Keeping Pace with The Walking Dead :: Season 2 (Part 1)

With the third season of AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead looming on the horizon, I’m taking a trip through Season 2 which has just been released on Blu-ray and continues the adventures of a ragtag remnant of mankind surviving in an apocalyptic nightmare that is being overrun by the walking dead, a cannibalistic plague that is reanimating the deceased and who only have one thing on their mind – to feed!

 When the second season opened our heroes were vacating the perimeter of Atlanta which had become a major epicenter for the “walker” plague. Escaping the doomed headquarters of the CDC they found themselves on the open road, and it wasn’t long before while on the open road they eventually found their path blocked. Trapped on the freeway, the group loses one of their own. Sofia the youngest girl of the group when a herd of walkers crosses their path.

Rick Grimes is plagued by The Walking Dead.

Since finding his wife and son Sheriff Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln) has assumed the role of the leader and protector of this group. He rescues Sofia from a pair of walkers, but loses the little girl in the forest. Finding themselves still trapped on the side of the road, the group spends several days searching for their missing member, when Carl (Chandler Riggs) is accidentally and fatally shot.

Lead onto a secluded farm owned by a wrangler named Hershel (Scott Wilson) who is protecting his family, Rick and his second-in-command Shane Walsh (played by Jon Bernthal) are left helpless as Hershel tries desperately to save the young boys life, but supplies is scarce. Hershel doesn’t have everything he needs to perform the delicate surgery necessary to save Carl’s life. With Rick needed to provide blood to his boy, Shane must make a local run, alongside Otis – the man responsible for accidentally shooting Carl – to the local high school to bring back the necessary medical equipment.

In the meantime the search continues for Sophia and Andrea (played by Laurie Holden) becomes more despondent with the survivors’ situation. Losing her sister and being cheated out of a failed suicide attempt at the CDC has left her feeling hopeless...and a world filled with the walking dead doesn’t seem all that promising.

Rick’s wife Lori (played by Sarah Wayne Callies) is brought back to the farm by Hershel’s daughter Maggie, and the fight to keep Carl alive begins. Soon the band find solace on the edge of Hershel’s farm – it’s a safe base for them to continue the search for Sofia, but Hershel is not convinced that Rick and his troop are a welcome addition to their solitude. For the moment, everyone agrees – even as they settle into life on the farm – that the most important thing is keeping Carl alive.

The beginning of the second season of The Walking Dead proved a study in patience for the fans of the gore and menace that dominated in the surprise hit show’s first season. Based on the graphic novel series of the same name, it introduced the popularity of an entirely new genre to mainstream cable television, and as was expected a series of copy cat horror series would soon follow. What makes The Walking Dead a stand-out is its dedication to the strong character development.

The series is more about the survival of these characters in the wake of a great crisis, and less on the menace of their predicament. Sure it’s horrible that the world as we know it has been transformed into a graveyard, and it’s a frightening possibility none of us would ever hope to realize, but how the characters resign to face their survival is what makes this so interesting. To that end the show delivers – not that it doesn’t in the “shock and awe” department either!

Many a nightmare have I suffered after each episode – and now being eaten a live is perhaps my greatest fear, but I’m riveted and tune in every week and Season 3 can’t come too soon!

JC Alvarez is the Nightlife Editor for EDGE On The Net and a pop-culture columnist. He is the voice behind the nationally syndicated Internet Radio Show "Out Loud & Live!" broadcasting on www.modernworldradio.com.