Recapping the first season of The Walking Dead left Paul Montgomery shattered and mumbling about the looming zombie threat so I’m stepping in for season two!
NOTE: Let’s be mindful of all the new viewers participating in this conversation and try not to spoil plot points taking place deep into the run of the comic series. Mild speculation is fine and encouraged, but don’t get too explicit with regard to future surprises. They will be deleted. Thanks!
“What Lies Ahead”
or
“Elbow Deep in Zombie Guts”
The Walking Dead returns for its second season with a 90 minute episode written by TV series creator Frank Darabont (using his alias) and comic series creator Robert Kirkman!
Our hero Rick Grimes stands atop a building in Atlanta talking to Morgan, the man who saved his life in the first episode, on the walkie talkie. Or to the people who heard all the hype about The Walking Dead and joined in on the second season. Either way, everyone gets caught up on the basic premise of the show!
(Morgan’s not really there on the other end of the walkie talkie. Or is he? It’s a whole thing.)
The group of desperate survivors packs up to leave Atlanta because after the CDC blew up last season there’s really no reason to stay. Have you ever been to Atlanta? It gets hot and dead bodies start to fester. Anyway, they’re heading to Fort Benning because, honestly, what else is there to do in a zombie post apocalypse but keep moving?
The caravan is off! Fan favorite anti-hero Daryl leads the way on a chopper as Rick and his wife Lori reminisce about that one time their son Carl threw up at the Grand Canyon and vow to return some day. They promise to take the mother/daughter team of Carol and Sophia because doesn’t that sound delightful? Meanwhile, Shane and Andrea disassemble and clean guns in Dale’s RV. There’s no romantic tension whatsoever, just two people in a lot of pain talking guns. Their chat is cut short, however, because the highway is blocked by a jack knifed tractor trailer. People were really inconsiderate about where they died, apparently. The caravan can’t head back to an alternate route because fuel is precious. In the zombie post apocalypse it costs $74 a gallon and it’s cash only.
Dale’s radiator hose bursts and the caravan comes to a stop. On the one hand, now’s a good time to forage for supplies among the many abandoned cars. On the other hand, zombies.
Dale tells Glen to fix the busted radiator hose while he and Rick stand sentry and everyone else looks for supplies. Daryl and T-Dog syphon off gas as Carol and Lori grab clothes. Andrea retreats to the RV to get back to gun cleaning. Meanwhile – it’s a miracle! Shane finds a water delivery truck full of giant unopened jugs of water! He pops one open and takes a little impromptu shower. One problem: here come the zombies. First one, then two, then about 50. Then maybe a hundred? I don’t know. It’s hard to accurately count a crowd of lumbering zombies. They’re off in the distance, but they’re a’coming.
Time to hide! Everyone ducks under cars in hopes that the zombie herd passes them by but no one warned Andrea who is now stuck in the RV all alone. Also, T-Dog tries to hide by slicing the artery in his right arm open on a jagged piece of abandoned car. It’s an unorthodox approach, to be sure. Andrea hides in the bathroom as a lone zombie enters the RV to see what’s what. Her gun is still in pieces so she’s kind of in trouble. Her shaky attempt to put her gun back together makes a bit of noise and the zombie quickly decides that there is food in the bathroom. He wants in! All seems lost for Andrea until Dale appears in the window above the bathroom (he’d been standing sentry on the roof) and drops a screwdriver into her waiting hands.
As a zombie approaches the quickly bleeding out T-Dog, Daryl appears to rescue him. This is significant because last season Daryl had a bit of a problem with people of color. Daryl kills the zombie with a knife to the base of the skull and then pulls a few zombie corpses on top of him and Daryl to hide from the herd. Which is gross. But so is getting eaten by a herd of zombies.
Back in the RV, Andrea lunges out of the bathroom and stabs the zombie over and over and over in the eye. What kind of screwdriver is best of felling zombies? The guy I asked at Home Depot says you’re going to want a flathead.
Good news! The herd has passed! It’s time to leave the safety of underneath the cars! First out: Sophia, Carol’s daughter. Not so fast, Sophia! There was one zombie straggler who decides that even though she is but appetizer sized, he’ll eat her anyway. Sophia runs into the woods and the zombie gives chase. Rick, of course, heads out after the zombie. In the woods, Rick uses his adult human brain to flank Sophia and the zombie and rescue her before the zombie can catch her. Sophia wants Rick to shoot the zombie but he can’t do that because the sound will just bring the herd back. He hides Sophia in a little cove by the river and draws the zombie (and his new zombie friend) away from Sophia. Then it’s just a matter of finding the proper sized rock to cave in a few zombie skulls, which he does with enough reckless abandon to make it unsettling.
So, the zombies are dead. Good news. But wait! Sophia is missing. Despite Rick giving her very specific instructions about getting back to the highway which involved using the sun and her shoulder to navigate, she got lost. Stupid kids. Daryl can track things so he and Rick and Shane and Glen head out to find her. Sophia’s tracks end quickly, though, and Rick sends Shane and Glen back to the highway to keep everyone occupied while he and Daryl randomly search the woods.
Back on the highway, Andrea and Dale work to clear a path for the RV while Carol wonders why everyone isn’t out looking for her daughter. You know what? That’s reasonable. Meanwhile, Carl finds a car with a nasty looking corpse that appears to contain a bag full of cool looking bladed weapons. Axes and whatnot. He wants to keep the weapons but his mom says no because moms are always throwing water on everyone’s fun, especially when it involves hatchets. This leads to Shane and Lori having it out over their awkward tension due to the fact that they used to have sex back when they thought Rick was dead and then back at the CDC Shane was so upset about it that he almost raped her. Shane can’t stand to be around Lori anymore so he’s going to fix up one of these abandoned cars and head out on his own. This sounds like a rational plan.
