The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 2: Sick

Wow, another awesome Walking Dead episode! That's two in a row. Can they keep the streak going? Let's hope so.

You know, I was really worried for the show when producer Frank Darabont was fired last season, but so far the new creative team seems to be working out just fine. It almost seems like they read the fans' online complaints and addressed them.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

• For a while there I wasn't sure if poor Herschel was going to make it through the episode, especially after I noticed Scott Wilson's name isn't in the opening credits. But thankfully he survived-- for now anyway. Hopefully Carl will be able to find him some crutches, as there probably aren't a lot of C-Leg prosthetics lying around the prison.

• Looks like I was wrong about one of the prisoners being Tyreese. Oh well. I know the comic book version wasn't a prisoner, but since he hasn't been introduced yet I thought this would be a good way to do so. I was right about the scruffy prisoner turning out to be Axel though, who was a pretty prominent character in the comic.

• I couldn't help but laugh when the prisoners wanted to borrow a cell phone to call their loved ones. Wow, they have been out of touch for a long time!

It seems kind of iffy to believe the five prisoners just sat in the commissary patiently waiting for help for ten months without ever once sticking their heads out a door to see what was going on, but there you go. I guess they're prisoners-- they're used to sitting and waiting.

• I was expecting the group of prisoners to become regulars, but most of them barely stuck around long enough to have any lines! Big Tiny, we hardly knew ye! He seemed like a fun character and I hoped he'd be around longer, but it wasn't to be.

Tomas (the leader) thought he was such a badass, but he just wasn't prepared for Team Rick. So what was Tomas' thought process in trying to "accidentally" kill Rick? Did he think Daryl and T-Dog would just shrug and start following him? Seems like he didn't think his plan through very thoroughly, which is probably why he was in prison in the first place.

And I honestly wasn't expecting him to get a machete in the head, especially from Rick, but I understand why he did it.

• Apparently being a prisoner means you can't follow simple, basic directions. The jailhouse gang were very patiently and clearly told to aim for the zombie's heads, and what do they do? Shank 'em in the gut like they're plain old inmates, with predictable results.

• Poop room! Ha! Speaking of which, where is Rick's group going toidy?

• I find it interesting that it's becoming a little vague as to who the good guys are. In this episode Team Rick seem more brutal and cold-blooded than any inmate could ever hope to be. I suppose that's the only way to survive in this world.

After the whole Shane debacle and the unseen, presumably hard winter, Rick has become a man who will literally do anything to keep his group alive-- including outright murder. And killing is becoming easier for him all the time. Are Rick's actions justified? Or is he just plain nuts? It's an interesting question, and I can't think of any other series that has presented its hero in such an ambiguous moral light.

• Carl's becoming quite the little killing machine. He proudly boasts of killing two walkers as he scrounged for medical supplies. Which is probably exactly what would happen to a kid growing up in a world like this, robbed of a normal childhood.

• Lori's character seems to be written much better this season. She hasn't annoyed me once so far.

• Even Carol has found a purpose as the group's back-up medic. That scene with her practicing surgery on a walker? Again, something I never thought I'd see on a TV series, even on cable.

About her walker anatomy lesson-- I understand why she's doing it, but how much could she learn from it? Cutting open a living, breathing human is one thing. Cutting open a dried up leathery walker is quite another.

• Everyone in the cast seems to have suddenly become important, and all have a role to play. Compare that to last season, when the secondary cast was little more than set dressing. It's a trend I hope they keep up, but realistically they probably won't, especially once the Governor and his crew turn up.

Next week: The Governor makes his debut. And if he's anything like his comic book counterpart, it's not gonna be pretty.