Review - The Walking Dead Episode 2: Guts


Looks like people just can’t get enough zombies in their lives as after only two episodes, The Walking Dead has been picked up for a second season. In addition to that awesome news is the numbers the second episode brought in, another nice, large number of over 4.7 million tuning in for more bloody good zombie action. The second episode is named “Guts” and I thought it did a great job of mixing action with more character development that shows this series is taking the source material quite serious and not just doing it for profit.

In this episode we get to see how Rick makes it out of that tank he was trapped in and joins other survivors hold up in a department store. This group is part of the larger group camped outside of Atlanta that went in looking for supplies and ended up being trapped by the dead. By Rick’s actions the dead have been drawn to their location and time is ticking away for them to get out of there before zombies bust through, killing them all. The entire episode focuses on this task of getting out of Atlanta alive, but the viewer also gets a chance to meet more survivors that will play a larger role in Rick’s quest to find his family.

One of the highlight things I have to say about this show is the character development as they take the time to introduce the characters where you care what happens. With zombies as that ever constant threat you have to have identifiable characters and a lot of them show that dual mind of thinking where they know things (and the world) are different. At times they realize what must be done to survive and keep living, but other times that old world mentality of doing what is right, even if it endangers their own survival, appears and tests the survivors. Each time one of these moments occur you can see the struggle in their face on what decision will win out.

I have nothing but praise for this show and am glad they decided on another season so soon. It’s such a great comic and so far a damn awesome series as they have kept pretty true to the comic. They did decide to put two new characters into the series that weren’t in the comic by the names of Merle and T-Dog. Sure, comic fans out there are crying "why change such an awesome comic by adding new characters," but I felt it helped add a subtext to the survivors' plight. By putting them in with a racial undertone shows that some survivors still hold feelings and ideas from the world that was and not yet realizing they have to put all that away if any hope of surviving exists. I felt it was a bold move to add a new dynamic to the already amazing story, but it also makes the TV series a thing of its own giving fans of the comics cause to watch it just to see the differences.

A few more characters we get to meet that are staples of the comic book series are Glenn and Andrea, two people who, in coming episodes, are sure to expand their roles. Glenn is the kind of guy who knows the situation they are in, yet still does what needs to be done to get supplies and help others around him. Andrea is a pretty hardass woman who doesn’t hesitate to get in Rick’s face when he messes up bringing the undead to their door, but also in a moment of reflection while faced with a horde shows she still thinks about life before the undead. Even with the nice moments and spurts of joy the characters enjoy, survival is still going to be a tough battle they have to fight every day.

The next four episodes of this season are going to be tough for this group of survivors with a few not making it and plenty of challenges to test their resolve. I can’t wait until next week to see how the new story plots are going to pan out, but also to enjoy what already makes The Walking Dead such an amazing series. So far I have been blown away with the series as they have been keeping the feeling you get from reading the comic translated masterfully to the small screen.

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