611: "Au Revoir les Enfants" Listener Feedback

[00:00:37] Hey Zetheads, welcome to the podcast. I'm Jason. And I'm Lucy. And I'm Peter. And I've now moved to Scotland. I'm happy here at home with my two new roomies, right? It's great. You were here so quickly. I know. I took the red eye. You know, I, we didn't even have time to get the shed ready for you, Jason. We're gonna have to keep you indoors until, uh, I'm not picky. Beggars can't be choosers.

[00:01:03] Uh, no, no. I'm here in San Francisco and we're going through your feedback for The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon season two, episode six. Au Revoir les Enfants. And welcome Peter. I'm glad you wanted to join us for this one.

[00:01:15] You know, it was worth it just for the French accent that you did there, Jason. I was really expecting less French, but you really, you really brought every ounce of it there.

[00:01:25] I mean- Oh, we do the whole podcast in French. Did you not know?

[00:01:28] Or should I, or is it, is it every gram? I think it might be every gram.

[00:01:34] I really try to bring back my high school French and I think it's, um, maybe only 75% embarrassing. I don't know.

[00:01:42] But, um, I want to mention the big elephant in the room before we get started where we got tons of feedback, which is great.

[00:01:48] Um, but it's also the day after the election and I'm just going to come out, right. And say that I'm pretty heartbroken about it.

[00:01:56] And there's a lot of reasons why I'm not going to go into all of them. I don't want to dwell on it because that's not what this podcast is about.

[00:02:03] And, and, but I felt like I should mention it and be honest about it. And, um, I just want to mention the biggest reason that I'm upset is that we have all these extreme weather events around the world.

[00:02:14] And those have shown that the climate scientists were right. They've been saying for decades that we're causing this and people are dying and costs are skyrocketing because of it.

[00:02:26] You know, people argue that you can't shut down coal mines because people be out of jobs.

[00:02:33] The planet is more important than that. We need to figure out how to help these people and also not kill the planet. It's so clear to me. If this was a Bruce Willis movie, Bruce Willis wouldn't be like, let's not worry about the asteroid because we don't, we just can't, we, the economics don't work.

[00:02:49] So anyway, um, Joe Biden passed the largest, strongest climate bill in human history. People think he didn't do anything. He did a lot. If you pay attention and, and it was the biggest investment in clean energy that would also provide jobs and boost the U S economy by the way, and be a significant stake in the ground about doing something about climate change.

[00:03:12] Uh, and Trump calls this the green new scam and he will probably repeal it now.

[00:03:17] And I know that this is not all about kids for everyone about their kids.

[00:03:22] And that's totally fine. But for me, it's about my kids, Nico and Bodhi, and wanting them to have a habitable world to grow up in.

[00:03:28] And I'm really scared for them. And I'm heartbroken because people who voted for Trump, you just voted against my children. That's how I feel about it.

[00:03:38] So that's why it really hurts. And, uh, I could talk for another couple hours about all the other reasons why this upset me, but

[00:03:47] this podcast isn't about that. And I was thinking about it, you know, all we can ever do in life is make the best of what we have.

[00:03:56] If you lose something, then you reset to where you are and you make the best of that. And that's what I'm going to keep doing. And that is what this podcast is about.

[00:04:04] And, and so that's what we're going to do. But in the meantime, personally, I'm going to hope that before too much more damage is done, we'll have a chance to turn things back around.

[00:04:13] So I'm going to keep that hope alive. Uh, that's where I'm at. I don't know if either one of you wants to say anything.

[00:04:21] I think for me, it's about women and where women stand now. Um, because women, uh, non-binary folks, people who fall on all different edges of the spectrum of queerness and wonderfulness in the world have just been dealt an absolute sack of shit. Um, and there won't be any more children. If you know, well, there will be, there will be many, many, many children because women will no longer have a choice about what happens there.

[00:04:47] And that makes me sad and sick and it ties directly into climate problems as well. And I'm just, I'm heartbroken for, for y'all. I feel, I feel desperately sad that it's come to this. Um, and I hope for the best in the next four years, but I don't know what the best looks like. Um, and I will fight for every right for every single one of the people out there who need us to be allies right now. Um, because, um,

[00:05:17] that's all we can do. Well said Peter's gone quiet. Oh no, he froze. Peter's like, well, actually I think, and I'm like, shut up time for debate. No, I'm just kidding.

[00:05:31] Um, no, I think it's, it, it, it's so, it, it's so nice when you, when you hear something that essentially makes you feel really sad, um, to, to hear other people being sort of open and empathetic.

[00:05:47] And caring about each other. I think, um, I think it really takes, you know, takes away some of the hardness of that feeling. So it was just lovely to hear both of you expressing that.

[00:05:58] Thank you. That's what, that's what this podcast has always been about. I appreciate you calling that out. That's great.

[00:06:06] And it is, and will always remain a space for anyone who wants to come and listen to us talk about zombies and the walking dead and fireflies. Anyone, anyone. I don't hold, you know, I don't want anyone to feel like they can't, but I want people on both sides.

[00:06:21] Yeah. And we're not going to start focusing on politics, but it's just, it's, this just happened. It's a big deal. And I thought it would be disingenuous to just go, okay, let's pretend everything's fine. Cause it's not.

[00:06:33] Yeah. And I mean, if you listen to us, you know, you can, you're not, you know, you can read where we stand on these things, but anyone has just dropped their phone in shock. Like what? Then I'm like, you're not listening.

[00:06:45] All right. But let's move along. And one more thing I did want to mention before we get into the feedback, Lucy, you mentioned the part where I looked it up. This character's name is actually Fiona. It sounded like Shona, but anyway, that's what the list is.

[00:06:58] Yeah. I don't know. I heard Shona too. Anyway, that woman was talking about the UK or England and said, actually army took over, got things locked down pretty quick. The Island was good when we left. That's really intriguing when you really think about it. Cause it makes me wonder if there'll be more structure than we're used to. If they end up going to England for a little while, you know? Um, I mean the outpost in the, in the channel was broken down. So maybe that's all gone now, but I would kind of like it if we saw a little bit more structure,

[00:07:27] kind of like in the last of us, you know? Yeah. Well, it would have been, so here, if it was 2010, when the zombie apocalypse started, was it the first year of the Cameron government? Do you think the Cameron government would have locked down?

[00:07:40] Peter's smiling. We are getting back into politics. We've just had the, uh, we've just had the financial crisis. We're all, uh, there's no budget.

[00:07:47] We're about to be bankrupt. Yeah. We're like, oh no. Would we have, would we have prioritized, um, zombies or, uh, saving Northern Rock?

[00:07:56] Or keeping other Europeans out. We do like that. So, you know, Brexit on a budget. What can I say?

[00:08:03] Oh yeah. Out with Zeds.

[00:08:07] Before we get into the feedback, we should ask Peter, uh, what do you think about the Daryl show? You've been watching the whole time, right?

[00:08:15] You know, I have been, and I, I was, I was excited about the premise. I, Daryl, I don't, I don't think Daryl's ever been my favorite character,

[00:08:24] but this, this felt adventurous. Um, and it, it looked a bit different and they expanded the world.

[00:08:31] And I, I, I like when a show takes a big swing that, you know, that's always, um, that's always exciting for me, whether it works or it doesn't.

[00:08:39] Um, I found myself in a, in a funny place with the second season where I could see that they were,

[00:08:46] they, they seemed to be essentially resetting the premise of the show by really, really ditching most of the French plot lines,

[00:08:52] killing most of the French characters, um, every, every point in the reporting line for evil leader.

[00:09:02] Um, and I got a bit nervous when I thought,

[00:09:07] Oh, is this a bit like when fear of the walking dead decided that it was going to be a completely different show?

[00:09:12] Yeah, it did feel like that. It, the only weird thing about it is,

[00:09:17] except there wasn't a change in showrunner. So it was like, why are you getting rid of the stuff that you developed?

[00:09:24] Yeah. And I know, I know it, I know it's filth to mention fear of the walking dead, um, in, in, in this company.

[00:09:30] So I apologize to both of you for, um, just dragging you back into that, but yeah, it took me to this complicated place where I thought,

[00:09:37] Oh, they're trying things out. They're being experimental. I'm excited about that.

[00:09:41] I remember there was also a point where I was a bit excited about fear of the walking dead is trying a new thing.

[00:09:46] Absolutely.

[00:09:46] And then it became horrible. So I hope that I continue being excited that they're trying new things and not sad that it's horrible.

[00:09:53] I need to ask you, Peter, are you a writer on the Daryl Dixon show?

[00:09:56] Cause you kept guessing things in a way that I wasn't guessing them when we were watching it.

[00:10:01] You were like, you were like, Oh, he's going to go to the plane with us. And I'm like, what? No, he's not. Shut up.

[00:10:05] And then there's something else that you guessed. And I was like, Oh, probably right.

[00:10:08] What if that's, what if that's the destiny that I missed?

[00:10:11] I was born to write season two of Daryl Dixon.

[00:10:16] I know I made all the wrong career choices and now it's, now it's gone. It's already happened.

[00:10:20] Well, what's your next big prediction just so we can be ready for it?

[00:10:27] I think what I'd, I'd, I'd love to happen. And my prediction is it absolutely won't.

[00:10:33] I would love when they get to the other side of the tunnel that we see a country that actually didn't collapse.

[00:10:41] Yeah.

[00:10:42] I think that'd be really cool. I think that'd be fun. It would, it would shake up the whole thing.

[00:10:46] You kind of explore new possibilities in the show. My prediction is no one is that kind to me. It's not going to happen.

[00:10:53] I know we're all going to be disappointed.

[00:10:55] I mean, it all collapsed.

[00:10:56] The weird thing about that would be if they were like, Oh, why didn't you contact anybody in the U S and like, don't tell the U S.

[00:11:12] That's funny.

[00:11:13] All right. Well, that's great. I'm glad to get your perspective. Let's head into some feedback.

[00:11:23] So we're going to go through some late feedback that we got for last week's episode first, and then we'll get into the finale.

[00:11:30] So would you like to read the one message we got on that Peter?

[00:11:35] I'd love to. So this is from episode five. I'm not going to try to pronounce it because I don't have Jason's pronunciation skills.

[00:11:44] It's bouloir, sest, pover.

[00:11:47] Oh, you just had to.

[00:11:49] The lawyer, sest, pover.

[00:11:52] It's like he was walking on the street and he suddenly just did a deep lunge in front of me for no reason.

[00:12:00] We have Bethany.

[00:12:02] Bethany says, Hey, Lucy and Jason.

[00:12:04] Bethany from ye olde York here.

[00:12:06] Oh, yeah.

[00:12:06] That's amazing.

[00:12:08] I've only just started writing in the last few episodes because I actually started listening to the podcast this year.

[00:12:14] I was the one that dropped off the main show after Glenn's brutal end.

[00:12:18] I think she was just one, not the one.

[00:12:21] The one viewer we loved.

[00:12:23] It was more than one, wasn't it?

[00:12:24] One of me.

[00:12:25] Maybe one or two.

[00:12:27] You're quite right.

[00:12:28] I appreciate that.

[00:12:29] This is why you're the pro, Lucy.

[00:12:31] I was one that dropped off the main show after Glenn's brutal end.

[00:12:35] But then with the Daryl show coming out, I decided to watch the rest of the main show.

[00:12:39] That's when I found your podcast.

[00:12:41] And I've just recently caught up to the present.

[00:12:43] Lucy, when you mentioned one day that you were now living in York, I was like, what?

[00:12:47] No way.

[00:12:48] That's awesome.

[00:12:49] Anywho.

[00:12:50] So, yeah.

[00:12:50] North Yorkshire TWD meet up anyone?

[00:12:53] Yes.

[00:12:54] Absolutely.

[00:12:55] Yeah.

[00:12:55] Just a few thoughts on the episode.

[00:12:57] When Lo Sang went to look for Laurent.

[00:13:00] Laurent, Jason?

[00:13:01] Laurent.

[00:13:02] Oui, oui.

[00:13:03] Laurent.

[00:13:04] For Lou's place.

[00:13:05] I was thinking, did no one consider that that's the first place he'd look?

[00:13:09] They didn't seem prepared for that eventuality at all, although they did best him with some mighty fine clapping.

[00:13:15] So I guess it all worked out.

[00:13:18] I might be alone in this, but I'm getting some weird, sinister vibes from Anna.

[00:13:23] She seemed to treat her employees.

[00:13:24] Would we call them employees?

[00:13:26] Not all that well.

[00:13:27] And they didn't seem all that happy working under her.

[00:13:30] Some of them.

[00:13:31] Yeah, yeah.

[00:13:33] She appears to be helping Daryl and crew, giving them fuel.

[00:13:36] But she had just sent her men after the plane in what seemed to be sort of an attack on Ash.

[00:13:41] So I wonder if she's got something up her sleeve.

[00:13:44] Also, do we know why Ash was at the building under the hill place?

[00:13:48] I forget what it's called.

[00:13:50] Jene's Palace.

[00:13:51] And how he just happened to end up in a car with some Super Z serum?

[00:13:55] No.

[00:13:56] I think Daryl knew the Super Zs would attack the others, because that's what happened when he was fighting Gladiator Styles with Quinn last season.

[00:14:02] Yes.

[00:14:04] I would also totally watch a Cadron and LeRong spin-off.

[00:14:07] I'm glad Cadron has sort of been redeemed, as I've always liked that character.

[00:14:15] It might be because the actor always seems so genuinely happy to be a part of the show when he does interviews and just seems like a really nice guy.

[00:14:23] Anyway, thanks for the prod, you guys.

[00:14:26] Always enjoy listening.

[00:14:27] Okay, bye.

[00:14:28] Bye.

[00:14:28] Bye.

[00:14:29] Oh, yay, Bethany.

[00:14:30] We have to have a York meetup.

[00:14:31] That sounds great.

[00:14:32] Yeah, send pictures, guys.

[00:14:35] All right, we got a few calls about that episode.

[00:14:37] Here's one from Rebecca.

[00:14:40] Hi, Jason, Lucy, and Veronica.

[00:14:42] I'm pretty sure I'm sending this in late, but better late than ever.

[00:14:47] Feedback for Daryl Dixon's show, the latest episode five.

[00:14:52] Ash is being petty.

[00:14:55] He knew damn well with Carol's lie that they were potentially going to go back with one, maybe two full-size adults.

[00:15:02] And he didn't say anything about cargo load then.

[00:15:04] But after finding out that Carol lied, now he's like, oh, well, oops, we can't fit four people on this plane.

[00:15:12] I think he's being straight up petty.

[00:15:14] I don't think it's a plot hole.

[00:15:15] I think he was super hurt and upset with Carol.

[00:15:18] And he's turning the tables on her, which I'm not mad at him about.

[00:15:24] You know, like, I get it.

[00:15:25] I'd be pissed too.

[00:15:28] So that'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

[00:15:32] I'm pausing it.

[00:15:33] I think that has to be a plot hole because otherwise Carol would say, well, didn't you think that I was going to be bringing Ed back, Ash?

[00:15:40] You know.

[00:15:41] Ash is like, I love you.

[00:15:43] What?

[00:15:46] I, like I said before, I do like Daryl's action movie scenes where he gets all stuntman, like, goes crazy.

[00:15:56] I do like it.

[00:15:57] So in the catacombs, like when he went, he went ham on Losang with that skull.

[00:16:02] I mean, got to remember, that guy killed potentially Daryl's love of his life.

[00:16:07] We don't know what, how far and deep it would have gone with Isabel, but, you know, potentially the love of his life.

[00:16:13] So that was a very personal kill.

[00:16:15] And I was there for it.

[00:16:18] So anyway, that's just what I wanted to say.

[00:16:21] Don't get bit.

[00:16:22] Talk to y'all later.

[00:16:23] Bye.

[00:16:24] Yay, Rebecca.

[00:16:25] I like that fight too.

[00:16:26] I liked it.

[00:16:27] It was cool.

[00:16:29] All right.

[00:16:29] Here is Megan.

[00:16:31] Oh, Megan.

[00:16:32] Hi guys.

[00:16:33] This is Megan Lehman in Pennsylvania.

[00:16:34] I was calling to just kind of give a few thoughts that I've had for this season on the Daryl show.

[00:16:41] I've been a little behind on the podcast, so I keep missing the cutoff each week for comments.

[00:16:46] I agree with you guys that the way that they transitioned to Carol coming in and just basically completely eliminated Daryl's love interest and killed her off.

[00:16:58] And he barely batted an eye and just moved on.

[00:17:00] I mean, that was pretty awful.

[00:17:02] I think we need to do a social media campaign hashtag justice for, I already forgot her name.

[00:17:08] Isn't that horrible?

[00:17:09] We're on sand.

[00:17:10] What the heck's your name?

[00:17:12] Anyway, justice for her because she was done dirty.

[00:17:15] And I was much more excited to see how she and Carol would coexist or, you know, butt heads and things like that.

[00:17:23] But I was so happy when Carol and Daryl reunited.

[00:17:26] It was just so well done when they saw each other in absolute disbelief, at least on his part, and ran to hug each other.

[00:17:33] And he started to cry.

[00:17:34] Oh, Isabel, that was her name?

[00:17:36] Hey, I'm over 40.

[00:17:37] My brain doesn't work anymore.

[00:17:39] But notice he shed tears when he reunited with Carol but did not shed tears before Isabel died.

[00:17:44] That combined with the fact that he couldn't say I love you back or I don't know.

[00:17:49] I think he really respected her and had an interest in her, cared for her.

[00:17:53] But I don't know.

[00:17:54] Maybe he just couldn't quite go that far with her.

[00:17:57] So at any rate, hey, the Daryl and Carol team up is always good.

[00:18:01] I am on board with that.

[00:18:03] A couple little details I wanted to respond to.

[00:18:06] Thank you.

[00:18:35] Paris before the ZA.

[00:18:37] She was a pickpocket and a thief.

