rosita is so pretty in this scene.  

Rosita being worried about Carol honestly makes my heart hurt, because it’s about damn time more of them actually did.  Her saying Abraham is trying to tell her something in her dreams is interesting.  Angela sure loves her dreams, doesn’t she?  

Where are Daryl’s dreams, hmm?  No.  Seriously.  I guess they want to give some viewers plausible deniability until the bitter end.  

“Really?  We’re just gonna go toward the screaming?  Cool.”  Hahaha.  You know.  Even the smart people in horror movies sometimes bite it, Negan.  Just saying.  Maggie really does need to “stop running up the staircase” when she could just run out the front door though, lol.  

Poor Duncan.  I think you could have been another Tyreese, Jerry type for me.  

WTF does this show have against horses?  Those poor creatures.  

Kelly is totally me right now.  I’d be freaking inconsolable.  

Carol needed that hug.  Thank you, Magna.  From the bottom of this tired fangirl’s heart, thank you.  

Why give us that beautiful, golden shot with the horses when you’re planning to stab us through the heart later and twist the knife.  Oh.  Yeah.  That’s exactly why.  

Oh snap!  Father G’s delivery when he tells that Reaper “I’m not.  God isn’t here anymore.”  Cold as ice.  

Judas.  That the Reapers’ work.  Or.  Damn.  Either way, that’s harsh.  

Back to what Alden was saying.  All these oprhaned children.  Who’s going to take on Adam if he dies?  That poor kid has had a rough go of it.  Knowing that, makes you wonder what Alden was thinking volunteering for the suicide mission.  

Omigosh.  There went Agatha.  Terrible way to go.  Right, Beatrice?  

I’m sobbing.  Carol with the horse.  That hurt my baby so much but she hurt herself for her family the same way she has been doing since the Prison.  Melissa Mcbride?  When she cries, I cry.  Every effin’ time.  Aaron being there just made it hurt more.  But at least someone was there to see how and really take in how she continues to break pieces of herself off to keep her family as whole and safe and happy as she can.  

Rewinding a minute--that Magna and Carol conversation.  I get Magna’s reasoning too.  I do.  But Angela is just making everything so dire right now so that the sun when Connie is ultimate found shines a ltitle brighter.  

Those babies know they’re eating horse.  I could never.  

That’s got to be a different Coco.  She’s even smaller.  But she’s gorgeous.  

Fucking finally.  Angela having the other characters notice after an eternity of being blind to it, just how much Carol sacrifices of herself for them.  It’s so long overdue and I imagine Rosita’s even more worried for Carol now.  It’s a shame it’s taken 11 seasons.  My baby’s had blood on her hands trying to keep her family safe and whole and happy and fed for a long damn time.  So heartbreaking watching her try to scrub the blood away.  

Sweet, sweet hug that Kelly gave Magna.  She’s such a sweetheart kid sis to all of them, isn’t she?  

Interesting place of refuge.  A gutted church.  A visual symbol, Angela, of where Maggie and the rest of our people are now perhaps?  

“It’s easy for you, isn’t it?  Being reckless with sombody’s life...”  Maggie.  Maggie.  Those words would have hit so much harder if we hadn’t spent the majority of the last 2.5 episodes watching you ignore sound advice just because it came out of the mouth of somebody you (justifiably) hate.  

But will Alden be there when Maggie and Negan get back?  That is the question.  Or will he eventually Lucille himself?  

That little bit of lineup Negan music to remind the audience of Negan lovers and sympathizers that he once took great pleasure in murderously swinging a bag at people’s heads was a nice, subtle touch there.  Like agree with her or not, Maggie  is literally left to rely  on the hope, however small it is, that Negan has changed just enough that he won’t try to finish a job he taken on years before--killing what’s left of her.  

Oh lawd.  Next episode sees the return of a character literally nobody asked for.  How excited am I not?  

Dog better not be harmed or so help me.  

Now for Angela’s weekly explanations of WTF she/there were thinking because they been doing this plausible deniability thing so long some people out there watching with biased, muddy stan glasses can no longer separate head canon from canon.  

