The Walking Dead Copyright 2012 AMC TV

Warning: This Walking Dead Season 3 post contains spoilers. Please wait until after watching, before reading further. Similarities and differences between the show and the comic are also discussed, but whenever possible, details of the comic are left ambiguous in case you decide to start it later on.

Summary: Months after the events of Season 2, an exhausted Rick and company discover a prison that they decide to use for shelter. The only problem is that it’s filled with zombies, so Rick pushes his troops to clear out all the undead inside. Meanwhile, Michonne, the samurai sword-wielding, hooded figure from the Season 2 finale takes care of a sick Andrea.

This episode’s opening shot is fantastic. It starts on the blank lifeless, eye of a zombie and pulls back to reveal the entire ghoul just before it’s assassinated by a shotgun toting Rick. Then, everyone in the group comes swarming in to clear this house. Not sure where they found or made silencers for some of their guns, but I’m surprised no one thought of the idea sooner.

The whole pre-credits sequence is really gritty and intense. Everyone looks ragged, even Carl. The lack of dialogue in this scene ups the anxiety. No one says a word after they come up empty handed in their search and must flee a group of approaching walkers. All it took was that opening to get me.

Daryl continues to be my favorite character on the show for his complexity and his humor. It’s silly enough that he has to kill an owl for food, but only he could get away with a line like “While the others wash their panties, we should do some hunting, because that owl did not hit the spot.”

I’m also pleased to see Rick has become a much stronger leader since he declared Ricktatorship. He’s firm, resolute, and fast-acting. He even gives a rousing motivational speech to his team like a coach before the big game. And although Lori has long been a source of annoyance for her vacillating loyalties and her emotional behavior, it was nice to see her actually show remorse for turning Rick and Shane against each other.

Very little story focuses on Michonne, my favorite character from the Walking Dead comics, which is sad but understandable because she’s new. I have a feeling the writers will get to her more in the coming episodes.

Speaking of the comics, I’m happy that the writers decided to carry over the plot about encountering survivors in the prison at the end and leg amputation, even though it’s with a different character than the comic. Those two elements should be the source of gripping drama this season.

Anyone disappointed with the low amount of zombie killing so far in the series will change their attitude after this episode. More zombies are probably taken down in this 45 minutes than all of Season 1 and 2 combined.

What do you think of the first episode of Season 3? Do you like the new Rick? Were you happy to see Lori pay for her mistakes? Do you think they’ll tell us what happened during the months between Season 2 and Season 3? Any predictions on what might happen next?