In the woods Rick and Daryl come across a lone zombie. Maybe he knows where Sophia is! Before he can tell them if he’s seen a girl about yea big anywhere around here Daryl shoots him in the head with his crossbow. Now the only way he can tell Rick and Daryl if he’s seen Sophia is if Rick and Daryl gut him like a fish and search his insides. They don’t find Sophia chunks but they do find two fish, a can, and a Louisiana license plate.
Back to the highway! Carol is kind of worried because it’s getting dark and there’s no sign of Sophia. Andrea is more concerned that Dale is holding her gun hostage. She turns to Shane for help but he backs up Dale because chicks, right? Rick and Daryl come back to the highway to let Carol know that they haven’t found Sophia and are giving up the search for the night. Carol is not having a good day.
(Also, apparently the scene where a trauma team helicoptered in to repair T-Dog’s severed artery was cut for time because now he’s bandaged and okay!)
The next morning, Rick organizes the entire team (except Dale, who is still working on the RV, and T-Dog) into a search party and hands out the sharp bladed weapons that Carl found. Andrea confronts Dale because she wants her gun. Dale is reluctant to give it to her because he knows she’s been suicidal ever since her sister went zombie last season. Andrea doesn’t need the old man’s pity!
In the woods, Carl tries to tell Shane how awesome it is that he gets to carry a knife but Shane doesn’t want to hear it because his mom is no longer having sex with him. The search team comes across a large sized tent in the woods. Who’s in it? Sophia? Zombies? The Weasleys? Daryl investigates. No Sophia. Just the rotting corpse of a man who used a pistol to make sure that the zombies didn’t get him. Daryl snags the pistol no sooner than the sound of church bells sends the group running through the woods!
Noise!? People!? Salvation!?
Back on the highway, Dale reveals to T-Dog that he had fixed the RV yesterday but just didn’t tell anyone. He feared that if everyone knew that the RV was running that they’d want to leave Sophia behind. Then he talks about the needs of the many versus the needs of the one and I think about that scene between Kirk and Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Man, that was awesome.
The search party comes across a church, albeit one with no steeple or bells. That’s bizarre. But not nearly as bizarre as the three zombies who are sitting peacefully in the pews. It may be a church but it’s time to get to zombie killing. So Rick, Shane, and Daryl work the three zombies over with their blades. They didn’t find Sophia but they did figure out that the sound of the church bells came from a speaker set to a timer outside the church. Carol heads back into the church. Andrea hangs outside the church to wallow but instead she overhears Shane and Lori arguing about Shane’s decision to leave the group. After Lori storms off, Andrea appears to give Shane a look that says “I know everything.”
In the church, Carol has a few things to say to God about how miserable her life has been. Rick and Lori listen in which feels kind of like a violation. Anyway, she tells God to punish her for when she used to pray for the death of her abusive, but not her daughter.
Outside, Lori tells Shane that she is totally coming with him when he bails. He says “Nuh uh, girls are icky!” She says “Nuh huh, I’ve got a gun, I can help!” The situation is left unresolved.
Rick and Shane then decide to send most of the search party back to the highway. He and Shane and Carl are going out to look for Carol. He can take Carl because in the post zombie apocalypse, Child Protective Services has vastly reduced powers.
But first it’s Rick’s turn to have a chat with Jesus in the church. Even though he’s been a non-believer he’d like a sign or something that he’s doing the right thing. No sign is forthcoming. Now I think about Janine saying, “It’s a sign all right. A sign we’re going out of business” in Ghostbusters. Man, that film is awesome.
Back in the woods on the way back to the highway, some of the group decides to stop to bitch at each other. Andrea isn’t happy with Lori (because she’s got gun envy–Daryl gave Lori the gun he found in the tent) and Lori isn’t happy with Carol (because Carol clearly blames Rick for Sophia being missing). Meanwhile Daryl is probably figuring out the best way to ditch these chicks.
Over in the other part of the woods, Rick and Shane and Carl come across a deer. A deer! Food! A symbol of normalcy! But mostly: food! Shane goes to shoot it with his shotgun which… now I don’t know much about hunting but wouldn’t that be a bit of overkill and counterproductive from such a close distance? Anyway, Rick stops Shane because Carl is apparently a deer whisperer. As the boy slowly approaches the deer a shot rings out and Carl drops to the ground with a bullet wound to the chest. Rick and Shane rush to his side.
Smash cut to black.
All in all a strong start to the second season of The Walking Dead. From the gripping opening zombie attack to the gasp-inducing cliff hanger, there was a lot to love here. It wasn’t perfect, though. The opening monologue from Rick was a tad on the melodramatic side but I understand, from a business stand point, why it was needed. The Walking Dead hit the pop cultural zeitgeist in a big way and they were probably expecting a lot of new viewers who needed to be clued in, pronto. Also, at 90 minutes (with commercials) the episode probably could have been trimmed a bit. I thought that two “talking to God” scenes was one too many and Rick’s could have easily have been excised. Finally, I couldn’t let go of the fact that T-Dog was basically bleeding out on the highway in one scene and then was all patched up and sporting a smallish bandage in the next. But other than those minor points this premiere episode was tons of fun and featured genuine thrills and chills and a whole lot of gore. I expect a lot of people will be talking about the “gutting the zombie” scene.
I first saw this episode last week at a Screen Actors Guild screening (and cast Q&A) in Los Angeles. I have to say, if you can watch this show in a group, I highly recommend it. The experience–which included screams, gasps, uncomfortable laughter, and cheers–made the show ten times as enjoyable. My favorite part was probably when, after Carl was shot and the screen cut to black, the audience spontaneously let out a “NoooOOOOoooo!” because they wanted more.
