Chapter 26- "Who Overcomes" Part 1

[reaper239]

Another cracking episode, I hope the Ft Irwin residents don't turn out like the colony. If they need to be removed from the story because it's not very interesting if they are just chilling out perfectly safe, then please let there be some epic battle where the zombies lay siege to Ft Irwin and eventually over run it.

Still don't think Angel is alive though, I just can't see how he could be, he was on top of a building as it went down!

they seem to be genuine military, and if there is one thing i kow about military:there is ordre and procedure. everyone who was, is, or was connected to he military (ie civilian workforce) would most likely willingly fall in line to secure their collective survival. this is because the military attracts a certain type of personality: people who want to get things done but in an environment that has order and structure. they are usually people who can work well with a team and rely on the training of their teammates to get things done. think back to when michael, saul, and angel were clearing the tower the first time. they tried to leave the untrained civilians towards the rear so that they wouldn't get in the way.

regarding on base structure, i think that the reason rank broke down in the tower and michael was in charge boils down to experience, from what i gathered angel seemed like he was fresh out of OCS and had no leadership experience, where as michael had worked his way up to be a NCO. in a larger unit, even just as large as company strength, the leadership would have the experience that the men would look towards and thus would maintain positive control over the troops. at fort irwin, the NTC headquarters commanding general is (at present) a brigadier general. that is more than enough experience to be able to command the troops in an emergency.

[Grognaurd]

I think our crew got off pretty damn easy. I would one-up Scratch's line of "Back up Bitch"

With: On the Ground NOW!

Hearts and minds? Not in THIS man's apocolypse

[AdrianHD]

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I'm so excited now. I know the Colony was a very polarizing episode, I personally loved it. I like getting our characters out of their comfort zone and into a new place. New voices too! So good.

Also, I like how the sponsor was a series about how animals survive in a zombie apocalypse, and this is the episode we learn that Mr. Whiskers is the death-defying cat.

[Kn1ckerb0cker33]

As far as Burt being alive, it's still unconfirmed and despite the condition of the zip-line it could have been Angel or whomever it was that responsible for all the tracks Saul and Victor found, although it could have been the Mallers with Burt and/or Angel + anything and anyone else they found.

In regards to the base, I was actually a little wary when they came into contact with the (presumed) soldiers. After their experience with the Mallers and the Colony, I would have thought majority of them would have been less willing to trust strangers right off the bat, regardless of the fact they were soldiers. Also when Kelly was mentioning that they/she might finally be able to get laid, I was thinking that she should be careful what she's asking for since this could be like the situation in "28 Days Later," (stop here if you don't want spoilers to the movie) in which the soldiers take them in and eventually intend to kill the men and rape the women. But I guess for now at least Michael and Company seem to be in the clear, for a few episodes anyway. I suspect that Fort Irwin won't last too long or at least fall before season 4 and the series is completed.

Things we can take away from the episode:

1. Burt, Angel and/or someone from the Tower could still be alive.
2. The above mentioned could be in the hands of the Mallers or on the road to find the others.
3. Michael and Company arrived at Fort Irwin and appear to be relatively safe, at least from the infected.
4. Mr. Whiskers is alive and appears to have been doing well on his own.
5. Soldiers appear to be the real deal, but intentions and motives are to be determined.
6. Fort Irwin is either a safe haven or another version of the Colony. (In terms of corruption and danger)

[HardKor]

Ahh...It feels so great to have my We're Alive fix.
What to say about this one: We've got the return of Mr. Whiskers and Ft. Irwin seems friendly (At least on the surface) and Kelly wants to get laid....I love it all!

A couple of thoughts on somethings people have said so far:

So why was that Maller carrying all those I.D.'s? I guess those were the trophies of his captured slaves. Too bad Saul didn't look them over. Victor wouldn't have recognized Lizzie's ID. Wait? Could that corpse have been Tardust? Maybe...but I doubt it.

I remember when Pippin first showed up at the Tower there was some talk about he may have had forged ID's. Maybe this is more evidence for forgeries? Or maybe the IDs are just trophies. If so at least it's a little better than the scavengers at the colony with their finger bones etc...

I think the evidence that Angel and Burt are in the hands of the Mallers is very strong now, which makes me wonder, what reasons could Scratch
have for keeping them? Do you think she will offer them another chance to join thier ranks (something I doubt Burt would ever do) or do you think perhaps there may be an upcoming torture scene? Scratch could hurt Angel further or Lizzie in exchange for information. She may learn that Michael and the rest fled to Ft. Irwin!!

Well there is some evidence that Scratch and Angel knew each other before the outbreak, somehow. I hope that we'll get to hear more about that soon.


