TS-19 starts with an intense flashback to Shane at Rick’s bedside. Outside the hospital is being overrun by the undead. Shane struggles, first trying to pick Rick up before going to find a gurney. As Shane is trying to find transport we see soldiers gunning down hospital staff. The soldier lives long enough for walkers to catch them off guard and pull a few of them down. There is chaos. The soldiers are shooting anything not wearing a uniform. In a panic Shane pushes the gurney against Rick’s door and flees.
Shane At Rick’s Hospital Beside During The Collapse
The CDC
As the flashback ends we jump back to current time. Team Rick is entering he CDC and we are introduced to Dr. Jenner, the sole survivor left at the facility. After a quick blood test to rule out active infections Jacqui mentions they haven’t eaten in days. This leads to Dr. Jenner bringing them to the cantina.
The Survivors Enjoying Food And Drink
The food and drink flows and everyone is happy. At least until Shane wrecks the mood by pushing Dr. Jenner for some answers. Dr. Jenner tells the survivors that there were waves of defections as things got worse. Then a wave of suicides once it was clear the city was overrun.
When dinner breaks the team is treated to a rare treat in the apocalypse, hot showers!
While Rick is in his cups Shane confronts Lori with his need and jealousy. Lori scratches him up when things turn physical.
The next morning everyone is suffering from their celebrations from the previous day when Dale asks a few critical questions. This leads Dr. Jenner to show us the MRI of TS-19, Test Subject 19.
Test Subject 19 MRI
Then comes the stunning revelation that TS-19 was actually Dr. Jenner’s wife. Dale then points to the clock, and everyone gets a kick in the gut.
Decontamination Cycle
The facility is running out of power. When it does, it’s going to perform a deadly decontamination cycle which is essentially a fire bomb. Dr. Jenner is resigned to die. There is nothing left in the world for him. He tells the survivors they should hug their loved ones and shut their eyes, it will be quick.
The message rings true for Jacqui and Andrea. They are ready to go and sit with Dr. Jenner as the others work their way back to the main lobby. Dale sits with Andrea, telling her that if she’s going to stay, he is too.
The rest of the survivors escape thanks to the grenade that Carol saved from Ricks clothing. The grenade he took from the tank in Guts. The group is about to pull away when we see Dale and Andrea. She was willing to die, but not if it meant killing Dale.
TS-19 ends with the team pulling away in their caravan.
TS-19 Scoring
Season 1 of The Walking Dead ends at the same amazing pace as the rest of the season, which earned it a 99/100. The whole season is Worth Your Time, and is going to be tough for any other series to compete with. If you haven’t watched The Walking Dead recently, it is well worth visiting again.
Wildfire opens at the break of dawn. Rick calls out to Morgan on the radio, warning him that Atlanta is overrun. Thankfully he did find his family though.
Catching Morgan Up
While Rick is trying to catch up with Morgan the rest of the crew is busy. They are cleaning up the dead from the zombie attack. I really appreciate the fact that Daryl is spiking heads with a pick axe. Because you don’t want to be picking up a zombie to find out its only mostly dead, know what I mean?
The clean up is mostly done when the survivors turn to focus on Andrea. She refuses to leave her sister’s side. Even going so far as to pull a gun on Rick and reminding him she now knows how the safety works. Daryl wants to put a bullet in Amy’s head from a distance. He stalks away in disgust when the others disagree.
Bitten
As the clean up crew is working Jacqui sees blood on Jim’s shirt and panics. He starts yelling out to the others that Jim was bit. T-Dog grabs Jim’s arms so Daryl can lift up Jim’s shirt as he begs that he’s okay.
Jim’s Been Bitten
Daryl is proposing direct action. Pick axe blows to heads, and Dale regretfully agrees. Rick hasn’t lived through people turning from bites yet. He naively thinks there is maybe help to be had at the CDC. Shane would rather go to Fort Benning. He believes the military would be their best hope of finding other survivors and safety. Fort Benning is a lot further away than the CDC in Atlanta though.
After Rick takes Jim someplace safe Dale goes to talk to Andrea. He tells her about his wife, and how mad he was when his wife died of cancer. He tells Andrea that her and her sister were the first people that he dared to care about. Andrea pulls out Amy’s birthday present, feeling guilty for all the missed birthdays in the past. Glenn leaves her to her mourning as Andrea puts the mermaid necklace around her sister’s neck.
We then get to see Carol take out years of abuse on her husbands corpse. She swings Daryl’s pick axe with enough fervor to make even Daryl raise an eyebrow.
Letting Go
Andrea is still beside Amy when she turns. Amy’s eyes twitch slowly before her eyes open, slowly turning to stare at her sister. Andrea apologizes as Amy lifts her head, trying to take a bite of her sister. The others turn, realizing what’s happening, afraid Andrea isn’t going to be strong enough to do what is needed.
Andrea Saying Goodbye To Amy
In the end Andrea does the needful and puts a bullet into her sister’s head. If you watch the shot closely it looks like she would have put a bullet through her other hand in the process though. That would have 100% infected hers in the process.
As Shane and Rick are burying the dead Shane blames Rick for taking half their manpower to go look for Merle. Rick pushes back that without the guns they would have been in even more trouble. While they are arguing Daryl piles in saying they need a leader. That the camp needs to know the rules. This is when Lori chimes in, telling Daryl they need to bury their dead, because its what people do.
Not far off Jim is suffering from a fever. He’s seeing flashes of walkers as the virus eats away at his brain. Rick comes to talk to Jim, but Jim’s in a fever dream, not fully aware of where he is. While Rick is talking to Jim, Lori and Shane are talking outside. This almost leads to Rick finding out just how well Shane was taking care of his wife while he was almost dying in the hospital bed. Shane short circuits the conversation after Lori chimes in to support Rick’s CDC plan. This leads the two old friends to head out into the woods to do their security sweep.
In Shane’s Sights
Rick And Shane Alone In The Woods
This leads to a very nerve wracking moment where Shane is clearly tempted to kill his old partner.
Shane Views Rick From Behind Is Shotgun
When Shane lowers the weapon, Dale is there, having seen the whole thing.
Dale Takes The Lord’s Name In Shane
Shane tries to play it off, pretending he thought Rick was a walker. Shane comments that they might have to start wearing reflective vests, but Dale’s face says it all. He doesn’t believe Shane any further than he could throw him.
When they get back to camp everyone groups around the fire. Shane says that he thinks they should all stay together. That means agreeing with Rick’s plan to head for the CDC. Rick shares the news with Morgan on the following dawn, telling him he left a map behind if he wants to follow.
Not Safe
The caravan has formed up, and everyone except for Morales and his family are going to head for the CDC. Rick and Shane gives Morales a revolver and half a box of shells as a farewell present.