See you back here next week and throughout the season for my recaps and discussion and analysis of The Walking Dead every Monday morning here on iFanboy. We hope you’ll join us, it should be a lot of fun!
(Side note: During the show there were about 35 promos for AMC’s new series, a western called Hell on Wheels. It looks awesome.)
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I thought this was a really good start to season 2, so glad to have this show back!
Agree that this is a good start of the season. Thought it was much better than the previous season minus the pilot, which i think is still the strongest episode to date.
I do find this show oddly paced, and not sure if i am the only one who finds it that way. Maybe it’s to mimic the zombies pace, or maybe it was the hour and a half run time that i didn’t know was happening until minute 55 when the phone rang and i had to pause the show.
the zombie effects were excellent, and the acting was great.
Any one catch the Talking Dead after the encore show? does anyone think it adds anything to the walking dead experience?
Lori is such an evil bitch…I love how she offered Andrea the gun after she overheard the fight with Shane.
I noticed two flubs other than T-Dog’s mutant healing factor. There shouldn’t have been a Jesus on the cross. It was a Protestant church and Protestant churches have empty crosses. Only Catholic and Orthodox churches have Jesus on crosses. Also, why would the church bells ring fully twice if they’re on a timer? They announce either the hour on the hour (one chime per hour), or 5 minutes until the hour (usually one chime), followed by the full one chime per hour.
Also, what is the timer running on in this post-apocalyptic wasteland?
Nice catch on the Crucifix thing. I’m sure there are exceptions to that, but especially at a Southern Baptist church….they would not be having a bloody Jesus on the Cross. Thats pretty hardcore Orthodox or old school Catholic.
yeah T-dog’s wound was practically fatal especially in that situation. Its not a first aid kit kinda injury. Major blood loss, major sutures and stuff needed to fix him up.
Wow!! Good catches followed by explanations guys.
I lol’ed on the “Bikers Welcome” sign for some reason.
@conor–they call it “Buckshot” for a reason. =)
The whole church scene made me realize whats so special about this series. Even if you’ve read the comics and *think* you know whats going to happen, you’re still surprised. Mix and Match elements and introduce new ones. Its edge of your seat stuff. love it.
The zombies in the church was one of the creepiest things i’ve ever seen on screen. Maybe its the Catholic in me, but thats just not supposed to happen. Its home base! the holy water and all that!!!!
Are the zombies getting smarter? In the RV and in the Church, they clearly had reasoning skills…i dunno if i like that…i don’t want them getting like that one Romero movie where they basically talk to each other.
Carol’s prayer thing kinda bugged me. Because of the narrative voice this show has established, characters can’t really have plot moving private moments without using dialog. They took a private prayer and turned it into a laundry airing in front of all or your friends thing. I dunno, i just didn’t like it. This is in that pet peeve category…(that and reading letters as you read/write them).
Rick’s plea was a bit much for me. “Give me a sign”…yeah i dunno, just kinda cliche and combined with some of the other stuff, i started feeling it was getting atheist preachy.
Overall i LOVED this episode. So glad the season is back on, and i’m glad Sunday Night Football sucked so i had no conflicts….going forward though….hrrrm. * “hell on wheels” looks all kinds of rad*
“The zombies in the church was one of the creepiest things i’ve ever seen on screen. Maybe its the Catholic in me,”
-oh man, your comment made me LOL! I think it’s because grew up Catholic and there were a lot of Zombies sitting i’n those pews every Sunday 🙂
hey well i was an altar boy, so i saw the rosary and black veil old lady’s every morning at 6, 8 or 11 am mass from the other side. Thats a scary army right there starin at ya.
I thought there were a ton of problems with this episode including:
A) The characters are not likable. Now maybe it’s just now I’m noticing this from Kirkman’s comics but; no one in this group is easy to follow. Lori is an evil and sometimes confusing bitch who doesn’t know what she wants. Andrea has gone from a kick-ass, sharpshooter to a whiny, suicidal bitch. Shane and Rick are about the closest to a ‘Dumb and Dumber’ remake with their ‘brilliant’ ideas. And the only people I am really rooting for his Dale and Daryl because they are the most competent people in this entire show. It also doesn’t help that I can’t remember most of the secondary cast because I had to look through this review to find Daryl’s name.
B) The show is pretty predictable when it comes to the horror department. Someone hides but makes a slight noise to attract attention. There is a TON of misleads in this episode that would make even Kirkman blush with envy. (Yes I know Kirkman has a writing credit in this episode but I think, like always with celebrity writers, the 2nd writer did the brunt of the work) The only thing that was not as predictable was what happened to Carl. They once again do this giant mislead with Shane and Carl only to go ‘Sweet Tooth’ on us and shoot Carl down. It just doesn’t feel earned though because Carl has so far been a non-factor this entire series. He got some more lines in this episode but he is nothing compared to what he is in the comics at this stage.
C) Was it just me or was this episode not transferred well? My TV, in HD, for the episode showed a lot of grain and I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not. It was really distracting to see the low quality of the picture in key scenes.
D) I really think all of my problems stem from the fact that they are just too far out of the source material. We could have this debate on any type of adaptation but it is puzzling for this series. Kirkman did an amazing job with the pacing for each arc and it felt like a TV show on it’s own. But now the writers just went too far in characterization and in plot to make it feel like a true adaptation of the book. I just don’t see why we couldn’t just open up with the group, in the winter, traveling as they go. With a cast that feels way to big, skipping on key moments of the book so far, and just giving fan service in a few moments; it just doesn’t feel like a natural story progression.
