“The Walking Dead Season Two Mid-Season Review”

SPOILERS FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Bernthal, pre-"murder haircut"

The Walking Dead has shambled its way to the mid-season mark, and is taking a break from lumbering about our Sunday nights until February.  So far we’ve made it to Hershel’s Farm, Carl got shot, Maggie and Glenn (and Andrea and Shane) got it on, and Rick learned that not only was his wife knocked up, but also that she slept with Shane when she believed he was dead. Quite a lot for a six-episode run. So when we compare this half waypoint to the previous season, how does it stack up?

Not too bad. I had some problems with this batch of episodes, which I’ll get to soon, but as a whole the season has had some great moments and awesome zombie action. Not only that, but there has been some pretty big character moments, with the best being the slow, gradual disintegration of Shane’s mental state.  Jon Bernthal has done a phenomenal job this season showcasing the absolute bug nuts levels of crazy that Shane has gotten to, yet for all of his actions, you still kind of feel bad for the guy. Here’s someone who yes, lost friends and family in the zombie outbreak, but he also gained a new family in Lorie and Carl. Then his best friend comes back, and all of that is gone. In all honestly, I’m starting to feel like the show shouldn’t follow the comic when it comes to Shane, as he’s become such a linchpin for some of the big moments that it will be hard to imagine the show without him.

"You can park your RV right next to the zombie barn. I mean..."

Bernthal’s not the only one with the acting chops this season though. Andrew Lincoln’s turn as Rick continues to impress me, even if he sometimes struggles keeping his southern accent. His scenes with Shane are exceptionally well done, especially when the two have their disagreements with how to handle the search for Sophie, and the revelation of what exactly is in Hershel’s barn. Speaking of Hershel, holy crap does Scott Wilson creep me out. Even though I knew what Rick and company were in for on his farm, I was still invested in his character, and Wilson made him a very quiet and terrifying individual, like someone who presents a warm (but stern) exterior but contains something about them that is very unnerving.  Glenn and Dale continue to be my favorites on the show. There are moments where it feels like they literally walked off the pages of the book. Oh, and Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon continues to be a badass.

"YOU IN THE BACK! STOP CRYING!"

Speaking of Daryl, his personal quest to find Sophie, who was the driving narrative of these six episodes, was dragged on way too long ( not to mention how annoying her mother, Crying McCryerson was). Saying this is a double-edged sword, as the payoff of the last ten minutes of the mid-season finale wouldn’t be half as effective as it was if it happened two or three episodes earlier. That being said, there were at least two episodes that could’ve been cut into one, which in turn wouldn’t have made this season drag as much as it felt like it did.

Another minor quibble I have is with the commercial break cliffhangers. Sure, they’re bound to happen, and are a necessity to ensure that you don’t flip the channel once that GEICO commercial hits, but in the “Chupacabra” episode I honestly felt like there was one every single commercial break. It gets very old very quick when done this way. Not to mention that episode featured Andrea shooting Daryl, a move that goes to show just how far the TV version of the character needs to go in order to be half as badass as the she is in the comic book.

Despite these quibbles, I still found the first half of Walking Dead’s second season to be very enjoyable. The character work was well done, and acting was, for the most part, very good. Hopefully the next batch of episodes in February are a little tighter in the plot department, but, this show is still a lot better than 90% of television out there. 

What’s The Grade?:

So far, a B+. It’s good, but we’ve got a little more to go to get that A.