Roll Out
The caravan rolls out, on their way to the CDC as Jim burns with fever in the back of the RV. They don’t get far before the RV blows its radiator hose. Shane goes to find parts when Jacqui comes out to get Rick, Jim isn’t doing well. Jim has a moment of clarity, and begs Rick to leave him behind. He’s in pain and every bump in the road is an agony.
In the end the group agrees to let Jim make the decision and leave him propped up against a tree as they roll away.
Dr. Jenner
We are then introduced to Jenner, the sole survivor at the CDC facility. He is alone and his affect seems off.
Dr. Jenner
Jenner is recording his updates and we learn that he’s concerned about saving power. Jenner is also having trouble sleeping due to being underground. We then see him working in a biohazard lab in a space suite when there is a small accident. This shows us how any breach in protocol leads to his experiments being burnt in a decontamination cycle.
This leads to Jenner voicing his loneliness and desperation, which ends in him admitting he’s considering suicide.
Jenner Admitting He’s Suicidal
Back on the surface the survivors have made it to the CDC. There is evidence of a fierce, last ditch effort to defend the installation outside its walls.
CDC Battleground
There are bodies everywhere, as well as what’s left of defensive positions. As the group approaches Jenner is pulled to monitors by motion alarms. We see the team get to the doors of the CDC. The doors are closed and sealed with protective shutters.
The CDC Is Shuttered
The team is just about to flee in a panic when the camera moves. They can’t be in the city when night falls. Rick bangs on the shutters and begs to be let in, they are out of gas and supplies. Jenner watches as Rick begs, and opens the doors just before the team is forced to flee the city before nightfall.
CDC Doors Open
The episode ends with the survivors looking into the CDC as the doors open, flooding light out into the coming darkness.
Wildfire Scoring
Wildfire is Worth Your Time and scored a 95/100. There is so much depth to every scene and the acting and writing is just top notch. The only thing that would have pushed this amazing episode up to a 100/100 would have been getting to see some flashbacks or security footage of the CDC compound being overrun.
Vatos opens with Amy and Andrea in a canoe, talking about their father and how he taught them to fish. Amy and Andrea have a twelve year age gap and as they chat they realize that their father taught them each differently. He gave them each what they needed though. This leads them to another of their Dad’s rules, “No crying in the boat.”
Andrea & Amy Fishing
Up at camp Dale is on over watch, keeping an eye on everyone from atop his RV. As Dale sees Jim in the distance digging the camera zooms in for just a moment. Jim is digging what looks like graves. Dale goes over to check on him but Jim isn’t in a talkative mood and just keeps digging.
Jim Digging
Merle’s Rescue
Meanwhile Merle’s rescue team is coming to grips with what happened on the roof. Daryl has a brief moment of murderous rage before he switches back to tracker mode. It is time to follow his brother’s blood trail. The trail leads them to two dead walkers, one with a bloody wrench near it. Daryl comments that his brother is the toughest *sshole he ever met.
Merle’s Wrench Kill
Rick reminds Daryl that anyone can pass out from blood lose, no matter how tough they are. They continue the search until they come to a kitchen area where they find lit sterno candles and burnt skin. Merle cauterized his stump.
Merle’s Cauterization Station
Daryl wants to keep searching, but Atlanta is huge. They agree to look around a few blocks, but only after they get the guns that Rick dropped by the tank.
Camp
Back at the camp Amy and Andrea have returned from their fishing trip as victorious heroes. Because of their fishing skills the camp gets to have a real meal. The survivors are celebrating their good fortune when Dale comes back and lets them know they have a problem. Dale points up to the hill where Jim is still digging.
Dale leads the camp group up to talk to Jim, but Jim doesn’t want to hear any feedback. He refuses to stop until Shane takes the shovel from him and handcuffs him. Shane tells him he’s going to be okay but Jim says he doesn’t believe it. It’s the same thing Jim told his family right before they were torn out of his grasp and eaten. The survivors tie Jim to a tree. After some rest he tries to bargain for his freedom. He tries to sound normal, but there is still crazy in his eyes.
Get The Guns
In Atlanta Glenn is laying out his plan to grab the guns. He wants the team to split up on either side of the bag so once he grabs it he’s go someplace to run in either direction. Daryl asks Glenn what he did before the apocalypse. I think Daryl was expecting something more than “Pizza Delivery” as Glenn’s old profession.
While Glenn is grabbing the bag of guns (and Rick’s hat) Daryl finds himself face to face with another survivor. The kid Daryl finds is screaming for someone, which leads to a brief scuffle before two others show up. Daryl is outnumbered and gets a beat down. As Daryl is getting the snot kicked out of him Glenn comes around the corner, which leads the newcomers to focus on Glenn.
Charge
Glenn gets beat but Daryl saves the bags of guns with a well placed crossbow shot. They aren’t able to save Glenn though. The newcomers show up in a car and kidnap Glenn before speeding away, leaving one of their own behind in the rush.
Rick, T-Dog and Daryl interrogate their prisoner. Daryl wants to know if they also took Merle like they took Glenn, which leads to Daryl trying to kick the kids face in. I love this Daryl. It is the angry, impulsive, raw metal that the apocalypse hammers into a smart, deadly survivor in coming years. Going back and re-watching these old episodes really makes me appreciate the character development of my favorite survivors.
The Prisoner
The kids not speaking, which forces Daryl to use psychological warfare. He throws Merle’s hand at the kid and tell him it was from the last person who didn’t speak when told to. The kid freaks out and falls off his chair as Daryl bears down on him. Daryl tells him they are going to start with the feet this time. Not surprisingly, the kid breaks, and leads the group back to where his friends took Glenn.
Rick and team approach the Vatos and we are introduced to Guillermo, the leader of the gang. Guillermo drops some truth, calling out Rick for saying they just want to talk. From Guillermo’s perspective his guys were jumped and defended themselves. Guillermo wants the bag of guns in exchange for the damage done to his people. Then he’ll agree to the prisoner exchange.
Things are about to get very ugly. Guillermo tells Rick that if he doesn’t do what he wants Glenn is getting fed to his three man eating dogs. Rick and the Vatos are about to thrown down when the violence is interrupted by an old lady. It’s hard to understand what she’s saying, but someone needs their medicine.
Guillermo’s Charge
The old lady takes Rick by the hand and leads him to “the Asian boy”. On the way Rick realizes that the Vatos aren’t bad people. They’ve been protecting an old folks home. Better still, we get to see Guillermo’s three, man eating dogs.
Guillermo’s Man Eaters
Compromise
Rick pulls Guillermo aside, angry that they almost came to blows. Rick does the right thing and splits the gun stash with Guillermo. When Team Rick heads back to the van, it has been stolen, presumably by Merle, who is going to want revenge.
Back at the camp Andrea is looking for something to wrap Amy’s birthday present in. Meanwhile Shane checks on Jim before cutting him loose.
