The Walking Dead Season 2 Review

Not only was The Walking Dead so successful, but the show that was supposed to be a single season and a simple six episodes was not only renewed but doubled in length.

Season 2 begins right where the original season left off, with the group on the road trying to find a safe haven to head to. Now, for a dramatic series like The Walking Dead, story and plot is everything so I don't want to go into too many details, however the tension between Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Shane (Jon Bernthal), and Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) is still present and other characters get far better developed while some others kind of take a back seat. Suffice it to say that the group does come across a new safe haven in a rather unfortunate way, a remote farm stead, and the bulk of the thirteen episodes occur here. This also allows some much needed new characters to be added to the mix.

Getting right to the meat of things, the second season of The Walking Dead is a mixed bag. It starts off somewhat middle-ground and then gets very weak, picks up, really drops off, and then finishes with a bang. Seriously, the final three episodes of the season are the strongest the show has seen since the series premiere itself, but getting there was a bit frustrating. The problem was really inconsistent writing, and while it's clear they're trying to better develop some characters, it often doesn't work out so well. So many of the survivors make a ridiculous amount of stupid decisions it has you wondering how they could possibly have survived for so long in the first place. I also found it funny how several episodes were so character focused, in both good and bad ways, that they'd occasionally have to throw in a random zombie just to remind us that the series is actually about a zombie apocalypse.

Overall the season wasn't horrible, but there were definitely several points that stretched my patience and in many instances, really, a whole lot of nothing happened. In truth, the entire season could have been compressed into about six or so episodes, the first half could certainly have been covered in about three episodes.

Thankfully though, as I mentioned, it ends on a high note with some surprising deaths, character developments, and a more promising nod back to the comics. I'm quite excited now for season 3 to see where exactly the show goes and to see how the group dynamics will further change and evolve, because the show we started with at the beginning of the season is quite different than what we end with.

As a buddy of mine said: "&$*@'s about to get real."