A New Beginning with "The Walking Dead:" A Television Review ("Seed")

*there are spoilers below.

Director: Ernest R. Dickerson.

Writers: Frank Darabont, Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard and Glen Mazzara.

Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Danai Gurira, Steven Yeun,
Chandler Riggs, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, IronE Singleton, and Lauren Cohan.

The premiere of Seas. 3 of "The Walking Dead" was an exciting debut. What happened to the slowly plodding Seas. 2? It seems that creator and writer Glen Mazzara, now at the reigns of the show, has stepped up the show's pacing. There are other changes. The tone of the series has radically shifted to a more horrific one. The drama from previous Seas. 2 episodes has been pushed to the wayside. There were only a few pauses involving a song being sung around a campfire titled "The Parting Glass" and Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) had some concerns of giving birth to a zombie baby. Overall, "Seed" was a thrilling jumping off point for the show.

The series begins several months after the events chronicled in "Beside the Dying Fire." Lori is now showing her pregnancy and her son, Carl (Chandler Riggs), is much taller. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and several other survivors of a zombie apocalypse have taken to looting houses for nourishment and shelter. Meanwhile, the undead hound them at every step. The desperation and the exhaustion of the characters is shown in Carl's willingness to eat dog food and in the lack of dialogue in early scenes. Thankfully, a prison offers sanctuary and Rick leads his group into the bowels of this darkened setting.

It really is amazing to see how quickly this story progressed. It is only five minutes into the show when Rick discovers the prison on the horizon. In the next few scenes, all of the characters are assaulting the exterior fence and dispatching the zombies inside. The pacing has amped up significantly, especially when this showing is compared to previous episodes such as "Pretty Much Dead Already" and "What Lies Ahead." This quicker tempo is appreciated.

Effective use of light and darkness.

The tone of the show has also changed in this episode. The dramatic elements are still there, but horror elements are more prominent. An attack on armored guards leaves one zombie with a face peel. This is a gory scene. As well, the entry into the prison building is dark and corpses litter the interior. "Seed" seemed to play out much like a horror film. This shift from a somewhat light dialogue focused second season to a more action oriented and unpredictable entry into Seas. 3 is a welcomed change.

Even the pauses in this premiere were purposeful. Once Rick has gathered his group inside the prison's fence, there is a song sung around the campfire. The song is "The Parting Glass" and this is an Irish farewell song. Beth (Emily Kinney) picks an appropriate tune to say goodbye to the many characters in Seas. 2. Gone are Shane (Jon Bernthal), Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) and the characters in the show must expect Andrea (Laurie Holden) to be deceased, as well. The singing of this tune was a way of saying so long to the characters of Seas. 2 and it will be interesting to see who is welcomed in this latest season.

Some of those new characters will, apparently, be a group of convicts. At the end of "Seed," a handful of prisoners make their presence known in the cafeteria. They appear desperate. It will be a struggle for Rick, Daryl (Norman Reedus), and the others to decide whether to cooperate with this new group. Questions will be sparked. Are these characters trustworthy? What have they been convicted for? And, will the greater threat come from other survivors or the undead looming outside? Some moral ambiguity will surely take place in Epis. 2, "Sick."

Overall, the premiere of Seas. 3 brought a lot of excitement to the show. The pacing, tonal shifts, and focus on action created for a thrilling atmosphere. The many violent scenes were handled and choreographed well. The only drawback to this first episode was its length. At fourty-five minutes, this episode is simply too short. There is a lot of material that needs to be covered. As well, there is some catching up to be done with the characters and fourty-five minutes seems more like a tease than a solid first outing. In the end, "Seed" has set a higher standard for this show and this watcher is hoping that the next fifteen episodes for Seas. 3 stay equally tense and quickly plotted.

Overall: 7.75 out of 10 (great lack of dialogue early in the show to create tension and mood, action packed, hundreds of extras, great darkened sets, good acting, lots of gore).

The first episode of "The Walking Dead" can be streamed instantly at the AMC:

Episode 1 at the AMC

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