The Walking Dead, Episode 4.01; “30 Days Without an Accident”

In the season four premiere of “The Walking Dead,” the episode opens up with Rick walking out of the prison, which seems to have turned into a little town, much like Woodbury did. He splashes water on his face and starts to listen to an MP3 player he likely found.

We then see Rick cropping the land and begin to understand that this has become his new lifestyle, a way of getting away from everything that’s going on.

While he is working on the land he finds a handgun and holds it up. He stares at it for a while and then takes it apart and throws it into the wheelbarrow, showing us what he thinks about his old lifestyle and also what’s going on in his life now. It is a great way for the show to open the season showing that things are changing for Rick, especially from when he is first introduced to the show.

Several complaints will likely be heard about the new romances thrown at the viewers. Beth, Maggie’s sister, has a thing with a new character, Zach, and there is Tyreese and Karen, who are both new characters. On an enjoyable note, the show has continued the suspense over the relationship between Carol and Daryl. To start off the season with so many romances, however, comes off as cliché. Yes, it can incite a lot of drama, which they are ultimately looking for, but it gets old, especially in a survival type show. It all felt unnecessary for the first episode.

Usually in a season premiere, something big happens that escalates throughout the season. This episode had a lot going on, but nothing that was particularly shocking. More questions were posed than answers given, so it’s hardly a fantastic beginning to the season.

The scene where Rick tried helping that random Scottish woman was a highlight of the episode. It shows that Rick is going back to his old ways and that his humanity is coming back to him. He still wants to help people, but at the same time, still has his guard up. However, when she flashes a knife at him and then kills herself to be with her zombie husband, a rush of guilt is upon Rick’s face. The guilt of all he’s had to do in order to survive is seen in his eyes..

The governor was only mentioned once. Michonne was looking for him, by herself, because he apparently had fled, likely because he did, after all, kill most of the people of Woodbury. Still, it would’ve been nice to see where the governor was because much of the tension from last season revolved around finding him. A little clip of where he might possibly be would’ve sufficed.

The episode wasn’t bad, but it could’ve been so much better had it gone for more. For a show like “The Walking Dead,” which has such a large fan base, one would think they’d go big for the first episode.