I really enjoyed this two episode finale, the entire season was great. FTWD has come a long way. I hope that the change of showrunners does not affect the momentum and quality storytelling of this series, especially after what happened with TWD. Please, don't mess this one up, Gimple! I have my fingers crossed for season 4.
I give a lot of leeway for artistic license, especially with this finale because I understand that Dave Erickson had to leave it open-ended so the new showrunners could take over. They did a good job, considering, but I don't understand why Erickson did not know the new showrunners' exact intentions. Did they not collaborate much? When I think of the fact that we don't know the fate of most of the main characters except for Madison, and have to wait such a long time to find out, it is eerily reminiscent of the finale of TWD season 6 - which was a gimmick, torturing fans by making them wait so long to see who lived or died. I do not think that Fear is using the gimmick in the same way, but I wonder if the new showrunners just thought it was okay to have an ending like that because they did it before, instead of working with Erickson more. Overall, knowing that the ending of this season would've been different if Erickson was not leaving, and knowing that Gimple's camp will be taking over has made me more critical of this finale and uneasy about season 4.
In 'Things Bad Begun' the Clark's are tired of fighting losing battles, risking their lives and going to extremes trying to create a safe home, and each character is reacting differently. You'd think that post apocalypse, people would realize it's in their best interest to not fight each other and spend their energy on real problems like the walkers, finding food and water, but no - they fight each other at their own expense, just like everyone did pre-apocalypse. Same problems that society has in real life, not only in TWD universe. No one can force everyone to work together for the good of all.
I guess Nick wants to party due to the guilt over killing Troy's dad and because they just lost the ranch. I don't think he will let himself become addicted again like he was in season 1 though, he seems to always find a place for himself no matter where he is, even if it's just making money for harvesting locus ceruleus. It's interesting that FTWD finds uses for walker parts, no matter how gross, we haven't seen anything quite like that in TWD.
Victor tells Madison that she can create a home for her kids' future at the dam like she wanted to do at the ranch, and offers her liquor to make it not seem so bleak. We can see past her badass-ness, she is still the same mother who wants the best for her kids as she did pre- apocalypse. When Madison is telling Victor how she longed for Christmas with family like it was pre-apocalypse, the specificity used with the term 'iced angel cookies' made me wonder if the phrase was used as a literary device, or maybe it was used as part of the religious theme we often see in TWD universe.
It seems that Alicia is not sticking to her plan to be alone, she's driving around with a new friend looking for food and supplies. I was under the impression that she was going to a cabin that Jake told her about so she could live by herself. What's up with that? The car crash was a good surprise and was a well thought out way to move the plot forward to introduce her to Proctor John.
At the dam, Daniel is shaving in a yucky old sink that resembles Madison's bleak view of making a home at the dam. Daniel wants revenge for his daughter's death, and I absolutely love how the show played that out; he innocently lured Nick inside the room to sit and talk with him, like he's just a sad father wanting to know about Ophelia's death, then threatened him with the fact that his job was interrogation and torture. The writers' creativity went even further, with how Daniel got the real truth from Nick even though he lied. When Daniel told him that the only people who could be responsible was either him (Nick), Jake, or Troy, then without hesitation Nick replied that it was Jake, it was like a mother asking a toddler with a mouthful of cookies if he got into the cookie jar and the toddler said 'no' - sounds funny, but the writing and acting worked well. Also, maybe Nick knew that Daniel would not torture him since they know each other so well, so he just made it obvious he was lying so he wouldn't feel responsible for getting Troy killed due to his guilt for killing Jeremiah. This scene shows the huge difference in life experience between the two, and points out how much Nick does not want Troy to be killed. He sees himself in Troy, the flaws caused by his parents and the fact that he lost his own father too. Nick knows that Daniel knows who was responsible for steering the herd to the ranch, even though he left Daniel with the ending statement that it was Jake, not Troy. It's scenes like this that really make an episode great.
Madison's Christmas fantasy shows her loneliness and how the characters have had to change post apocalypse.
I give a lot of leeway for artistic license, especially with this finale because I understand that Dave Erickson had to leave it open-ended so the new showrunners could take over. They did a good job, considering, but I don't understand why Erickson did not know the new showrunners' exact intentions. Did they not collaborate much? When I think of the fact that we don't know the fate of most of the main characters except for Madison, and have to wait such a long time to find out, it is eerily reminiscent of the finale of TWD season 6 - which was a gimmick, torturing fans by making them wait so long to see who lived or died. I do not think that Fear is using the gimmick in the same way, but I wonder if the new showrunners just thought it was okay to have an ending like that because they did it before, instead of working with Erickson more. Overall, knowing that the ending of this season would've been different if Erickson was not leaving, and knowing that Gimple's camp will be taking over has made me more critical of this finale and uneasy about season 4.
In 'Things Bad Begun' the Clark's are tired of fighting losing battles, risking their lives and going to extremes trying to create a safe home, and each character is reacting differently. You'd think that post apocalypse, people would realize it's in their best interest to not fight each other and spend their energy on real problems like the walkers, finding food and water, but no - they fight each other at their own expense, just like everyone did pre-apocalypse. Same problems that society has in real life, not only in TWD universe. No one can force everyone to work together for the good of all.
I guess Nick wants to party due to the guilt over killing Troy's dad and because they just lost the ranch. I don't think he will let himself become addicted again like he was in season 1 though, he seems to always find a place for himself no matter where he is, even if it's just making money for harvesting locus ceruleus. It's interesting that FTWD finds uses for walker parts, no matter how gross, we haven't seen anything quite like that in TWD.
Victor tells Madison that she can create a home for her kids' future at the dam like she wanted to do at the ranch, and offers her liquor to make it not seem so bleak. We can see past her badass-ness, she is still the same mother who wants the best for her kids as she did pre- apocalypse. When Madison is telling Victor how she longed for Christmas with family like it was pre-apocalypse, the specificity used with the term 'iced angel cookies' made me wonder if the phrase was used as a literary device, or maybe it was used as part of the religious theme we often see in TWD universe.
It seems that Alicia is not sticking to her plan to be alone, she's driving around with a new friend looking for food and supplies. I was under the impression that she was going to a cabin that Jake told her about so she could live by herself. What's up with that? The car crash was a good surprise and was a well thought out way to move the plot forward to introduce her to Proctor John.
At the dam, Daniel is shaving in a yucky old sink that resembles Madison's bleak view of making a home at the dam. Daniel wants revenge for his daughter's death, and I absolutely love how the show played that out; he innocently lured Nick inside the room to sit and talk with him, like he's just a sad father wanting to know about Ophelia's death, then threatened him with the fact that his job was interrogation and torture. The writers' creativity went even further, with how Daniel got the real truth from Nick even though he lied. When Daniel told him that the only people who could be responsible was either him (Nick), Jake, or Troy, then without hesitation Nick replied that it was Jake, it was like a mother asking a toddler with a mouthful of cookies if he got into the cookie jar and the toddler said 'no' - sounds funny, but the writing and acting worked well. Also, maybe Nick knew that Daniel would not torture him since they know each other so well, so he just made it obvious he was lying so he wouldn't feel responsible for getting Troy killed due to his guilt for killing Jeremiah. This scene shows the huge difference in life experience between the two, and points out how much Nick does not want Troy to be killed. He sees himself in Troy, the flaws caused by his parents and the fact that he lost his own father too. Nick knows that Daniel knows who was responsible for steering the herd to the ranch, even though he left Daniel with the ending statement that it was Jake, not Troy. It's scenes like this that really make an episode great.
Madison's Christmas fantasy shows her loneliness and how the characters have had to change post apocalypse.