Blu-ray Review - The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season

The first half of The Walking Dead's second season did a lot to squander the goodwill generated by the first. Network interference with then-showrunner Frank Darabont's plan for the season resulted in the first seven episodes feeling painfully stretched thin. The bloated well zombie in "Cherokee Rose" was the perfect example of the show spinning its wheels. It's for this early stretch of episodes that The Walking Dead season 2 gets much of its bad name. 

But then the second half of the season aired, and whether it was new showrunner Glen Mazzara or some other factor, the season started to find its footing and stopped fooling around. Some characters died. The survivors finally got off the damn farm. Each episode became tense and advanced the story meaningfully. 

That's where a strange part of The Walking Dead season 2's rewatch value come from. The thirteen episodes are there to be half-mocked, half enjoyed. After all, for as much critical lambasting as it receives, The Walking Dead isn't a bad show; it had a stretch of bad episodes, and the final six episodes make up for the flaws of the first seven. 

The Walking Dead Season 2 hit shelves on August 28, and the standard Blu-ray set is quite nice. Sure, it doesn't come with a zombie head for you to stab, but it is adorned with that glorious season 2 key art, which remains one of my favorite television posters ever. 

The set is packaged with plenty of special features, including a fascinating look at Bear McCreary's awesome score, the burning of the barn from the season finale, and, of course, a look at the make-up effects of the zombies. The six-episode web series, 'Torn Apart,' is also featured on the set. 

The show, naturally, looks pretty darn cool in high-definition -- especially the aforementioned barn fire. Unfortunately, the enhanced audio quality doesn't make Andrew Lincoln's southern accent sound any more realistic. That's just something you'll have to deal with. 

The Walking Dead season 2 is available now on DVD and Blu-ray. 

The Walking Dead season 3 kicks off October 14.