After about a whole year, I'm delighted to see the first episode of the new season. It felt like so long ago since I saw the last episode from season one and now zombie goodness is back on AMC.
If you've seen the trailers advertising the new season, the one word that described the mood and feeling was intense. The show picked up where the last left off with our group of survivors leaving behind the smoldering remains of the CDC in Atlanta and heading for Fort Bennett.
30 minutes into the 90 minute season premier, the entire group found themselves trapped on a congested highway when a herd of zombies arrives and has everyone scrambling to hide underneath cars. The fear that arose during this scene was so gripping that I found myself holding my breath at certain points. Each time the camera focused on a character all I saw was panic. To top it off I kept getting a feeling that here was where one of the survivors would meet their unfortunate demise.
The threat passed and everyone was safe except for a few bruises, zombie killings and a severely lacerated forearm. The rest of the episode took shape when Sophia was chased into the woods by a zombie, and the whole party took off in search of her. While the entire episode was spent navigating the woods and a secluded church, the real cliffhanger came at the end. Seriously, during a moment of peaceful serenity the unexpected occurred. When it happened I was shocked. The episode ended and I was left wondering why it ended so soon.
Yeah, I know, after an hour and a half, how could I say it ended so soon. Well, it just did.
There were some pretty intense moments and the writing continued to keep me grounded and interested as each of the characters developed further. One of the goals that this episode focused on was showing that while the entire group escaped together certain differences and objects weren't shared by everyone. For instance, Andrea's resentment toward Dale's decision to guilt her into escaping the final blast at the CDC led her to further lament remaining alive. In addition, Shane's growing frustration and envy of Rick causes him to start outwardly displaying his anger. Basically, the group begins to divide itself and it created a dynamic that leaves the viewer guessing who will remain and who will finally burst.
Other questions remain like what Dr. Jenner told Rick before they escaped from the CDC. At the beginning of the episode, Rick continues to radio his progress to Morgan and he is about to mention what Jenner told him but stops claiming it wasn't important at the moment. Also, speaking of Morgan, I'm still wondering what became of him and his son Dwayne. We left them during the first episode of season one and we don't ever hear or see from them again. Rick keeps communicating with them although we never hear Morgan return Rick's messages.
The gore level is what we would expect with special make-up effects guru Greg Nicotero as lead supervisor. So I know that the effects will be top notch, and believe me this episode had one heck of a highlight with a zombie autopsy. It wowed me when Rick and Daryl cut open that zombie and started pulling out its innards to check the contents of its stomach. Talk about full on gross!
All of these elements came together nicely to provide a great first episode to the new season. Previews to the following week's episode only continue to provide glimpses of what is to be more drama and suspense. I'm looking forward to it and hope the writing continues to drive it as it has so far. It's good to have new zombie goodness back on TV!
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