The Walking Dead: Season 2

When former showrunner Frank Darabont "left" THE WALKING DEAD before the start of the second season, I was extremely worried for its future. It seemed to be going in a very positive direction after only a few episodes in its first season, and much of that seemed to be Darabont's passion for the project as well as creator Robert Kirkman's desire to not slavishly adhere to his own source material. That was a surprising high point for the first season, since the comic itself is so amazingly good, and has several fans, that he would be more than willing to depart from his own material in order to keep audiences on their toes. It was even rumored that a major cast member was ready to walk off set since Darabont's leaving, but who it was was never confirmed, and it certainly didn't happen. But when the show came back for its first episode of the second season, it made a point of adhering to certain major plot points of the comic while keeping the relationships and characters fresh, and with Glen Mazzara as the new showrunner, it seemed like the show was going to keep going along with all of the forward momentum it had gained from the previous season. However, I had some concerns about the bonafides of Mazzara. He had been an Exec Producer on several disappointing TV series, like "Life", "Crash" and "HawthoRNe", but he was also an exec on one of the best cop shows ever, "The Shield". So, with any work on "The Shield" cancelling any of the poorer parts of his career out, it was looking like smooth scary sailing for this season. Now, it's worth pointing out that THE WALKING DEAD has easily become the most contentious piece of genre television since SyFy's reboot of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. If you look at the internet after an episode, it's aflutter with conversations proclaiming it either one of the worst shows ever or one of the best shows ever. It's also worth mentioning that neither side is right. When an episode of TWD is good, it ranks amongst some of the very best TV has to offer. Episodes like "Chupacabra" where Daryl is stranded in the wilderness, "Pretty Much Dead Already" when the group opens the barn, and "Better Angels" as Shane enacts some of his solutions to some of his problems are some of the best episodes of TV in recent memory. But further more, there is another group of viewers that sound off even more frequently than either other group: The "I'm Watching Because I Want It To Get Better" group. This is the group with the most complaints, and in my opinion, the ones with the most validity to their claims. They want the show to have tighter writing. They want the characters not to be glossed over. They don't want too many 'Red Shirts' on the show (referring of course to the old "Star Trek" and how the nameless characters existed merely to get killed in an episode). They want the show to keep moving. There are moments that I agree with all of these statements, but I'm seeing what the show is doing (or trying to do) and am much more willing to forgive the show's occasional plot hole or deus ex machina or the "This Character is About to Do Something REALLY Stupid" moments in favor of the work being done by the cast, crew and creative staff. However, it's far from perfect when plot and characters start to get bogged down from over-expository moments to a particular episode. Characters like Lori, Dale, Carol and ESPECIALLY T-Dog are essentially lost in the character arc shuffle despite the major things happen (Carol and Sophia, Lori and The Surprise, Dale and his staunch sense of humanity, and T-Dog and his... well... he did have that arm injury... yes, I'm essentially calling T-Dog a useless character bordering on being the "Token Black Stereotype"). However, when there are moments of their arcs moving forward, they do so with tremendous momentum. But even with Rick struggling to lead the group as a paragon of virtue, Andrea overcoming her personal demons and becoming a strong element to the group's assault force, Carl spending formative moments in the midst of far too many moral grey areas for a child to have to experience, the new character of Herschel and his staunch religious and moral beliefs and then having those beliefs shattered, and Glenn and his discovery of his more masculine side with the help of new character Maggie... this season belonged to one character: Shane. If there is a character that we can identify with the most AND the least, it's Shane. Here's a man willing to do anything to keep himself safe as well as the woman and child he loves. He also is willing to commit to an almost morally bankrupt existence so that he can do those things. Jon Bernthal proves to be the most versatile cast member for this