So after seven episodes in second season of one of the best, if not THE best TV show in last 2 years we reached the winter break. And its hard not to say that the mid-season ending did some – holy crap moments, cuz its surely did. There will be lots of spoilers in this text, so if you didn’t watch (and I don’t see reason why not) check the last episode or maybe even the whole season if you didn’t watch it. Its worth the time.
When the Season 1 ended, I was pretty pissed since I was hooked right away and the whole season was pretty short and we had to wait for a year for new episodes. This season is 13 or 14 episodes long which is much better and after first episode of Season 2 (which broke all records on cable TV) they announced the Season 3 right away, I don’t blame them.
I never did read any of the comics on which the story is based, but from what I found out on the internet, the first season was more or less following the comics but at the end kind off start mixing the new stuff. I guess too many important characters die to fast in comics, so they stick with pretty much the same crew with now and then some loss, just to remind us – in this show everyone can die.
I like the show cuz its not the usual zombie show, but the main story is survival and zombies are just pests running around and just making all the trouble. Season 2 started with a blast, they were moving toward the military base, but got stuck on the freeway with bunch of abandoned cars and they also got engine problems so they had to stop. They resupplied them self from the cars with whatever useful they could find and all cool and relaxed. Boom, a group of zombies appears just walking around in a “herd” and they don’t have time (which is kinda lame, its mid of the day and they didn’t see them coming, plz) to hide better so they all get under the cars.
Zombies walking, nothing happens and then kid Sophia gets out from under the car and 2 walkers see her, she panics and runs to the nearby forest. They go after her, Rick finds her and tells her to hide and when walkers are gone to go to the freeway. That’s the last time we see her alive. Then most of the rest episodes focus on searching the territory for Sophia. Meanwhile during one of searches, Rick’s kid Carl gets shot by the accident by a hunter from a nearby farm.
The owner of the farm and leader of that little community is a vet, not exactly a doctor but only hope to save Carl, but he is in pretty bad shape so they need the oxygen machine. Shane volunteer and Otis, the guy who shot him accidently also join in, to go to nearby town where they can find that item. There is one of the first moral dilemmas appear, the place is crawling with walkers, they somehow managed to get what they need and heading back. They are out of ammo and both have only 1 bullet in a gun and walkers are on their tail so Shane shots Otis in a leg so walkers get him and he manages to escape.
He keeps that secret to himself, but it totally changes his character rest of the season. Dale sees what he become after he got back and doesn’t believe his story, but has no proof so he keeps it to himself. And now the rest of the season is happening on that farm, the crew settles while Carl is recovering, rest are trying to find Sophia. The owner of the farm has his secrets too, but he is rather misinformed how the world looks like outside of the farm that was kinda the safe haven and he expects the crew to leave when Carl gets better. Rick is trying to persuade him to let them stay and build their life there cuz his wife Lori is now pregnant and that’s almost certain death in the walkers land.
During those 4-5 episodes the tension is building up between some characters while they still trying to find Sophia. Daryl is not giving up and that almost cost him his life, while other are more and more skeptical about Sophia’ s survival. The big bang comes in the last episode of half season. Glenn finds out that in a barn on the farm land there is bunch of walkers locked, the owners wife and son in law, some neighbours. He believe that they are not dead, but only ill and there is a way to cure them. Glenn can’t keep it to himself even though he promised the owners daughter, with whom he hooked up, he won’t tell.
When others found out, Shane especially freaks out but they agreed if they are on the owners land they will not make problems. But Shane can’t keep it and he flips, gives everyone guns and opens the door of the barn and they start putting them down one by one. The owner is on his knees cuz his world is falling apart, some are in shock while rest are just nuking. When they killed everyone, they hear a sound of one more walker slowly coming out of barn and its Sophia. Everyone is crushed and can’t believe she is a walker. Rick takes his gun now, cuz he didn’t do the shot out earlier, comes to the Sophia and shot her in the head.
The start of the season was a blast, the mid part had its ups and downs and it didn’t feel like moving forward, but the barn secret and Sophia at the end was something I didn’t expect. It is very rare to see in TV shows so emotional and morally difficult scene where in close camera shot, someone blows up a kids head. But like I said, this is a show where anyone can die and that moment was pretty shocking. That scene opened a lots of questions, like how did Sophia ended in a barn in first place when the farm residents knew they are looking for a young girl, didn’t it cross their mind to mention they found one that resemble her description.
I guess we will find that after the winter break, usually in February. Also it crossed my mind, that half of the season they are on farm with few scenes in town or running in the forest. Prolly the budget of half of this season cost like 2 episodes of last season in the town, which I don’t mind cuz the more episodes the better.
