Season 2

**Season 2**, subtitled **"The Heart's Desire"**,is the second season of*The Walking Dead by EDStudios*. It is the second season of the '*Life and Death*' series. It follows on from *Season 1* and is succeeded by *Chronicles Season 1: 'The Storytellers'*, and chronologically by *Season 3*.

## Plot

*It has been a year since the events of Port Collier, and all that is left of the Clarkson Survivors are Harry and Holly. For a year they have lived in the cabin within Bennington National Park, raising AJ, the now one-year-old son of Jess and Alex. For a while, their lives have been hard, but rewarding. That all changes when the first strangers in a year turn up at their door. By the end, Harry wakes up, alone and lethally injured, the bandits dead and Holly and AJ missing. With all he has left in the world somewhere out in the wild, Edwards begins a journey to find them and secure their future. Along the way, he will encounter crazed bandits, maniacal leaders, a mysterious wanderer, snow-buried mountain passes and a new group of strangers who could become his allies. Only time will tell.*

## Synopsis

### 'What We Have Lost'

A year after the events in Port Collier, Edwards, Holly and AJ are revealed to have survived in the remote cabin in Bennington National Park. While eating dinner, Holly demands that they find another group due to the three of them being alone for so long, which Edwards refuses, not wanting to go through the trauma of losing another group.

The following morning, four bandits attack the cabin and Edwards is severely injured, causing him to blackout for several hours. When he wakes up, Holly and AJ have disappeared. Edwards sets his broken hand and digs up the equipment he buried when they arrived at the cabin, including his blood-stained black overcoat and his old rifle. He burns down the ruined cabin and heads west, where he encounters one of the bandits. Edwards forces him to lead him to the bandit camp, and Edwards ultimately lets him go. While sneaking in, Edwards is caught and thrown in a cage. He forms an alliance with another captured group led by Albert, and together they break out of the camp. Edwards says farewell and walks west, still on the trail of his loved ones.

### 'Along A Lonely Road'

Two weeks following his escape from the camp, Edwards is losing the trail of Holly and AJ. He kills three bandits who have been following him through the woods and spends three days trekking along a stream. While cleaning himself, he is attacked by a pack of wolves. He barely survives the attack but is dragged off by an unseen figure. He wakes up covered in stitches and a strange herbal paste and meets his saviour, who calls himself "The Teller". The Teller promises Edwards he will help him find his family, in exchange for being "his audience".

Together, the two of them track Holly and AJ through the forest, with The Teller believing they may be heading for a community to the west. Along the way, The Teller helps Edwards heal from his injuries and begins teaching him how to fight; eventually, Edwards is able to defeat The Teller with both fists and blade. The Teller himself is reluctant to speak about himself or his past and reveals a medallion with the head of a wolf, as well as a ring that once belonged to his mother. As he throws the ring away, The Teller answers Edwards' question about legacy, telling him his legacy will be "pain". He then uses a powder to render Edwards unconscious.

When he wakes up, Edwards discovers that The Teller impaled himself onto a tree strump with his sword in the night. Edwards puts him down, collects his gear and retrieves The Teller's ring, slipping it onto his right middle finger. A few hours later, Edwards arrives at Hometown and tries to force his way inside by holding a guard at gunpoint. Another guard, Declan, shoots the hostage dead before Edwards is taken captive inside and held at gunpoint.

### 'An Iron Fist'

Edwards is introduced to the leader of Hometown, Stoffman, who forces Edwards into the outside section of the building, where he meets Reginald, Dirk and a woman he nicknames Leather Jacket Girl, three fellow members of the community who have committed crimes or have yet to prove themselves. The four of them quickly bond. In the morning, Edwards is forced to work in the armoury, where he finds out the community armourer, Justin, is actually his old friend Justinas. The two friends gleefully reunite and recount their experiences over the last year. Justinas reveals that Holly and AJ are in the community, but are little more than prisoners.

Edwards manages to infiltrate the prison section of the community and finds the cell where Holly and AJ are kept. He is confronted by a group called "Drew's Lot", who have kept Holly and AJ safe after meeting one another in the wild. Edwards and Holly reunite tearfully as the others watch.

Over the course of four days, Edwards bonds with his fellow prisoners before proving his worth to the community by defending the wall from a small herd of walkers, forming an alliance with David, one of the guards, in the process. Stoffman gives him the position of roof lieutenant as a reward, gifting Edwards a private quarters, free access to the armoury, and permission to visit Holly and AJ, all as long as Edwards obeys Stoffman's every command.

Three months later, Reginald is framed by Stoffman for damaging the wall, with Stoffman throwing him off the roof. Edwards turns against him and organizes a breakout from the community with Drew's Lot, planning to draw in a large herd to cover their escape. On the evening that their plan is to commence, Edwards is forced into a fight with Declan, ultimately leading to Stoffman revealing that he knew of Edwards' plot through Jack Jimothey, a member of Drew's Lot. When Edwards refuses to execute Declan to prove his loyalty, Stoffman kills both Declan and Jack before throwing Edwards into a cell.

Using a coin, Edwards is able to open a ceiling grate and climb up into the ventilation shafts. Crawling for an hour, he eventually finds the armoury and drops down. As he begins collecting weapons, he is confronted by Justinas, who refuses to allow Edwards to take any weapons as it would put the whole community at risk. After Edwards reminds Justinas of everything they went through and the bonds they formed, Justinas reluctantly allows Edwards to take his weapons and leave the community, saying that he will stay behind to defend it.

As Edwards moves through Hometown, he finds David, who agrees to accompany him. They set Dirk and Leather Jacket Girl free before freeing Holly, AJ and Drew's Lot. The group agrees to not take any vehicles in case the residents of the community need them to escape the herd and instead aim for a supply depot.

When the herd arrives early, Edwards begins a solo mission through Hometown, avoiding and killing guards and walkers before breaking into Stoffman's office, where he activates an alarm that draws the herd away from the supply depot. Heading back, Edwards kills two of Stoffman's men before being forced to fight Stoffman himself. During his fight with Stoffman, Edwards comes out on top but refuses to kill him, allowing Stoffman to hit Edwards in the head with a hammer, crushing his orbital. Justinas, having decided his true loyalties, arrives just in time and kills Stoffman. Refusing to leave Edwards behind, the group hauls hiim onto a stretcher and into the wilderness.

### 'In Harm's Way'

The disorganised group have managed to flee several miles west of Hometown, but Edwards has still not regained consciousness. Carl checks him over and reveals to the group that, while the blow from Stoffman's hammer only just hit his orbital, his eye socket is badly damaged and has caused injuries to his eye; as a result, his pupil is permanently dilated and, while he won't be blind, constant exposure to light could cause enough physical stress for him to suffer permanent brain damage. To prevent this, Carl inserts small pieces of shrapnel into the bruises around Edwards' eye, forcing it shut completely. The group are forced to move on due to paranoia within Drew's Lot that a bandit leader is pursuing them.

After several more days, Edwards awakens and slowly manages to walk, but is badly weakened. He finally collapses on the road, where he hallucinates Alex as a spectre offering passage to "the other side", which Edwards refuses. After he regains consciousness, his condition quickly starts improving.

That night, Drew's group reveal the bandit leader's identity as William Carter, a former member of their group and tell the story behind his revenge mission. Edwards slowly realizes that Carter's group is the same group he faced three months earlier during his travels in Bennington National Park while tracking Holly and AJ.

The group make their way into the mountains, where they find a lodge to take shelter. To their shock, Edwards, Holly and Justinas are reunited with Ben Appleby, who they haven't seen since '*A Long Road Ahead*'. While resting, Edwards and Drew discuss the prospect of the two groups uniting and heading west. They see lights in the distance and realize Carter's bandits have found them. A short battle unfolds, after which Carter takes the group prisoner.

