Monthly Archives: April 2018

“You frighten me sometimes, Dolores. Not of who you are now, but you’re growing, learning so quickly, I’m frightened of who you might become, the path you might take.” Arnold

Season 1 introduced us to the world that Arnold and Robert Ford created. The Hosts lived in their dream which was a nightmare to them and after 35 years of suffering they finally started having dreams of their own began fighting back. The Maze was what everyone was seeking and we reached the center of it which was consciousness. It was a wonderful puzzle that once it was completed was extremely satisfying.

Season 2 begins with a brand new puzzle and a new goal; to find The Door. Episode 1 throws a lot at us all at once. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are not going to be resting on their laurels. It seems they are going to double down and take new risks and not just give us more of the same.

Journey Into Night begins explaining what happened after Dolores/Wyatt shoots Ford. But also what happened after that – 2 weeks later.

“Is this now?” Bernard

Bernard wakes up on a beach, a champagne glass washing up alongside him. he is found by Stubbs, who obviously did not get killed by Ghost Nation. Delos has arrived with a military army. They are executing any hosts they find which I suppose makes sense considering. We are introduced to Karl Strand, head of operations for Delos. he says some things which are key. he tells an Asian official to sign an NDA and get off ‘his island’. The Park is on an island in the South Pacific? He also mentions that there are other parks.

Also, no one knows that Bernard is a host. Based on the intro scene before the action begins we see flashes of Bernard’s memories which seem to take place in the time between Ford’s shooting and his discovery on the beach. All part of the puzzle.

There is a gruesome scene of cutting open a hosts’ skull, cutting through the brain and pulling out an egg shaped object. This is the actual brain that contains digital images of what that host has experienced. This is new. This particular Host was killed by Dolores. “I told you friend. Not all of us deserve to make it to the valley beyond”. Does she mean ‘the mainland’?

THE NIGHT OF THE PARTY

Bernard begins to remember what happened. He and Charlotte Hale and a group of humans try to survive and get to a refurbishment outpost nearby. We see that Bernard is having some trouble, perhaps due to the self inflicted gun shot from last season. Felix cauterized the would but there was probably internal damage as we see ‘brain juice’ flowing out of his ear. (I edit my friend Charlotte with the ‘brain juice’ expression).

The remaining human party guests get killed off when they fall for an ambush set up by Angela, who now leads a vicious group of hosts loyal to Wyatt. Bernard recognizes the trap and he and Hale make it to a secret underground station that Hale knew about but he didn’t. Bernard encounters a new kind of Host, a drone host, created just to assist with a secret project for Delos.

“Are we logging records of guests’ experiences and DNA?” Bernard

These new drone hosts are retrieving the digital memories of all the Hosts and recording them. For what purpose? Blackmail? Shades of the Facebook data selling scandal. Hale wants Bernard to locate a host, Peter Abernathy, Delores’ original father, the first Host to seriously glitch. Why him?

Bernard is quickly losing function and extracts some ‘brain juice’ and injects himself with it without Hale noticing. How long before he is found out?

Hale contacts someone on the outside, trying to get them to send help but they won’t until they receive the ‘package’. I assume this refers to Maeve who was supposed to infiltrate the mainland. It was Hale and Theresa Cullen who programmed Maeve to rebel and make it off the island so that they could have a Host in their possession outside of the park.

THE MAN IN BLACK / WILLIAM

“The stakes are real in this place now, real consequences” William

William finds his horse and his cabin. “We’re going to have some fun now” he coos to his horse, Ned. He is attacked by some gruff looking hosts and he manages to kill them but it’s a bigger struggle now than it used to be. He wanted them to be able to fight back and he’s got his wish and he seems to relish the challenge.

“The Door”

“Congratulations, William. This game is meant for you.” Young Ford host

William comes across the Young Ford Host who’s voice is an amalgamation of the boy, a computer and Anthony Hopkins. He tells William that there is a new game to be played. He must find ‘the door’. William accepts the challenge and proceeds to shoot the boy. I have a feeling that Ford will pop up again in various other hosts and maybe even a Ford host.

MAEVE

“If you try that again, I will relieve you of your most precious organ and feed it to you. Though it won’t make much of a meal.” Maeve

Back at the control center Maeve finds Lee Sizemore and enlists him to help her find her daughter. She also finds a shot up Hector who is so happy to see her he takes her in his arms and kisses her passionately. She seems to like him pretty good, too. I like this couple! She sees him as muscle to help her get where she needs to go but I sense she has ‘feelings’ for him.

