i wrote a short about this called "The Gawking Dead" currently in the short forum if anyone is interested.

Gotta say, I think this show really upped its game in the second half of this season.  The storyline with the missing girl had the plot spinning its wheels for quite a while, but these last few episodes have delivered the goods big time.  I predicted Dale's demise last week, but I did not see this latest plot twist coming.  Very ballsy move by the producers.  Really looking forward to the final episode.

sorry Ryan but I couldn't disagree more. killing Dale was the final straw for me. now i absolutely loathe the show. dale is actually still alive in the comic books so i have no idea why they'd kill him instead of T-Dawg. i will say that the second half of season 2 is better. the episode where they leave randall at the school yard was pretty good (although it was essentially pointless to the story and another method for the writers to draw out the plot). the episode where dale died was utter s hit. it was just dale talking for 45 minutes. furthermore, carl is a terrible actor and i have no idea why his character wouldn't tell the others that there was a zombie in the woods. either way, dale was one of the few characters that i still really enjoyed and he was the only one who stood out in the group. now i haven't seen tonight's episode. i know they kill off another character (who should have been dead a looooong time ago). once i see how they kill him, i'll weigh in on the discussion.

but seriously, remember when laurie flipped her car? me neither.

I was shocked at Dale's death but I'm kinda glad they did something so unpredictable. I love the show so far and thought the recent episode was great. Hopefully they'll finally get off of the farm and have a change in environment, it was getting kind of old.

They blew their chance at re-doing probably the best moment from the comic book last night. Now, while I'm not an obsessed fan who demands it to be a carbon copy, this was something they should have (but I knew they wouldn't have) done.

**SPOILERS** (for those who saw last night's episode.)


**YOU WERE WARNED**


Rick should not have been the one to kill Shane. That was Carl's chance to prove that he was actually going to do something worth doing. Instead, he kills zombie Shane to protect his dad, but it doesn't have nearly the effect because Rick already talked Shane out of killing him.

Now, I can be a realist. Only about a million people read TWD each month but they have about five, six million viewers so they're catering mostly to people who aren't familiar with it. It's just one of those things where they had a chance to get something right, but they just didn't. It makes me wonder if Darabont would've done it like the comics, but I don't care because I'm just happy he's going off to work on an old school noir TV show.

But, whatever, it hasn't resembled anything near the comics since episode 5 of season 1. I just watch it out of habit, now, anyway.

the show isnt perfect...but i find it FAR FAR more entertaining then anything else on tv right now.

Good and bad, but I still watch, too.  Zombie effects are usually top-notch, and that is really what I go into it looking for.

I thought the shooting in the bar was brilliantly played -- but then they go off and have Lori drive off in the car for no darn reason at all.  Or one of the no-name daughters goes into "shock" for some inexplicable reason.

There is surely some lazy writing going on, but on the whole, my wife is still watching zombies so I still like it for that.

Fun Walking Dead trivia:  My wife's maiden name was Lori Grimes.  For real.

as far as the Dale character being killed off...

Looks like an "actor's choice" to leave the show

i wish they didnt kill shane... he was developing into a genuinely scary mo-fo....

Quoted from Mr. Blonde Rick should not have been the one to kill Shane. That was Carl's chance to prove that he was actually going to do something worth doing..

I have to disagree, I think it was more fitting since Rick had tried time and time again to make things right with Shane. Their final confrontation was when Rick had to really step up and make the hard decision he was hiding from all along. I thought his son shooting the zombie Shane tied things together nicely.

Quoted from bert There is surely some lazy writing going on.

something tells me the writers would aruge with you there..

breaking down and writing out 65-70 page scripts/stories on a weekly basis.... keeping in mind budget concerns - is not easy...

infact its downright grueling....even if you're working with 5 or 6 other geniuses.

the writing is VERY lazy. they pull the cheapest of tricks in order to get a reaction from the audience and then completely forget about the incident two scenes later.

in the comics, carl kills shane as shane has rick in his cross hairs (carl shoots shane in the neck). it worked beautifully in the comic. don't know why they had to change it.

saw an interview with the creators of the walking dead. apparently A LOT is going to happen next week and the show won't end on the same number of people it started with. time to introduce some new (and long awaited) characters!

Quoted from Penoyer79 something tells me the writers would aruge with you there.. breaking down and writing out 65-70 page scripts/stories on a weekly basis.... keeping in mind budget concerns - is not easy... infact its downright grueling....even if you're working with 5 or 6 other geniuses.

If you say so.

But I understand they have some excellent source material in place already, which undoubtedly makes the chore a bit easier.

But that whole nonsense with Lori driving off in the car for absolutely no reason and telling nobody?  That was painfully forced.

So was that blond girl who suddenly lapsed into some kind of weird coma.  Again, for no reason whatsoever.  Had she even had any lines up to that point?

And this veterinarian guy is like a walking MASH unit.

Sure, it is easy to sit on my couch and throw stones.  And I like it as a whole.  But some of their choices just make me cringe.  I don't think it unreasonable to call foul on some of that stuff.

they've all had their pay offs though...

everyone was complaining about the "missing girl" story line... tell me you thought she'd end up a walker in the barn...and Shane would go apesh1t?
tell me that wasnt one of- if not the best scene of the series?
and lori's car crash set up the lie that lead to Rick ultimately killing shane..

Quoted from Penoyer79 they've all had their pay offs though... everyone was complaining about the "missing girl" story line... tell me you thought she'd end up a walker in the barn...and Shane would go apesh1t? tell me that wasnt one of- if not the best scene of the series? and lori's car crash set up the lie that lead to Rick ultimately killing shane..

I knew from about episode four (of season 2) that she was in the barn. It was something that had to pay off and knowing that they hadn't cast any major roles during that few weeks kind of solidified it.

It was fine, but only by comparison.

And, the crash... Don't even remind me. But, I still watch and enjoy the show. Somebody already told me a good portion of what happens next week and I'm not exactly thrilled with all of it. Some is good times, but we'll see. Maybe the first full season under Mazzara will be better than his first half a season.

Finally finished the second series last night and I for one thought it was an excellent second half. Now this comes from someone who hasn’t read the comics though I may have to change that in the future.

Some of the deaths were surprising and the special effects like always were amazing throughout IMO.

Also a nod to Andrew Lincoln who I always remember from the television show “Teachers” back in the early noughties. Still not overly convinced on his attempted accent but I’ve always thought he was a decent actor.

A great second series after a rocky start and now looking forward to series 3 later in the year.