Wow, my first post (other than my intro)... So glad I can finally feel like a full-fledged member of the Forum at last.

Just had my own personal listening party for the final episode and I am very happy with it. As people have mentioned, it did feel abrupt, how the Ink arc was completed so quickly. But in retrospect it makes sense. The most important story all along has been about survival and by spending the second half of the episode fast forwarding and giving you glimpses into the future, which revolves around an entirely new plot line (whether Nick will choose to join the Guard or not), it felt like both halves of Chapter 48 were given equal weight. While we the We're Alive audience have viewed the arc of Ink as though it was the most essential storyline, from the survivors' perspective it's just one chapter among many in their lives - and presumably one storyline among thousands that are compelling and intriguing in their own right. It's like the We're Alive universe is brimming with numerous tales to be told and KC simply plucked one out and held up the magnifying glass for us to examine in depth over the past five years (well the past two months for me since I discovered the show really late in its run).

I think that's what I have loved so much about this work and KC's writing - he does such an excellent job of challenging the audience's perceptions and expectations. Seasons One and Two were top notch but they seemed to follow a conventional and linear zombie survival storyline, though with the element that the zombies don't behave as we expect. And if the show had kept on that way I would have loved it. But then Season Three threw convention out the window with the introduction of Kalani's diary and CJ. The former did this by having us reexamine aspects of the story we thought we understood and relive experiences we thought had been fully fleshed from a different point of view. We soon realize that the significance of any scene is always colored by the context of how we came to see it. And we became aware that KC is a master storyteller because he could take a scene (like Samantha, Datu, and the fat inert dude on the floor that we pray will be the sacrificial lamb to allow them to escape) and make you completely rethink your sympathies by changing the perspective (like Samantha, Datu, and a tragic everyman Kalani, who is desperate to save his daughter from some psychotic criminals).

With CJ, KC took the normal convention of having the narrator/protagonist be the main hero and leader of the story and turned that on its head as well. After you get to know CJ you realize that someone else could possibly be as capable a leader if not moreso than the one whose perspective you have adopted for the first half of the story. Now of course CJ has her flaws (as does every character in the show, which is another reason I love We're Alive), but she rarely runs out of ideas on what to do, she's less likely succumb to emotions and rush into a decision like Michael does, she doesn't cut people off when they offer a different course of action than her the way Michael did a few times, and she's less likely to blame someone for making a mistake like Michael did early on in the show (he got way better about letting go later on). On the flipside CJ can seem rather cruel and inhumane at times, she puts greater stock in the intellect and less in emotions and feelings, she's really controlling, and she's frankly not as relatable as Michael is and thus is less likable.

And as for the protagonist not being the main hero of the story, the resolution of the Ink arc showed that ultimately Saul is the one fights Roberts man-to-man and is the one who sacrifices himself to save his friends. Victor is the one who ends up taking down Michael's other main nemesis, Randy. One could argue that Michael didn't actually do anything in his portion of the finale other than narrate. Off the top of my head I can't think of other another work of fiction that manage this feat of disconnecting the protagonist role from the main hero role of the story. As the protagonist one would have expected Michael to defeat the primary antagonist of the story, but instead he was there to witness the antagonist being defeated by someone else, because really only Saul could have beaten Ink due to his immunity. This isn't to say that Michael was not a hero, just that the typical convention that the protagonist has to be the main hero who accomplishes the most important tasks of the story did not hold true with We're Alive. Michael was one hero among many, all of whom were tested at one point or another and called upon to act heroicly for the benefit of the survivors as a group.

Sorry my post is so long, I've had a lot I wanted to write about but I wanted to wait to complete the whole series before becoming more active on the Forum.

Some quick points about the finale:

1) LOVED LOVED LOVED that Kelly and Tanya finally had a chance to go all bad*ss action hero. It seemed like every other main character had his or her moment to shine in an action scene. Did I hear right that they killed the two remaining Mallers (aside from Scratch)?
2) Saul's callback to CJ's leg-cutting maneuver with the katana when he took down the cocksure Ink. YES!
3) It strikes me as ironic that Pegs - who has one of the purest hearts on the show (it sounded like she was rushing to Scratch out of concern after she fell off the fire escape), who doesn't entertain any dark thoughts, who hates the idea of killing or even holding a gun, and who is not obsessed with revenge - is the one who ultimately ends Scratch's Reign of Terror. And it was all done so matter of fact (Pegs says something like she missed, I didn't), like she gives the notion of killing Scratch barely a fleeting thought while Scratch spends every waking second wanting to kill Pegs (ditto for Riley and Burt with Scratch). As she's the one who killed Latch as well, Pegs single-handedly hurt Scratch both emotionally and physically where no one else seemed to be able to lay a finger on her. Little did Scratch realize that Pegs was her kryptonite and she should have stayed as far away from her as she could.
4) That said I was totally creeped out by the Hitchcock/Cask of Amontillado vibe thing going on with Scratch's final scene. Being buried alive is cruel and to hear Scratch sound so fearful and vulnerable - well it made me feel sympathetic towards her even though I spent most of the show wanting her dead after Angel's death. It didn't seem right. But hearing Burt recall what it felt like to nearly starve to death...well I think I need to relisten to his torture scene and then I'll feel better about Scratch's fate.
5) Victor taking down Randy like it was nothing (another interesting play with perception because to Michael, Randy was this almost "Big Boss"/diabolical villain type that he obsessed about and to Victor, Randy was just another biter). And the callback about how Victor promised he'd never let another zombie get close again. Perfection.
6) Whoever played Nick is a strong actor. He totally sounded like a young version of Saul. Kudos on the casting!
7) Lastly, CJ mentioned other survivor enclaves out there (some good and some not). Hmm... Atlanta is certainly out there. Walking Dead/We're Alive crossover?

Thank you KC for a wonderful show. I really appreciate everything you did with We're Alive. It has literally been my life the past 2 1/2 months. You're writing and ability to dip into so many different types of genres (comedy, horror, drama, suspense) effortlessly is incredible. The ending was so satisfying. I'm sure I'll post more in the Forum in the future and I look forward to Tales, but what an incredible run you had with this story. You have a lifelong fan of your work in me and I can't wait to see what you do next. As my finances allow, I will definitely be sending donations your way (I like the idea that we, your fans, can collectively act as your benefactor or patron). I know you earned barely anything for We're Alive but know that your work has meant more to me than any commercial work of art that has come out in television or in the cineplexes for the past 10 years. My wish for you is that you are able to earn a living off your art because you are so good at it and the world deserves to see more of it.

--Eric