As the wildly popular TV series The Walking Dead winds down the first half of the third season, a lot transpires. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of survivors deal with the aftermath of the walker invasion of the prison which they have made their home, and in particular Rick deals with the death of his wife Laurie (Sarah Wayne Callies). Andrea (Laurie Holden) settles into Woodbury and even starts sleeping with the Governor (David Morrissey), unaware of his darker side, while Michonne (Danai Gurira) leaves Woodbury, after making some startling discoveries, only to be assaulted by Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) and several Woodbury thugs acting on the governor's orders. Not long thereafter, two of Rick's group, namely Glenn (Steven Yuen) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) find themselves in the clutches of Merle and the other Woodbury survivors. A wounded Michonne, on the other hand, makes her way to Rick's group. It all ends with a wild climax and a jaw-dropping cliffhanger that left this particular fan counting the days till the series resumes in February 2013.
The beauty of "The Walking Dead" as an ongoing narrative is how the show is basically its own thing, following the spirit of the comic book series but never afraid to stray from established storylines. While the body count of the comics and the TV series may not be significantly different, the manner in which the deaths racked up has differed substantially. Some of the deaths may feel toned-down from the off-the-hook, downright shocking deaths that took place in the original series, but there have been so many twists and turns that it's hard to fault the writers of the show their creative liberties. The biggest of these creative deviations, of course, has been the inclusion of the Dixon brothers in the story, with series mainstay Daryl (Norman Reedus) apparently being an audience favorite.
The presence of the Dixon brothers, or at least Daryl, almost guarantees that the TV series will pursue its own course no matter what happens in the comic books, and although I was curious as to rumblings of Daryl's possible inclusion in the comic book series in the same way that Marvel Comics eventually included the likes of Firestar and X-23, both created for cartoons, among their pantheon of comic-book heroes, now I see that keeping him exclusive to the show is a good thing because it means that Robert Kirkman does not necessarily get to play God with him the way he has with every other character who has come and gone from the comic book series.
More than just flipping the bird to the comic book continuity, though, and basically keeping everyone in the dark about what will happen, the creators of this show deserve to be commended for maintaining the one thing that's made this series so eminently watchable, and it isn't the gore and zombies but the characters fighting for their lives. The manner in which Rick grapples with his latest tragedy, and the rather interesting narrative device used, is both haunting and poignant, while the maltreatment Glenn and Maggie endure at the hands of the Governor and his men underlines what a bastard the series' new villain really is. It strains credulity at times that he is able to conceal his true side from series mainstay Andrea, but it definitely adds to the narrative tension.
What fascinates about the governor is that, while he is clearly corrupt, he nonetheless remains distinctly human, as evidenced by his love for his daughter, who has long since transformed into a walker and who he keeps with him in the hope of curing her. While admittedly, the bad guy with a soft spot in his heart is a well-worn story trope, there's something else about him, too, that, while not necessarily a redeeming quality, makes an argument for his "approach" to handling the end of the world. The fact that he has created a genuine community that has helped survivors cope with what has happened to the world is probably the strongest thing going for him. Although the cracks in his makeshift utopia are clearly evident as the series progresses, the little world he has built still stands in stark contrast to the horrors that Rick and his group have had to endure. Rick's hands are not entirely clean, after all; he has killed in order to protect his group, just as the governor has. However one views either character vis-a-vis the other, though, one thing is certain; it's going to be a hell of ride for the remainder of the second season.
4.5/5
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