I'm still watching, but I still have mixed feelings.
There is some interesting and even daring writing. For instance - giving Daryl is hero's journey story arc. They could have just kept him as stereotypical redneck muscle - good for fighting and not much else. The fact that he comes off as a rich and complex character while STILL crouching in the woods eating squirrel meat is pretty impressive.
However, I was really disappointed in the way the writer's chickened out on having what's her name kill him as he walked out of the woods. I mean, that would have been SO ballsy to spent so much time lovingly building such an unlikely hero only to have him die by friendly fire. I've come to like the character too and it's really disappointing to see the writers pull their punch like that. (Though it may, of course be a lead up to something even cooler happening - you never know.)
But you know what I realized? It's a show about zombies (re-animated corpses that feed on flesh) taking over the planet. Not sure if I can really slam a show that really shouldn't be taken so seriously.
I'm not taking it that seriously. But I think when you are writing in any kind of science fiction/fantasy/horror genre in which we have things that don't exist in the real world, the audience is even more dependent on the rules. It's the rules that determine the world in which the story takes place and when they get broken it is even more jarring.
So, breaking the rules with the noise factor? I get it - the writers need to present the farm house as a place of civilization therefore it needs electricity and running water. The "zombies are attracted to sound" rule can be bent in the name of establishing setting. However, the whole story is about how people live when their very existence is threatened by zombies that can do certain things and have certain limitations. Changing those limitations midstream actually takes a way from the story.
The one thing I am starting to like about season 2 is there are not a lot of zombies. They're there, but the story has started to focus on interpersonal relationships and how people change when their world is shattered which is also the most interesting thing about the comic.
-e