First Walking Dead Season 2 Footage Shambles Into View

[Earnest Cavalli]

First Walking Dead Season 2 Footage Shambles Into View


Really, AMC? Rick Grimes killing zombies? You think that's the best way to tease the second season of The Walking Dead?

Before I delve into this trailer, I should note that I am a rabid fan of The Walking Dead. I own every Blu-Ray release of the TV show's first season [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1582406197/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1582403589&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1CE2TDS8NJ6AX539GB60], and consider the overarching tale to be the greatest "pure zombie" story ever told.

(Romero doesn't count. His best films aren't really zombie movies, so much as allegories about the horrors of mob mentality, consumerism and John Leguizamo.)

Thus, when I imagine what sort of tantalizing vignette AMC could toss at fans to tease the second season of the show, all kinds of brilliant moments spring to mind. Unfortunately, AMC opted to appeal primarily to people whose only knowledge of the series centers on its inclusion of shambling corpsefolk.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of Rick Grimes splattering a couple zombies with a rock -- they were asking for it, dressed like that -- but that's not exactly the focus of the series, is it?

Those of you who have read the comics will agree with me on this point: The Walking Dead, first and foremost, is a literary experiment designed to see just how much horror and misery a writer can visit upon his characters. Presumably, though its plot has deviated somewhat, the TV series will continue to hew close to Kirkman's bleak, nihilist view of post-apocalyptic reality.

At least, that's my hope. This trailer, wherein Rick triumphs over numerically superior zombie odds with nothing but a pointy stone, presents a far more optimistic take. That doesn't exactly jive with my hopes that AMC will somehow find the chutzpah to show a certain horrifically brutal shotgun kill that pushes Rick straight off the edge of sanity, into the world of talking telephones and permanent five o'clock shadow.

What? Don't look at me like that. Kirkman wrote it, I was just impressed by the savage brutality of the whole thing. And if you're going to adapt The Walking Dead, why wouldn't you keep the story's most shocking dramatic twist?

Season 2 of The Walking Dead premieres in October, so you still have a few months to hope against hope that AMC doesn't neuter this thing.

Source: io9 [http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-a-first-look-at-season-2]

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[Sparrow]

I'm a rabid fanboy at the best of times, but this does not seem like such a big deal to me. It just seems like a way to say "we've kept the same production values and we're heading to your TV soon!" without spoiling anything for folks who didn't watch the first season.

 

[Fappy]

I'm not ready to dismiss season two because of an uncreative teaser just yet

 

[crystalsnow]

Actually, this looks more like a joke preview than anything else.

Offtopic:

WTF CAPTCHA?: I was asked to respond to the prompt of "I'm familiar with manilla.com" Agree, somewhat agree, neutral, somewhat disagree, and disagree. Was there even a wrong answer? I swear this crap is just advertising now.

 

[Stevey M]

In contrast to what you're saying here, Earnest, I love it when teasers give away nothing but a tidbit of information. Too many times have I seen the plot of a first episode be told in a 2 minute trailer. Or experienced all of the best jokes a show has to offer for the season. Or the best action scenes. A trailer such as this one, however, denotes nothing more than what we've already come to expect from The Walking Dead: Zombie gonna die! And thank goodness for that. The only insight I want in to what this season is all about is when I'm sat at home watching it. Roll on October!

 

[hooblabla6262]

As a huge fanboy of the comic series, I have to say that the first season was a disappointment. Even with this less-than-exciting teaser, I will still remain hopeful that AMC can turn things around in the second season.

And just to further explain why I am disappointed in the first season. I feel that the show seems to miss the points that the comic hit so hard, mainly that the series isn't about zombies but that people themselves are monsters. So far the AMC version has done very little to convey that message. Plus, I get the distinct feeling that they are going to leave out the more brutal scenes from the comic when it comes to the television series (for obvious censor reasons).

Personally, I think the Walking Dead video game will do a far better job at telling a fresh story than the television series ever could, seeing as it doesn't have to constantly be compared to an already great storyline and won't have to censor itself so much.

 

[Earnest Cavalli]

In contrast to what you're saying here, Earnest, I love it when teasers give away nothing but a tidbit of information. Too many times have I seen the plot of a first episode be told in a 2 minute trailer. Or experienced all of the best jokes a show has to offer for the season. Or the best action scenes. A trailer such as this one, however, denotes nothing more than what we've already come to expect from The Walking Dead: Zombie gonna die! And thank goodness for that. The only insight I want in to what this season is all about is when I'm sat at home watching it. Roll on October!

Oh, I don't want it to give everything away, I just want it to exhibit the same tone I'd expect from the series.

Specifically: Horrible, crushing sadness.

 

[sheah1]

Actually.... I'm pretty damn impressed. Look at Rick, look at the savagery in his face (the acting in series 1 was far too good for this to be a coincidence), he wasn't using guns, he was filthy even by the show's standards, he looked kind of animalistic, hell, this could be directly after said shotgun blast (if it wasn't for the obvious). Maybe the show really is following the comic.

 

[Ne1butme]

(Romero doesn't count. His best films aren't really zombie movies, so much as allegories about the horrors of mob mentality, consumerism and John Leguizamo.)