Is Maggie worried at all about Daryl or does she just assume his superhero powers are in full effect in this episode?  

“You can’t really say it wasn’t going to happen anyway.”  Not Angela pointing out that simply laying the blame for literally everything bad that ever happens at Carol’s feet isn’t the answer.  Say it louder for those in the back.  Alpha was going to do what Alpha wanted to do.  

“There is love there.  There is respect there.  However, there’s also frustration...”  You damn skippy.  Friendships and human relationships are complex AF.  Like Carol. She’s honestly one of the most complicated characters on this show and any show, IMHO.  That’s what makes her so memorable and such a lightning rod for discussion.  

I know I might be in a minority, but I really feel like they need more of those little scenes between the kids to keep things real.  

Kang saying she always feels like she’s going to get murdered in a staircase or parking lot is relatable, funny, and sad all at the same time.  It’s a girl thing.  

Why is Carol’s story giving me Dark Knight vibes?  Like I feel like she’ll gladly shoulder the burden of their distrust, their hate, or their judgment as long as the hard choices she makes keeps them safe.  And she’s still ultimately going to come back to save their asses even when they forsake her.  Just like Bruce Wayne/Batman.  Am I reaching too far, lol?  Because sometimes I do that.  

Anyway.  This is the third episode of the season and the third episode in a row that I mostly enjoyed.  I don’t know if I’m just so relieved and happy to have all the characters and my show back or what, but overall?  I’ve been pleased with the episodes and found something to love in all of them.  

There’s a much stronger horror vibe woven throughout Season 11 so far.  I feel like it’s a return to the roots of the show and I like that.  Literally none of the characters are making perfect choices and this viewer is here for it.  My only complaint so far is there hasn’t been enough Carol but what we’ve been given has felt like a gift and significant in a way that Gimps’ version was not.  Also?  I really hope the trend of the ladies working together and supporting each other continues because they rule the TWD world, lol.  

Hope you enjoyed at least some of my TWD word vomit.  

Until next episode.  

[bunnylouisegrimes]

Episode 8 Review

The usual spoilers

Alright, this episode was pretty good in the beginning with some stuff here and there I didn’t like, but that ending... that ending leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Normally I start with the bad first, then the good, but I feel I should do chronological order for this one since most of the good is before the bad.

For starters, I enjoyed the very beginning with Chris at his dad’s funeral. For once, seeing an aspect of Vic’s childhood was interesting. You feel pretty bad for Chris because of the rough childhood he had, and you feel bad because he became his father. It’s good that he’s definitely changed tho. He pissed me off (and I’m sure everyone else off) last season, and to see him get emotional all those years before is definitely something. Seeing him grow now is rewarding.

I do really like how both of Vic’s parents see her bridge and are amazed by it. Idk why, but I always find it incredibly satisfying in a story when all the characters understand something/everything. I’m sure we all do, but clarification in a story has always brought me a satisfaction comparable to that of watching those satisfying video complications on YouTube.

How Bing is alive still... I have no idea. Maybe because he was sitting and that helped slow down the blood flow? Honestly, I really wanted them to get information out of him, then have him die. Look, there is a part of me that feels bad for him and sorry for him, but his actions are way less forgivable than Charlie’s. If you ask me, despite him talking with Vic (and hell, maybe at this point he does feel bad for what he did, although that is hard to believe because he did genuinely enjoy raping people, and rape is one of those actions it’s very hard to find really any redemption in once you commit it), I don’t see anyone forgiving his ass, and they shouldn’t. I also think Bing has always been a ticking time bomb. Who knows, if Charlie hadn’t come into their lives, he could’ve hurt Vic if she came off as “too nice” to him. We see what he did to his mom, despite her loving him and being the only good person in his life. He interprets love as something darker, and while it’s horrible that he thinks that way, and I understand what his childhood did to his mind, he has the knowledge that it’s wrong to do it (I mean, he has to subdue people with the gas, and he clearly sees his victims are unwilling) and he should stop it, yet he doesn’t. Charlie actually believes that what he’s doing is right, and there is a part of you that can see that in some regards, he is right, keeping kids away from harmful parents. What good comes out of rape? The only good that comes out of it is the benefit to himself for getting his sick pleasures. He does it all because he can and likes it, no other purpose. He could’ve gotten help, he could’ve tried to keep that all in and express it in a safe environment, he could’ve restrained himself from doing these things... yet he didn’t. If he had just killed the parents and strictly did nothing of a particularly cruel nature, you could understand Bing more and respect his character. But since he didn’t... it makes things harder. Is it respectable that he admitted he’s wrong? Yes. Should he be forgiven? Well... not really, at least imo. If Bing has any redeeming qualities, there are very few. Since he is kept alive, I hope he’s either rotting in prison or kept in a place where he can maybe get help that he needs. I think most importantly, I’m more than a little annoyed at this whole, “Yeah, we’ll write the rapist more sympathetically before we do the main antagonist, who’s actions are questionable and one could understand his intent. He doesn’t rape anybody and finds the act repulsive and kills rapists... but he’s less sympathetic just because he’s the main bad guy 😀.” Yeah, okay writers...

