***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***

If I had to use one word to describe my feelings on season 2 of AMC’s massively popular series “The Walking Dead,” that word would be: frustrated. Through 19 episodes “The Walking Dead” has been more bad than good. Like the characters on the show holding out hope for a life rid of fear of getting eaten alive, I hold out hope the writers will figure it out. It’s not that I’m on the verge of dropping the show (*). There’s enough to like. But I have big issues with season two. There was the slogging plot, but by far the most critical problem is the characters. By and large, they’re idiots. By and large, I don’t really care about their survival. By and large, they’re inconsistent.

(*) I watched a full season of “The Killing” for goodness sake (and I already know I’ll be tuning in to the early parts of season two of that disaster to see if they somehow got their act together). 

I might as well start with the biggest offender, Mrs. Rick Grimes. Of what use is Lori exactly (other than putting others in more danger)? In the first episode back from hiatus, Rick and Glenn go into town to find Hershel who is busy sulking at the local dive bar. For no clear reason Lori decides she has to “rescue” them. From what, I do not know. They weren’t gone for an inordinate amount of time. There was no call for help. She just decides this. To compound her stupidity she leaves without notifying anyone of her plans. She subsequently crashes her car after a “walker” in the middle of the highway surprises her because she was looking down at a map (**). Fast forward a few episodes and Lori is whispering into Rick’s ear about how dangerous Shane is. Shane thinks he and Lori belong together. Shane thinks he’s the father of Lori’s unborn child. Point is, Lori tries to convince Rick that Shane is dangerous and needs to be dealt with; Lori wants nothing to do with Shane. Jump to the penultimate episode and Lori making up with Shane (why I do not know) and her feeling bad about the way she’s treated him. The “dangerous” Shane goes crazy (?) after the news and plots (stupidly of course) to kill Rick so he can be with Lori (at least I think that was his primary motive). In effect, Lori puts Rick’s life in danger after she does a 180° from an episode or two earlier. Why the 180°? I do not know because it wasn’t explained. How did the character not recognize that her actions would lead to Shane going after Rick? I do not know. All I know is Lori is an idiot and I hate her. But it gets better worse. Rick kills Shane after figuring out Shane was going to kill him. Rick confesses to Lori what he did, and she somehow has the audacity to be upset with Rick for ending Shane?! If it wasn’t for you Shane wouldn’t have felt the need to get rid of Rick (***)! You are the one who told Rick that Shane was a danger a few episodes earlier! There is more to discuss about Lori. What is her role in this group? I get that she is pregnant and shouldn’t do anything taxing, but what is her role if it isn’t bossing everyone around and getting her way? Glenn, get me something at the convenient store and risk your life. T-Dog, move my belongings inside Hershel’s house. Andrea, our role is to make sure the men are properly equipped to protect us. Hey Andrea, get out of the truck and help Carol fight off the “walkers” while I take your seat and drive off without you. This brings me to this point. If you aren’t going to have any positive effect on the group, at least keep track of your damn kid. There is a lot of lip service paid to the importance of protecting Carl, yet this idiot kid wanders around the farm unsupervised constantly. He wanders outside the house when everyone is supposed to be on lock down because there may be a murderous prisoner in close vicinity. He wanders over to the barn when Rick was going to kill said prisoner. My feelings on Lori? As Jack Bauer would say, “DAMMMITTT!” What is the redeeming quality of Lori, honestly?

(**) No, really. This happened.

(***) Although the story was always headed there. But it is clear that Shane went after Rick because of the conversation he had with Lori.

Speaking of the Lori’s son, Carl is stupid for a pre-teen. Actually, Carl is stupid for a breathing human being. I have seen “walkers” show more intelligence than this kid. The horribleness of Carl is exacerbated by the fact that the actor playing him is terrible (****). He’s laughably bad. I mean, I really hate to rag on a child actor, but this casting decision was a colossal error. I think it’s pretty clear to the audience that this kid is a horrendous actor. I hope the writers know this as well. On-screen adjustments have clearly not been made however because Carl is doing more heavy lifting as the the show goes on. Ideally, the actor wouldn’t be given much responsibility at all. Lord knows there are enough background characters on this show. Let me get back to the character though. First off, I clearly do not understand how in THIS world any kid is able to wander around unsupervised. And when he wanders he makes stupid decisions. He walks in the woods and finds a “walker” trapped in mud. He decides to throw rocks at the “walker” which of course riles it up and frees it up from the mud. Dale is later killed by the same “walker” (of course). Rick, Shane, and Daryl go to the barn to execute Randall, the prisoner, before Carl appears at the barn opening and says, “Do it dad. Do it.” Like any line of dialogue uttered by Carl, color me unconvinced. Again, he wandered off somehow; but why would he go to the barn to watch someone get executed? Curiosity is not reason enough. In the penultimate episode, Carl wanders out of the house when everyone is supposed to stay inside. Why? How? I do not know. Carl is a stupid character made worse by poor acting. Why the writers give him so much material is beyond me.

