['The Walking Dead' - 'Vatos']

Series creator Robert Kirkman took a stab at penning an episode, and gave us a little bit of everything this show is capable of. After the epic climax of the search for Merle, I thought Kirkman was done with us. But he had another trick up his tattered sleeve for the closing moments. Now we stand with the potential of this series fully realized.

It can terrify and terrorize us. It can give us heartwarming and touching moments, as well as show us both the best and worst of what humanity is capable of. We can see bravery and heroics unmatched, with action and danger. Then we can see those small conversations, those little moments that make us human.

Oh, and all the dead people up and walking around. There's a bunch of those shambling around, though thankfully not dominating every scene.

As a long-time fan of Kirkman's comic series, I was absolutely blown away by his first foray into television writing. There were just so many things to love about this episode, it's so frustrating that we're already past the halfway point of this first season and looking at a potential Halloween 2011 premiere for the second season. I might die before then. Hmm ... has it ever been made clear if a zombie can still enjoy a fantastic television series?

I don't want the writers to get into the habit of giving us tender character moments as a prelude for killing a cast member, but at the same time we know the body count for this series is going to be huge. New fans, of course, have no idea who's going to die, and long-time fans may find that Kirkman uses this new iteration of his world to keep some characters alive he wishes he hadn't killed when he had. I can think of one he regrets offing and might change, and we haven't even met him here yet.

I thought the story Amy and Andrea shared in the boat about their father fishing differently with each of them was a wonderful testament to a man we've never met. It had his presence hovering over them in the same way Merle's presence hovered over much of the episode.

When Andrea announced that the next day was Amy's birthday, we pretty much knew she was a goner, but Kirkman did a great job of misleading us on who might die and who might not. I expected Jim to bite the dust after his grave-digging breakdown at the top of the hour led to him being tied to a tree. That's a snack all tied up and ready to go for the dead.

He also very cleverly had Amy be attacked in a scene juxtaposed with the attack on Ed. With Ed being a less sympathetic character, it was effective spotlighting a good character we're growing to care about with one we don't so much to emphasize the true equality this undead threat brings to humanity. For all our petty prejudices and racism and bigotry and whatever other baggage we carry with us, the undead don't care. A racist taste every bit the same as someone from the Peace Corps.

Speaking of which, Daryl is showing some more layers to him, which is another testament to the strength of the writing. It's so easy to make him a caricature of a redneck racist, but 'Dead' isn't opting for the easy route. He had racist remarks for both Glenn and T-Dog, and he's proven himself potentially as big a dick as his brother Merle, but he also showed himself a team player and potentially a worthy ally. Even after they knew Guillermo didn't have Merle, Daryl still went in to help Rick save Glenn.

Like all of us, he's more gray than black or white in his character traits. Merle may have the same layers, but he barely had a chance to show them. Nevertheless, his presence was felt throughout their quest to find him. We saw his resourcefulness in cauterizing his wound, as well as taking out walkers with one hand and losing blood. As Daryl said, he clearly is one tough dude.

They even addressed something from the comments, proving they are thinking these things through pretty thoroughly, by having Daryl speculate the saw blade must have been too dull to cut through the handcuffs. That is a plausible reason why Merle would opt instead to saw off his hand, and at least acknowledges what many viewers were wondering themselves.

Defying expectations again, Daryl and Rick basically surmised Merle had stolen the van to wreak vengeance on the camp, and yet when they got there that wasn't the case at all. So, the whole time we were watching the fish fry unfold, we were expecting Merle to come roaring in in a rage. That and the lack of surprise zombie attacks throughout the zombie episode left us fully unprepared for the undead onslaught that struck the camp.

Jim's hint that the dream that caused him to dig holes up on the hill was him having foresight of the slaughter and extensive losses they suffered, including Ed and Amy, was a little weird. Let's not see the show adding supernatural elements. This is a human drama about life in a world overrun by the dead. Hey, it works for the comics: Keep it simple here too. Otherwise, this was the most well-rounded and satisfying episode of the bunch yet.

Next week, I expect Rick to address his promise to contact Morgan and Duane and warn them away from Atlanta. Or at least I hope he does. Sure, he was distracted both in Atlanta and when he got back, and the attack probably changed everything, but a promise is a promise, Rick, and you should have that radio. The gang should be getting on the road now that their camp was so violently infiltrated, so why not pick up a couple of stragglers along the way?

'The Walking Dead' airs Sundays, 10PM ET on AMC.

[Follow Jason @ultraversion21 on Twitter.]