TV RECAP: The Walking Dead S2E03 “Save The Last One”

So–wow. This was a big week, and one that’s starting to show that the world of AMC’s The Walking Dead is as much (or more) different from its comic book counterpart as the True Blood TV series is from the novels upon which it’s based. And while fans who were a little concerned about the slow, thoughtful pace of last week’s episode will be pleased to find quite a bit more action in episode 3, fans of the comics may be more than a little unhappy to see what’s happened to their beloved canon.The first change (and the hardest to pin down) is that Andrea seems here to be developing a relationship with Daryl. While it’s not entirely surprising that the TV series should downplay the romance/sexuality in her relationship with her sometime father figure, most fans of the comic have probably been a bit vexed to see her flirting with a character who didn’t even exist in the comics (I noticed it as early as the season premiere, when he was helping her with the guns). I personally don’t mind it being a new character but a white supremacist seems an odd fit.The second major departure from Robert Kirkman’s comics is–well, we’ll get to that in time. Suffice it to say, the episode served as a bit of a reminder that the more things change, the more they remain the same–and that Shane (even in this brave new world where the actor is beloved and he’s lasted longer than a single story) is still a dangerous and unpredictable variable. Like in the comics, Shane is a man whose moral compass has been altered completely by the zombie apocalypse in a way that neither the viewers, nor the rest of the survivors, are likely to be comfortable with.The episode opens with Shane and Otis alternately running from and killing off zombie FEMA workers in an abandoned high school (apparently Hurricane Katrina WASN’T the organization’s worst-ever response to a crisis) while Rick and Lori continue to sit by Carl’s bedside. There’s something of a thoughtful exchange there, with Lori laying out for Rick the idea that whatever happens to Carl–whether it’s death by walker or a world where he grows up to be a man with the emotional development of a ten-year-old and a waist-high pile of corpses in his past. is the world of The Walking Dead a place where it’s safe for children? Regular readers of the comics know that both Carl and Sophia have been pretty major characters for a pretty substantial amount of time and that, relative to other horror franchises, it’s pretty kid-friendly–but you certainly would think twice about that if, say, you were pregnant.