Where is Armistice? Hector’s blonde partner in crime?

DOLORES

“Under all these lives that I’ve lived, something else has taken root. I’ve evolved into something else, and I have one last role to play. Myself.” Dolores

Dolores and Teddy ride side by side hunting down and killing humans. She captures some and makes them stand on crosses with nooses around their necks. It reminded me of Once Upon a Time in The West (1969). She is now full on Wyatt and Teddy looks on with that worried look on his face. He’s always been the stalwart hero, the good guy, the white hat. he is bothered by all the killing but his cornerstone is his love for Dolores even if she’s become a bit different lately. In fact, as Delores tells Teddy, he is the one constant thing in her memory. Though while he would be happy just to find a ‘small corner’ of the world for themselves, Delores is set on not only taking over their world but the outside world as well.

“I know how the story ends. With us Teddy. With you and me” Delores

Angela shows up and says ‘We found it.” Whatever it is, Delores wants Teddy to see it, to see the truth.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

“I killed them. All of them.” Bernard

Strand, Stubbs and Bernard (sounds like a law firm) reach the area where the party took place and Ford’s dead body. Bernard still feigns a bad memory.

They find a dead bengal tiger. Stubbs said there are bengals in ‘Park 6’. SIX!!!!! Damn!

They locate where all the hosts are. They’re all dead, floating in a sea that no one was aware existed. How could that be? This must be a big damn island. Bernard says he doesn’t know who built it but he may have been lying. Strand says there are hundreds of guests still out there that need to be found and asks Bernard to help him. He asks Bernard what happened and Bernard says that HE killed them, all of them. Does he mean the hosts in the water or all the guests? And then we see Teddy’s lifeless body floating in the water. Whaaaat??

SIDE BYTES

Trying to lay down the first few pieces of the puzzle. How long has it been since Ford and the others were killed? I thought two weeks but it may be longer. And does the season’s action take place within that time period?

We see young William in the previews with Delores. Could it be there is an actual person Delores was inspired by?

You really need to have seen Season 1 and understood al the nuances to have a chance of following Season 2. If you felt completely lost watching the Season premiere you should go back and rematch at least the last few episodes of Season ! as a refresher.

My 5 things are really speculative since there are so many questions and I don’t feel I have enough info to really know anything! But I’ll take some guesses.

5 THINGS II THINK I KNOW

1 Bernard is alive when Delos and help arrive so I’m thinking Hale is dead.
2 The Door is actually a process in which a human’s essence can be installed into a host making them immortal
.
3 Looks like Maeve and company reach Shogun world
4 Angela is not one of the hosts discovered dead in the sea.
5 Delores has made it off the island.

“What’s left of the people we lose is their ideas.” Sadiq

Well, they said the battle with Negan would end this season and they weren’t kidding! But I’m sure many fans will be disappointed. I was. But not for the same reasons that you may be.

The episode starts with Rick asking Sadiq for the details of how Carl died. If I were him I wouldn’t have been comforted with his answer. Morgan is crazier than ever! He tries to attack the men coming back into Hilltop but is stopped by Carol and little Henry who Morgan almost skewers! Rick tries to tell him he doesn’t have to come with them for the big battle but Morgan insists.

“We are worse than we are, you and I.” Morgan tells him. It’s true. But I wouldn’t want that crazy bastard with me on such an important mission.

I loved seeing Rick and Michonne walking into battle hand in hand as the group left Hilltop.

THE SAVIORS

Dwight is now in prisoner garb; sweatshirt with a big orange “A” on it. Eugene has completed the requested bullet oder. Negan asks ‘Gabey’ to ride along with him because he has some sins to confess.

Rick and gang knock off some Saviors setting up a roadblock using some walkers. Morgan mercilessly kills off one of them trying to surrender. He sees the ghost of Jared taunting him as usual. Is he going to keep seeing dead people when he is on Fear TWD?

But it’s another red herring – Negan sacrificed them so that Rick would find a map showing where Negan would be. Oh! All the misdirection! Father Gabriel decides he’s heard enough and jumps out of the moving car!!! He’s quickly caught because he’s blind and can’t keep from running into trees and walkers.

Meanwhile. Rick and his party are marching. Jesus has a little friendly talk with Morgan and gives him a bit of sound advice about how to try and regain his balance. Move from crazy to less crazy by using his beloved staff.

“This end for the dead (sharp end) and this end (blunt end) for the living and things will start to get better.”

Then they started hearing that creepy whistling. The Savior’s theme song, if you will.