Moving on from the only truly bad thing in the episode before the ending, everything else seemed to be fine. I’m concerned with Maggie and Tabitha’s relationship, I really hope they’ll be okay. Tabitha was badass getting the respect and recognition she deserves for the work she does. Even though she made the stupid decision of going into that church by herself and possibly getting killed, I do love the balls she has, I just hope she doesn’t get herself killed by being stupid. Her and Maggie are a great couple and I love them. I feel bad for Vic and I hate that she feels so low about herself. I did like her talking with her dad. The confrontation with Millie was interesting, and I’m curious to see what’s in store with that. Based on the “next time” preview at the end of the episode, we finally make it to Christmasland, and I’m very interested (but also a little anxious) about what’s gonna happen next.

Now, the ending... this damn ending...

First of all, when Maggie was confronting Wayne, why didn’t she grab his ornament? Maggie is not a stupid character. Did she get hit by the car last season and not make smarter decisions on how to avoid it (ex, maybe getting in between two other cars)? Sure, but we’ll cut her slack, it was a very in the moment thing. This? I mean... they were anticipating this. You mean to tell me she couldn’t have thought of trying to get that ornament out of his hand and taking it away from him? She tricked the Hourglass for Christ’s sakes. It looks like from the preview she’s collecting their ornaments, but still, especially in that moment, she would’ve grabbed his. It might’ve made Wayne have a strength over his old self... what’s weird is in the book, he’s holding onto both sides of himself throughout his entire journey, in this they’re making it seem as though he has no control anymore. Which leads me to my next point...

Where is Craig in all of this? What, so his efforts didn’t do dick? What was the point in having him the last two episodes? I believe in the book, Wayne’s grandma (aka Linda McQueen), is helping him in a spirit form, and also by him “thinking backwards.” Craig was helping him by reminding him of Vic and staying by him. It would’ve made so much more sense for Craig to be by his side still (or hell, in the car if he can’t leave it and telling Wayne to “remember the plan”), Wayne “puts” the ornament on the tree (or Maggie takes it off after he puts it on), and Craig stays by him. Nope, let’s make his character useless. Who knows if he’ll return next episode, I’m hoping he will, but even if he does, it’s still annoying that his character has done little to nothing at this point when there was so much potential, and it seems to be almost too late. I’m glad Wayne didn’t eat Maggie or Lou like I feared (Lou did get a nip I suppose, which was a little unneeded if you ask me). I was hoping for more potential from Craig, guess we’ll have to see if there will be...

Another point: WHY THE HELL IS THIS CAR TOO OVERPOWERED? Seriously, it makes no sense. You can make Charlie’s abilities as op as you want so long as it’s not ridiculous, I could see that. But the car? That’s his total weakness. It can be stronger than the average car, but if lighting it on fire deals with it, explosions would. That is beyond lazy writing.