If you think Walking Dead is the best zombie story, then that's fine. But don't just dismiss the Romero tales because they are allegorical. All zombie stories are about the human condition. What we become when our dead threaten us. That is the essence of zombie.

Romero might play up a certain aspect of ourselves, but that doesn't mean his works are not zombie films.

 

[DustyDrB]

Ugh, they showed this during the Breaking Bad season premiere last night (why does this site have news on The Walking Dead and not AMC's other, much better shows?). Seriously, they needed to say "warning: you're about to be shown really gross shit".

Edit: This is me being an asshole. And a hypocritical one at that. Apologies.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Spoiler: MAJOR plot spoiler in regards to Mr. Cavalli's Article comment

Spoiler: Warning if you haven't read all the comics its a super spoiler

to be fair Ricks Wife doesn't get shot dead with a shotgun while carrying their unborn child that could or could not have been Ricks bestest pal's until way later in the story!

So they have time to get to that reality and more seasons hopefully

 

[Riff Moonraker]

Spoiler: MAJOR plot spoiler in regards to Mr. Cavalli's Article comment

Spoiler: Warning if you haven't read all the comics its a super spoiler

to be fair Ricks Wife doesn't get shot dead with a shotgun while carrying their unborn child that could or could not have been Ricks bestest pal's until way later in the story!

So they have time to get to that reality and more seasons hopefully

Um, thats not how it happened. Not at all. The particular subject HAD already been born.

Anyways, as heartbreaking as that whole thing was, what they did recently in Issue #83 nearly broke me for good. I am still honestly reeling from it.

 

[Stevey M]

In contrast to what you're saying here, Earnest, I love it when teasers give away nothing but a tidbit of information. Too many times have I seen the plot of a first episode be told in a 2 minute trailer. Or experienced all of the best jokes a show has to offer for the season. Or the best action scenes. A trailer such as this one, however, denotes nothing more than what we've already come to expect from The Walking Dead: Zombie gonna die! And thank goodness for that. The only insight I want in to what this season is all about is when I'm sat at home watching it. Roll on October!

Oh, I don't want it to give everything away, I just want it to exhibit the same tone I'd expect from the series.

Specifically: Horrible, crushing sadness.

Ah, I probably jumped the gun a bit there. I hate most trailers so I'm pretty quick to defend them whenever a good one arises.

Edit: And by good, I mean one that doesn't fall in to the territory I layed out.

 

[MarsProbe]

Wow, way to throw a hissy fit over 1 minutes worth of footage of an entire season. I've not read The Walking Dead GN, so maybe I'm missing something that throws people into a total frenzy.

You know, maybe I'll fly into a rage when the 2nd season clip for Game of Thrones only shows some people having an exciting swordfight, as opposed to a whole minute of someone trudging through the mud.

 

[BrunDeign]

He looks awfully beat up/tired mentally and physically. Maybe something bad has already happened at this point? Not terribly optimistic given the way you made it sound like in the article.

 

[Phlakes]

Mm, skulls being crushed. Tasty.

OT: I watched a bit of the first two episodes, and once I have a better computer I'll stream the rest wherever they are.

 

[badmunky64]

I think you're jumping the gun there.

 

[Tdc2182]

Well seeing how AMC just... didn't show the last 4 episodes, I think a few people are gonna be lost.

Me included.

 

[fieryshadowcard]

Well seeing how AMC just... didn't show the last 4 episodes, I think a few people are gonna be lost.

Me included.

Wait, what? I thought they showed their full first season?

On-topic: I dunno, Earnest. While I'm completely certain that the graphic novel is infinitely bleaker than what AMC has depicted (truth be told, I was amazed at all that AMC had a show revolving so much around death and gore in the first place), the impression I got from the first season WAS one of bleakness. From what I gather in this thread, the end-of-season bunker was never in the novels? I don't think it ruined the atmosphere the novel setup, though--at the end of that season, I just watched what they thought to be their one hope of survival go up in a soul-shattering explosion. This, not long after they learned that similar failures had happened elsewhere. Sure, upon retrospect a deus ex sanctuary of sorts was a bit cheesy and hollywood, but the fact they didn't go to a happily ever after "there's a cure" path like they could have made that part pretty dang impactful, because now they're just driving, in a world full of zombies, with no idea where to go or why to even go there.

It's also possible that season 2 will be more faithful than season 1, which was a) both an experiment in content on a show that many thought probably should have aired on a less restrictive channel; and b) an experiment to see if people took interest, in which case they could showcase the darker story you're describing after season 1's prologue, because they know they now have an audience.

Your claim that the show is still a bit optimistic clashes with the experience I got from watching the first season, not because I haven't seen darker, but because I came away from it thinking "Yep. They're completely screwed." It's possible you might have thought otherwise because the graphic novels take that feeling and magnify it much more, but this was still a pretty cynical and bleak take on the zombie genre for me, certainly more than I've usually seen. And I like it. Rather than hoping AMC doesn't drop the ball again, I'm hoping the second season will make me feel more depressed about their situation.