[00:18:39] And she used sleight of hand.

[00:18:40] And she was really good with things like that.

[00:18:42] So it would have stood to reason she could have done that.

[00:18:44] And in fact, when she reached around the side and held Daryl's hand, I thought she was going to turn and reveal that her other hand was free too.

[00:18:52] But alas, they did not go that route.

[00:18:55] Another thing, the couple that Carol was friends with, the gay fellas there who turned her in in order to get their freedom.

[00:19:03] I guarantee you, they were shot in the head and left in a ditch alongside the road somewhere.

[00:19:09] When Janae said, oh, drop them off anywhere they want to go in Paris.

[00:19:13] I was like, no, you guys are dead.

[00:19:15] So I don't think we'll ever see them again.

[00:19:18] And also the other older couple that we saw at the farm.

[00:19:23] When he said that he sold carrots to the Nazis during World War II, I was immediately like, he's going to turn them in.

[00:19:30] He's a narc.

[00:19:31] I know it.

[00:19:31] He's going to switch allegiances.

[00:19:33] And exactly that's what it was.

[00:19:36] And finally, when Carol was seeing flashbacks to the barn doors and having like PTSD whenever she saw barn doors, I have not heard anyone mention.

[00:19:45] But somebody said on the podcast that like that was the first time she had seen barn doors since, you know, Sophia.

[00:19:52] Sophia, that's not true because actually when she first had that flashback, I thought she was flashing back to when they were on the road between the prison and Alexandria.

[00:20:01] And that tornado came through and they were in that barn overnight.

[00:20:04] And the tornado almost shook the barn apart and they all ran over and held the doors shut.

[00:20:07] When I saw that like flashback of barn doors rattling or whatever, that's what I thought of first.

[00:20:12] So I guess the writers forgot about that part.

[00:20:15] But at any rate, again, just some random observations.

[00:20:19] Hopefully I will be able to comment right away on the finale.

[00:20:22] Hope everyone survives election week next week.

[00:20:25] Bye.

[00:20:27] I'm Megan.

[00:20:28] She's running an obstacle course while she called in.

[00:20:32] That's impressive.

[00:20:33] With baby Vienna.

[00:20:34] With a baby on her back.

[00:20:36] I don't remember if Carol was in that barn, but she could have been.

[00:20:41] Yeah, she would be.

[00:20:43] Probably.

[00:20:43] Were they all together?

[00:20:44] Were they all together?

[00:20:45] With that point?

[00:20:45] Because there was a, you know, time in there when they were all.

[00:20:48] This was between Terminus and Alexandria.

[00:20:50] In between.

[00:20:50] Oh, you're right.

[00:20:50] Yeah.

[00:20:51] Okay.

[00:20:51] Makes sense.

[00:20:52] Yeah.

[00:20:52] Carol saved him.

[00:20:55] Good point.

[00:20:56] Would have been a little weird for her to start freaking out in the middle of a storm.

[00:21:00] But I guess if she's going to freak out at barn, she's going to freak out at barns.

[00:21:03] Barn phobia isn't logical.

[00:21:05] Yeah.

[00:21:05] It just happens.

[00:21:06] It's very serious affliction.

[00:21:07] Very specific and severe affliction.

[00:21:10] I'm sorry to anyone listening who is genuinely scared of barns.

[00:21:14] All right.

[00:21:14] And then we got one more call on this last week's episode from Dodie.

[00:21:20] Hi, Lucy and Jason.

[00:21:21] This is Dodie from Wells, Maine.

[00:21:24] Sorry I didn't get this in on time, but I did want to send some feedback on this episode.

[00:21:28] In spite of its continued flaws in writing, there were some things I loved.

[00:21:34] I was so happy to be back with the community in Paris.

[00:21:38] For me, they were the counterpoint of what a faith community can be compared to LaSang's cult.

[00:21:45] I love the way Falou challenged him, pointing out that faith which requires proof is not faith at all.

[00:21:52] I also love that they met him and his men with peaceful resistance, rather than simply picking up weapons and indiscriminately killing LaSang and everybody with him, which has generally been the go-to this season.

[00:22:05] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:06] That's a good point.

[00:22:07] They used solidarity.

[00:22:08] Yeah.

[00:22:08] Expressed with their clapping.

[00:22:10] De Show LaSang that he did not have their support for what he was doing.

[00:22:15] And in the process, offering a distraction and noise to help cover up Laurent's escape.

[00:22:21] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:21] I realize that this is an apocalyptic action series and a certain level of violence is de rigueur.

[00:22:27] But it was refreshing to see passive resistance modeled for a change.

[00:22:32] I also love the exchange between Cordon and Laurent.

[00:22:37] This series brings up thoughts about what a Messiah really is.

[00:22:41] The word means anointed one, someone given purpose by God or the divine.

[00:22:47] The power to offer forgiveness in a world where so many are driven to do terrible things should not be undersold.

[00:22:54] And I agree with what Isabel said in episode four.

[00:22:59] What the walking dead world needs is not just a solution to the zombie problem, but guidance in how to become human again in the best sense of the word.

[00:23:08] That conversation with Cordon suggests to me that Laurent could become that kind of leader.

[00:23:15] I also liked Isabel's comment last week about how Messiahs can die like Jesus.

[00:23:22] Setting aside the question of resurrection, Jesus was in fact human and did die.

[00:23:29] Still feeling like there's a lack of continuity in the storyline from last season and that the writing is not the best.

[00:23:36] But these moments worked for me.

[00:23:39] And as always, loving the podcast.

[00:23:42] Keep it up and don't get bit.

[00:23:44] Bye.

[00:23:45] Bye.

[00:23:47] I love Dodie.

[00:23:48] I really like that point about the clapping because people were making fun of that and I didn't really think too hard about it.

[00:23:55] But I think in the back of my mind, I was like, yeah, I did kind of appreciate that.

[00:23:58] And it was for the reasons that she just sort of clarified.

[00:24:01] It was just like a passive resistance in a show that they know we're not with you, sir.

[00:24:09] No, thank you.

[00:24:12] All right.

[00:24:13] Let's move on to messages about the finale.

[00:24:18] Lucy.

[00:24:19] Up first, we've got Andy Fisher who says, I love the continuing story of The Walking Dead.

[00:24:24] The look of the show is amazing.

[00:24:26] The story isn't the best that The Walking Dead has showed us, but it doesn't contain the worst.

[00:24:31] Carol and Daryl are fantastic to watch.

[00:24:33] Five pizzas and an engagement ring.

[00:24:36] We all know where the worst is.

[00:24:38] Yep.

[00:24:40] And it's okay to bring up Fear of the Walking Dead because it just makes us feel grateful that we don't have to watch it anymore.

[00:24:48] Yeah.

[00:24:49] Matt King said, Lucy and Jason were discussing the channel tunnel in these sort of shows.

[00:24:55] There's another recent show on Apple TV Plus called Invasion in which a group navigate the tunnel from the English end into France, which was very dramatic.

[00:25:04] That, of course, isn't zombies, but an alien invasion.

[00:25:07] Just still a great use of the tunnel in a scary scenario.

[00:25:10] Well worth watching if you haven't seen it yet.

[00:25:11] Well, that has me really curious about that show.

[00:25:13] Oh, me too.

[00:25:14] Yeah.

[00:25:14] Did you watch Invasion, Pete?

[00:25:17] No.

[00:25:18] No, although Matt has been inspired now.

[00:25:21] Yeah, a bit of channel drama.

[00:25:22] I think I heard it was a slow burn, but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching.

[00:25:26] I'm going to be going through the channel next week.

[00:25:28] I'm coming back from a work trip, so I'll report back on how many zombies I see.

[00:25:34] And how high I get from the ambient guano.

[00:25:39] Yeah, record yourself.

[00:25:41] Yeah, I will.

[00:25:43] Hey, next up we have Chandra Wright, who says,

[00:25:48] This episode didn't make up for all the missteps of the season, but it was really enjoyable.

[00:25:53] Daryl singing, who knew?

[00:25:55] Falou in love?

[00:25:56] Good for him.

[00:25:57] Kodron's smiling and playful?

[00:25:58] I love that for him.

[00:26:00] The bioluminescent walkers were so cool I honestly cheered, and I thought it was a sweet touch that Daryl's vision of Isabel ended with her walking with the fireflies.

[00:26:09] Yeah, me too.

[00:26:10] Yeah, I like that too.

[00:26:12] Yeah.

[00:26:13] Also, I love the...

[00:26:14] Good for him.

[00:26:16] Good for him.

[00:26:17] Love that journey for him.

[00:26:19] Jason Badgett says,

[00:26:21] I agree with most of the criticisms about this season that you all have discussed on the podcast.

[00:26:25] It had its good moments, but I was surprised by how much the quality of the storytelling seemed to drop from the last season.

[00:26:30] Season one really brought some freshness to the franchise with the new location and characters.

[00:26:35] My hope is that wherever Daryl and Carol are headed in season three, it will be to capture some of that novelty.

[00:26:41] Yeah.

[00:26:42] I wonder if the writers are listening to the criticism.

[00:26:45] I guess they're well into filming season three already, though, so they can't really course correct.

[00:26:50] I think they must have wrapped.

[00:26:51] They released a trailer, you know?

[00:26:53] They did for season three?

[00:26:55] Yeah.

[00:26:56] Oh, I didn't even know that.

[00:26:57] Yeah.

[00:26:58] Yeah.

[00:26:58] Well, yeah.

[00:26:59] Come here, girl.

[00:27:00] You're up to date.

[00:27:01] Walking Dead news.

[00:27:02] Hey, this is Lucy's podcast, and I'm just here to listen.

[00:27:05] I'm just like, yeah.

[00:27:06] I guess I should have known, because, yeah, they were filming when you were there in your bathrobe.

[00:27:10] So...

[00:27:10] Yeah, I love that you keep mentioning that detail.

[00:27:14] And Peter was not there.

[00:27:16] Peter went out to get a coffee, and when you came back, I was like, guess what just happened?

[00:27:19] And he was like, okay.

[00:27:21] I think it's too convenient.

[00:27:23] I think you planned it.

[00:27:25] You were out for a coffee.

[00:27:26] Why did you want to visit this location in particular, Lucy, at this time?

[00:27:30] I kept insisting on this hotel.

[00:27:33] I think it's much more probable that Lucy would have found out where Norman Reedus was than that Norman Reedus would happen to come to her.

[00:27:41] Oh, thanks.

[00:27:43] Thanks, guys.

[00:27:43] I feel really sane right now.

[00:27:45] Thanks.

[00:27:46] Thanks.

[00:27:46] That's hilarious.

[00:27:47] Anyway, so...

[00:27:48] Do we fear Peter then?

[00:27:49] Sorry, yeah.

[00:27:50] Okay, I was going to dob Peter in, because he then started looking at the fire escape plan, trying to figure out where Reedus is...

[00:27:55] He was like, so, like, there must be, like, secret, like, suites upstairs, because I doubt he's in a room like ours.

[00:28:00] I'm like, uh, our room's really good, actually.

[00:28:02] And he's like, no, it'll be in a better room.

[00:28:04] Yeah.

[00:28:04] So, not just me, stalker.

[00:28:06] He'll be in the best room.

[00:28:07] Yeah, and he'll have his own elevator or something.

[00:28:09] Yeah, that room looks like it's got much better.

[00:28:10] Bigger toilet than ours.

[00:28:13] That's the level of information I was working with.

[00:28:16] Yo, Norman, I picked your toilet.

[00:28:19] But anyway, all that's filmed, so I just don't think that, unfortunately, that we'll have time to take in all this brilliant feedback that we're giving them in Course Correct.

[00:28:28] So, hopefully we don't get another rush season next season.

[00:28:31] Oh, I really hope not.

[00:28:32] But it's still worth, I feel like it's worth our time.

[00:28:34] It's really fun.

[00:28:35] Anyway.

[00:28:36] Dobolino Bob Grippy says, Codrone's story is probably more compelling than Daryl's.

[00:28:40] I love that he's a good guy.

[00:28:43] How are Ash and Laurent supposed to find the Commonwealth all by themselves?

[00:28:47] Go to Ohio and circle around and look for a big community.

[00:28:50] It's real small.

[00:28:52] Sure.

[00:28:53] I wonder how, yeah, I don't, I was in a small plane like that, as I mentioned a few episodes back with my buddy.

[00:29:00] And I wonder if you could just fly over Ohio and just kind of crisscross until you found the Commonwealth, if that would be a realistic thing to be able to do.

[00:29:08] I think it might, actually, but I don't know for sure.

[00:29:11] Any pilots out there, let me know.

[00:29:14] Bob goes on.

[00:29:15] Your MASH story was probably inspiration for Poochie's ending.

[00:29:19] I have to go.

[00:29:20] My planet needs me.

[00:29:22] And the handwritten sign, Poochie died on his way back to his home planet.

[00:29:25] What is that?

[00:29:27] That's the Simpsons.

[00:29:28] Okay.

[00:29:29] That's class.

[00:29:29] Poochie is itchy and scratchy.

[00:29:31] Yeah, Poochie got written out.

[00:29:33] And then Poochie died on the way back to his home planet.

[00:29:37] Yeah, okay.

[00:29:37] Yes.

[00:29:39] Retro Simpsons, man.

[00:29:41] I always think of the ending of the episode of Friends where Joey's doing that play.

[00:29:46] And then at the end, it's like he goes up to space on the ladder.

[00:29:50] That's what always reminds me of that.

[00:29:52] Ah, Friends.

[00:29:53] Keith Amato.

[00:29:55] Hi, Jason and Lucy.

[00:29:57] I'm behind with the current podcast of The Daryl Show.

[00:30:00] Both of you must have been high, I guess, because during the episode four at the very end,

[00:30:04] you said Carol and Ash stopped in Greenland to refuel.

[00:30:07] And it's too bad we didn't see that.

[00:30:10] Guys, are you high?

[00:30:12] Both of you.

[00:30:14] How about the ep you just talked about with the two environmental female scientists?

[00:30:18] What?

[00:30:19] The moss zombies?

[00:30:20] Eh?

[00:30:20] The reindeer head in the cook pot?

[00:30:23] Remember that?

[00:30:24] No, man.

[00:30:24] I don't remember that.

[00:30:25] I don't think that happened.

[00:30:26] Love the show.

[00:30:27] Even if you're both stoners.

[00:30:29] What's he talking about?

[00:30:30] Keith's high.

[00:30:30] Yeah, whatever.

[00:30:31] Keith's high, man.

[00:30:32] All right, let's move on.

[00:30:33] No, I'm just kidding.

[00:30:33] It's getting so high, man.

[00:30:34] I'm saying they didn't show refuel, Keith.

[00:30:36] I remember Greenland.

[00:30:38] I didn't see any refueling going on.

[00:30:40] I saw getting parts for the plane.

[00:30:42] And they did talk about having ethanol for Carol to drink.

[00:30:45] So I guess I should have connected, you know, two plus four equals four.

[00:30:48] Were you two on complaining because you didn't actually get to see the refueling?

[00:30:53] They didn't even talk about it.

[00:30:55] Why would you want?

[00:30:56] I mean, at least a mention because we're like, how are they going to get from Maine to France?

[00:31:03] Well, I researched it out.

[00:31:05] A lot of small planes, they will stop in Greenland to refuel so that we see them stop in Greenland

[00:31:09] and then they have to hightail it out of there and they didn't refuel.

[00:31:12] So at least not that we saw them.

[00:31:14] I think about them skipping over boring shit that no one wants to see.

[00:31:18] You two are both the kind of people who would have complained about no one going to the toilet

[00:31:22] in 24, right?

[00:31:23] I mean, they should go to the toilet.

[00:31:25] Like, it's weird that we don't see that.

[00:31:26] Yeah, or at least we need to see them have, you know, like intestinal pain.

[00:31:31] Yeah, it'd be like, oh, I wish I pooped today.

[00:31:34] Yeah, I really gotta go, but I just don't have time.

[00:31:36] We only have a few hours to save the country.

[00:31:38] High quality dialogue.

[00:31:41] Admittedly, I'm not going to lie.

[00:31:43] There's probably no point in my life where I feel more like I'm in the mindset of an action hero

[00:31:48] than when I'm making life or death decisions to control my own bowel.

[00:31:53] Yeah.

[00:31:54] When you need to get to a bathroom, it's the only time I've kicked a door open

[00:32:00] like I was trying to take it off its hinges.

[00:32:04] I can picture that.

[00:32:05] Yeah.

[00:32:06] Thank you.

[00:32:06] Thank you.

[00:32:07] I'm glad you think I can still do that.

[00:32:10] Peter died on the way back to his home planet.

[00:32:14] Kirstie Bohan says, hey guys, scrolling Instagram in the middle of the night.

[00:32:18] I spotted this casting news a few weeks ago, but I don't think you've mentioned it yet.

[00:32:21] I thought it might have been a weird dream, but no, it looks legit.

[00:32:24] What do you think?

[00:32:25] Okay.

[00:32:26] So it's a, it's an image from Stephen Merchant who says, as a fan of The Walking Dead, Daryl

[00:32:31] Dixon, I was excited when they asked me to join The Walking Dead universe for season

[00:32:35] three, but don't ask me for spoilers.

[00:32:37] My lips are sealed 30th September.

[00:32:40] Yeah, it is true.

[00:32:41] Actually, Laura and I talked about it on one of the feedback episodes.

[00:32:44] It was in the new segment that Stephen Merchant's going to be a guest next season.

[00:32:48] So that'll be cool.

[00:32:49] That's fun.

[00:32:50] Love him.

[00:32:50] I want that he, he's, they've got to be in England then because like he could not play.

[00:32:55] Maybe in an office.

[00:32:56] He looks so British.

[00:32:58] Like it's unbelievable.

[00:33:01] Yeah.

[00:33:02] I love him.

