The Walking Dead (New Show On AMC)

[logan82]

Shane was killed off much much earlier in the comics. Before they even leave the first camp close to Atlanta. He was killed by Carl while zombie Shane was killed by Rick.

[mtrebs]

I really think the show has gotten better from the last episode of the first half of season 2 onward.

 

For some reason I was under the impression that everyone would turn into a walker after they died, not just those that were bit/scratched. What I am surprised at is how fast people were turning into walkers after they died in the last episode. It seemed like in season 1 that people were laying there dead for quite a while before they were reanimated.

[thebruce44]

Shane was killed off much much earlier in the comics. Before they even leave the first camp close to Atlanta. He was killed by Carl while zombie Shane was killed by Rick.

 

When the show first started I actually thought that would be the ending of Season 1. Sort of shows how slow the TV series is vs the comics.

[razzzorsharp]

Shane was killed off much much earlier in the comics. Before they even leave the first camp close to Atlanta. He was killed by Carl while zombie Shane was killed by Rick.

 

When the show first started I actually thought that would be the ending of Season 1. Sort of shows how slow the TV series is vs the comics.

 

I wouldn't say that, just look at Dale.

 

They are still at the farm but they are also doing other things and other storylines as well.

[thebruce44]

Shane was killed off much much earlier in the comics. Before they even leave the first camp close to Atlanta. He was killed by Carl while zombie Shane was killed by Rick.

 

When the show first started I actually thought that would be the ending of Season 1. Sort of shows how slow the TV series is vs the comics.

 

I wouldn't say that, just look at Dale.

 

They are still at the farm but they are also doing other things and other storylines as well.

 

I wouldn't say one early death makes the overall plot arc not slow relative to the comics.

[razzzorsharp]

I wouldn't say one early death makes the overall plot arc not slow relative to the comics.

 

Sophia as well. How would you compare them? Issues vs. Episodes? Just because one has more character development doesn't mean it is going at a slow pace. This isn't a zombie show, it's a show with zombies.

[pretendastronaut]

I've been a vocal critic on the pace of this show at times, but you really can't compare the pace of the comics versus the pace of the show, they're just entirely different mediums, with entirely different expectations.

 

If anything, Shane's death and our time on the farm, illustrates how much the show can differ from the comic, as to make such a comparison unfair. As noted above, in the comic, Shane never even makes it to the farm, and this entire second half of season two doesn't even exist in the comic. If fact, getting away from heavy influence from the comic is maybe what made the second half of season two better, from a pacing perspective. I've vocalized before that 3-4 episodes of the first half of this season were a waste of time, but the first half of the season was largely reflecting the farm storyline from the comic and twiddling their fingers waiting for the high drama ending.

[berniebrewer4life]

 

I wouldn't say one early death makes the overall plot arc not slow relative to the comics.

 

 

The overall storyline is slower, but they are injecting new things/things in different places to liven it up. The 2nd half of the season was pretty fast paced, IMO. Of course it probably seemed that way because of the sluggish pace of the 1st half.

[TracyThom]

 

I wouldn't say one early death makes the overall plot arc not slow relative to the comics.

 

 

The overall storyline is slower, but they are injecting new things/things in different places to liven it up. The 2nd half of the season was pretty fast paced, IMO. Of course it probably seemed that way because of the sluggish pace of the 1st half.

 

 

^^ This. They were simply treading water the first half of this season. The plot was not progressing at all. At least they are moving the plot along with the past few episodes. Just a couple things:

 

1.) In the comics they cover humans becoming zombies at death whether or not they were bitten. Comic spoiler, but Rick went back and dug up Shane and found that he had turned. I'm still about 10 issues behind, so I don't know if they have explained the cause in the comics yet.

 

2.) Carl has little to no firearm experience, yet he fires off a perfect headshot at 15 yards?

 

3.) I think they have spent enough time on the farm. Hopefully the finale sees the group seeking different shelter.

[DuWayne Steurer]

The producers have made it abundantly clear that they are not following the comic book all that closely. While they may use elements from the comic, they are not using the comic as a storyboard for the tv series.

 

Really disappointed that they killed Shane off, but his arc had run it's course I guess. Also, Lori essentially got him killed by giving him a glimmer of hope that there was something between them again, even if it was just Shane mis-reading what it was that she told him. Shane wasn't really a good person, but he was a fantastic character.

 

I kinda think it's a given that the farm has expended its usefullness, what with the horde of what appears to be a few hundred walkers headed their way. I don't know what next week has in store, but it looks to be pretty awesome.

[GoudaBrew]

Agreed on Shane. It was clear that he could no longer coexist with Rick. Better to kill him off in dramatic fashion than to drag it out any longer.

 

I have to assume the group gets driven off the farm by walkers next week and the season will end with the group on the run. I also have to think that several characters get killed off. T Dawg is hardly in the show at all so I think he's a lock. I wouldn't be surprised if Hershel and his suicidal daughter get killed off too.

[thebruce44]

I wouldn't say one early death makes the overall plot arc not slow relative to the comics.

 

Sophia as well. How would you compare them? Issues vs. Episodes? Just because one has more character development doesn't mean it is going at a slow pace. This isn't a zombie show, it's a show with zombies.

