Warning: Full spoilers follow for The Walking Dead Season 3 premiere episode, "Seed," and minor spoilers for Robert Kirkman's Walking Dead comic book series.
So how about that for a Walking Dead season premiere, huh? Pretty exciting and gruesome stuff. And, as tradition here at IGN, we got to talk to comic series creator and show EP/writer Robert Kirkman about what we just saw. Months have passed, Rick's fully in command, Carl's now clearing houses with the likes of Daryl and T-Dog, there's a walker-filled prison that needs cleansing, Lori's not giving Rick any disapproving looks or pushback and Andrea and Michonne are still off on their own. There's just so much happening.
The Walking Dead: Season 3 Premiere Review
IGN: Well, we're finally here. We're at the prison now. What's it like to finally be tackling a big set piece and storyline that the comic fans have been anticipating ever since the show started?
Robert Kirkman: My experience in having the Walking Dead comic turned into a TV show has been indescribable. It's not something that I've ever heard of anyone really experiencing. It really is quite bizarre. I've gone from seeing comic book characters that I've written for nearly a decade come to be represented by flesh and blood human beings who you can have conversations with. Which is really awkward. But now I'm actually seeing an entire world built up that I can walk around in. I can go into cells inside the prison. I can walk the prison yard. I can play basketball on the basketball court. I can go up into the guard tower. It's really strange to see it all come to life and I think AMC's done a really good job in working with very talented people who really dedicate themselves into making this show the best that it can be. I know a lot of time and effort went into making this prison and it looks absolutely remarkable on screen. In person though, it's overwhelming for me to be there.
IGN: A lot of things have changed within the group since the last time we saw them. Exactly how much time has passed?
Kirkman: Well, we don't really like to nail things down too tightly, but we were getting into winter pretty much by the end of Season 2. The leaves were starting to fall off and it was getting pretty cold and so we were definitely approaching winter when we last left off. Season 3 picks up now with the end of spring and the beginning of summer. So we skipped through a little bit of fall, winter and a little bit of spring.
IGN: What was behind the decision to have Rick be so fully in charge? I think the term that was coined was "Ricktatorship."
Kirkman: I think it was very important, after the last scene in Season 2, to show that Rick's decision to not take any advice from his people and to make it his way or the highway has really made it so that they've all survived the winter, despite not being able to find a solid place to live in for any real length of time. I think we really wanted to show that Rick is a capable leader and that he does know what he's doing. And I think the first two episodes of the season will show everyone that this is a different guy; much more harsh, much more deadly and way more serious. A hardened leader.
IGN: He really has no opposition, at this point, from anyone. And they're a head-strong group.
Kirkman: For better or for worse, Rick's word is law right now. And that's something that has kept them alive. But we'll see, as the season progresses, sometimes he makes mistakes and sometimes bad things happen. But for now, at least, Rick's in charge and we're seeing a very different person. This is a guy who was a small town cop who was just kind of feeling his way through this world. And to a certain extent, he was scared out of his mind. Over the course of the first two seasons, he's become this guy that we have now who is running head first into a prison yard and taking walkers out. And doing whatever he has to do to keep these people around him safe.
IGN: Another big change, and more evidence that Rick's word is law, is how much Carl has changed. Rick would have gotten an earful if he'd tried to have Carl shoot walkers last year.
Kirkman: Carl has really evolved into a child soldier over the course of the winter. He's now there in the mix with Rick and Daryl when they're cleaning out that house in the beginning. He knows how to clear a room now. He knows how to run through a house that could be infested with zombies. And, as you can see, this is something he's done before. This is Carl growing up. Having that time jump in between the seasons has really facilitated turning Carl into a different character. A much more capable character. Someone who doesn't have to hide in the house while all the cool stuff happens. He's out there shooting guns, taking out Walkers and being a little badass.
IGN: What can you tell us about Rick and Lori's relationship? It seems pretty cold at this point. He's providing for her, but little more.
Kirkman: It's definitely damaged. Despite all the other changes that happened over the winter that we didn't get to see, they really haven't reconciled. For the most part, they're not really speaking. Lori has done something that Rick hasn't forgiven her for yet. And Rick did something that Lori wasn't too happy about, as we saw at the end of the second season. So they're really distant and struggling through the fact that they have to live together. She is carrying a child. Could be his child, could be Shane's. Nobody really knows. It is definitely a big sense of source of tension within the group this year.
IGN: Now this is close to the time, in the comic series, that Michonne would become a part of the group, but you've chose not to do that here. She's off with Andrea, which is a pairing we never saw in the comics. What was behind that decision?
Kirkman: I think as the season progresses, and we see our entry point into Woodbury and meeting The Governor, it will become pretty clear this pairing was a really cool change that came with a lot of great story in it. That's really the key to making changes to the comic book. Asking ourselves "what does it add?" or "how could this enhance the story?" And I think this enhances the story in a big way. Having these two warrior women out on the road, surviving together, is kind of a cool thing. And we've seen that they've bonded quite a bit over the winter. One thing that I really like about this season is that if you notice and do the math about how long Rick and the group were with Andrea, she's been with Michonne longer than she was with the rest of the survivors. So their bond has grown very strong over time. If these groups were to meet, if Andrea and Michonne were to encounter Rick and the others, her new bond might add some conflict to the reunion. ...Were it to take place this season.
IGN: Keeping things with the comics here... poor Hershel. We saw his leg get hacked off, but in the comics it wasn't him. It was a different character.
Kirkman: It's a pivotal moment in the comic series, but it happens to Allen, a character that hasn't been introduced on the television show. So we decided to do it to Hershel. And having that moment that comic book fans remember adapted for the show -- in a cool way that calls back to the comic series and the stories that were told there, but also done in a way that comic fans can still be surprised when it happens -- really is the meat and potatoes of the show. I want the comic fans to still go "Oh my god!" That's the really cool stuff, when people don't know what to expect. Even though it's still familiar.
Source : ign[dot]com