As the camp enjoys their fish fry, Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn are running back. They are afraid that Merle is going to hurt their friends and loved ones.
Running Back To Camp
As the camp is enjoying there fish fry Morales asks Dale why he still winds his watch every day. Dale quotes Faulkner about time.
I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father’s before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.
― William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
As Amy goes to the restroom Ed hears noises just outside his tent. When he gets up to punish whomever is there comes face to face with a walker. Ed is swarmed in his tent as Amy steps out of the RV to complain about toilette paper. She steps directly into the grasp of a walker. Andrea looks up just in time to see her sister get bitten.
Amy Gets Bit
The camp is swarming with walkers as Shane tries to rally the survivors, yelling for everyone to make for the high ground by the RV. Rick’s small group shows up with their new firepower just in time to save the camp from being completely overwhelmed.
We then get the first of many punches to the balls that is to come as Andrea holds Amy in her arms as her sister dies.
The episode ends with Jim saying he now remembers the dream, and why he dug the graves as the camera scans the bodies on the ground around camp.
Vatos Scoring
Vatos was an excellent episode with good character development, tension and action. It is what every Zombies Series should strive to be! Vatos is Worth Your Time and scored a 94/100.
In This Life starts with Hope pulling the weapon she stole from Felix on Huck before leaving us hanging for a little while.
When we come back form the first commercial break Elton has found Silas. The smoke from cooking a rabbit gave his location up. Iris has found a stabilization boot for Felix which is letting him move about a little more freely. As Iris and Felix chat, she tells him that she doesn’t trust Huck. There is only one room in the old folks home they haven’t searched, which Huck said was full of bodies. What does it mean if Huck was lying?
Huck & Hope
Out on the trail Hope has Huck at gunpoint. Huck tells Hope that even if she pulls the trigger, the other’s will come looking for her. This is about when a few walkers come stumbling there way, and Hope has to decide on what to do. Shoot Huck? Keep her at gunpoint? Or shoot a few walkers?
Hope freezes as the walkers come closer and ends up losing her gun as Huck yells stupid sh*t. Huck is yelling stuff like “work your angles”.
Back at the old folks home Iris and Felix go into the room that Huck said was full of bodies. Only there are no bodies. The room is full of supplies. Supplies that could have helped treat Felix’s ankle as well as the truck.
While Iris and Felix are realizing that Huck might not be who she says she is. Percy is telling Elton and Silas just about the same thing. Silas wasn’t the one who killed Percy’s Uncle, it was Huck all along.
Who Sent The Messages
After clearing the walkers Huck congratulates Hope, telling her she did an awesome job killing the walkers. Hope wants to know why Huck is there, which brings Huck to admit to Hope that Hope’s father didn’t send the messages, it was Huck all along. At least according to Huck. When pressed on the why, Huck tells Hope she needed Hope to realize that civilization is worth fighting for. Huck gives Hope a long spiel about why the CRM is the right path. When Hope asks why the CRM cares about her, Huck tells her she has no idea who she is.
When we come back from commercial Leopold is having wine with his CRM girlfriend, telling her about how Hope took apart and rebuilt a computer. Hope is special. Maybe she will even save the world.
As Team Percy is making their plans to catch up to Huck a CRM team shows up in a truck, forcing them out of their hiding place. The plan is to catch up to Huck and Hope, and save Hope, which is just about the same plan that Felix and Iris come up with.
As Huck and Hope are holing up for the night Iris and Felix pull up in the truck and Huck tell her they need to hide if she wants to save their life. When they have no choice, Huck comes out and acts as if everything is okay, and Hope covers for her.
Felix pretends to believe what Huck is shoveling long enough to grab her gun and demand that she tells him what’s going on.
When we come back from the next commercial break we see Leopold’s girlfriend breaking the news that Hope will be with them shortly, but something is off, it appears that Leopold is behind glass, but it turns out what we were seeing was her practicing, Leopold wasn’t even there.
Back at the abandoned house Huck tells’ Felix that he needs to get back into the house and leave. Hope chimes in and tells Iris and Felix they have to walk away so they can live. As Felix is thinking about what Huck is saying she attacks, pushing Felix down the stairwell at the same time she knocks over the lantern.
As the fire rages Huck and Felix do battle with their spears while the girls look for the handgun that Felix dropped. Hope finds the gun before running towards the hand to hand fighting. Who does she shoot? Who does she decide to go with?
Hope then does the crazy thing so she puts the gun against her own head and tells Felix and Iris to go, that she is the asset and that she has to go with Huck to help her father.
While Hope is making her decision Silas has decided to sacrifice himself to save Percy and Elton.
Hope decides to go with Huck as Silas gives himself up to the CRM.
Back at the CRM Leopold questions the military arm of the CRM, and admits that he is afraid they are being lied to, but he knows how they can be certain.
Out on the road Huck has Hope, and they have reached the drop point, and are waiting for the helicopter. When Elizabeth arrives to pick up her daughter and Hope she tells Huck that she’s taking care of the loose ends. While Huck thought she was saving Felix and the others, her mother just made it clear that no one was going to be left alive if she had anything to say about it.
The season ends with Hope telling Iris that the Civic Republic has no idea that it’s really been the both of them all along. They are apparently smarter together than alone. As Felix and Iris walk, Bill finds them in the woods and the two embrace. Bill tells them he thought they were dead, but doesn’t tell them that everyone in their home has been gunned down by the CR.
In This Life Scoring
In This Life scored a 50/100. It just struggled to generate any excitement for me.
Things I don’t like about The Walking Dead: World Beyond
The writers really struggle to let any suspense build. They must believe the audience is really dumb, because they spell out everything that might lead to suspense.
There is no real feel of danger from the undead. The focus is all politics, but it’s not up to par with what we got from the original “The Walking Dead” and the quality gap is really noticeable.
The expandable spear weapons are just dumb. A solid shaft spear would just make more sense.
Iris’s dinosaur tooth spear is even dumber than the expandable spears. A fossil is not going to make for a good piecing weapon.
The flashback should be a tool used more selectively. There are just too many flashbacks in The World Beyond.
Why is Elton wearing a mustard suit? (screaming this)
The Deepest Cut begins with Huck talking to her mother, Elizabeth. Huck tells Elizabeth to keep the faith. Huck has given a lot to prove herself to her current companions. All she needs is more time.
Back with Hope and Iris, Huck is behind the wheel of their truck, motoring along in the dark. At least until she purposefully steers into an obstacle on the road, presumably to slow down their journey.
With the truck disabled, the group sets out on foot. This gives Felix a moment to remember when he first met Huck at her security interview. He’s brough back to the hear and now by a horde. The horde is tangled in barbed wire, dragging it along with them. The group makes it through, but Felix is hurt in the process. He gets a nice cut across the back of his ankle.