season, and his arc is the most compelling. If Bernthal doesn't get an Emmy nod for his work on this season, it honestly won't make sense. Speaking of the cast, there are several who shine: Jeffrey DeMunn as the ever-watchful ever-wise Dale, Laurie Holden as the struggling-to-find-her-place Andrea, Steven Yeun as the occasionally-wisecracking and romantically-challenged Glenn, Andrew Lincoln as the constantly-conflicted Rick, but the other two strongest performances besides Bernthal are Scott Wilson as Herschel and Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon. Sadly, the weakest link to the cast is Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori. She didn't impress during her run on the show PRISON BREAK, and just seems too far out of her depth since most of her scenes are with other, better performances. Also sad are the criticisms of Chandler Riggs playing young Carl. He's actually not out of his depth here, and his character is that of a young boy who is trying to maintain some of his youthful nature despite the omnipresent death that looms around him in either physical or metaphysical form. He's reckless, impatient, irresponsible, and sometimes flat-out dumb. But surprisingly, most kids that age are like that, and I don't think that the character or the young actor deserves the criticism he gets. From a technical standpoint, the effects work on the show is flawless. Greg Nicotero, who also transitioned into directing during this season, has supervised all the VFX and makeup and has done so with an expert eye for detail, even if some of that detail is EXTREMELY gory. Other directors like Ernest Dickerson, who's directed several episodes of this show, as well as many other shows such as BURN NOTICE, DEXTER, TREME, and most especially THE WIRE (not arguably the greatest cop show ever to hit television), shows a great eye for striking visuals as well as being a very good actor's director, which was especially proven in his direction of the season finale, "Beside The Dying Fire". Other strong creative forces kept proving themselves time and again this season, such as writer/co-producer Evan Reilly, who came from another favorite show of mine, RESCUE ME, and Kirkman himself who did his share of heavy lifting in the writing and exec producing this season, despite being the writer of at least three monthly comic books as well. The only problem I have with the show consistently is the same problem I have with all action or genre-oriented entertainment: The unerring shootist or unlimited ammo UNLESS the moment requires them to run out of ammo, or miss to create tension or suspense. You see, characters walk around this show like Wild Bill Hickok in a John Woo film. Sure, there were moments when Shane and Rick taught the members of the group how to shoot, but BELIEVE ME, you still can't shoot a zombie in the head hanging out of a moving car no matter how many months you might have been practicing, and you can't fire 20-odd rounds of a 7-round shotgun. The only time the people miss or run out of ammo is when the story requires it, like reloading with a Walker creeping up behind you, or just grazing the skull of a fellow group member when if it had been a Walker, it would be a completely perfect headshot. The most common complaint I hear about this show is the lack of Walkers. That is one of those complaints that I dismiss entirely out of hand. You want constant zombie presence and constant zombie killing, watch the RESIDENT EVIL films. THE WALKING DEAD is not just a zombie show, much in the same way that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA wasn't just a space-battle show. The characters have to interact and grow, especially in an environment such as this where society no longer exists other than in their own memories. Morality is something that appears to be the relic of a bygone era, and this is a land that seems to be ruled strictly by Darwinian principles. Concepts of good and evil have become luxuries, and the new law is survival. Some members of this group believe that very strongly, and some are shouting to the heavens that there must be a better way to live other than just survival. The argument could honestly be made either way, and more often than not, those are the moments when the show can either be at its best or it can wither away any momentum it had. The show is already great, but finding a balance between words and deeds will be how the show will live or die, but there are far too many smart and talented people behind this program for that to happen. The show has only had 19 episodes. Young shows will have growing pains, but when I rewatched the season finale, there were too many things that showed even more promise for the new season.

