“Say Yes”

“We gonna win today?”

“Oh yeah…we’re gettin’ new batteries for that walkie, too.”

(I love this TWD episode more than I can say, dear readers, and for now, I must step aside and let the music speak for me.

This playlist is very special to me, and contains a number of my very favorite songs, which I lay down, now, with infinte love  and tenderness at the feet of Richonne, and my TWD family, and lastly, my TWD b’s: Jenn, Sam Slay, and Drey.  🐝🐝🐝🐝  U b’s are my heart, and our magic bubble is everything to me. ❤❤❤❤)

#RichonneForever

Playlist:

Morphine, “Let’s Take A Trip Together”

Zero 7, “Swing”

Norah Jones, “Carnival Town”

Jimi Hendrix, “Are You Experienced?”

Th’ Faith Healers, “Love Song”

DJ Shadow, “The Number Song”

Amerie, “1 Thing”

Marine Girls, “Fever”

Dirty Projectors, “Little Bubble” 

Led Zeppelin, “The Rain Song”

India Arie, “Beautiful”

“Hostiles And Calamities”

Well, gang, it’s another round of kudos and “I’m not worthy” bows of reverence to Kirkman, Gimple, and Nicotero for yet another amazing OMG episode in TWD’s dark and twisty Season 7 arsenal.

Would I that I had the time and ability to delve into each of these Season 7 episodes with the full-on mania and obsession of posts of yore, but life these days does not lend to such selfish pleasures.  And so, I offer a few brief thoughts, props, pics and playlist, all with the spirit of hot, burning TWD love and devotion that will never die. ❤

Amazing performances by Josh McDermitt, Austin Amelio, and, of course, the inimitable Jefferey Dean Morgan.

A round applause, and “I Am Negan” Deadies to all.  

Most excellent work, gentlemen.

And, speaking of most excellent work, are you all in TWD fandom as blown away as I am that Scott M. Gimple has managed to put us all back into the “Is he or isn’t he?” question regarding Eugene Porter?

When we first met Eugene, and beheld the mousy brown magnificence of his iconic mullet, we, along with our sweet gang, were fed the fantastic tale of how Eugene possessed the secret cure to the walker apocalypse, and how Abraham Ford (dearly beloved, dearly missed <3) and Rosita Espinoza were making it their life’s mission to get Eugene to Washington, D.C., so he could collaborate with the “muckety-mucks” in our nation’s capitol to create and administer the cure and “save the whole damn world.”

While those elite TWD fans in The Comic Book Set knew the truth behind Eugene’s story, we Prime Time Pollyannas found ourselves shaking our heads, time and time again, asking ourselves for the umpteenth time, “Is he lying, or for real, or what?”

(Well, dear readers, we all know where that road led us, somewhere on a deserted Georgia backroad, in the blazing Georgia sun, beside a broken down fire truck , a mere 300 yards & an overpowering stench away from a massive slaughterhouse overrun with thousands of walkers, where Eugene finally fessed up that he had been lying his ass off the whole time about having the cure…it became painfully apparent that the only thing Eugene seemed to have was a predilection for elaborate syntax, and a talent for lying his ass off to save “said ass.”)

Fast forward to Season 7, and here we are, balls-deep within the Saviors’ compound, and once again, Scott M. Gimple has brought us full-circle in Ep 711 (ha ha, prolly Eugene Porter’s favorite convenience store)  where we in TWD fandom find ourselves, once again, shaking our heads and asking ourselves, “Is Eugene lying, or for real, or what??”

What do you think, dear readers?  Do you think Eugene Porter has finally found a way to fully succumb to his innate cowardice, by selling his integrity for the comforts of a stocked fridge, comfy chair, and video games?

Or, is our man “Haircut” once again buying time by lying his ass off, playing Negan and the Saviors, while getting the inside deets on the workings within the Saviors’ compound while acting as the second-string doc for the doomed Dr. Carson?

(I want to believe the latter, but time will tell, I suppose.  All I gotta say is that I hope for Eugene’s sake that ol’ Dr. Carson left some medical books around, because it seems that Negan and his Saviors lead a lifestyle that tends to keep a medical doctor pretty busy…

Eugene better get to reading up on doctoring and know what to do the next time one of Negan’s top officers, or wives, comes in needing medical attention, or we may have another “Doc in the fire” situation on our hands!) 