I’m torn on this because I want this show to succeed. But the lazy writing, predictable gory moments, and unlikable cast is making me really disappointed in this series. Then again I had a blast watching this with my family, especially that my Dad literally walked out during the autopsy scene. It’s like watching a mediocre ‘Halloween’ or ‘Friday the 13th’ movie the more I think about it. In comparison, both have terrible stories and characters but they are immediately saved with their macguffin to pull in the viewers. Take out the gore and what are you left with this show? A pretty bad, low budget horror movie.
C-
i think your TV sucks. =p
Looked awesome on my HD tv….actually it looked TOO good in HD…and with those sound effects. URRGH squirmy stuff.
I had the same problem watching the HD feed of the show too. It was really low quality. Maybe it’s a cable provider thing. I use Time Warner Cable and a lot of the third string channels always have a highly compressed look.
Also, I have a lot of the same problems with this series as you. This episode was really boring. It should have been an hour instead of an hour and a half. And can they please just kill off the Christian lady with the short hair. I’m so sick of her.
I agree. I would add that the acting of everyone but the main cast is mediocre. The danger of large casts that are always on screen together is that you always have the weaker actors hanging around spoiling scenes. Good casting from HBO and Showtime can normaly avoid those problems.. but someone dropped the ball with casting on this. I heard something about one of the producer/ directors being fired. I wonder if it had something to do with the Andrea casting.. that particular actress had been in frank darabont’s previous film/films… I figure he’s in her pants or trying to get in them. And we have to suffer for it.. shes a mediocre actress at best (although she did alright this episode.. last year she was really awful ). How do you cast someone whos 10-15 years older than the actual character?? Dont get me wrong she’s cute.. but early twenties and late thirties is an even wider mental gap than early fourties and late fifties.. in my opinion.
Its been a long time since i read the early issues of walking in dead.. i picked them up new as single issues. It seems obvious that this is not what i read… but again.. im most upset with the acting.
Found it just a touch on the boring side.
I also noticed that a deep, spurting wound just became a non-issue after the zombies had passed. At the very least someone needs to get that boy a tetanus shot!
Somehow the final scene didn’t play right for me. Having read the comics, I should have known what was coming, but I did not. But I never, for an instant, thought that the scene was leading anywhere good. I feel like for it to have worked, it needed to play as a little aside in which we’re taking a moment away from all the horror to enjoy something beautiful when all of the sudden, Blam! Didn’t happen, though, at least not for me. The whole scene was just an extended moment of “something bad is going to happen. Will it be (A)? Will it be (B)? Maybe (C)? [BLAM!] Oh, right, /that/ happens.”
So maybe having read the comics gave me enough of an insight to know, but for me the scene would have worked so much better if I had, for one moment, believed that it might not end with some tragedy.
Although perhaps what really tipped me off was the fact that I had watched the Season One marathon which is really just our merry little gang getting repeatedly kicked when they’re down over and over again. I guess that’s what the story is, but the series doesn’t, to my mind, spend nearly enough time building people up to some level comfort/security before knocking them back down.
Still, it has been a good, if incredibly depressing, story so far. I’m still hooked.
I think, no in fact I’m pretty sure, is that no matter how far AMC is willing to let the zombie gore go they will never, EVER let a child shoot someone on screen.
I know we have to avoid spoilers from the comics (why after so many years I have no idea, especially from something in book 1 that has no baring on the comic today) but the misleads wtih Shane, Rick, and Carl are getting annoying. Either stop dancing around the subject and do it or don’t mention it at all.
I don’t know if they are necessarily misleads; most of the people watching haven’t read the comic. My girlfriend, who has not read the comic doesn’t see the shane/carl/rick storyline as you or I do. She was suprised and shocked by the ending of the show.
And in regards to T-Dog’s injury becoming a non issue, i really thought that they were going for a blood-attracting-zombies thing, but i guess not.
i don’t see them as misreads either. Actually for me it adds to the suspense and really brings me into that world. I have no idea whats going to happen…thats awesome in this spoiler laden world. I think its best if you view the TV series as its own alternate universe or something from the comics. For instance, if they did what the comics said should have happened at the church, then thats a 2-3 episode thing that didn’t need to happen.
Also as far as a child shooting someone…i don’t see why they wouldn’t. I can’t think of a good example, but i know i’ve seen it before in TV and or Film. I’d agree with you if we’re talking child as a serial killer or something, but in the context of the comics and what you’re talking about, i’d say it would be fair game.
@wally/weaklyroll: But they’re clearly hinting at the confrontation in the last two episodes. First the doctor from last season says to Carl he ‘needs to watch out’ and joked he was dangerous. Then this episode lets Carl go along with Shane and Rick for really no reason other then to get shot.
In fact that happened a couple of times this episode. People just go along for the heck of it rather then having any real impact on the plot.
They are hinting at it for sure, especially to those who have read the comics, but i would say it’s only misleading if nothing ever comes from it, and if nothing does happen between rick and shane, then that it’s a wasted opportunity at some great character pieces.
and Wally, Maggie shoots mr Burns, Stewie shoots Lois. Cartoons, i know, but still. oh and that’s fox too.
They let a child kill someone on Breaking Bad. I don’t put it past this series.
@TNC–i guess my point is that its best to just forget everything you’ve read in the comics when watching this show if you truly want to enjoy it. Personally i’m just enjoying the ride and trying not to focus on any continuity errors or whatever.
Yes i’m sure they’re trying to hint at and maybe even Eff with the comic geeks, but view them more as easter eggs than anything? I dunno. Enjoy them both for what they are but understand they are separate things.
@wally At this point I might as well since they are straying so far past the book at this point.
Again I understand for the most part why. But the choices of how to stray from the book just doesn’t make sense to me.
