Walking Dead 5x01 "No Sanctuary" - Spoilers

Deset Gled · Oct 13, 2014

The Walking Dead returned last night.

The episode was pretty good. Plenty of action including explosions and even inflamed zombies. I'm very pleased that Sanctuary got destroyed. I was worried they were going to spend the first half of the season doing nothing but "character development" for the cannibals before they turned around and killed them off. Quick scenes like the flashbacks and Carol confronting the leader were much better done than we've seen on the past; the writers finally learned how to include character background without needing an entire episode to do it.

That being said, the episode did seem somewhat routine. The butcher room scene in particular had (to me) very low levels of suspense because Glenn was the first named character in line to be killed, and it was obvious the show wasn't going to kill Glenn like that. Tyrese saying he killed the Sanctuary guy but not showing the body/action was clear telegraphing that he'll be back.

Starting with a bang and then grinding to a halt has become a pattern with this show. I hope this season will break it.

Janx · Oct 13, 2014

The Talking Dead episode had nice tidbits.

the first guy on the trough was the limpy useless guy Rick and Carol met before he kicked her out. Good to know he made it safe to Terminus.

I can't imagine Tyrese leaving that shack to face zombies and not hulking out and finishing the job on the jerk who threatened a baby. The guy was pretty much asking for it. Any more posturing as a bad guy, and he'd sprout a Snidely Whiplash mustache. He's dead.

Now Gareth. I don't think he's dead. He'll be a problem later.

Homicidal_Squirrel · Oct 14, 2014

I'm betting Glenn gets killed this season. After the Carolnator attacked Terminus, and Rick and crew were making their way back to the train cart to rescue the others, they went passed a train cart surrounded by zombies, Rick was ready to just keep going, but Glenn stopped him and said "That's not who we are," or something to that effect. Glenn may have been tapped to be the new moral compass of the group. You know what happens to the moral compass of the group.

Morrus · Oct 14, 2014

Deset Gled said:
The butcher room scene in particular had (to me) very low levels of suspense because Glenn was the first named character in line to be killed, and it was obvious the show wasn't going to kill Glenn like that.

It was a great episode, but I agree that that scene just didn't work. 3 extras lined up and then the show's heroes, and the multiple interruptions just before Glenn would have gotten whacked made the whole scene unintentionally comedic rather than suspenseful.

Other than that, one of the best WD episodes in a long time. I'd gotten rather bored of the show, to be honest, but that was good.

Janx · Oct 14, 2014

One thing I wonder about is for as few citizens as we saw at Terminus, why do they need to butcher 8 more cattle when they already got one on the slab they haven't finished.

Given lack of electricity, it's not like you can preserve butchered meat easily. Best to keep it alive and work on a Just In Time model.

I suspect Gareth walking in to interupt the butchering before it hit Rick's group, was meant to be a mind-game by Gareth against Rick's group. He was showing his power. granted, as with all villains, that little demonstration gave Rick the chance he needed.

So I see that Trough scene as both a writing mechanic trying to scare us as they worked down the line, as well as a character building element for Gareth to show how ruthless and systematic he was.

Umbran · Oct 14, 2014

Janx said:
One thing I wonder about is for as few citizens as we saw at Terminus, why do they need to butcher 8 more cattle when they already got one on the slab they haven't finished.

Given lack of electricity, it's not like you can preserve butchered meat easily. Best to keep it alive and work on a Just In Time model.

You realize that humans were preserving meats for centuries before we harnessed electricity, right? Without refrigeration, they could turn to smoking, salting, pickling, or drying as preservation methods.

Cows and sheep and goats and such work as livestock because they eat foods we can't or don't. If humans are your cattle, they are using the same food sources as your population - that is not a win. Keeping a herd around uses up food you could directly give to your population! Unless they are also slave labor, there is no percentage in keeping human cattle around.

Hand of Evil · Oct 14, 2014

Long Pork

Traditional Method of Ham Curing

The first step in curing any type of ham is butchering and cutting, after which comes the part of shaping which involves the removal of parts of fat and muscle on the outer layer and skin. The meat is then covered in sea salt for a week or two and then rinsed thoroughly. Next comes the stage of settling. Settling involves the proper distribution of salt spread throughout the flesh, and drying of the cuts. The process of settling may last for a month or two.

After the settling process, the hams are hung in the drying rooms for up to six months at a temperature not less than 30° F and not more than 55° F. At this stage of curing, proteins and fats in the pork begin to transform, beginning the creation of a ham.

The next stage of ham curing is called the aging process. The process of aging takes place in the aging room where the conditions fluctuate with the seasons, and up to 40% of the weight of the ham melts away. The aging process for ham spans between two and four years. Traditionally this process is managed by controlling airflow from the outside.

Janx · Oct 14, 2014

Umbran said:
You realize that humans were preserving meats for centuries before we harnessed electricity, right? Without refrigeration, they could turn to smoking, salting, pickling, or drying as preservation methods.

Cows and sheep and goats and such work as livestock because they eat foods we can't or don't. If humans are your cattle, they are using the same food sources as your population - that is not a win. Keeping a herd around uses up food you could directly give to your population! Unless they are also slave labor, there is no percentage in keeping human cattle around.

You have valid points, but those centuries of doing stuff ourselves was back when we did stuff ourselves. Your typical Zombie Apocalypse survivor isn't versed in ancient food prep, and grandma was probably first to get 'et.

So, I don't buy the "we can do it" argument. But I do buy the "they need the same food as us" problem.

Personally, I don't see how the Termites don't see that they have become the Zombies. Nobody else has had to settle for cannibalism but these guys. That is whacked up.

I'm also puzzled as to why they kept one of the original "bad ones" around (Mr. Tattoo from the rail car was explained to be the same guy who was returning Tasha Yar to Gareth at the very end.

The first thing you do when overthrowing your evil overlords is kill ALL of the evil overlords. You don't keep one around while you butcher innocent folk. You butcher innocent folk because you ate all the bad ones and you've now justified that they are all a risk, so must all be eaten.

Umbran · Oct 15, 2014

Janx said:
So, I don't buy the "we can do it" argument.

Dude, Alton Brown covered making jerky. Anyone who finds a library can find out how to preserve meat!

Will you lose some to botulism in the first years until you get it right? Sure. But when food is scarce or questionable, you figure it out.

But I do buy the "they need the same food as us" problem.

They also need guarding, and sanitation and medical care, lest they become a risk to your own people.

Personally, I don't see how the Termites don't see that they have become the Zombies. Nobody else has had to settle for cannibalism but these guys. That is whacked up.

Yep.

It is my thought that folks in that world quickly come to take levels in the Badass Prestige Class. One of the class features is some sort of derangement. You don't get through in that world totally sane, I think.

Wild Gazebo · Oct 15, 2014

I don't think the butcher scene was about suspense at all.

It seemed to me to be about describing a new type of enemy, a methodical, institutionalized evil that everyone is in danger of catching. In the beginning many of the people would not even be able to hunt, let alone battle other humans and kill zombies. Now, seasoned killers, they have seen an alternate reflection in the water. It shows how complacency of their actions could even trump the need of their actions.

The wide angle shots, the systematic and institutional feel of the place with the dispassionate slaughter of people while 'talking shop' was about this new growth in the timeline...this new stage of human devolution...another evil to battle.

At least...that is how I saw it.