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Before we move to the pics and playlist portion of this post, dear readers, I would like to say a few words about Dwight.

I, personally, find myself very sympathetic to Dwight’s character, largely due to my growing admiration for the actor who plays him, Austin Amelio, and his standout portrayal of this complex, conflicted character.

To me, Dwight is the quintessential anti-hero.  I find myself fascinated by him. When we first met Dwight, we of course hated his ass, tying up our man, Daryl Dixon like that, holding a gun to his head…but, as the story of Dwight, Sherry, and poor, doomed, diabetic child-bride Tina unfolded, we saw a purity and light in Dwight, a man who risked his life to try to get his wife and her younger sister to safety despite almost insurmountable odds.

We saw that Dwight had resilience, and ingenuity, and a strong moral code…he was one who refused to kneel before a murderous despot, one who refused to kill the living because once a person has done that, there was no going back.

(Sherry’s reference in her note to Dwight to his “forgetting” things seems to have explained how he managed to forget where he parked the fuel truck after setting the overrun woods ablaze…and that tragic loss of memory, along with Tina’s unfortunate demise and the fact that the Saviors were closing in on them, fast, spurred Dwight and Sherry to steal away with Daryl’s motorcycle, and his crossbow, and head back to the compound to put themselves at Negan’s mercy.)

So, again, we TWD fans are conflicted…we feel sympathy for Dwight, then he does something that makes us hate him again, and again, and again…and then, as we are taken further into Dwight’s story, and we see how much he has suffered, all in the name of love for his wife, we find ourselves sympathetic to his plight once again.

It’s like a damn emotional rollercoaster, people!

I tell you, dear readers, as soon as I saw Dwight looking at that note in Daryl’s cell, recognizing his wife’s handwriting, I texted my TWD buddy, “Did Sherry dip, too?”  And of course, we got our answer soon enough, didn’t we?  Sherry’s long gone, probably in search of Daryl, so she can help our man, Daryl Dixon get his groove back and finally get some loving in this godforsaken walker apocalypse…it’s a bittersweet, hot pain, Daryl Dixon fans, but for me, it’s not as hurtful as my researching of “Did Daryl and Carol ever do the deed?”

As those of you who have read my past posts know, I have always felt completely sure that Daryl and Carol had a little FWB scenario at the prison before the Explodey Flu and subsequent shit hit the fan and fucked it all up for our sweet gang, sending them running from the burning prison, for their lives…well, after going IG comments-Battle Royale with some Daryl-obsessed tweens who let me know in no uncertain terms, emojis and shouty caps and all, that Daryl NEVER felt that way about Carol, I did a little researching on my own, and found an interview with Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus that seemed to confirm that while Daryl and Carol definitely had a sweet chemistry, and a brief fascination, which could have led to something,  it never really did.

So, basically, it seems that while Caryl shares a deep and special love for one another, nothing physical ever did transpire between them.

Heartbreaking, truly. 💔💔

That confirmation rocked my world for a couple of days, I cannot lie. 

 I had always thought that Carol had scored a secret little win for cougars everywhere and got herself a little piece of the man that everyone wants in the dead of night at the prison…I pictured them slipping into each other’s prison cells for  a little something while the others slept, in that small space of time during the “30 Days Without An Accident.” 

So, as Abraham Ford once said, “I’m right and I’m wrong.” 

It seems that Daryl and Carol did share a mutual chemistry, which may have led to something, at some point, but apparently, nothing physical ever transpired between them.

Mother Dick.

I am somewhat consoled by the fact that the two actors did cop to a sweet crush between the two, and the fact that in real life, Norman Reedus is only three years younger than Melissa McBride, so suck on that, you ageist little Norman-stalkers.

Suck. On. That.

While I usually do not cop a combative tone in my posts, I do have little tolerance for haters.

Ageism, racism, sizeism and sexism are lame AF and should be challenged, both within ourselves and in the outside world, whenever possible.

So, dear readers and TWD family, I challenge each and every one of us to expand our perceptions of who, and what, is beautiful, desirable, and right in our world. People of all ages, all colors, all races, and all genders fall in love, and should be free to live their lives and express love without condemnation, or harm from others, for being simply who they are.

