Last night, the moment a LOT of AMC viewers were waiting for finally came: the second season premiere of The Walking Dead.
“What Lies Ahead” finds Rick, Shane and the rest leaving Atlanta and trying to find something – anything – that resembles a real existence. Hijinks (and by that I mean gruesome things) ensue.
So how was the first 90 minutes of season two? You can find out after the jump, but for you who have not seen it yet, please beware. Spoilers will be discussed.
Synopsis: Rick leads the group out of Atlanta. On the highway, they are stopped by a threat unlike anything they have seen before. The group searches for someone who has gone missing.
What Was Good: When many people think of horror, they think of screaming, running and extreme violence. To the Saw generation (and even ones before then), nothing says “horror” quite like buckets of blood. For me though, the idea of “good horror” was incredibly well shown in this episode.
This was a Robert Kirkman scripted episode, and he brought out an idea from later in the series: a herd.
A herd of zombies is pretty much exactly what you would imagine it to be: an outrageously large pack of them. Early on in the episode, Dale and Rick spots them as the group is off scavenging a traffic jam in hopes to find water, food and any other supplies that will help them survive and something to fix Dale’s RV. What happens once they do spot it should go in a highlight reel for terror captured on film. With the entire cast hiding underneath the abandoned cars on the street, zombies lurching by slowly, the blood in me felt like it just stopped flowing. It was a truly terrifying sequence mostly scary because of the restraint shown, not because of any showy efforts.
It was definitely the highlight of the episode, and it was early on, but the rest was mostly solid as well.
In terms of the cast, Daryl Dixon – as played by Norman Reedus – continues to be the standout member of the cast for me. Him saving the terribly named “T-Dog” from the herd by covering him with dead bodies (and himself) was both hilarious and badass. He’s kind of a character on the periphery at this point, especially with his brother gone (but hopefully not forgotten), but his efficiency as a tracker, killer and strategist makes him stand out. Plus, he and Rick gutting a zombie to see if it had recently eaten Sophia was disgusting and a little funny (mostly because Andrew Lincoln’s range of faces).
Speaking of him, Rick Grimes in the book is the emotional and storytelling center, and Andrew Lincoln continues to do a fine job leading this cast. His strength and consistency – amidst a slew of fragile, broken people – makes him stand out in the worst moments and shine in the best. The ending only sets up even more quality moments for him, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
I’m enjoying the way that they are positioning Shane and Andrea in the story as well. It’s different than in the comics, but as soon as they didn’t kill Shane (bonus points to Kirkman for setting up them potentially doing it at the end of the episode as a red herring for fans), all bets were off. Shane and Andrea’s roles as “great third wheels” is an interesting take, and it’s different enough to make it exciting for both new and old fans.
While it is painful to see so much animosity between Dale and Andrea as a comic fan, I have to say, the row growing between them, especially when Andrea calls him out for making her save his life, is an engaging one from a dramatic standpoint. Dale continues to be a badass, especially when he shares his secret with T-Dog about the RV being fixed already. Awesome.
Last big thing: a lot of great shots and music in this episode. No matter what you can say about anything else on the show, the production value is top notch, and it’s always a joy to hear a Bear McReary score.
Continued belowWhat Was Bad: There were two Rick sequences that were a little…rough. The opening section where Rick is calling out to Morgan on his walky talky both went on too long and was a little hamfisted. It is absolutely a Rick thing to do, but given the length and the placement of it, it felt like starting the episode at a disadvantage. And then, at the end where he has his god talk, it swallows up the momentum of the episode strictly for the purpose of creating “a sign.”
I understand why they did both of those things, but the execution and the placement in the episode as a whole neutralized any potential value they brought to the episode for me.
As I mentioned before, I enjoy that Andrea is changing seemingly because Shane is still alive. That said, in the comics she is one of my favorite characters because she is a strong, powerful woman. In the episode, she just comes across as someone who wants out. Sure, that is what she wants, but do something with it besides just having people talk about it. It, to me, is more of a distraction and forced plot point than anything. It just doesn’t feel natural.
I also don’t like the manufactured rift aimed at Rick. Everyone getting pissed at him because he didn’t save Sophia seems completely asinine strictly from a logic standpoint, and the execution, particularly in Melissa McBride’s performance as Carol, comes across as second-rate.
Overall: Here’s the funny thing about this show. I watched the 90 minute premiere and I liked it. I enjoyed it for sure. But it was, besides the herd scene, kind of a long episode of mostly “pretty good” level entertainment. There weren’t any moments where I felt glued to the TV.
Then afterwards I watched “Homeland” on Showtime and the whole episode I felt like I was going to die because of the tension in a simple conversation.
I think what I’m trying to say is if The Walking Dead can’t knock a season premiere out of the park, maybe it just isn’t a great show. It’s a good show – don’t get me wrong – but not a great one. This episode did a solid job of reintroducing the characters, building tension and moving the story forward while having one absolutely stand-out sequence. There were some problems with it, but nothing killer. Here’s hoping next week can up the ante a bit, but still, it was a solid episode overall.