[00:33:02] He, he, he was a character in my favorite, all time favorite game Portal 2, where he played

[00:33:07] this comedic like robot type character.

[00:33:09] He's great.

[00:33:10] Oh, no way.

[00:33:10] He's brilliant in extras.

[00:33:12] The old Ricky Gervais.

[00:33:13] Yeah.

[00:33:14] I watched that too.

[00:33:15] So good.

[00:33:16] Natalie Collins says, so full disclosure, I watched the whole season weeks ago.

[00:33:20] Any of my later responses have been after a rewatch and I tried to keep out negative comments.

[00:33:26] Natalie, dog.

[00:33:27] You scallywag.

[00:33:29] I genuinely liked how they ended the season.

[00:33:31] My biggest complaint is Codron's ending.

[00:33:34] My hope is that they bring him along for season three.

[00:33:36] I'm guessing they will when you have a character run off like that.

[00:33:39] Yeah.

[00:33:40] Twice.

[00:33:41] Season one is by far a more interesting season than season two, but I think the writers did

[00:33:46] what they could for a six episode show where we have to, A, care about the characters,

[00:33:50] B, add a second storyline for Carol before she finds Daryl, and C, move the plot forward.

[00:33:55] Yeah.

[00:33:56] I mean, I, I will admit, even though I've tried to like shift blame away from Carol coming

[00:34:00] in that they also had to develop her and how she got there.

[00:34:04] So that took story time away from other developments that they could have had.

[00:34:08] Yeah.

[00:34:09] Natalie goes on.

[00:34:10] Those bioluminescent walkers were cool.

[00:34:13] Happy that Falou found someone and decided to stay in France alive and well.

[00:34:17] I still think my love Daryl needs a haircut and maybe another bath, LOL.

[00:34:22] I guess we'll see what happens in another year or so.

[00:34:24] Thanks for the podcast.

[00:34:26] Yeah.

[00:34:26] I mean, this one came out almost exactly a year before, um, since season one.

[00:34:29] So maybe they'll be regular like that.

[00:34:32] I'm just imagining Daryl being like, I'll never bath again.

[00:34:35] And everyone being like, I mean, you maybe should.

[00:34:38] We know you're sad, but like, have a bath.

[00:34:40] It's fine.

[00:34:41] Hey, uh, Maria Pereira Granata.

[00:34:44] I was confused about the title of the episode because it says,

[00:34:48] Les enfants, uh, children.

[00:34:51] And we only had Laurent leaving.

[00:34:53] But I think it's also about Carol saying goodbye to Sophia as well.

[00:34:56] Good point, actually.

[00:34:58] They did confirm that in the after show, they said it was Carol saying goodbye to zombie

[00:35:02] Sophia and being able to see her as she was before she died.

[00:35:06] It seemed like two different episodes.

[00:35:08] The first part of the battle with Jacinta and her people in the plane taking off and the

[00:35:12] second, the tunnel crossing.

[00:35:14] I didn't like Anna dying, but she sort of sacrificed herself.

[00:35:18] And I definitely didn't like Kodron being killed off screen.

[00:35:21] Hopefully he's still alive and will be in season three, but it seems like they just wrote him

[00:35:26] off the next season.

[00:35:27] Gladful decided to stay because going into the tunnel, underwater, dark and zombie infested

[00:35:33] doesn't seem like a good idea.

[00:35:35] And sorry, Lucy, about the Scottish characters.

[00:35:37] They seemed like red shirts from the beginning, but didn't expect them to turn on Daryl.

[00:35:42] Not sure how crossing the tunnel will get them to Spain.

[00:35:45] I guess we just have to wait and find out.

[00:35:47] Looking forward to getting back to the rewatch.

[00:35:48] Yeah, me too.

[00:35:50] I mean, we were obviously devastated by our fellow countrymen turning coat in such a way,

[00:35:55] but thank you, Maria, for your tight words.

[00:35:58] Pete, you had a theory about Kodron.

[00:36:00] Oh, yeah.

[00:36:01] I think he's a red shirt next season.

[00:36:07] I think Kodron may well be found dead or die in episode one to establish the threat

[00:36:15] for season three.

[00:36:16] I think that might be a good idea.

[00:36:17] So there's the real theory for next season.

[00:36:19] We'll see if your streak holds.

[00:36:21] Yeah.

[00:36:22] I was just playing my cards close to my chest there.

[00:36:25] I am curious, Peter, when you saw these Scottish characters, how that landed for you.

[00:36:32] I think it's funny.

[00:36:37] I think I tend to find, Lucy, that most Scottish characters tend to turn up either as a bit of

[00:36:46] comic relief or super hot.

[00:36:51] Yeah.

[00:36:52] That is the spectrum.

[00:36:54] That is the most available to the world.

[00:36:57] Interesting.

[00:36:58] They did feel a little zany.

[00:36:59] Yeah.

[00:37:00] Yeah.

[00:37:01] And, you know, obviously those two were super hot.

[00:37:04] So I'm waiting for the comic release Scottish characters that I'm sure are coming.

[00:37:10] Maybe it could be you guys.

[00:37:12] You should go crash the set.

[00:37:13] We should do it.

[00:37:14] We should go crash the set.

[00:37:15] Be like, hey, Norman, remember us?

[00:37:16] Remember us?

[00:37:17] No.

[00:37:17] Where are your bathrobes?

[00:37:19] Yeah.

[00:37:21] Beth.

[00:37:22] Oh, Bethany says, hey, Lucy and Jason, Bethany from Old York here.

[00:37:26] I have a theory that this series, this season has been written by AI.

[00:37:30] That's the only way I can explain the writing of such scenes as Anna being expressionlessly

[00:37:34] eaten by Zed.

[00:37:35] Scott's showing up and being overtly stereotyped in red shirty.

[00:37:39] Lucy, I was offended for you.

[00:37:40] Thanks, Bethany.

[00:37:41] And Ash having the lines so rehashed, I finished it before he did.

[00:37:45] When you lose a child, they don't even have a name for it.

[00:37:48] I had a moment of no, please no, when I thought they were going to have Daryl and Carol kiss

[00:37:53] when she was crying about Sophia.

[00:37:54] It really felt it was going that way.

[00:37:56] Even if I were a carol shipper, that's not how I'd want that to happen.

[00:38:00] Daryl singing?

[00:38:01] Weird.

[00:38:02] But I don't hate it.

[00:38:03] You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get a psychedelic, glowy zombie trip in

[00:38:07] a tunnel with your demons, and that might just be what we all needed to end this crazy,

[00:38:11] wacky season.

[00:38:13] Lots of love, friends.

[00:38:14] Bye!

[00:38:15] Oh, that's a good one.

[00:38:18] Thanks, Bethany.

[00:38:19] I love that.

[00:38:20] All right, here's Steve recapping the episode.

[00:38:24] Hello, the cast of us.

[00:38:25] This is Steve, and here we are.

[00:38:26] We are at the season finale of TWDDTBOC.

[00:38:31] Au revoir, less infants.

[00:38:32] So is it goodbye to the babies or something like that?

[00:38:35] Is Daryl carrying a guitar?

[00:38:36] Have we ever seen him play guitar?

[00:38:38] I guess Laurent plays guitar.

[00:38:39] Did we know that?

[00:38:40] I feel like we missed a beat here.

[00:38:42] He does everything.

[00:38:42] So Daryl is going to stay, and Carol, Ash, and Laurent are going to go back to America?

[00:38:48] No.

[00:38:48] Already?

[00:38:48] Like, there's been no conversation or anything?

[00:38:50] And now they're going to sing the Rolling Stones.

[00:38:52] You can't always get what you want.

[00:38:53] Right, Rolling Stones?

[00:38:54] Why are Falou, Kudron, and these women at this mental institution?

[00:38:59] What does that have to do with the story?

[00:39:00] Oh, I never thought about that, Ash.

[00:39:02] You're right.

[00:39:03] I've never heard anyone.

[00:39:03] Yeah, there is no word for that.

[00:39:05] I mean, it's tragic.

[00:39:06] So, oh, people who lose kids, it's got to be rough.

[00:39:12] So, either Daryl or Carol are going to go with them, right?

[00:39:15] It's, wait, what am I talking?

[00:39:17] Yeah.

[00:39:17] I bet it's just going to be Laurent.

[00:39:19] I think, Lucy, your Peter might be right.

[00:39:21] It might just be Laurent and Ash, you leave in the plane.

[00:39:24] This is Sister Jacinta, and for some reason they're kidnapping the woman from the club.

[00:39:27] What, why is that?

[00:39:29] And they're, I don't understand this storyline.

[00:39:31] They want to reacquire Laurent so that Sister Jacinta can carry out LaSang's vision of having him, or now she wants the plane?

[00:39:41] What?

[00:39:41] Oh, and Carol brought Daryl back his crossbow.

[00:39:44] Does she have his vest, too?

[00:39:45] I'm just going to quit trying to figure out how people make these intuitive leaps of where other people are.

[00:39:50] I'm just going to go with it and figure that Kudron knew where the plane was, I guess, and he brought Falou, and now they're all going to gear up for Jacinta's arrival, obviously.

[00:40:00] Apparently just found out where the plane is now, so here they are.

[00:40:04] Pretty sure Jacinta just got bit, and they're going to leave the woman from the club.

[00:40:08] They're in the basement with the walkers under the racetrack, right, as they try to go after Daryl now another way.

[00:40:13] Oh, Kudron has grenades, and Carol and Ash and Laurent are in the plane.

[00:40:19] Good shot, Daryl.

[00:40:20] Oh, and the plane takes off, and we've got another MF-er, and of course, Carol's seat is empty.

[00:40:26] There's like more than half an episode left.

[00:40:27] I'm going to try not to go too long.

[00:40:28] Okay, so that's it.

[00:40:29] Jacinta shoots herself, and now everything is good?

[00:40:32] They're from Scotland, so no, they don't speak English.

[00:40:35] What are the chances this Scottish couple is evil?

[00:40:37] Hope not.

[00:40:39] Kudron just found out that Daryl didn't kill his brother, and everything started from a lie.

[00:40:44] Carol just said that they should already be at the Commonwealth by now.

[00:40:47] How long does it take to fly back to America?

[00:40:49] How much time has passed between now and when they left?

[00:40:52] So England is okay?

[00:40:53] Really?

[00:40:54] That's not a good sign when the checkpoint's not manned or spanned by dead bodies.

[00:40:58] It was a cool effect, the zombie with the glowing insides, and Carol called it a walker.

[00:41:02] Of course, now they're all hallucinating, and Carol's really hallucinating.

[00:41:06] And Daryl just killed the Scottish couple.

[00:41:08] All right, so Carol and Daryl walk off into season three, down the tunnel.

[00:41:14] We could have a quick discussion about how much time it would take to get back to the Commonwealth,

[00:41:18] but then Peter would make fun of us, so we'll just skip over that.

[00:41:23] And how many bathroom stops would you have to have?

[00:41:27] Yeah, you've got to hang it out the side of the plane.

[00:41:29] Would you hang it out the side of the plane, or would you try and fill a bottle?

[00:41:33] I feel like you would want to at least try hanging it out the side of the plane,

[00:41:36] just to see what it was like.

[00:41:38] Now you're into the details.

[00:41:39] Yeah, now you're into it.

[00:41:41] Now that it's toilet stuff, you're like cool.

[00:41:41] I didn't realize the fun stuff that you guys had tucked away in your kind of liquid in, liquid out podcast.

[00:41:48] Liquid in.

[00:41:49] You know me, I don't go to the bathroom on planes, so I'd be fine.

[00:41:53] You just, no matter how long the plane is.

[00:41:55] I mean, like transatlantic, I resign myself to like, I'll probably have to go once,

[00:41:59] but if it's like three hours and under, I'm like, no.

[00:42:01] No thanks.

[00:42:02] Not happening.

[00:42:02] Yeah.

[00:42:02] I love to go as many times as I can, so we're the opposite that way.

[00:42:06] You love to?

[00:42:07] I love to go.

[00:42:09] I love it.

[00:42:09] I'm just in there most of the time, actually.

[00:42:11] Love it.

[00:42:11] My seat's empty.

[00:42:13] One of our friends recently had food poisoning on a flight back.

[00:42:17] Oh, God.

[00:42:17] I felt so bad for them.

[00:42:19] Yeah, they're fine now, but yeah, I think it's pretty bad.

[00:42:21] I had a bad shrooms trip at Burning Man once, where the porta-potties became nightmare scenarios.

[00:42:29] I don't think you need to be on mushrooms for that.

[00:42:31] It made it worse.

[00:42:33] But he also mentioned, you know, did she bring back Daryl's vest?

[00:42:37] And that reminded me that they recently had a Walking Dead auction,

[00:42:41] and one of Daryl's vests, I think, was on there and probably went for several thousand dollars.

[00:42:46] Oh.

[00:42:48] Okay.

[00:42:49] Alma Contreras, I was a bit underwhelmed by this finale.

[00:42:52] For a brief second, I thought we were going to lose Carol plot armor and all.

[00:42:57] Someone else said that, too, that they felt nervous.

[00:43:00] I thought that.

[00:43:00] Yeah, I think it was you.

[00:43:01] Yeah, I felt nervous.

[00:43:02] And I was truly getting anxious while they were going through the tunnel, and she broke off to follow Sophia.

[00:43:07] The tunnel scene was kind of cool, especially with the way the walkers looked all lit up.

[00:43:11] I agree.

[00:43:11] I was very happy for Falou.

[00:43:13] I actually said aloud, please don't let that be a kiss of death.

[00:43:17] Yeah, as long as he never comes back again, he's safe.

[00:43:20] But if he's ever on the show again, I would worry about him.

[00:43:22] Oh, he did.

[00:43:23] I was happy he was not killed.

[00:43:25] I was glad for the hallucination Daryl had of Issa.

[00:43:28] Validated his feelings for her and the fireflies, and she walked away, did pull at my heartstrings.

[00:43:33] I agree.

[00:43:34] I feel like we were left wondering, what now?

[00:43:36] So this has now turned into a quest to get home.

[00:43:39] I mean, it's always been that for Daryl.

[00:43:41] And did Laurent and Ash really get back?

[00:43:43] I tried not to be negative in my comment, but the whole season was not that good.

[00:43:46] I'm not sure what I expected, but it just fell flat all around.

[00:43:50] Maybe the podcast can convince me otherwise.

[00:43:52] We were kind of meh on the finale too.

[00:43:55] All right.

[00:43:56] Next up, Deborah Ulmer, who says,

[00:43:59] Hi, Jason and Lucy.

[00:44:00] First of all, thank you all so much for the Don't Get Bit shout out.

[00:44:04] Oh, yay.

[00:44:05] I wasn't expecting that on my first writing, and it made me feel so welcomed.

[00:44:10] Good.

[00:44:10] Secondly, just as you planned.

[00:44:14] Good.

[00:44:15] As you should.

[00:44:16] Yes.

[00:44:16] We don't want you to die, so.

[00:44:18] No, you're fine.

[00:44:19] Hopefully that's welcoming.

[00:44:21] Secondly, I decided to go back all the way back to the beginning of the podcast and listen

[00:44:25] to it in between the current episodes.

[00:44:27] You almost forget how long ago that was and how so many things have happened with the show

[00:44:32] and in pop culture in the last 14 years.

[00:44:34] It's a fun time warp.

[00:44:35] As for Daryl Dixon season two as a whole, I still wish it was like season one and they

[00:44:41] wouldn't have brought Carol in.

[00:44:43] I liked seeing Daryl becoming into his own outside of who he was on the main show, but

[00:44:48] I watched it for what it was.

[00:44:50] I still love the scenery, the diversity and the action.

[00:44:53] I'm so happy some of my favourite new characters like Ash and Fluid didn't get killed off.

[00:44:59] Kadron's redemption arc is believable, although his ending was a weird choice.

[00:45:03] I'm mad that all of the new women characters are dead.

[00:45:07] Oh, God.

[00:45:08] Oh, yeah.

[00:45:08] I thought that.

[00:45:10] Yeah.

[00:45:11] Especially Issa.

[00:45:12] She should have and could have lived, but it was so sweet having her spirit giving Daryl

[00:45:17] the push to go on.

[00:45:18] Now, I guess it's really just the Carol show for next season, sigh.

[00:45:23] I'm excited to get back to the rewatch.

[00:45:25] Have a good one, y'all.

[00:45:26] Bye.

[00:45:27] Yay.

[00:45:28] Yeah.

[00:45:29] Only that one second in command woman still alive.

[00:45:32] I don't even know her name, though.

[00:45:34] I know we don't even know her name.

[00:45:35] Oh, man.

[00:45:37] Becky Anderson says, my favourite part of this episode is me finally realising why people

[00:45:42] use the term batshit crazy.

[00:45:43] Becky, there was an amazing article in Den of Geek that explained guanomania, and I thoroughly

[00:45:50] recommend it.

[00:45:51] But if you look for season two, ending explained from Den of Geek, they went on a deep guano

[00:45:57] hole.

[00:45:57] Oh, a deep guano hole, Lucy.

[00:46:01] A deep guano hole.

[00:46:02] Did I not read you facts from it, or did you just not listen?

[00:46:05] Just that picture.

[00:46:06] Silence.

[00:46:07] Guano hole.

[00:46:08] It's a good name for a podcast.

[00:46:09] Peter once had to clear a load of pigeon guano over a balcony.

[00:46:12] Shoveled it.

[00:46:13] And he cried.

[00:46:14] Oh.

[00:46:15] Like, I've never seen a man so upset.

[00:46:17] It was disgusting.

[00:46:18] I was working.

[00:46:19] Did you start hallucinating?

[00:46:21] Yeah, did you hallucinate?

[00:46:23] Were you masking?

[00:46:25] Becky says, this episode had a lot of really good moments.

[00:46:28] Daryl and Laurent singing together, and Daryl getting teary-eyed.