Now, the worst part: Chris’s death. Of course, let’s kill a character when he just seemed to redeem himself (but the character that rapes people and can’t really be redeemed, we’re gonna keep him alive, maybe he’ll get a redemption arch 🙂). Once again, writers, why are you making the most stupid choices? While his death wasn’t as stupid as his death in the book where officers shoot him down when he’s trying to protect Vic from one (this is all under Tabitha’s command, let’s just say she’s not that great of a cop in the book or with Maggie, I enjoy her character changes for the show), his death, the way I see it, is still insulting and pointless. Realistically, they could’ve kept him alive, what is the point of not? Also, I know that bike is heavy, but why wouldn’t Vic get up and kick some ass? Of course, her bike would act up just as the Wraith is coming towards her (what is the point of that too?). I really think Chris’s death was just for shock value and filler, and to make Charlie look like an even worse villain (because they reeeeally want to drill this point home, if the way his backstory is presented in the show wasn’t proof enough, which is stupid because we UNDERSTAND WRITERS. It’s you guys that don’t understand that Charlie is established as the villain through being the antagonist and his conflicting actions). While I’m glad they didn’t kill an even more important character (ex, Maggie or Lou or Vic), it’s still stupid to waste all that character development on Chris just for him to go out anyways, all for shock value filler and to make Charlie worse. Again, not saying he’s a saint, not saying it’s out of the realm of possibility for him to want to get revenge on Vic this way, but still, isn’t he already getting revenge on her through Wayne (plus, to him it’s poetic justice that he’s “saving” him from her). There’s really no point to Chris’s death. This reminded me heavily of TWD when they would pull that shock value filler crap with killing characters, and making a villain look worse than needed (an example is what they did with Negan in the show by writing him as even more evil and less redeemable than he is in the comics). I genuinely hope they don’t pull more of this.

All in all, this episode had it’s good moments I enjoyed, but there was definitely some stupidity and bad moments I despised. Let’s hope these last two episodes where shit gets more serious will be better. I’m hoping this show does not turn to crap through a series of stupid decisions, much like TWD did. I will be sorely disappointed at AMC...

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Alpha, Omega, Carol and Beth - It’s All Coming Together

Okay, I've been thinking about this theory for several weeks now and I'm just now getting around to doing it. I'm glad that I hadn't posted it for now because meeting the highwaymen did change it a little bit.

So, keep mentioning Carol symbolism, and how she ties into the Alpha arc. Let's start with the symbol we saw by Carol in 9x11. Everybody wondered what it was and we now know the highwaymen left it there.

Before we knew that, @bluesandbeth did a little research. She found this. 

Look similar? This is the first letter, Alef, of the ancient Phoenician alphabet which actually predates the Greek. Think about this. It's the first letter, which means it's the ancient Phoenician equivalent of “A” or “Alpha.”

At first, we thought this was another symbol for Alpha (the character). If that had been the case, it would simply have foreshadowed that Carol was on some sort of collision course with Alpha. And due to Henry spoilers, we already know that.

Now we know it wasn't Whisperers who left the sign here, but rather the highwaymen. In terms of the plot, the symbol does not represent Alpha. However, I think that symbolically, it still could. Let me explain.

If this symbol represents an A, it may not only be about Alpha, but about the A theme we’ve seen since S4. We’ve seen tons of As and there have been dozens of TD theories about what the A's might represent and how everything fits together. And yes, we do strongly believe the As either point to Beth or are somehow tied up in her arc.

So, then we wondered if maybe all the As in the A theme pointed toward Alpha. Alpha never seemed (to me, anyway) like she was quite as big a deal as other CB arcs, especially Negan. I felt like the show made a much bigger deal about Negan than they ever did about Alpha. People knew she was coming, of course, and she’s still a big deal, but there just wasn't as much hype about her as there was about Negan.

It's also important to note that spoilers have told us the Whisperer arc will be much bigger and more complicated than it was in the CBs. So that may feed into this. Maybe they always meant Alpha to be bigger, but there wasn't as much hype about it because in the CBs, she's really not bigger than Negan.

If the A's are specifically tied to Beth and she comes back during the Whisperer arc, then it really may be that all the A's pointed toward Alpha.

(P.S. I really think this Phoenician alphabet symbolism is a thing because if you look farther down, the 9th symbol in the alphabet, theth, looks damn close to the symbol Morgan keeps carving into trees.)