 

I must have missed the character development outside of the last few episodes. And the two of the three characters they developed were promptly killed off.

 

Don't get me wrong, these last couple of episodes have been much better, but I was close to tuning out.

[radman12484]

I don't get hooked on shows too often. But, this one has me hooked from the very first day. With that being said, I see T-Dogg, Herschel and the crazy daughter that was trying to kill herself getting knocked off next week.

[razzzorsharp]

Pretty good finale and by the looks of the new character and setting, it should set up nicely for season 3.

[PeaveyFury]

I agree, nice way to end the season. For as annoyed as I was the moment Lori flipped the car, the show seemingly flipped a switch right there and became really good TV from basically the bar scene to the end of the season. Looking forward to season three immensely, especially after the Michonne teaser!

[pretendastronaut]

I agree fully with PeavyFury, Lori flipping the car was so close to last straw for me, but it was really the last really dumb thing they did all season. The Michonne teaser was perfect and so was the prison. For as much flak as I gave the show, it finished really strong this time.

[RobertR]

Much better finale than season 1. I'm convinced that this writing crew still can't really write characters, but by resolving some issues and killing off some characters, they've moved the story forward. It may not always be organic, but the willingness to off major characters in horrific ways coupled with the always good zombie attack work, gives the series an edge. Sometimes that overcomes some headscratching writing.

 

It may not be firing on all cylinders, but at least if fires on some cylinders and seems to be moving in a good direction now.

 

There's still lots of work to be done though to live up to the potential. Like figuring out consistent character arcs. I swear that they pick Lori's reaction and actions through some random method involving dice and charts. Somebody will have to explain Hershel's arc to me as well, he's gone from "they're just sick people" to advocating killing prisoners and gunning down zombies without blinking an eye with seemingly no connection to the previous version. And I'd laugh like hell if T-Dog walks away from everything as the sole survivor. I'd complain that he's a bad character, but given that the writers have given him absolutely nothing to do, I think cipher is the more appropriate description. Carl apparently has the ability to disappear from a guarded house like Michael Meyers and the ability to track people down like Wolverine. The writing is still the biggest issue with the show even when it pays off with big moments. The connective tissue between those big moments really needs to become much stronger.

 

Robert

[pretendastronaut]

That's a good analysis RobertR, spot on.

 

I never watch that Talking Dead show they have on later, but I watched a bit of it randomly last night. They asked about the oddness of Lori's response to Rick killing Shane and the screenwriter said he meant it to be Lori being upset at herself. Right, everybody got that.

[thebruce44]

Yea, Lori's reaction was puzzling, even after the explanation. The two big reveals at the end were a welcome addition, and the writers said that the pace of the last three episodes would carry over going forward. I got the impression that they were trying to build the characters and back stories, which is why it was slow previously. As others have said, they did a relatively poor job writing that, so hopefully they stick to the action with some dialogue mixed in when necessary.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Lori's character is an absolute mess.

 

The finale was great, but her character continues to be a contradiction with what she says previously, as well as contradictions to what the actress says in interviews.

 

I'm interested in the reveal of Michonne, but as a non-reader of the comic, I fear that the reveal of chained 'pet zombies' with no arms and no jaws, as well as a samurai/ninja girl could take this in a cartoony direction that won't appeal to me.

[RobertR]

Yeah, I'm not a reader of the comic either, although I've picked up enough about Michonne and the Governor through general osmosis, and I wonder about the introduction of more comic booky characters such as a badass ninja/samurai and an outright villain into the mix. It could pay off, but I can also imagine a scenario like Kick Ass where the introduction of Hit Girl and Big Daddy was both the best and worst thing to happen to the narrative.

 

I do think Season 3 is the make or break season for me. I'm only two episodes in, but I'm already invested much more in Downton Abbey than I am in the zombie apocalypse show because I actually like the characters and care what happens to them. Sherlock took less than 30 minutes to get me hooked and The Walking Dead has nobody operating close to the level of Benedict Cumberbatch as an actor. Game of Thrones took about 4 episodes before it started paying off my patience. I'm about 20 hours into The Walking Dead and there are more characters I find annoying than interesting, which is testing my patience despite my love of the premise. If I still feel this way in a year, I'm likely done. Finding good shows/movies to watch in this era is not a problem.

 

Robert

[DuWayne Steurer]

Robert, I agree 100%. If season 3 goes 'down the rabbit hole', so to speak, I can honestly say I'd be done with the show. While I'm very much interested in the show, a large scale conflict with a cartoon/comic style villain is going to turn me off. I'm not saying that such a move would be a bad thing, it's just not something that I'd be interested in.

[pretendastronaut]

I'm sorry, the concern about things becoming to "comic-bookey/cartoony" is just kind of funny to me. I mean, the show started with a guy waking up from a coma to find the world overrun with zombies, who rides a horse into Atlanta, escapes from the massive zombie horde alive while covering himself in zombie parts and in the end, has fatefully joined the same group his family has.

 

Anyway, to address the concerns, without giving anything away, I wouldn't over-read the Michonne introduction. While both Michonne and the Governor are high profile characters, there are also characters that make sense in this new world.

[TURBO]

Is "Michonne" the hooded chick with the zombie pets?

[PeaveyFury]

Yes, that's Michonne.