Elton & Silas
Meanwhile Elton is still trying to find Silas. After tearing into one of his books in a rage, he chases it into the rain and wind. His rage turns to worry as he picks up a page covered in blood. At the end of the blood trail Elton doesn’t find Silas though. Instead he finds Percy who is weak from blood loss or injury. It’s not quite clear yet. After Elton drags Percy across a river Percy stands up and asks Elton why he’s trying to help. Percy is going to die. Why? Was he bit? We don’t know yet. Then we find out that Elton is imagining his conversation with Percy. Elton’s subconscious was afraid it was a wrench wound, but it wasn’t. Percy has been shot.
Team Iris
When we come back from commercial Team Iris has found what looks like an old folks community center. Iris ends up with Huck as the team splits up to find something to fix their truck. As Iris and Huck explore, Huck uses psychological warfare, telling Iris how much faster she is than Hope. She is trying to plant the seed that maybe Iris’s dad isn’t in bad shape. Maybe Iris is just overthinking things.
As Felix unwraps his barbed wire injury he flashes back to the past and better times. He’s thinking about his boyfriend Bill.
When we come back from our next commercial break Felix rolls his ankle, hurting his wound further. As the team stops to let him rest he flashes back to a dinner with Bill and the girl’s father. Its revealed that Bill his going with the girls father, Leopold.
As Elton is trying to deal with Percy’s wound by applying a poultice, he’s faced with multiple walkers hungry for a quick snack. While Elton’s subconscious tells him its okay to leave Percy behind, Elton struggles with the reality of the situation. Subconscious Percy tells Elton that humanity has a fighting chance, like his mother knew was true, and to leave him behind. This is about when Elton goes Rambo, using Silas’s wrench to destroy some walkers in a purposely slow mo scene. Sadly, I think they shot it as an action scene but had to blue it up to make it more believable. Who is going to buy the kid in the mustard suit turning bad*ss? Right?
Huck’s Mission
After a short bit of soul searching Irish and team leave Felix behind so they can continue unhindered by his injury. As Felix is hugging Huck we see a flashback as she uses the blade of her spear to wound Felix during the fight with the walkers. Huck has achieved her goal of separating the girls from Felix, who might protect them from what is too come.
Iris is suspicious, but when she goes to talk to Hope, Hope doesn’t trust Iris’s gut. Later in the night Hope and Huck discuss the next steps. The next morning Huck has convinced Iris to set out on their own.
As the rain falls Elton is using the walkie he found on Percy to call to Felix. Huck answers his call. Elton is about to tell Huck where they are when Percy wakes up and slaps the walkie out of Elton’s hand. Percy tells him it was Huck who shot him.
Somewhere along the walk Hope has figured out the cipher they’ve intercepted and learns that there is an agent among them. Who exactly is Huck?
The Deepest Cut
The Deepest Cut scored a 55/100 as it struggled to generate a lot of suspense. All the backstabbing and intrigue was written on the walls. Please leave something for us to figure out or find out.
Tell It to the Frogs opens with Merle on the roof, rambling, nearly delirious, remembering time he spent in the stockade. The reality of his situation has set in. All the noise Merle is making brings the walkers up to the doorway. The only thing holding them back is the chain T-Dog secured the door with.
Merge, Abandoned On The Roof
The more noise Merle makes, the harder the walkers push to get get through, but as Merle climbs under the pipes, trying to hide, he sees the tools that T-Dog dropped as he fled. Merle takes off his belt to try to reach the tool which is just out of his reach.
Back in the box van Morales tells Rick not to feel bad. No one is going to miss Merle, except for maybe his brother Daryl. This is the first time we get introduced to Daryl. Daryl is one of the all time best characters in the series. Comment below if you disagree!
The Introduction of Daryl
As Rick steers the box van back to camp Glenn flies by, the alarm still going off, whooping in joy as he drives the Charger.
Camp
Back in camp Lori, Carl, and Shane are sitting in a circle. Lori is cutting Carl’s hair as Shane cleans a firearm, telling Carl he’s going to teach him how to catch frogs.
Glenn shows up first, the car alarm still going off. Shane is angry. Glenn just rang the dinner bell all the way back to their camp!
Andrea is the first one out of the truck. Her sister Amy runs and gives her a hug, relieved her sister made it out alive.
Andrea & Amy Reunite
Morales and his family are next and there are hugs all around as the scavengers celebrate making it back to camp. Shane asks how they got out, the last thing he heard on the radio was that they were surrounded and in trouble. Glenn tells Shane the new guy got them out. Morales call out to “Hey, helicopter boy!” and Rick comes walking into frame. I think the look on Shane’s face says just about everything we need to know.
Shane’s Reaction When He Sees Rick
Rick Is Back
Rick and Shane stare at each other but then Rick sees Lori and Carl just behind him and the world narrows down. For Rick, all he sees is his family. The other survivors are in shock, not expecting the newcomer to have ties to their band. Rick clutches Carl to his chest, both of them crying as he carries his son towards Lori.
Lori’s Suprised? And Scared? Reaction To Ricks Return
Lori’s initial reaction appears to be fear? Or maybe guilt? Guilt that she’s already jumped into bed with her not long dead husbands patrol partner? Rick and Lori were having issues before the apocalypse started. Maybe it started before the walkers started biting?
Lori recovers and hugs Rick, but her face is still more shock than joy. She looks over at Shane who just nods quietly, not knowing what to say or do. Is Lori crying tears of relief? Or are they guilt and surprise?
Campfire
In the next scene its night and Rick is sitting around the fire with his family and the other survivors, telling them what it was like to wake up in their new world.
Grimes Family By The Fire
The worst part is when Rick is thanking Shane for taking care of his family while he wasn’t there. Clearly Rick doesn’t realize just how much “taking care” of his wife Shane was doing.
We are then introduced to Ed, Carol, and Sophia Peletier. Ed built the fire up too high, and Shane makes him pull some wood off the fire so they can’t be seen. Or more correctly, Shane tells him to do it, and Ed makes his wife Carol do it.
Back at the fire the scavengers are discussing what to do about Daryl. Who is going to tell Daryl they left Merle behind? Dale warns them that when Daryl gets back its going to be a rough conversation. This is when T-Dog tells them he chained the door shut and Merle is probably still alive.
Rick puts Carl to bed before going to Lori, kissing her before lying down behind her.
Rick And Lori Spooning
Shook
Lori still looks more shocked than happy that Rick survived. This really annoys me. As they lay there Rick tells her he knew he’d find her. That he knew she was alive the moment he went to their house and saw that pictures and family albums were gone. Lori tells him she really didn’t think she’d ever see him again, and apologizes, telling him she wants to take back the anger and the mistakes. Rick tells her its okay, they got a second chance, which not many people get. We then find out the ring on her necklace is Rick’s wedding band, and she asks if he wants it back. Lori turns out the lantern, leading Rick to look over at Carl. Lori tell him Carl won’t wake up, which really creeped me out even further. How many times has she banged Shane with her son a few feet away? How else could she be so sure? It’s not like Rick was gone for year! How long could Rick possibly have been gone at this point? Two weeks? Three weeks? And she’s already jumped right into bed with Shane?
