The Spoiler's Review

!!SPOILER'S AHEAD -- LISTEN TO THE PODCAST BEFORE YOU COME HERE!!

Tis the season of new seasons! All my TV shows are coming back as my primary addiction closes in on the finale. I just finished watching the new episode for True Blood which pissed me off so bad I did what all great critics do and ran straight to my computer to flame the crap out of it. Unfortunately most of the websites I visit haven’t come off hiatus status so I’ll hold it in a little longer. I’ll also spare you of what think about Heidi Klum’s desperate nudie photo splashed across Lifetimes website. Keeping those ratings propped up like a wonder bra, eh babe? On with the review!

"An idle mind is the Devil's workshop." ~Proverb

Chapter 23.1 - Idle Minds

My first order of duty is to pick it apart the title and search it for clues. My initial plug into Google brought up a book of the same name written by a Holocaust survivor named Adolf Burger. He and others were labored with the task of producing counterfeit money for the Nazis. Apparently it was so well produced that only the most senior of inspectors could detect it was a fake. They were meant to be distributed around England to throw off the British economy, financially crippling them in wartime. If we remember the conversation between Kelly and Michael in Chapter 21.3 when Pippin was on trial, they brought up the idea of Apple’s passport being a forgery. Kelly had her doubts but this chapter title could be cuing us in on the Tower traitor or we’re about to get another peek inside the Beast’s Lair.

(Gotta love double meanings.)

However, we could take this one step further and factor in that this survival story is being told through the eyes of many in journal form. Could one of these journal entries be a false account of events? And IF these questionable events are indeed separate and caused by more than one person, what we think we know could all just be a lie.

The opening scene starts with a firefight to cue us in that this anachronic storytelling format will likely continue all the way up to the finale. Although we hear voices that weren’t present in the previous chapter, this would-be spoiler isn’t spoiling anything. Burt recalls the events leading up to the battle which has apparently recently ended since he sounds like he's coming off an adrenaline high.

Saul’s not responding to his radio (big surprise) and no one else at the airport feels like chasing lover boy down. I like how Audio takes us from the hummer, past the front of the helicopter where the flying lesson is still taking place, and to the uh-thing that Datu’s working on. We’ve come a long way from just having one person enter the scene at a time. Victor anxiously wants to go on the next mission. I imagine cleaning up blood and guts is a quite boring and thankless job. It’s not clear at this point where they are headed but it sounds like some of the crew is staying here while the rest go after the other chopper.

After some “WHOSE GOT THE BIGGER BALLS” bickering, Victor gets stuck babysitting Peg Legs and Datu as the rest head out. Burt fast-forwards to Riley and Angel joining them. Note how he’s having difficulty keeping his story straight. Angel has a minor freak out on Kalani but I’m going to blame that on his lack of involvement in helicopter business. I can get flustered when I don’t know what the H is going on either. No negative mark this time.

Burt’s under the impression that he’s THE MAN in charge under Michael’s orders. Angel counters by flashing his rank at everyone. For safety reasons they decide only 2 people should go in after the chopper. Kalani asks his homeboy Angel to come with and he unconfidently accepts. Did we just miss a chance to be alone with our love interest by TALKING TOO MUCH? Riley jumps in with her bowing skills but it’s apparent that Kalani feels safer with his boy by his side.

Now this is irrelevant, but on my copy of the episode, there’s a section of this conversation that gets cut off and repeated. Some say their download had Riley stuttering, some had both, many had a clean copy and think I’m crazy. Whatever. No big deal. It just made me go “HUH?” for a few minutes.

The group arrives at Cain Hospital. It could be Kane, or Cane, or Kain. I couldn’t find any such medical facility on Google so I’m betting it’s made up. However from Burt’s description, it’s probably modeled after a real one. I’m spelling it Cain to fit all the religious references in WA. Since the main building of the hospital is cathedral shaped, it’s likely a faith based facility. Note that Cain committed the first act of murder (for those that don’t know) so I doubt the founders of this establishment would name anything after him if they actually wanted patients.

We return to the Tower with Tanya and Michael. It doesn’t surprise her to hear her son doing something reckless. In this case I wouldn’t call it neglect. She knows her son. Much like Michael who is aware of how he can be, she’s knows it can’t be helped. Michael’s only concern is if he makes it back in time to join the mission to Fort Irwin. Apparently neither Burt nor Saul made mention of their plans to stay behind. Tanya brings up the idea of leaving their supposed “bad guy” behind. She also points out that they can’t prove the creatures dug up the dead bodies. Did they get up and walk away? Before she can finish, Michael pisses her off and she leaves to go help relocate supplies to the other Tower.