@TNC, it does seem like a lot of your criticism comes from it not being like the book, but there are a billion and one reasons why that is. The biggest being that there are dozens of people who have influence over the show rather than just a handful when it comes to a comic book. Plus not to mention budgets, shooting timelines, actor limitations, and really the list goes on and on. Think about it, the reason they can’t set the story during the winter is because they shoot the episodes during the summer. I think if you let some of those predispositions go you might enjoy the show a little more. I personally like that the tv series is straying from the book. If I wanted the same story I would just go reread it.
With that said, I do think this was the worst episode so far. Every scene and plot point dragged on. It really didn’t need to be 90 minutes long. A lot of that time was wasted. For a season premiere it could have used a bit more big action. Hey I love characterization as much as the next, but for a season premiere I want someone to get their face bitten off. Yes we had the cliffhanger ending, but I was more like “finally something exciting happens and the episode is over.”
I really enjoyed this episode.
I also enjoyed this review. Well done, Conor. I like the stream of consciousness style.
I’d still like to hear Paul’s take on the episode.
Fantastic review.
I hate to disagree with you Conor but the Philips Head is the more effective screwdriver for zombie killing. You are going to need that flathead screedriver to fix your radiator hose.
It’s not me! It’s the guy at Home Depot!
It’s all about whether you’re going through the eye socket or trying to penetrate the skull. Only Phillips will give you a chance at the latter. No use blaming the Home Depot guy. He probably didn’t know about the radiator hose. And you’re the one publishing it to the web, so it will be on your head, Conor, when the Zombie Apocalypse comes, and people die unnecessarily because they used the wrong tool for the job.
But it’s all academic, really, because Dale hates to loan out his tools, so if he’s going to loan you a screwdriver, you’ll take what he gives you, and you’ll like it.
I was really disappointed in this episode. It felt like almost all of the drama was manufactured and that the focus was more on gore than on story or character. The “Give me my gun!” plot rang really false to me. Dale could have been lying when he told Andrea that he didn’t think she was suicidal, but he played it as very straightforward, so I believed him at the time (possibly my problem, not the show’s.), but the real problem was with Andrea’s reaction to it. It was really overdramatic. It just felt like the writers knew they needed tension between Andrea and Dale and couldn’t think of a more organic way to do it. Not to mention all of the women on this show are pushovers for the most part, and I think that’s doing a huge disservice to the awesome women from the comic. Maybe this show just isn’t for me anymore. It’s mostly the gore over story that’s doing me in than anything.
If we’re going to have a whole season of Andrea acting like this and then realizing at the last minute Dale is right then shoot me now.
It was overdramatic because she’s not a very good actress…. If you watched many of the HBO and SHOWTIME series you’d see how they get oscar caliber acting out of their actors and actresses consistently… but then again.. you may have a problem with HBO’s gratuitous sex scenes… so dont bother.
Wait. What in my post says I’d have a problem with them? I’m really confused as to why you’d make that assumption. I’ve seen you hanging out on this site only recently, and almost all of your posts have been insulting to others in some way. Being confrontational doesn’t really add to any sort of conversation. It’s a little ridiculous. I actually watch quite a few HBO/Showtime shows and enjoy all of them. Most of the time, the sex matters in the story. When it doesn’t, it’s kind of lame. To each his own though.
My problems with the gore on this show are that the gore takes precedent to the storytelling. It was a minor problem in the first season, but it’s become more of one already in this season. I’m not jumping off the show just yet. The first season garnered enough good will with me to give it at least a few more episodes, not to mention it’s normally a fun show to talk about online.
Having said all that, I’m cool having a conversation about the use of gore/violence in entertainment as long as it’s civil and productive.
Dude.. check my posts by clicking on my name. 99.9 percent of the time im respectful and positive even. I was frustrated with how people continuously attack Mark Millar.. who ive met.. and was very nice to me. I was unfairly aggressive with ONE person that i apologized to. However i was quite justly aggressive with muddy.. who has been posting on every single Mark Millar related topic for at least a year. Im talking about 10 or 12 times this year.. FACT..takes 5 minutes to check that. He even posted Millar related bashing on non Millar related articles. So i responded. I posted this in response to your attack on me. You defended someone that wasn’t in the right.. and you nitpicked my post. As far as im concerned you took a shot at me… and i just took one back. Your flat out LYING about me being rude to everyone. I was rude to you just now, and those other two i mentioned. One of which i apologized to. Fact of the matter is.. thats something else i didnt mention about Mark MIllar is the quite obvious problem people have with nature of the Violence in Mark Millar’s work…. And your own of them and so is Muddy.. thats realy the reason you defended muddy. You mask your distaste for the violence as if its a fair critic. Just like you do posting this ridiculous shyte about gore and the “over sexualization ” of an artists pencils on your last post. Seems to be all consuming consuming topic for you.. self proclaimed moral police perhaps. Nobody that knows me personaly thinks of me as rude or arrogant .. However.. i slipped up a bit with the Mark Millar thing.. and was a little out of line.. but frankly while i dont know him.. i do you know him better than i know you.. so I take his side.. simple as that.
Muddy just did the same thing as you.. he bashes MIllar for at least 12 months.. and then when i call him on his shyte..he partially changed his toon and he says Kick ass was shyte but he enjoyed it.. and he enjoyed two other Millar books. ??? But his posts over the last year say nothing like that… Confused much. Your confused pal.
HA you say “to each there own”.. meaning that im a fan of gratuitous sex.. and why make that assumption?? We all make assumptions pal.
“civil”.. i said nothing to you and you said my Millar post was joke right? you werent civil to me.. and i just returned the favor.
Oh and try making a completely positive post every now and then instead being critical all the time. What were those shows you watch currenlty on HBO and Showtime??
quite a few typos but you get the message.
I don’t actually know what to write here, but I’ll try my best.
