Couch Potato: FTWD 2.3 and Some Doctor Who Thoughts

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Couch Potato: FTWD 2.3 and Some Doctor Who Thoughts

We didn't watch any movies this weekend. Worked our way to the end of Doctor Who season 8. Last week I said I had some thoughts on Doctor Who and here they are. First of all, disclaimer, the whole Doctor Who franchise is annoyingly liberal - the Doctor is forever lecturing people about guns and violence, and hating soldiers, etc. That aside, the show is fun in its wackiness. (Another scifi show I loved for its wackiness, and which was not at all liberal, was FarScape. Check it out if you have Netflix.)

This part may be interesting to people who like Doctor Who and have seen the Matt Smith seasons (may contain spoilers). We watched the entire length of when the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) first appeared and met young Amelia Pond up to when she left the show. One of the things I liked about that arc is it showed that the Eleventh Doctor really loved Amy Pond unconditionally. It was a platonic but intense love. On one level is was parental, since he first met her when she was child. One episode early on showed that he could have loved her selfishly if she wanted him to, but since she chose to fall in love with another human, he accepted and started caring about that person too. He loved everything about her so much that he eventually marries her kid (highlight to read spoiler). I think that there is probably no one the Doctor has loved as much as Amy Pond. I thought it was an interesting and unusual portrayal of complete devotion to someone.

Now on to Fear The Walking Dead. SPOILERS AHOY!


LAST WARNING: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE YET!

Downsizing Everywhere

Episode 3 of the second season of FTWD is titled Ouroboros. Ouroboros is the snake that eats itself, usually a symbol of an endless cycle. I am not quite sure why it's the title of this ep - any theories?

Whatever the meaning, Ouroboros was actually an exciting episode! Finally. Not recapping - let's get straight to the discussion.

First of all - the Flight survivors! That was a great open. And the guy in the suit must have worked in HR - "oh, you're bit? whack!" Nice to see him get an early retirement of his own. It is confusing though - I thought the Asian girl's name was Charlie. Now it's Alex. Maybe she has a plane name and a sea name and if she ever gets on land her name will be (thinks of ambiguous name) Sam.

Speaking of the Flight survivors - did anyone expect what Strand did at the end of the episode? Talk about cutting loose the dead weight! Sure, from his point of view I can see the logic. Can't afford to risk it and what's the point of wasting food and healthcare, right? But that was cold. (I get it - maybe this whole episode is an allegory about corporate downsizing and the economy. Hmm. Just kidding!)

On to the rest of the crew. Chris apparently is the original Carl. While on a thrill-kill jaunt he has to do some messy mercy-killing himself. If this doesn't make him understand why his Dad offed his Mom then nothing will.

Fashion note - I laughed when someone mentioned Nick's "geriatric fashion." And remember my prediction last week, that as long as he wears the old guy's stolen coat it's a sign that he's still an addict? I was right! As soon as he put on that Captain's shirt, lo and behold, he transforms into a badass who saves the group. FTWD writers, I think I have deciphered your code.

If that wasn't a big enough clue from the writers, in the search for medicine for Ofelia, we also see Daniel pick up then discard a rosary, which Nick later picks up and gives to her. Of course neither of them actually manage to give her any actual medicine, but I think the rosary is an obvious symbol of hope (aka "keeping the faith").

Did you watch the episode? What did you think?