A few years ago, I watched the original "Halloween" with a group of friends who had never seen it. While everyone more or less enjoyed the movie, the experience was also frustrating since they all kept scoffing at the actions of Jamie Lee Curtis during the film's climax: "Don't go upstairs!" "Don't drop the knife!" "What are you doing?" That sort of thing. The remarks pissed me off because a) Laurie Strode is a teenager being chased by a masked serial killer, so she's not exactly in a rational state of mind; and b) As far as I know, none of my friends have ever been chased by a masked serial killer, so they might act the same way if put in a similar situation.

Of course, such criticisms are commonplace when people get together to watch horror movies, simply because characters often act stupid in horror movies. Still, I hate it. I hate it when viewers think they know better, when they think they would somehow fare better against some horrific force than a fictional character.

And yet, I found myself acting the same way as my friends during tonight's mid-season finale of "The Walking Dead," "Start to Finish." But, despite the show being in the horror genre, there's a big difference between its characters and traditional scream queens like Laurie Strode: Rick Grimes and company aren't novices. Even when the walkers storm Alexandria, it's far from the first time its citizens have dealt with such a threat. Even the wimpiest of the bunch has experience fighting off walkers, and Rick and his people are bona fide experts at handling the undead, among a host of other threats. So the issue in "Start to Finish" isn't just that everyone acts like idiots -- it's that they act in ways completely outside their characters.

As the zombies approach and everybody flees into different houses, it seems that no one is immune to the epidemic of uncharacteristic stupidity. When Carl discovers that Ron's out to kill him, he doesn't tell Rick or any of the other adults. OK, fair enough. After all, Carl's a teenager with a stubborn streak, so maybe he would try and diffuse the situation himself. Things don't go according to plan though, and as they fight inside Jessie's home, Ron knocks out a window in the garage, which allows the walkers to break in. Rick manages to get the boys to (relative) safety, but Carl still refuses to tell his dad anything, instead following Ron upstairs to take his gun. He actually manages to pull it off, but can't resist calling Ron's dead father an asshole. While the insult doesn't have any immediate repercussions, it still feels like an irrational, very un-Carl move that will come back to bite him in the ass. To make things worse, he still doesn't tell anyone about Ron as Deanna succumbs to a walker bite and everyone else in the house (Rick and Jessie's families and Michonne) tries to navigate the herd by covering themselves in zombie guts. Wouldn't it be good for the adults to know that there's a would-be adolescent murderer in their midst? Wouldn't it be good to tell everyone what really happened in the garage, especially when it led to Jessie's home being invaded?

Elsewhere in the characters-acting-in-puzzling-ways department, Morgan and Carol decide that now, right in the middle of a full-blown zombie invasion, is the perfect time to duke it out over the imprisoned Wolf. Granted, Carol might have a concussion from a fall she took on her way to the holding cell, but even a dazed Carol wouldn't make a decision as boneheaded as trying to kill Morgan with an enemy in the room, all while thousands of other enemies lurk outside. Oh, and Denise is there tending to the Wolf's wounds, so she's immediately put into danger as well. Morgan knocks out Carol and the Wolf knocks out Morgan (he's managed to loosen his restraints during the scuffle), preparing to take Denise as his prisoner.

Just then, Eugene, Tara and Rosita burst in with guns and machete in hand, ready to save the day. Finally, someone acting with the tactical intelligence the show has given them! But as soon as they enter, the Wolf puts his knife to Denise's throat and demands that they slide over their weapons. For some reason, they comply. I understand this kind of caution (or is it cowardice?) coming from Eugene, but not the other two, especially Rosita. Last time we saw her, she was teaching the Alexandrians how to fight, and given what we know about her training, it would have been easy for her to put a bullet in the Wolf's head, or at least try something other than immediately handing over her pistol. But no, the Wolf escapes with Denise, and the three of them are left standing there with heads cocked and jaws slack.

At least Maggie manages to make it up to one of the platforms on the wall, even if Glenn never gets to reach her or anyone else because he takes his sweet-ass time arguing with Enid about whether or not they should rescue their friends (didn't they already go over that last episode?). And to be fair, the exchanges between Deanna and Michonne are heartfelt as the former inches closer and closer to death. I have to admit, I do love the idea of Michonne becoming a true leader of the group. I also love Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham's run-in with the Saviors (yep, they mention Negan's name), even if AMC placed it way after the credits in an effort to increase viewership for "Into the Badlands."

But for the most part, "Start to Finish" is a disappointing conclusion to a fairly strong first half of the sixth season, failing to capitalize on the dread built up in "Heads Up." As the episode ends and Sam freaks out among the herd, we're supposed to be worried that his cries for his mom will blow everyone's cover. But all I'm left thinking about is how the tired metaphor of "Maybe we're the walking dead" actually feels fresh for the first time in a while -- not because the characters act monstrous, but because they prove themselves to be about as smart as a bunch of zombies.