Clementine kicks ass. Episode two of the second season of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead adventure series may be about more than just this pint-size survivor of the zombie apocalypse impaling undead skulls and blasting away with a handgun. But the lasting image that I'm taking away from A House Divided is of the lovable moppet whirling around like a ballcap-wearing ninja who can clearly take care of herself better than any of the adults she encounters.

This isn't a problem for me. As much as Clem's action-hero moments strain believability a bit, her zombie-slaying skills are offset by how much this lonely little girl depends on the kindness of strangers, and by a reminder at the conclusion of just how vulnerable she still is. The result is a superb episode that balances action with a story that picks up the pace from the snoozy episode one and serves as both an intriguing foundation for the season to build upon and a satisfying one-off story in its own right.

The bleakness is so overbearing, in fact, that A House Divided steps perilously close to monotony. Every kindness is rewarded with brutality. You just know that any act of generosity will soon be followed up with either a bullet to the head or a bite to the neck. The guy at the ski lodge is willing to give a box full of food to a stranger he just met? OK, just throw yourself off the mountain already, pal. This sort of thing has gotten so predictable that it wouldn't be a bad idea for the developers to pull back from the brink in future episodes before the series ventures into self-parody. Grim is one thing; slaughtering every guy who offers you a friendly smile along with some peaches and beans is something else entirely.

With A House Divided, season two of The Walking Dead is up and shambling. While the first episode was too perfunctory in how it set the stage and got everything into motion, you can now see both the story and the characters taking shape and evolving. This slow-burn approach should continue to pay dividends as the saga matures in future episodes.