Chapter 36- Scorched Earth

[Robzombie]

I like to think that it's Michael, Pegs, or maybe better yet Lizzie, and she's recounting a history to her son, in what is now a safe and z'd free world.

I can picture it...a repopulated colony with mini-Michael/Pegs, mini-Lizzie/Sauls, mini-Victor/Kellys and dare I say it mini-Burt/Scratches all sitting around the camp fire pleading Uncle Cross to "tell us about your zombie adventures just one more time pleeeeease"

[LiamKerrington]

mini-Burt/Scratches

Awesome.

(edit: although this might now work considering the backstory of Scratch and assuming that the damages done might have destroyed her ability to give birth to a child ...)

[Witch_Doctor]

It's just two syllables. Da and a two. It's not hard....

<crackpot>
King Datu the Resourceful will construct a time machine out of MRE wrappers, the skin from a zombie's forearm, some hydraulic fluid, an empty whiskey bottle, and 2 dented 5.56mm rounds. With it, he will go back in time to find a young Bill Roberts on the verge of becoming a middle school bully. Datu will show him kindness and forever alter the WA universe by eliminating the catalyst for Z-Day.

However, with the Law of Unintended Consequences, this will also cause a young girl nicknamed "Scratch" to rise higher in the Family than she would have otherwise and become an Evil Crime Overlord in LA who enlists an impressionable Saul Tink to do some more pilfering. This causes Saul to get sent up the river for a longer stay and not join the Army.

In the end, this results in Lady not being rescued so she goes to the pound. And never comes out.....

Why, Datu? Why!!!?!?!?!?
</crackpot>

I can't stand to be in a parallel universe without Lady!!! Quick! Someone find a perpendicular universe out of here!!!

[Witch_Doctor]

I took all that to mean that, early on, Michael was taking what others told him and was writing it in his journal. After around Chapter 4, many others started writing their own journals and most of the events we, the listeners, know about comes from any of the journals that were kept. I think the story is meant to be a narrative of the collection of journals that the survivors kept.

It could prove very interesting to see that there is no "character" reading the journals. Instead it is "us" who have somehow fund them and are trying to piece together some significant events that have led to where we are today.

Maybe we are "new recruits" in the Battle of the Zed and these journals are required reading for anyone joining the fight...

The mind boggles at the many paths this could follow!

I approach the story under the assumption that there is no character reading the journals at story's end, and providing us with his/her perspective, but we are viewing the story based on the key characters' experiences.

[Hoff4D]

I heard that. By my very unscientific observation of the forums it seems we have 3 main camps on the reading of the journals: Michael, Scratch, and Ink/TOWTM/Pinstripes. I'm sure there are other plausible choices but I keep seeing these come up most often. In my mind, it's one of the biggest "mysteries" we have right there with "how did Zday happen?", "who the hell is Ink/TOWTM/Pinstripes?", "Cracks in Inglewood?", and "Randy? WTF is up with that dude?"

Man, season 4 can't come soon enough....

Perhaps this 'flashback' to the beginning took place somewhere when Michael got to Ft. Irwin (or some other places you people will piece together based on styles of narrative maybe changing, I haven't fleshed this idea out 100% yet) and now we are experiencing things in 'real time' from various accounts. I mean, didnt they all admit to not writing anything down anymore? Perhaps we caught up with the narrative and this is all happening as its narrated, thus there is no 'end scene' of someone reading the journals, just the actual ending, as it happens. Most likely being everyone dying and Skittles left to his vices Twilight Zone style, or my personal favorite theory of Scratch taking down Ink in the final scene.

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

Perhaps this 'flashback' to the beginning took place somewhere when Michael got to Ft. Irwin (or some other places you people will piece together based on styles of narrative maybe changing, I haven't fleshed this idea out 100% yet) and now we are experiencing things in 'real time' from various accounts. I mean, didnt they all admit to not writing anything down anymore? Perhaps we caught up with the narrative and this is all happening as its narrated, thus there is no 'end scene' of someone reading the journals, just the actual ending, as it happens. Most likely being everyone dying and Skittles left to his vices Twilight Zone style, or my personal favorite theory of Scratch taking down Ink in the final scene.

So do you think that the series ends with a fade out like The Sopranos? Would this not be unsatisfying to a certain degree? But why not. There two ways of ending a zombie story - the characters either die (as depicted by the vast majority of movies and books) or someone miraculously finds a cure. I do not regard neither of these two endings to be favorable for the WA ending. The first one is too conventional the second one would just seem ... forced.

[Hoff4D]

So do you think that the series ends with a fade out like The Sopranos? Would this not be unsatisfying to a certain degree? But why not. There two ways of ending a zombie story - the characters either die (as depicted by the vast majority of movies and books) or someone miraculously finds a cure. I do not regard neither of these two endings to be favorable for the WA ending. The first one is too conventional the second one would just seem ... forced.

I don't think it's just going to fade out, I'm not sure what will happen, I just think Scratch will take out Ink somehow. As far as perspective, I think we may have passed the 'flashback point' and are now in real-time....as in the Ch1 reading of michael began when Kimmet made him focus solely on Intel really, and he was just reviewing everyone's journal. Now we are live from whoevers perspective the story is then being told from, sort of omnipresent story telling, but not quite. As in we only get characters perspectives who are still alive

[Privateer]

So do you think that the series ends with a fade out like The Sopranos? Would this not be unsatisfying to a certain degree? But why not. There two ways of ending a zombie story - the characters either die (as depicted by the vast majority of movies and books) or someone miraculously finds a cure. I do not regard neither of these two endings to be favorable for the WA ending. The first one is too conventional the second one would just seem ... forced.

And theres really one way WA can end, and that /is/ the former. Regardless of how any of them survive, the loss of Irwin and Boulder means humanity officially doesn't have a future, and were watching a story about how it died. Theres no greater cause then selfish survival, at this point. Lizzie Jr. is the last generation of humanity, and there is no victory to be had now. Any setting where they live would feel off if thay particular fact wasn't explicit. So,it might be easier for them to all die. Its a flashier defeat, but it'll be a defeat anyway. :P

[scbubba]

And theres really one way WA can end, and that /is/ the former. Regardless of how any of them survive, the loss of Irwin and Boulder means humanity officially doesn't have a future, and were watching a story about how it died. Theres no greater cause then selfish survival, at this point. Lizzie Jr. is the last generation of humanity, and there is no victory to be had now. Any setting where they live would feel off if thay particular fact wasn't explicit. So,it might be easier for them to all die. Its a flashier defeat, but it'll be a defeat anyway. :P

I'm not really sure that Boulder and Fort Irwin were the "last" stands for humanity. Recall that the Colony was actually doing OK until it drew the attention of TOWTMs and his special band. If there aren't others like TOWTM/Pinstripes in other cities/towns then there could be pockets of people surviving here and there. Not necessarily millions or even 100,000 in one place but thousands here and there that could be pulled together over time.

Its mainly going to depend on how wide spread "special" Zeds are, I think. And since we're not really getting much look at the outside world (and who knows if we will at all) we dont really know yet.

Honestly, I'm 50/50 on whether the ending will be humans live or humans die at this point. I'd probably prefer the humans live ending but could definitely accept either one if the story is solid (and it has been so far...)

[LiamKerrington]

scbubba: Pretty much what I think as well.