I think you should be a little more concerned with the tone of your posts. Whether you mean to or not, you come off as confrontational and accusatory, at least in your posts towards me. I also see nothing wrong with me having a preoccupation with the use of sex in violence in storytelling. Not sure what makes them invalid criticisms. Sorry my caring about those things offends you. (as a sidenote: There’s nothing inherently wrong with having violence and sex in stories. I often think it enhances them, but just like anything else in a story, context and execution are more important than content.)
I was positive on this very article (and spend a lot of time doing positive writing for GuerrillaGeek.com.) I said, not all that far down the page, that I really liked the tent scene and thought that was an effective use of gore.
I’m not sure why it matters, but I’m currently watching Dexter, Game of Thrones, and The Wire, bits of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the Tudors, and Weeds. Been meaning to start Bored to Death but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I think I watch all of AMC’s shows except The Killing. That one just never interested me. Don’t know if Hell on Wheels will be my thing either, but I’ll at least give the pilot a shot.
Well thanks for being civil this time. Ill try to be the same this time as well. The tone of my posts were mostly out of line during my posts for ONE ARTICLE. So you saying that everyone of my posts is rude.. Is incorrect. I have responded to your posts twice and I wasnt polite; however 2 posts does equal near the number of posts ive made on this site, You addressed me first if you remember, and you said you find my post worthy of laughter. I did not address you .. you addressed me. Saying my post is a joke could be misconstrued as confrontational. I know when im being rude. Do you? Now if you say you were defending Muddy or anyone else. Let me explain this to you. When someone like Muddy makes a completely negative post after dozens of other people have posted almost entirely positive posts. Not once, but on every single Millar related post going back at least a year…. then isnt that a kind of rudeness. Seems to me with the last Millar topic he waited till 20 people posted postive stuff.. and then he jumpted in to educate us, and frankly insult us. Thats rudeness as well. You were defending a guy who just posted he was born to kickass and is probably half serious. Ill give you and example of how i think. I was not impressed with this or any other walking dead episode.. and i felt like posting something negative but i wasnt going to do that if everyone was posting really happy positive comments on here. I read all the posts and relized i was not in the minority with my displeasure.. so i thought it was ok to post. In other words.. i wouldnt have posted something very negative if everyone else was happy about the show. Why rain on everyone’s parade. How well do you think you would be received if you walked into Viking’s stadium and started yelling Minnesota sucks,, the vikings suck..!. That’s muddy on every single Millar related article.
I actually don’t have a problem with you talking about more gore, less gore, well thought out gore, or any other gore.. i just remembered your name from when you said my post was laughable.. and realized you had been recently making a lot of posts about 2 things that Millar uses in his books to much criticism.. sex and violence. So then i kind of understood a little more about why you made your original comment, and i couldnt resist hitting you back.
I get that you and muddy are Grant Morrison fans and i get how that has also influenced this. Apart from that.. many of the three of our tastes are similar judging some of the other comments and pull lists. Muddy however has a personal problem with Mark MIllar.. and i find it annoying when someone pretends their comments are objective. I say that again.. 10 times minimum on 10 different articles muddy has posted completely negative.. nonconstructive comments about Millar’s talent. I got tired of seeing it on this and on other sites going back many years, and snapped a bit. You jumped into something you shouldnt have jumped in to. And apparently thought it was ok to insult me while you were doing it.
Ya ive seen all those shows. You dont have bad taste. As for Bored to Death.. its awesome. Laugh out loud funny. This is the best season yet so far as well. Cant go wrong with it. And i assume you appreciate breaking bad then as well. And of course Nightwing.. you cant be that bad of a guy with a nightwing avatar.
Well, I’m glad this all got sorted out. Sounds like your beef is with Muddy. I’ll let you two go at it from now on. Didn’t realize what I was stepping into. And yes, I love Breaking Bad. And Nightwing.
OH YOU WERE FINISHED? WELL, ALLOW ME TO RETORT. 😉
“The Walking Dead returns for its second season with a 90 minute episode written by series creator Robert Kirkman!”
LOOKS LIKE KIRKMAN SHARED WRITING CREDIT FOR THIS EPISODE WITH SOMEONE NAMED ARDETH BAY., WHICH I’VE READ IS FRANK DARABONT’S PSEUDONYM. SUCKS HE WAS FIRED FROM THIS SHOW.
“Our hero Rick Grimes stands atop a building in Atlanta talking to Morgan, the man who saved his life in the first episode, on the walkie talkie. Or to the people who heard all the hype about The Walking Dead and joined in on the second season. Either way, everyone gets caught up on the basic premise of the show!”
(Morgan’s not really there on the other end of the walkie talkie. Or is he? It’s a whole thing.)
DID YOU NOTICE RICK BREAKING THE 4TH WALL THERE AFTER HIS “SPEECH” ON THE WALKIE TALKIE AND LOOKING RIGHT AT THE CAMERA? I THINK YOUR ASSUMPTION RICK WAS TALKING TO US IS RIGHT ON THE MARK.
“Time to hide! Everyone ducks under cars in hopes that the zombie herd passes them by but no one warned Andrea who is now stuck in the RV all alone. Also, T-Dog tries to hide by slicing the artery in his right arm open on a jagged piece of abandoned car. It’s an unorthodox approach, to be sure. Andrea hides in the bathroom as a lone zombie enters the RV to see what’s what. Her gun is still in pieces so she’s kind of in trouble. Her shaky attempt to put her gun back together makes a bit of noise and the zombie quickly decides that there is food in the bathroom. He wants in! All seems lost for Andrea until Dale appears in the window above the bathroom (he’d been standing sentry on the roof) and drops a screwdriver into her waiting hands.”
