3.2 Sick.
One of the biggest improvements with the third season of The Walking Dead versus the second season of the show is the greatly improved pace. In the interminable 'search For Sophia' episodes, I would find myself glancing at the clock, seeing how much time was left in the episode. These days, I glance at the clock only to discover that half the episode has gone by in a flash and, if it wasn't for the commercial breaks, I would have never noticed the way the hour has bled away.
In no small part, this is due to some seriously good writing in the first two episodes of the season. At various points last year, the cast felt unnaturally bloated, as if the show was saving up cannon fodder for the season finale, but that's not the case this season. The Walking Dead seems committed to keeping things unpredictable and moving, and that means vast improvements in both the show's A and B plots, better intersection between the two, and an overall more satisfying television experience for the viewer.
After ending last season on a high, you can definitely say the episodes remain very good. Last week's, Seed, was probably the best episode of the show since the first one, and this week's actually remains a very close second. There was plenty of action, and the special effects this week are as good or better than last week thanks to an emphasis on bloodshed. But also improved is the writing.
From show runner Glen Mazzara's impressive action last week to some very good character moments this week from Nichole Beattie, the ship seems to have righted. The talking scenes that dragged down last season are shorter and punchier, with greater impact in less words. They seem to flow more logically, and rather than giving characters soliloquies, they speak in something resembling real, human conversation. For once, Rick and Lori wandering off to talk didn't make me want to roll my eyes. Their marriage has been in trouble for months now, and the more Lori tries to make him deal with it and talk to her, the more Rick refuses to address it in any sense of the word. It's great character growth for Rick. Lori and Carl were his reason to get out into the world, his reason to fight. However, he doesn't seem to be willing to forgive and forget all the Lady MacBeth from last season, and he's showing an increased willingness to sink to any depth, no matter how cold, to ensure the survival of his group. Rick the friendly, 'let's make a deal' optimist is as dead as Dale.
This is a new Rick Grimes, to be sure. Actually, if I'm going to be honest, it's a whole new show. The Darabont era is officially over. Everyone seems to be proactively doing things this week, and that's a great step forward. They even manage to give Carol the rumblings of an actual plot these days, from flirting with Daryl to her current plan to become more than just the group's laundry wench. Even T-Dog, running joke from season two, is being active and doing more than helping carry things, which is awesome for the entire show. When group members have a purpose, then if and when they die, it means something.
That's what the latter half of season two and beginning of season three have done wonderfully. The things that happen, from conversations to killings, have substance to them. When Lori snaps at Carl for doing something great for the group, it's Lori resenting her status as group pariah and a failing mother. When Rick dismissed Lori's attempt at marriage counselling in last week's episode, that meant something too. The zombie threat is real. The outside potential threat from the prisoners is real. The internal group conflict is real, too. The actors, especially Andrew Lincoln, are investing much more into their performances given the improved material.
Realism in a show about zombies seems like the worst idea ever (and there will be much-needed comic book action when Michonne shows up again in the weeks to come) but The Walking Dead seems to be pushing hard to have subtext to its dialogue, rather than trotting out characters to make big speeches about morality and what makes us human. These quandaries are still there, but they're being expressed with a look, a few terse words, an arms-length pat on the shoulder, and a hand on the butt of a gun. In real life, nobody says everything on their mind, and for a group that has been through as much as this group has, there'd be a lot of catatonic stares and not much helpful banter.
The Walking Dead has become one of the more unpredictable programmes on television. Just when you think you have the show figured out, everything goes absolutely insane and the show gets really difficult to predict. I have no idea what's going to happen next week—even after watching the sneak preview—but I'm ready for anything.
Read Ron's spoiler-free review of the previous episode, Seed, here.
US Correspondent Ron Hogan is ready to follow Rick Grimes and company in any direction they may go. The crazier the better! Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi.
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