The Walking Dead’s third season had a powerful start, guns and all. After season two received fire from many that it was too slow, writers took that to heart. They seemed to want to retaliate, and that they did. Much alike many American shows, the season was split in two. It premiered in the autumn of 2012 with “Seed” which incorporated more interesting character development and classic Walking Dead horror. In “Killer Within”, we saw the writers finally pick up the pace by first killing T-Dog, as black characters always die in these kind of things and then Lori Grimes. The exit of Lori was used as a catalyst for Carl’s character development as he was forced to put his own mother out her misery to stop her turning, provoking Rick to go AWOL in the aftermath of her death.

Also this season, we met The Governor (David Morrissey), a very strong villain added to shake things up. David Morrissey (Doctor Who) is a sensational actor and he was a wonderful addition to the cast. He can be your friend if you follow him, but if you don’t, he is your enemy; a murderer with a smile. He’s spinechilling, crazy and very disturbed. We are introduced to new character Michonne (Danai Gurira) who wields a katana sword cutting up any zombies that come into her path. She’s a pragmatic and ruthless yet she has softer side to her as well.

The first half of the season ends with the capturing and subsequent rescue of Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan). The second half of the season was rocky but still good. In “Clear”, Rick (Lincoln), Michonne (Gurira) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) take centre stage in a little side quest. Michonne opens up a little and her character development begins, and the “Richonne” shipping with it. A cold and blank faced Morgan (Lennie James) reappeared after some time out. It’s things like this that show us the scenarios between humans is very relevant. The living are far more dangerous than the dead and we don’t know how far people are willing to go to save their own skin.

The season finale “Welcome To The Tombs” had many engaging moments which ended with a “not so loved” Andrea dying. I really don’t think anyone cared about Andrea dying. If anything, there were parties and celebrations because she was just so annoying. The Governor attacks the prison. Many thought it was anticlimactic but after the events during the season, I didn’t want more bangs, explosions and more money spent on special effects merely for dramatic effect.

Season three had many good bits, such as Carl becoming an interesting character. Him being stripped of his childhood because of the events that are now shaping the world is quite harrowing. It made him colder, darker and he has now lost his childish naivety. There’s questions of ethics and morality that revolve around all the characters but most notably Carl (Chandler Riggs) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln). How far will you go? It’s this constant “us or them” scenario and when it comes down to it, you will choose yourself every time. But Rick has gotten past that by episode sixteen but Carl seems less forgiving and more suspicious of humanity which helps to shape his identity and him as a character.

Steven Yeun as Glenn and Lauren Cohan as Maggie are awesome. Glenn suffered lots of mental and physical trauma at the hands of The Governor when he was held hostage in Woodbury. Lauren Cohan was also pretty good, and she went to hell and back thanks to the show’s resident lunatic, The Governor. Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) continues to be a fan favourite and a great original character only created for the show. Reedus can change at the blink an eye; from being a crossbow-shooting badass to an emotional wreck, and giving it the realism that it requires. Carol has come into her own, as a confident woman who could fill Rick’s shoes at any moment.

At its third season, the show was on its third showrunner. This left many fans on edge but now at seventh season, we can breathe and relax. The constant change in showrunners was disconcerting but years on, the show has stabilized and continues to provide epic moments and episodes. It’s now a huge, cult followed show and season three was loads better than season two and it set the tone for what was to come.

Fear the living