by Joey Esposito

We're back for another chat with the creator of The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman, following last night's doozy of an episode. "Save the Last One" was one hell of an experience, and one that delivered some significant revelations about not only Shane, but the undead, Lori, and Andrea as well.

There are spoilers within for "Save the Last One" and some mild spoilers for the comic book series as well. You've been warned.

Read IGN TV's review of The Walking Dead: "Save the Last One"

IGN Comics: For the season premiere, we had talked about seeing more of the zombie "lifestyle," and one of my favorite moments of this episode is when Daryl and Andrea come across the zombie that hanged himself before he turned. We see a glimpse of sympathy from Andrea concerning the undead; is this something we might see more of as the show goes on?

Robert Kirkman: Yeah, definitely. The show is very mindful of the fact that these zombies that are after us… sure, they're flesh-eating monsters and everything, but they're human beings, you know? They are just like you or I and to a certain extent, they're the losers of the zombie apocalypse. They didn't last. And there's a pitiable aspect to that. It's just inherently sad to think about that guy, out in the woods, by himself, losing his mind and hanging himself. I think it's one of the real draws of the show, just looking at each zombie as a character and trying to figure out what happened to them and what led them to this point. Just looking at them in a very human light.

IGN: Obviously Shane had a huge role in this episode, and one that sort of redefined his place in the show. How will this giant secret that he's keeping now further his already strained relationship with the rest of the group?

Kirkman: We're definitely going to see a lot of that moving into the rest of the season. It's so exciting for me because it's just the third episode but this is a really pivotal moment in the season and there's a lot more to come, so this episode is really just kind of an indication of just how crazy and how intense this season is going to be.

This isn't it for Shane. There's going to be a lot for him to go through this season, and this is really just the beginning for him.


IGN: It's crazy, hearing you say it's only the third episode. Every episode is so dense with drama and events that it feels like it's a lot more than it is.

Kirkman: We're trying to pack them with awesome!

IGN: [laughs] You're doing a good job! We talked last time about how Shane, just by being alive, has changed the whole dynamic of the group and the show. This episode was a great example of that. In a lot of ways, he's becoming a centerpiece for drama within the group. Are there any other characters we can expect to see a beefed up role for; anyone in particular to watch this season?

Kirkman: I think Carol has a lot of exciting stuff coming up. She's a character that wasn't really that prominent in the comic book series, so we're going to be seeing a little bit more with her. I mean, the Shane thing is a really good example in this episode in particular, because the character of Otis lasts a lot longer in the comic book series. I like to think that if Shane lived in the comic book series and he had interacted on the farm, maybe he would've killed Otis in the comic book also. It's interesting to me to think about the little twists and turns here and there in the show and how they spread out into the story and radically change things by the time you move forward in the timeline. It's a really good indication that even if you are very familiar with the comic book series, there are still going to be things that surprise you.

I think that's really the key aspect to The Walking Dead is when you sit down to read the comic, or sit down to watch the show, anything can happen to any of the characters. That's what really excites me.

IGN: One other really interesting piece of this episode comes from Lori. We get to see a really fascinating side of her where she considers letting Carl die; that he'd be better off. It sounds like Andrea may have rubbed off on her a little bit. Will we see Andrea's decision from back during the season one finale impacting other characters in a similar way?

Kirkman: Well, Andrea has a fantastic character arc this season. We're going to see a lot of transformation with her and I think we're starting to see hints of it here and there. You'll really start seeing it in the next episode and moving forward over the next two or three wrapping up this first half of the season that's going to be aired this year before we take our break. She's going to be going through a lot, and it's going to be affecting all of the characters in the group.

And I have to say, as a parent especially, watching that conversation between Rick and Lori, it really just shows a cool aspect of the show. As a parent, I'm watching that scene and I'm thinking how that's horrible. How can a parent ever have that kind of a conversation about their child? It's just appalling to me. But at the same time, I have to recognize that I don't live in that world, and going through what they're going through, that is a logical discussion to have. It's very cold and calculated, but if you think about everything that they're looking at their son living through if he were to survive, it's really interesting. It's fun when the show actually terrifies me a little bit. That's the kind of stuff that really scares me.

IGN: I think that's one of the things that the show, and the book too, does best is put the human drama ahead of the horror aspects. What's really horrifying is the human things that come out of this horrible situation.

Kirkman: Yeah, I'm very much in the "Oh, there's zombies in the show, too?" camp. I'm much more interested in the human drama and the emotion of it all. The zombies are really just the icing on the cake.

Stay tuned to IGN Comics for more with Robert Kirkman after next week's episode!

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