You always give so much to respond to Crowbar! I love it!
Totally agree with Durai's leadership. You are what you know, and he knows how to lead by gangland mentality. And his propensity to get weapons vs. finding a safe place to live has really handcuffed the Mallers. I can imagine defending a mall, but I can't imagine defending a strip mall. It's so wide open, I can't imagine how the Mallers have even survived this long.
1a. I'd throw the Gatekeeper in there as well. He was probably there from the beginning. I'd also hedge a bet that Pete and Tanya were there relatively quickly afterwards, if not from the beginning.
1b. I think Marcus leads on his own. If there was a council, we'd probably have heard Victor and Fernando talking about how "The Council doesn't need to know" not just Marcus.
1c. Agreed. Marcus' playpen, Marcus' rules.
2. I don't think you'd need to have thugs there. I would bet for just about everyone there it's a great life. Pete seemed to like it that's for sure.
3. There may be some initiation now that they have to go through with Marcus. First rule of the Colony is you don't tell anyone the rules, 'cause that's Marcus' job.
4. Except our Tower folk. Though now that Vic is gone, they may very well be allowed to go where ever.
5. I agree with your a and b points. C- I believe Marcus doesn't necessarily care about handicaps so long as you can do something. What Hope can do isn't much, but at least it's helpful to someone.
6. Agreed as well. Michael being a soldier is probably one hell of an asset that can be used for training outpost guards like Victor.
7. I'll just play Devil's advocate on this: The entire plan hinged on pissing off/distracting the behemoth long enough. Angel, being a good leader, decided the best thing for the mission was for a more accurate shot. After saying that, yeah, I agree he should have done it himself. I long for the day he truly gets both feet firmly planted underneath him and stands up. I think he will be clutch at that point.
8. I've been advocating Skittles as a high functioning sufferer of X (no idea what). Despite being not all there, he would still have the ability to perform all sorts of complex tasks. Throwing the cocktail isn't all that difficult (except the part about not burning yourself). Driving the car is definitely complex. And honestly just because they are mentally handicapped doesn't mean they don't register exactly what people are saying about them. How much do you want to bet Skittles heard that brief exchange between Kalani and Angel about Skittles screwing up the plan?
9. Hell, if he truly wanted to leave, Vic could have told them exactly why the colony is so bad (in his opinion), and convinced them to take him back to the Tower.