3.1 Seed
When it comes to television shows, there are a few different options when it comes to dealing with the changes between seasons. On some programmes, seasons blend into one another seamlessly. On other shows, the break in seasons are acknowledged, be it explicitly or implicitly. In the case of The Walking Dead, the gap between seasons two and three is addressed right up front.
The survivors, who were so near the prison at the end of last season, have been wandering around aimlessly in the wilderness for most of the winter. Given the meandering of the bulk of the first half of season two, I can't help but think this is an intentional nod to the audience. As the show kind of fumbled for direction, going this way and that, so too did the characters within the show. Or maybe Rick just didn't bother to stop and ask for directions. It seems that the survivors spent all winter going this way and that, ransacking houses for food and trying to avoid the random herds of zombies that seem to be everywhere these days. To the east, south, and north? Zombies everywhere.
Turns out the solution is right in front of them, behind fifteen feet of chain link and razor wire.
The thing that I think works best for this group is to have them all have had adventures during the break between seasons. I don't need to see these poor actors freezing to death in winter (or baking beneath the hot Georgia sun) to be aware that it happened to them. Have them grow their hair out a little bit, grow beards, gunk up their faces and clothes, and I'm happy. When one of your major characters is a young child, you're going to have to deal with his rapid aging sooner or later, so why not write it into the show? Falling Skies did this to a greater extent, both aging characters and killing some others off in the absence of Tom Mason, but you don't really have to kill anyone to make time pass, just change the circumstances.
I can safely say that the return of The Walking Dead has changed the circumstances the characters face with the introduction of the prison setting fans have been demanding. The cast is still a bit large for my taste, but splitting the survivors into two groups - everyone else on one side, Michonne and Andrea on the other - gives the show room to breathe while allowing a bit of a break from the “everyone talk about Rick's problems” theme. It also gives Michonne a chance to establish herself as a legitimate tough hombre, as if her introduction saving Andrea last season wasn't enough.
Another great idea for The Walking Dead is to increase the focus on action, at least in the early episodes. To start the show off with frantic set pieces featuring dozens of zombies and our armed survivor friends capably cutting down walker after walker is probably the smartest move showrunner (and writer for this week) Glen Mazzara and writers could have made. It differentiates itself well from the second season's premiere, in which a highlight was the survivors hiding from a horde of walkers, rather than wading into them with guns and axes and whatever else, shooting, stabbing, skewering, and beheading. There are still problems in the group, but they're not really the focus and when it seems like Lori is about to bog things down by getting Rick to talk with her, she gets brushed aside for more important concerns.
Ernest Dickerson directed some of the better episodes from last season, and he shows off some considerable skill as a horror director with some very tense scenes within the darkened prison complex. The prison is a phenomenal setting, but the real highlight of this episode is the variety of special effects in play, particularly when it comes to the range of zombies, corpses, and zombie corpses. The first bow of season three keeps the highlights on the technical skill of Greg Nicotero and the KNB FX crew, and boy do they rise to the occasion. There's a good blend of action and suspense at play, and some clever editing. The only downfall is Lori's pregnancy belly, which looks pretty fake. The fact that Sarah Wayne Callies seems to be holding it up while moving certainly doesn't help; I am aware she's merely favoring her belly in the way some pregnant women do, but it's kind of distracting and only helps to make the prosthetic more basketball-like.
Minor complaints aside, this was a strong return to television for The Walking Dead, with more of the great moments the show has given viewers and less of the stuff viewers don't want. It wasn't as good as the first season premiere, but it was better than the second season's opener. Here's hoping that the third season is also an improvement on the second. Thus far, it's off to a great start.
Read Ron's review of the season two finale, Beside The Dying Fire, here.
US Correspondent Ron Hogan has missed having zombies on television. Well, zombie movies are always on TV, but that's not the same as The Walking Dead. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi.
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