Here are some more random thoughts and items that I omitted from my review:
Negan has basically set up a feudal system. He is the lord, and the Saviors are his vassals. The peasants, or other colonies of survivors, work the land and feed the vassals and the lord. His New World Order is really the Old World Order. It's what Europe defaulted to after the fall of Roman civilization.
Like I said in my review, Rick is probably the biggest threat Negan has faced. Team Rick is well-armed, combat-proven, and utterly ruthless when confronted. The Saviors were totally unaware of Alexandria, and were taken by surprise when Rick attacked and wiped out an outpost of 30-40 people, plus hunted and killed the survivors, plus the recon team sent to retrieve the survivors. Add to that their motorcycle recon team was turned into a bloody smear on the pavement, and that even when they killed Denise they lost 4-5 guys and yet another road recon team to Carol, and you can see why Negan is concerned.
So he put his own recon teams out, and I am sure they have seen Alexandrian vehicles driving to Hilltop, so he knows they are working together. They have also done a close recon on Alexandria's perimeter (the Saviors in the truck identified Carol as being from there because the car and knew exactly where it was located). Negan put together this major effort to get Alexandria under his thumb because they are a threat. Right now Negan has numbers and organization, but if Rick can find other settlements being coerced by Negan and get them to work together ... then the game is up for him. His own people have to be whispering about the boogeymen from Alexandria. That speech he gave in the final episode was as much for the Saviors as it was for Team Rick.
It's not just about getting Alexandria's stuff. It's about stopping an insurgency before it begins.
That being said, I wonder where all the walkers are during his confrontation with the Alexandria gang. My guess is that they had outward facing perimeter security to deal with walkers, and since the quarry has been emptied the walker concentration seems a lot lower in the area.
Finally, it was interesting to see the two survivors Morgan met are wearing makeshift body armor made out of sports equipment and motocross protective garments. I am surprised no one thought of that before. Cut resistant Kevlar gloves are standard wear in industrial settings like sheet metal shops and machine shops. Kevlar clothes have been on the market for a while now for motorcycle enthusiasts. You'd think at least the bikers like Daryl would be privy to such information.
For that matter, from a survival standpoint, how advisable would it be for preppers to invest in cut-resistant clothes for post-disaster clean-up, or even body armor in case of armed encounters? Many preppers already use plate carriers as load bearing vests for tactical gear. Ballistic plates are available commercially from vendors liker Infidel Body Armor and AR500. The question that we must ask is, does the cost and weight of body armor get outweighed by our perception of the likelihood we might need it? Would we rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it?
My Fear the Walking Dead review will be posted later this week. Until then ...
Negan has basically set up a feudal system. He is the lord, and the Saviors are his vassals. The peasants, or other colonies of survivors, work the land and feed the vassals and the lord. His New World Order is really the Old World Order. It's what Europe defaulted to after the fall of Roman civilization.
Like I said in my review, Rick is probably the biggest threat Negan has faced. Team Rick is well-armed, combat-proven, and utterly ruthless when confronted. The Saviors were totally unaware of Alexandria, and were taken by surprise when Rick attacked and wiped out an outpost of 30-40 people, plus hunted and killed the survivors, plus the recon team sent to retrieve the survivors. Add to that their motorcycle recon team was turned into a bloody smear on the pavement, and that even when they killed Denise they lost 4-5 guys and yet another road recon team to Carol, and you can see why Negan is concerned.
So he put his own recon teams out, and I am sure they have seen Alexandrian vehicles driving to Hilltop, so he knows they are working together. They have also done a close recon on Alexandria's perimeter (the Saviors in the truck identified Carol as being from there because the car and knew exactly where it was located). Negan put together this major effort to get Alexandria under his thumb because they are a threat. Right now Negan has numbers and organization, but if Rick can find other settlements being coerced by Negan and get them to work together ... then the game is up for him. His own people have to be whispering about the boogeymen from Alexandria. That speech he gave in the final episode was as much for the Saviors as it was for Team Rick.
It's not just about getting Alexandria's stuff. It's about stopping an insurgency before it begins.
That being said, I wonder where all the walkers are during his confrontation with the Alexandria gang. My guess is that they had outward facing perimeter security to deal with walkers, and since the quarry has been emptied the walker concentration seems a lot lower in the area.
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| Armor: Use it or not? |
For that matter, from a survival standpoint, how advisable would it be for preppers to invest in cut-resistant clothes for post-disaster clean-up, or even body armor in case of armed encounters? Many preppers already use plate carriers as load bearing vests for tactical gear. Ballistic plates are available commercially from vendors liker Infidel Body Armor and AR500. The question that we must ask is, does the cost and weight of body armor get outweighed by our perception of the likelihood we might need it? Would we rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it?
My Fear the Walking Dead review will be posted later this week. Until then ...
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