Season 4 Finale - Episode 16 - "A" [AMC] [SPOILERS]

NUTZZ

SEASON 4 FINALE

Episode 16 | "A"

Airdate Match 30th on AMC | March 31st on FOX (UK)

As multiple paths collide, Rick comes face to face with sheer brutality. Will he and the group have what it takes to survive?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En-PDWaNsQ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2MiTEgMKXg

cjmcork

looks like the trailers they had back in the day for Alien and Aliens - eeek!!!

NUTZZ

7

Apparently some foreign trailers for the finale give away spoilers so steer clear if you don't want to know anything!

Cork boy 55

7

NUTZZ wrote: »

(...)





(...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYRfUoR9Q4Y

MadYaker

3

Snape kills Dumbledore!!!

shineon23

6

The clocks changing have got me confused again, is it 1am to 2am start tonight does anyone know?

Private Joker

shineon23 wrote: »

The clocks changing have got me confused again, is it 1am to 2am start tonight does anyone know?

8 central time is 2 am . gmt -5

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/central-time/

gungun

Holy mother of god, what an episode! Had a bottle of wine with it but jesus, easily one of the top 3 of the entire show so far, Brilliant!

Also Starring LeVar Burton

8

Gonna be a long 7 months...

expectationlost

6

is that it?

Hank Scorpio

8

As a standalone episode it was good but not how a season should end, this would have been a good episode before the finale. Far too many things left in the air and little conclusion

Adamocovic

9

Personally I loved it. It was an episode which made me look forward to the next season even more. I don't see why people would complain that it left questions, that's what season finales are meant to do. Otherwise we wouldn't be interested in a new season. Have to say this season and season 1 were my favourite seasons by far. The fact that this season had this episode and the mid season finale was amazing. It was one of the few television shows where one season had two huge episodes changing the complete direction of the show. Cant wait for next season.

Paddy Cow

nuxxx wrote: »

As a standalone episode it was good but not how a season should end, this would have been a good episode before the finale. Far too many things left in the air and little conclusion

It would've been a good mid season finale. If they had cut all the virus stuff, brought forward the governor episode and trimmed down the character development, this realistically could have been episode eight. They've had a few excellent episodes this season but as a whole it's a meh from me.

Sea Sharp

7

It was a good episode but didn't tie up enough. And my god, the Terminus roof snipers can't shoot for sh1t.

This painstakingly slow story development with emphasis on 'character development' has me worried that the show is turning into another Lost. They're only catering to a small portion of the audience and frustrating everyone else.

The mid season finale of season 5 will be them escaping from the Terminus :rolleyes:. Probably 1st episode will be Carol & Tyreese. Oh don't forget an episode where we find out what happened to Beth.

So is it safe to assume that they are indeed cannibals? We saw what looked like a room full of human skeletons in the chase towards the end of the episode.

Paddy Cow

Sea Sharp wrote: »

The mid season finale of season 5 will be them escaping from the Terminus :rolleyes:. Probably 1st episode will be Carol & Tyreese. Oh don't forget an episode where we find out what happened to Beth.

That'll be season 6

Morpork

4

I didn't enjoy that one at all. Maybe I was too tired or expecting too much. When Rick said "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when..." I thought he had crafted some master plan, but the rest of the line just made me cringe.

What was the relevance of the flashbacks by the way?

Kirby

8

Sea Sharp wrote: »

So is it safe to assume that they are indeed cannibals? We saw what looked like a room full of human skeletons in the chase towards the end of the episode.

Yeah. I'm just glad Lee/Rick was able to slap the plate of food out of Clementine/Carl's hand before they ate it. :P

Paddy Cow

Has Maggie forgotton that she has a sister?

Junco Partner

8

Morpork wrote: »

What was the relevance of the flashbacks by the way?

Think it was to highlight how feral rick became this episode. It shows flashes of his ill fated turn as non violent farmer rick contrasted against rick taking a mans adams apple in his teeth and tearing it out in a fit of pure animal desperation.
Shows the lengths you go to to survive in post apocalyptica

willmunny1990

I have to start by saying the shooting is comedic in this show, the shootouts have been bad in this show but that sets a new standard.

I felt the episode was a bit of an anti climax, good episode but it didn't tie enough up for me.

I felt we could of found out what happened to Beth, lost more people and I thought the ending could of been done better. Its a bit unbelievable that the whole group is still pretty much intact and at the end I actually thought Rick had something of interest to say and not just some generic cringy bull, they could of also worked the cannibal element in a bit better, confirm it and make it more gruesome.

Long wait for season 5 now.

Junco Partner

8

willmunny1990 wrote: »

I have to start by saying the shooting is comedic in this show, the shootouts have been bad in this show but that sets a new standard.

.