The first season of this show was often clumsy with its unfamiliar characters, and usually focused too much on the zombie/horror aspect, which we had all seen too many times before to be much affected by ... In other words, because we didn't know much about these characters, we didn't care too much about their efforts; whether they survived or not was a matter mostly of indifference. The presentation was amazing, yes, but still, the show only showed promise; it was not a good product. Season two is different, an amazing experience. The characters are developed in such a way, and the zombie world portrayed in such a dramatic light, that it transcends the horror genre and becomes more theater than anything. Wonderful stuff, almost Shakespearean. Some of the best writing I have ever seen for television. Brilliant acting and direction, with a superb cast. The Rick versus Shane subplot is amazing for several reasons: 1st, the anti-hero is portrayed as being superficially right, but morally wrong, so that we are led to question which is the more valuable trait in this world, the survivalist instincts Shane possesses, or the conscience of a moral man, which Rick maintains. Rick (the moralist) is consistently wrong in his decisions, yet has the favor of the group, whereas the villain of the season becomes Shane, who has nonetheless acted more heroically than any of the others. Yet in the end, who lives and who dies in this new world, and why? A wonderful paradox unfolding, very engaging to watch. The romantic triangle between Rick, Shane, and Laurie is deep in a way that puts most other television writers' efforts to shame. You have the fact that Shane is responsible for saving Rick's family again and again; without him, he would have no reason to continue on. And you have the nature of Laurie's love, a continual question. Did she love Shane or only find comfort with him? And you have Shane's love, continually disregarded throughout both seasons (as Rick declares to him at one pivotal point in the story, "You think you love Laurie, but you don't." The viewer, meanwhile, is not so sure.) It could even be argued in the last two episodes that the anti-hero becomes the hero only to be killed by the hero turned anti-hero. In any case, it's a very thoughtful underpinning to the whole. I found other plot developments nearly as engaging: the vain efforts to find Sophia, the "judge, jury, and executioner" episode, where Rick is called on (again) to decide which is more important: the safety of the group, or the preservation of his humanity, and the whole hope issue in a world where civilization has vanished and mankind faces its "extinction event." This last was toyed with in the final episodes of the first season, but not nearly so well as here. A beautiful scene unfolds in a deserted bar between Rick and another survivor that I found striking: it is impossible to tell who is acting rightly and who in the gray or the black, who the villain. Everyone and everything is mixed up here, heroes and villains, friends and enemies. Shane soon proceeds down a path to murder Rick ostensibly "for the good of the group" yet does not do so, placing his weapon back in his belt at one point and raising his arms. We are given the feeling that he may not be capable of murdering his friend outright. A great scene. Not anything to complain about here, other than I wish there was more of it. The Walking Dead seasons are too short.

All of the discs work fine. My favorite season for sure.

Creative shows sometimes lose steam in Season Two, but with THE WALKING DEAD Season 2, it only gets better. The writers are on top of their game in Season 2 as our groups of survivors tries to out run the "walking dead" and find safety. The writers delve deeply into the moral issues facing the survivors. Nothing is simple and nothing is easy, yet there is an order in all the chaos if they can all stay together. Our groups leaves Atlanta looking for the safe haven they image has been created by the military. The "walkers" are everywhere and in one frightening attack, young Sophia runs off into the woods. Here is where the story begins to take a turn. Should the others risk their lives searching from someone who may already be dead? After a series of mishaps, the groups end up on the farm of Herschel and his daughters. Somehow his small band has been able to stay in place and survive. Now the power struggle begins between Hershel and Rick and Shane. There are some great thought provoking plot twists in season 2. Watch the season and see how the writers have incorporated so much drama into the series. For the survivors, the world as they knew it is gone. There is no longer a government to provide order and protections. It's every man for himself and can they survive. It was all the moral dilemmas that astounded me in this season. Are the "walking dead" still people who could be cured at some point? What if your loved one was a "walking dead"? Is is right to risk more lives to possibly save one life? It was a random act of fate, that handfuls of people did not become part of the walking dead. It wasn't based on good or evil just chance. What happens when groups of survivors come into contact with each other? I just could not stop watching this series. Each episode is more intense and brings up more moral problems. New characters are added and established characters are lost to the zombies. How will it all end? There have been countless zombie movies and shows through the years. What exactly is a zombie and are they dead or living in another reality? This show could be another one of the silly zombie shows yet it is not. There is compassion in the hearts of people desperately hoping to survive and find the world they have lost. Inter-personal conflicts are real. How would any of us act under these circumstances. Shane becomes a major player in Season 2 as he goes deeper and deeper into some brewing madness. We see an evil side of Shane this season that is unnerving. Our group finally is not on the run for the time being. Hershel's farm is a refuge but there is an awful secret he is hiding. The show is simply amazing. If there is one weak spot in the plot, it's the constant movement of people into dangerous situations. If Carl disappears, Rick and Shane go looking for him. When they are gone too long, Lori goes looking for Rick. Rick and Shane return with Carl but now Lori is missing. This scenario plays out over and over to where it goes a bit overboard. At some point, almost everyone is out in the woods looking for someone. Are these risks worth it? Incredible writing and great actors make THE WALKING DEAD a true gem. The writing in phenomenal as are the actors.

