Not to rant too heavily on my personal relationship with walkers; this blog is simply to review the latest episode, which I will try to do every week. The show, which has always lingered on the edge between average and phenomenal, I believe is about to finely plant itself on the better side. The last few episodes of the mostly disappointing season 2 leading up to the finale were increasingly intense and displayed a closer attention to the detail of writing. Beside the Dying Fire was perhaps the most intent and satisfying Zombie show or movie I have ever seen. However, it's pure carnage and gritty realism mixed with interesting character arcs left big shoes for season 3 to fill. The question is, can the writers keep up the pace?
If the first episode is any indicator, the answer, simply put, is "yes." Now, I'm not familiar with the comics, nor do I intend to be, as I consider the two to be separate entity's. Instead of doing an overall review, I'm going to go point by point of what I found most interesting, and for keeping the review balanced, I'll point out a few things that irritated me. So, starting with the big stuff:
Everyone's a badass: One of the things that bothered me most in season 2 is that almost half the characters seemed entirely useless in a practical fight with the Zombies, and they had to be defended in a fight. Characters like Carl, Sharon, Beth, and Maggie, and even to some extent Glen, Herschel, and Dale, didn't seem like they'd be able to hold their own up against walkers. This season broke that almost instantly (except for Beth, what's up with that?) Not only is everyone able to hold their own, but they do so without fear or hesitation. Total plus that will take away some of the series prior distractions. Plus, they look awesome all dirtied up. ...Except for Maggie, who's not dirty, but incredibly attractive.
Look at everyone, and then look at Maggie again.
They're all on the Same Page: I didn't expect this at all, or even really think about it, but I like how the entire group has seemed to just accept some things, without us needing to see the discussion. At the end of last season, the big debate that looked as though it was going to divide the group is whether or not they should find a new permanent place to stay after the farm, or go house to house. After a winter of going house to house, they were all instantly willing to accept the prison as a permanent place to say. This was a nice touch, and Rick silently stands vindicated (although, we'll see how the prison works out for them).
Rick hates Laurie, just like the rest of us: Everyone hates Laurie. She was contradictory and impulsive. She cheated on our hero with Shane, and Rick deserves to hate her. Here's what I think happened over winter: Laurie pushed Rick away, Rick got pissed, and when Laurie realized she needed him, he wasn't willing to let her back in.
She's a tough black chick, so she has to be a lesbian, right?
Michonne and Andrea (are totally getting it on): Am I the only one that seemed to pick up on the underlying romantic tension between these two? Granted there's only been one scene, but I was totally getting the whole "I love you and I won't let you die because you're all I have" vibe from Michonne. I don't know what Andrea's got going on with her, but there's definitely some care for the others well being. Maybe I'm reading a little too deeply into it, but I think it's plausible that at the end of the world, when they have no one left, and have been saving each other for like, 8 months through the winter, they may have developed some feelings. Plus, I think the network would love to do anything to promote themselves as progressive, so they'll fit in a lesbonic thing. Still, couldn't it have been, like, Maggie and... Maggie?What's a Zombie's favorite candy? A Herschel bar!: I know enough of the comics to know that Dale totally get's his leg chomped off and walks on a peg-leg. I enjoyed Dale's send off since it was so out of nowhere, so he wasn't an option. Let it be known that Sunday morning, I totally called they were going to do the same thing with Herschel. Dale was cool and everything, but we've gotten to see Herschel grow. He's become a more layered and interesting character. Honestly, it makes more sense for him to be around with his medical knowledge, and as an audience we have more to go off of with Herschel. It's an interesting development in his character, and I'd like to see what effect it has on him as a person.
Now, onto things that weren't so great:
SHUT UP, CARL: Now, everyone I know seems to agree that Carl is the most annoying kid in TV history. All of his plotlines were whiny and stereotyped, and there just didn't seem to be any growth for him. Now that they've jumped ahead in time (a good move considering the aging actor) and he's totally become kickass with a gun, I expecting him to be way less annoying. But somehow, the writers managed to keep him just as annoying, despite only have like, three lines. His whole hinted attraction to Beth is just as annoying as Carl crying coz' he couldn't shoot a walker (and killing Dale). Oh, and someone give that actor some lessons.
In memory of the character that could have been.
T-Dog (Need I say more?): This is a character that's been around since the second episode. He has been with the group around every turn and yet he has not made one important decision, and there has been no hint of what is personality is like. He's just the quiet black man they've got around who can stab people and shoot a gun. Not for nothing, but this is just not realistic. After someones been around for so long, there needs to be at least one moment in a year where he asserts himself. In this first episode, their hinting at new characters,well leaving this guy entirely undeveloped. That's just a mark of bad writing.That stupid song that played when they got into the cell block: The Walking Dead has a genius composer. If you don't know it, look him up. His name is Bear McCreary and he's done the whole thing so far, and they have entirely understated his excellence as a composer. He wrote the ques for my personal favorite series, Battlestar Galactica. Talk to anyone who watched the series and I guarantee they'll comment on the music, and how it was an integral part of the series. Still though, twice in this episode they used music not written by him. The first was "The Parting Glass," the traditional Irish tune which was sung by Beth and Maggie earlier in the episode. That was an actually an enjoyable scene, where they sing together, and they kept in the flawed notes and the stumbling of the lyrics. It felt authentic, showed something of their characters, and was eerie with the walkers creeping in the background. But still, they went with a dumb Sarah-McLaughlin-like tune instead of what could have been a fantastic que that didn't distract from the scene, bad choice.
So, I guess those are all my thoughts on the episode. All in all though, I give the episode a 4/5, for being good, keeping my interest, and giving us some really good set up for the rest of the season. I'm excited to see a whole lot more of Andrea and Michonne next episode, and to finally meet the Governor. So, that being said, prepare for another review! Check back for other posts between now and then, and let me know what you think!