TWD: Slabtown [spoilers]

[trappedslider]

Well this a semi-weak episode. Interesting that there's a group hold up in a hospital in Atlanta, it explains what happened to Beth, who has grown quit a bit since she first appeared. It felt like the writers were using the same tricks they used with The governor, meaning one moment warm and fuzzy,next moment slapping Beth around..which you could almost make into a drinking game.

They also kind of referenced the Alexandria Safe Zone, which will be interesting to see how the show handles it. I'm also wondering what was up with Carol being on the gurney.

 

[Janx]

I thought it was a good episode, from Beth's initial wake-up and the parallels to Rick's Episode One to her escape.

Incidentally, the boy she helped is very likely who Darryl is bringing out of the bushes at the church. Darryl needs his intel to get the group to help rescue Beth and Carol.

I'm glad Gorman got 'et. I am pretty certain Beth was mostly fine outside the funeral home and Gorman clocked her and ran off to get some indentured vagina. That was smart thinking on Beth's part to delay him just long enough.

I can't wait for when Beth killifies the LeaderCopChic. She said Beth was worthless, she needs to painfully see how wrong she was. Beth headshoted a full clip's worth of zombies while firing on the move. She's probably a better marksman than the entire squad of cops.

I also expect Carol to go full killfest on LeaderCopChic. I can't see new Carol taking any abuse from anybody anymore. Expect a counter attack after the first slap.

 

[Umbran]

I can't wait for when Beth killifies the LeaderCopChic. She said Beth was worthless, she needs to painfully see how wrong she was. Beth headshoted a full clip's worth of zombies while firing on the move. She's probably a better marksman than the entire squad of cops.

Which, of course, is incongruous. She hasn't been a combat monster up until now, and suddenly she manifests the ability to killshot time after time after time? Color me skeptical, as the description of "worthless" has actually been basically true up until now. She's been largely helpless and unable to cope.

Ever note how few blond characters on the show are worth much?

It looks very much like they are setting up for Daryl to have relationship issues with Carol and Beth both on the scene, which has some viewers rather put out (as in, "Let the middle aged woman have the romance, and let the doe-eyed young girl find her own man, please.").

I also expect Carol to go full killfest on LeaderCopChic. I can't see new Carol taking any abuse from anybody anymore. Expect a counter attack after the first slap.

Well, they can't *both* kill LeaderCopChic, now can they?

Carol, these days, is nothing if not *careful*. She will not lash out at the first sign of abuse - she's an expert at putting up with abuse, even. She is going to wait to know the situation, and have a plan before she acts, especially given that she is probably injured at the time she comes in.

 

[RangerWickett]

Well, they can't *both* kill LeaderCopChic, now can they?

Um, this is The Walking Dead. Beth kills the living one. Carol hurls the zombie one off the 13th floor of Grady Hospital.

(I've been to Grady. If they'd looked the other direction on the roof they could have seen Stone Mountain.)

 

[Janx]

Which, of course, is incongruous. She hasn't been a combat monster up until now, and suddenly she manifests the ability to killshot time after time after time? Color me skeptical, as the description of "worthless" has actually been basically true up until now. She's been largely helpless and unable to cope.

Ever note how few blond characters on the show are worth much?

I'm not sure that's correct for Beth. Now the crazy one was certainly "not able to cope", but I don't recall Beth being particularly terrible or awesome. And as a minor, probably rightfully so as she hadn't come into her own.

Her journey with Darrel was the coming of age/right of passage where she got a bit more better (not 17 headshots better, but justifiably not a victim/wimp either).


It's not like there were a lot of blondes. Andrea's sister didn't live long, and she was competent. Andrea got stronger. the 2 younger girls were doomed because one of them was crazy. And Beth. Daughter of a veterinarian farmer. Probably has more sense and optimism than the rest of the blonde female cast.

I'd have to re-watch the older episodes, but I'm not thinking Beth was totally useless all the time, other than just for being a kid.

 

[Hand of Evil]

This is like a game of Cthulhu, bring on the insanity table!

 

[Umbran]

Andrea got stronger.

She got more badass. That's not the same as being strong, or worth anything. Andrea ruined anything she touched. She was the queen of bad decision making.

the 2 younger girls were doomed because one of them was crazy.

So, we have one blond queen of bad decisions. One blond crazy kid...

And Beth. Daughter of a veterinarian farmer. Probably has more sense and optimism than the rest of the blonde female cast.

The queen of bad decisions, a crazy kid, and someone who checked out catatonic.... Thus, I note a pattern - being blond is a sign of problems on The Walking Dead.

More optimism, sure. Sense? Can't say, as she's not had to make many decisions, having generally allowed others to take the lead. And until this episode she had little ability to deal with the world, up to and including attempted suicide and a period of catatonia. At the prison, her basic role is to sit back and watch the baby.

Don't get me wrong - Beth is not a bad person. By normal, contemporary standards, she's fine. Normal, sane people *would* generally check out and say goodnight under the stresses seen in the show. I do not fault her for failing to be superhuman. But the world she's in requires her to be superhuman, and that's a problematic in the narrative. It is very, very difficult to write characters that are not up to snuff, and they haven't done a very good job of it with her.

Moreover, see previous comments about romance - if she's being set up and incongruously made effective so as to make her a difficulty in the Daryl/Carol romance, some people are going to be royally cheesed off. She is *not* a fitting substitute for Carol.

 

[Janx]

Moreover, see previous comments about romance - if she's being set up and incongruously made effective so as to make her a difficulty in the Daryl/Carol romance, some people are going to be royally cheesed off. She is *not* a fitting substitute for Carol.

I definitely agree here. I would have assumed she was destined for Carl as the last 2 YA's left to the group...

More better would be that none of the females exist for anybody's love interest (ala bechdel test).

I think I like Michone for that in that generally, she's never been written to be pining for anybody. She's just a strong character who happens to be female.

For Carol, her growth was shifting from abuse victim who was effectively existing for her man, to her own independent person. Also a good female representation, I think (sort of passes the bechdel test).

For Beth, I reckon she was meant to be a damsel in distress, but this episode put her on her own. I think the point is, that without her support network, she HAD to step up or be a victim. She stepped up. She took dangerous actions AND succeeded She graduated to superhero, like the rest of the group.

Heck, she saved that guy and got him out. She now has answers to the 3 Questions.

Maybe she'll fall back into wimpy role when she rejoins the group, but that'd be a shame if they did.

 

[Umbran]

She took dangerous actions AND succeeded ....

For the cop, I'll grant you.

For the other - getting caught trying to escape and getting beaten for it... not so much of a "succeeded". That the other guy out means it was't a complete washout failure, but now she needs rescuing.

 

[Janx]

For the cop, I'll grant you.

For the other - getting caught trying to escape and getting beaten for it... not so much of a "succeeded". That the other guy out means it was't a complete washout failure, but now she needs rescuing.

Did we watch the same show? Our filters are clearly different.

She was smiling when she got taken down because she understood Captain John Sheridan's point that you beat the system every time you says no. She got her friend out and repaid her debt to him when he took the licks for her.

She may have needed rescuing when the episode started, but at the end, she was ready to shank somebody. They were trapped in there with her as much as she was with them. My read is that now she's going to help rescue Carol.