MEGA-SPOILERS AHEAD: “Beside the Dying Fire”, the Season 2 finale of “The Walking Dead,” is the biggest episode of the series thus far in every sense.  It features the most action, the most zombies, main characters slaughtered, a highly-anticipated new character introduction, and was viewed by over 9 million people last night, making it the most watched episode of the series, earning “TWD” a place in basic cable record books for highest ratings in key demographics. Similarly, my score had to be super-sized to keep pace, so our normal string sextet was expanded to a mammoth, full-string orchestra.  Go behind-the-scenes of our session in this week’s video blog:

“Better Angels,” the penultimate episode of “The Walking Dead” season two is the most emotionally gripping and thematic score I’ve ever written yet for this series.  The episode was ripe with creative opportunities: stunning revelations, long character arcs resolved, as well as intimate character moments and a thrilling new threat around the corner.  For all this, the score had added narrative responsibility.

Before reading any further, be aware that my blog and video blog this week are filled with MAJOR SPOILERS, so definitely get caught up on the show before you proceed any further.  Go behind-the-scenes of our orchestral recording session with this week’s video blog, where I discuss scoring several of the most important emotional cues:

In tonight’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” Judge, Jury, Executioner, Carl takes his first steps to controlling his own destiny, and his choices impact the group in unexpected ways.  The episode gave me an opportunity to write Carl his own theme, as detailed in this week’s video blog:

MAJOR SPOILERS BEYOND: The Carl Theme is used to underscore his flirtations with danger throughout the episode.  And of course, it is the end result of his exploration that leads to the episode’s shocking conclusion.  Before I discuss any further, it is necessary to issue a serious “spoiler warning.”  Please do not read ahead unless you’ve seen the episode.  This is major spoiler territory.  If you haven’t seen Judge, Jury, Executioner yet, go watch it, then come back…

In tonight’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” 18 Miles Out, the brewing conflict between Rick and Shane finally erupts.  There are zombies everywhere, but the real tension comes from these two friends battling one another in the midst of the mayhem.  I strove to keep the score out of the way, to allow the incredible performances from Andrew Lincoln and Jon Bernthal to drive the story forward.  However, some of the quieter, more ambient passages allowed to me to explore using a surprisingly effective new instrument, as I detailed in this week’s video blog:

In Triggerfinger, the threat facing our heroes in “The Walking Dead” continues to expand beyond the realm of the undead.  Despite the external threats from other humans, we also get the sense that the greatest growing danger may in fact be coming from Shane.  For that reason, you will hear new developments tonight in the Shane Theme, as detailed in the video blog:

“The Walking Dead” returns to close out an amazing sophomore season with tonight’s episode, Nebraska.  This week’s video blog discusses a new character theme heard in Nebraska, Herschel’s Theme:

This scene is one of the most powerful in the episode because it gives us a glimpse into Herschel’s conflicted past, and without using a single word of dialog.  The Herschel Theme is a melancholy tune in G minor, played at a very slow tempo by a solo viola: