Chapter 32 part 2: Captive Hearts

[UndeadSweeper]

Has anyone given thought to the posibility that Bixby is not the only one who witnessed Victor climb into the tanker? Perhaps someone has let word out that they have a stowaway and the reason for the headcount is to execute Gatekeeper and or Bixby.

I imagine if things really were better with Gatekeeper for the colonists, than executing him would be a big blow to the moral of the colonists who may have been holding out hope that he would somehow save them from the Mallers. So perhaps they know about Victor and are going to make a public thing about it, resulting in Gatekeepers punishment.

It could also be the guard that left his post early. This can be use to make an example to the rest of the colony.

[Adventureless_Hero]

Wouldn't this cause a move to Dunbar: better security, more weapons and food produce. If that happen I predict Pete won't make it, since he the only character that currently the only red shirt in party.

Maybe. In order for it to work, they have to spill the beans that Michael and the gang are at Ft. Irwin and that they can be contacted via SAT phone. Not sure if Glen is the only one that can fix it or if Tardust is in the know regarding communications. But yeah, I can totally see Pete biting the dust. Dunbar apartments might be safe though. Glen and Pete don't even know where it is since they were blindfolded. So, maybe CJ escapes being captured and is able to help Michael plan an assault/rescue operation on the colony, using Dunbar as a base of operations? It's a rad idea that Osiris put forth and now I just took it and ran with it! I need to put my imagination to rest now.

[Winston]

I don't think the Roll Call has anything to do with Victor showing up. It's too convenient and KC has shown more subtlety when it comes to story telling. I'm not a fan of the "I saw you sneak in even though my super powers of observation weren't shown in narrative" plot device and hopefully the writing doesn't use this bit of chicanery twice in the same story. To me it's akin to the "teleporting monster" powers of Jason in Friday the 13th. Saying that...Gatekeeper let's on that roll call ain't good so that means in the past, roll call has been bad (see how I did that). Durai seems to be a measured, thoughtful crime boss, like Vito Corleone, so I can't see a public execution happening under his sanction. Scratch is a much less balanced and less respectful Sonny. She has actively sought to undermine Durai throughout the series. I'm throwing my wager in that Durai, after a confrontation with Scratch, is dead. She's going to publicly lay the blame on Bricks and execute him for "treason." Then we get to watch as Scratch's grip on reality & the colony slowly deteriorates. With Eileen Wournos now in charge of things, it'll get really fun!

P.S. I reserve the right to deny I wrote any of this

[zombeh-kitteh]

Has anyone given thought to the posibility that Bixby is not the only one who witnessed Victor climb into the tanker? Perhaps someone has let word out that they have a stowaway and the reason for the headcount is to execute Gatekeeper and or Bixby.

I imagine if things really were better with Gatekeeper for the colonists, than executing him would be a big blow to the moral of the colonists who may have been holding out hope that he would somehow save them from the Mallers. So perhaps they know about Victor and are going to make a public thing about it, resulting in Gatekeepers punishment.

When Bixby said he "saw" Victor get in, I thought perhaps he had seen the mirror flash that was the signal to Victor, realizing that someone was trying to set something up and then just played along to see what would happen; or maybe saw his reflection in the water or something as he was climbing into the hatch or out of his peripheral vision...

But you raise a good point.

[Tales from Valhalla]

Imho its possible but very unlikely that someone else saw Victor. C'mon, they watched the colony, they knew the only person around would be the driver, it would be damnable luck if a maller was just passing by and saw everything.

What I don't ignore is the fact that Gatekeeper and Bixby have a history of lousy secret management skills. Maybe someone overheard them called for arms, maybe Durai has a Pegs of his own to tell on that shaky plan... Only Mr Whiskers knows...

[Dyhoerium]

I'm thinking they're doing roll call for one of two (possibly related) reasons.

1. Pete, Roman, and Glenn snuck out of the colony. Maybe the Mallers think there are missing people and they want to figure out who. As has been pointed out previously, Tardust had a list of slaves when he found Lizzy.
2. Someone found the blood bath left over from CJ and Saul going Kill Bill on the zombies outside the garage with the '67 Shelby in it. They said they were going to put a tarp on it, but a big tarp draped over something resembling bodies directly outside of a garage door? I think that would spark some curiousity.

My guess is this doesn't have anything to do with Durai, Scratch, or Angel - it's simply slave management protocol (or the Mallers making sure there aren't people outside their walls plotting a hostile takeover). I do believe this will be a problem because Saul is already in position, so something big is going to go down! Can't wait!!

This is the first episode of the last 6 or so that I haven't been hoping we learn about the happenings of Fort Irwin. The only thing I care about right now is seeing the attack plays out. This, of course, means we're going back to Irwin.

