The Walking Dead, Ep. 301, Seed

The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 1: Seed

Since we were on vacation in Prague and Budapest, I've fallen behind on the new season of The Walking Dead but I do plan on catching up ASAP!

TV rating

TV-14

ZPAA rating

Late teens and up

Gore level

9 out of 10--Lots of zombie kills, including decapitations, eye-socket impalements, blunt traumas to the head, shots to the head, sliced off heads, sliced off half-heads, etc. Also, some humans get bloody, one gets bit in the leg and the crew performs an emergency amputation which the viewer sees far too much of.

Other offensive content

Some foul language; a little bit of double entendre; Rick's young son Carl is busy at work killing zombies with the rest of them; discussion of death during childbirth (either the mother or the child) and what to do if mother or baby turns zombie.

How much zombie mythology/content

Nothing new about these zombies is revealed.

How much fun

I can't say that I laughed during this episode, but it was fun to see Michonne in action.

Synopsis & Review

After last season's finale, revealing just how close Rick's group is to a prison, apparently they spent the whole winter not seeing what we saw. Instead, they wandered from place to place never finding a secure spot to settle down. Beards have grown and Rick's wife Lori is now so pregnant she's due any day now. On a hunting trip, Rick and Daryl finally spot the prison and decide it's worth trying to secure. They cut their way into the perimeter double fence, then the outer yard. The place looks like it was overrun early and not looted. What lies inside the buildings? A fully stocked kitchen? An infirmary with medical supplies and maybe a spot for a birth? Loads of zombie guards and prisoners?

Meanwhile, Michonne the samurai-sword-wielding savior of Andrea (who was separated from the group when they fled Hershel's farm) is still wandering around with her, though precious little other than their continued survival is revealed.

This episode is very exciting with lots of action and suspense. The exhausted state of all the characters is showing through. Fans of the comics know a lot happens at the prison so I imagine the whole season will be based around this location. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in the comics, we'll see how it plays out for the TV version.