I just began watching The Walking Dead a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to see what all the hype was about regarding the popularity of the show, luckily for me Comcast had Season 2 On Demand. The first episode had gotten my attention with Sophia missing and everyone looking for her. I continued watching each episode back to back. As soon as Carl was shot I became officially hooked. Sophia became a walker and they had to put her down, I couldn't help but think "what if that would have happened to one of my daughters? Would I have been able to put either of them down?" Then Dale is killed and I became outraged. Rick kills Shane and Carl killed Walker Shane and I couldn't help but cheer, (I couldn't stand that prick). My wife returned home one day from shopping, with a copy of season 1 on dvd. Of course we watched it together back to back episodes but it was over to soon... 2 weeks I had to wait for season 3.
So finally here it is, the wait is over season 3 is here! Season 2 left off with Rick proclaiming like a dictator, "This is NOT a Democracy any more!" A Rift has been torn between Lori and Rick that may not be capable of repair, and Daryl has taken his place as Rick's right hand man. Rick tells the group about Dr. Jenner telling him that the virus was in everyone and that you don't have to be bitten to become a walker. Mistrust in Rick is now ever present in the group now that they know he kept something so important from them.
Before Shane was killed, he was Rick's second in command with Daryl his Lieutenant and Andrea the Sergeant while Dale was everyone's adviser, a confidant and grandfather of the group. Now that Shane and Dale are Dead with Andrea missing in action, We already know that Daryl will be Rick's Commander Riker. I see Glenn taking Daryl's place as 3rd in charge with Hershel taking on more of Dale's role in the group.
Over the past few weeks we've seen the trailers on AMC for season 3 and read the interviews from the cast on CBM. We know that the group is going to end up taking control of a prison and that Andrea and a hooded woman dragging behind two armless jaw less walkers (revealed to be Michonne)will end up in a small guarded town apparently held there against their wills, and that the Governor runs this town. It becomes apparent in the trailers that at some point the Governor and some of his men try to track down Rick and the gang, and try to take over the prison from them. It's also revealed that in this season we'll see the return of Merle Dickson, Daryl's brother, only now he's missing a hand and has taken a page out of Ash's handbook by mounting a weapon to the stub which appears to be a blade of some kind.
According to the trailers and interviews, the group of survivors become more militant in the 3rd season like an anti-walker tactical unit lead by Rick.
“Christ promised a resurrection of the dead… I just thought he had something a lil different in mind.” This would become the phrase that defines the entire series, not just season 1 or 2 but the series as a whole.
Here it is 7:52p Illinois time and I'm watching the season 2 finale on AMC. It went to commercial just after Rick told Lori the truth of what happened with Shane. All I can think is, was her pulling away from him in an offensive manor what drove Rick over the edge? Was it when he had to drive a knife through his best friend to defend himself from being killed? Or was it around the campfire, as everyone began to speak out against him?
We open with Rick and the group breaking into a building which contains walkers, kicking in the door guns a blazing. We see Carl take out a walker with what appears to be a wide tube on the end of the barrel. Daryl takes out an owl sitting in the window for the groups dinner and Lori appears to be a few months along, by my estimate I'd say 5-6 months. The group has become more organized, they know their jobs and what they're doing, but as they sit down to relax a horde of walkers moves in on the house. They escape without incident with walkers just a couple of feet away. After the intro and a commercial break we come to them stopped on the road surveying the area and going over their map. Daryl and Rick take off to hunt while according to Daryl "The other's wash their pants", and stumble upon a prison full of zombie hordes.
The round up the group off scene and begin their assault on the prison. They're more prepared as they lace up the cut fencing they entered through quickly just before a walker reaches them. Rick hands out orders as the others lead the walkers into a trap. Lori let's Rick into the prison yard as he's being covered by the group from the towers. Surrounded he locks a group of walkers in part of the yard while quickly making his way into a tower as the others fire on every zombie they can. After shooting "fish in a barrel", the group makes their way into their new home and enjoy their triumph.
It seems that though Lori and most of the group still retain their mistrust of Rick, they have truly gotten their act together and have managed to work as a team.