[Zombiphobe]

I have to say I have a hard time believing Gatekeeper's reformation. He said he was sorry for killing Marcus, but as Advenureless_Hero pointed out, he did more than just kill him:

I recall him saying that he'd enjoy making it look like Marcus had been attacked by biters. It's one thing to plan a coup to overthrow a dictator, but it's another thing to enjoy mutilating their corpse

Let's also remember, that the Gatekeeper was staging the coup for his own ambitious purposes. Marcus stood between him and power and that's why he was eliminated. The Gatekeeper had no problem with how the Colony was being run, except that he wanted to be the one running it. He had no plans to reform their policies or ensure fair treatment of the slave-like workers. In fact his closest ally freely tazed those same workers.

He then had to be reminded that he killed Sean, before apologizing. Sean was definitely not a dictator, but actually lived among the residents and improved their quality of life. Sean's crime: he took a postition that the Gatekeeper thought should be his.

He didn't apologize about planning to kill Michael once he was through with Marcus. And why? Because Michael stepped on his toes and got in the way of his rise to power. Sure he hit Bixby with a shovel, but that was in defense of someone being tazed.

I think Victor should have kept reminding him of things he should be apologizing for.

"Oh, you did me a favor in telling the Colony that I was dead so they wouldn't keep looking for me? Wasn't that only after you failed to have them actually kill me?"

Victor said the Gatekeeper had some seriously sick stuff going on upstairs (in his head). Remember that dad who showed up with his kids? He had them shot, along with the recon team that brought them in.

Now that he has met his match with Scratch, my opinion of him has not changed. In short I agree with Tales from Valhalla:

Just because he has his tail between his legs doesn't mean he's a changed man. He had power, he was happy, people were not killed... Until this point I've seen nothing but Gatekeeper acting like a psycho nutfreak.

And I would think Victor (of all people) would be wary of this as well.

[Adventureless_Hero]

I have to say I have a hard time believing Gatekeeper's reformation. He said he was sorry for killing Marcus, but as Advenureless_Hero pointed out, he did more than just kill him:

Let's also remember, that the Gatekeeper was staging the coup for his own ambitious purposes. Marcus stood between him and power and that's why he was eliminated. The Gatekeeper had no problem with how the Colony was being run, except that he wanted to be the one running it. He had no plans to reform their policies or ensure fair treatment of the slave-like workers. In fact his closest ally freely tazed those same workers.

He then had to be reminded that he killed Sean, before apologizing. Sean was definitely not a dictator, but actually lived among the residents and improved their quality of life. Sean's crime: he took a postition that the Gatekeeper thought should be his.

He didn't apologize about planning to kill Michael once he was through with Marcus. And why? Because Michael stepped on his toes and got in the way of his rise to power. Sure he hit Bixby with a shovel, but that was in defense of someone being tazed.

I think Victor should have kept reminding him of things he should be apologizing for.

"Oh, you did me a favor in telling the Colony that I was dead so they wouldn't keep looking for me? Wasn't that only after you failed to have them actually kill me?"

Victor said the Gatekeeper had some seriously sick stuff going on upstairs (in his head). Remember that dad who showed up with his kids? He had them shot, along with the recon team that brought them in.

Now that he has met his match with Scratch, my opinion of him has not changed. In short I agree with Tales from Valhalla:

And I would think Victor (of all people) would be wary of this as well.

Hell yes. Although Pete and Glen say things got a little better when Gatekeeper took over, I can't look passed those effed up things he did. Gatekeeper seems like the type that looks at things in black and white; if you are injured or can't be of any help to the group, you are worthless, a liability, and a drain of supplies.

The dude did have twisted stuff going on in his head, and just because Scratch cut his eye, he says, "I'd never do what these people have done," I don't think we can just take his word for it. I'm not sure how long Gatekeeper was in charge, but I don't think he is a suitable leader. For the time being he might make a good ally because they share a common enemy, the Mallers, but as soon as the Mallers are out of the picture, I seriously think someone should turn a gun on Gatekeeper and Bixby, and any of his followers.

A threat is still a threat no matter what common enemy you have. I'm reminded of this panel from the Walking Dead comic (Vol. 4, issues 19-24):

SPOILER 

rick-hits-dexter.jpg

[Zombiphobe]

I'm just waiting for CJ to learn that this ally they are working with is actually the one who orchestrated Sean's death. She won't be happy.

[Stuv]

This would be a really interesting time in the story development for Michael and the Fort Irwin crew to reappear. Michael knows about the existence of the colony and has intel on its layout personnel etc. I feel as if Kimmet would want to corral any survivors and put them to work either in boulder or at Irwin. An assault on the colony at the same time Victor and company are trying to instigate a coup could be really interesting