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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Waking the dead! Five things ‘The Walking Dead’ fans want to see this season



It seems like forever since Rick Grimes laid down the law with his fellow zombie apocalypse survivors and told them to get on board or go it alone.

In reality, it was last spring.

Still, Sunday’s season premiere of ‘The Walking Dead’ is bound to get the excitement going for some fans.

So, where did we leave off at the end of season two?

Essentially, the farm the survivors had been staying at was overrun with zombies and burned to the ground. The survivors fled – being separated from Andrea – and losing a handful of their own in the process.

In the waning minutes of the season, Rick admitted that all of the survivors were infected with the zombie virus and they would all turn into zombies – whether they were bitten or not – when they died. This was proven to us when bad boy Shane met his fate.

Rick also admitted to killing Shane in self-defense – upsetting his wife Lori -- and creating a mountain of tension in the group.

Andrea fled the zombies on foot and was saved by a shrouded figure with two jawless zombies on leashes.

Oh, and yes, T-Dog is still alive. I have no idea why, either.

So, what do fans want to see this season?

5. T-Dog’s death: I have nothing against IronE Singleton. He seems like a nice guy. Still, T-Dog has had fodder written all over him since the minute he was introduced. The character has never been properly fleshed out. Instead of getting any depth, he just kind of sits around and watches everyone else around him live. T-Dog has outlived so many better characters – including Dale – that he should be declared a super hero. He’s Invisible Man, able to survive the apocalypse despite having no discernable skills what-so-ever. I think – and this is just a guess mind you – that T-Dog is only being kept around until the survivors are reunited with Merle this season. Not only do I want to see Merle and T-Dog face off – but I want to see who Daryl picks in the melee that follows.

4. More zombie deaths: Unlike some fans, I was not turned off by the slower pace of the second season. I am not a fan of the Ryan Murphy School  for Television Shows, where they teach throwing anything and everything at the wall and seeing what sticks and then calling it entertainment. I like slow pacing sometimes and I like quick pacing sometimes. In other words, I like balance. While some people got sick of seeing the farm, I was not one of them. I liked the quieter moments of contemplation. I liked watching these characters struggle with mundane things, like laundry and cooking. I don’t think you need to kill 20 zombies in each episode. That being said, I am a big fan of gore so I’m thinking that clearing zombies out of the prison is going to be a splatterific endeavor – and I’m looking forward to it.

3. Andrea needs to find some balance: In the first season, Andrea was a devoted sister and trusted confidant. Then her sister Amy was bitten and turned and Andrea had to put her down. Andrea then decided she was depressed and wanted to die. Dale threatened to stay there and die with her – even though he didn’t want to – if she didn’t flee the CDC. In the first half of the second season, Andrea was bitter with Dale for taking away her choice (and later her gun). Then she was turned on by Shane and the violence he was bringing into her world. By the end, Andrea had grown into a warrior – but an emotionally vacant one. I don’t want Andrea to regress, but I don’t want her to lose all of her rooting value either. She can have both. I’m looking forward to her friendship with Michonne and the "girl power" it could bring to the show.

2. Don’t make the Governor a cartoon character: I like villains that are flawed and multi-faceted, like Ben on ‘Lost,’ the mayor on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and even ‘Lucifer’ on ‘Supernatural.’ I know that ‘The Walking Dead’ is based on comic books – but comic books don’t always translate into realistic entertainment. Yes, TWD deals with zombies – so it’s not rooted in reality. Still, this is supposed to be our world – just with zombies. Let’s hope that this year’s villain – the Governor – manages to be a quality villain without falling into the cartoon category.

1. Lori needs to die: I like Sarah Wayne Callies as an actress – and I’m very impressed with her biceps – but I can’t stand Lori as a character. Not only did she start boning her husband’s best friend when he was a in a coma, but then she found out she was pregnant and kind of Lady MacBethed her husband into doing something to Shane because she didn’t want to deal with the consequences of having slept with two men. Then, when Rick did actually kill Shane in self-defense, Lori turned on him and looked at him like he was some sort of monster. All this is going on while Lori’s kid is running wild through a zombie-infested world and no one is watching him. If she asks where Carl is one more time, I swear, I'm going to reach through the television and slap her myself.. SPOILER ALERT: Lori does die in the comics. I’m hoping this is one thing they follow from the page to the small screen.

What do you think? What do you want to see this season on ‘The Walking Dead’?

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