Dead Lines

Thrilling action.  Stark visuals.  Stunning special fx.  AMC's The Walking Dead has so many exceptional qualities, but perhaps one that gets overlooked is the dramatic dialogue delivered by its cast of characters.  Here are some exemplary quotes from last night's mid-season premiere, "Nebraska":

"We bury the ones we love, and burn the rest."
--Andrea


"That's not my little girl.  It's some other...thing.  My Sophia was alone in the woods, all this time I thought--she didn't cry herself to sleep, she didn't go hungry, she didn't try to find her way back....Sophia died a long time ago."
--Carol


"Carl said that he would have shot Sophia himself.  That's your son.  He's growing cold.  He's growing up in a world...he's growing up in a world where he needs a father like you, around, alive, and not running off and solving everyone else's problems."
--Lori to Rick


Glenn: I'm sorry I kept it [his knowledge of Lori's pregnancy] from you.
Rick: Don't be.  You did what you thought was right.  Just so happens it wasn't.


"Selfish?  Listen to me, Olive Oyl, I was out there looking for that little girl every single day.  I took a bullet and an arrow in the process.  Don't you tell me about me getting my hands dirty!  You want those two idiots, have a nice ride.  I'm done looking for people."
--Daryl to Lori


"[...] And when that little girl came out of the barn, the look on your face, I knew you knew it too.  Right?  There is no hope.  And you know it now, like I do.  Don't you?...There is no hope for any of us."
--Hershel to Rick

***
There were plenty of other lines that could have been singled out, including Shane's crazed rants, and anything from the climactic confrontation in the bar with Dave and Tony--a scene so tense, it's a wonder the cameras didn't vibrate while recording it.

I suspect that many viewers come to--or stay away from--The Walking Dead for the wrong reason (expecting an absolute gorefest), but this just might be the most compelling and best-written show on television right now.