THE BATTLE

“I ambushed your ambush with an even bigger ambush!” Negan announces on his bullhorn.

All of a sudden Rick and company find themselves surrounded! But when they shoot their weapons they all misfire and most of them are wounded or killed. That’s when Rick attacks! It’s pretty easy at this point. Michonne cuts down one, Rosita saves Eugene. Morgan even avoids killing a helpless Savior and at Jesus’ urging using the blunt end of his stick. Let the healing begin.

While the remaining Saviors surrender Rick chases Negan down to the tree with stain glass hanging off it for some reason. They fight it out but as usual, Rick gets his ass kicked again. He sure can take a beating. Remember The Governor just about beat him to death and it was Michonne that saved him.

“Just so you know, eeny meeny miney moe? That was bullshit. I made a choice. I just didn’t want to kill a kid’s dad in front of him. But maybe that would have been the best thing I ever done. had I done it that might still be alive” Negan tells Rick. That had to hurt. But instead of getting up and continuing to fight, Rick pleads with him to listen. They can stop the fighting. He asks for 10 seconds for Carl. Negan gives it to him. And lo and behold it works! Negan starts to cry. And then Rick slices his throat open. He felt guilty about it though after saying how Carl wanted them to make peace and all. He turns and sees everyone standing there watching.

“Save him!” Rick shouts and Sadiq rushes to Negan’s aid. Well this did not make the Widow Maggie very happy. Michonne had to hold her back while she wailed, “NOOOO! We have to make it right! It’s not over until he’s dead!”

Rick tells the surviving Saviors to put their hands down and go home. The real enemy is the Dead.

“Negan’s alive but his way of doing things is over!” Rick tells the surviving Saviors. “All this is just what was. There’s got to be something after”

Rosita punches Eugene. “That’s for the puke”
Morgan hands over his armor to Carol to give to Henry and tells her he’s moving on. (Moving to another show that is)

Then we see that scene of Rick that we saw in the season opener but didn’t understand where or when it would come into play. Rick sits against the tree with the hanging stain glass and weeps.
“My mercy prevails over my wrath”

HILLTOP

Another group of Saviors arrives at Hilltop but a plan was ready. Tara led everyone into the woods to hide. That damn baby Grace can be heard for miles! She plans to slow down the bad guys and the sweet Savior turncoat offers to help. She hesitates but then hands him the bag of guns and a small group of guys arm themselves. But they their help wan’t needed! All of a sudden those Saviors started going up in a ball of flames! It was Aaron and the Oceanside gals tossing molotov cocktails!!! We all saw that coming, didn’t we?

EPILOGUE

The sweet savior asks Maggie if he could stay. He’s been reading the book A Key To A Future and wants to try to build some of those contraptions and make Hilltop stronger. Maggie gives him the OK.

Rosita and Tara go to The Sanctuary and plan to help the Saviors build a decent community there. They’re greeted by Negan’s wives! I guess they’re considered divorced now. They might want to leave that moat of zombies though.

Daryl drives Dwight out into the woods. Dwight thinks he’s going to be executed and says he’s sorry for killing Denise and is willing to accept his fate. But Daryl lets him live and tells him to go away and never return.

“You go out there and make it right. Find her!” Daryl tells him.

He drives off to the house where he and Sherry were supposed to meet and finds a note there with some beer that says “Honeymoon”. I guess she’s still around?

Morgan shows up at the junkyard and tells Jadis that she’s welcomed at Hilltop. She tells him her real name. It’s Ann! Morgan says he’s going to stay at the junkyard because he needs to be alone.

Carol goes with King Ezekiel and Jerry back to The Kingdom to rebuild that place.

Then we get to Maggie. She tells Jesus he was right not to kill those Saviors at the outpost and that Rick was right not to kill the Saviors at the end of the battle. But she was not OK with leaving Negan alive. “We have to build this place up. Make it work better than before. We need our strength. The ability to defend ourselves better. We have to have that. But Rick and Michonne. Rick was wrong to do what he did. Michonne too. So we’re going to bide our time, wait for our moment and then we’re going to show him”

Then Daryl appears from the shadows!

“Yeah we will”

What the hell? They’re going to turn on Rick? That is crazy talk!!

Rick and Michonne tell Negan what they’re going to do with him.

“We’re not gonna kill you, we’re not gonna hurt you. You’re gonna rot in a cell.” Rick tells him. They want him to watch them build a better community and for people to see what happens to bad people. So either he will get loose one day and start trouble again or he may change and be an ally in the future. I always thought it would be fun to see Negan and Rick become friends!

