Yahoo is Tasteless

This morning around 3 AM Jose Fernandez passed away in a tragic boating accident. Five days ago he struck out 12 batters in a game against the Washington Nationals. I’ll be honest I don’t watch baseball too much anymore. So when I saw yahoo featuring a story on the front page entitled “Fernadez strikes out 12” I figured it was a write up about how a talented young pitcher was gone too soon.

I was wrong instead it’s just an embedded highlight video from MLB.com. No write up, no mention that he passed. Seemingly just there to get clicks.

Stay classy Yahoo. The people in the comments seem to feel the same way I do.

Who Did Negan Kill? The Case for Aaron and Rosita

I include these two characters together because if the writers decide to kill them off it will be seen as a cop-out to the audience. Ending the season six finale with a cliff hanger was a gamble, one that they really need to pay off this next season in order to keep the audiences’ trust. Killing off Aaron or even Rosita who has been with the show for a few seasons now will not keep our trust. However let’s play devil's advocate and suppose that they do decide to take the easy way out and kill off one of these characters.

The case for Aaron:

Aaron joined the cast in season five but outside of his first few episodes, and a memorable season five finale spent with Daryl we haven’t gotten to know him very well. Aaron is a comic book character so I don’t think they would dispatch him ala Noah in a savage and unexpected way meant only to shock the audience. I feel that Aaron has more to add to the story and to the group dynamic, perhaps even taking the place of the character who is killed off in the premier.

The case for Rosita:

Much like Aaron we haven’t really gotten to know Rosita. In all honesty she has had little to do outside of being romantically entangled with Abraham. As she is no longer with Abraham that could point to her story being over. However I personally don’t believe that is the case, instead I think her story is just beginning. She has primarily been used a mercenary for Rick’s group doing whatever he asked and killing without remorse. She seems to be someone who has adapted to the new world and I would like to see where she came from. She clearly has a background in the military but seeing who she is on a personal level could be very compelling. Much like Aaron I think she could be set up to come to the forefront with the departure of whoever meets Lucille.

In conclusion I don't believe the writers would chose to kill off either of these characters. However I have been wrong before. Just ask any of my friends, I told them that they would never end the season with out showing who Negan killed and yet we now have this series of articles. Speaking of which the updates have been going slower than I would like, but I plan to pump them out as quickly as possible. The next blog will be dedicated to Michonne. Thank you for reading and if you liked this please check out my youtube channel youtube.com/thelastofthegoodones or follow me on twitter @thefakeBMarr. 

Who Did Negan Kill? The Case for Eugene

Call this a shameless attempt to amass views on my blog and I will not blame you. The internet buzz has dulled to a low hum but people still wonder; who did Negan kill? I've not been shy about how displeased I was with the finale of The Walking Dead. Put simply I did not like it, but you know who I do like? Eugene.

That lying faux scientist is one the best parts of the show. Watching his transition from helpless dead weight to somewhat serviceable member of the group has been one of the brightest spots for me as a viewer and fan. I think one of the reasons Eugene remains one of my favorite characters is that he reminds me of myself. Granted I'm not quite as intelligent or well spoken as that mullet having god but I'm certainly out of shape and prone to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. What I'm saying is that if I were a member of Rick's group I'd be less useful than the person every viewer hates for being useless.

It is a shame then that Eugene has to die. Or does he? Well he probably does. Looking at it strictly from a narrative point of view Eugene's story arch is just about complete. The only thing it is missing is a barbwire baseball bat to the dome. Eugene has been on a roller coaster of character development ever since it was revealed that he in fact has no idea how to cure the zombie apocalypse. Of course at first no one really liked or respected him, he has slowly been building his way back up and working to get into the good graces of characters and audience members alike.

