Interesting analysis, Bingley. I'm pretty attuned to politics but haven't detected any political undertones in the show. Daryl's brother, Merle, certainly was a nasty cliche (perhaps the last KKK member on earth) but he also disappeared after the second episode (which hand did he sever - his right or left?).

Daryl, the surviving hick brother, became (season 2) Mr. Team Player/Hero in his selfless quest to find the missing girl, Sophia. If I had to pick one of that group as a survival partner he'd be the one I'd go with at this point - at least you'd always have squirrel steak to chew on. I would be compelled to introduce him to the marvel of soap.

Prior to this show I'd stayed away from any zombie entertainment because I equated it with horror shows and do not enjoy the horror genre. But in The Walking Dead the zombies are just the central recurring plot device to explore the survival dynamic of a group of disparate individuals. The zombies could be the slow-moving goo of "The Blob" or invading aliens, highway marauders in Jericho (sadly cancelled in 2008) or the unseen, looming threats in a vast wilderness.

Zombies could be metaphorical, as the 1950s spate of alien invader films were at the height of the Cold War and superpowers nuclear arms race. That would be in the eyes of the beholder even if it were not the intent of the producers. That aspect of the zombie phenomenon is thoroughly explored in this article:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/bl...l-be-ready.html

Will be interesting to see if the zombie virus evolves in some way that makes them slightly more intelligent so that they could be cunning and not just primal in their quest to feed on flesh.

http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead

One thing I know for sure: when the zombie virus hits, we are high-tailing it out of DC. On a sailboat. And I'd want to have a group of peops to survive with - strength in numbers. I'll need others to do the gruesome zombie executions while I cover my eyes and ears.