[00:46:31] I thought the scene of them working to be sure Ash and Laurent can take off was pretty

[00:46:35] exciting.

[00:46:36] Though I did have to look past the fact that some shoot like Star Wars stormtroopers.

[00:46:41] Glad Lady Lausanne got bit and is gone, and along with her, that ridiculous storyline.

[00:46:46] Great shot of them panning out on the cockpit of the plane and seeing Carol wasn't there

[00:46:49] anymore.

[00:46:51] Daryl to Carol.

[00:46:52] I had it.

[00:46:52] And Carol's, I know, was great.

[00:46:54] I read that was not scripted.

[00:46:56] It was kind of like a-

[00:46:57] Aww.

[00:46:58] It's like their Han and Leia moment.

[00:46:59] Yeah, exactly.

[00:47:00] Yeah.

[00:47:01] A lot of the tunnel stuff was a bit much.

[00:47:03] The glowing walkers were pretty freaking cool, though.

[00:47:05] If you haven't watched the inside the episode and see how they pulled that off.

[00:47:09] Loved Stone Daryl getting a chance to say goodbye to Isla, even if it was just his imagination.

[00:47:15] Walker Carol was badass.

[00:47:16] I could have done with fewer moments of Codron and Carol chasing their imaginary family.

[00:47:20] But I did like the moment Carol got to hug imaginary Sophia, not Walker Sophia, to finally get some

[00:47:26] closure.

[00:47:27] I do hope we get to see Codron again someday.

[00:47:30] Happy that Falou got a happy ending.

[00:47:32] It was cool to see our two main characters walking down the tunnel together in the end.

[00:47:36] I like that it was just the two of them.

[00:47:38] Not the best episode in TV history, but for the most part, it was pretty good and I am looking

[00:47:42] forward to next season.

[00:47:44] Becky, that cheered me up.

[00:47:47] That's made me feel a bit better about the episode.

[00:47:49] Yeah, and I agree.

[00:47:49] They should have had a little less time of Codron and Carol chasing their imaginary family

[00:47:53] so they could have had Falou give the extended story of how he saved the child back when he

[00:47:58] was at the beginning of the zombie walk.

[00:48:01] We were so mean about that.

[00:48:02] We're like, oh great, another story about racism.

[00:48:05] Here it goes again.

[00:48:05] Actually, there it goes again with his stories.

[00:48:10] One of our horrible people.

[00:48:12] Whenever a new woman shows up.

[00:48:14] He's always bringing out the old racist neighbor trope.

[00:48:19] It worked.

[00:48:20] Yeah, totally.

[00:48:21] I know we're laughing, but good for him.

[00:48:24] He's a good man.

[00:48:25] I'm totally kidding.

[00:48:26] All right.

[00:48:27] Billy Thompson says, hello, hello.

[00:48:29] Hope you guys are doing well.

[00:48:30] Not really.

[00:48:32] No, I mean, it's all falling apart, Billy, but we're getting there.

[00:48:34] We're getting there.

[00:48:35] We're all kind of drunk.

[00:48:36] It's fine.

[00:48:38] For starters, great acting from Reedus in the opening scene when he started choking up.

[00:48:42] It really got me.

[00:48:43] But at the same time, very odd seeing Daryl sing.

[00:48:46] Oh, well.

[00:48:47] I'm pretty sure we've never seen this, right?

[00:48:49] Not that I can remember.

[00:48:51] Mm-mm.

[00:48:52] Um, yeah.

[00:48:53] There was that one time he started playing Black Sabbath back in season four.

[00:48:57] And I'm just kidding.

[00:48:58] Yeah.

[00:48:59] Uh, finally, the reunion we've all been waiting for.

[00:49:01] Daryl and his crossbow.

[00:49:03] Woo-hoo.

[00:49:04] Yay.

[00:49:05] I have to say the action scenes have been good quality this season from the chases to the

[00:49:09] explosions.

[00:49:10] All very well done.

[00:49:11] Yeah.

[00:49:12] I guess that's fair.

[00:49:13] Yeah.

[00:49:13] They have a quality to them that even The Walking Dead proper didn't have.

[00:49:17] But unfortunately, some meaningless killing at times.

[00:49:20] Yes, absolutely.

[00:49:21] Mm-hmm.

[00:49:21] The tunnel scene I really enjoyed reminded me of the Metro games.

[00:49:25] Metroid?

[00:49:26] Oh, no Metro.

[00:49:26] Oh, no Metro.

[00:49:27] That's a different game series.

[00:49:28] I haven't played that.

[00:49:29] Yeah.

[00:49:29] And the glowing walkers were so cool looking like glowing ones from the Fallout games.

[00:49:35] Hmm.

[00:49:36] Billy's a gamer.

[00:49:37] Oh, and we also got to learn a lot about what happened to England in The Walking Dead universe,

[00:49:42] which I've always wanted to know.

[00:49:43] And it seems as though we're going to get to see England in season three, at least for

[00:49:46] an episode, I hope.

[00:49:47] I guess what I read slash saw online was right about there being a London set, although filmed

[00:49:52] in Spain.

[00:49:53] It absolutely was, Billy.

[00:49:55] Well done.

[00:49:55] I think you're right.

[00:49:56] My guessing it was cheaper to create a set in Spain than actually film in London.

[00:50:01] Makes sense.

[00:50:02] Overall, not a bad season, in my opinion.

[00:50:04] A couple of bad episodes, but the strong start to this season and the finale has given me

[00:50:08] hope for season three.

[00:50:10] Okay.

[00:50:11] Hopefully you're right.

[00:50:12] Just like to say thanks for the coverage.

[00:50:14] It's been great as always.

[00:50:15] I can't wait for the rewatch to continue.

[00:50:17] Bye.

[00:50:18] Bye.

[00:50:19] Yeah.

[00:50:19] I hope people who are just like tuning in for the Daryl show, maybe you'll go and check

[00:50:24] out the rewatch because it really has been great to go back and look at all the original

[00:50:29] Walking Dead episodes with knowledge of what's to come and also some sort of podcasting experience

[00:50:35] under our belt.

[00:50:36] So maybe we can do a little bit better job of really digging in.

[00:50:39] Yeah.

[00:50:39] I've really liked how the two of you have moved on to the events that move the plot forward

[00:50:44] and really, really focused on the maintenance and the admin of it all.

[00:50:50] How many people go to the toilet?

[00:50:52] Yep.

[00:50:52] Who would have gone to the bathroom when if it was real?

[00:50:55] It's been refreshing.

[00:50:57] That they're not.

[00:50:59] Someone does die from going to the bathroom at a certain point.

[00:51:04] Like, is it in Alexandria or something?

[00:51:06] Yeah.

[00:51:06] Anyway, there is a toilet plot point.

[00:51:09] I clearly remember very well.

[00:51:11] So Wyman Owen writes in to say, well, we made it through.

[00:51:17] Now, Wyman might have meant that in a cheerier way.

[00:51:19] I read that in a very, very grim way.

[00:51:24] It's hard to read those words any different way today.

[00:51:27] I hope I reflected your feelings accurately there.

[00:51:31] And I really feel like I enjoyed this last one.

[00:51:33] Okay, maybe I didn't reflect your feelings then, Wyman.

[00:51:35] For the most part, had some good action, some romance, hallucinations, all things you want in a finale.

[00:51:41] Yeah.

[00:51:42] Yeah.

[00:51:42] You know what?

[00:51:42] I think you're right.

[00:51:44] I thought the two ladies were off way early so they could move the story faster.

[00:51:48] Good criticism of screenwriting in general right there.

[00:51:52] Daryl getting emotional was so sweet and endearing.

[00:51:55] Daryl and Carol's shooting ability was top notch.

[00:51:57] I couldn't do that in Call of Duty if the bad guy was standing right in front of me.

[00:52:01] I knew the Scottish folk were going to be bad news.

[00:52:04] The whole took us nine hours to walk through to get here was hokey.

[00:52:08] Then they get surprised there's an outpost.

[00:52:11] Hogwash.

[00:52:12] The Glow Zeds were freaking cool.

[00:52:14] Maybe Carol finally dealt with her PTSD with that touching goodbye with Sophia Walker.

[00:52:19] All in all, it had lots I liked and some I didn't.

[00:52:22] But I didn't expect this.

[00:52:24] It left me wanting more.

[00:52:26] Too many loose strings.

[00:52:28] Going to England, I guess.

[00:52:29] What happens to Ash and Laurent?

[00:52:31] And Falou gets his happy ending.

[00:52:32] Ah, bring on season three.

[00:52:35] P.S.

[00:52:36] I chickened out calling again.

[00:52:38] Love you all.

[00:52:39] Bye.

[00:52:40] Oh, Wyman.

[00:52:41] Props to Peter for saying Sophia Walker like that's her surname.

[00:52:44] Sophia Walker.

[00:52:45] I know her.

[00:52:46] That's what we call her now.

[00:52:49] Oh, Wyman.

[00:52:51] We've got Fred Weisinger.

[00:52:54] Jason Lucy, an honourable guest host.

[00:52:56] You're honourable, Peter.

[00:52:57] I like it.

[00:52:59] Fred says, first off, thanks again for all the entertaining analysis you provide each week

[00:53:03] and for sharing all the insightful feedback from your listeners.

[00:53:05] I always learn something new, usually about toilets.

[00:53:08] No, sorry.

[00:53:09] Fred doesn't say that.

[00:53:10] Usually something that is painfully obvious in hindsight that I completely missed in the last episode.

[00:53:14] I've been listening to all your pods despite having very mixed feelings about each of the sequel shows,

[00:53:19] with the possible exception of Walking Dead, The Ones Who Live.

[00:53:23] I guess it's true.

[00:53:25] Misery does love company.

[00:53:26] I'm writing this before seeing the season two finale of Daryl Dixon,

[00:53:30] so I don't know yet how they're going to wrap it up,

[00:53:32] but I have a feeling it's not going to live up to our hopes and dreams.

[00:53:35] My prediction?

[00:53:36] Manky Daryl and Lion Carol

[00:53:40] will ride off to Spain in a champagne bottle-shaped hot air balloon

[00:53:43] with nuclear mushroom clouds emerging in the sky behind them.

[00:53:47] Laurence fate?

[00:53:47] I have to say, I don't even care.

[00:53:49] I keep asking myself, why can't we have nice things,

[00:53:52] like consistently good writing?

[00:53:54] Have we not been good loyal fans?

[00:53:55] Maybe the showrunners will save the show in the bottom of the ninth,

[00:53:59] somehow switching direction and restoring my faith in the Walking Dead universe's ability

[00:54:03] to create compelling stories without stupid plot contrivances.

[00:54:07] But I doubt it.

[00:54:09] My consolation is that despite my negative opinions of the show,

[00:54:12] I always enjoy your reviews and discussions, especially the rants,

[00:54:15] so keep it coming.

[00:54:16] Aw, Fred.

[00:54:17] That's nice.

[00:54:18] Thank you.

[00:54:18] Thanks, Fred.

[00:54:19] I was just having a conversation with a friend of mine the other night

[00:54:22] who was in town and I hadn't seen him in about five years.

[00:54:25] And I was telling him about the podcasting and how we cover all these shows.

[00:54:29] And I really love it when a writer really understands humanity and human psychology

[00:54:35] and can sort of shine a light on something or present it in a new way.

[00:54:39] And he's like, yeah, but Walking Dead doesn't have that right.

[00:54:42] Like he wanted just to be like, you know, it's not that high quality of a show.

[00:54:47] And I'm like, I mean, there are things about The Walking Dead where the writing doesn't measure up to my favorite shows,

[00:54:57] but I feel like it hits some character things really hard sometimes.

[00:55:02] You know, it can be uneven, but it just hits those character moments so hard and so well.

[00:55:08] And I even think in The Daryl Show it has done that.

[00:55:12] You know, maybe not The Walking Dead at its peak, but it's been way, way better than Fear the Walking Dead,

[00:55:18] which really sucked at that, especially at the end there.

[00:55:21] So I will give it that.

[00:55:23] I think it can be really good at that.

[00:55:25] And that's what I love about it the most, I think, just the character moments.

[00:55:31] Yeah.

[00:55:31] Makes any sense?

[00:55:32] Absolutely.

[00:55:34] All right.

[00:55:34] Here's a call from Amber in Georgia.

[00:55:36] I think it might be your first call.

[00:55:38] Here we go.

[00:55:39] Hi, Lucy and Jason.

[00:55:40] This is Amber in Georgia.

[00:55:42] I'm a long-time lurker and a first-time caller.

[00:55:45] After your most recent episode of the podcast, I really just had to give y'all a call and say how much I appreciate you.

[00:55:53] I appreciate the podcast and the podcast keeping up with the spinoffs and doing the rewatch as well.

[00:55:59] I've noticed before, but especially on your most recent episode, I could just tell how much fun you sounded like you were having.

[00:56:06] Y'all were cutting up throughout and laughing throughout.

[00:56:09] And as my grandma would say, y'all got tickled several times.

[00:56:13] And it was just fun.

[00:56:15] And at the end of the day, I know that's what I'm here for.

[00:56:17] I like the show.

[00:56:18] I like to critique the show.

[00:56:20] I like to hear your critique and have a community to engage in.

[00:56:23] And y'all are a big part of that.

[00:56:25] I also like that we still have these great moments in the show, even when it's not perfect.

[00:56:29] We have Daryl and Laurent singing.

[00:56:31] We have Carol talking to Daryl about Sophia.

[00:56:35] We have the cool variant zombies and the bioluminescence.

[00:56:39] And that also keeps me coming back to the show.

[00:56:41] And I hope they continue to do more seasons.

[00:56:43] I know we're playing for season three, but I hope we continue to see more.

[00:56:47] And a just random note that I had was that I always think about when the show gets things right in terms of the geography.

[00:56:58] And specifically, Daryl is from Georgia.

[00:57:02] I'm from Georgia.

[00:57:03] And they had the whole theme this season around fireflies.

[00:57:07] And it got me thinking that I don't remember a single time as a kid growing up in Georgia that we called them fireflies.

[00:57:13] We always called them lightning bugs.

[00:57:15] So that could be a regional thing, though.

[00:57:18] It may have just been in the part of Georgia that I grew up in.

[00:57:20] But usually they get those things right.

[00:57:22] So I just always make note of those.

[00:57:25] But again, thank y'all.

[00:57:26] I appreciate y'all.

[00:57:28] And I hope you have a good day.

[00:57:30] Bye.

[00:57:31] Bye.

[00:57:32] Amber, you have the most wonderful accent.

[00:57:34] That made my day.

[00:57:36] Yeah, I think.

[00:57:38] I mean, that would be something to look up because my suspicion is that they're called lightning bugs everywhere in Georgia.

[00:57:44] But fireflies is a more commonly known name.

[00:57:46] And so they went with that.

[00:57:47] But I don't know for sure.

[00:57:49] Be interesting to find out.

[00:57:50] Thanks for calling in.

[00:57:51] Yeah, that was nice.

[00:57:53] Andrea Abarka says, hi, Jason and Lucy.

[00:57:55] Hope my favorite dynamic duo is doing well.

[00:57:58] I'm writing in about the Daryl Dixon season finale.

[00:58:01] Like Lucy on my first watch.

[00:58:03] I didn't care for it much.

[00:58:04] As much as I love Daryl, I was disappointed.

[00:58:07] But on second watch, I changed my mind.

[00:58:09] I think I just needed to absorb it.

[00:58:11] Things I didn't like, Kodron and Anna.

[00:58:14] Although I'm glad that Anna went down like a badass.

[00:58:16] I really liked her character and hoped she would live to see another day.

[00:58:21] Kodron running off like he was chasing a butterfly seemed unfair to him.

[00:58:26] Kodron died on his way back to his home planet.

[00:58:29] He had such a great story.

[00:58:31] I hope they find him next season.

[00:58:33] I was so sad to see Laurent and Ash go.

[00:58:35] I actually thought they would all stay together.

[00:58:37] I'm glad Falou made it and found love.

[00:58:39] I loved Carol and Daryl resolving the pain they both carried and saying their goodbyes so they could go on together.

[00:58:46] Man, I really didn't feel like, yeah, I guess I kind of felt a little bit like that happened, but I don't know.

[00:58:53] We'll see.

[00:58:53] The zombies in the channel were cool.

[00:58:56] Finally, a couple things.

[00:58:57] There's been a lot of comments about everything being pushed to make room for Carol.

[00:59:00] From my understanding, in an interview with Norman and Melissa, she was always meant to be part of the show.

[00:59:04] So if things were rushed, it was certainly not because Carol was inserted into the story.

[00:59:08] And I'm so glad she was there.

[00:59:11] Actually, I mean, from what I understand and what we knew, when they announced the show, it was going to be the Daryl and Carol show.

[00:59:18] And I think they originally planned for it to take place in the United States.

[00:59:21] And then they pushed it over to Europe.

[00:59:25] And then Melissa McBride backed out.

[00:59:28] So they wrote season one.

[00:59:31] I don't think they knew that she was whether she would come back.

[00:59:35] But Norman Reedus kept asking her, it's great over here.

[00:59:38] You should come and join us.

[00:59:40] So then she finally decided to come back for season two.

[00:59:43] So I think they wrote season one, not knowing for sure if Melissa McBride would ever be a part of the show.

[00:59:48] That's my understanding about it, even though she was originally supposed to be a part of it.

[00:59:52] That makes sense.

[00:59:55] Andrea says, I am also a shipper of Daryl and Carol and always have been, although it would appear Zabel refuses to take the story there.

[01:00:03] Annoying.

[01:00:04] Yeah.

[01:00:05] Yeah.

[01:00:06] Yeah, I like I'm liking hearing from the Carol, the Carol shippers.

[01:00:10] Yeah.

[01:00:12] Chris LeBeau says, bonjour, Lucy and Jason.

[01:00:15] Merci for another great season of coverage.

[01:00:18] The show had some scary fear moments, but your entertaining and insightful coverage got us through it all.

