The Walking Dead - series (2010)
I finally watched the season finale of The Walking Dead. All in all, I liked the series. I thought they did a great job with the zombies, and the story line was pretty interesting. I really liked in the finale how there was a flashback to the first zombie attacks. Personally, I thought that would have made a better start.
In the flashback, Shane goes to the hospital to save his friend, Rick. There are a bunch of military people there, and they are lining up patients and nurses and shooting them. I don't know if they are planning on giving more back story in the next season, but I thought that story would have been an interesting arc, too. It would have been cool to see how the plague started (or when it started affecting the population) and where the people were and how they all came together. The whole survival thing is all right, but I think it would have made things more suspenseful if they started from the beginning and gave us the history of some of the other characters. Just me.
The other issue with starting with Rick's story is that it limits the perspective. I'm sure it was a conscious choice on the part of the writers, because you have to start a story somewhere (plus, it's based on a graphic novel, and I'm not sure if that story follows Rick. I'll have to check that out), but when they do try and follow the other characters, it feels off. I mean, as the audience, you've invested so much time and energy into Rick, you know where he's coming from. He's fleshed out. But, I don't think he's that interesting. I mean, the beginning of his story was great. He's looking for his family. But once he finds them, it seems like his journey is over (I know it's not and now they have to survive and he's the only one who keeps hope alive...). The other characters are just kind of flat. Like I said, if they had started the series following them from the beginning, I think I would be more invested and care more about them.
I will be watching next season, just to see where the story goes. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am very glad this series is bringing the zombie back into the spotlight. I hope the trend lasts for a while!
