Rick Grimes leads his group of survivors away from Atlanta following the destruction of the CDC compound. Following the disappearance of Sophia and an injury to Carl, Rick and the others bunker down at the farm of a veterinarian named Hershel Greene, who is quick to help but appears to hide some secrets. Meanwhile, dissension forms within the group as Shane becomes disillusioned with Rick's leadership -- and how his return has hurt Shane's relationship with Lori.

The first extended season of the long-running zombie apocalypse series, season 2 of The Walking Dead is able to explore more side stories fully while also developing a strong, overarching plot line. Multiple storylines are juggled quite well (especially the turmoil involving Rick, Shane, Lori, and Carl), and each character has their moments to shine. The newcomers of the Greene family are also welcome additions, adding some more contrast to the characters we already know and love (or love to hate). Where season 2 falters, however, is due somewhat to the extended length of the season. Whereas season 1 had 6 episodes to conclude its story, season 2 has 13, and that does cause for some plotlines to run on for longer than they perhaps need to. Still, it is a resounding effort that propels the story forward catastrophically -- and adds new layers that promise great change come next season. Highly recommended.

Content Concerns: The violence is perhaps a bit more frenetic and graphic here, as we get to see some deaths in gruesome detail and they hit harder since we've now had over a dozen episodes to get to know some of them. Characters are killed by both human weapons (from guns and knives to bare hands at times) and from walkers, which present the most gory of the deaths. There's also some sexual content, but it isn't particularly excessive. Language is also present, with about the same range as the previous season (5-10 uses per episode, ranging from milder profanities such as "h-ll" and "d-mn" to a bit more stronger examples like "sh-t").

(August 30, 2023) ( )