End of lecture…thanks for letting me vent.

Sorry for the snarky.  I love you guys, gals, and everyone in between, in all our imperfect and human moments. ❤

Playlist:

Kiss, “Calling Dr. Love”

Yeasayer, “I Am Chemistry”

Foo Fighters, “Low”

The White Stripes, “I’m Finding It Harder to be a Gentleman (Every Day)”

The Black Keys, “She’s Long Gone”

Ariel Pink, “Lipstick”

The Vines, “Into The Fire”

Talking Heads, “Take Me To The River’

Led Zeppelin, “Ramble On”

Nada Surf, “Where Is My MInd” (Pixies cover)

The Nichol Kings (Elle King), “Exes And Ohs (Extended Remix0”

The Verve, “Bittersweet Sumphony”

Winslow! 😻❤❤

😹😹😹😹

Negan’s Eulogy for Fat Joey:

“For anyone out there who loved the obese bastard as much as I did, I just wanna say a few words. Fat Joey wasn’t the most badass son of a bitch, but he was LOYAL.

He had a great sense of humor; in fact, we were joking about oral sex  with Lucille the other day.

Things will not be the same now that he’s dead…without Fat Joey, Skinny Joey is just…pshhhhhh…Joey, so it’s a goddamned tragedy.

So, let’s have a moment of silence.”

RIP Fat Joey ❤

It truly is a goddamned tragedy.

Raise one if you got one for Fat Joey. (And for poor Joey, who was once Skinny Joey, but is now just Joey…I think your life just got a whole lot fucking more miserable, friend.)

Sux 4 u.

To Fat Joey!  ❤ ❤

¡Viva la Ricksistance!  ¡Viva le Rickyl!

The Time Is Now.

#RiseUp

Once again, dear readers, the hour is late, so  it is with real regret that I must be brief. I loved TWD Ep 707 so much, in all its terrible beauty, and had I more time and opportunity, I would worship this episode with the depth and the reverence it truly deserves. ❤️❤️

Stellar performances all around, but very special Deadies go to Chandler Riggs/Carl Grimes, Jeffrey Dean Morgan/Negan, Scott M. Gimple, and, of course, Bear McCreary, for his haunting, on point soundtrack throughout the first half of TWD Season 7.

I got worry, as do we all. Send the love to Carl, Judith, Daryl, Michonne, Rick, Aaron, Rosita, Eugene, Maggie, Sasha, Jesus, Tara.  Father Gabriel. Enid. 

But not Spencer. Fuck Spencer. (Sorry, Austin Nichols.)

I am with you all in spirit tonight, TWD Family. ❤️ Bless Rick and our sweet, sweet gang.

Be well, gang. Stock up, take care of one another, and enjoy the playlist. 💞

“Sing Me A Song” Playlist:

Bjork, “Army Of Me”

Tori Amos, “Me And A Gun”

Amy Winehouse, “Back In Black”

Pretenders, “Kid”

Beastie Boys, “Girls”

Open Mike Eagle, “Ziggy Starfish (Anxiety Raps)”

The Cult, “Fire Woman”

Thin Lizzy, “Jailbreak”

Earth, Wind & Fire, “Sing A Song”

Omni, “Wire”

Th’ Faith Healers, “Mother Sky”

Led Zeppelin, “Four Sticks”

Morgana Stapleton, “You Are My Sunshine”

Cocteau Twins, “For Phoebe, Just A Baby”



Well, gang, there was a whole lot to love with TWD’s Ep 705, “Go Getters.” 

It was as if Kirkman, Gimple & Nicotero knew, once again, that we in the TWD family needed a balm for our hurting hearts and we souls after last week’s episode, “Service,” forced viewers to take a knee and watch, in silent horror, as Negan, his goon squad, and his prized prisoner, Daryl Dixon,  raided Alexandria, fleecing  the community’s mattresses, meds, & munitions,  while Negan joked, threatened, and made great show of belittling and bullying our man, Rick Grimes, in front of his people, and eapecially, his son.

After that harrowing episode last week, “Go Getters” was just the medicine we TWD fans needed:  Maggie, and Sasha, yhe PSOAMS (Post-Apocalyptic-Sisters-On-A-Mission), the ride-or-die duo sharing laughter, tears, solace and sisterhood while showing the Hilltop just how it’s done, sons.

