#twd 11x20

[allthegothihopgirls]

it's just a little scratch guys he's fine !

[lancehornsbyswhiskey]

On the topic of variant walkers

So, we now have variant walkers in the final season. I feel like this poses not only a monumental challenge to our characters going forward, but also a really interesting moral dilemma as well.

11x20 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!

Per Dr. Jenner’s explanation in the CDC in Season 1, in terms of “normal walkers”, the frontal lobe and neocortex of the brain (the “you” part) do not return during reanimation, only the brain stem, which is what gets the body up and moving and in search of food. However, in the case of the variant walkers, I think we’re obviously seeing something very different, as they are showing intent (picking up a rock to use it as a weapon), memory (Morgan’s wife in Season 1 was able to remember what house her husband and son were staying in), motor skills (opening doors and climbing fences), and enhanced speed.

While it’s already going to be hard enough to contend with these variant walkers, they also pose another unique challenge, that of a moral dilemma. In the past we’ve seen several instances of deceased loved ones being kept alive by their family or friends either in hopes of a cure, or because of the inability to let go (The Governor with his daughter Penny, Hershel Greene with his family and neighbors in the barn, and most recently Pamela Milton with her son Sebastian). However, we have yet to see a beloved character become a variant walker, and I think when we do, there will be a reckoning. How much of the true person is left in the variant? Do they remember their loved ones? Familiar places? Any part of who they were before? If it’s believed to be so, then putting someone down as a variant will be 20x harder—knowing you could potentially be killing someone who may remember you.

As for how I think this will play out in the show, I think we could see a couple situations. Anyone who follows me on here knows I’m a Variant!Lance truther so I’ll just get that out of the way now. 😂 Call it pure old “I still wanna watch Josh Hamilton act!”, but I truly think it’s interesting that we specifically see Lance shot in the neck, and that Daryl and Carol don’t bother to harm his brain to prevent him from coming back. While this makes total sense character wise (he was a prick to them in life, so why spare him from turning), this could potentially be a catastrophic mistake. If Lance comes back as a variant walker, there is a distinct possibility that he could remember the Commonwealth and make his way back there, which could lead to the deaths of one or more of our main characters at his hands. But, what I think is more plausible if Variant!Lance gets back to the Commonwealth is that he’s going to go after Pamela if he sees her, which I think could lead to the collapse of the Commonwealth if he bites her and she dies. (Kind of poetic justice as well, him finally getting a taste of her only in death)

On a sadder note, I think we could also get variant walkers introduced to the Commonwealth another way, and that’s with the death of one of our main characters…who, after turning, would simply keep following the group or displaying a recognition for familiar areas. I think we could see this in someone like Rosita if she dies, and then would recognize and follow something strange like the sound of Coco crying, and then someone like Eugene or Father Gabriel would struggle with whether or not to put her down, knowing his friend/lover is somewhere in there and potentially able to remember him and/or her child.

[negans-leather-jacket]

(TWD 11X20 SPOILER) I don’t know how to feel about his death honestly

[lola-andheruniverse]

uh, it's almost time for 11x21 and I wrote nothing about 11x20! but that's OK, I only have 4 things to point out:

1 - Yumiko really likes to punch people.

2 - Tomi my beloved 🥺 🤌🏾 🥰

3 - CARYL! I could write so many things about them but everyone already said everything so let's summarize my feelings with a very popular gif:

I'M POSITIVE YALL!

4 - My favorite "villain" since Shane it's gone! So sad it's over but so glad for him and for Josh Hamilton. What an amazing actor! May Lance Hornsby, our purple suit king, turn into a smart walker and follow caryl tire tracks just to scare the shit out of them so they can hug and be like are you okay and stare into each other's eyes and kiss because let me dream.

[allthegothihopgirls]

i haven't watched 11x21 yet, but istg if dog is gone for good i will cry

[lancehornsbyswhiskey]

Some thoughts after watching Walking Dead 11x20

Putting all of this under a cut because SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Okay, so I figured Lance was probably going to die in 11c and I knew his time was probably running out…but I still thought he might have kind of a better death?? Like yeah I know a lot of this is really coming from me just wanting to keep seeing more of Josh’s acting because he’s just been so damn good this season, but how Lance died just seemed out of character and weird? Carol literally called Lance a smart guy moments before she shot him and he WAS smart, so him going for the gun just seemed strange. I know he realized his talking wasn’t going to save him but like, you’ve got your back to two people who have weapons trained on you, and you decide to go for a machine gun and try to get the safety off and chamber a round before you get shot? IDK…it just seems OOC that a smart guy like Lance would think he had any shot at all (pun intended) in a situation like that. I get maybe the writers were trying to make Carol and Daryl seem like decent people by not just outright executing Lance, but the way he died just seemed like a stupid way to go for a guy who had been very cunning and smart previously. I guess maybe desperation makes people do stupid things?? I did at least think we’d get the CRM drop from him though before he died, which would have made sense for his character to have an alliance with CRM (I assumed, as many others did, that his line “certain alliances will suffer” in the last episode was a CRM reference) and would have easily made it possible for a Rick reveal if the writers wanted to go that direction.

Anyway, that brings me to my next point, which is that I also think it’s curious that Carol shot Lance in the neck and we get that last shot of him bleeding out. I saw someone say online that they thought since Yumiko’s brother is a throat doctor then Lance could potentially be saved, but with him far from the Commonwealth and as isolated as he is, I doubt he could be transported back in time (especially since he was coughing up blood within moments of being shot). That being said, I think it’s VERY interesting that Carol doesn’t shoot Lance in the head, and we specifically don’t see either Daryl or Carol stab Lance so he doesn’t turn. Why am I harping on this point so much? Well, because of this photo:

This photo was posted on Twitter several months ago and then almost immediately deleted afterwards (and is now impossible to find on there now, at least by me), which makes me think that it was a spoiler. When I first saw the photo I personally didn’t think it was Josh, I thought it was just a really good cosplay, but with how quickly it was deleted (and now that we’ve seen Lance’s death), it makes me think that we might be getting Walker!Lance either as an OG walker or potentially as a variant, which could make things interesting for our main characters and could factor into how someone dies later in the season. I personally think it would be absolutely hysterical if Walker!Lance could come back and bite Pamela and that could destroy the Commonwealth. I don’t think it would happen before we lose some main characters because I feel like Pamela is the main villain now and she could be responsible for some deaths at her hands, but Walker!Lance finally getting a taste of Pamela?? Incredible….especially after I feel like Lance always wanted a “taste” of Pamela in life 👀😏

Additionally, I have to say, as devastated as I was to see Lance finally go, I am SO HAPPY to see that there is such a wave of unanimous appreciation for Josh Hamilton and what he brought to the role among those who have seen the new episode. I’ve seen a ton of people wishing Lance would have lived longer just so we could have seen more of Josh acting, which really speaks to what all he brought to the character. I also think it could be really interesting if we could get a potential Tales episode down the line about Lance, it seems like a lot of people are interested in the weird dynamic between him and Pamela and want to see what Lance was like pre-apocalypse.

Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts about 11x20 and wants to talk, my inbox and messenger is open and I’d love to chat! You can also drop a reply to this post and I’ll see it. Thanks for reading if you made it this far 😂