I think that it's because, in a zombie apocalypse, you get so focused on the danger coming from the non-humans that you forget to look in the other direction. Glenn and Maggie have basically been the only two happy people in the group. They've been in a bubble of their young love and it got burst in a really violent,…

Agreed on Daryl. The best thing about that sequence on the bridge and in the woods is that Merle finally gets to meet the Daryl we (and the prison crew) know. He's never met him before and sees now that he's not the same little brother he's belittled all these years. This is an awesome motherfucker with skills and a…

It's also pretty trippy to go back and see him in Boondock Saints now.

I notice he snapped out of his craziness pretty fucking quick when the zombie horde came spilling out of the Trojan truck. Nothing is more therapeutic than stabbing and shooting the undead.

^ftw. Also, the whole family should've had blood coming out of their ears (hey, foreshadowing!) when the piper was circling the dinner table. Holy christ, those things carry for miles when buskers play them in the city. The crystal goblets should've been flinging shrapnel and shredding flesh from bone.

I honestly don't know why everyone was so skeeved out by Bates' bare chest in bed with his wife. How ridiculous would it have been for him to be tanned and even remotely buff? He spends his days putting Robert in a series of ornamental jackets, not mucking out the stables with a big pitchfork. He's not in his 20s.…

The O'Brien doppelganger truly did not know who she was fucking with. O'Brien's steel constitution would've metabolized that booze with nothing more noticeable than a discreet burp.

I enjoyed the Doc/Crawley thing, too. That kind of utter obliviousness is frustrating but still fun to watch because you keep hoping that the blind idiot will suddenly slap themself on the forehead and go, "Oh, that's what he meant!"

I could have watched Molesley doing the Snoopy dance for at least 20 minutes. Ye gods, though, his head must've wanted to just come right the fuck off after riding in that carriage the next morning - then on the train all day.

Yes on the John/Zoe hook-up! I was amazed when I realized that he was actually saying what it sounded like he was saying. That guy is so contained all the time, unless his fighting mojo is unleashed, that it took me a minute to get that he was indeed suggesting sexytime. Such a touch of lightness for such a heavy…

I have already dubbed it The New Hyperion.

That's a great connection @avclub-15d496c747570c7e50bdcd422bee5576:disqus . I think we're starting to get the big picture of this season now and it. is. awesome.

As is Johnny Cash, a la "Man in Black," protesting on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. The only thing I can figure is that the chocolate chip ice cream dopes Ron with its creamy sugar high until he can't tell left from right.

@avclub-2f2b7ca7553ba4230cad836ea1125578:disqus By "hybridity" I mean Sam's embodied Otherness as it was established since he was an infant. It was such a big part of the origin tale of the character and I wondered, like you, if the glowy body part signaled a recurrence of that body-motif for Sam.

@avclub-2f2b7ca7553ba4230cad836ea1125578:disqus  - the Sam speech was indeed swoon-worthy, so grounded and genuine. Egos seemed to take a back seat, although there is still a bit of the competition to see who gets to be the champion (kind of like Angel & Spike arguing over the goblet thingie). You're right to tie the…

Food is hilarious on this show, actually, and quite revealing. I never thought I'd hear Dean advocating salad but it was a sign of how his nurturing and mentoring has expanded beyond the early responsibility of his life taking care of Sam to encompass another vulnerable young guy. He's a protector and a guardian…

You're right on the illogic. I kept thinking that, the minute those hellhounds started menacing the ranch, that stable full of horses would've gone apeshit.

Particularly cool about Sam's speech to Dean at the end was his openly stated opinion that Dean isn't just worthy of saving because he's Sam's brother but because he's a "genius" as a Hunter. I don't think anyone has ever praised Dean's skills in this way or made him feel like he's special. For Sam to say, "You're…

I was terrified they were going to screw up the hellhounds. Those have consistently been the scariest creature - to me - of the entire series, simply because they've been there at the most wrenching deaths (Jo, Ellen, Dean) with the creepiest sound effects and the scarring, bloody clawmarks torn through clothes…

I thought for a moment that the show was setting Dean's homebody persona up to be mocked by having the cheeseburgers be un-tasty. So I was really happy when Sam - who was surprisingly dickish about Dean's nesting instincts - came back and took the cheeseburger with him. It was clearly as delicious as it looked!