Chapter 33-1 Red Winter

[7oddisdead]

I think 7oddisdead meant L.A.

thank ye.. seemed obvious to me.

[fridginators]

If I remember correctly, in WND #43 Nikvoodoo went on and on about how it's not going to suddenly change to Fort Irwin. It's just like what happened with Chapter 19 all over again!

Good ep, interesting ep, and yeah it did remind me more of old-time radio, simply because a lot of the episode was chatter between Michael and Puck. Interesting at the hints about Kimmet not being such a great leader, I think the comparisons to Durai are inevitable but warranted. Also surprised at how apparently bad of a soldier Riley is, when she's otherwise been tough as nails. We'll see how that develops.

Not exactly sure what to make of the Chinook, asides from that it's a really interesting plot point, so props KC. It could go in so many different ways, it's really impossible to actually predict from our current standpoint, but yes it seems likely that it did crash. I'm not sure if Boulder's going to get infected - remember they maintain a strong defence there. Unless you do it 28 weeks later style which is a direction I really hope it doesn't go in... zombies breaking from the inside or tearing a safehouse apart has already been done once in the tower and once in CJ's tower... do we really need it to happen again?

Then again, we've seen this whole zombie situation seem to diminish in importance - what with the relative safety and fortress-like nature of Ft Irwin and Boulder, it seems hard to really be concerned about Pinstripes, a zombie horde or the other issues which we still haven't had answered - Michael's arm and Randy, although those two, like Kalani being the rat, are probably a case of the most plausible case being the correct one. Regardless, Randy must continue to have some significance - otherwise why would he have popped up again? Maybe it's all just to do with Michael's psychology than anything else.

The point is that something needs to happen. What happens with the Chinook is really going to change this story, a lot. Keep in mind we still have 16 more chapters in this story; what on earth is going to happen? How is this end game going to be constructed? We're in the lull right now, and there's going to be a lot more complication before we get the scene set for the final act in mid-late season 4. My feeling is that the structure of Ft Irwin and Boulder must be threatened, because we are far too safe right now. The Mallers also need to be made relevant again - they are relevant on the personal but not on the grand level. They're relevant to Saul, not really to Michael. How can we reconcile revenge for Angel with putting down Pinstripes? Even more fundamentally: how do we resolve this tension between the human element of the story and what has increasingly become a military/thriller element? Unless one subordinates itself to the another, thus the theories of the Mallers being wiped out and Scratch being killed in Season 3, so we can concentrate on killing Pinstripes in Season 4. The thing is though, that KC has always said this is a story about people, so I just don't see that happening.

I have extreme confidence in KC in being able to reconcile these issues, otherwise he wouldn't have set it up like this (and keep in mind in the WND post-season 2 interview he said that they have the story all mapped out, and has repeated so several times). I am unsure of how it's going to happen, but damn am I going to enjoy watching it unfurl.

[Condor]

Darn you KC for the Johnny 5 reference. When I heard that, I thought "I haven't seen Short Circuit in a long time", then flipping through the channels I saw it was on. Now I can't get this out of my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA9WhYnsD_4 Which makes me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-tUk805urg
Hope there's never a Rick Astley reference.

[nikvoodoo]

If I remember correctly, in WND #43 Nikvoodoo went on and on about how it's not going to suddenly change to Fort Irwin. It's just like what happened with Chapter 19 all over again!

Yeah yeah yeah. I was wrong. Blah blah blah.

[LiamKerrington]

Hi there,

zombies breaking from the inside or tearing a safehouse apart has already been done once in the tower and once in CJ's tower... do we really need it to happen again?

Well ... Actually your two references are kind of vague ... What we had so far: Almost anytime Zombies coming from the outside and dealing with the situation inside. And we had it only once so far that a Zed spawned within The Tower, the Tommy-incident.

