Don't Dead Open Inside - S01:E06

   I apologize for the delay!

   I wanted this post to be special, as it is a defining moment in the series both as a finale and as a massive convincing point to my theory. With this speciality, came indecision and with this indecision, came delay. In short, that's why today's Walking Dead Wednesday is on Thursday. Enjoy the season one finale of Walking Dead.

TS-19

   First off, the way Shane "protects" Rick is abysmal. Any zombie with half a brain could have gotten into the room. But, I'm above that now. Also, this was back when they were human. Rick HASN'T died yet.

   Jenner is a mysterious man. He keeps making logs of his research and progress. He stays locked inside a barricaded building that is almost ready to explode. The timer counts down as the power is used up, which means that the less power used the longer it takes to reach 0. If I was running on a clock, and had no intention of leaving the facility, I would have shut down the power to the outside long before Jenner did. But, that also adds to his character development as well.
   Per this theory, we know that Jenner is dead, is a scientist, and had had a partner at some time. The building is abnormally clean and has an immense amount of food. These are all things that I'm going to touch on in this post.

   Jenner was telling the truth about the scientists once the apocalypse happened. Most left, some "left", and barely a handful stayed. Originally, he and the other staff were alive, but at some point they all died. Here are some scenarios:
1) The same reason that the building was going to blow up in the first place, infected the remaining staff. They didn't initially keep the top side locked which let people in and a raid gone wrong left everyone dead except Jenner.
2) Everyone becomes infected, and Jenner realizes this. Because he doesn't quite understand zombiism yet, he thinks he'll starve as a zombie. He plans ahead; he kills the remaining staff and keeps them fresh by putting them in the refrigerator.
3) Jenner got infected from his wife, but doesn't tell anyone. One night he wakes up as a zombie and eats the remaining crew. Then he keeps them fresh by storing them.
4) The staff don't even realize that they're dead. They simply wake up one day and keep on experimenting. Slowly they die do to accidents (that fire seemed rather intense), until only Jenner remains.
*My personal choice is roughly aligned with option 3* (One person turns and kills others. This way, Jenner knows that there were zombies in the facility, but he thinks he got them all. What he doesn't know, is that he died and turned.)

   Whichever seems more believable to you, I just want to point out that the facility is abnormally clean for post-apocalyptic. This is their human brains recognizing this place as a haven for them. They ignore all the disgusting mess that is sure to be in some of the rooms, and replace it with perfection.

   The important part is, Jenner doesn't know that he's dead. He knows that he's alone, on limited time. He keeps all the power running for observational purposes. He studies the zombie outside and sees many people fall outside the walls. He also finds a lone zombie walking the halls on surveillance. Knowing the danger, he goes to investigate, but he never finds the zombie. Through several iterations of this, he slowly realizes something. The zombie is always where he was at the time of surveillance. HE IS THE ZOMBIE.

   This horrible truth make him realize that there is no hope for him, and he finally starts shutting down the facility to conserve power. He might not survive, but he is still going to try and find a cure (using the remains of his wife). One thing he continues to do, is to monitor outside to see the state of the world. What he didn't realize, is that he'd find another group of zombies as well. They came banging on the doors, looking for solace, and that's when Jenner had to make another decision.

   He knew the truth, that they were zombies, he also knew that this place would blow up shortly. He was torn between two terrible choices. Let the live, unknowing, outside, or let them die inside, but knowing the truth. He finally decides to let them in, and seals the door behind them.
   A side note: the zombies outside were sleeping, right? Wrong. Those were all dead bodies. If zombies slept, we would have noticed by now. As of now, zombies are mobile until death as soon as they are "born". Thus, those are strictly dead bodies. That means, all the commotion they were facing outside was a group of people looking to raid the facility.

   Once inside, Jenner tries his best to appear scientific to this group. Obviously, he tells them everything he knows except that they are dead. That's part of the reason that he traps them inside. He doesn't want them to find out, he thinks that the truth would be too much to bare. The group convinces him otherwise and people start to make their choices. Rick thanks Jenner for all of the generosity, but Jenner pulls him aside and whispers, "We're already dead."

   The group escapes, and starts their journey towards season two.

Top Ten: Reasons Why Team Rocket Was the Best

   I just restarted my Pokémon Y game, and it got me thinking about the villains of the series. Throughout the series we have had numerous antagonistic groups, but there was one that I fell in love with and I can't stop enjoying.
   Now, I understand that since the first Pokémon games, it has switched demographics. It was originally aimed towards young adults, but the reception was greater for children. However, the more they adapt to this change, and the more groups they throw at me these days, the more I appreciate Team Rocket. Here's why:


Top Ten: Reasons Team Rocket were the best antagonists for Pokémon

10 - Realistic: Team Rocket was a very realistic group. This will be explained in more detail through various explanations. This is also why it is number ten. It is the most important reason why I like Team Rocket, but it is also a combination of other individual reasons why I like them.

09 - Original: Team Rocket was the original big bad group. This doesn't consciously affect my decision, but I'm sure that it subconsciously does. This is the reason why it is also so low on the list.

08 - Cool outfits: Team Rocket had some cool outfits. They were intimidating, they were uniform, and they weren't overly complex. They sent the message that this group meant business. The next coolest uniforms were Generation III's uniforms by the way.

07 - Not extreme: Team Rocket didn't try to blow up the world. Period. *facepalm*

06 - Not misguided: Obviously, as antagonists, they were. However, they weren't blindly following a leader (I'm looking at you Plasma), they were taking part in well-prepared plans for benefit. They thought their moves out, they carried them out carefully (somewhat), and they had a very real goals.