On a final note...I'm wary of the return on Mr. Whiskers. I'm a cat person, but that cat brings chaos in it wake...

[awkwardalex]

Point in case that dogs rule! Hope did not go back for Mr. Whiskers, only Lady. Dogs FTW.

BTW did anyone notice that Michael said in this episode that he had an I.D. but in a previous (last season) he told Kelly he doesn't even carry around his dog tags let alone an I.D. @_@ hmmmm.

And yes someone get Kelly laid.

[Kc]

BTW did anyone notice that Michael said in this episode that he had an I.D. but in a previous (last season) he told Kelly he doesn't even carry around his dog tags let alone an I.D. @_@ hmmmm.

Michael knew he was going to Fort Irwin ahead of time, and the only piece of proof he had to being in the Army.

[Litmaster]

Damn, I feel like we need a diagram or something with respect to this zip-line issue (and it's with visually complicated elements like this that audio drama really shows it's limitations). Correct me, anyone, if this hypothesis seems wrong:

Burt was about 5/6th of the way down the zip line when it snapped, the break in the line coming somewhere between him and the Tower he was sliding from. When the line snapped, he fell and screamed, but his Marine training and quick-thinking led him to wrench the hand brake on the now-slack line, causing him to swing briefly and crash into the side of the building he was sliding to. The chopper assumed he fell straight to the ground, but if they had just looked over the edge (barring any smoke) they might have seen an unconscious Burt still hanging off the side of the building, where the impact of the swinging collision with the building had put him out cold. The chopper leaves, then Burt wakes up some time later hanging off the side of the building. He swings outward and (ala Bruce Willis from Die Hard) uses momentum to smash his way through one of the windows of the building, where he collapses into one of the empty offices. He is then bum-rushed by some Mallers, who capture him and take him prisoner.

Not sure if all of this totally jives with the details, but its the best I can come up with right now.

As for Angel, I still think the only way he got down alive was via the loose bit of zip-line still attached to the Tower, which he used to rappel down just before the building-top caved in. But that would mean both Burt and Angel saved themselves through using opposite ends of a snapped zip-line. Far-fetched???

[7oddisdead]

Damn, I feel like we need a diagram or something with respect to this zip-line issue (and it's with visually complicated elements like this that audio drama really shows it's limitations). Correct me, anyone, if this hypothesis seems wrong:

Burt was about 5/6th of the way down the zip line when it snapped, the break in the line coming somewhere between him and the Tower he was sliding from. When the line snapped, he fell and screamed, but his Marine training and quick-thinking led him to wrench the hand brake on the now-slack line, causing him to swing briefly and crash into the side of the building he was sliding to. The chopper assumed he fell straight to the ground, but if they had just looked over the edge (barring any smoke) they might have seen an unconscious Burt still hanging off the side of the building, where the impact of the swinging collision with the building had put him out cold. The chopper leaves, then Burt wakes up some time later hanging off the side of the building. He swings outward and (ala Bruce Willis from Die Hard) uses momentum to smash his way through one of the windows of the building, where he collapses into one of the empty offices. He is then bum-rushed by some Mallers, who capture him and take him prisoner.

Not sure if all of this totally jives with the details, but its the best I can come up with right now.

As for Angel, I still think the only way he got down alive was via the loose bit of zip-line still attached to the Tower, which he used to rappel down just before the building-top caved in. But that would mean both Burt and Angel saved themselves through using opposite ends of a snapped zip-line. Far-fetched???

excellent theory...and sounds pretty solid, minus one thing...
After the fall, Michael pulled the rope up...with no Burt attached. So while he could have landed on a balcony/through a window...he did not have any "dangle-time". Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

PS: this episode was awesome...this is the show I came to love at its best....

[Ra1th]

Great episode. My only problem, was with how moronic Pegs and Kelly were acting when they were being detained by the military force at Irwin. They were both at the colony, both of them should know better than to be so giddy at the sight of another group of survivors. The ex Tower has had full scale conflicts with every major group of other survivors they'd encountered so far in the post apocalyptic world. And although this group seems like it's going to turn out to be a group of good people, at the initial confrontation, there was obvious tension if not hostility between Michael and Puck. Maybe I'm just over analyzing, but it seemed out of character for those two, especially considering how hardened both Pegs and Kelly have become since the beginning.

As for it not being possible that Angel escaped from the crumbling tower, if Burt can survive what initially seemed to be a 10 story fall, then Angel has a damn good shot of surviving a crumbling building. As for how he did it, wait and see, I'm sure Kc'll tell you.