[01:00:26] My favourite episode of your coverage was when Jason sounded sad and resigned that this season was not just that great.

[01:00:33] But he was hopeful someone could convince him otherwise.

[01:00:36] In the same episode, Lucy was so pissed off, she fortified herself with a whiskey before recording.

[01:00:42] This episode was not the worst piece of stinky French cheese we had.

[01:00:45] So I guess that is good.

[01:00:47] I would like to give a nod to the writers for weaving in many points of French history throughout the two seasons.

[01:00:53] Most seem to deal with France and its complicated experiences during World War Two.

[01:00:58] There were people who fought fascism, those that collaborated and those that just tried to survive.

[01:01:02] The same thing is going on in the ZA concerning Marion's organisation.

[01:01:09] You could say that the same experiences are being mirrored back in the States with the different communities.

[01:01:15] Including the story of Daryl's grandfather having died in France in World War Two was very interesting and moving to me.

[01:01:21] He never got to go home.

[01:01:22] And the trauma that inflicted on Daryl's family had long-lasting repercussions.

[01:01:26] Isabel coming to Daryl in his bat-boot fever dream, telling him he gets to go home, was touching to me.

[01:01:33] Here's to our heroes enjoying the rest of their European gap year slash years in England slash Spain,

[01:01:38] to better representations of Scottish people, and to all the cool French characters and scenery.

[01:01:44] Good luck, Laurent.

[01:01:45] You're going to need it.

[01:01:46] Au revoir.

[01:01:47] Lucy and Jason, remember, we will always have Paris.

[01:01:53] Paris toujours.

[01:01:56] Bonne chance.

[01:01:58] I did enjoy some of the French history aspects.

[01:02:00] I think that's something I liked, was the show was quite steeped in very different looking backdrops.

[01:02:07] And that was quite cool.

[01:02:07] Oh yeah, that was one of the best things about it.

[01:02:09] Mm-hmm.

[01:02:11] I've got Tam from Perth, Australia, who says,

[01:02:14] I bloody wish it was Perth, Scotland, Lucy.

[01:02:17] My Scottish heritage town is Bridge of Allen, though, so close enough.

[01:02:21] Bridge of Allen.

[01:02:22] Some of my family are also from there, Tam.

[01:02:24] Tam says, first up, how long was that runway?

[01:02:27] And all the suck-it, motherfucker moments of this tied up with a cute French braid episode.

[01:02:32] The Department of Suspension of Disbelief worked overtime, but I still liked it for the plane making a takeoff and Carol not letting her doppelganger beat and eat her.

[01:02:41] Beat slash eat her.

[01:02:43] I guess the technical term for bat dust is where batshit crazy comes from.

[01:02:47] I mean, just the fact they strolled into a tunnel underwater at the end of the world is batshit crazy,

[01:02:51] because you're not going to be having any normal fun trips with all they have seen.

[01:02:55] Zero chance I'd walk through there.

[01:02:57] I practically had to be sedated when I took the train from London to Paris through that tunnel.

[01:03:01] Can't get my head around it still.

[01:03:03] Alas, I lived.

[01:03:05] Aw, Tam, we're glad you lived.

[01:03:06] So I'm assuming D and C will too.

[01:03:08] And even though I love that Lucy and Peter got to make a quick cameo,

[01:03:12] throwing in a shite to round out the love with another accent in this very all races, all genders, all types show,

[01:03:23] I was glad to see them eliminated for betraying our heroes.

[01:03:28] Tam.

[01:03:29] Thanks for the great content this season, keeping me company and letting me talk about this franchise,

[01:03:33] me and all your listeners love.

[01:03:35] We applaud, we all applaud and appreciate it so much.

[01:03:39] Much love from Down Under.

[01:03:40] Thank you.

[01:03:41] Aw, thank Tam.

[01:03:41] We would so betray people in Zombie Apocalypse.

[01:03:44] Oh, we betray.

[01:03:46] We'd be like the old French couple.

[01:03:48] We'd be like, ah, have some eggs, by the way, we dobbed you in.

[01:03:50] Yeah, even when you didn't even need to, just for fun.

[01:03:53] No.

[01:03:54] We're just like, ah, we just had to do over, who cares?

[01:03:58] I looked it up and I couldn't find a definitive statement that batshit came from this effect that batshit can have on people.

[01:04:11] Batshit crazy.

[01:04:11] It seems like too much of a coincidence.

[01:04:14] Well, it says, people have said, it's theorized that it might come from that.

[01:04:19] And then there's also that old saying, bats in the belfry, which might also have something to do with it.

[01:04:23] So, maybe.

[01:04:26] Beth Pieri says, Norman Reedus is great at getting choked up.

[01:04:30] It always breaks my heart.

[01:04:32] The opening song made my heart ache for all of them.

[01:04:34] I really wish Falun and Codrone had put those zombies out of their misery in the hospital.

[01:04:39] Yeah.

[01:04:40] It bothers me when they don't do that too.

[01:04:42] In case they're suffering some kind of eternal torment.

[01:04:46] Which they look like they are.

[01:04:47] Poor Anne.

[01:04:48] At least she went down looking stunning with her red nails, gripping the fence.

[01:04:52] I love the look between Carol and Daryl.

[01:04:55] And he just says, I know, as she gets on the plane.

[01:04:57] The words don't even have to be spoken between them.

[01:05:00] Even though we all know she's not leaving.

[01:05:02] Ah, love for sweet Falun.

[01:05:04] I'm so glad Daryl and Codrone finally cleared the air.

[01:05:07] Except when Daryl said, I can imagine what it's like to put an end to your brother.

[01:05:11] But really, he knows.

[01:05:12] He had to end it for Merle.

[01:05:13] It broke his heart to put Merle down.

[01:05:15] And Codrone realizing how much destruction and death he caused because of a lie.

[01:05:20] Is that what that was?

[01:05:24] Was he like down on himself?

[01:05:26] Is that what?

[01:05:26] Because when he found out that it wasn't Daryl who did it, then he felt bad about what he did thinking it was Daryl.

[01:05:34] Because I was confused about his reaction to that information.

[01:05:37] I think it's just a lot of info to take in, huh?

[01:05:40] Okay.

[01:05:41] It just doesn't.

[01:05:42] I want it to make sense.

[01:05:43] Not just.

[01:05:44] Make it make sense.

[01:05:46] Beth goes on.

[01:05:47] Carol crying over Sophia really broke my heart.

[01:05:49] I can't imagine how hard it must be to forget your child.

[01:05:53] How many years do we think it's been now?

[01:05:54] I think it's been 12.

[01:05:55] She said 12 at some point.

[01:05:57] Carol.

[01:05:58] Let me do some quick Googling.

[01:06:00] Walking Dead Wiki says the OG show took place over 4,678 days.

[01:06:05] That's about 12.8 years.

[01:06:08] Okay.

[01:06:09] From Screen Rant, quote,

[01:06:10] showrunner David Zabel stated that 2 began only two or three months after the main show's finale, indicating the events of season one all happened within a month or two.

[01:06:20] So I guess her daughter had been gone for almost as much time as she was alive.

[01:06:26] The bioluminescence was a fun effect.

[01:06:28] That's a long tunnel to get through while tripping.

[01:06:31] Isabel.

[01:06:32] Yeah.

[01:06:32] Oh, yeah.

[01:06:33] Isabel.

[01:06:34] Oh, everyone is hallucinating their loved ones.

[01:06:36] So sad.

[01:06:37] We said our final goodbyes to the memories of Isabel and Sophia.

[01:06:40] You can't always get what you want.

[01:06:42] By the Stones is such a fitting song to start and end on.

[01:06:45] Soon they'll be in England.

[01:06:46] The home of the Stones.

[01:06:48] Oh, that's a good point.

[01:06:49] Filming in Spain really.

[01:06:50] I don't know why that didn't occur to me.

[01:06:52] That's great.

[01:06:52] Filming in Spain really had us all tricked and Ash didn't die.

[01:06:55] I guess Codron is out there somewhere.

[01:06:57] So we'll probably meet up with him again one day.

[01:06:59] I think so.

[01:07:01] Yeah.

[01:07:02] Sophia, I think of the Stones as such an iconic American thing.

[01:07:06] And I'm like, nope, they are British.

[01:07:07] I always forget that.

[01:07:09] But yep.

[01:07:10] Yep.

[01:07:11] If you just hear them talk.

[01:07:12] No, that's not good.

[01:07:13] I'm taking that out.

[01:07:14] Me, take a bath.

[01:07:18] Josie Bowen Ectel says,

[01:07:20] I liked the finale better than I expected to.

[01:07:23] I did like Ash and Laurent's send-off,

[01:07:25] and I hope they make it back safely.

[01:07:27] I actually love both of those characters.

[01:07:29] Based off of the promo trailer,

[01:07:31] I had expected Anna to be the one chasing after them,

[01:07:34] but I was glad to watch her trick them and sacrifice herself.

[01:07:37] Am I the only one who felt weird about those Scottish people the whole time?

[01:07:42] They didn't seem off at all,

[01:07:44] but I guess it was just my gut instinct not to trust them.

[01:07:47] I guess I'm just a cynic because they were supposed to be friendly with flu and all,

[01:07:51] but I just expected them to be bad,

[01:07:53] similarly to how I was expecting Dee Dee and her husband to be bad.

[01:07:56] This universe just trains your brain that way,

[01:07:58] after all this time, I guess.

[01:08:00] Yeah.

[01:08:01] When Daryl found those two gas masks before the major tripping happened,

[01:08:04] I thought the intent was clear,

[01:08:06] and they needed to get the hell out of Dodge.

[01:08:08] I thought Daryl would have connected the dots sooner.

[01:08:10] I really didn't understand why he put them back down.

[01:08:13] I agree with you, Josie.

[01:08:14] Yeah, it's a missed opportunity there.

[01:08:16] The tunnel was cool,

[01:08:17] and the bioluminescent Zs were intriguing.

[01:08:20] I wasn't totally sold on the Sophia scenes,

[01:08:22] but I do enjoy how we are finally watching Carol navigate that trauma,

[01:08:26] though it's years beyond its due.

[01:08:28] The Lizzie and Henry mention made me excited, too.

[01:08:31] I would like her trauma to dive more into those characters as well.

[01:08:36] I love watching Daryl and Carol interact,

[01:08:38] because just as they always have,

[01:08:40] they get these knowing glances and short exchanges

[01:08:42] that are just so much deeper than they appear.

[01:08:45] When Carol was pulling away in the plane and Daryl says,

[01:08:48] I know, I thought of all their tender moments.

[01:08:51] We have this magical connection between two characters

[01:08:54] who know each other so intricately,

[01:08:55] and it's nice to have quality scenes between them again.

[01:08:58] It's Daryl and Carol against the world,

[01:09:01] just as always,

[01:09:02] and I hope season three is higher quality than season two was,

[01:09:06] but I think as long as it has our two beloved characters,

[01:09:08] I will tune in forever,

[01:09:10] despite my gripes and nitpicks.

[01:09:12] I just try to ignore those,

[01:09:14] and I'll continue to do so.

[01:09:16] Aww.

[01:09:17] I really like them together, too.

[01:09:19] I think it's really fun.

[01:09:20] And there's been some moments that really made me laugh this season.

[01:09:26] All right, here's a call from Johnny from Texas.

[01:09:28] Hey, what's up, Jason and Lucy?

[01:09:30] What's up?

[01:09:31] Good, Johnny.

[01:09:31] Just wanted to give a little quick thought

[01:09:35] on the finale of Daryl Dixon.

[01:09:37] I thought it was awesome.

[01:09:39] Um, that little acoustic bit in the beginning

[01:09:42] with the Rolling Stones intro was freaking cool.

[01:09:46] I really liked it.

[01:09:47] Daryl singing along.

[01:09:48] The only thing is that he never sang along to Beth's music.

[01:09:53] Real quick, I'm sorry if you hear noise in the background.

[01:09:56] I'm kind of driving.

[01:09:59] It's kind of your trade.

[01:09:59] Laurent likes 70s music, too.

[01:10:01] I thought that was cool.

[01:10:02] I would like to see his record collection.

[01:10:05] Daryl getting his crossbow back was nice.

[01:10:08] Nice.

[01:10:09] Um, I liked hearing Carol bring up Lizzie and Henry.

[01:10:14] I could hear our, I could hear our OG characters

[01:10:17] talk about the old days all day.

[01:10:19] Really, like, it just goes to show how long we've been

[01:10:22] with these characters.

[01:10:24] We know them so well.

[01:10:26] The moment where Daryl saw Carol getting on that plane,

[01:10:32] it's like, man, you just know what they're thinking.

[01:10:35] It's so cool.

[01:10:36] So, the guano segment was freaking interesting.

[01:10:41] It reminded me of the Michonne and Virgil episode with all the hallucinating.

[01:10:46] I thought the zombies were really cool in the tunnel.

[01:10:52] Anyways, I just wanted to inform y'all that I did indeed vote for the second time in my life,

[01:10:57] and I feel really good about it.

[01:11:00] Thank you for all the great content you gave us for 2024.

[01:11:03] Let's see what Walking Dead brings in 2025.

[01:11:06] I'm really excited for next year.

[01:11:09] Uh, I want to know what's at the end of that tunnel.

[01:11:12] I don't like that they just walked into the darkness.

[01:11:16] Let's see what happens.

[01:11:19] See y'all.

[01:11:20] Love y'all.

[01:11:20] Don't get fit.

[01:11:23] Thanks, Johnny.

[01:11:24] Uh, do you think they'll show them coming out of the tunnel or in the tunnel next season?

[01:11:30] I hope so.

[01:11:31] I'd like to see them come out.

[01:11:32] Yeah, I want to see them come out.

[01:11:34] Yeah.

[01:11:34] Cool.

[01:11:35] And I like, he mentioned hallucinations.

[01:11:37] I tend to like stories where people hallucinate for some reason.

[01:11:40] They just usually are pretty interesting.

[01:11:43] Yeah.

[01:11:44] Um, Laura Willie Swink says,

[01:11:46] I'm so befuddled by both this finale and this season.

[01:11:49] It really feels like someone came into the writer's room and said,

[01:11:52] and now for something completely different.

[01:11:54] So stories had to be changed and rewritten without the level or planning or,

[01:11:58] the level of planning or foundation season one had.

[01:12:00] This episode started off as the A-Team, Paris,

[01:12:04] then made a weird left turn into fear and loathing in last channel.

[01:12:08] Um, where did this sudden paramour of Falouz come from?

[01:12:10] She didn't even exist until the story demanded Falou be parted from the group.

[01:12:14] He hallucinated her, I think.

[01:12:16] He hallucinated her.

[01:12:17] She was a guano mirage.

[01:12:19] Um, and they'd already killed off enough of the main French cast that they thought

[01:12:24] they should have, leave at least one Frenchman standing.

[01:12:27] I know Codron may still be around, but whether he'll survive is debatable.

[01:12:30] Honestly, I hope you will.

[01:12:32] I'm more interested in him than either Carol or Daryl at this point.

[01:12:35] And after they've effectively killed off the entire revolving door of villains,

[01:12:39] they drop a random Scottish couple on our gang who seem to be the quirkiest couple of lovesick French tourists,

[01:12:44] just to have them turn out to be absolute bastards and unworthy foes.

[01:12:48] So sorry, Lucy and Peter, for the negative representation.

[01:12:51] Thanks, Laura.

[01:12:52] But didn't Falou vouch for these two?

[01:12:54] Didn't they say they had already come through the channel?

[01:12:57] Channel?

[01:12:57] Were they, why were they not aware of the trippy Bat-Poo and Technicolor Zeds?

[01:13:01] Did I miss something?

[01:13:02] Did they cross the channel 12 years ago at the start of the ZA?

[01:13:05] I assumed they had recently come to France.

[01:13:08] And also, why, since Daryl kept taking fresh inhales through the gas mask and then took it off,

[01:13:13] could not all four of them just share the two masks between them all and make it out?

[01:13:17] Whatever.

[01:13:18] More fear-level hand-waving and yada-yada-ing the story.

[01:13:21] Everyone needs to die or buzz off, à la Laurent and Ash,

[01:13:24] so Daryl and Carol can go on their buddy road trip.

[01:13:28] This wasn't a horrible episode, but I can't say that there was a lot I loved about it.

[01:13:32] I was glad that Isabel got a final goodbye,

[01:13:34] but would it have been too much to give us a farewell smooch?

[01:13:37] Come on, producers.

[01:13:38] Well, then you'd have to picture Daryl there just kissing air.

[01:13:43] Like Rick and Ghost Laurie, which is still my favourite thing.

[01:13:47] Michonne watching him through the fence like,

[01:13:49] I think I'm going to marry that man.

[01:13:54] And we sort of got our farewell to France.

[01:13:56] Not a total loss of a season, but a definite downturn from last season.

[01:14:01] Here's hoping things improve in England.

[01:14:03] Don't get bit mes amis.

[01:14:05] Hola.

[01:14:06] I agree.

[01:14:07] I predict next season will be better than season two.

[01:14:10] I think we were supposed to believe that the Scottish couple had come some years ago,

[01:14:16] but not right at the start.

[01:14:18] But they didn't make it super clear.

[01:14:20] And I can understand why you were confused about that,

[01:14:22] because it took me a bit to get that.

[01:14:24] And I also, as I said during the podcast,

[01:14:26] think when two randoms come in and they end up sort of doing your characters bad,

[01:14:34] they just seem evil.

[01:14:35] But really, it's survival.

[01:14:38] And so, you know, you could like Daryl killed them.

[01:14:43] You know, he could have just taken the masks and walked away.

[01:14:46] He didn't have to kill him.

[01:14:47] But I agree, Laura, that in a logical world, you would share the damn masks.

[01:14:52] Yep.

[01:14:53] 100%.

[01:14:54] Nathan Eshelman said,

[01:14:55] I have to gush about Anna since this is her last episode.