Whether they’re calling out Gregory (the Posterboy For Obsequious Bondage), lighting a fire under Jesus (“Whaddyou want, Jesus?”), crushing walker skulls or crushing booby-trap cars with a massive tractor (“Hello, farmer’s daughter.”), Maggie and Sasha are rising to new heights of beauty, brains, brawn and badassery.

Better together, and together forever, is my mantra for these two warrior goddesses, The PSOAMS ❤️❤️ Post Apocalyptic Sisters On A Mission ❤️❤️ Maggie & Sasha ❤️❤️

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNNkMPbhZpy/?taken-by=twdcast

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Go Getters Playlist:

Jose Gonzales, “Heartbeats”

Car Seat Headrest, “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales”

Tori Amos, “A Sorta Fairytale”

The Doobie Brothers, “Jesus Is Just Alright With Me”

Elliot Smith, “Needle In The Hay”

The Shins, “Dead Alive”

Beat Happening, “Let’s Kiss”

Wavves, “Take On The World”

Chromatics, “Running Up That Hill”

Cat Power, “Sea Of Love”

Led Zeppelin, “Thank You”

Aretha Franklin, “I Say A Little Prayer”

Time is short, and so I must be brief.

And, besides, the hours of work I put into this post got lost in the void, and I just have to roll with that. It’s ok. It’s how it goes sometimes.

I know I speak for all of us when I say that this week was a rough, rough week, all around.

It will take some time to process this loss, and I don’t think any of us in TWD fandom will really every be the same.

Time will pass, and time will lessen the pain, but the hurt and the heartbreak that we are feeling now will never really go away…it will heal, and scar over, but we will carry it always, and that’s ok, because it means we are carrying both Glenn Rhee and Abraham Ford with us, always.

Glenn and Abe are what bravery, badassery, and being a beautiful, loving boyfriend are all about.

Send love to Rick, Daryl, Maggie, Carl, Sasha, Rosita, Michonne, Aaron, and Eugene. They have had to bear witness to unpeakable tragedy, and take a direct hit of immeasurable loss.

This moment, as Kirkman said, really does change everything, moving forward.

And, that being said, don’t be mad at Kirkman, or Gimple, or Nicotero. The Glenn death scene in Ep 701 was crafted in beautiful, bold, harrowing precision and detailed to recreate exactly how it went down in the comic series.

And, BTW, the 100th issue of The Walking Dead comic series, where Negan makes his grand entrance and bashes poor Glenn Rhee to death with Lucille, his baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, came out in 2012.  Four years ago.

I would say that Kirkman, Gimple and Nicotero have been holding back for quite some time, giving the television series audience a substantial buffer of time and space, to get ready, to prepare for the inevitable gauntlet that would come down on us, hard, that the comic book readers never got.

The way I see it, Kitkman, Gimple and Nicotero finally gave us PrimeTime Pollyannas a chance to earn that TWD cred and, finally, catch up to the Comic Book Set

Just something to consider.

And, don’t be mad at Daryl for being Daryl. No self-respecting Dixon ever sat idly by while some bully bashed their friend’s brains in and then turned to the grieving ex and taunted her with the bloody bat.

A Dixon would be like:

And, poor Daryl was devastated when he saw what his rash actions caused…

And now, poor Daryl is Negan’s new pet hostage.  And that is going to suck some major ass.

Don’t stay mad at him…he needs our love right now!

(Now, on that subject, don’t hate the messenger, but I feel like Daryl’s imprisonment will not only give us viewers an insider view on the working of the Saviors’ compound and all their weird cult shit, but it will also provide him with an opportunity to re-acquaint himself with Sherry, the beautiful runaway older sister who was with Dwight and poor, doomed Tina, in the burned forest.

I think that I sensed a connection between Daryl and Sherry, and if my hunches are correct, I think that Sherry might act as both a potential love interest for Daryl and a potential “damsel in distress” element that will wake Daryl out of his self-pity and self-condemnation, and spur him to action.

I know it’s hard for some to share their fave pretend bf, Daryl Dixon, but come on, people, we don’t want him to be some some asexual anime character, do we?