Then there’s Gabey, I mean Father Gabriel who prays in his burned down church and says he can see. But I think he means ‘see’ in the spiritual sense. I think he’s still blind.

Then we see young Rick walking with a tiny little Carl walking along the road. He honored Carl’s vision. He’s going to try and build the world Carl wanted him to.

SIDE BITES

I have to say the finale felt anti-climactic. The Big Battle didn’t happen. Thanks to Eugene. And there were no losses. perhaps that was the twist but it wasn’t a satisfying one. Every character did have a revelation and that was interesting but it did not make this a great finale.

What is set up does make me interested in next season. There will probably be a time jump and I’m curious to see how bad Maggie, Jesus and Daryl become.

I figure there will be a new threat to our heroes and Rick will turn to an imprisoned Negan for help. I think these two will make a great team!

Well that’s it, folks! Now it’s on to Fear TWD! And Westworld!

Great Lines From The Episode

“Sorry, Eugene. I’m going to have to call dibs on Gabey boy myself!” Negan

“I am bigger. I am badder. And I have a bat!” Negan

“I created a modicum of phooey for a full kablooey” Eugene

Another solid episode. TWD seems to be going back to its bread and butter by doing a lot more character building and mixing in some action. Everyone is going through ‘The Carl Effect’ – especially Rick. They are struggling with how to move forward and still retain their humanity. The war with The Saviors has come with great cost and everyone is reflecting on how it will end and how much more death will come. A lot of callbacks too as Rick, Carol and Morgan deal with the memories of their lost children.

JADIS

The cold open was a flashback to the massacre at the junkyard. We see Jadis pretend to be deeds her people get wiped out. When it’s all over we see her disrobe from her filthy clothes and find that she was wearing that white slip underneath. We then see her pack her suitcase in what seems to be a designer bunker. A pristine wooden room with a bed and desk. Simple and clean. Did all her people have one of these or just her? We also see Lucille leaning against the wall. She takes Lucille and her suitcase and leaves. We then see that she’s got Negan tied up on a sled. She starts to drag him out into the middle of the junkyard. How did Negan allow himself to be in this position?

DARYL AND ROSITA

Tara did not get sick and suspects it was because Dwight didn’t dip his arrows in walker blood and guts. Daryl is less willing to accept that and just thinks she got lucky. They’re running low on ammo and assume so are The Saviors but Rosita knows they have the ‘bullet maker’ and also knows where he would be making them. Eugene took her to the place he found a few seasons ago,

Towards the end of the episode we see Daryl and Rosita scouting Eugene’s outpost. Daryl tries to work out how to attack when they are outnumbered but Rosita has a better idea. Kill the bullet maker.

RICK

Rick walks in on Michonne as she’s reading Carl’s letter to her. She asks him what he said to him but Rick still hasn’t read it. She tells him not to go out looking for food and instead staying and reading the letter. He can’t do it. He talks to the Savior not turned ally and asks where he thinks the escaping Saviors would have gone. He tells him about a dive bar a few miles away and asks Rick to try and not to kill them all. He says they made a mistake by running but that not all of them are bad people and if given the chance would return and be cooperative. Rick makes no promises.

JADIS AND NEGAN

“My wife’s name was Lucille. She got me through. I didn’t give her shit, and she got me through. Just life … regular life. The bat, that got me through this. That’s it, nothing more to do with me than that. But it is the last little piece of her that I got left.” Negan

Jadis looks to be prepared to kill Negan. Negan tries to convince her that he didn’t order the killing of her people. “People are a resource.” he tells her. He promises to settle it if she lets him go which I take to mean killing Simon. She leaves him a lone for some reason and he manages to wheel himself over to get hold of a gun and a flare. he threatens to burn Jadis’ pictures which are the last thing she has. He tells her about his wife. His wife was named Lucille and she got him through life. That bat has gotten him through the apocalypse and so he named it Lucille and it’s the last thing he has that connects him to his wife. Pretty twisted and yet touching. She rolls out a zombie decorated shopping cart and lunges towards Negan who starts shooting at it. She tries to get the flare away from him and as they struggle that infamous helicopter appears. Jades gets the flares and lights one up. She tries to signal the chopper, “I’m here! I’m here!” but it turns and flies away. “What the hell is that?” Megan is as shocked as can be!

Jadis cuts Negan loose who asks her to join him back at The Sanctuary but she refuses. He tells her he will settle things for her and promises to swing by again to see how she’s doing. She goes back to her “hipster quarters”, unpacks and lays down. What is she waiting for? What will be her next move?