Alpha truly showed up in 9x10. Yes we saw her at the end of the previous episode when she took Luke and Alden captive, but we didn't see her face or really know who she was. Her true arrival was in 9x10 when she came to the gates of Hilltop.

So, Alpha showed up in an episode called Omega and in it, she's wearing an infinity belt. Guys, I literally have a post that I wrote after the finale of S8 called Alpha, Omega, the 8 Clocks, and Infinity Signs. Feel free to read it and others on the subject HERE, and I'm going to draw from them a bit, so I would suggest re-familiarizing yourself with what I'm talking about.

I won’t say much more about the infinity symbol, except that Alpha’s belt is important and it’s part of the Alpha/Omega symbolism. Read the above post for details. (Btw, I’m also pretty sure that, in addition to an infinity sign, her belt is a snake eating it’s own tail. That’s another common infinity symbol, and we can tie snakes to both Morgan (ouroboros) and Bethyl (Still).)

We’ve seen several “Alpha and Omega” references in the show throughout the seasons. Remember, the reason “Alpha and Omega” is a big deal is because that phrase is a very well-known name for Christ. He says he is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. And of course Beth is the Christ figure. In other words, Alpha and Omega is both a Christ and a resurrection symbol.

One of the more references to this phrase was in 7x16 when Sasha died. In a flashback to her and Abraham talking, Abraham said, "alpha to omega, battlefield to beach." I was very excited about that at the time, not only because of the Alpha and Omega, but because of the “battlefield to beach.”

The “battlefield to beach” was exciting because of all the beach/ocean/Oceanside/water symbols we've seen around Beth.

But let's travel further back. To show how Carol is tied into this, we need to return to episode 6x13, The Same Boat. In this episode, Carol and Maggie were taken prisoner by Paula and her group of Saviors. This episode had tons of great Beth and Grady parallels. The biggest was simply that Carol and one of the Greene sisters were taken hostage by a group of baddies. TD gleefully pointed out that Maggie���the Greene sister in this instance—survived, which means Beth must have too.

But there were way more suspicious parallels than only that. For this episode, lots of people talked about (and I believe tptb leaked this) how the set they used came from the film, Saw. I’m going to give you some spoilers from that film. (It came out in 2004; if you haven’t seen it yet after 15 years, it’s really your own fault. 😉)

In the film, two men who wake up in a strange room. They’re chained on opposite sides of a room and spend most of the film figuring out how to get away. Lots of mind games ensue. In between where the two men are chained lays a dead body who has obviously been shot in the head. You can see his head wound and he lies in a puddle of blood.

After the entire movie happens, in a major twist at the end, that dead man stands up and is actually alive. In fact, he's the one who put the two men there and set up this entire game. It’s a cool film, but the point is, they used that same set for 6x13 and made heavy reference to a movie where someone who'd been shot in the head and was playing dead turned out to be alive.

Similarly, in this episode, Carol and Maggie are tied up on opposite sides of the room and there's a dead body between them. I this case, it's a walker, which doesn't get up and turn out to be alive at the end.

But…

What does this walker look like? That's right. It's a blonde, Beth-walker. We have a walker that represents Beth in a position that mirrors the character in Saw who is just playing dead (kind of like a possum?) and turns out to be alive at the end.

But there's more. And here's where Carol comes in. At some point Paula’s Saviors drag the walker out of the room. The walker has a crucifix on it and Carol takes it and holds it for most of the rest of the episode. 

Why does that matter? Because Beth famous wore a crucifix at Grady when she was shot.

We may not have understood why at the time, but we knew 6x13 was a retelling of Grady. 1) Carol + Greene sister taken captive by a bad group, 2) the idea of someone being shot in the head, 3) everyone assuming someone dead who in the end, and 4) the crucifix. We found other details as well, but these are the big ones.

Everyone’s already talked about how they’re setting up up a Carol vs. Alpha arc because of Henry and Lydia. My point here is that 6x13 ties Carol very heavily to Beth’s story line.