Daryl needs this, and Sherry seems like she’s super beautiful, super resilient and low-maintenance, and she did look super great riding away on the back of Daryl’s motorcycle…imagine how cute she would look riding away on the back of it, with Daryl riding them both the hell outta the Saviors’ compund!

The way I see it, Daryl needs a reason to live, and Sherry seems like she is in serious need of a rescue right about now…

I know it’s super shallow of me to even be talking about potential future hookups when Maggie, Sasha, and Rosita are seriously grieving the loss of their sweet loves, but hey, at least I got you thinking about something else for a minute, right?

The new world order of TWD Season 7 will be dark times, indeed, gang. Take care of yourselves, and take care  of each other.

We all need to send Rick, Maggie, Sasha, Rosita, Carl, Michonne, Daryl, Aaron, and Eugene our unconditional love & support. Especially Rick.

Rick’s had to submit to a psychopath, being given no other choice, and this breaking of Rick’s leadership, and of his will, is what Greg Nicotero called, basically, as the real tragedy of TWD Ep 701.

Out man’s going to have to eat some shit, and it’s gonna be hard to watch, gang.

Remember this face, kids. Rick Smash! will be back, with a vengeance…

In the spirit of taking care of one’s self, I am going to be taking myself out of my self-imposed posting schedule on this blogsite and “easing up on the posting standards” for a while, posting mainly musical playlists, with maybe some pictures and/or text, on the www.barnfullawalkers.com blogsite.

I have been steadily posting since TWD Season 4 premiered, in the Fall of 2013, and this post marks my 69th post 😀 😀 😀

My readership is at an unprecedented high, with views from all over the world.  I am so thankful for everyone who has checked out my crazy blog, read my posts, listened to my playlists.

I’ve put a lot of love, heart, and more hours than I can count into this project, and I feel that some real magic has happened here. My life is busy in many ways, and I must give my full attention to the world around me.  I simply cannot sustain a weekly deadline at this point in my life, like I could in the past.

As my wise musician/artist friend put it, “When I create, or perform, I feel like I’m ‘wringing out the sponge,’ giving out everything I have.  Then, I need to take some time ro reabsorb, to fill my sponge again.”

And that is exactly what it feels like I need to do at this point, to reabsorb, recharge, and refocus my creative energies, and to simplify for a spell.

In the interim, I will continue to offer musical playlists, crafted individually to correspond to each TWD Season 7 episode.

In addition, I will continue to celebrate TWD up to the minute with postings of sweet pics and random thoughts on my barnfullawalkers social media accounts, where the conversation is just beginning:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barnfullawalkers/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barnfullawalkers/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/barnfullawalkrs

Email: barnfullawalkers@gmail.com

To honor Glenn Rhee, and Abraham Ford, each playlist this season will include a song from a previous playlist, crafted individually for a past, epic episode.

In this way, we can honor those characters, episodes, and moments that we remember, and love, so well, as we navigate the rocky terrain of TWD Season 7.

Badassery Deadies to all TWD cast, crew, and creators, especially to Steven Yeun, Michael Cudlitz, Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, and, of course, to Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, and Greg Nicotero.

Bravo on a brave, bold, and beautifully harrowing episode, gang.

Mad props, and much love, always and forever. ❤

For Glenn Rhee, and Abraham Ford, I humbly offer this playlist, which includes Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper,” which initially appeared in my playlist for TWD Ep 505, “Self Help.” That post, as well as the playlist, was a love offering to Abraham, Glenn, Eugene, Maggie, Tara, and Rosita, as well as being celebration of Eugene’s epic mullet.

https://barnfullawalkers.com/2014/11/15/the-walking-dead-season-5-episode-5-self-help/

Much love, gang, and enjoy the playlist.

S7 Catch Hell Blues Playlist:

Iron Maiden, “The Trooper”

Echo & The Bunnymen, “Nocturnal  Me”

The White Stripes, “Catch Hell Blues”

Lightning Bolt, “Captain Caveman”

Radiohead, “How To Disappear Completely”

Pretenders, “Birds Of Paradise”

Tame Impala, “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards”

Baroness, “The Gnashing”

Led Zeppelin, “That’s The Way”

Parquet Courts, “Human Performance”

Roy Orbison, “Crying”

Kansas, “Carry On Wayward Son”