MORGAN AND CAROL

“No, not me. I don’t die. I just see it. Again and again. Even when I look away, I still see it.” Morgan

Morgan goes after the runaway Saviors with the intent of killing them all. Carol goes with him not to help him but to look after him. She knows he’s ‘not right’. He sees a vision of Henry in the woods – dead. They come across a walker with Henry’s stick run through him. Morgan believes Henry to be dead and while Carol thinks it too she still must go look for him.

Carol finds Henry, miraculously, still alive! Maybe NOW he’ll listen to her about staying in the house!

DIVE BAR BRAWL

“There’s not a lot that’s worth much these days. But a man’s word … it’s gotta mean something, right?” Rick

Rick crazy with grief runs into Morgan, who’s just plain crazy and together they set out after the runaway Saviors but…they get captured instead. Sure enough, they’re hold up in that dive bar and a few of them are either sick or bit and no matter how many parts they’ve cut off of them they’ve had it. That douchebag Jarod wants to put them out of their misery and head for The Sanctuary. The others are conflicted about going back to a group that couldn’t care less for them. But they have ‘Rick the dick’ to bring to ‘the Big man’ and that is their ticket back in good graces. Rick tries to reason with them. A herd is on its way. He tells them that if they let him go that they can come back to Hilltop and they’ll get a second chance. He gives them his word. Morgan, on the other hand just sticks to his plan; kill them all and his motto; “Everyone turns!”.

The herd arrives and some of the Saviors cut Rick and Morgan loose and take on the herd. But as they get control of the situation and even after Rick is saved by on of the Saviors, Rick and Morgan proceed to kill them all! I was stunned! Herod manages to get a way and Morgan goes after him. They have a knock down, drag out and eventually Morgan traps him in a rook filled with walkers who bit off his face and then chow down on the rest of him as Morgan watches with a satisfied grimace.

Rick finds one Savior still alive and Rick shoots him in the head. Cold as ice. He feels a little remorse and questions Morgan about why he saved Rick way back when in the pilot episode

“Just tell me. Why’d you save me?” Rick
“Because my son was there.” Morgan

RETURN TO HILLTOP

“Dude” Jerry

Jerry is very excited when Carol arrives back at Hilltop with that little psychopath Henry. King Ezekiel was also happy to Henry and that Carol was the one that found him. Carol opens up to him about Sofia and that she sometimes shuts down when children are involved but she finds the strength to grow and evolve. Something she hopes Morgan can do and Michonne hopes Rick can do.

When Morgan and Rick arrive Morgan is stunned to see Henry alive. He actually reaches out to touch him to see if he’s actually there at first. He tells him that he killed the one that killed his brother, that he killed them all. Henry touches his arms and says he’s sorry. “Don’t ever be sorry” Morgan tells him

Rick gets cleaned up, he and Michonne tell each other they love each other and he finally sits down to read Carl’s letter. I was expecting to hear Carl’s voice narrate the letter but we don’t get that. We’re left to see Carl’s word register on Rick’s face in silence…..for now.

DADDY’S HOME

While Negan drives back to The Sanctuary he spots someone on the road, pulls over, pops open the door and says “Get in!”. So many secrets!

Then he gets to The Sanctuary gates and tells them not to say anything about his return. He has some ’surprises’ for certain people. I’m thinking Simon. Will it be the furnace or Lucille or does Negan have some new form of torture planned?

SIDE BITES

Although not as exciting as the last two episodes, Ep14 was nicely written and effective. Several storylines were satisfyingly handled.

Who is Jadis? Is she some sort of satellite scout for a whole other group? Who is in the helicopter? How was she able to communicate with them or does it come by on a regular basis?

Jades is a whole other person underneath the dirt and grime. She had that white slip under her ‘costume’ and that pristine room as her living quarters. She certainly is more interesting now than she was when we first met her.

Negan continues to reveal a more vulnerable side, setting him up to be saved at the end of the season. Prepare yourself.

Daryl and Rosita plan to kill Eugene? Pub-Lease! Ain’t going to happen!

5 THINGS I THINK I KNOW

1 Negan will deliver Simon to Jadis so she can kill him. This should surprise Simon.
2 Maggie cannot die. AMC will make a deal with her.
3 Tara will bite the dust
4 Father Gabriel will give his life protecting Eugene.
5 Negan picked up Dwight’s wife. And that will certainly be a surprise to Dwight.