You do realise they were missing on purpose in order to funnel rick and co toward the train car?

Not exactly stormtrooper marksmanship.

Mokuba

Definitely left me wanting more and was a great improvement over the S3 finale. Comparable to the S2 finale in terms of the anticipation it built for me.

In terms of closure, I'm unsure what people want. It's pretty unfair to expect closure from an arc that has just begun. They have set up the main story arc for next season, with two unknowns - Beth's location and the impending arrival(?) of Carol and Tyreese. Season finales should give you a reason to come back and they did.

I loved the way that the world is growing darker by the episode and here Rick was forced into a radical character development because of it. Loved the way it was done, juxtaposing it with the simpler, innocent times where he tried to live normally with Carl. The absence of Herschel is indicative of this new world, where reasoning and peace have no place. First Dale, now Herschel, any advocate for peace, reason and overall "good" is dying - shows what you have to be to survive in the world and Rick knows it.

Terminus as predicted is a bad place. The cultish like room and the human skeleton bones, the letter "A" scattered around the place confirming this had happened before (like a pre-planned route). The others locked up calling for help, presumably being funneled out for the BBQ at a steady rate.

To those questioning the aim of the shooters - were you actually watching? They were purposefully missing and communicating to lead them through route "A" (hence the episode title). Didn't Rick/Daryl even comment on it? If they kill them the "meat" will be spoiled relatively quickly. The powdered milk boxes for weight gain were also a nice touch.

All in all, a very good season finale to a show that I've accepted is always going to be uneven. Probably the best season so far - enough good episodes and dealing with much darker issues has earned it that position in my eyes. There will always be episodes or scenes where not much happens, but compared to other seasons, this one has improved on that front. Honestly can't wait to see what happens next, which I couldn't say this time last year.

charlietheminxx

Did anyone else think that Carl was actually getting raped for a second? That was very uncomfortable to watch.

Otherwise it was an ok episode.... Would have been very good mid season but not as a season finale. Sure no doubt Carol and Tyreese will somehow find a way to save the day, but there'll be some deaths obviously (my money is on the scientist and maybe Maggie).

sok2005

7

Sea Sharp wrote: »

It was a good episode but didn't tie up enough. And my god, the Terminus roof snipers can't shoot for sh1t.

I'm not 100% sure but I think the snipers

were guiding them into a certain area and not trying to actually kill them! Possible the marinating chamber, nobody like bullets in their brunch!

Really enjoyed the finale. Hard to watch at times.

willmunny1990

sok2005 wrote: »

I'm not 100% sure but I think the snipers

were guiding them into a certain area and not trying to actually kill them! Possible the marinating chamber, nobody like bullets in their brunch!

Really enjoyed the finale. Hard to watch at times.

Chances are they were trying to guide them to that area alright now that i think of it but the shooting in general has been so terrible throughout that its hard to tell really.

Anachrony

willmunny1990 wrote: »

Chances are they were trying to guide them to that area alright now that i think of it but the shooting in general has been so terrible throughout that its hard to tell really.

No, it's pretty unambiguous. They gave us clear visual cues that it was intentional. Watch the scene again and look at the way the bullets are hitting the ground. At certain points it becomes obvious they're not even trying to hit them, they're being herded where they want them to go.

Rick even comments on how they're shooting at their feet, in case the viewer was too dense to pick up on it.

I have to admit that at first I thought it was implausibly bad shooting and absurd that none of them were hit. But it soon became clear what was really happening.

The real mistake there in my opinion wasn't how "bad" the shooting was, it was the lack of ricochets. Shooting all those bullets so close to them, angled down like that, on a hard surface... It seems like some of them would have bounced and hit them even if they were trying not to.

sok2005

7

What I liked about the episode is it gets you thinking. The zombies are the "baddies" yet they wont

try to rape your son or lure you into a false sense of comfort before they eat you like humans!

The first thing I noticed about Terminus was the silence and the lack of people, surely if it was a safe haven for folk then it would be thronged with people!

Makes sense now that they are barbecuing everyone that comes seeking shelter.

Washout

8

loved it.

Loved the flashbacks really added to the story of no matter how much Rick tried to domesticate himself. the situation they are compelled to live in just will not allow it.

It has really left me anticipating the next episode which is 7 bloodless months away

ricero

9

fantastic episode

Also Starring LeVar Burton

8

There really is no pleasing some people... Closure in a Season finale when you know 100% it's coming back for another season is the last thing anyone should want... Find it hard to believe that people were expecting everything to be tied up nicely with a bow on top - should you not want something to look forward to next season?

Mr E

Yeah it was a great season finale. It wrapped up the walkabout portion of the season nicely, and set up a different path for the next season. Job done. Exactly what a season finale should do.

Very strong season overall.