TV Review: The Walking Dead S03E01

This is a Ricktatorship!

For a show as great as The Walking Dead, it's first two seasons were still consistently plagued with slow pacing issues. That's why it's always a pleasure when the show completely hits its stride, like it did this week with the opener for season three. 

Da-amn. 

I don't want to say too much about the episode, because you should go watch it or go catch up, but I want to try and capture the reasons why I liked this episode so much. 

First and most important, there was the use of the time jump, essentially leaving the winter between season two and season three unseen. One of my favourite writing tropes is something I personally call the Skywalker technique. Do you remember the first time you watched Return of the Jedi? Luke had been a pretty cool character up until that point, though necessarily plagued as a hero by his need to simultaneously learn about his new skills and jump into a war (and, you know, he just got his hand chopped off by his crippled father). Now picture the first time we see Luke in Jedi: he calmly strolls into Jabba's den, black cloak on, hooded up...and is a total badass! Who is this guy?! He's been places, he's seen some shit, and he has become a master of the force. 

With the story timeline jumped forward writers are able to cleanly progress character development without having to show hours upon hours worth of slow clunky growth and angsty self reflection. I like this technique, and although some might see some instances as lazy writing, it's hard to deny its logic and continual badassery. Remember that time nerdy Japanese workman Hiro Nakamura suddenly appeared to Nathan Petrelli as a war hardened all-knowing samurai from the future? Bad. Ass. 

This is how I felt when I first saw the gang back together at the start of this episode. The opening scene, simply portraying the group clearing out a house and gathering supplies, effectively showed the passing of time and the new strength of the group without any dialogue. These guys are a team. They speak with glances, and they know their roles. They have the house cleared of walkers and searched in no time. This is a far cry from the mismatched band of survivors struggling to work together in the first two seasons. Andrea's cliffhanger from last season was also resolved cleanly, swapping a clumsy first encounter for a proper understanding between her and the mysterious sworded lady. 

Rick has continued on in his self-appointed role as leader, and the silent respect he demands from the group throughout the episode is clearly the glue of their new structure. His changes are where the show is really starting to come together. No more "good guy cop" routine. Grimes has finally found what he needed in himself to lead this show and the rest of the protagonists. Straight away his character feels more developed, with a perfect performance by Lincoln breathing new life into the role. In an episode that relies more on action and visuals than it does on dialogue, Rick's every thought and decision is written on his face.

Carl and Hershel, both newcomers to the killing game due to age and religious beliefs respectively, are now effective members of the group, killing coldly with new passion for survival in their eyes. 

On that note, I feel that themes of survival are going to be stronger and better explored in this season than in the previous two. This feeling was complimented by the new title sequence, which completely removed images of the characters' broken past lives. They spent the first two seasons bogged down by their past, looking back, mourning, and essentially trying to keep moving while dealing with loss. Season three looks to be a season where the characters are strongly in the present and ready to do what it takes to make it to tomorrow. Everyone is on board for survival, and it shows in the kills. Oh the kills. Topped off with some top class action cinematography, this is an episode full of amazing zombie kills, and even a smile from newly Skywalker'd Rick Grimes after a shot. 

This new found reassurance the group has in their lifestyle also leaves room for chilling thought about the world that the characters have found themselves in, and what lengths people can go to. All it takes in this episode is the first shown confident kill by youngster Carl and a shot of Glenn metal pole-ing a struggling walker through the skull as the group walk up a grass hill, to make us think about a world of desensitized gore and the potential of the human mind to adapt to survive. I praise the show for continuing to realistically portray the situation the way they do, which I can't imagine is an easy task for prime time television. 

All in all, the show nailed it, and with promising character work for all except T-Dog (when's that guy gonna get a break?) I'm looking forward to next week. 

-Tom
I'm taking Captain Solo and his friends. You can either profit by this or be destroyed.