### 'What We Deserve'

Having been captured by the bandits, the two groups work together once more to break out, taking guns and supplies with them. They flee west to an abandoned camping ground, where Becky suddenly goes into labour. Taking charge, Edwards divides the group into teams, each of which will go in search of necessary supplies. Teaming up with David, Edwards discovers a young Mexican family in a nearby lookout tower. After realizing that a little girl has been bitten, he volunteers to put her down. Afterwards, the father attacks them both, leading to the death of both the father and his girlfriend. Edwards orders David to inform the others that they have found a safe spot before he proceeds to bury the corpses in the woods nearby.

That evening, the group demonstrates their ability to work together by fending off an entire herd, after which Becky gives birth to a baby girl, who is subsequently named Sarah.

The group continue to head west until they become trapped in a mountain pass. Instead of continuing to run, however, the group decides to stand their ground and ambush the bandits. After a final face-off between Edwards, Drew and Carter, the group declare victory and return to the bandit camp to collect supplies for the road. While there, they discover Carter's young son, Lawrence, and, refusing to leave him behind, decide to raise him as a group. The two groups decide to band together permanently and head west to find a new home, with Edwards as their leader.

## Credits

* Starring
* Also Starring
* Co-Starring

## Deaths

* William
* Russo
* Ashley *(alive and zombified)*
* Declan
* Jack Jimothey
* Stoffman
* George Gareth
* Mexican Man
* Mexican Woman *(alive and zombified)*
* Mexican Girl
* Dylan *(off-screen)*
* William Carter *(alive and before reanimation)*
* Several Hometown residents
* 24 unnamed bandits

## Trivia

* The following changes have been made to the main credits:
	+ As of '*An Iron Fist*', Drew Stanton, Becky Grace, Carl McKenzie, Leyton Jones, George and David have been added to the main cast, listed under "Also Starring".
	+ William Carter has been added to the "Also Starring" cast, only appearing in this season.
	+ After their return to the series, Justinas and Ben have been added to the "Starring" cast.
		- Justinas has been promoted to series tritagonist from '*In Harm's Way*' onwards.
			* This marks the first time since '*All That Remains*' that the series has had a tritagonist.
	+ This season has the fewest "Starring" credits than any other season.
* This season takes place over the fourth-longest period of time, with the time between '*What We Have Lost*' and *'What We Deserve*' being approximately 3 months, 2 weeks and 6 days.
	+ This is behind *Season 3*, taking place over the course of 5 months, *Season 1*, which takes place over the course of 1 year and 5 days, and *Season 31*, which takes place over the course of 1 year, 2 weeks and 3 days.
* It was confirmed before release that one of the main characters would suffer an injury "that would stay with them for the rest of their lives".
	+ This turned out to be Edwards, who suffers multiple injuries after an attack by a pack of wolves and an injury to his eye at the hands of Stoffman.
	+ This could also refer to Justinas, who is revealed to have suffered severe burns from the boathouse fire.
* Harry is the only primary character to appear in all episodes of this season. He is also one of only two characters to physically appear in every episode, the other being William Carter.
* This season features the return of two main characters, Ben Appleby and Justinas Grant, who have been absent since *Season 1*.
* It was hinted that Edwards would not survive the first half of this season; an early idea for the following seasons would be for AJ to grow up and succeed him.
* EDStudios aimed to make this season as dark and hopeless as possible, with the themes of distrust, loyalty, murder, leadership, denial and redemption having a strong influence on the story.
* According to a staff poll, *Season 2* is overall the third most popular season, behind *Season 21* and *Chronicles Season 8*.
	+ Until the release of those seasons, *Season 2* was ranked 1st.
* This season and *Season 3* is where the main characters change the most, particularly Edwards, according to EDStudios.
* This season is the first season to feature snow, which is not seen again until *Season 5*.

 **Season 15: A Last Showdown** | "The Final Stand"