I really liked the whole second half of the season (and a fair amount of the first, although it could have trimmed about a full episode full of fat and not gotten half the bitching from the fans that it did), they did some thoughtful character development (before whacking said characters) and the climax is good. I knew from reading spoilers that they were going to the prison next (major fucked up early story arc in the comics, and considering they have cast The Governor from the comics for next season, expect things to get mighty fucked up) but when Michonne and her sword and her zombies showed up, both my wife and I screamed "FUCK YEAH!!!" Trust me, this show cannot help but get darker, weirder and better if they've added her and The Governor. I think they've gotten the initial "so this is how it's gonna be" stuff out of the way in the first two seasons and can get on to some total badassedry now. AMC better damn well give them the money too; this show was the No. 1 show on Sunday nights pretty much every time it aired an original episode, and by a huge margin. Like, the little cable network was beating the snot out of the Big 3, Fox, and everyone else. That's huge. That just doesn't happen.
I will say with the addition of those characters I do worry they're going to go the way of True Blood. True Blood season 1 was great, a lot of fun despite a fairly stale whodunnit arc. Season 2 was spectacular, their best by a mile. Season 3 held great promise and had a lot of shit going on, but by the end felt overstuffed (which is what I worry about with TWD). Season 4 was just a fucking travesty, an idoicy parade like I've seldom sat through. So, people who make Walking Dead--don't be like True Blood.
Re: The Walking Dead
61"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."