We come to the group sitting around a campfire inside the prison gates, eating dinner. Hershel tells the group that Rick has made his third trip around the fencing and that if there was away for the walkers to get in he'd have found it by now. We next see Daryl and Carol talking alone. Carol admits that Rick has gotten the group a lot farther than she thought he would and the two playfully flirt. After the group sings by the campfire, Rick declares they they had all better turn in and that he's going to take watch over the group. He talks the group into going into the prison hand to hand to gather medicine, food and ammo but with them being low on ammo it's going to be hard. Rick and Lori end up talking to each other which we see Rick is extremely uncomfortable with and that if she wants to talk she should do it with Hershel and that he's busy protecting the group.
I feel that in this scene Lori is really trying to reach out to Rick, but he's not reaching back because he feels betrayed by her for pulling away from him threatening him not to touch her after finding out that he killed Shane in defense. I have a feeling that he thinks she would have preferred if Shane had killed Rick rather than what actually happened. He's distancing himself from her more than ever before.
We turn to a walker inside a store with Michonne slaughtering them with her katanna. Then a small group of 6 making their way into the prison itself. They take out walker after walker while holding a tight formation watching each other's backs. We see a group of walkers in riot gear heading toward the group and one by one they're taken out. It becomes increasingly difficult because they have to get through the helmets as Rick demonstrates by pulling the helmet off of one which also pulls the flesh of it's face as well.They move inside cautiously while keeping an eye on their surroundings. It's here that they truly prove they've become more than just chance survivors as not a single one of them moves without everyone with them. They make their way into the cells as they find prisoner after prisoner dead. Rick and Daryl make their way to the top floor of the cell block and find two walkers locked in their cells. The rest of the group makes their way into the cell block to set up shelter. We then see Lori walk up to Rick with a smile and places her hand on his arm to thank him. his reaction is one you might expect from a man who feels betrayed by his wife, he just glares at her and walks away.
We see an ever present change in Rick in this episode as he's become more of a loner and tends to stay away from the rest of the group not getting to close to anyone including his wife and son. Rick and Daryl become more and more alike with an unspoken bond between them. I find this a great way to open the season. Rick has stepped more into his role as a leader, keeping his group alive and earning the respect of those who began to mistrust him at the end of the previous season. Rick appears exhausted and refuses to take pleasure in the success of his group. You can see the wheels turning in his head, contemplating everything that's happened; him murdering his best friend, his wife pulling away from him, his son fearing him.
We come to Michonne walking into a bar... I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke. There in the bar are her pet walkers and she comes across Andrea laying on the floor. She appears to be sick and exhausted. Michonne tries to take care of her and refuses to leave Andrea for dead. Andrea becomes angered that Michonne won't leave without her saying to her "a good soldier who won't leave your post". While Rick and the group prepare to infiltrate the rest of the prison by contemplating wearing the body armor the walkers were wearing. Lori fears that she lost the baby and that it has become or will become a walker and tries to rip her apart from the inside. She makes Hershel promise to take them out if she gets turned. She and Hershel continue to have a heart to heart as she reveals that Rick hates her but hasn't said and that Carl doesn't respect her. The group continues to gear up just before going through the rest of the prison. Rick leaves Carl behind telling him, he may end up the last man standing and that he has to stay to protect the others.
I find this a big reveal in the show, because it shows that Carl has entered what the native Americans refer to as a right of passage, he's become a man. You can feel the pain Lori is experiencing in this scene because she knows she screwed up when she came between Rick and Shane and turned away from Rick briefly. We get a look into her mind as we hear her declare her fears of losing her family and the possibility of carrying an unborn walker. I like how they made it so realistic dramatically speaking, because as a husband and father, when your wife pulls from you you feel betrayed.
We come to Rick and company traveling through the halls with Glenn marking the way back on the walls. You can feel the anticipation as they come across a group of inmate walkers and then another, they become trapped by the horde in every direction and gather into a cell until the threat has passed. Maggie and Glenn have become separated from the group as Hershel is bitten in the leg by a walker who seemed lifeless on the ground. The group reconnects as they try to get Hershel and themselves to safety. They hold Hershel down on the floor as Rick amputates his leg by cutting off the circulation to his leg with a belt and hacking it off with an axe. The episode ends with the group discovering prisoners alive in a cell.
I really enjoyed this episode over all. Everything that has happened is a complete set up for the rest of the season.