I THOUGHT THE “RV” ZOMBIE WAS ONE OF THE BEST LOOKING ZOMBIES SO FAR OF THE SERIES (DUDE WAS SMART TOO)
“As a zombie approaches the quickly bleeding out T-Dog, Daryl appears to rescue him. This is significant because last season Daryl had a bit of a problem with people of color. Daryl kills the zombie with a knife to the base of the skull and then pulls a few zombie corpses on top of him and Daryl to hide from the herd. Which is gross. But so is getting eaten by a herd of zombies.”
WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED THAT DARYL WILL BE THE CHARACTER WITH THE MOST DRASTIC ARC? GOING FROM RACIST HILLBILLY TO COMPASSIONATE RACIST HILLBILLY.
“Back in the RV, Andrea lunges out of the bathroom and stabs the zombie over and over and over in the eye. What kind of screwdriver is best of felling zombies? The guy I asked at Home Depot says you’re going to want a flathead.”
DEATH BY SCREWDRIVER! FIRST SEEN IN DAWN OF THE DEAD.
“Back on the highway, Andrea and Dale work to clear a path for the RV while Carol wonders why everyone isn’t out looking for her daughter. You know what? That’s reasonable. Meanwhile, Carl finds a car with a nasty looking corpse that appears to contain a bag full of cool looking bladed weapons. Axes and whatnot. He wants to keep the weapons but his mom says no because moms are always throwing water on everyone’s fun, especially when it involves hatchets. This leads to Shane and Lori having it out over their awkward tension due to the fact that they used to have sex back when they thought Rick was dead and then back at the CDC Shane was so upset about it that he almost raped her. Shane can’t stand to be around Lori anymore so he’s going to fix up one of these abandoned cars and head out on his own. This sounds like a rational plan.”
DID YOU NOTICE DURING THE COMMERCIAL FOR SPIKES SCREAM AWARDS THE ACTOR THAT PLAYS SHANE HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED? THAT CAN MEAN ONLY ONE THING OF COURSE, HE NEEDED TO SHAVE HIS HEAD FOR THE ZOMBIE PROSTHETICS TO BE APPLIED BY KNB EFFECTS – OR A BULLET EFFECT. EITHER WAY SHANE IS NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD. (AND IF YOU READ THE COMIC, HE HAS ALREADY LASTED LONGER THEN HE SHOULD)
“In the woods Rick and Daryl come across a lone zombie. Maybe he knows where Sophia is! Before he can tell them if he’s seen a girl about yea big anywhere around here Daryl shoots him in the head with his crossbow. Now the only way he can tell Rick and Daryl if he’s seen Sophia is if Rick and Daryl gut him like a fish and search his insides. They don’t find Sophia chunks but they do find two fish, a can, and a Louisiana license plate.”
I WAS EXPECTING THE KITTNER BOY TO SPILL OUT ALL OVER THE DOCKS.
“In the woods, Carl tries to tell Shane how awesome it is that he gets to carry a knife but Shane doesn’t want to hear it because his mom is no longer having sex with him. The search team comes across a large sized tent in the woods. Who’s in it? Sophia? Zombies? The Weasleys? Daryl investigates. No Sophia. Just the rotting corpse of a man who used a pistol to make sure that the zombies didn’t get him. Daryl snags the pistol no sooner than the sound of church bells sends the group running through the woods!”
ONE THING I LOVE ABOUT THIS SHOW IS THE AMOUNT OF TENSION AND APPREHENSION THAT CAN SURROUND EVEN A SIMPLE SCENE LIKE THE OPENING OF TENT.
“But first it’s Rick’s turn to have a chat with Jesus in the church. Even though he’s been a non-believer he’d like a sign or something that he’s doing the right thing. No sign is forthcoming. Now I think about Janine saying, “It’s a sign all right. A sign we’re going out of business” in Ghostbusters. Man, that film is awesome.”
HUMAN SACRIFICE, DOG AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER….MASS HYSTERIA!
why are you yelling?
and please be mindful of spoilers. There will be people who read this who don’t read the comic.
the CAPS were to deferenate between Conors review and my comments. Sorry if you mistook it for yelling (I save that for my Deathstroke reviews).
As far as spoliers, I guess I figured that TV show is different enough from the comic that talking about someone that died in the comic wouldn’t consitute a spolier for the show.
Yeah? No? Sorta?
I guess my only thing with any spoilers from the comic book can point towards something they may do in the show, and if it does happen in the show then it might take something away from them. It’s a fine line i guess, and how far do we go with talking about a spoiler, and in what context, and how much do we infer.
I guess I should say I liked the tension of the tent-opening scene. That was using gore to actually create something other than a gross-out moment.
Here’s another problem I have with this episode:
Why is there a schism already with people for/against Rick? Shane makes sense, and Andrea is more ready to just die on her own….But why is everyone else so unsure about Rick?
Last time I checked he has saved all of their asses when most of them decided to hide in a department story in ZombieTown USA. That and he was able to get them to the CDC, which got them some much needed food and rest. (Granted it became a deathtrap at the end but he wouldn’t have known that). Now this lady is treating Rick like shit because he thought of the best way to help her daughter?
Seriously the drama between this ‘riff’ is forced.
Lady did lose her kid. I think she would treat anyone like shit no matter the situation or how well Rick tried to save Sophia. When a family member is missing you don’t really consider if you sound like an ungrateful bitch.
@Roi: But Lori’s speech at the end seems to indicate there has been a divide within the group for a while. Considering this takes place a few days/weeks after the CDC incident there must’ve been a HUGE argument to cause this type of split.
Maybe they’ll go back and show us something crazy that happened. that would be pretty cool
With all due respect, Church-going zombies are the scariest.
The woman with her face covered had a little Gullermo del Toro monster thing going on.
