The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 1 Review: First Time Again

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Who else decided to shout an expletive at their TV when that damn horn sounded?

The insane walker parade plan was going so well on The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 1, and then someone decided to ruin the fun. Major party foul.

I’m still trying to take everything in after that 90-minute premiere, but that was one of the best episodes of The Walking Dead.

There have been a lot of good episodes, sure, and my mind goes to The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 1 involving the escape from Terminus, but this was an exhilarating ride that pulled off a pulse-pounding action set-piece and blended it with some great character moments.

From seeing Heath's (Corey Hawkins) humorous interaction's with Eugene at the gate or his comments directed toward Glenn when they were getting ready to take on a group of walkers, he's already become a favorite. Hopefully, we get to explore more with his character and he doesn’t wind up dead in the next few episodes.

But I’m actually bummed that Carter (Ethan Embry) wound up walker chow. Of course, he was an antagonist to Rick, but the episode made me care about him in getting to see him grow from just questioning the plan or being nervous about everything that could go wrong, to working with Rick and even trusting him.

So often these side characters get introduced to get eaten, but Carter’s whole setup got me interested to see how he would grow on the series and not really think he would get his face ripped off and then wind up stabbed by Rick.

And it’s sad, especially considering Rick’s speech about it being inevitable for someone like Carter. I get it’s this insane world, but you want to have some level of hope that they can all adapt and survive together, right?

Or maybe it’s because Embry once played Rusty Griswold that I was hoping he would stick around. Looks like no Holiday Road for him.

But it’s interesting considering Glenn and Nicholas’ growing relationship. It feels like Glenn can help Nicholas change and get better. And, wow, did this episode make me not hate Nicholas, especially considering he got Noah killed, and he tried to kill Glenn.

There was such an earnestness to do right, a yearning for redemption, that I was glad to see him help out Glenn and do something useful. Let’s hope his padawan training continues in a positive way.

I’m also so glad Morgan is back and not just appearing in after-credits scenes. He’s not only a ninja force to be reckoned with, there’s a sensibility about him that’s different from Rick. I wouldn’t want to  cross Morgan, but him being around will be good for Rick’s very hard-edged demeanor.

He’s definitely watching and seeing everything play out, but it’s great to have him on the team. Though, surely he and Rick will butt heads sooner or later. The way he was able to call out Carol, who continues to humorously play this naive and timid character, was fantastic. He knows what’s up.

And just hearing her exclaim about how terrifying the situation would be or how she’s been learning how to shoot a gun was funny. There really seemed to be a lot more humor injected into this episode amongst all the intense moments.

Of course, seeing the multitude of walkers first in the quarry (what a great visual) and then traveling along the road behind parade leader Daryl was fantastic. We really got a sense of just how massive a herd can get and how Alexandria has managed to avoid having to deal with a ton of walkers.

Plus, just seeing them all grouped together and the hoping that the plan to get them out and away from Alexandria provided some tense nail-biting moments. There were definitely some times when it seemed as if everything was going to go wrong, because on this show, it always seems to go wrong.

But the beauty of the episode also was in cutting back and forth between having those quieter moments like working on the plan or having a talk between characters and the insanity that was the color-filled efforts of the team in action.

This was an engaging and impressive premiere that has me ready for more (and what a haunting way to end on that horn still going over a black screen). The Walking Dead is definitely back at full force.

Did you love the premiere? Why is that horn going off? Let us know your thoughts, and see this fantastic episode again when you watch The Walking Dead online.

NOTE: The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 2, "JSS," airs on Oct. 17 at 10 p.m.

First Time Again Review

Editor Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (110 Votes)

Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.

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