As he has said himself, he wants to move on to level two. In the finale he had officially graduated to the next level of badassery. He has proven himself useful to the group, providing perhaps the most valuable asset Rick could have on the brink of war... bullets. He has studied how to forge bullets and is ready to help the group out by supplying them with a possible advantage over the Savoirs. However he was willing to pass that knowledge onto the group and sacrifice himself so that they could get Maggie to safety. Make no mistake that move was a suicide play, Eugene had no intention of surviving. He did however survive. For the time being anyways if he is to die at the hands of Negan it would be tragic and provide the show with enough of a gut punch to get viewers upset but not enough to alienate people. That is why I think we could be saying good bye to the mullet come season seven.

Who did Negan Kill? The Case for Rick or Carl

Negan Killed Rick… or maybe Carl? Okay I know no one believes that. Which is why I’m including them together and making this article first in my “Who did Negan Kill?” Project. Let’s look at the evidence supporting either of their deaths. Late in that scene Negan seems to realize that Carl is the son of the leader Rick. He is very intrigued by this relationship.

As Rick was the one who lead the assaults against the savoirs and Negan has vowed to kill only one member of the group Carl is the easiest choice. The future serial killer's death makes a statement and shows everyone that Negan is not messing around. It would be a brutal and heartbreaking moment for Rick. The group is a family but Carl is actually his blood. Everything he has done in the series has been to protect Carl.

Storywise Carl’s story doesn’t seem be at an end. He still has his relationship with Enid to work out. Also he needs to let her out of that closet so that’s a loose end that should really be taken care of. He also was horrifically injured in the middle of the season. However he did survive so it would make little sense for him to survive that only to be killed by Negan. So Carl is officially off the board in my opinion.

When talking about Rick I will be referencing some comic spoilers but nothing too important. So you have been warned but your viewing experience won’t be affected in anyway because of them. In the comic Negan makes it clear that he isn’t going to kill Rick because one it would be too easy and two it would turn Rick into a martyr. He has no interest in that, infact Negan would prefer not to kill anyone. His whole operation is to offer protection for settlements in exchange for goods. A possibly once noble cause that has clearly gone off the rails.

Rick is the main character of both the show and comic. It is his story. We are viewing the world according to Rick even though he has done some pretty terrible things from an outside perspective we understand him and his motivations. If you watch the episode we get a supremely confident Rick in the beginning. Why wouldn’t he be? Everything and everyone who has come in conflict with Rick have been dispatched. Shane, Thomas, the Governor, the people of Terminus and Pete all were killed by Rick for opposing him and threatening his people. Not to mention the countless zombies who have meet the end of Rick’s Colt Python. He seems unstoppable. Contrast that with Rick’s face at the end of the episode, this is a broken man, pale and horrified. He is well on his way to pee-pants city.

Negan needs to keep Rick alive to show the people of Alexandria that there is a new sheriff in town… pun intended. The point needs to be crystal clear that Rick couldn’t do anything to stop Negan and as such there is nothing they can do to stand up to him. They have to play by his rules. The new World order as he calls it.

So that’s why I don’t think Rick or Carl are dead. It wouldn’t make story sense for them to be the one’s whose eye’s we see through at the end of “Last Day On Earth”. Let me know your thoughts. I’m not holding myself to a timetable for these articles. We still have seven more months to wait until the show comes back so there will be time. Also remember to watch”Fear The Walking Dead” this sunday, you can catch up on that show on Netflix. Next up I will present the case for everybody’s favorite mullet enthusiast Eugene.

PS check out my friend Will’s kickstarter and donate some money or share the link!
The Rare Project

The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 16 review: Last Day on Earth Review

Well put Negan. 