(****) This is putting it as kindly as possible.

Other issues with season two:

• T-Dog: It is really unbelievable how much the writers have squandered this character. T-Dog literally spent several episodes standing in the background. He spent the last couple episodes moving Lori’s material items into Hershel’s house while complaining under his breath, uttering elegant lines such as “aw hell naw” and being Lori’s personal driver out of danger. Oh, and when things finally seem to calm down and the survivors are able to build a fire, there was ole T-Dog standing watch, not able to partake in the warmth.
• Carol: All I know is that her husband was abusive and she was too busy sitting on her hands to look for (or show the utmost concern for) her missing daughter in a world full of zombies. Frailty? I think not. The show built up a relationship between her and Daryl. In the finale, after displaying no backbone whatsoever, she pulls a Lori and whispers (loudly) to Daryl over her concern of Rick’s leadership (mind you Lori and Carl are sitting a few feet away when this is said). After all the nothing she has done and all that Rick has done in an effort to protect the group (ineffectively or not), this is when you decide to speak up?! I was mostly indifferent towards Carol; now I can’t stand her.
• What exactly was Shane’s plan (in killing Rick)? Would anyone in the group bought whatever he was going to sell (well, they are stupid)? This was truly one of the most ill-conceived plans I have ever witnessed. If Shane really wanted to kill Rick, he would have just killed him instead of speechifying and doing it in accordance with the backstabber’s code – if you are going to kill your best friend, you better tell him you are going to do it first. It’s not like that cost him his life or anything.
• The search for Sofia was a plot slog if I have ever seen one. And an uninteresting one to boot. Were we ever really invested in that character?
• Exploring group dynamics is really not what this show does well as much as it tries to.
• How can anyone question Rick for killing Shane?
• What was Rick’s plan in saving Randall and bringing him back to the farm? He was part of a group trying to kill Rick, Glenn and Hershel. Rick is a good person. In the moment I get that he would want to save a human’s life (especially in this zombie world). But after saving Randall they decide to cut him loose far away from the farm, then change plans and agree to kill him. Obviously, he was more trouble than he was worth.
• Minor quibbles from the finale that I can forgive: the marksmanship of our heroes, Hershel’s never-ending shotgun, the “walkers” being attracted to a helicopter overhead and finding their way to the farm, the “walkers” changing course after a single gunshot, Rick and Carl not seeing or better yet hearing the “walkers” coming behind them (not from the finale, but how does Dale not hear that “walker” coming up from behind until it was too late – could have been handled differently is all).

So, yes this is a frustrating show for me. But like I mentioned earlier, the show does enough right to keep me coming back (******). The show does certain moments expertly and memorably. For example:

• The zombie highway scene in the season premiere.
• The final scene from the first half of season 2 – Shane opening up the barn door.
• The scene in the bar with Rick, Glenn, Herschel and the two guys from the other camp that wander in (probably my favorite scene in the show’s run).
• The second half of the penultimate episode and a good deal of the finale were also strong.

Just generally, I think a lot of the action and the stuff involving “walkers” is done well even though I don’t care about the stakes all that much.

(******) And I get why it’s so popular. Zombies are “in,” it’s “easy” to watch, etc. People watch TV shows for different reasons. Others can forgive a lot of the character problems that drive my frustration.

One of the reasons I have such a hard time with this show is that it has potential. The premise is there. The opportunities for exploration are there. The visual/special effects are there. The entertainment value is there enough of the time. The characterization is not there. The plot is not there.

Something I found a little reassuring was from the final moments of the finale. Rick’s speech. It was a welcome moment. Rick hasn’t been a good leader. He’s hardly been effective. When you have a maniac like Shane in your group it’s hard to be a leader. After hearing more bitching and moaning from the others in the group who haven’t sacrificed what Rick has, it was great to see him lay down the law.

“But get one thing straight. You’re stayin’, this isn’t a democracy anymore.”

Hopefully this strong statement will be a firm one. Someone needs to turn the tide on character stupidity. Someone needed to do something interesting. Hopefully Rick’s newfound leadership style will hold.