[01:14:58] I'm going to miss her and the Demi-Monde.

[01:15:01] It's a unique location for The Walking Dead.

[01:15:03] And that's saying something, considering France itself was already a unique location for the show.

[01:15:08] Anna was my favorite side character of the spinoff.

[01:15:11] I'm enticed by morally gray characters.

[01:15:13] Aren't we all?

[01:15:14] It's harder to get inside their head and figure out their motivations.

[01:15:18] Anna ran away from an ordinary life in her hometown in Russia to become a singer in Paris.

[01:15:23] And you get the sense that even pre-apocalypse, she set out to live a life filled with art and meaning.

[01:15:27] She doesn't get attached to people and it feels like a defense mechanism.

[01:15:31] She got kind of attached to Quinn though, but yeah.

[01:15:34] Maybe that's why she has the defense mechanism.

[01:15:36] Losing people can't hurt you if you don't let them in.

[01:15:38] So when Jacinta shoots the driver and the dancer in the car with her, she seems unfazed.

[01:15:44] And I think the performance plays on the fact that you genuinely don't know if she doesn't care or if she's just putting on a brave face.

[01:15:51] When Anna sends Jacinta, I should say, to the plane, she says she wants the plane for herself so she can go home.

[01:15:59] But earlier in the episode, she mentions not knowing what became of her family.

[01:16:03] So I had wondered if going home was more of a poetic notion about the end of her life.

[01:16:07] Or it was just a lie so she could buy Laurent time to escape.

[01:16:11] Either interpretation fits into her morally ambiguous nature.

[01:16:15] I mean, like I said in the podcast, I think she didn't decide to help Laurent until she was reminded of him by that Eiffel Tower picture.

[01:16:24] Otherwise, why wouldn't she just lead Jacinta's people somewhere far away from where Laurent was?

[01:16:31] Why lead them right near him?

[01:16:34] I think it was the Eiffel Tower turn point.

[01:16:36] Yeah, but he goes on.

[01:16:37] She was set up like a queen as the proprietor of the Demi-Mond.

[01:16:40] So if she actually did want to go home, it doesn't feel like she had made prior attempts.

[01:16:45] The actress has mentioned the tone of the show's script was like literature.

[01:16:49] So when she dies without showing any physical agony, I just interpreted it as them prioritizing the conveyance of her emotional acceptance in the moment rather than worrying about the practicalities of being in pain.

[01:16:59] It's meant to be poetic.

[01:17:01] Fun fact.

[01:17:02] Lukara Ilyashenko, who plays Anna, doesn't speak French.

[01:17:07] She spent a long time learning the lyrics to the song she sang in the Demi-Mond because she didn't know what she was saying.

[01:17:12] I'm interested in following her career after the show.

[01:17:15] She has a few movies out called Dance to Death and The Blackout, which seem like good places to start.

[01:17:20] Well, that was incredible, Nathan.

[01:17:22] I love getting different kinds of messages like that.

[01:17:25] We're a real deep dive on this character.

[01:17:26] Loved it.

[01:17:27] Thanks, Nathan.

[01:17:28] That's cool.

[01:17:28] Next up, we have the following from Patton, who says,

[01:17:32] How is this simultaneously one of the best, worst, funniest and weirdest episodes of the spinoff?

[01:17:38] Carol and Daryl went literally batshit crazy.

[01:17:41] Falou reveals that the apocalypse solved racism.

[01:17:44] We got The Walking Dead's first Scottish characters.

[01:17:47] We got Kadron's redemption arc fulfilled before he ran off after the hallucination of his dead brother.

[01:17:54] We got a self-contained love story that may be among the best in the franchise.

[01:17:58] We got The Most Confusing Waste of the Plane's third seat.

[01:18:02] Also, I think this might be the first episode in quite a long time when someone has been straight up bitten.

[01:18:08] Yeah.

[01:18:08] I really can't tell whether or not I love or even like this episode.

[01:18:12] I might need to hear the episode and the feedback first or just watch again.

[01:18:16] When they entered the tunnel and the Scottish woman explained bioluminescence, literally the first thought that popped into my head was,

[01:18:23] Bioluminescent zombies!

[01:18:25] And what do you know?

[01:18:27] A minute later, there's bioluminescent zombies.

[01:18:30] Also, we got confirmation of something I said in a previous comment.

[01:18:34] Daryl has been learning French.

[01:18:35] He does have a very basic understanding of it.

[01:18:39] I think probably time that he's wasted, Pan, since he's now leaving.

[01:18:45] Ash and LeRong are up and away.

[01:18:48] My only question is, without Carol, how the hell are they meant to get back to the Commonwealth?

[01:18:53] We didn't see Ash getting any directions to get there.

[01:18:55] Would they just show up and be like, hey, you know Carol and Daryl?

[01:18:58] They're not here, but they sent us instead.

[01:19:01] Did Ash even realise that Carol had jumped out of the plane?

[01:19:04] He looked over and wasn't surprised that she wasn't in her seat.

[01:19:08] We didn't see her jump, but the way the camera panned over to show her seat empty was just kind of odd.

[01:19:13] Really weird way to end the season, I feel.

[01:19:16] Want to say how proud I am of all of you getting out there and voting.

[01:19:20] Your right to vote is an important one, watching all of the election coverage from over here in Australia,

[01:19:25] and it's nice to see people starting to feel hope again.

[01:19:28] Bring it home!

[01:19:29] Much love to you all.

[01:19:30] Bye!

[01:19:32] Okay.

[01:19:33] Well, yeah, thank you.

[01:19:35] And when people have written in to say that they voted, I still am really thankful about that.

[01:19:41] Thank you guys for voting and for mentioning it to us.

[01:19:46] Yep.

[01:19:48] He mentioned he was right that Daryl was learning some French, and I think you're probably right about that.

[01:19:56] But I remember as the scene played out, Daryl asked, I forget the details, but he asked somebody what somebody else said,

[01:20:03] and they told him, and he goes, oh yeah, I knew that.

[01:20:07] But I think really he just, I thought what he was saying is he could kind of tell by their tone of voice what they were saying.

[01:20:16] I wish I could remember exactly what the dialogue exchange was.

[01:20:19] But anyway, maybe Pan is right that the point was that he actually understood it.

[01:20:25] Yeah.

[01:20:26] Our old friend Matthew Rimmer wrote in and said, hi Jason and Lucy.

[01:20:29] So I'll preface this by saying I had to pause the episode as they entered the tunnel as I had to go out.

[01:20:34] Up until then, a fairly solid season finale.

[01:20:37] Season one had a unique feel with Daryl, a fish out of water in France.

[01:20:41] Season two reset the playing field, shifting the show into delivering just more traditional The Walking Dead fare.

[01:20:46] And as disappointing as it was that they ditched the wonderful Isabel, thankfully the show did recover after the nadir that was episode four.

[01:20:54] On to this episode, and I was very worried for the lovely Falou.

[01:20:57] Love interest?

[01:20:58] A dead man walking, surely.

[01:21:00] But no, a happy ending.

[01:21:01] Yay!

[01:21:02] Alas, Anna of the demimum was not so lucky and was not afforded life beyond our Walking Dead heroes bringing upheaval to her doorstep.

[01:21:10] Ash and Laurent got away though.

[01:21:12] No idea how Carol got out the moving plane.

[01:21:14] Was the I know line a nod to the iconic Han Solo reply to Leia's I love you in The Empire Strikes Back?

[01:21:20] It wasn't very clear what happened after the plane took off and Jacinta shot herself.

[01:21:26] Did the remaining soldiers just let Daryl and Co leave?

[01:21:29] I think so.

[01:21:30] At last, Daryl finally told Cadron he didn't kill his brother.

[01:21:34] A piece of information withheld for two seasons for no obvious reason.

[01:21:38] Felt for Carol that she couldn't remember Sophia's face and her mentions of Lizzie and Henry.

[01:21:42] And then Falou got his happy ending and our merry band, now with added Scots, head into the channel.

[01:21:49] So I come home, unpause the episode and continue and oh no!

[01:21:53] Way to derail an episode!

[01:21:54] Hallucinogenic guano!

[01:21:56] Bioluminescence for atmospheric lighting!

[01:21:58] Cadron forgets Daryl didn't kill his brother!

[01:22:01] Phantom figures!

[01:22:02] Scots turn evil!

[01:22:03] Silly, silly, silly.

[01:22:04] The episode worked well up until they got into the tunnel, then nope.

[01:22:08] That channel that goes right through me anytime anyone calls the channel tunnel that unironically.

[01:22:14] So almost a good end to an up and down season, but the very end, that was a down.

[01:22:19] Don't get bit breathing in hallucinogenic guano!

[01:22:22] We won't, Matthew.

[01:22:24] Oh, I didn't know.

[01:22:24] Is that like a derogatory term for it or something that only foreigners say?

[01:22:28] No, I think it's just some people like some terms and others don't.

[01:22:33] It's a bit...

[01:22:33] Because I've been calling you that so I wouldn't think of anything.

[01:22:35] Don't worry, the channel will not be offended.

[01:22:39] It's not a slur.

[01:22:44] Your mum's a channel...

[01:22:46] Like what?

[01:22:47] No!

[01:22:47] That might not be so great.

[01:22:49] Your mum's a channel tunnel.

[01:22:51] Your mum's a channel tunnel.

[01:22:53] All right.

[01:22:54] Thanks, Matthew.

[01:22:55] Let's move on to Carly Jackson.

[01:22:57] Bonjour, Jason and Lucy.

[01:22:59] Bonjour.

[01:22:59] This is Carly from Santa Fe.

[01:23:00] Bonjour.

[01:23:00] And first of all, Jason, thank you for letting me talk about my podcast.

[01:23:05] It is called The Book Club Podcast.

[01:23:07] We pick a genre or theme to discuss every season, and we're wrapping up our third season

[01:23:13] on Millennial Nostalgia.

[01:23:16] The next episode will be on The Princess Bride, and the last episode of the season will be on

[01:23:20] Jurassic Park.

[01:23:21] We talk mostly about the books, but in those two episodes, we will also talk quite a bit

[01:23:27] about the movies.

[01:23:30] I, because I love The Princess Bride, the movie, and have since I first saw it in the 80s,

[01:23:35] and Nico and I were on a road trip, and I downloaded the audiobook, which I'd never heard or read,

[01:23:42] and played it for him, you know, and he really liked it.

[01:23:45] It was like, I don't know, six hours or something.

[01:23:46] Then we came home and watched the movie, and he liked the book better.

[01:23:49] And I'm like, what?

[01:23:51] Yeah.

[01:23:52] That's cute.

[01:23:53] It's kind of cool.

[01:23:53] Yeah, yeah.

[01:23:54] Anyway, Carly goes on.

[01:23:56] You know, and one thing we've talked about the whole season is the idea of connection

[01:24:01] and connecting in online spaces, and can you form real connection from online spaces and

[01:24:10] based on just liking the same thing, like being part of a fandom together?

[01:24:13] And every time that comes up, I always think about Podcastica and this community that has

[01:24:18] grown up around, you know, liking TV shows, liking The Walking Dead.

[01:24:24] So I've been thinking about this podcast a lot and just the ability to build community

[01:24:32] and build connection starting with just enjoying a TV show together.

[01:24:38] And it's funny.

[01:24:39] I mean, I would not be watching The Walking Dead right now if it wasn't for this podcast.

[01:24:43] I would have left a long time ago.

[01:24:45] So it's the community of fandom has become stronger than the original content,

[01:24:52] which is fascinating and just lovely, actually.

[01:24:57] So about the season finale for Daryl Dixon season two, I think I just kind of emotionally

[01:25:05] detached a couple episodes ago.

[01:25:07] Like, I enjoyed watching it.

[01:25:09] I was, you know, kind of like, it's pretty, there's some interesting things happening.

[01:25:13] But, you know, I don't know.

[01:25:16] I don't know if I was actively avoiding trying to make a cohesive thread of the story throughout

[01:25:23] the season.

[01:25:23] So I enjoyed watching the season finale.

[01:25:26] I loved the glowing fungus zombies.

[01:25:30] Those were super cool.

[01:25:33] And, you know, when you're talking about Lucy, you were talking about in the episode about

[01:25:37] Carol fighting her zombie self.

[01:25:40] And first of all, the zombie Carol looked really cool and scary.

[01:25:46] And when Lucy was talking about that made me think about Carol wrestling with this idea

[01:25:51] of becoming a zombie in the sense that if she became a zombie, she would be following Sophia.

[01:25:58] And that struggle of does she want to give up and follow Sophia or does she want to continue

[01:26:06] on, you know, as a human living?

[01:26:09] So I wondered, I don't know if this was conveyed in the episode, but your conversation made me

[01:26:15] think that that was her choosing to continue to live.

[01:26:20] I like that.

[01:26:21] And that's great.

[01:26:23] Totally.

[01:26:23] And not give into becoming a zombie or essentially dying to join her daughter.

[01:26:29] So I mean, I loved Carol this whole season.

[01:26:32] I know a lot of people didn't.

[01:26:34] I did.

[01:26:35] And I do think the Daryl story suffered a lot.

[01:26:40] But I think you guys pointed out all the reasons why.

[01:26:43] So I won't repeat all that.

[01:26:44] Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting back to the rewatch.

[01:26:48] Um, so, uh, au revoir.

[01:26:53] Au revoir.

[01:26:55] Um, thanks Carly.

[01:26:57] I think she said her podcast was called Book Talk.

[01:27:00] I'm not positive, but I'll look it up and put it in the show notes for you guys.

[01:27:05] If you want to check it out.

[01:27:06] It sounds lovely.

[01:27:07] Yeah.

[01:27:08] Thanks Carly.

[01:27:09] That was great.

[01:27:09] Okay.

[01:27:10] Here's Claire Rettner who says hi, Jason and Lucy and friends.

[01:27:14] Well, that season finale was quite a mixed bag.

[01:27:17] The first two acts were incredible.

[01:27:18] In my opinion, the stakes were high.

[01:27:20] Nobody seemed safe.

[01:27:21] And I was on the edge of my seat.

[01:27:23] The writing seems spot on.

[01:27:25] Every conversation was important and not a moment was wasted.

[01:27:28] I thought to myself, why haven't they been writing like this all season?

[01:27:31] It was excellent.

[01:27:32] The loose ends were tied up in an organic way that felt good and right.

[01:27:36] I was looking at all the new characters that we met this year and last year and really felt

[01:27:41] something for each of them.

[01:27:42] The show managed to create a cast of characters that I really cared about.

[01:27:45] Yeah.

[01:27:46] And it had the perfect diva death.

[01:27:48] And I was, that's a great way to put it.

[01:27:50] And I was surprisingly even compelled by Jacinta and Sabine's roles in all this.

[01:27:56] I guess Sabine is the second in command.

[01:27:58] That must be number two.

[01:27:59] Yeah.

[01:27:59] I was especially satisfied with Falou's choice to go with Akilah.

[01:28:03] Their friendship and romance was beautiful and unexpected.

[01:28:07] FYI, I'm really into the golden bachelorette right now.

[01:28:11] Not only did they not make Falou a disposable character, but they gave him a really earned

[01:28:16] and kind ending, especially for this universe, unless he shows up again.

[01:28:20] But yeah.

[01:28:21] Yeah.

[01:28:21] I loved everything about this episode.

[01:28:23] Daryl singing with Laurent, the hard work and sacrifice everybody was willing to give

[01:28:27] to get Laurent to safety.

[01:28:29] The important conversations between all these characters on the precipice of change.

[01:28:33] Everything was so well done and satisfying.

[01:28:35] Five stars.

[01:28:36] Bravo.

[01:28:36] Then we got to the third act.

[01:28:38] Goodness gracious.

[01:28:39] Was that a hot mess that I was?

[01:28:40] I mean, come on.

[01:28:41] Everybody knows you don't go traipsing through a tunnel dwelling by illuminescent zombies after

[01:28:46] inhaling back guano, especially after mourning the loss of a loved one.

[01:28:50] I honestly felt like I was watching a different show, one that I didn't like.

[01:28:54] It was so ridiculous and unrealistic that it actually made me a little angry.

[01:28:58] To insert Norman and Melissa, talented actors that I've grown to respect into this stupid

[01:29:03] B-movie plot was just awful.

[01:29:04] I was having Fear the Walking Dead flashbacks.

[01:29:07] It was so contrived and such a terrible plot device to get Daryl and Carol to finally feel

[01:29:13] their emotions and deal with their losses.

[01:29:15] Are we supposed to believe that that's what it takes for Daryl and Carol to deal with their

[01:29:21] difficult emotions?

[01:29:22] I say yes.

[01:29:25] As organic and good as the first two acts of the episode felt this one equally, this one

[01:29:31] felt equally unorganic and terrible.

[01:29:33] Overall, despite the shitty tunnel ending, I was satisfied with the way things ended.

[01:29:40] Daryl and Carol are off on their next adventure.

[01:29:43] Laurent and Ash are safe and Falou and Cadron are still alive.

[01:29:46] Can't say the same for that charming Scottish couple.

[01:29:49] Oh, well, God bless and don't get bit.

[01:29:51] Oh, Claire, you nailed it.

[01:29:53] You made me feel better about the episode, although I liked the tunnel scene, but yeah, the rest

[01:29:57] of it you made me feel better about.

[01:29:59] Daniel Dementjoost says, Joost.

[01:30:04] Joost.

[01:30:05] Joost.

[01:30:05] Joost.

[01:30:06] Who do I trust more here?

[01:30:09] Jason.

[01:30:10] He's spoken with Daniel.

[01:30:12] Oh, pulling out the facts on us.

[01:30:14] Yeah.

[01:30:16] I know.

[01:30:17] Even though ours is the correct Dutch pronunciation.

[01:30:20] Oh, no, Lucy, we're outgunned here.

[01:30:23] Okay.

