The Walking Dead ’30 Days Without an Accident’ Season Premiere Recap – Episode 04.01

The season premiere of The Walking Dead caught up viewers on what everyone in the group has been up to and introduced several new characters. There was action, story, emotion, and a surprise ending.

The Breakdown

Here is where we found everyone when The Walking Dead opened for the season…

Rick spent time tending to the large garden on the prison grounds. He found a gun in the ground and threw it into the wheelbarrow with the rest of the weeds. Rick and Carl then talked about a pig that they were keeping, which appeared to have piglets. Carl wondered if the pig was okay.

Walkers surrounded the fence and more continued to join, but they were simply ignored by Rick. Newcomers were stationed by the fence to kill walkers one at a time.

Carol was helping to feed all of the newcomers spared by the Governor. Daryl showed up and had a fan shake his hand.

Maggie and Glenn woke up in bed and Glenn begged Maggie not to go out that day for supplies.

Beth’s new boyfriend Zach, along with another newbie Bob, joined Daryl and the others preparing for the supply run.

Michonne came back to the prison on horseback after failing to locate the Governor. She said she did not plan to stay long and was intent on continuing her search.

As the episode continued…

Rick decided to go outside of the fence and check their traps. Hershel urged Rick to bring a gun with him stating the Council (their group) asked him to. Rick reluctantly agreed. Once in the wooded area, Rick came across a woman named Clara who begged him to help her and her husband. Rick gave her some food, but the woman asked if they could join the camp. Rick was hesitant but followed Clara to meet her husband.

The group back at the prison headed out for supplies. Daryl, Glenn, Michonne, Zach, Bob, and a few others went to a store that had been off-limits due to walkers. Now that the walkers were gone, the group was able to choose from fully-stocked items. Bob choose a bottle from a large shelving unit and the unit crashed to the ground, pinning him to the floor. Meanwhile up above, walkers swarmed the roof of the store, unbeknownst to the group inside.

Back at the prison, another newcomer named Patrick and other children gathered for story time with Carol. Carl showed up only to see Carol about to show the children how to use knives for protection. Carol asked that Carl not tell Rick about it. Suddenly Patrick felt very ill and left the room.

Rick followed Clara to meet her husband when suddenly she attacked Rick with a knife. As it turned out, Clara’s husband was a walker who she was trying to feed. So as not to live with the difference between them any longer, Clara stabbed herself so she could be like her husband. Rick looked over to see the husband, but only saw a blanket covering a moving pile on the ground.

The group in the store attempted to extract Bob who was pinned under the shelves, when the ceiling began to cave in with walkers dropping like raindrops. At that point the group was under attack. Luckily Bob was saved, but Zach was not so lucky. Everyone else escaped without incident.

Soon everyone was back at the prison to share their stories. Rick told Hershel about Clara and her husband as he held his baby Judith tight. Daryl told Beth about Zach, who admittedly no longer shed any tears. Maggie told Glenn that she was not pregnant (the unspoken reason he did not want her to go out for supplies that day).

A very ill Patrick made his way to the showers, but ended up collapsing to the floor. Sicker than anyone thought, Patrick soon died and as the episode ended – he turned into a walker.

The Analysis

All fans of The Walking Dead were excited for this season premiere! I like how they touched on all the main characters as the episode began. This let viewers know exactly what was happening with each one.

Rick is obviously having some issues. As the show closed last season he was losing it. It seems like he might have gotten it together, but is having some issues with guns and killing walkers? Maybe he has just had enough; but that will have to change soon, right?

Carl is getting to be a big kid, Daryl and Carol seem even closer, and the dynamic couple – Maggie and Glenn – is still going strong. Everyone else seems to be about the same as well. None of this was really a surprise.

There was just a lot going on in this opener, but I think that is because they had so many characters and stories to touch on.

I am really not sure what the point was to the story with Rick, Clara and the husband. Maybe they were trying to show Rick’s internal struggles. I am really not sure. I was hoping something good would happen and kind of figured the husband was a walker, but they never showed him or anything disturbing which was disappointing.

The scene at the store was good when the walkers began to fall through the roof. At least the writers threw in some action and walker-slaying. Plus it is always great to see Michonne in action. She is like the ultimate, relentless walker-killer.

The best part to me was the end. When Patrick became ill, I knew something was up. What made him so sick to begin with and will it be part of the story? Does it have anything to do with the pig? To die so quickly makes me wonder. But now, we have a walker in the prison. I cannot wait for next week to see what happens next! It was a great ending.

What did you think of The Walking Dead season premiere? Were you disappointed or satisfied? Were there any surprises for you? Share your thoughts!