Outside, Shane is standing watch, but he’s really just watching Lori’s tent, knowing what’s likely going on.
Morning
When Rick gets up the camp is already in full gear. Carol has washed Rick’s clothing while Dale and team are stripping the Charger for parts, much to Glen’s dismay. Rick and Lori are discussing if it makes sense to go back for Merle when Carl starts screaming. There is a walker just outside camp, eating a deer that had been wounded by a hunter.
Walker Chowing Down On Deer
Rick and the others then go to town on the walker, beating it to death before Dale takes its head off with an axe.
We then get introduced to Daryl Dixon in the flesh for the first time!
Daryl Dixon’s Entrance Into The Walking Dead
Daryl is pissed that the walker got his deer and proceeds to kick the walker a few times. He is raw and hot headed, but he’s brought back some squirrel to eat, so he does put food on the table.
Where Is Merle?
As Daryl is calling for Merle to help him process his game, Shane tells him he needs to tell him something, which is when Rick steps up and just lays it out. Merle was a danger to them all and he handcuffed him to a roof. Daryl is not happy to say the least. He goes to take a swing at Rick but Shane stops him, putting him in a headlock which Daryl reminds him is illegal.
After Daryl calms down Rick agrees to go back to help Daryl save his brother. Shane doesn’t understand why Rick would go back for Merle. Rick twists Glenn’s arm to help. Glenn knows the way and has been in and out in the past. Shane is against anyone going, but Rick convinces Shane it’s worth it if they can get the guns Rick left behind.
Things get more emotional as Lori and Carl beg him not to, but Rick needs the bag not just for the guns, but for the walkie talkie he promised Morgan he’d connect on. Rick wants to warn Morgan that Atlanta isn’t safe.
Rick’s last stop is Dale’s RV where he bargains for a set of bolt cutters before heading out. As Rick is leaving Shane gives Rick his last 4 four rounds for Rick’s Colt Python.
Rescue Team
As Merle’s rescue team decides on their best course of action Andrea, Amy, Carol and Jacqui are scrubbing clothes, discussing the things they miss from the old days. Jacqui misses her coffee maker while Andrea and Carol miss their vibrators, which makes them all start laughing. Not far away the laughter draws Ed’s attention. Ed tells Carol to do her work and basically shut up, they aren’t in a comedy club. Andrea confronts Ed and things start to get ugly. Ed is completely willing to hit Andrea. Shane stops him. Violently. Shane is taking out his anger on the abusive husband.
Back in the main camp Lori is looking for Carl, which brings her down to the water to confront Shane.
Lori Confronts Shane
Lori is pissed and tells Shane to stay away from her, Carl, and her family. Shane is the one who told her that Rick was dead, and that somehow makes it all Shane’s fault that she started to bang her dead husband’s partner before the body was even cold? I get it, she thought Rick was dead and she needed emotional support, but still, she has to take some responsibility right?
As the drama is unfolding in the quarry Merle’s rescue team is making it to the roof of the department store in Atlanta which leads to one of the huge cliffhangers that won’t be resoled for multiple seasons.
Merle is gone, or at least most of Merle is gone. The only thing left on the roof is the hacksaw and his hand.
Merle’s Hand
Tell It to the Frogs Scoring
Tell It to the Frogs scored a 95/100, making it Worth Your Time. It was a strong, emotional filled episode with lots of revelations, but it only had a few scenes with walkers in it, which cost it a few points. Still, what other series is averaging a 98.3 in its first three episodes?
Guts opens up on Lori and Shane’s survivor group. We get introduced to characters we saw but didn’t really hear much from in Days Gone Bye. The first of which is Dale, who is dutifully watching over the camp from on top of the RV. We know he’s a good guy because Lori trusts him to watch over Carl if she needs to leave camp.
Dale On Watch
Lori is Whorey
Lori is in the woods when she hears movement. She nearly pees herself when Shane grabs her and pulls her to the ground. The two quickly get down to business. Shane pauses when he sees her wedding ring on a necklace and they don’t continue until she takes it off.
We then cut back to the tank where Rick is swarmed with walkers.
Swarmed
Glenn informs Rick he’s in trouble, but at least he’s got Glenn’s eyes outside helping him find the path of least resistance. On top of that Rick finds a grenade near the dead crew member. Glenn pushes Rick to run for it while the walkers are distracted with their horse dinner.
Rick makes it down the street and almost pops Glenn before his new friend leads him to the safety of a fire escape. Glenn then tells Rick what a dumbass he is again. As they flee across the roof Rick asks Glenn why he helped, and I love Glenn’s answer.
Rick: “Back at the tank, why’d you stick your neck out for me?”
Glenn: “Call it foolish, naïve hope that if I’m ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me. Guess I’m an even bigger dumbass than you.”
The exchange just shows Glenn’s nature. He’s a realist, but a glass half full type of guy at the same time.
Andrea
As Glenn and Rick flee down into the building Glenn radios out that he’s got a guest. Several people come out to bash some walkers as Glenn leads Rick into the relative safety of his friend’s company. At least until Andrea puts a gun in his face. She is pissed that Rick pulled walkers down on them.
Andrea Says Hi To Rick
Andrea is convinced that Rick has killed them by making so much noise. The other survivors explain to Rick that they are there to scavenge, and the key to scavenging is getting in, grabbing items they need, and getting out without making too much noise. Rick’s gunfire has pulled all the walkers in earshot. Worse yet, the glass isn’t going to hold the undead back for long.
Breaking Glass
The survivors ask Rick what he was doing out there, and me mentions the helicopter he heard and saw in the buildings reflection. They thinks he’s nuts. As they decide to flee upward they hear gunshots and Andrea askes “Oh no, is that Dixon?”
Merle Dixon Having Some Target Practice
Merle
When the survivors get to the roof Merle is laughing. T-Dog is miffed that Merle is wasting bullets, and bringing more walkers down on them. Merle then shows his true nature. Merle isn’t a fan of diversity and isn’t willing to take feedback, much less orders from T-Dog.
I was a little shocked to hear Merle use the hard “N” word. Its been a decade since I originally watched Guts during its original airing and I didn’t remember that. This of course leads to a fist fight. Merle takes down Rick, then gets T-Dog on the ground and pummels him. He then goes on a rant. Merle votes Merle is in charge, and its honestly the only vote Merle cares about. He makes the other survivors raise their hands by casually sweeping them with his pistol.
