The Walking Dead: Mid-Season 2 Premiere

It's been a long two month wait, but The Walking Dead is finally back with another solid episode that continues to explore the fragile group dynamic of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and company as they deal with the fallout from the Hershel Farm Massacre. Over the past six episodes they have been held together by the common goal of finding Sophia (Madison Lintz), but now that her terrible fate has been revealed, everyone is forced reexamine their place not only within the group, but within the new world order. The hunt for Sophia at least kept them busy, but now what? The overhead shot of everyone walking their separate ways after burying their loved ones says it all. The Cherokee Rose now symbolizes loss. Factions are forming, and various players are vying for the role of alpha. If you thought Walkers were scary, try dealing with the living.

Like past episodes this one has plenty of well-crafted scenes that further develop the characters and ramp up the conflict while also exploring themes of love and hope because when you get right down to it, after you've taken care of your basic necessities, what else is there in the zombie apocalypse? Shane (Jon Bernthal) continues his downward spiral, and the scene between him and Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) is a great example of how sometimes having characters remain silent can have more impact than letting them blabber on. Dale and Shane could have gotten into a huge argument, but instead the writers let Shane do all the yelling, further implicating himself, while Dale just stares him down not uttering a word, a mixture of hate and fear in his eyes. In another good scene, young Carl (Chandler Riggs) gives his mom Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) a stone cold look and tells her he would have shot Sophia just like his dad did. Lori can only stare back at him, shaken by his loss of innocence. She is losing her son to the grim world surrounding them, and she is also pregnant, struggling with the reality of bringing an innocent child into a dying world.

Scenes of loss were nicely juxtaposed with Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie's (Lauren Cohan) burgeoning love, a hopeful reminder of what it means to be alive even when the world is mostly dead. The back-and-forth between Rick and Glenn as they drive to town to find Hershel was fun to watch, and when Glenn expresses doubt about Maggie's love for him, Rick's encouraging reply is spot on, “This is a good thing. Something we don't get enough of these days. Enjoy it.” Enjoy it indeed, because once they discover Hershel drowning his sorrows in the local bar, it's right back to the tension-filled scenes that make The Walking Dead one of the best shows on TV.

“There is no hope for any of us,” Hershel (Scott Wilson) tells Rick, putting him to the test. If Rick loses hope now, death wins. The look in his eyes says it all; he's tired, staring the abyss in the face, but he knows he must remain strong not only for the group but also for Carl, Lori, and his unborn child. And just when Hershel seems to be coming over to Rick's side, enter Dave (Michael Raymond-James) and Tony (Aaron Munoz), two armed wanderers who supposedly want to join their group. As I said earlier, zombies are scary, but not as scary as the living. Zombies are pretty straight forward: they want to eat you; therefore, they must die. Not so with other people. Do they want to help you? Harm you? It drives home the fact that rebuilding society one person at a time is the real nightmare. Who can you trust? Rick's already got his hands full with his own little dysfunctional microcosm of society. Can he afford to give aide to others? This scene is another great example of how to write conflict, and I have to admit I cheered when Rick gunned down the interlopers like a righteous sheriff in a classic Western. He's taking care of his own, no matter what. Good stuff.

While I enjoyed this episode overall, the only misstep is when Lori heads out on her own in search of Rick. I simply don't believe after all she has been through up to that point, she would put herself and her unborn child at risk. Not to mention the car crash seems contrived. Considering the high quality of writing on this show, I was surprised they used this weak plot device to put her in danger and raise the stakes. I don't understand why she didn't just send gun-lovin'-zombie-killin' Andrea (Laurie Holden) to find Rick. Oh well. Hopefully, it pays off in the end.

The Walking Dead continues to focus on character, and that's why it's such a success. Sure there is the constant threat of Walkers, but it's not your typical zombie gore fest full of underdeveloped meat bags waiting to be gruesomely devoured. There's plenty of blood and guts, but it's the characters that are the heart of the show, and I'm glad each episode has taken the time to develop them because now I'll actually feel bad when one of them inevitably dies a horrible death. I am fully invested in these characters. I truly hope and fear for them. Even Shane. Now that's great screenwriting.