The Walking Dead – “Seed”

Firstly, this review contains spoilers!

Now that’s out of the way let’s get down to the review. The season 3 premiere “Seed” takes place a few months after the disastrous events on Hershel’s farm last season, and a few noticeable  changes have taken place in between. Firstly, Carl has become a bad-ass! It’s clear from the pre-credits seen (with him helping out by killing walkers with a silenced pistol) that  this is a completely different kid. He also has a weird thing going on with Beth. I guess she’s just taking what she can get, especially seeing as how Jimmy died in the season 2 finale.

The survivors soon find the prison that was first glimpsed at the end of “Beside the Dying Fire” (It’s explained that it’s taken them this long because they’ve been going in circles all winter) The group first fight their way into the prison courtyard, with Rick offering to go in first. Carol has become a great shot now and is a hell of a lot more talkative; she has a nice scene when she talks to Daryl. It sure makes a change from Daryl snapping at her all the time. This first push into the prison yard is the easier part.  Rick suggests going for the rest of the prison. This first “argument” with Lori shows the new Rick, but more on that later. The group doesn’t have enough bullets to use guns to take the prison, so they do it hand to hand.

This battle is very well done, with everyone involved getting a cool kill. Maggie has changed a lot since we last saw her as well.Like Carl she’s a zombie killing bad-ass as well now. It’s nice a nice touch when a walker with a gas mask pops out and scares her, showing that there are still things in this world that scare these characters. This is also the scene in which the walkers in Police riot gear appear. Whoever thought up the idea of zombies wearing riot gear deserves a medal. Just when I thought the zombies couldn’t become more threatening, these near invincible zombies appear. It’s actually Maggie who manages to defeat the first one, by stabbing it in its chin underneath the helmet. Maggie was as amazed as the audience in this intense scene, screaming “Did you see that?!” after her awesome zombie kill.

When the fight was over, Rick removed the gas mask from one of the walkers, pulling its face off with it. I’m not sure what to think of this, but I’m guessing it’s just showing that the walkers have begun to decompose after being around for so long. They then move into the prison, with everyone picking a cell. In this scene, it’s apparent that Rick and Lori’s relationship has really changed. Lori approaches Rick to talk to him but he angrily blows her off. Pregnant Lori can’t seem to catch a break, but she does have an excellent monologue to Hershel however. She asks him what if the baby is a zombie, or if the baby is stillborn and then comes back as a zombie or what if the lack of food has caused the baby to reanimate whilst she’s pregnant and rip its way out. It’s scary stuff. She also mentions that it was her fault Rick killed Shane; “I put him and Shane at odds. I put the knife in his hand.” In my opinion this more or less makes up for her bitchiness in the season 2 finale. At least she admits it’s her fault (or maybe it’s the pregnancy talking)

Rick then takes a small group to clear out more of the prison (perhaps it was a bad idea taking Hershel…) They soon get swarmed in a very intense scene as they all run back through the small, tight corridors whilst being chased by walkers. They get split up for a minute and  Hershel soon gets bitten in the leg. They drag him into the cafeteria and lay him on the floor. Rick reacts quickly and hacks through his leg with his axe. Rick physically recoils in horror after a few whacks, even Rick Grimes has his limits. The episode ends with a shot of some fellow survivors in the prison; the prisoners. One prisoner (Axel?) reacts perfectly, exclaiming “Holy shit!”

The episode features a scene of Michonne and Andrea as well but it’s a short one. It’s nice to see these characters however and Michonne is as amazing as would be expected of someone killing zombies with a samurai sword (i.e. VERY AMAZING)

Even though it was shorter than previous series openers (at only about 45 minutes) it was my favourite. It’s a huge change of pace from the previous season and it was a brilliant way to kick off what could be the best series of The Walking Dead so far.