05 - Agenda: Speaking of goals, they were always thinking of something. They had plans that stretched through the entire region. You could see the effect of the group even before you actually meet the group. You also know where the group is going to go. They have a plan, and you act on what their plan is.

04 - Plot: Team Rocket, though integrated into the game, never really stole away from the plot. This is very similar to the lack of extremism. Recent teams try to destroy the world, and with such big extremes, take center stage as the plot. Team Rocket, didn't really steal from the plot, but actually helped move the plot along in a majority of the cases.

03 - Competence: Team Rocket knew how to get things done. Granted, they were defeated by a child Pokémon prodigy, but they infiltrated facilities and corporations etc. They knew how to accomplish the goals they prepared. The groups seem to grow more incompetent each generation (Plasma, I'm looking at you again), to the point that they don't even know what they're doing.

02 - Goals: I keep talking about the general agenda, but why did Team Rocket have an agenda? They were looking for gain. They were a group dedicated to using Pokémon for profit. That gave them enough criminality for me. Not to mention the conspiracy theory that Giovanni was actually a good guy trying to contain Mewtwo (YouTube it, you'll thank me later).

01 - Strong: Team Rocket, as a group, wasn't exactly stronger than any other group really. But, Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, was one of the strongest trainers in the region (I am specifically leaving certain facts out in case you HAVEN'T played Red, Blue, or Yellow version yet). Giovanni was very difficult to beat, and led the group with pride.

==xx==

What do you guys think? Which is your favorite antagonist group? Discuss!

Don't Dead Open Inside - S01:E04 and S01:E05

   I'm back with another two episodes of my Walking Dead conspiracy. If you guys enjoy the show, they are doing a marathon right now on AMC, until about 4am Thursday! Start watching!

Vatos

   AT CAMP:
   Andrea and Amy are sitting around a lake remembering their human lives. Meanwhile, everyone is scared that they find Jim freaking out about a number of holes he found atop a hill. They assume that he dug them, but Jim really doesn't remember (he didn't; they were there). Jim recounts the moment he was torn from his family. They had escaped while he was bitten by a zombie, and left for dead. Shane keeps questioning Jim about the holes and even ties him to a tree. Jim honestly can't remember why the holes were there, because he didn't dig them (it's complicated mentally though).

AT ATLANTA:
   Meanwhile, Rick and those searching for Merle are now attempting to recover Rick's "guns". They discover another group of zombies in the process. In the confusion, Glenn is taken, they capture someone in return. They find this group through some interrogation techniques like showing a dismembered hand (the one Daryl kept for later). The kid wants the hand (but doesn't? again, it's complicated mentally for these zombies at this time), but they refuse to tell him unless they find their bigger, more organized, group of zombies.

   Guillermo explains the situation. It boils down to this: they both aren't convinced that the others are zombies (Zombiism is still relatively recent this is the third day from Rick's perspective, but it's probably been four MAYBE five days tops) Needless to say, all the bodies are too fresh. They don't trust each other, but they also don't want to kill each other. Suddenly, and old lady zombie comes downstairs and interrupts. This confirms it for Rick's group, which in turn confirms it for the other group.
  
   Guillermo explains how the staff just "left" the old people to die. Really, they were chased out and or eaten by the already dead people. Rick wishes the group well, and gives them "guns". Now, when I say guns, I really mean "insanity" in that they allow their dying brains to continue to think that they're human. They leave, but are forced to walk all the way back to camp because somebody stole their truck.

   The people who dug the holes on the hill come an attack the camp. There are losses on both sides, but eventually the zombies win (especially when Rick and group shows up). In the aftermath of the attack, Jim remembers digging those holes; this was Jim's camp before he was a zombie. We don't learn too much about this, because Jim dies shortly, but it's true. Mmhmm...


Moving right along...

Wildfire

   Rick warns Morgan that Atlanta is not overcome by the dead. He warns that the living haunt the city, and that maybe there is a cure for this disease. He tells hims that they're going to look at the CDC for a cure. At this point, they are actually more interested in the people finding the cure, not the cure itself.
  
   Andrea is mourning her dead sister. Everyone tries convincing her that she's dead, and that they shouldn't waste good meat, but Andrea rebels. She waits until nobody wants to eat Amy, before she eats her brains (it is more justifiable that way).

   Jim is physically shaken by his revelation (he just learned that his current life has been a lie), and shies awkwardly away from the group. Jacqui notices, and forces Jim to reveal his bite. Jim is frantic; he knows that he is a zombie, but that nobody else knows that they are zombies. He reveals his bite, and slowly thinks of ways to isolate himself from the group (to protect them from the truth).

   The group, after a heated debate, conclude to go to the CDC. Morales and family disagrees and goes to follow family. On the road to the CDC, Jim becomes progressively worse and begins dreaming of the night he became a zombie. As he remembers more and more of his zombie actions, he gets more feverish and frail. When the group stops, he tricks them into leaving him alone. He kills himself and his demented memories of his life as a zombie. Shane, however, is slightly unnerved. He knows something isn't quite right, but he doesn't know what.

   Jenner, the scientist, is making videos of "science". He's all alone, in the slowly failing lab. He specifically notes, blowing his brains out (so he can eat them) before he sees the group hoping to come into the locked facility. Jenner notes the time on the clock, hesitates, and finally lets them in.

   I'll get into more detail about the CDC in the next review; I'm saving the best for last. But this episode starts to show that zombies are capable of being reminded of their zombification. This is obviously a very traumatic experience both the first time and in recollection, which is why Jim became so sick so fast.

Happy New Years everybody!