Squawking Dead

Taking our 1st stab into the Game of Thrones universe, House of the Dragon finally returns after 2 years away: #TeamBlack licks its wounds after the loss of Lucaerys Targaryen, while Daemon Targaryen amplifies Rhaenyra Targaryen's cries for vengeance. #TeamGreen finds the center does not hold and will have an even harder time of it after Blood and Cheese are through.

The Fallout Universe truly starts venturing into uncharted narrative beginnings for both gamer and watcher, alike. Will Lucy MacLean discard Hank MacLean's values? Will Knight Maximus shed The Brotherhood Of Steel long enough to find Lucy? Is Cooper Howard looking for BOTH Barb Howard AND Janey Howard, despite what we've learned about the former? As we head to New Vegas, where does that leave Norm MacLean? Holy Deathclaw, Batman: almost every question answered has another one to replace it!

In varying degrees, everyone in this story is a "bad guy" or a coward: the difference is the degree to which they are self-aware. In contrast to the start of the series, we're not sure whether any of these characters see themselves as the hero of their own story (any longer). Regardless, they all do their best to forge a better path forward.

Expectations are subverted at every turn: and they're just going to do it again next episode! Who's side are you on? Is Cooper Howard or Barb Howard the hero? Is Maximus or Lucy MacLean right about Vault 4? ...and when, since opinions swap! Or is forcing us into a binary choice an intentional distraction that benefits a more malevolent force?

Maximus and Lucy MacLean learn to trust one another, while Betty Pearson (Cooper Howard's long-lost wife?) becomes Vault 33's overseer (obviously planned?). We explore Shady Sands' / New California Republic's lore, as well as Vault 4's, as it pertains to the games and how the TV series has expanded the Fallout Universe.

SQUAWKing down a couple rabbit holes: we uncover more evidence that Vault-Tec's cluster of vaults - 31, 32, and 33 - are merely a science experiment. The Enclave? Merely Vault-tec rebranded. On top of an immediate Season 2 announcement, will we at least get an announcement that Bethesda will be releasing a new game based, in part, on the events of Amazon Prime's knockout season?

Ah, The Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Our characters are a product of their environment - a system - and seem to be moving beyond their societal expectations, for better or worse. Feo, Fuerte, y Formal, indeed.

It seems as though all of our main characters are exhibiting aberrant behavior, stacked against the mission of their respective collectives. And Doctor Siggi Wilzig seems to know an awful lot about Lucy MacLean, doesn't he?

BEYOND The Walking Dead Universe we go (again), as we discuss the pilot of Amazon Prime's Fallout! The most notable takeaways are how the Fallout universe was on the verge of becoming The Jetsons until the nukes went off and it's evident by way of the most informationally dense first 15 minutes we've ever consumed in a television series. We're extremely lucky to have - talent artist and resident console gamer - Carinae Davey along for the ride to give us a gamer's perspective throughout our discussions!

It's been a week since The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live's season(/series?) finale dropped: we took our time to isolate the full spectrum of our impressions on the conclusion to Rick & Michonne's fraught journey. Even if you had issues with Richonne's #TWDfamily reunion with RJ & Judith Grimes, the people have spoken in the form of chart-topping ratings.

We always say The Walking Dead Universe allows you to be the person you were meant to be. This episode spotlights what The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has been trying to show us the entire time: The Walking Dead Universe allows couples to Become what they were meant to be, too, in all their unique forms. Jadis had her day and - with the help of Father Gabriel Stokes - Anne Stokes found grace.

⚠️This is SIDE A of our double-sided podcast collaboration with The Ones Who Live - a TWD Podcast. To flip over to SIDE B, tap one (or both) of the following links: YouTube: https://youtu.be/j6CfeDaSeAk Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1772vUlEf5ooGVPGZuvxQ8?si=fH4KyfNSTR-5qX30dDWT-w Save for Sherrandy, this episode might be more than just our favorite episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, but among our favorite in The Walking Dead Universe. We highlight the intricacies of Rick Grimes' & Michonne's undeniable love and the depths the latter plunges to rescue the former. This series introduces some larger themes and we dart across The Walking Dead's timeline to shine a light on the significance of this episode's more brilliant moments.

"Is it still him?" We dive a little deeper to answer that question as Michonne beats Rick Grimes' kill-count record, setting alarm bells across the panel. Maybe Jadis/Warrant Officer Anne Stokes was right, though: Maybe Richonne can do anything?

We jump into this episode right where Michonne left us on The Walking Dead 10x13, What We Become. She cuts a bloody path to Rick Grimes, just shy of killing him. But is it still him? And was it a good move for him to bring her back to the Civic Republic (Military)?

It's late in coming (because of all the wonderful content we've been able to get you this week), but chock full of insights and funny, our full episode breakdown of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is finally here! All in all, we focus more on each character's intentions, real or imagined (on our part). More than anything else, we drew many lines from The Walking Dead: World Beyond and watched how carefully the dots connected between each character and the greater #TWDUniverse.

We teased a little of this in our featurette: we're reacting to The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live advanced screening and Q&A at the Kaufmann Theater hosted by the 92nd Street Y moderated by Dalton Ross featuring Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, and Scott M. Gimple.

We've waited for this moment for the better part of 6 YEARS: about as long as the actual time jump that occurred The Walking Dead episode 9x05. The premiere doesn't waste time answering a myriad of questions we've all had throughout the years and rewards hardcore #TWDUniverse fans multiple times over. BUT WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Originally Recorded 2023.05.02 With the Series Finale of Fear The Walking Dead months behind us, it's kind of serendipitous that we never got around to actually releasing our 7 favorite moments from the show (representing the first 7 seasons, prior to Season 8). The intention was the same - highlighting our favorite moments of FearTWD amidst the final episodes - but it feels that much sweeter releasing this episode after the fact because it not only highlights our love for the show but the fun we had discussing it on our podcast. What were your favorite moments on Fear The Walking Dead? Tell us in a podcast rating!

I used to say that Fear The Walking Dead was a completely different show than The Walking Dead, but that's not accurate. Though the characters and setting are different (and there's no source material to draw upon), it's still about balancing pragmatism with Tikkun Olam (fixing/building a better world). As we say goodbye to the series that has brought many of us together with such joy, it bears repeating: you may not have gotten what you wanted, but you liked what you got.

Just before our livestream discussing the series finale of Fear The Walking Dead, Sherrandy arranged a surprise guest for us! From Camera Operator to Director of Photography to full-blown Director on The Walking Dead to suddenly becoming Executive Producer/Director on Fear The Walking Dead, Michael Satrazemis not only took the time to bring us back to where and how it all started on Fear The Walking Dead but to thank us for always keying into what he and everyone else involved were trying to accomplish. The takeaway here is that we saw in one another our own personal struggles and all the ways we've shown our mutual appreciation, gratitude, and support over the years.