The Walking Dead 2x10 "18 Miles Out" Catharsis Is a Bloody Affair

Hand cutting and Walker blood should not mix, guys

I think any Walking Dead fan will agree that the climactic showdown between Rick and Shane has been a long time coming. And my, but wasn't it a lovely spectacle of emotions and bloody fists? Not to mention two of the *best* zombie dispatching scenes of this season, this episode had action to spare. But it also asked some pretty deep emotional questions about doing the moral thing vs being driven by guilt or fear.

Or more pointedly: when do you give up your humanity to simply survive? The Walking Dead is a master at creating this visceral expectations in the viewer and then the payoff is profound.

The Walking Dead 2.09 "Triggerfinger" Click - Click - BOOM!

It never ends well, does it? (Credit AMC)

(Still waiting on Popstar.com to add Walking Dead into the cue. It might be S3 before that happens)

Ever see those commercials talking about all the elements in innovation, but it's the "Human" element that matters most? I think that's very appropriate for this episode. But while all these roiling human emotions are bubbling and frothing over the surface, there's a hellova lot of great action too. I'd really like to know WHAT exactly the Walker-actors are chowing down on when they are seen eating bits of flesh, too. Some sort of fake-blood covered rubber? Chicken bits? Polycarbinate silicate?

The Walking Dead 2.08 "Nebraska" The Quiet Before the Storm?

Make mine a double...

(Until Popstar.com is updated with The Walking Dead, I'll be covering it here.) 

I admit... I'm a late bloomer when it comes to The Walking Dead. I came in at S2 premiere and had to mainline S1 to catch up. But damn, was I hooked. Because here was a zombie show that wasn't really about zombies. It's about the human element. Now, I love a good blood and guts brawl with the undead as much as the next girl, but I love character development and storytelling more.

After nearly three months of waiting, rewatching the first 7 episodes a ridiculous amount of times, dissecting the characters down to their bare bones and reading any and all interviews I could find, I got to say, I was both impressed and disappointed in this mid-season premiere.