Thankfully Rick is there to even things up and he bashes Merle in the back of the head. Rick then handcuffs the Dumb-As-Sh*t, Inbred White Trash Fool before reminding Merle you “Ought to be polite to a man with a gun.” Which is exactly what Merle told the rest of them when they started to complain about him shooting his rifle.
As the others discuss their next steps, Merle hits on Andrea. Even handcuffed Merle is just a disgusting human being with no self control.
Merle’s Weak Attempt At A Pick Up Line
Rick asks them if the sewers are an option which leads Glenn to show them what he thinks is the sewer entrance in the basement.
The team has a plan. Glenn and Morales are going to see if the sewers are a viable exit while the rest of the team monitors the store front and tries to reach out for help using the radio from the roof. Glenn and Morales find their way blocked by a massive steel grate, which already has walkers eating rats on the other side. Yum…
In the store Andrea is looking at a necklace and Rick asks her if she sees something she likes and we learn that Andrea has a sister. Andrea’s sister is still young enough to love things like unicorns, and especially mermaids.
Andrea’s Mermaid Pendant For Her Sister
When Rick asks her why she doesn’t take it, she replies that there is a cop staring at her before Rick assures her its okay. This is what TWD does so well, shows the humanity in each of its characters.
Glenn and Morales come back up and let them know the storm drain isn’t an option just in time for the glass in the storefront to break some more. Time is running out.
As the team discusses their options Rick comes up with a crazy plan. The walkers hunt by sound, sight, and smell, and Rick wants to know if masking one of those senses might change how the walkers react to them.
They grab one of the dead walkers outside the rear door and hack him up after saying a few quick words. At least the guy was an organ donor, so he did sign up for this right? The team then uses a bit of emulsified walker to coat themselves.
As Glenn is complaining, Rick tells him to think about something else, like Puppies and Kittens!!!
Puppies And Kittens
I had no idea that Z Nation borrowed this from TWD! I had to go back to check. Guts first aired on November 7th, 2010 while Z Nation’s Puppies and Kittens episode didn’t air until four years later.
Zombie Camo
Rick did achieve his goal though. He and Glenn smell like walkers. The last thing Rick does before walking out into the horde is to throw T-Dog the key to Mer’s cuffs.
Rick and Glenn carefully make it through the walker horde, their disguises appearing to hold up, at least for the moment.
Walker Walking
Back at the survivors camp, Andrea’s sister, Amy is worried. T-Dog just manages to get a message through as the weather changes. T-Dog lets them know they are surrounded at the department store, but the connection is poor. Amy wants people to go into Atlanta to save her sister, but Shane say’s they can’t risk mores lives while Lori looks on, wide eyed.
Rick and Glenn are in the thick of the walkers when the rain starts to fall, washing away the precious walker gore they’ve covered themselves in.
Walker Walking In The Rain
Rick tries to comfort Glenn, but even as he’s saying their protective layer isn’t washing off, the walkers are beginning to focus on the two live humans more and more.
It’s time to run. Rick and Glenn just make it to the construction site before the horde turns on them. Thanks to the construction fencing they are able to grab a box truck and start rolling before the horde is on top of them.
Rolling Rescue
As Andrea, T-Dog and Morales watch from the top of the department store they are at first afraid Rick and Glenn are abandoning them, but Rick just needed to find another vehicle so they could create a distraction. Glenn calls them on the radio and tells them to come down to the rolling gates and be ready to roll.
As they move out Merle begs T-Dog not to just leave him there. T-Dog is actually going to let Merle go before he trips and the handcuff key goes flying.
Key Down The Drain
I tried to highlight that little key flying towards the drain, and that is exactly where it went. T-Dog does the only thing he thinks will help and locks the door to the roof. At least the horde won’t be able to eat Merle while he’s trapped.
Out on the street Glenn uses his stolen Dodge Charger (with its alarm blaring) to pull the horde away from the side entrance. This gives Rick the time he needs to collect the other survivors.
T-Dog tells the others he dropped the key as they flee Atlanta.
Guts ends with Glenn flying down the highway, intoxicated with speed as the car alarm continues to go off.
Glenn Speeding Away
Guts Scoring
Guts scored a 100/100, making the first time a season opener and second episode both just hit it out of the park. I forgot how awesome these original episodes were. Guts is Worth Your Time.
Days Gone Bye kicked off not just The Walking Dead series, but spins off to become two more shows as well as an after episode talk show. Its hard to believe The Walking Dead is over a decade old at this point. I remember waiting to watch it with my older boys, all of us sitting on the couch, and we’d excitedly discuss what was going on during commercials.
Days Gone Bye reminded me why we love this series so much. It is just a masterclass in how to set mood and build characters.
Current Timeline
Days Gone Bye starts in the now. Rick has stopped at a gas station surrounded by what was a refugee camp, hoping to find some gas. What he finds instead is the iconic “little girl zombie“.
Little Girl Zombie
Rick is Wounded (Flashback)
We then cut to the series theme song before we take a step back in time. Rick Grimes and Shane are eating lunch as Shane is complaining about his girlfriend who leaves every light on in his house. Rick is telling Shane about his own problems with his wife Lori when the call comes in. There is a high speed pursuit, and one officer has already been shot and wounded. Rick and Shane put out the spike strip and wait.
Spike Strip Deployed
After the bad guys hit the spike strip and wreck the bad guys come out with guns in hand. Rick gets tagged in the vest by assailant one. Assailant two goes down in a hail of bullets. Rick and Shane are celebrating the bullet hitting Rick’s vest when a 3rd Assailant climbs out and shoots Rick in the left shoulder.
Rick Gets Shot
We then see some haze as Shane drops by to talk to Rick who is barely conscious in the hospital.
Rick Wakes Up (Current Timeline)
When Rick wakes up he’s a little delirious. He thinks Shane is still in his room, but the flowers in the vase are dried up and dead. Rick tries to get out of bed and ends up on the floor, calling for a nurse who never comes. When he finally makes it to out of his room he finds a hospital bed pushed up against his door and a dim hallway with no nurses or patients in sight.
Empty Hallway
Rick finds his way to a nurses station and finds some matches, but its not long before he sees what type of world he’s woken into. Down the hallway there is what’s left of a woman lying on the floor.
Zombie Chow
Rick just woke up from some form of barely conscious state. he has no idea what’s going on, and its not getting better. He wanders down the hall the other way to find a doorway chained shut with a warning spray painted across the doors. I’m actually surprised this type of error made it into the show. What the hell does “Don’t Dead Open Inside” mean anyway?
Don’t Dead Open Inside
Do fingers count as Rick’s first Zombie? He sees fingers coming through the door, but he doesn’t really know what’s going on yet so I’m going to say no, he still hasn’t seen his first Zombie.
