I like the slow build of the story and the breathing room for character development, and the payoff at the end of the Half season. I don't want to see the show be changed to non-stop action.
I, for example, would not want to see the payoff of Sophia in the barn be reduced, by stripping out the search for her
Yeah, but the search for Sophia went on a *bit* much, beyond what could be considered reasonable even if we're *very* forgiving on the timescale there. (Best judged by Carl's recovery time which in "reality" would likely take a couple weeks, if not several.)
Sophia was a sheltered, abused, naive, adolescent girl. To imagine that she could survive more than a couple hours in the middle of a Zombie Apocalypse, on her own, let alone several days to the better part of a week would have made the Walkers a pretty tame "threat" or Sophia a
badass abused, naive, adolescent girl.
When I watched the 2nd Season it just reached a point when I *knew* Sophia would turn up as a Walker sooner or later and once what was in the barn was revealed I knew she was in the barn. It didn't make her emergence from the barn any less emotional and any less of an impact on how it effected Carol, Daryl and the others. Then there was just something about the shot of Rick "stepping up" and doing what he felt was "right" to do to Walkers. It was a powerful episode on how it was handled.
But, come-on, at that point it was obvious she was a goner.
There was a "need" to keep the group on and around the farm, and Sophia's death made for a good sting for the end of the front-half of the season. But, I dunno, I think at some point they could have had the group accept Sophia was gone and had them stick around the farm to see Carl through his recovery and have the tensions between Rick and Shane being over leaving or taking-over Herschel and his farm (rather than over to stay or go because of finding Sophia.)
The group accepts Sophia is gone and make their peace with it as best as they can (this timescale now spanning weeks instead of days, a bit more realistic for Carl's recovery, or Herschel tolerating them sticking around as they provided some level of aid) making her emergence from the barn all that much more shocking and harder on everyone (seeing her as a Walker.) The Walker-bath at the barn more-or-less culminating as it does in the show as-is, a conflict between Shane and Rick on how to "manage" Herschel and his behavior towards the Walkers after everyone learns what's in the barn.