Michael shrugs it off and lights up. Steven (who I initially mistook for Angel at the beginning) bursts in warning that Biters (?) or Fighters (?) are coming. I don’t know where he got that name from. Everyone but Michael calls them “Zombies.” This part confused me because I was thinking it could be Durai’s crew, the Colonist, or the creatures. Both of them rush to the other building where Kelly is leading the supply crew and warns them. Michael gives us a description of the monsters as they get closer. He notes a larger one dragging something behind it but keeping it safe from any others getting too close. Rather than wait to see if they go by, Steven opens fire.

W-T-F

As the gun battle continues, Kelly and crew arrive to fight. Yes Michael, you have girls that can shoot remember? It’s now known that the thing being dragged away is Tanya who is out cold. The large one carrying her has his priorities straight and he starts to leave the area while the others turn to attack. Michael moves in to rescue Tanya after it drops her and gives it a name: Randy. Randy, as we know, is the name Michael kept calling out in his sleep while recovering at the Colony.

ZZ Top

Randy shows signs of being one of the “Smart Ones” as he dodges the rest of Michael’s attacks. Steven notes that some of the creatures were burned. It’s possible these are survivors from the Arena explosion. Since we already know it’s been leveled, where they were headed, is a mystery.

They get Tanya to the clinic and handcuff her to the bed. By the time Michael gets to the guard room Steven has already warned the other people left in the adjacent tower on the walkie-talkie. More creatures arrive but they simply collect the bodies and start eating them. (CANNIBALS!) Now I could just be imagining this, but Steven seems to be well informed on how these monsters react. He also called them by a different name. He could just be very observant or… something else. Not speculating.

Back at the hospital, Burt’s feelings are hurt by not being chosen to go to the helicopter so he acts like an ass and encourages them to move forward safely. Riley’s also feeling underappreciated but Kalani says he feels safer having a gun escort. She gets personal calling him “Fatty” which is totally out of her character (or is it?) Up to Lizzy’s disappearance she’s been nice to everyone. It could just be the nicotine withdrawal but her inner bitch has been showing itself a lot lately and man it’s UGLY.

Burt gives us a description of the hospital as Riley guides them to their destination. The two blood brothers head up while the others return outside. Bored, Burt starts to tinker with his secret BOOM device as Riley decides to liquor up. A creature howls in the distance signaling others to charge the hospital. Burt and Riley are forced to flee inside. Hundreds of creatures approach the building carrying “others” as Burt described it. A mobilized army is heading straight for them.

Cue cliffhanger.

The story is still moving at a snail’s pace but we have some decent set up for next season happening in this episode. The curious Randy issue has resurfaced as has the debate about Michael’s broken wing which is widely presumed to be related. One thing we do know about him is that he’s a Smart One. Tanya is injured but it’s unclear if she will recover. Saul’s still at large but we don’t know where he’s going. Ground Zero and the Arena are the only places he showed interest in. The Tower is surrounded. The fate of the falsely accused man is up in the air and Michael is the only person there who knows he’s innocent. The hospital group is trapped. No sign of Lizzy and the Mallers. WHERE IS SKITTLES?

Tanya brought up a good point about the missing bodies. In Season 1, the boys assumed the creatures were carrying them off because they saw ants do it. However we never saw this actually happen. We do know that the creatures collect bodies but we never see where they are taken. In Chapter 10, we saw that some of these bodies were purposely burned in piles. The creatures eat their dead, but they keep some who aren’t turned alive to be killed by their superiors. Even in this episode they’re dragging bodies along with them. Are these injured creatures? Are they food? Are they turned? No one knows for certain.

There’s so much going on right now. So much confusion. Thanks to Chapter 22 putting so much doubt in all of what we know, we’re again left with the same uncertainty we felt towards the end of Season 1. Since it could happen any day now, for months now there’s been an eerie underlining tone in the story that could be foretelling the death of a cast member. Burt and/or Saul are the primary candidates. We know Burt’s been playing with a bomb and it feels like there’s going to be a “one man left behind to detonate” sacrificial situation. Or it could be an awesomely pulled off rooftop rescue by Chicken Little. Or Kalani can get the other one started and they make a narrow escape. Of course someone can always be bitten in the process and die on the way.

Although, Riley might still have her liquor and if they remember, it could be used to mask their scent, or even repel the creatures away. It worked for Saul. It might have played a role in Chapter 12. Who’s to say?

Must.post.on.forums.to.soak.up.all.credit.

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