So, what does this have to do with S9? Well, in 6x13, we also had some major, heavy “Alpha and Omega” symbolism. When Paul first takes Maggie and Carol to the building, and they're both blindfolded, Paula references the Greek alphabet when using her walkie-talkie. He calls. Check out THIS POST for interpretations of her actual words I’ve done in the past. That was back when I hoped Beth would arrive in S8. For purposes of today's theory, it's only important that they use the Alpha and Omega symbolism, because we think it may have foreshadowed Alpha’s arrival in S9.

Check it out: Paula used the phrase “Alpha and Omega” in an episode that had massive Grady parallels. Then the villain Alpha arrives in an episode called Omega, an episode that also had massive Grady parallels (Lydia's prisoner exchange).

So, what does it all mean?

In a very general way, I think it's a good thing to have Carol and Alpha on a collision course because chances are Beth will be in the mix somewhere, too. In other words, it’s another way to say this will probably lead to Beth's arrival in some way.

This next part of this is a little bit more conjecture, but I think it's worth noting.

I’ve said that I think when Ezekiel "dies" it will actually be a death fake out. Which means Carol and Ezekiel will have a very similar, if not identical, arc to what Bethyl (and now Richonne) do. Namely, that one of them thinks the others dead when they're really not.

This is where things get really complicated but interesting. If I'm right about Ezekiel having a fake out and Cazekiel repeating Bethyl’s arc, then the Carol/Beth entanglement takes a whole new meaning.

For example, Carol being 6x13 probably foreshadowed that eventually Carol would have an arc much like the one that started it, Grady. I also think that's true of the references to the serious piggyback we’ve seen around Carol. Remember that in S7, she read a book that had the piggyback on the front and that was right after Ezekiel came to see her, when he was still courting her, but she wasn’t open to the relationship yet. 

Then we saw another one this season on the poster at the movie theater. So, of course, those are things we link to Beth, and rightly so, but I also think they foreshadow a similar arc for Carol and Ezekiel.

We can even take this back to Consumed. Carol went with Daryl into Atlanta to search for Beth. 

Plot-wise, it didn't really have to be her. The same stuff would have happened if Michonne had gone with him or Maggie or anyone else. Maggie might have made more sense because she and Daryl were the ones closest to Beth. Now, four seasons later, we can see that there was a bigger plan in place. They had Carol accompany Daryl, not to tease a certain ship as so many have claimed, but because it foreshadowed that eventually, she would have a similar arc to the one about to play out in Atlanta. 

Remember we saw the toy tiger on her bunk, which foreshadowed Shiva and the Kingdom. We never realized it before, but seeing the tiger and this foreshadow specifically in 5x06 ties the Kingdom to this death fake out arc.

Once again, this shows how much planning and how far in advance the writers plan for the show. At the very least, they were already planning Carol's also arc in S5 (toy tiger) but we already know Rick's departure was planned in S4, so I think most of this has been planned since S4 as well.

Another idea I’ve been toying with: Remember that in 6x13, Carol took the cross, and it was specifically Beth who wore the rosary around her wrist at Grady. That made me think that maybe it won’t be Ezekiel in Beth's place, but actually Carol. You would think her taking the cross would make her Beth, symbolically. 

On the one hand, it would be super crazy if Carol “died" or disappeared. Not only have they leaked things to try and make us think Ezekiel is dying, but Kirkman has said Carol is probably the one character he’ll never kill off. Perhaps that was always a tease and a foreshadow. No way to tell yet if they’ll handle it like they did Beth’s arc and the audience will think they’re dead too, or if they’ll do it like with Andy where the audience knows they’re alive, but TF doesn’t.

Despite all this, I’m not convinced it will be Carol rather than Ezekiel who gets the death fake out. Carol and Daryl are very similar, which they’ve confirmed over and over again. And ever since Ezekiel appeared in S7, we instantly saw parallels between him and Beth, because they’re very similar. 

Ezekiel and Beth are the positive ones that have a lot of faith, where Carol and Daryl have a tendency toward isolation and self-destruction. Overall, it makes more sense for it to be Ezekiel who gets the fake out. Carol may have taken the rosary in 6x13 simply to foreshadow the arc. Ezekiel wasn’t in the show then, so it had to be her who took it. Anyway, just some stray thoughts.