I totally blame my son for getting me into this series! And so love watching it with him! We had a marathon once Season 2 arrived at the house and watched both seasons back to back... and then dived into the extras. Regardless of what you think of Shane, Carl, Lori, Rick, Glen, Dale, Daryl, Andrea, Hershel, Maggie, or any of the other characters in this series, their struggle to survive is fascinating but what really catches my attention is the 'bratty' attitudes, backstabbing, and arguments amongst the survivors. There are characters you'll love - and those you love to hate ... and it's led to many interesting discussions between my son and I (he's hating Andrea at the moment, and I personally want to drop kick Lori! - and we both love Dale and Daryl!) Most of Season 2 was fun to watch but nothing dramatic until the last couple of episodes - and believe me they ended the season with a show we watched several times just because it was so spectacular - and my son was fascinated by the chick at the end with the zombies on leashes. The makeup artists did an amazing job with all the costumes and makeup so the gore is perfect without being overwhelming and quite honestly it's sinfully fun to sit down and enjoy watching the episodes knowing that it's something I do not normally watch... in fact it's one of the few shows I do enjoy watching and look forward to each new episode. Onto the extras... Since we never watched the webisodes (slow internet and limited bandwith), we were captivated by them but the whole time I wondered how it played into the series - besides the zombies, fear and struggle to survive but then at the end we realized just how it fit - and then Cody decided we must watch both seasons all over again because he's sure there are other things he missed the first couple times - and I'll be right there watching it with him. On a more personal note however, my son hates to read but after watching the first season he was curious about the books so I bought him the entire series. He's read them all and keeps pointing out the differences between the books and the series so he really appreciated the extra that explains why they changed the order some of the events happened. I'm so ready for Season 3 to start! Unfortunately will have to be downloading the episodes since our television network no longer carries AMC... but refuse to miss them!

I ordered this set, "The Walking Dead Season 2" on Blu-Ray at the same time as I ordered the 1st & 3rd Seasons. All on Blu-Ray! After the first season's initial 6 episode trial run, the fandom was enormous! AMC heard the calls and grabbed the show for a 2nd season. The shows following is at a level of Star Trek or Star Wars in their own right. Trying to remain true to the graphic novel, Robert Kirkman has allowed the producers to make their own added material that is TV oriented. The pair is a match made in heaven! I should first say that ALL 3 SETS OF BLU-RAYS, have arrived to me as promised. As advertised and earlier than expected! Thanks to the professionalism at Amazon, working the holiday rush was a challenge, but my product was not only before time, it was packaged well and I could see that care was taken to be sure that my sets arrived together. Sorting facilities from 2 locations. 5 Stars all the way! As for this amazing and ground breaking series, we see a group of people from diverse backgrounds band together for a common cause. Survival. Ordinary people become soldiers. Become warriors then killers as needed. It really is on a literal level, kill or be killed or be eaten. Worse yet, become the Undead! We see the progression, or digression or people to either step up and become leaders or ego maniacs. When the world falls away, law and order are things of the past, we mutate back to primal behaviors. Even those who are leaders, lead by brutality when needed. The maniacal grow into Hitleristic shells of "their way or no way." All live by the weapon. Hand to hand combat does not work in a world where a hand away means a hand bitten. This is brutal. Absolutely sadistic at times. Compassion is fleeting but very much welcome for the cherished moments they arrive. And as soon as that tender moment might come, death rears its ugly head. The living are, at times, more fearsome than the Undead. Thus far, the Governor has been the most Demonic. Merle was close, but just in it for the kicks. I think Shane was as Dale described, "Made for this world." Even now, as season 3 ended, Rick is questionable in his mental stability. Can he really be a "farmer Brown?" No more the leader? Hmm... So far the head count has shuffled much. Those we hated at first are fan favs' now. Hey, they've earned it. Of course, we have seen up to Season 4 mid-season finale'. I really hate those! But this does offer me the time to watch all these previous episodes now in sweet Blu-Ray! Who knows what lies ahead? If you are looking for a package to buy and either catch up, or start to find out what so many others are talking about... You must buy "The Walking Dead Series." Treat yourself to what real horror is! This is "Trekker fan" I hope I have enlightened you to something new! What a trip!

