Chapter 45-3: Distorted Truths

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

Skittles bottled - the new fragrance by Duncan.

[TacticalJHP]

Does anyone think that Tardust, unknowingly, is being used by Scratch? Once he leave she may have gotten the idea to discredit Tardust by clear all the place they had been too. Cause whoever found Tardust disbelieve him. And lower their guard for her attack.

Yea, she probably noticed he took the left turn and put her plan into the works.

Scratch is a crazy bitch, but she can form a plan. And she also knows her people. If Tardust had been having second thoughts, she would let him run and get caught. Eventually he would fold and take B&R to all the places they had been, so she could camp outside one of those spots until they arrived and catch them off guard, or use the diversion to attack the colony and finally get to Pegs and end her vendetta.

My question is did they check the Observation/Listening Post near the colony yet?

[Merlin1274]

Max, the redshirt in the turret is named Max.

Damn.. I make notes when listening.. I put Mark not Max.. Brain Fart..

[pmchawk]

Does anyone think that Tardust, unknowingly, is being used by Scratch? Once he leave she may have gotten the idea to discredit Tardust by clear all the place they had been too. Cause whoever found Tardust disbelieve him. And lower their guard for her attack.

I would think that would make them raise their guard because of being unable to trust Tardust.

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

Does anyone think that Tardust, unknowingly, is being used by Scratch? Once he leave she may have gotten the idea to discredit Tardust by clear all the place they had been too. Cause whoever found Tardust disbelieve him. And lower their guard for her attack.

Well, I do not know. What can be said for sure is that he is keeping Riley and Burt effectively away from the fire-station, the relays and the colony.

[Grognaurd]

Damn.. I make notes when listening.. I put Mark not Max.. Brain Fart..

Maybe, that is Skittles trick. Too many beans...

[Jannit]

Ugh, wouldn't that be a cruel, sad misfortune....

Or a blessing.

I have a feeling that when she does find out, she will hate Burt for keeping it from her.

I dunno. Riley seems practical enough to understand why Burt would keep it from her for a while. I can see her being pissed for a while but she seems too reasonable not to get over it.

I'm NOT ok with Riley and Burt descending at Scratch's level. Mostly because it is OBVIOUS that Scratch went back and cleaned all safehouses once Tardust left and that's why she hasn't attacked any of the convoys. Or do they think she did not notice 25% of her group missing?! This torture business is horrifying but above all stupid.

It does seem to be getting to be a bit too much of a stretch. I was playing along with the idea that Burt and Riley have been hunting Scratch for as long as they have but given everything else that's going on it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me anymore. I'm not really loving the Burt and Riley arc but that's just my personal option. The characters are both interesting in their own right and together they make for some awesome dialogue but that's about as far as I'll go with the idea. Just my two cents.

[Litmaster]

Skittles didn't remember letting Ink in? trauma, perhaps?

Perhaps. But still a question that needs answering.

1. So maybe Skittles does not have the Dictionary to the Zombie language. I was hoping he was and could be a key factor in understanding what is going on.

2. Riley going to the Dark Side.. This will not end well.. Seems she is another Scratch. They both want revenge so bad it clouds their judgement.

1. Yeah, and I was also hoping that he could come up with some central, keystone-like knowledge that would help put the final pieces in place, but in this short exchange he just seems like a little crazy dude who smells funny.... Now what I was hoping for...

2. Nah, to say that Riley is Scratch 2.0 is a bit of a stretch. To me, her torturing Tar isn't out of line with her character arc, nor would it get me to stop liking her. It's the friggin' Zompocalypse, for chrissake-- the Girl Scouts are all long dead...

My guess is that either Tardust starts talking before Riley actually begins torturing him or Scratch will prevent the whole setup from happing...

Yep, I am also wondering how much this entire thing is a setup.

Mostly because it is OBVIOUS that Scratch went back and cleaned all safehouses once Tardust left and that's why she hasn't attacked any of the convoys. Or do they think she did not notice 25% of her group missing?!

This is very likely IF Tardust really did bail as he said; Scratch would realize that Tar knew of the location of their supplies and would not try to move them before he could. However, she could also anticipate his move and have an ambush in place at one of these houses... Sooner or later, she has got to show up.

Does Tardust know what the list of drugs Ink is using does? If you working in his business (making drugs) you probably need to keep up with new drugs to make ppl high and how the react with other drugs. Just a thought. Tardust might know what counter acts Folastatin and the other drugs. Could be an interesting twist.

This is the kind of information I wish they could get from him.

- A big question is: How would Ink know that Skittles has helped the other survivors? Is there a deeper connection between the both of them? Or is Skittles does anxious that Ink would be such a mastermind that he would necessarily conclude Skittle's aid from whatever the other survivors do?

Yes, this question jumped out to me on the first listen...

[TacticalJHP]

Sooner or later, she has got to show up.

What if she never does. What if she never shows up, and that is left as an unanswered question at the end of the series, with the possibility that she is always out there, stalking what survivors there may be, still carrying her anger on her shoulders, and always ready to pounce?

- A big question is: How would Ink know that Skittles has helped the other survivors? Is there a deeper connection between the both of them? Or is Skittles does anxious that Ink would be such a mastermind that he would necessarily conclude Skittle's aid from whatever the other survivors do?

Or maybe he is just generally paranoid, like I am about how my cat knows when I get a can of tuna...

[Litmaster]

Wrapping up initial thoughts from 45-3:

Tardust = Pippen 2.0?
The Mallers have come up with this plan and used it several times before (see Pippen & Kalani). There is the possibility that most of what Tardust is saying is a lie and he is really a RAT planted by Scratch...

"Onramp near I-5"
Uh, how could they use any of the highways at all, if they were so clogged by the initial outbreak panic that they needed a helicopter just to make it to Ft. Irwin?

Duncan/Skittles 'Knowledge'
What was surprising to me was that Skittles appears to be ignorant of exactly why he hasn't been eaten by the Zeds. The fact that he says that he 'hides' is not true, based on the video where he was seen walking plainly past the Zeds. So what is the deal, here? His smell? Does he have a facial birthmark that means "DON'T EAT" to Zeds?? Or was it neither of these, and something else altogether? Is it possible that Skittles has somehow struck a deal with Ink???

Skittles doesn't even seem to know how Ink got in to Dunbar in the first place. He seems surprised when C.J. shows him the evidence that it was indeed him who let Ink inside. And here all this time I thought he went crazy out of the guilt of letting Ink inside. Also, I am disappointed that we didn't get any reveal that Skittles somehow knew Ink prior to the outbreak...

Sympathetic Character Switch?
Interesting that some of you have already commented that Riley will be cast out of your favor if she 'descends to Scratch's level' and starts to torture Tardust. Sure it's nasty, but I don't believe that anyone in this kind of world could still be alive without some stains on their hands. Morality works differently in a world where every second of every day is a gritty fight for survival...