The Future of the Factions........

[Bulldog711]

The idea was proposed a while back in this season when we were introduced to THE COLONY that there were three factions that may engage in war; Mallers, Tower, and the Colony. After listening to We're Not Dead I realized that there may be a 4th faction we have not thought of......the Zombies

The reality is that they ARE organized as we saw at the ARENA.....there may be a few zombies that are capable of some sort of cognition but that may be worse for the survivors. If there are a few zombies like the "colored" one at the arena who can control the minions out there (Jumpers, bohemoths........) this may force all of the survivors to come together to take down the huge zombie army.....

With that said, could there be seperate Zombie factions? Are the Doctors that skittles mentioned seperate from the guys at the arena?

[Arkum]

Since it seems like the "Doctor's" and "Book place" smart zombies stick to their area, I think they run their own groups of zombies. Protect their own turf, if you will. It may be that that's what they are told by the one with the markings, but I feel like they are leaders in their own way.

[Forster2spear]

Your idea of few zombies in colored sounds interesting! this must follow by the team to make improvements.

[COsurvivor]

So far we have learned of and a variety of "survivors" and their outposts... My only thought is, what happened to the Real Military, is there not a single base of the standing military? Not even a small one that we have in out of the way places in USA? We seem to have been introduces to those who served in the RESERVES, but what about those at sea? I mean would not the NAVY come and take a look-see? What about those in submarines? I know I am tossing one hell-of-a monkey wrench here, but I think this should get some conspiracies and other ideas brewing as a result.

Here is something on what we know... What does skittles mean to each of the factions? Is he going to come around and make a dramatic conclusion, if he runs into Hope? What does it mean when the fur truly hits the fans for our beloved Tower?

[Arkum]

Well we may have military presence somewhere just not in LA

[Bulldog711]

As in most survival horror movies.....the area may be quarentined.....or everyone went to Canada where they have free healthcare!!!!

in all seriousness it has been wierd how all of the bases were deserted but things might change with this proposed trip up to the base in the desert!

I agree with most that it would be nice to continue the story of the Zombies....maybe see more of these doctors and what not....

[Luna Guardian]

In all likelyhood, the majority of the US military was overrun in the first few days. In a month, the only arm that's still capable of functioning would be the remnants of the Army and the USMC due to the lack of kerosin and other essential material that the Airforce and Navy would require to stay in operation.

As for the Army and the USMC, they would be decimated. The three most likely scenarios I can come up with off the top of my head are:
a) retreated into rendezvous points, secured them and protected the people within. This would require a chain of command to still exist. In all likelyhood, there would be very few higher ranking officers, as the majority of those would have been killed pretty quickly. Assuming that Washington got hit approximately as hard as LA, the Pentagon would not have held out for long. If the President got out in time, he would be holed up in one of those doomsday bunkers, protected by the best surviving soldiers. In this scenario, the US military could conceivably one day reclaim their land, but it would require careful use of the limited resources and some truly exceptional leadership.
b (the most likely scenario) ) After a total collapse of the chain of command, the remnants of the US military would be scattered across the country. The surviving units would either, depending on their leader and the men, form colonies, much like the one discovered by Michael et co. or become something akin to the Mallers, using their superior training and equipment to pray upon the weaker survivors. If the chain of command ever got re-established, expect heavy fighting against the lawful government by the Maller-like folks and mixed responses from the Colonials.
c) The US military doesn't exist in any shape or form. The surviving soldiers are like Michael, Saul and Angel, very small groups doing what they can to survive. Expect anything from these people, as they will act as individuals instead of soldiers in most cases (hell, I sure would and I'm a trained soldier)

[Anarchist Bunny]

I think from what we've seen, there are plenty of survivors left out there. From the Map a relatively small area of the US had 4 big clusters of survivors(The Tower, The other tower, the mallers, and the colony). And that is right around a ground zero in one of the most populated areas in the US. I'm sure there is plenty of other Factions out there, probably a lot better areas to be in. My favorite thought is of a US Naval ship, nuclear powered, that are stocked for long term deployment, although hitting the coasts as needed.

As for the future of the Factions we are familiar with... I think they are meal time. I think the Mallers and the Colony are going to go down, go down soon and go down hard. The zombies are running out of corpses, and getting hungry like those from the island. They are going to organize and hit the pockets of survivors, maybe even roaming or smaller organized groups of zombies. This is going to put the Tower in a desperate situation in that they have to get out, and not in as prepared a manner as they would like.