That's most of what I wanted to say concerning this. Back when the prisoner exchange happened, we had the symbol, we had Carol on an obvious collision course with Alpha, and we had the Alpha/Omega symbolism which immediately made me think of S6.

For me, this all came together as a complete picture of what they've been planning for Carol for a long time. And it points to Beth's return as well.

I’ve said both these things before but 1) Beth’s line in Still that mentions herself, Michonne, Carol, and Maggie foreshadow these four death fake out arcs. And then there’s the pickle story which foreshadows that three of the apparent deaths will be resurrected. We know Glenn is dead for real, so that means the other three—Rick, Beth, Ezekiel—will turn out to be alive. We can already confirm Rick is, so we’re just waiting for confirmation on the others.

In closing, let me give a short reiteration on the highwaymen. If the leader, Ozzy (Wizard of Oz reference, btw) represents Santa Clause/St. Nick, and St. Nick brings Beth back to Daryl, and St. Nick resurrects the three people in the pickle story, then it kind of suggests the highway men will in some way will bring these three characters that TF believe are dead back to them. Well, now these highwaymen have entered the story, and it was their sign we saw, which may be part of the A theme.

If the A's have pointed to Alpha all along, perhaps it shows that we’ll see the resurrections during this arc. Meanwhile, spoilers tell us we will see snow in the S9 finale, so we already know we’ll have a Christmas theme. See how this is all coming together?

Beth may or may not show up in the finale (I really hope she will) but if she doesn't, this arc is still very on track to bring her back. And we’ve said before, S10 will have a lot of important events in it. 

I'm thinking that's when Ezekiel's death fake out will happen, there's only X symbolism, and that's when Michonne will leave (which means she must know Rick is alive and therefore the resurrections have begun). 

And can I just say, I think Rick and Beth's resurrection must happen either concurrently, or else Beth’s will happen first. Either way, we’re coming up on it pretty quick here, whether she arrives this season or not. Thoughts?

[corlgrimes]

top five ask; episodes ships notps favourite moments x

hey zoe, thank you so much for asking me so many, it means a lot! i’ve already answered my top 5 twd episodes and my top 5 twd ships, but i’ll answer the other two below.

my top 5 twd notps:

carl x negan - i think this is an abusive relationship, as well as carl being a minor so this is something i refuse to accept, especially since a lot of shippers have a fetish over the abuse negan inflicts on carl.

grimescest - pretty simple explanation here, it is a relationship that promotes incest and a minor is apart of this relationship.

carl x ron - i didn’t like the idea of shipping these guys together, especially since ron developed hatred towards carl for a number of reasons e.g. the jealousy of enid and carl becoming close, rick killing his dad, rick cutting jessie’s arm, etc. so i really don’t see the attraction at all in this relationship.

beth x daryl - i understand a lot of you guys ship it, but i never saw the romantic side of their connection and many have addressed their own reasons why they do not support this relationship, which i agree with.

jessie x rick - i didn’t see the romantic connection. part of me thinks that rick saw a lot of lori within jessie and that’s why he became closer to her. and maybe my love for rick x michonne played a lot into this relationship, but i felt there were a lot of problems and complications with this relationship e.g. rick becoming a lot like shane who desired lori, the abusive relationship of jessie and pete, etc.

an honourable mention: sasha x abraham - i really didn’t like the idea of abraham causing tension between rosita and sasha because of his growing interest in sasha prior to breaking up with rosita. i also thought the relationship was literally out of the blue without an explanation.

obviously i understand everyone has a personal preference (and that is completely fine unless it is a ship that promotes incest and/or underage relationships, etc.) so this is not an attack on anyone’s interests and i respect your own preferences.

my top 5 twd favourite moments:

glenn and maggie looking at their baby scan (6.11)

rick finding carl and lori again (1.03)

carol taking down terminus (5.01)

rick and michonne kissing (6.10)

rick’s dream of group being happy and having a meal (7.01)

i know there are plenty more amazing scenes that i have forgotten, but these are some of the most enjoyable moments from the series that i could think of.

anyway, thank you so much for asking me, zoe and i hope you’re having a lovely day!

feel free to ask me my top 5 of anything