Exiting The Hospital
Rick freaks out and flees through the fire escape, which is very dark and creepy before finding himself on the hospital loading dock. Bodies are lined up, and most of them have blood marks near their heads, showing they turned and were put down before being lined up outside. We get a good idea of just how bad things were as the camera pulls back, showing the volume of dead that were piling up.
Lots of Bodies
Rick wanders away from the loading dock and finds what looks to be a military deployment on the nearby hill. Whatever happened at the hospital must have been quick. The helicopters appear to have weapons mounted but there are no nearby bodies, which makes me think the crews were taken down away from the helos.
Military Hardware Outside Hospital
Rick wanders away from the hospital until he finds a bicycle, as well as his first Zombie.
Rick’s First Zombie
Lucky for Rick the first zombie he encountered was half the woman she was before turning. Rick jumps on the bike and races to his home to find it empty. Lori and Carl aren’t there and Rick has a moment of doubt. Is he in his hospital bed hallucinating?
Morgan
Rick goes out to the front of his house, his vision blurred as he sees a man walking towards him in the distance just before he gets clocked. As Rick is lying there half out of it he sees Morgan put a revolver against the walkers head and pull the trigger.
Morgan Taking Care Of A Walker
Morgan points his gun at Rick and demands to know what caused his wound as Rick passes out. When he wakes up Morgan has changed his bandage and tied him to the bed.
Once Morgan is convinced Rick wasn’t bitten, he cuts him loose. Rick, Morgan and Morgan’s son Duane end up in the living room and Rick is confused. He watched Morgan kill a man, and this is the first time we hear the term “walker”. Morgan tells Rick he didn’t kill a man, he killed a walker.
Morgan tries to explain the rules of the new world to Rick once he realizes Rick has no clue what’s going on, but Rick doesn’t look like he’s 100% convinced yet.
After a car alarm brings the survivors to the window we see Morgan’s turned walker wandering around in front of the house, which set’s Duane off. Rick is at the door, looking out the peep hole when Morgan’s wife comes to the door, attracted to something about the house.
Morgan’s Wife
Training Day
The next day Rick gets to kill his first walker. Morgan has given him a face shield and a baseball bat, but Rick’s still weak from being shot, and just barely gets the job done. Afterwards Rick takes Morgan to his house and explains that he thinks Lori and Carl are alive because clothes and pictures are missing.
Duane volunteers that they probably went to Atlanta. Before everything collapsed, people were told to head for Atlanta. There was supposed to be security there as well as the CDC. Rick has found a new destination, but first, he needs some gear.
This brings Rick to the station, where there is still enough propane in the tanks to allow the three survivors to enjoy a hot shower, a rarity in the post apocalypse days. After collecting weapons Rick gives Morgan a rifle and ammo before heading out.
As Rick goes back to find his first walker and put her out of her misery Morgan goes to his window to practice with his new rifle. Rick kills the female walker as Morgan kills a few of the walkers in front of his house, but isn’t able to pull the trigger when he finds his turned wife in his scope sights.
Atlanta
Rick is on his way to Atlanta, hailing anyone who can hear him on his CB radio. A group of survivors, including Lori and Shane can hear him, but Rick never get’s their transmission. Lori didn’t hear Rick’s voice, but she wants to warn whoever sent the transmission. The group of survivors know that Atlanta isn’t safe.
On his way into the city Rick is running out of fuel, but he finds a farm and a horse, which leads to another iconic shot from the series as Rick rides his steed into the city.
Rick’s Horseback Journey Into Atlanta
The city looks deserted at first, but its not long before Rick encounters his first walkers. The horse is skittish and does not like the undead. Rick is making his way down the street when he hears a helicopter and sees its reflection in a skyscraper, which leads him to go charging around the corner to try and get a glimpse of the whirly bird. Instead he finds himself face to face with a massive herd of walkers.
Rick Comes Face to Face With His First Horde
Things go downhill from here for Rick. Rick tries to flee but finds himself surrounded. His horse spooks and throws him as the zombies swarm. Rick uses the momentary distraction of his horse being eaten to climb under a tank. It doesn’t take long for the walkers to find him. Risk escapes into the tank through a hatch just in time.
Rick quickly kills a crew member turned walker before the tank is swarmed. Rick is surrounded on all sides, and in big trouble when someone reaches out on the radio.
Glenn – “Hey, you. Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank.”
They were probably the sweetest words Rick’s ever heard.
Days Gone By Scoring
Days Gone Bye scored a 100/100 and is Worth Your Time. The atmosphere and mood set by this work of art was just perfect. This is what every other zombie show strives to be.
All Good Things Must Come to an End is the season finale, so I guess its aptly named. The episode starts with Citizen Z, almost out of batteries, burning papers for warmth. He desperately tries to warn Addy, and Team Murphy to abort the mission. Whoever was tracking Murphy through Camp Northern Lights knows exactly where he is.
Citizen Z Trying To Call Off The Murphy Drop Off
We then cut back to the diner. The old woman is feeding Warren tea while Vasquez looks around. Something is tickling his suspicion, but not enough to keep him from letting Warren call in the rest of the team.
Bounty
Team Murphy settles in for some tea just as a group of Bounty Hunters shows up. They have a “Murphy” to hand in for the bounty.
Bounty Hunters
The leader of the Bounty Hunters talks to Warren. One of the others finds cross dressing Murphy attractive. This leads to Team Murphy’s cover being blown.
Zombie Mmic
The lead Bounty Hunter figures out Murphy has some tie to their fake Murphy, which results in a little shootout. Team Murphy takes out the Bounty Hunters but 10K was hit in the process. As Doc and Addy work on 10K, Auntie goes outside with Murphy and Warren. Warren puts a flare up, signaling for Dr. Merch and the Mount Wilson CDC lab. Dr. Merch apparently has a submarine.
Mount Wilson CDC Lab Submarine
While Team Murphy tries to make sense of what is happening Citizen Z puts his pooch on a sled and begins to pull. I think he’s got that reversed, but I’m guessing poochy is hurt.
Dr. Merch
Back at the diner, the military has shown up, and brought Dr. Merch with them. She tries to verify it’s Murphy, but can’t remember until Murphy jobs her memory a bit about their last encounter.
Is That Murphy?
The military only has room to take Murphy and 10K back to the sub, which leads to heartfelt goodbyes. The team has been through a lot together.
Murphy and 10K have just left when La Reina and her Zeros show up. They want revenge on Warren for her betrayal, and to collect Murphy.
Zero Ambush
Things do not look good for the team, they are pinned down and outgunned. How did La Reina find them? She’s got Dr Kurian’s head in a box, and apparently he’s connected enough with Murphy to act as a compass. Good thing for the remnants of Team Murphy that Auntie has her MAC-10 handy. Aunti lays down some cover fire so they can flee into the diner.
Lucky for the team, Auntie has a stash of weapons to help even things up a little.
