Will The Walking Dead Come Back Swinging or Sucking?

Alistair Talks all Things TWD Before This Sunday’s Premiere – Snark-Full and Spoiler-Free!

So you know I have a “No Spoiler” clause when I talk about The Walking Dead because I hate it when I go online the day after a show I wanted to see airs and it’s totally ruined because I was passed out in a drunken stupor and missed the premiere. So I’m going to hold off on spilling any secrets about the upcoming second half of Season 2 – really this is more for funsies because I just enjoy the sound of my own voice way too much to remain silent. Not to mention, for some crazy reason people are actually reading my Walking Dead columns – who knew?

So let’s break this down – because while I’m not spilling any deets about the actual season, there’s plenty of backstage drama to discuss – with Frank Darabont just getting his L.A. Noir pilot greenlit by TNT (don’t get too amped, gamers – it’s not based on the game, it’s based on a book of the same title) TWD could be facing some competition from their former showrunner – a move that becomes even more juicy since the new show could possibly star none other than Shane himself, John Bernthal as the lead. Bernthal’s found success as Shane on TWD – a character who was killed off pretty early in the comics but who now serves as an integral foil for Sheriff Rick Grimes – but personally I feel like he’s being totally wasted. He’s a fantastic actor and if the first half is any indication he’s kinda getting pigeonholed into a Psycho-Villain role that’s actually more annoying than scary. I would LOVE to see this guy get a chance to shine as LAPD officer Joe Teague in L.A. Noir.

But Darabont’s potentially competing show and Bernthal’s possible departure to star in it are the least of AMC’s worries now that creator Robert Kirkman has been slapped with a lawsuit. The author of the comics, who now serves as head writer on the show, is being sued by longtime friend and collaborator, Michael Anthony Moore, who claims to have helped develop the concept for the comics and believes he’s owed a piece of the TV-show-pie. Details are a little murky but it seems like Moore believes he was bamboozled into signing away his rights and now he’s pissed about it.

As I said in my last post covering the fall-finale I’ve felt like the show creators seriously dropped the ball at the start of Season 2 by slashing the budget and unceremoniously firing Darabont. His axing lead to some shaky plot twists (the Sophia debacle comes to mind) and I’ve heard that while Darabont’s vision was to go in a more ensemble direction with different episodes highlighting different cast members (a move I think would be brilliant) the rumor is that show-creator Robert Kirkman plans to steer the show back to a Rick-heavy storyline, which is more true to his comics, but has many viewers (okay, just me) crying foul because if I have to see Rick deliver one more shaky-southern-accented “I’m so mad I’m crying” monologue I may eat my weight in Diphen and let the world go spinny just to forget the first part of this season ever happened. Minus “A Very Daryl Episode” because I’m a little obsessed with all things Daryl Dixon. Sigh…

Sorry, let me get out of my Norman Reedus reverie and back to the matter at hand – what can we expect from the second part of Season 2 when the first part was so all over the place and somewhat disappointing? And now, just when the second half is set to premiere, the show’s once again surrounded in controversy. Will Rick and Lori keep the baby? Will Shane continue his downward spiral into Crazy Town? What about Maggie and Glenn’s budding relationship? Will Daryl and Carol rev up their friendship into a full-blown romance and become the most annoyingly named couple ever? And most importantly – will Andrea remain a trigger-happy-Shane-banging idiot?

I’m dying to find out! Ugh. It’s like waiting for a pot dealer to get off their lazy ass and come deliver the good stuff. You know that shit takes forever and all they’re doing is sitting on their couch watching Sponge Bob.

Alistair’s on Twitter! Get up to the date snobbery @Ask_Alistair!