Squawking Dead

Be careful what you wish for: when you get it, you might realize you never really wanted it to begin with. Negan's & The Croat's liberation? Maggie Rhee's & Hershel Rhee's safety? Pearlie Armstrong's / New Babylon Federation's methane? Ginny's Revenge?

Negan has understood, for a little while now, that the only way out is through. That also means revisiting/learning from your own history which, fortunately for him, The Croat wasn't around long enough to experience. Ginny & Hershel Rhee are spared a hard lesson about the price of ambition: there's always more than a choice between two actions.

This episode says, "Hey buddy! How `bout a mouth full-a Bruegel?" The concept of "rules" is repeated: we all follow some. The Croat is slowly falling from The Dama's grace while Ginny's purpose has become clear. So where does that leave Hershel Rhee and Maggie Rhee?

The Season finale begs many questions. Why do we fight? Who are we fighting for? How much are we willing to lose in the pursuit? With a gigantic cliffhanger, maybe we'll find out what makes BOTH Abby Anderson and Ellie Williams so special.

"You Swore." We all break `em - from time to time - but the universe held the cost of Joel Miller's broken promises to Ellie Williams to high account... right when she was willing to indulge seeing past them. Will she manage to do better than those who came before her?

How do we face loss? Do we go it alone or do we take the time to surround ourselves with loved ones? Do we burn out or fade away? Do we survive at all costs or cut our losses? Similarly, is Hershel Rhee's ambitions more altruistic than on face value or has The Dama completely brainwashed him?

Whether or not you had a similarly visceral reaction - as Dave did - to what Victor meant on The Walking Dead: Dead City, this interview is worth the watch for Logan Schmucker's personality alone! Between the sense of humor he shares with his character down to his growth as an actor/musician/HUMAN, you'll get an eye-opening look into both his journey and a peek behind-the-scenes, too!

Every survivor has a similar, uniquely horrifying origin story. Some have multiple, with each event threatening to fundamentally alter us. Will the arrival of Jesse & Tommy Miller accelerate or alter Ellie Williams' metamorphosis? Will the vision of Joel Miller do the same?

Dave surprises us all with a rather emotional response to Negan's scene with Victor. It reflects the overall theme of this episode: a parent's role and relationship with their children. Does Maggie Rhee hold on tightly or let go lightly with Hershel Rhee? Do we meet the expectations others have of us? Will The Dama eradicate her own "children" to maintain her dominance?

Why do we fight? Who are we fighting for? When did we become the very villain we were once trying to defeat? How does one break the cycle of violence? We can't help but ask these questions as we reach Seattle, meet Isaac Dixon, and discover Dina is pregnant.

In a very dark way, history seems to be repeating itself with the ones who originally wrote it - Maggie Rhee & Negan - at the forefront. Who's to say which of these two factions - New Babylon Federation or The Dama - are the unstoppable force or the immovable object? The question is: If progress is inevitable, who's version of it will win out?

Joe Leaphorn manages to relate to almost every single character - in particular, our villains - this episode/season. So many characters mirror other characters (especially Joe and Bernadette Manuelito), some where you least suspect (wait... Roberto "Budge" DeBaca & Silvia Washington?) It's safe to say that we get a lot more than we thought we would out of this season finale.

Months have passed and the ice has melted. Ellie Williams refuses to visit the grave of her father, Joel Miller, until she knows she's on the (war)path towards ending Abby Anderson and her crew at the WLF / Washington Liberation Front.

This episode was livestreamed on our YouTube Channel. Subscribe and be sure to enable all notifications so that your insights make it into this episode!Well, they actually did it, folks: The Last of Us had it's Glenn Rhee (a la The Walking Dead) moment. The therapy circle will dig into how we feel about it; however, let's not take our eye off the ball with respect to show's version of Stalkers and how the infected were able to breach Jackson.

After having experienced a cathartic revelation (and a whole lot of much needed sleep), ironically provided by Ernesto Cata's murderer, Joe Leaphorn emerges from it determined/focused (despite his condition/relationship status). Simultaneously, Bernadette Manuelito cracks her case, at the expense of misplaced trust.

This episode was originally Livestreamed on our YouTube Channel: be a part of this episode by joining us in the next one!This season kicks off by bookending its premiere with the introduction of Abby Anderson: both in the aftermath of Season 1 and (5 years later) in the present. It's trouble in (relative) paradise for Ellie Williams & Joel Miller (and, soon, the remaining residents of Jackson, Wyoming).

Joe Leaphorn finds a level deeper into his troubled psyche, within which we're able to visualize his inner turmoil. Between the Navajo creation myth of the Hero Twins and the appearances of Henry Leaphorn & Silvia Washington, we take a hard look at what justice looks like from different perspectives.

There's a light at the end of the COAL MINE as Joe Leaphorn's torture reaches the depths of its CANYON. Budge's advice/warning to Bernadette Manuelito: not everything is as it appears with Ivan Muñoz. We hyper-analyze Silvia Washington and spend time on The Pollen Path (via Margaret Cigaret / Mother / Listening Woman).

DARKNESS FALLS on Joe Leaphorn & Emma Leaphorn, as well as Jim Chee & Bernadette Manuelito. Quite literally on Michael Halsey! The shadow of suspicion is cast on all U.S. Border Patrol Officers... and (THOUGH WE ALL HATE IT) maybe even Gordo Sena.

Connections between the border and the rez are made via Bernadette Manuelito's discovery at Spenser Ranch and what Jim Chee finds at the chili farm. But what does that have to do with the death of Ernesto Cata and the disappearance of Shorty Bowlegs' son, George Bowlegs? Will Silvia Washington become an obstacle for Joe Leaphorn?