Now, I predict that the captain in the chinook turns into a Roman (compare: Roman) and attacks the chinook from the inside. Would it be the same thing as with Tommy? Short: No.
Long:
- Tommy was wounded by a bomb and afterwards splattered with Zombie-goo, what resulted in his infection and let him turn; the captain was attacked (wounded?) and severly harmed by a little one; I guess (!) that this might be the same as with Roman, therefore the infection happens.
- Tommy was in the free and turned in the face of his friends and aunt; the captain is locked away.
- Tommy was shot by Burt and was not yet able to attack anyone; if the captain turns, he may break free within the chinook, because we know from the elementary school that the little ones are a lot more powerful then regulars and we don't have any idea if soldiers within a flying chinook would you deadly force on a freshly spawned little one.

True: I guess and predict a lot; and maybe, if not probably, I am totally wrong. And yet: just imagine I could be right about this one; would the attack from the inside really be the repetition of what we had earlier so far? Well - doesn't look to me that way ... At least I don't recollect any situation from the WA story so far being barely similar ...

I am pretty sure season four will have a major focus on Inglewood and Ground Zero as well as on pinstripes and especially the little ones. Fort Irwin prepares for it with Johnny 5; also we have the confirmation that the chinook-mission was about searching a "safe" place in L.A. for future activities, too - at least as I understand it so far ... Therefore pinstripes won't come to Boulder or Fort Irwin, not even to The Colony ... The heroes and survivors will deal with him in L.A.!

Some loose ends, and Kc has a plan to go on with the story; no clue though, if he is going to connect all loose ends again ... I am pretty excited about what is going to happen.

All the best!
Liam

[fridginators]

I meant more about an infected getting loose in Boulder. And I guess yeah it's not directly comparable, but I guess it's just a plot element I don't really care for.

And the comments about prediction weren't aimed at you, they were just a general statement about the fact that we really know nothing at the moment about the future of the Chinook. It will be interesting though.

[LiamKerrington]

Hi there,

@fridginators: no offense taken. I am a fan of lively discussions, though.

Agreed: Imagining a huge security threshold in Boulder it would be kind of odd, if an outbreak takes place in Boulder and thus risking the lives of 150000 survivors ... And I would not want to see it coming. But up until now I don't see any way to reconnect with Pegs, Datu, Hope, and Kelly; also I am not sure, if they are of any story-value anymore anyway. In #33-1 Michael has a good point about them not keeping in touch with him ... Does this aim at the prospect that these four characters are out of WA (for now), or is it maybe the preparation for a kind of more "personal" conflict established for some interesting conflicts in the future?

If Kc manages to get a (small) infection to Boulder - something that could be prevented from spreading all over the place, Michael, Puck, and maybe Riley would have a good reason to get there and reconnect with former friends - especially since we know that the Boulder-soldiers are kind of inexperienced soldiers.

Trying to grab all the opportunities we have at the moment I have no clue about what to expect and what to behold as more or less valid ... I think, no, I hope #33-2 will offer us some direction ...

All the best!
Liam

[fridginators]

Yeah we know about as little as we did about the future as we did after Chapter 25 honestly - keep in mind how little this part of the story has been developed so far, save for the general summary of what's happening in the world.

I'm 99.99999999999999999999999999999% sure that Pegs, Datu, Hope and Kelly have not been written out of the story. Michael and Pegs is a conflict that needs to be resolved, Scratch needs to come close to killing Pegs, Hope has to have some plot significance (otherwise there is absolutely no point of her being alive, save for Datu's peace of mind) and Kelly REALLY needs to get laid.

[DeadPixel]

keep in mind how little this part of the story has been developed so far, save for the general summary of what's happening in the world.

Perhaps this is just the calm before another storm? Just like yourself, I'm very positive we haven't seen the last of Pegs, Datu and Kelly, but this is WA, and I'm sure there will be some heart swallowing moments as everyone is on their way to reunite..

I'm looking forward to it, but at the same time, dreading the possible outcomes :P

[LiamKerrington]

Yeah, well ...

although this ia hidden in the ambiguity of my last posting, I wouldn't want to bet on Pegs, Kelly, Hope and Datu not showing up again. On the one side there is the Pegs-Michael complication, then there is Hope with her relations to Datu AND Tanya, and not to forget Pegs as the ultimate motivation for Scratch nuking world and shit and whatnot ...

DeadPixel: Yes, calm before the storm ...

All the best!
Liam
And my guts tells me: The chinook on its lost course to boulder is the key to bring people closer to each other again ...