The Walking Dead is like that train that comes out of nowhere in Inception, and other TV shows are the cars that it annihilates along the way. The rest of TV might as well be at a stand still, for how incredible The Walking Dead has been after only two episodes. It’s been renewed for a second season already, which is good news for everyone, even if you don’t know it yet.

In the first episode, we learned that in the wake of Rick Grimes’s coma and the zombie outbreak, Rick’s partner, Shane, has taken it upon himself to keep Rick’s wife, Sarah, and kid safe. However, Shane is also in love with his wife, and it would seem Rick’s wife is reciprocating, neither of them knowing he’s alive. The beginning of this episode finds Rick’s wife alone in the woods, hearing noises in the trees. Surprise! It’s Shane, here to sex her up. However, as she takes off her shirt, they both get caught in a net of awkwardness as they silently acknowledge the necklace with Rick’s wedding ring around her neck. Shane stares her down until she takes it off and places it in the grass with some slight reluctance. They then proceed to get down to business. It’s a not-so-subtle way to drive the point home, but hey, it really drives the point home.

Grimesy finds a way out of the tank thanks to an Asian kid named Glenn. He meets up with Glenn and a couple other survivors who have holed up in a department store. However, Rick’s gun rampage to and from the tank has attracted them all to follow him right up to their hideout. The department store environment really gives this episode that Dawn of the Dead feel, which is one of a few homages in this episode. Anyway, they have to defuse a situation where the token racist asshat in the group is all coked up and beating people down all over the place. Grimes utilizes his distractedness to get him handcuffed to a pipe. I don’t wanna spoil it, but the outcome of that idiot’s situation is one of the best plot points of the episode.

To escape the department store, the only thing they can do is cover themselves in zombie blood so as to not be noticed, a la Arnold’s hulking ass in Predator, which was another nice homage, although one that slightly tends to initiate the gag reflex. Glenn ends up hanging a length of intestines around his neck like some festive popcorn on a Christmas tree. I really liked how Grimes made it a point to recognize that this man that they’re about to spill open was at one point not a zombie, just human like them. Taking the time to make the show reflect real life as much as possible will absolutely pay off, and added a fantastic sobering juxtaposition to the high-intensity action that they were in the midst of. Was their scheme enough to get them safely out of the department store to another location? You gotta watch to find out.

When you step back and look at The Walking Dead, it really has everything that zombie media should, and more. The tone of the show is gritty, dark, and almost hopeless. It even somehow manages to feel like an old zombie movie, while staying entirely current. The only zombie film I’ve seen that can come anywhere near matching The Walking Dead’s intensity is 28 Days Later. The Walking Dead is the kind of show that doesn’t cut away when a man has to chop apart a zombie with an axe. And for that, I thank you, Frank Darabont. If you’re not watching this show, you must be a zombie.