Daryl’s means of getting her attention was hilarious.
Maybe this show will get good again, but after the the second half of last season, I lost all interest. Stick to reading the comics, they are great.
“She turns to Shane for help but he backs up Dale because chicks, right?”
This made me laugh out loud in my cube.
I felt like the opening with Rick on the roof was COMPLETELY unnecessary and corny. The characters refer to the events of the last finale anyway, so I think that’s enough.
Not an episode that blew me away, but it left 2 nice cliffhangers at the end to chew on. I knew that final moment was leading to something bad, but I didn’t expect THAT.
My wife and I went to a local movie theater and watched last nights episode on the Big Screen in Hi Def! The episode was Awesome!!
It was fun, right? I kind of wish I could watch every episode in a packed theater.
Hey Conor, did you check out the Webisodes over at amc.com?
http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-webisodes-1-a-new-day
I thought Greg Nicotero did a nice job directing these shorts – pretty creepy. Also they offer a glimpse at the beginning of the outbreak that we don’t get in the series proper.
I was surprised that these came out under the radar. I liked them quite a bit, especially #4? – the neighbour in the basement. That was great!
Hm.. did more thinking about why this felt off for me. Maybe it’s because it’s the first time I watched it alone. I watched the entire last season with a group of at least 4 or 5 people.
This episode was bad , from gaping plot holes , to the necessary gore it was almost as bad as the season finale .I will give it a few more episodes before I quit completely .
Explain further.
I see a lot of comments about spoilers. I think the show has deviated so far from the comics that any talk of spoilers is irrelevant. No one can say what’s going to happen on the tv show with certainty. If you watched the clip for episode 2 in Talking Dead after the premier it’s clear that there is other stuff going on. I didn’t recognize that chase scene at all. Kirkman himself said in his interview that he was enjoying putting new stuff in for fans of the comic. So, at this point I’m going to try and stop guessing and just enjoy it.
That’s great but I just kinda wish that Kirkman didn’t add the part where Andrea became a suicidal biotch. So grating. I got to the point where I had to hit mute whenever her face popped up on screen.
This show is basically an Elseworlds version of the comics, ie. anything can happen, anyone can die. They are not keeping slavishly to the comic.
Add me to the list of those who were pretty severely disappointed in the opening episode of Season Two. Here is a list of my quibbles:
1. They arrive at the roadblock, which is obviously a potentially hazardous situation, and yet they wander off into the mass of cars, largely unarmed, WITH THE KIDS IN TOW, looking for supplies. Seriously? You’re going to take your kid out with you in that situation, where there are corpses in the cars and who knows what else lurking about? I really don’t want to see the characters being dumb asses in order to create dramatic tension. And it’s really hard to be sympathetic with dumb characters.
2. The characters are unlikable. Other than Darryl and maybe Shane, I can’t really find myself rooting for any of these folks. I still think that Andrew Lincoln is bad basting for Rick Grimes. There is just no resemblance to the Rick Grimes in the comic book. I know, I should not be such a fanboy about that, but I’m really not seeing the Rick Grimes in the comic coming through with the character in the show. I want to pull for him but he’s not acting like the leader that Rick is in the comic series. Oh, and the actor playing Carl is proving to be a really annoying child actor. Bummer.
3. When Rick is saving the little girl from the the zombie he says he can’t use his gun because it’ll attract other walkers, but then he proceeds to yell and scream at the zombie to attract its attention. Huh? And why does he tell her to run back to the highway by herself? Why not wait for him where she was hiding?
4. Rick and Darryl cut open a zombie to see if it’s dined on the missing girl. Sure, it makes for a nice squirm-inducing gross-out scene, but is that the plan? To eviscerate every zombie you come across in the area? Yeah, right.
5. Shane declines Andrea’s request to leave the group with him and actually gets pissed at her? I can’t imagine many guys would be turning that down (she’s the hottest chick on the show).
6. Why do Shane and Rick sit there and watch the annoying Carl creep up on the deer at the end of the episode? Don’t they know a deer could inflict some pretty serious damage if it’s startled? I was cringing during this scene, wondering what the hell they were doing.
Ugh. I was expecting so much more from this show! I thought Season One was a great start, but it’s seemingly taken a huge step back with the advent of Season Two. Let’s hope to see some rapid improvement in the writing and character development from here on out. I will continue to watch but really don’t know how long I can stick with it if I’m repeatedly rolling my eyes in frustration at the character’s actions (as I was through Episode One).
I liked it. Not as much as the pilot, but good times.
1. I agree with you, but a show about a bunch of battle hardened post-apocalypse suburbanites would be a step too far. It’s not like they all were spread out over hundreds of feet, they were still pretty close to each other when the ‘herd’ appeared.
2. Trying to compare the show to what you think it should be will nearly always end in disappointment. Pretend that the show exists on its own and you will be much more fulfilled.
3. Shouting is MUCH, MUCH quieter than a gunshot, especially in a wooded area. Also, he tells Sophia to go back only if he does not return. He does not tell her to go off on her own as soon as he leaves. The kid just freaked out and took off.
4. If there are only a few zeds in the area, then yes, it is the plan. And it worked, didn’t it?
5. Shane is leaving the safety of the group, and he is a deputy sheriff, why would he want to risk (and watch the back of) somebody else?
6. There is almost no chance that a deer would ever run at you. Under normal conditions, they would never act aggressive. Maybe a remote possibility if it is mating season, but highly unlikely.
I would suggest keeping in mind that there is a difference between ‘poor character development’ and characters doing actions that you do not agree with. If they repeat mistakes that bite them in the ass, that is one thing. But aside from spreading out too much on the highway, I would argue that all decisions made in the show had sufficient validity.