It’s been over ten months since we last saw the survivors of the zombie apocalypse driving away from Atlanta after Dr. Edwin Jenner blew up the CDC, killing both himself and survivor Jacqui in a massive explosion. That was in the season one finale, “TS-19,” which aired in December. Now it’s October, and you know what that means: the zombies are back, baby.
“What Lies Ahead,” the second season premiere, airs Sunday night on AMC. And while that’s still a couple of days away as of this writing, we’re here to make sure you tune in for some truly fantastic television. To do that, we’re going to list a few reasons why you should. The list will contain a few mild spoilers from the season premiere (expect a review of that on Saturday), but nothing major.
So, why should you watch The Walking Dead‘s season 2 premiere?
Reason #1: More Guts
“We need more guts,” Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) famously declared in the show’s second episode. He said that as he was chopping up a zombie, the entrails of which he and Glen smeared over their bodies to slip unnoticed through a throng of zombies. That was pretty gross, right?
Wait until you see the season two premiere. In one of the episode’s most memorable scenes, Rick and Daryl find a zombie in the woods, and decide that they need to find out what it’s eaten recently. What follows can best be summed up in two words: zombie dissection. It’s gory, it’s gross, and you’ll totally love it.
Reason #2: More Daryl
There were plenty of changes made between the comic book and the television show for the show’s first season. One of the best of those was the inclusion of Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), the Redneck brother of Michael Rooker’s Merle. Daryl’s so badass that he drives a chopper down the highway while the rest of his group of survivors are holed up in jeeps or an RV.
Daryl takes on more of a leadership role in the show’s second season. Think of him as one of Rick’s lieutenants. In fact, despite the fact that he was a bit of a wild card in the last season, Rick treats him with a lot of trust. That’s probably due to the fact that Daryl carries a crossbow.
In any case, it’s great to have more Daryl. He is more fascinating, after all; since he wasn’t in the comic series, we have no idea where his character is going.
Reason #3: A Change of Scenery
While Atlanta is an interesting city (I’ve been a few times), cinematically it can get a little boring. After all, how many times can our survivors run into a city street filled with hordes of zombies? Thankfully, as the poster indicates, the show is undergoing a bit of a scenery change. The second episode of the season sees our survivors traveling to a much more rural farm. (Why they go to the farm is indeed very shocking.)
While the Georgian wilderness is visually a more interesting and uncertain locale, moving away from the city will also bring a collection of new characters. Hershel, who owns the farm, will prove particularly useful to the Grimes family, while Otis, who also lives on the farm, will serve in the exact opposite function.
Reason #4: The Show Gets Religion
If you’ve ever been to the southeastern U.S., you know that churches are a major part of the culture here. So, naturally, the survivors stumble upon a church in the season premiere. Their time spent in the church provides for some really great television. There are some belly laughs as a few zombified members of the congregation attack them as they enter. But things get serious when the survivors ask God to help them with their problems. It’s an interesting moment — is religious belief augmented or diminished by such a cataclysm as the zombie apocalypse?
Of course, there’s a bit of irony pervading throughout the scene — a giant crucifix looms over the alter where the survivors are praying. None of the characters recognize (at least out loud) that they’re praying to a figure who is famous for rising from the dead. It’s hard to imagine, though, that the irony was lost on the show’s writers.
The Walking Dead will return for its second season premiere on Sunday, October 16, on AMC.
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