I think most people can agree that last night’s episode was one of the worst of the series run. This is the season of blue balls. Whether it was Glenn’s death that was undone by plot armor. The midseason finale ending before anything really exciting happening. (Prompting me to write a very similar article) Or finally ending with a POV of Negan’s victim instead of actually showing it. While I was watching this scene my family was kind of upset with the POV but I kept saying hold on, just wait until they pull back. Alas they didn’t pull back, it just ended. At the halfway point of the season I complained that I was just about done with The Walking Dead but the second half won me back with better pacing and a more of a commitment to telling the story of the comic. Then at the last second they took all of the goodwill of the second half and smashed it in the face with a barbedwired baseball bat. I spend a lot of my time trying to defend The Walking Dead to my friends who prefer shows with "better storytelling" and "compelling characters" I honestly feel like I have no leg to stand on. Negan may not have killed any characters in this season finale, but they did kill my enthusiasm for the future of the show. I feel as if I’m not alone here. If twitter is any indication I am not. I’m interested to see who they killed off, though I’m not excited. Negan’s entrance in the comic book is one of the defining moments of the comic. This villain a man that we have never seen before takes away all the confidence we have in Rick and the group. To that point this group has been on top of any conflict they encountered. They are our unstoppable protagonists and in one moments Negans takes the life away of one of our main characters, while forcing Rick to face his own hubris and mortality. The season finale robbed us of that moment, Negan killed someone but instead of using this as a powerful moment they opted to go with the cliffhanger that was ultimately unnecessary to build hype for the next season.That was their decision and it was the wrong one. The interesting thing will be whether it hurts Fear the Walking Dead  people are not happy right now. Will they be that interested in watching more Walking Dead especially when they don’t have too much love for the new show?

Don’t be surprised to see lots of articles wondering if the finale of The Walking Dead contributed to lackluster ratings for Fear. Something to look forward to, although I will say that Fear the Walking Dead season one was awesome and it deserves better than 6 million viewers an episode especially when the main series gets 12. Let me know your thoughts on the season finale and season six as a whole. As for this episode I give it 3 annoying cliff hangers out of 10.

Hi I'm wasted potential.. I mean Negan

PS,

I will be writing a case for each character to die based on their character arcs. Putting my English degree to work and shamelessly trying to get clicks.  

In Defense of Jason Rothenberg and The 100

So by now most people have watched and reacted in their various ways to the shocking but not that shocking death at the end of the episode. When watching this episode I found it quite entertaining the two stories intercut throughout the episode separated by nearly 100 years, it really was a unique direction for the show to go in. In the past timeline we are shown the beginning of the war that wiped out civilized society as well as what happened to to the thirteenth station Polaris. It was shot out of the sky for not joining the other twelves space stations. This parallels the current story in a way that is almost heavy handed but stops short of force feeding you. In fact a character in the show even says it's a novel concept to just destroy the thirteenth station. In the end we are shown that the first commander came from Polaris and that each commander carries with them an implant perhaps containing the memories and experiences of all the other commanders. 

The most important thing that happened in this episode is the death of Lexa at the hands of her teacher Titus though it wasn't purposeful, she still ended up dead. People online really didn't like this ending to the Clarke and Lexa storyline to say the least. As an openly gay character being killed off was considered to be playing into tropes. In fact it has gotten so bad that the creator of the show is being harassed on Twitter. 

I have two problems with people being incredibly upset about Lexa’s death the first is practical. The actress who portrayed Lexa, Alycia Debnam Carey has been cast on amc’s Fear the Walking Dead so she was only allowed to appear in seven episodes of The 100. Fear the Walking Dead isn't going anywhere so she will most likely be locked into that show for a long time. It sucks but that's showbiz as they say. The second issue I have has more to do with the show as its own entity. Jason Rothenberg created this show, it's his intellectual property, he didn't make you become a fan of the show. You became a fan because something about the show spoke to you. You don't have any ownership over the show. 
In the end Rothenberg does and it’s his story to tell. If he thinks killing Lexa is the best way to progress his story that's his decision. It sucks when you favorite character dies on a show, believe me I grew up watching Lost I get it. But you can't go attacking someone for writing that character off. They are trying to tell the best story possible, and they are trying to tell their story. So don't send hate to Jason Rothenberg on Twitter. He seems like a nice guy and if you listen to the Dropship podcast he seems to be really sorry that people took this death so hard. If you really loved Lexa and Alycia Debnam Carey then you're in luck as I said above she's in another show Fear the Walking Dead and she's really good on it. At the end of the day it's just a tv show and maybe shouldn't be taken so seriously. Those are just my thoughts let me know what your thoughts are.