On the sub the medical staff agree to treat 10K and get him back to the mainland. Meanwhile Murphy learns about Zona, and why the people on the sub are so interested in him. The soldiers are infected, and they look like they are starting to turn.
Infected Submariners
The Vaccine
As Dr. Merch is taking blood from Murphy we find out that all the Zona staff were infected with an early version of the vaccine. Unfortunately its wearing off, and all those people are starting to turn. It doesn’t take Murphy long to figure out he’s not interested in being Zona’s blood supply.
Back at the diner La Reina tries to bargain, telling the team they just want Murphy. La Reina will do anything to get to Murphy. Even sacrifice the front ranks of her soldiers to create walking Z shields.
Auntie gets hit and turns, then gets an axe to the skull from outside while she tries to eat Doc. As the two sides spray lead at each other Addy, and the creepy masked Zero end up going mano a mano, breaking the Z-Whacker in the process!!!
Z-Whacker Breaks
This leads to La Reina and Warren going toe to toe as well. It looks like Warren is about to lose when Escorpion shows up and puts a stake through La Reina. Only he’s not Escorpion any longer, he’s Hector. How did he survive? The last time we saw him Vasquez pushed him into a basement full of Z’s.
Vasquez
Hector tells Vasquez he’s not Escorpion anymore. He also understands if Vasquez wants to kill him. He is sorry, but he’s not the same man anymore. In the end Vesquez couldn’t do it. For Vasquez it’s the end of the road, they finished their mission. Warren, Doc and Addy end up rolling out with Hector, heading for the beach to pick up 10K.
Back on the sub, 10K wakes up to distant alarms before we cut to Warren and team at the ocean’s edge. What they see doesn’t look good, the sub is burning.
Sub On Fire
A moment later they see a boat heading away from the sub, and they can clearly see Murphy, but no 10K. When we get a close up of the boat its clear that Murphy is in control, he’s bitten everyone on his ride.
Who are the Chinese soldiers that swarm Warren and team? Do they mean Team Warren harm?
Is Citizen Z going to survive his deep freeze?
Frozen 10K
And what is going to happen to Murphy’s daughter Lucy?
All Good Things Must Come to an End Scoring
So many things are going on in the last few minutes of this season ender, but it was really well done and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, which is why All Good Things Must Come to an End scored a 94/100 and is Worth Your Time.
Day 1 tells the origin stories of our main characters, and does a kick *ss job of doing it.
The story starts with Citizen Z, in federal custody, about to go on trial for hacking when a man from the NSA comes with one last offer. We drop the charges if you work for us, while passing Citizen Z a very odd note…
Citizen Z Learns The Worlds Fate Before It Started
While Citizen is facing a hacker at Camp Northern Light, the Rest of Team Murphy has made it to the California border, and there isn’t much there. With all our survivors walking across a barren, destroyed landscape, there is plenty of time for each of them to remember where they were when the biting started.
Warren was in Trenton NJ when she encounters her first Z.
Warren’s First Z
It doesn’t take long for Warren to encounter Z’s two, three, and so on. Lucky for her she had a .45 on her hip and instinctively went for headshots as her army buddies come stumbling in.
Warren Takes Headshots
Doc
Next we get to see what Doc was going when the Zombie Apocalypse started, and I have to say, his story was one of my favorites. Doc was a drug and alcohol counselor, and I love his story.
The Drug & Alcohol Counselor
Doc is who I aspire to be. Fun, upbeat, and yet when push comes to shove, just fine with doing the shoving, and then hugging it out afterwards. After Doc helps the therapist next to him, he comes back and encounters his first Z, eating his patient.
Doc’s First Z
One of the things I love about Doc walking in on Zombie Lunchtime is how quickly he assesses the situation. He says he didn’t mean to intrude, but his eyebrows are already furrowed, going through the options before he settles on “It’s a damn Zombie.”
Sadly for Doc, his five years of sobriety prior to the Z are about to end, because when people starting eating people, a few drugs are in order.
Citizen Z
We cut back to Citizen Z next as he figures out what his hacker has been after. Someone hacked Camp Northern Light so they could keep track on the world’s most valuable asset…Murphy.
We then cut to Addy watching ice hockey and get a blast from the past as we learn how she and Mack ended up as survival partners. She’s watching the game when Mack and another skater get into a fist fight that is rapidly interrupted by an angry hobo zombie. If you look carefully in the shot below you can see just over the skaters right shoulder.
Addy’s First Z
Addy ends up saving Mack before they flee the stadium together. This was a fun segment, but it was tough seeing Mack again. I did enjoy the Addy and Mack segment though.
As 10K is watching the birds overhead its his turn to remember where he was when it started. Of all the backstories, 10K’s makes him look the youngest. He’s out fishing when he stumbles upon a game warden with a few arrows stuck in her.
10K’s First Z
Lucky for 10K his father is there to pick off a few of the horde.
The next flashback is just as heartbreaking as Addy’s. Vasquez is at the funeral parlor for his wife and daughter when the outbreak hits.
Vasquez’s First Z
Sadly for Vasquez, after he takes care of the mortuary attendant, he has to face his turned wife as she breaks out of her casket.
Vasquez Facing His Family
The final flashback belongs to Murphy. He’s in prison, playing cards in the yard when the outbreak hits. It feels so wrong to see Murphy without blue skin!!!
Murphy In Prison
The card game doesn’t last long. Two inmates get into a fight and after one stabs the other a few times, Murphy gets introduced to what is about to become his life as the stabbee quickly turns…
Murphy’s First Z
Murphy survives, but as he flees the yard, he is true to his “Murphy First” policy, locking the door behind him.
The writer’s have done an amazing job making Murphy a complete d*ck, but yet he’s likable. It’s one of those things about Z Nation that is just so well done. Murphy is a horrible person in many ways, but he also has moments of good that shine through. I guess that appeals to all of us for obvious reasons.
Murphy’s scene ends with him telling Warren he doesn’t want to keep going. He’s scared and is afraid it will hurt. Warren tells him she’s not going to lie, It might hurt, but it’s what has to happen.
We then cut to Citizen Z coming to the realization that someone has been using him to track Murphy the whole time, and he shuts down the servers that are left, trying to protect people he’s never met, but has a deep connection to.
Day 1 ends with Team Murphy reaching the west coast. They’ve reached the ocean, and are just a few steps away from the meeting place where the CDC is supposed to pick them up and help make a vaccine from Murphy’s blood.
Instead of finding a CDC lab Team Murphy finds themselves at a diner, or a Greasy Spoon as Murphy says. Warren and Vasquez go in to check it out only to find an older woman behind the counter, ready to offer tea while she keeps a MAC-10 just out of sight.
Day 1 Scoring
Day 1 was just a masterpiece in flashbacks and scored a 90/100, making it Worth Your Time.
