SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Unless you live under a rock you've probably heard that "The Walking Dead" came back to television this week. Following the tradition of previous years they released the new season just in time for Halloween. At the end of the last season we lost a few memorable cast members...Merle and Andrea come to mind. The loss of Merle was particularly sad for me. I'm a huge fan of Micahel Rooker and I really wanted to see more of The Dixon brothers as a team. Andrea was hit or miss for me so I'll be alright without her. And unfortunately for the group, the Governor got away. But as the last season closed we saw Woodberry residents piling into the jail, becoming part of Rick's community.
The new season opens 6-7 months later and the community has absolutely flourished! We see shots of a garden, pigs being raised, children being read stories (and taught how to use weapons), and a routine that seems to be keeping the group safe. There is a great shot of Rick going out into the garden and there is some music playing while he kind of smiles and reflects on his life at the prison. It turns out Rick had headphones on and when he takes them out, the music stops and the constant howls of the zombies come back. This moment really symbolized Rick's attempt at escaping reality for a second, only to come crashing back into it. We also see a few teases that Maggie may be pregnant, and Darryl is also now a hero of the community. It seems like life has moved on for most of the cast and has evolved into a home of sorts. Sadly for the group the happiness is doomed to end. The group runs into some zombie trouble during a run and loses Beth's boyfriend almost immediately after we are introduced to him. We are also introduced to a new member of the group is apparently an ex-soldier with a serious alcohol problem. After Beth's boyfriend is killed we see her flip the calendar in the jail from "30 days with no accident" to "0 days". The sad part is that she has almost no reaction because she has become numb to the death surrounding her. I really like the Beth character. Aside from her being cute, you really want to side with her because she went from being suicidal, to becoming a staple of this group and always kept fighting. So as the episode passes we see that pretty much everyone has evolved and moved on.
There is a side story during the episode where Rick encounters a woman in the woods who swears she is good and needs his help. So he says he must ask her three questions that the group will ask every outsider from now on...and that's "How many walkers have you killed? How many humans have you killed? And Why?". Which is a pretty cool moment and makes sense. If Shane was still around he would be having none of that! The woman says she has nothing left to lose and that she wants Rick to meet her husband. What unfolds is a creepy series of events that leads to a surprise, which I don't want to spoil. If you can watch for yourself, I'd suggest that. Meanwhile back at the prison we are introduced to a nerdy little guy named Patrick. Patrick thinks Darryl is a hero, loves storytime, oh and he is apparently carrying some type of bacterial infection/virus upgrade that ends up killing him by the end of the episode. Also for all you germaphobes out there, he takes the time to cough all over the water supply. This is where the episode closes and we are left with a lot of questions. Where is the Governor? What killed the farm animal? What killed Patrick? Why are the zombie numbers around the prison increasing? They introduced a lot of great ideas in this first episode and a lot of it showed maturity. The show is totally different than it was a season or two ago. There is a whole new sense of family amongst the characters and i'm really excited to see what happens next. After 3 seasons I've grown to care about a few of the characters (Rick,Hershal,Maggie and Glenn,Daryl) and I really hope they make it out of this mess alive! I guess we shall find out soon enough. According to the executive producer it's going to get "a lot worse" before it ever gets any better. I've got Walking Dead fever and the only cure is MORE COWBELL! Wait that's not right...the cure is MORE WALKING DEAD! I think it's about time for me get into the comics as well. From what I hear, this point in the series is A LOT different in the comics, and a lot more violent. So I'm itching to read them. I'll probably check back with you guys throughout the season with my thoughts. Enjoy the rest of the season and if you missed the first episode, DVR the repeat and get caught up! Netflix also still has seasons 1 and 2 up. As for where to find Season 3, I'll leave that up to you.
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