[01:30:24] I know.

[01:30:25] Danielle says, things I didn't like.

[01:30:29] Anna's death.

[01:30:29] She did not respond at all when the walker started chewing on her body.

[01:30:33] That took me out of it.

[01:30:34] No matter how defiant she was trying to appear, she would have had a reaction to that kind

[01:30:39] of pain.

[01:30:39] It's poetic.

[01:30:41] Just kidding.

[01:30:42] I agree.

[01:30:42] Dron just running away.

[01:30:44] Kind of a stupid ending for the character, really.

[01:30:46] The casting of Sophia, it's a nitpick, but I think they could have done a little better

[01:30:50] with that.

[01:30:51] I'm sure it's ridiculously difficult to find a lookalike actor, but I still feel like there

[01:30:55] was room for improvement.

[01:30:57] Things I liked.

[01:30:59] The bioluminescent walkers.

[01:31:01] They were cool.

[01:31:02] The exchange between Daryl and Falou about the Scottish couple.

[01:31:05] They speak English.

[01:31:07] Well, they're Scottish, so it's fair.

[01:31:11] The...

[01:31:12] La Ronge's escape with Ash.

[01:31:15] I thought that scene was done well, and I'm not sorry to see the character go.

[01:31:18] He has been good and all, but I'm ready to move on from his story.

[01:31:22] Pretty bold of Carol to imagine that they're already at the Commonwealth, though.

[01:31:26] Law.

[01:31:27] I could take or leave the hallucination psychosis stuff.

[01:31:31] It was fine.

[01:31:32] I just watched the Maggie methane episode of Dead City with my son yesterday, so it felt

[01:31:36] very familiar.

[01:31:37] And of course, it reminded me of Michonne with Virgil.

[01:31:41] I liked Daryl's interaction with Isabel, although Isabel walking into a cloud of fireflies was

[01:31:46] a bit much.

[01:31:48] She goes on to say,

[01:31:50] Jason, you made a comment last week in response to me saying that Daryl generally keeps his

[01:31:55] emotions hidden about how he responded when seeing Carol come back.

[01:31:59] He's known Carol a much, much longer time than he knew Isabel, and I feel confident in saying

[01:32:04] that his feelings for Carol run much deeper than his feelings for Isabel.

[01:32:08] Imagined off-screen conversations aside, the first time that we ever heard Daryl tell Carol

[01:32:14] that he loved her was in the TWD finale.

[01:32:16] I'm just saying I don't think you can compare the two relationships at all, and even if you

[01:32:21] do, it took a long time for Carol and Daryl to get to where they are in their relationship

[01:32:26] now, much longer than Daryl has known Isabel.

[01:32:30] All in all, it was a fine season, but I enjoyed season one more.

[01:32:34] I guess we'll figure out in the premiere why they end up in Spain instead of England.

[01:32:39] My son and I are about to start season one of Didi.

[01:32:45] Daryl Dixon, I guess.

[01:32:46] Oh, well, of course.

[01:32:47] Yeah.

[01:32:48] Yeah.

[01:32:48] The show that I'm talking about right now.

[01:32:51] Danielle, apologies.

[01:32:51] I should really have spotted that.

[01:32:53] So I get to start over in the next few days.

[01:32:56] ETA after listening to the pod.

[01:32:59] Regarding Daryl's dog tags, they weren't really there.

[01:33:02] He hallucinates Isabel, his grandfather, and the dog tags.

[01:33:05] They're in his hand when Isabel is on screen, and then they're not there when the view switches

[01:33:09] to reality.

[01:33:10] It goes back and forth to show that the dog tags and Isabel are part of his hallucination.

[01:33:18] Now, she prefaces this bit with spoiler feedback.

[01:33:21] So fair warning, everybody.

[01:33:24] Remember they dressed up France to look like the US for the scenes when Carol is looking

[01:33:29] for Daryl and finds Ash.

[01:33:30] My hunch is the Spain dressed as England thing is the same situation.

[01:33:35] I expect the majority of the season will be in Spain, but they need Daryl and Carol to

[01:33:39] pass through England first and only need it for an episode or two.

[01:33:42] So they faked it in Spain rather than having to arrange for two different shooting locations.

[01:33:47] Good points, Daniel.

[01:33:47] We will see.

[01:33:49] We will see.

[01:33:49] Yeah.

[01:33:50] All right.

[01:33:51] Here's a call from Dodie on this episode.

[01:33:54] Hi, Jason and Lucy.

[01:33:55] This is Dodie from Wells, Maine, just calling in with a little bit of feedback on the season

[01:34:00] finale.

[01:34:01] Trying to get this one in under the wire.

[01:34:04] I want to talk about the use of the tunnel in the second half of the episode.

[01:34:09] First of all, I experienced a bit of deja vu watching this.

[01:34:13] Was it Dead City that had a similar scene where the characters were affected by the air in

[01:34:18] the tunnel and were getting high and disoriented?

[01:34:22] Put him at risk again with the zombies?

[01:34:25] Anyway, I thought it was put to good use in giving Carol some closure about Sophia.

[01:34:31] Carol seeing herself as a zombie seems to fit what most parents who outlive their children

[01:34:37] must feel on some level.

[01:34:38] It should be me who is dead and they alive.

[01:34:43] Mm-hmm.

[01:34:44] Plus, it gave Melissa McBride the chance to get into zombie makeup without having to actually

[01:34:48] die.

[01:34:49] I approve of that.

[01:34:51] She finishes off her unfeeling zombie self and then she is once again able to see Sophia's

[01:34:58] face as she looked when alive.

[01:35:02] Carol asks Sophia if she can go with her and Sophia lovingly slips her hands out of Carol's

[01:35:08] as if to say, no, it isn't your time.

[01:35:11] And Carol watches her move on.

[01:35:14] It's hallucinogenic therapy, but with bat guano instead of mushrooms.

[01:35:20] Mm-hmm.

[01:35:20] Similarly, Daryl experiences guidance from his ghosts and encouragement to go on.

[01:35:26] I like seeing Isabel strong and empowering again, and it was fun getting a chance to see Daryl's

[01:35:32] grandfather.

[01:35:35] I was not happy, however, with what they did with Codron.

[01:35:39] I can see a couple of possible rewrites for that.

[01:35:43] They did a 180 on his character growth in the last episode and send him back to the place

[01:35:49] of violence and vengeance, with him once again seeing Daryl as the killer of his brother.

[01:35:54] Would have made more sense to have him see the woman who actually killed his brother.

[01:36:02] I can't figure out what they're doing with him.

[01:36:05] Really, I would much rather have seen him get on the plane with Asha LeMron with the intention

[01:36:10] of continuing to be his protector.

[01:36:13] Hmm.

[01:36:14] That's interesting, yeah.

[01:36:15] Having Carol get on the plane fooled no one, since we all knew she was going to be staying

[01:36:19] for the next season.

[01:36:20] Yeah.

[01:36:21] Anyway, hope this gets to you on time.

[01:36:24] I look forward to hearing the rest of the feedback and then getting back to the rewatch

[01:36:29] with you two.

[01:36:31] Love your work as always.

[01:36:33] Don't get bit.

[01:36:45] Dang.

[01:36:46] Thanks for the werewolf impersonation.

[01:36:49] It was so good.

[01:36:50] But I also wanted to mention with her call, and a few other people, they mentioned how much

[01:36:56] they like Codron.

[01:36:57] Several people have said they're more interested in his story than Carol and Daryl's.

[01:37:01] And I just, maybe I've already kind of said this, but it's a little harder for me to get

[01:37:07] into his story when they introduced him by having him kill an innocent old man, and they

[01:37:11] haven't really addressed that.

[01:37:12] And it's hard for me to let go of that kind of thing with people and just be like, oh, whatever,

[01:37:16] he killed a guy.

[01:37:17] He's cool now, you know, without him sort of showing.

[01:37:20] I mean, he did sort of say, I lost my way and now I'm back.

[01:37:23] So maybe that was meant to sort of address that.

[01:37:25] I think there's definitely been growth there.

[01:37:27] Yeah.

[01:37:27] And then if I'm going to get too bogged down in this kind of a thing that I would have

[01:37:30] to be super critical of Carol, who drove, who led a bunch of zombies into a group of

[01:37:35] people.

[01:37:36] She had no idea whether they were good or bad or not.

[01:37:38] And then she started firing on them.

[01:37:40] Yeah.

[01:37:40] And on the main show, like pretty much everyone.

[01:37:44] Yeah.

[01:37:44] But I mean, this was worse.

[01:37:46] Like this was just one of those things where it's like, okay, forget about the usual

[01:37:50] grounded walking dead.

[01:37:51] Now we're watching John wick.

[01:37:53] So you just have to be okay with a lot of death because it's cool, you know.

[01:37:58] Barely an inconvenience.

[01:38:00] Yeah, exactly.

[01:38:02] Okay.

[01:38:03] I've got three emails from Dina.

[01:38:06] Dina says, my dearest Lucy and Jason, like Cliff from Singles, I'm not listening to your

[01:38:10] analysis for a few days because I don't want to hear anything negative, man.

[01:38:14] I just want to bask in the afterglow of the mostly okay intercourse with au revoir les

[01:38:19] enfants and smoke a French cigarette.

[01:38:21] Sure, there was much that was predictable and all tied up in a nice neon bow.

[01:38:26] But the show recaptured much that I loved about the first season.

[01:38:29] The slow pacing, stunning cinematography and quiet moments punctured with 10 seconds.

[01:38:35] I can't bring myself to analyse.

[01:38:37] All I can give you is a laundry list of what I did love.

[01:38:40] Also, I'm slightly drunk.

[01:38:41] Here it is.

[01:38:43] Predictable song, but I credit Laurent's poor singing skills that finally elicited Daryl's

[01:38:48] choking up over Isabel.

[01:38:49] I thought he was just sad because he was bad at singing.

[01:38:51] No, I'm joking.

[01:38:52] I'm joking.

[01:38:53] I'm joking.

[01:38:54] Dina also says, all hail McVivian.

[01:38:57] Oops, wrong show.

[01:38:58] And Lucy and Peter have better accents.

[01:39:00] Thanks.

[01:39:02] The farewell to France via the guanolaced birthing canal.

[01:39:05] The firefly zombies.

[01:39:06] Codron's humour and vulnerability.

[01:39:08] The writers did not make Daryl give the predictable response to Codron's grief about putting down

[01:39:13] his brother.

[01:39:14] That was a secret for us.

[01:39:16] Speaking of Merle, it was so, so nice to see Merle the crossbow again now that the angel

[01:39:21] vest went to heaven.

[01:39:23] Unless the vest is a zombie.

[01:39:25] Again, speaking of Merle, we now have confirmation that Daryl did plenty of drugs with him since

[01:39:29] he was the only one unscathed by the guano acid trip.

[01:39:32] Yes, you heard that right.

[01:39:34] Isabel and Gramps, for that matter, were not hallucinations.

[01:39:37] They were angels that gave Daryl peace without, you know, giving him peace.

[01:39:41] You cannot convince me they were not.

[01:39:43] I have faith.

[01:39:45] Email two of three.

[01:39:46] Okay, I'm no longer drunk and have discussed it with my son who decided after episode five

[01:39:51] that unless the finale was as good as last season, he won't watch season three.

[01:39:55] He's not watching season three.

[01:39:57] We've both decided that Carol does not belong on this show and he adores Carol.

[01:40:02] Daryl went off to college and was discovering himself outside of his family.

[01:40:06] It was fascinating.

[01:40:07] Carol should have enrolled in another college to find herself without the crutch of Daryl.

[01:40:11] She was not fascinating.

[01:40:13] The writing would have been tighter if they weren't in such a rush to appease fans.

[01:40:17] Just my opinion and the reason for me that the show lost its high standing.

[01:40:21] It's election day tomorrow.

[01:40:23] I'm voting, then sipping some Lagavulin in case the world ends after the votes are cast.

[01:40:28] If all ends well, I'll ponder whether or not to indulge in Spanish libations.

[01:40:32] As of yet, I'm undecided.

[01:40:34] Email three of three.

[01:40:36] Oh my god, I can't shut up.

[01:40:37] You're going to rescind your offer to have me on the podcast again.

[01:40:40] My mood stabilizers just aren't working.

[01:40:43] Daryl does that to me.

[01:40:44] Look, it was a flawed season for sure and I still wish Carol had her own spinoff and

[01:40:48] the reunion in season three.

[01:40:50] But let us pretend there was not going to be a third season.

[01:40:53] This season finale ending would have been perfect as a series finale.

[01:40:57] Lucenne's tied up.

[01:40:59] Carol finding the memory of her little girl.

[01:41:01] Daryl's promise to Laurent.

[01:41:02] We know he'll keep it.

[01:41:04] Angel Issa telling him to bet on hope.

[01:41:06] Carol saying, let's go home.

[01:41:08] And Daryl grunting, yeah, in turn.

[01:41:10] And that gorgeous green light emanating from death lighting their way as the stones send

[01:41:14] them on their way in hope.

[01:41:16] A girl can dream.

[01:41:18] Thanks, Dina.

[01:41:19] That is very entertaining.

[01:41:20] I need to see them get home.

[01:41:22] I hope we get to see that.

[01:41:24] Yeah, I think we do.

[01:41:26] Yeah, I hope so.

[01:41:27] And reunite with Rick.

[01:41:29] But no, the offer stands.

[01:41:32] I like your emails always.

[01:41:34] And she's going to come on for the one where Beth and Daryl get drunk.

[01:41:41] Moonshine.

[01:41:41] Yeah.

[01:41:42] Yeah.

[01:41:42] I'm going to drink some moonshine while we record on it.

[01:41:45] Excellent.

[01:41:46] Don't go blind.

[01:41:48] Linda in London says, hey, Jason Lucy, I've been listening to your podcast for a few

[01:41:51] months, but this is the first time I'm writing in.

[01:41:54] Buckle up.

[01:41:54] It's a long one.

[01:41:55] I'm reaching out to say thank you for everything you do.

[01:41:58] The main reason I'm watching Daryl Dixon season two is to catch up on your podcast and

[01:42:02] enjoy your insightful, intelligent, well-researched and humorous discussions.

[01:42:06] Plus the hope of cameos by Andy Lincoln and Danai Gurira.

[01:42:10] Ha.

[01:42:11] Oh, sorry.

[01:42:12] You didn't get it.

[01:42:12] Maybe next time.

[01:42:13] I haven't seen the final episode yet, but just noticed that your coverage has downloaded.

[01:42:17] So I'll dive into it later today.

[01:42:19] I only began watching The Walking Dead earlier this year.

[01:42:22] Forever I've heard it's a must watch, but I never got around to it.

[01:42:25] Miraculously over all these years, I've avoided spoilers and entered with zero knowledge about

[01:42:30] the plot or characters.

[01:42:32] What an emotional rollercoaster it's been.

[01:42:34] I've been to the first three seasons in just two weeks with my husband away for work.

[01:42:38] Often I became even more invested.

[01:42:40] Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Carol, Michonne, Carl, Herschel.

[01:42:44] I've spent nearly every day from June to September alongside them and all the others.

[01:42:49] They feel like actual friends.

[01:42:51] The tension in seasons three through five caused some of the strongest reactions I've ever

[01:42:56] had watching TV.

[01:42:58] I've cried so much.

[01:42:59] It's hard to capture how intense this experience has been in an exhausting, absolutely wonderful

[01:43:04] way.

[01:43:04] Well, this is unique.

[01:43:05] I've never heard of anybody who did that, like watched it so recently and things through

[01:43:09] the whole thing like that.

[01:43:10] It's got to be intense.

[01:43:11] Once Rick blew up the bridge, though, everything changed.

[01:43:14] That's when the show got really good.

[01:43:15] No, I'm just kidding.

[01:43:16] After that scene, the helicopter moment and time jump, I felt like a different series

[01:43:21] had started.

[01:43:21] The magic spell shattered completely.

[01:43:23] Nothing else like Dumpstergate, Abraham and Glenn's murders.

[01:43:28] The Savior War had done that before.

[01:43:30] Season seven and eight were sometimes monotonous, but still always held my interest.

[01:43:35] That probably helped that you binged through them.

[01:43:37] Yeah, I was thinking that.

[01:43:40] Suddenly, that feeling was gone in just two scenes.

[01:43:42] I've mostly been tuned out since then.

[01:43:44] I've hit play on every episode to see what happens with the OGs, but I found the plots

[01:43:48] boring and the new direction disappointing.

[01:43:50] I fast forwarded through a lot.

[01:43:52] On a positive note, by then embracing and exploring 14 years of The Walking Dead analysis,

[01:43:58] I found your podcast.

[01:43:59] Though we clearly disagree with Angela Kang's vision, LOL, you've really eased my disappointment.

[01:44:04] I agree with Jason.

[01:44:05] What I love about The Walking Dead was how for so long it was grounded.

[01:44:09] It realistically depicted human reactions and societal shifts during a catastrophe that

[01:44:16] just happens to be the ZA, focusing on connection, community, and found family.

[01:44:21] Who are we when everything crumbles?

[01:44:23] What and who do we fight for?

[01:44:25] How do we treat strangers and how can we trust them in life or death situations?

[01:44:29] What does grief and loss do to us?

[01:44:31] And how do we keep our humanity when cruel experiences accumulate?

[01:44:36] I love how the often slow pacing allowed for deep character development that felt logical,

[01:44:41] even if actions weren't always morally right, making it relatable and sparking discussions.

[01:44:46] Bottle episodes highlighted smaller stories, helping the audience connect with characters.

[01:44:51] The Walking Dead did what great art does.

[01:44:53] It evoked very strong emotions and offered new perspectives.

[01:44:56] It was utterly heartbreaking and truly gut-wrenching.

[01:44:59] While some moments stretched belief, overall, it felt real.

[01:45:03] Plus the acting.

[01:45:05] Oof.

[01:45:05] Off the charts.

