'The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season '
(Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jon Bernthal, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, et al / 4-Disc DVD / NR / 2012 / Anchor Bay Entertainment)
Overview: When the world is ravaged by a zombie apocalypse, police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and a small group of others struggle to stay alive as 'the dead' stalk them at every turn. Can Rick and the others hold onto their humanity as they fight to live in this terrifying new world? And, amidst dire conditions and personal rivalries, will they ultimately survive one another?
DVD Verdict: For those not in the know, or simply wondering if they can come into this show without having seen Season One, 'The Walking Dead - Season Two' continues the story of (former) Police Officer Rick Grimes and his band of normal-world-refugees across a world suddenly infected by a Walking Dead sickness. Civilization has been replaced by vicious hordes of the undead.
And yet, still deep at its core, the story is much less about zombies and more about what happens to society, its morals, laws and standards when government is lost and the planet becomes mostly uninhabitable. There's real, heartfelt emotion in 'The Walking Dead' series combined with believable scenarios - and ultimate sadness.
In 'What Lies Ahead,' we continue onwards without a recap, save for Rick talking into his walk talkie to "the world" - which kinda brings us full circle and up to date on things. The journey to Fort Benning is quickly halted as Sofia is chased into the woods by zombies. Rick goes to save her, kills the zombies but can't find Sofia thereafter. In 'Bloodletting,' we flashback to earlier days before the zombies, before heading back into the woods - where Rick's young boy Carl gets shot by a deer hunter. They all then converge on a vet's estate to have him operate. In 'Save The Last One,' Shane and Otis, the guy who shot Carl, go out to a medical unit to grab some stuff needed to save the boy. Surrounded by zombies, Shane sacrifices Otis to save himself.
In 'Chereokee Rose,' the search for Sofia is ongoing still, and a couple get it on in a phramacy looking for supplies! Lori gets some news she wasn't expecting too! In 'Chupacabra,' Merle (Michael Rooker) comes back to his younger brother Daryl in a dream sequence, and the secret of what's in the barn is revealed! In 'Secrets,' Lori gives Rick the news she's pregnant, and they are still trying to plan searches for Sofia. In 'Pretty Much Dead Already,' the gang try to figure out what to do with the walkers in the barn, Shane and Rick have yet another run in, and after a shoot out with all the zombies in the barn, the closing shot is of sofia trudging out - sadly, as a zombie.
In 'Nebraska,' after the death of Sofia, the gang tidy things ups, bury their dead, but after a trip to town to find their host ata bar, run into some human rednecks! In 'Trigger Finger,' Lori is involved in a car crash going to get Rick from town, and the guys battle being trapped inside the pub by a mob of angry redneck humans! In '18 Miles Out, Rick and Shane travel 18 miles out to find a good place to hole up and come across a Water Works. Then they get into it with each other AGAIN, which leads to the zombies finding them, and they finally only just get away. In 'Judge, Jury, Executioner,' the captured redneck being held hostage is voted on re: his life. Come the end, he remains alive, but the gang lose one of their beloved own to a zombie!
In 'Better Angels,' Shane is losing it, the zombies are getting en mass, and suddenly Shane leads the captured boy into the woods, strangles him, convinces Rick to come help him look for him, and then they have their massive open field stand off - which only one man survives. In the final episode, 'Beside The Dying Fire,' all hell breaks lose on the ranch as th zombies fine their collective way to it for a tour de force battle royale ending. A firey stand off ensues, more cast members die, and eventually the core make it out alive to regroup on the highway. Save for Andrea, who is left for dead by them but survives in the woods due to a new (hero) character to be revealed in season three! With the infamous to the comic books Prison rising up in the background of the final shot, we know just where the gang is headed for season three. This is a Widescreen Presentation 1.78:1 enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
• Audio Commentaries
• Webisodes
• Deleted Scenes
• Over 10 Never-Before-Seen Featurettes!
www.AnchorBayEntertainment.com