The Walking Dead - Season 3 Premiere - Recap Video and Review - Seed

The Walking Dead on AMC took a bit of a beating last season from critics and fans alike, who felt that too much time was spent on Hershel's farm, and felt that nothing of import really happened for 85% of the season. And, to make matters worse, the characters were becoming a pain in the ass. I agree that the plot suffered from a relative lack of forward motion for much of the season, owing to the interminable search for Sophia, coupled with continued instances of Lori being an inconsistent moron (I want Shane gone! Shane, how could you ever think of leaving us! I want Shane dead! RICK, how could you kill SHANE?!). But season two, in my opinion, was a pretty huge success in establishing stakes, and also reorienting us into a world where no one is safe. It seemed that not many principle characters ever bit the bullet on The Walking Dead, which is what should be happening every now and then on a post-apocalyptic show such as this, in order to communicate the tension of a world where you could die at any moment. And season two more than gave us our fill between Sophia, Dale, Shane, and Hershel's entire family, more or less. With the threat level higher than at any point in the series, "Seed" kicks off a season that looks to be ripe with promise, if it's anywhere near as exceptional as the premiere.

The opening minutes are a hell of a class in "show, don't tell" storytelling, with nary a word spoken as our group of survivors clear out a residential home, scavenging for food and supplies, wearing the wear-and-tear of hard-fought survival on their faces, their sallow skin, the ragged state of their bodies, and the crookedness of their posture. Once cleared, the group is on the run again, from a horde that's grown increasingly populous and unruly. We can glean from these moments that the group is continually on the run. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) is farther along in her pregnancy, looking about ready to pop at any minute, while Carl (Chandler Riggs) has become a miniature Rick (Andrew Lincoln), as efficient with a gun as he is introverted. Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Glenn (Steve Yeun) work together with a seamless fluidity, and really, that's true of the entire group, as they all move with a practiced efficiency, like a regimental unit. It's a wonderful opening setpiece, and portends some really interesting developments moving forward, as the group comes across a prison that, while not the beatific escape that Hershel's farm once was, provides a potential safe haven for the wandering group, who we learn have only barely survived the harsh winter.

Credit: Gene Page/AMC

This brings us into a setpiece in which the group must clear out the prison yard, and lock the inner gate, which produces the ridiculous visual of zombies in riot gear, and the excruciating visual of anywhere between 10-30 of the most intensely stomach-churning zombie kills of the series thus far. It really is startling to see how far this group has come, as they've seemingly discarded primitive notions of mercy or squeamishness where zombie-killing is concerned, and even outside of these action-oriented moments, the character beats are considerably stronger than in years past. Even simple stuff, like Glenn checking Maggie for scratches, Beth (Emily Kinney) singing by the campfire with Maggie joining in, even Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) flirting a bit, all resonate to such a degree that they feel like they're cut from a different show altogether (even if I can't imagine Carol and Daryl is a relationship anyone would ever want to see happen). It's a quiet, introspective character study in a zombie apocalypse, and that's a direction I hadn't expected the show to take. As it stands, much of Rick's arc in this episode is unspoken. He can barely stand the sight of his pregnant wife, and a lot of his willpower and strength has soured into bitterness and frustration over his inability to keep his group safe, or to find a home where they all can stay, so that they might one day stop all the fruitless travel. His failures as a father and as a provider seem to weigh on him constantly, as he doesn't seem able to get over the fact that he's bringing into the world a child whose safety or happiness he can't guarantee. This is a driving force in Rick's decision not to settle for making camp in the prison yard, but to move in and claim the prison itself. Lori, for her part, is worn to the quick with guilt, sadness, and fear. However, Hershel (Scott Wilson) is there to console her, and the two characters share a tender moment, with Hershel telling her that the baby waiting to be born doesn't care about all that grief or worry she's carrying. In spite of the untenable nature of their situation, Hershel is still campaigning for hope, not terribly unlike Obama...but for the whole "being white, Southern, and fictional" thing.

Of course, as with any drama, the minute you're shown to be too good for this world is the moment you prove not to be long for it. As the group patrols through the prison, there are hordes upon hordes of zombies to kill. In the ensuing chaos, Maggie and Glenn are separated from the rest of the group and, in going back for them, Hershel is bitten on the leg. They are able to get to safety, but this leads to the episode's most cringe-inducing sequence, as Rick has to hack his way through Hershel's leg to stop the infection from spreading. I could imagine much of America watching the sequence through webbed fingers, though I would also imagine that anyone who's been watching The Walking Dead for this long would have grown desensitized to the violence by now. Except...well, can you ever really grow accustomed to seeing a guy's leg get hacked off? I know there's a limit to what even Walking Dead fans can handle, but I assumed that list pretty much began and ended with "T-Dogg having speaking lines."

Rick gets through the bone, but before we can learn if the procedure was successful in halting the spread of the infection, Daryl spots a group of onlookers through a set of windows. It's people. Live people. Looks like they're not the only people seeking refuge in this place. "S***" indeed.

Credit: AMC

I would be remiss, however, if I didn't also mention the exploits of Andrea (Laurie Holden), who'd been separated from the group during the escape from Hershel's farm, and Michonne (Danai Gurira), the sword-swinging, dread-locked badass with two jawless pet walkers. She's essentially made of raw, unpasteurized Awesome, decapitating the undead like the world's most macabre game of Whack-A-Mole. Andrea is ill with fatigue, and pleads with Michonne to just leave her behind, but Michonne's not having it. And so, we have another team wandering about. Hope they intersect soon. The sooner Rick and company have Michonne on their team, the sooner they can all start getting a good night's sleep again.

As The Walking Dead gets its third season of the ground, it's hard not to be excited. The show has a surer handle on its storytelling, and has begun the work of salvaging the characters who were damaged by shaky, inconsistent writing in certain parts of season two. The season, as a whole, should follow the example of its premiere, as "Seed" is among the strongest episodes of the entire series.

Credit: Gene Page/AMC

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