Viewers that complained the second season of AMC's horror series "The Walking Dead" had languid pacing and aimless narratives are likely eating their words right now, and possibly the show's remaining doubters. Creator Robert Kirkman's promise that season three would have a barnburner approach from the start seems to have been an understatement.

The season's first two episodes, "Seed," and "Sick" have been gore-drenched buffets of zombies, pressure cooker intensity, and intriguing new directions for the show. And can we talk about that amputation scene?

"We really wanted to have some high stakes in the first episode," said Kirkman in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "We wanted to pack a big punch and do something really cool and thought [Hershel's amputation] would be something you wouldn't be expecting but also be something that would lead to an interesting story going forward."

Episode two, "Sick," maintained the firestorm of palpable tension introduced in the first episode, and promptly pushed it off a cliff. Star Andrew Lincoln's (Rick Grimes) recent statement that season three was all about his character exploring his limits and beyond defined some of the episode's most trenchant, surprising moments.

Producer Glen Mazzara revealed to The Holywood Reporter that Hershel's amputation, and amputation in general, will play increasingly larger roles in season three.

"We thought it was interesting to push into some trauma. We wanted to show what is Rick willing to do to keep Hershel alive. We know that everybody loves Hershel ... and now that's a problem." Mazzara said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

"It's a sacrifice they've made for that prison and there are other sacrifices they'll make to keep the prison. We want to show that the prison is dangerous, worth fighting for and something that they're not willing to give up."

But does amputation actually stop someone from getting infected? Mazzara says much of the third season will address the characters struggling to understand the disease better, and coming to terms with whether or not it's treatable.

"We're always interested in our characters wrestling with these questions. There's nobody to call. There's no hotline they can call for information, so they have to figure it out as they go along. One of the things that we do get to is how people have different understandings of what the infection is and what's happening and how you can control it or if it can be controlled. That is something that we're interested in always exploring. As civilization tries to rebuild itself, how do you deal with this problem and how do people try to work together?"

Kirkman echoed Mazzara's sentiment that amputation will be an ongoing theme within season three.

"That's definitely something that we're going to be following up on. There will be a definitive answer over the course of the season, whether or not that amputation did do the trick. That's something that we'll learn."

Based off the monthly black-and-white comic book series written by creator Kirkman, "The Walking Dead" follows a gang of lost souls just trying to survive day-to-day life in a post-apocalyptic U.S. overrun with the living dead. The first two seasons of the AMC series were hugely-successful. The season two premiere broke cable ratings records in the 18-49 demographic as well. But the season three premiere shattered everyone's expectations for the show.

The premiere episode of season three was up more than 50 percent from season two, receiving a rating of 5.8 for adults in the 18-49 demographic. The only broadcast entertainment show even close to that this fall was ABC's "Modern Family" season premiere, which pulled a 5.5 - and that's on network TV. AMC is at a severe disadvantage as it's only available in a fraction of U.S. homes, and had been dropped by DISH Network prior to the third season premiere of "The Walking Dead."

DISH Network has since settled its dispute with AMC, and once again carries the channel and "The Walking Dead." According to CNN, DISH paid Cablevision and AMC $700 million to settle the suit, and also agreed to give up its 20 percent stake in Voom HD.

Kirkman stressed the need for the show to continue to strike its own path while still mixing in healthy doses of elements of the comics.

"There are elements of the comic that will come into play with the missing leg story line we're doing with Hershel but there's also some new areas we're going to explore and some unexpected twists we'll see coming up."