Walking Dead has been hugely popular in the comic scene for awhile now, yet the introduction of this AMC show skyrocketed the whole franchise into fame and notability among not just the 'nerdy' markets yet the TV market itself. This surge of popularity has given the franchise an amazing amount of room to branch out to video games, novels, collectibles, etc. So the second season of the TV show was bound to have a lavish collectors edition, and while it isn't a letdown, there are some annoying drawbacks. For start, the "head-case" is pretty cool. It does come from a pretty iconic scene exclusive to the second season of the Walking Dead. The blu-ray discs fit perfectly inside, and the opening/closing mechanism seems pretty solid, yet I keep them with the other blu-ray discs because I see no reason to hide them inside the head. The detail of head seems similar to a high quality Halloween mask up-close, yet looks fantastic from a distance away, and I also love the big title-words underneath the head. Overall, it looks really awesome on a shelf, I have mine on my shelf dedicated to Walking Dead where it holds all my books, issues, and blu-rays of the franchise. The season itself is pretty awesome, I've found that most readers of the book wish it stuck closer to the book and went through these events much faster. (For comparison, the first two season of this show only cover the first twelve issues of the book, and each issue is very short.) Yet I find the second season to be a more dramatic, realistic, and character driven version of the book. There's more time for each character, and more pacing for each event. There's still certainly some issues with the show, most notably two of the characters are jaw-droppingly more stupid in the show, and some other characters are seemingly not in the show. The video and audio quality is terrific. Due to the nature of the show, there's a very gritty look with plenty of film grain, yet it all looks great. There's a general lack of a soundtrack, so there's plenty of time to notice all the immersive background sounds, most notably a very subtle effect of a horde of zombies moaning into a collective disturbing feeling that is used numerous times. While the more intense sounds of gunshots and yelling all stay crisp and clear. This release is spread along four blu-rays, so it's obvious there's a very decent amount of extras here. Yet, the first season had at least one audio commentary on each episode, while this one only has audio commentary on five of the thirteen episodes (and the 20 minute collection of the webisodes). The rest of the special features are pretty awesome, a huge amount of behind the scene and interview featurettes which each clock in around seven minutes. The best part is probably the 30 minutes of deleted scenes. Now while this release is pretty awesome, there is a looming threat of there being another release of the second season in order to get another $40-$50 out of the diehard fans. This was done with the first season, and it could very well be done with this one with the rest of the audio commentaries. Yet even if that does happen, one could still be happy with this release just for the zombie head-case.

B4 i actually talk about this Epic series i would like 2 address all u hatin naysayers out there 1st off no 1 is holding a gun 2 ur head and forcing u 2 watch the show so its really simple 2 just turn the channel if u don't like what ur seeing idiots smart people like myself do not watch shows if i can't stand them secondly there r alot of great series on tv right now but it bothers me when i see people saying nothing but good things about shows like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones don't get me wrong im a fan of those 2 but most people aren't as critical 2wards those shows they way the are 2wards The Walking Dead no show is perfect but i can honestly say TWD gets as close as possible this is truly Excellent TV and all u haters need 2 chill out. Also 4 all the people claiming the second season started off 2 slow u obviously don't understand there is a diffrence between doing 6 ep and 13 ep so of course there is more room for story and if it wasn't 4 the great character development and drama the show wouldn't be as special it would just be another addition 2 the already flooded market of mindless action of people blowing off zoombie heads every 2 sec and we all know how long that stays fun 4 and then u would be complaing about that and lastly this is the 1st zoombie platform worthy of high praise and awards due 2 the acting Once again i need 2 stress that this is the best show on tv right now and that original series this captivating are extremely rare. This is the best post apocalyptic story i have ever witnessed the writers and the actors make u really care about these characters and u really want them 2 survive while watching u really feel like ur part of the group and when some1 falls victim 2 the zoombies u really feel a sense of losing a dear friend. sometimes the show drags out some plots but when they finally reveal a certain mystery it is always something surprising that u won't see coming and it will be well worth the wait i really wish this show can last at least 10 seasons if not more cause i can't get enough!