[01:45:06] Now I find the Walking Dead universe has become too fantastical.

[01:45:10] While I love fantasy and horror, the shift diverges from what I cherished about the original series.

[01:45:15] Since season 10, it felt like a strange mix of Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings,

[01:45:20] with elements of Jason Bourne and James Bond.

[01:45:22] The main characters seem to possess superhero-like abilities.

[01:45:26] There are too many tropes.

[01:45:27] I'm saddened by its decline, a feeling that's probably extra strong because I binge-watch it in a mere five months.

[01:45:33] It equals the mothership, Dead City, Daryl Dixon 1 and 2, and the ones who live.

[01:45:37] But I thoroughly enjoy listening to all your episodes about the same.

[01:45:41] I feel like I've stumbled upon an amazing community that you've created and you so thoughtfully helm.

[01:45:47] Full of very cool people with really interesting perspectives, thoughts, experiences, and of course shared interests.

[01:45:53] I did love The Ones Who Live, though, despite its fast pace and absurdity.

[01:45:57] It wrapped up a story that desperately needed closure while reestablishing real stakes,

[01:46:02] thanks to the incredible performances of Andy Lincoln and Danai Gurira.

[01:46:06] They bring such depth to two of the most compelling characters from the original series.

[01:46:11] Overall, I'm grateful for an ending that The Walking Dead proper never provided.

[01:46:15] And again, I'm super grateful for your podcast.

[01:46:18] It's too soon for me to dive into a re-watch.

[01:46:20] There's still so much I need to digest, lol.

[01:46:23] But when it inevitably will happen, I can't wait to listen to both your initial plus re-watch episodes.

[01:46:29] Also, I'm really looking forward to your coverage of The Last of Us Season 2.

[01:46:32] Right on.

[01:46:33] Yay!

[01:46:33] Keep up your amazing work.

[01:46:35] You're absolutely killing it.

[01:46:37] Don't get bit.

[01:46:37] Well, thank you.

[01:46:38] It's so fun to read something like that this far in.

[01:46:41] That's amazing, Linda.

[01:46:43] I'm very jealous that you got to binge it all.

[01:46:45] That's really cool.

[01:46:46] Yeah.

[01:46:47] And then manage to stay spoiler-free and watch it all like a big, long movie.

[01:46:52] I think, yeah, I feel, I know, I do sort of get what you're saying about the final seasons feeling more tropey.

[01:46:59] And I really enjoyed the Angela Kang, like, I think about that Michael Myers-like episode in Alexandria.

[01:47:07] That clearly, and I even talked to her about it when we interviewed her, was they had Halloween and Michael Myers in mind when they did that.

[01:47:14] And something like that can feel a bit like a themed episode or something that isn't as grounded, you know?

[01:47:20] And I can understand that.

[01:47:21] But I also hope that maybe you get a chance to watch through those again and not fast forward and try to appreciate the nuances and details of what was good about them.

[01:47:30] Maybe while you're listening along to the podcast, if you're still, you know, as sort of obsessed with all of this by the time you get back around to it again.

[01:47:36] Because I have a feeling you might find more to appreciate, but I don't know.

[01:47:40] Maybe.

[01:47:41] I love those seasons.

[01:47:43] They're some of my favorites.

[01:47:44] Oh, yeah.

[01:47:45] Definitely.

[01:47:46] But we love that email.

[01:47:48] So thank you.

[01:47:49] Yeah.

[01:47:50] Okay.

[01:47:51] We have one more message about this last finale episode, and it's from Robin.

[01:47:57] Here we go.

[01:47:59] Bonjour, mes amis.

[01:48:00] C'est moi.

[01:48:01] Bonjour.

[01:48:02] What an interesting episode.

[01:48:03] It felt like two episodes crammed into one so that they could stick to their six episode arc.

[01:48:10] There were some good things, though.

[01:48:12] I really did enjoy the hippodrome.

[01:48:13] I did feel some real tension there.

[01:48:16] The Walking Dead typically does some really good action scenes.

[01:48:20] Although I was surprised that with all the shooting that was going on and the guy on the motorcycle that nobody hit the plane.

[01:48:31] I thought for sure somebody would hit it in a kind of non-fatal way and Ash and Laurent would take off.

[01:48:37] But then next season, they would land somewhere with this injury to the plane.

[01:48:42] Injury.

[01:48:43] No time for that.

[01:48:43] Damage to the plane that they would have to try to fix somehow.

[01:48:46] But that's probably not going to happen.

[01:48:48] At first, it seemed like Carol and Daryl were doing a Gift of the Magi thing.

[01:48:54] Each sacrificing for the other.

[01:48:56] But then, of course, I knew that they were both going to stay behind and send Laurent away.

[01:49:02] And I'm wondering, did Ash ever find that long tube he was looking for?

[01:49:07] He seemed to really need it.

[01:49:09] So I don't know.

[01:49:11] And I guess that Carol must have given them directions off screen somehow and possibly a letter of introduction at the Commonwealth because they're just going to fly over to Ohio and hope for the best, which seems, you know, a little bit nerve wracking.

[01:49:29] And then I was laughing as awkward as Carol was getting into that plane all the time, hauling her foot in after her and just being.

[01:49:36] How did she get out without anybody noticing?

[01:49:39] How did she get her little old lady self out of that plane without anybody noticing?

[01:49:44] Did she just launch herself over the wing and do a tuck and roll or, you know?

[01:49:49] Yeah, that was that was a little bit strange.

[01:49:53] I think that was just sort of an off screen moment where she said, because she said, is everything all right?

[01:49:59] And the plane hadn't started taxiing yet.

[01:50:02] And then she said, all right, I'm going to go help them and open the door and got out.

[01:50:05] But we just didn't see that part.

[01:50:06] You know, that was my assumption.

[01:50:08] It seemed like to me.

[01:50:12] But then, you know, then we move on to the the tunnel, which was, you know, the tunnel was OK.

[01:50:20] I'm I you know what was up with that couple?

[01:50:24] Did they how did they not know about the the checkpoints and everything?

[01:50:29] Did they go through over into France before all that stuff was set up?

[01:50:34] It just seemed like that made them seem a little bit suspicious.

[01:50:37] And I don't think they were meant to be.

[01:50:39] I think they were on the up and up, you know, unless they were able to somehow fool the savvy and very cool falu, which I don't think so.

[01:50:48] I don't think she would they would be able to do that.

[01:50:52] The walkers were very cool.

[01:50:54] The bioluminescence was very cool.

[01:50:58] I'm not really into trippy stuff.

[01:51:00] So, you know, it was a little bit weird.

[01:51:03] And, you know, there were those two gas masks.

[01:51:06] And it seems like, of course, there would be no story if they worked it out to share.

[01:51:10] That would, you know, obviously they couldn't do that.

[01:51:13] The touching farewells were they did get to me because I'm kind of a sucker for, you know, visions of the person that you're grieving for coming to you and giving you comfort.

[01:51:22] That that I'm not going to lie.

[01:51:24] I cried at that one.

[01:51:26] But then there's Codron.

[01:51:27] What?

[01:51:28] Codron.

[01:51:30] They gave him this fabulous personality and story and everything.

[01:51:33] And then he just runs off into the dark.

[01:51:36] Maybe we'll see him next time.

[01:51:37] I don't know.

[01:51:38] It's that made me laugh a little bit.

[01:51:41] That's kind of why I think they will show him again, because they spent time developing him.

[01:51:45] And so it felt like a cliffhanger.

[01:51:47] Yeah, if we never saw him again.

[01:51:49] Yeah, really weird for him to just disappear like that.

[01:51:51] So fingers crossed.

[01:51:53] Yay for Falou.

[01:51:55] Good for you, man.

[01:51:56] You found love in the apocalypse.

[01:51:58] But who was that woman?

[01:52:00] Did we ever see her before?

[01:52:01] I'm not really sure.

[01:52:03] But she was very cool.

[01:52:04] I really liked her a lot.

[01:52:06] And then there's Anna, another person touched by Laurent.

[01:52:11] You know, I was wrong that she was the next bad guy.

[01:52:14] I clearly it was going to be Jacinta.

[01:52:16] But I really thought it would be the second in command woman, because Jacinta, what a weak sister she was.

[01:52:21] She had no idea what she was doing, just waving her gun around.

[01:52:25] But I loved that Anna just would not give an inch as she was being pulled back into the, you know, the zombies and them chewing her.

[01:52:32] She was just extremely cool and extremely chic right up to the end.

[01:52:37] But man, she wasn't going to give in.

[01:52:41] So that's that.

[01:52:44] That makes me want to see her as a zombie and see if she'd be like the most like cool.

[01:52:50] Blase zombie you've ever seen.

[01:52:52] I actually really baller.

[01:52:54] Yeah.

[01:52:55] Yeah.

[01:52:55] I don't really know.

[01:52:57] I then, you know, we have Carol and Daryl walking off into the tunnel sunset.

[01:53:02] You know, I'm not up for a buddy program next.

[01:53:05] I'm just really not a fan of buddy shows.

[01:53:08] So I don't know how I'm going to feel about next time.

[01:53:12] But interesting.

[01:53:14] It was kind of a cool up and down season.

[01:53:20] As we've all said, I'll be interested to hear what you guys say.

[01:53:23] I don't listen to the podcast or read the comments until after I record because I just want to see where we all touch on the same things or where we where we differ.

[01:53:33] But you guys, thank you so much for everything you do.

[01:53:35] So it's, you know, as I've told you many before, it's a bomb for my soul and I do appreciate it so much.

[01:53:42] I'm looking forward to what, you know, getting back to the rewatch and hopefully I'll have my schedule together so that I'll be able to call in.

[01:53:50] Take care, y'all.

[01:53:52] It's actually Wednesday morning.

[01:53:54] So, you know, the world as we know it has ended, I guess.

[01:53:58] But we'll all be OK.

[01:54:00] Talk to you soon.

[01:54:01] Bye bye.

[01:54:02] Thank you, Robin.

[01:54:04] Oh, thanks, Robin.

[01:55:17] Numbers of citizens.

[01:55:18] The people he kills get up and kill.

[01:55:21] Are they slow moving, chief?

[01:55:22] Yeah, they're dead.

[01:55:23] They're all messed up.

[01:55:29] OK, just one thing this week.

[01:55:31] David Zabel and Scott Gimple talked with Entertainment Weekly about this episode, and I just pulled some things that I thought were particularly interesting.

[01:55:40] Entertainment Weekly asked, will we see Laurent again on a different Walking Dead show?

[01:55:46] David Zabel said he's getting his own spinoff.

[01:55:49] No, he said, I got a text from Lewis, the actor, all but asking the same question.

[01:55:55] He's actually much more polite than that.

[01:55:56] He was just checking in and they said, so what's the answer?

[01:55:59] Might we see Laurent alongside Negan or Michonne or whatever future spinoff that might be on the horizon?

[01:56:05] Scott Gimple said, it's a garden of forking paths.

[01:56:10] Of course, Scott Gimple said it.

[01:56:13] There are different things I've been working on and I have absolutely played with how Laurent might fit within those things in America.

[01:56:20] You have all these pivot points like, oh, if we're doing this, we can't do that.

[01:56:25] Or if we stop doing this, we can't do this.

[01:56:27] Because I'm surprisingly not throwing an A in there or you know what it is.

[01:56:31] Or what do we need here?

[01:56:33] And who's available then?

[01:56:34] But yeah, he's absolutely in mind.

[01:56:36] Lewis is terrific.

[01:56:37] Laurent was wonderful and such a great character to bring different things out of Daryl.

[01:56:41] I am a fan.

[01:56:41] So maybe, you know, it sounds like he'd be interested if he was able to do it.

[01:56:46] I think that'd be cool to see Laurent interact with Judith in particular.

[01:56:50] Yeah.

[01:56:51] I mean, I think they'd have a little friendship going on there.

[01:56:55] Maybe Judith would kill him immediately.

[01:56:57] Yeah.

[01:56:58] Maybe.

[01:56:58] Get there and he's just dead.

[01:57:00] Oh, we didn't know who he was.

[01:57:02] Oh, man.

[01:57:03] He's just a foreigner.

[01:57:04] He was talking funny.

[01:57:07] Anyway, they say, where exactly are Daryl and Carol going?

[01:57:11] Season two ends with the dynamic duo continuing their journey through the channel to England.

[01:57:15] Yet season three is filming and set in Spain.

[01:57:18] So how exactly does that work?

[01:57:19] David Zabel says there's a big earthquake and the channel now goes to Spain.

[01:57:23] He laughs.

[01:57:24] And he says, no, it's a circuitous route.

[01:57:27] It's not a direct path.

[01:57:28] But that's part of what's great about the opening of season three is seeing that journey that gets them there.

[01:57:34] And it doesn't go straight to Spain.

[01:57:36] It's a very cool adventure that somehow gets them from inside the tunnel to Spain.

[01:57:40] Scott Gimple said it's got to be some sort of detour, right?

[01:57:43] The channel does not go to Spain.

[01:57:45] So I'm so excited about the detour, about the things they experience and the people they meet and the people who play the people they meet.

[01:57:51] Season three seems to have hit its stride before they started.

[01:57:54] So I'm pretty excited about it.

[01:57:56] It's a really, really good team over there.

[01:57:57] And it's a really good story.

[01:57:58] So it sounds like they may actually go to Spain.

[01:58:01] They might spend a little time in England and then go to Spain.

[01:58:04] But I don't know.

[01:58:05] If you look at the first look, you will form opinions.

[01:58:09] Okay.

[01:58:10] I still haven't managed to remind myself to watch any of those.

[01:58:14] Unless London's looking real different than the last time we were there for work.

[01:58:17] Okay.

[01:58:17] I think they are going to be in Spain.

[01:58:19] Nice.

[01:58:24] All right.

[01:58:24] That is our very long episode.

[01:58:27] Number 611.

[01:58:28] Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

[01:58:30] Yay.

[01:58:31] We've been doing pretty short ones.

[01:58:33] So it's kind of nice to do a long one for the finale feedback.

[01:58:38] Next episode will be something.

[01:58:39] I'm not sure what.

[01:58:41] I might come back next week with a horror movie or something.

[01:58:45] Or maybe we might take a week break and we'll be back either way in two weeks for the rewatch.

[01:58:52] Continuing on with the end of season three and on into season four.

[01:58:56] Yay.

[01:58:57] If you want to write in or leave us a voice message about it,

[01:59:00] you can find all our contact information at podcastica.com.

[01:59:04] Yeah.

[01:59:04] Go there.

[01:59:04] People always ask me, how do I find such and such?

[01:59:07] And I'm like, do what I say at the end of every episode.

[01:59:09] Go to podcastica.com.

[01:59:10] You can find everything there.

[01:59:11] While you're there, you can check out our other podcasts.

[01:59:13] If you didn't get a chance to listen to Lucy and Peter on Let It Rip, the Bearcast,

[01:59:17] I recommend that.

[01:59:19] You guys basically did a cooking show with some TV talk thrown in there.

[01:59:23] So that was really fun.

[01:59:25] It was so much fun doing that.

[01:59:26] Yeah.

[01:59:26] It was so fun.

[01:59:27] We still have a big lump of beef to cook.

[01:59:29] So you better go shit.

[01:59:31] That's still in our fridge.

[01:59:32] That's in the freezer.

[01:59:33] Not the fridge.

[01:59:33] I thought it was in our freezer.

[01:59:35] Yeah.

[01:59:35] It's in our freezer.

[01:59:38] Do you think you were going to actually do that?

[01:59:39] Make the Italian beef?

[01:59:41] We got the jardiniere.

[01:59:42] Yeah.

[01:59:42] Yeah.

[01:59:43] Yeah.

[01:59:43] That was, you know,

[01:59:44] I'm like obsessing over the right kind of roles to get like how to make bread.

[01:59:49] Gotta get the good ones.

[01:59:50] Or are we baking the bread as well for it, do you think?

[01:59:53] I don't know.

[01:59:54] What do you, yeah, we'll figure it out.

[01:59:55] We'll figure it out.

[01:59:59] Maybe it'll impress me.

[02:00:00] Marcus does it in the first season of The Bear.

[02:00:03] Then they start buying it in.

[02:00:05] Oh, that makes sense that he went on to donuts.

[02:00:08] Yeah.

[02:00:08] Little admin plot point that we do see play out on screen.

[02:00:11] I decided to buy the bread in.

[02:00:13] So we did have meatball subs for dinner last night.

[02:00:15] It was pretty good.

[02:00:16] I'm hungry.

[02:00:17] Let's end this so I can go eat.

[02:00:18] This episode is made possible by Patreon supporters like Thomas D. Sloneger, who pledged their support at patreon.com slash Jason Cabassi.

[02:00:27] Thank you to Thomas, who's just an all around cool dude that we got to meet in San Francisco during the finale.

[02:00:33] Thomas Thomas.

[02:00:34] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[02:00:34] Love Thomas.

[02:00:36] And mentioning stuff that's happening.

[02:00:39] There's a lot going on on Patreon coming up here.

[02:00:42] Penny and Becky Fenner Anderson and I are doing a Zed Head show on our favorite 9D shows.

[02:00:48] Brilliant.

[02:00:49] Sometime this month when I get around to scheduling it, we're doing a call-in show where we all play our favorite hip-hop songs.

[02:00:55] That's going to be really fun.

[02:00:57] And if you need a pick-me-up, I definitely recommend listening to the listener chit-chat I just did with Dodie a couple of days ago.

[02:01:03] That's a really good one.

[02:01:06] That sounds amazing.

[02:01:07] Thank you, guys.

[02:01:08] Thank you, Peter, for joining us.

[02:01:10] Oh, no, thank you for having me.

[02:01:11] It was fun.

[02:01:12] Always a pleasure.

[02:01:14] All right, that's our show.

[02:01:15] Thanks for listening.

[02:01:16] Don't get bit, Eileen Cross.