Sade Green reviews The Walking Dead season 6 episode 1…
The new season of The Walking Dead started this past weekend and we are all very excited here at Flickering Myth! Starting with an uber-long premiere, we saw Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the gang back after season five’s tantalising cliff hanger showing Morgan finally finding the group after months of tracking them.
It’s always pretty annoying when a new season of a show starts and instead of addressing what has happened since the season finale, they just ignore its existence. Luckily, the team at The Walking Dead HQ found a way to avoid this annoyance running two separate arcs run during this episode. The present day, shot in vibrant colours interspersed with black and white footage of the days following the end of last season.
In the weeks following the last town meeting, Rick and Morgan (Lennie James) stumble upon a giant quarry filled to the brim with hordes of Zombies (possibly placed there by The Wolves?). Only a few well-placed lorries keep them in the quarry but the Zombies are dangerously close to breaching the barriers, leaving an open road all the way to Alexandria. In the days following, Rick gathers the townspeople and convinces them to go ahead with a plan to release the thousands of Zombies and re-route them away from their town. There is some rebellion amongst the native Alexandrians who still don’t trust Rick, but with Deanna (Tova Feldshuh) firmly on his side, the town are forced to go through with it.
Fan favourite Morgan, officially listed on the main cast list, appears in almost every scene. Morgan’s character is being used as a way to make Rick get in touch with his diminishing humanity. Last season we saw Rick almost fully turn to the dark side; Morgan will make him re-evaluate this. Although we’ve seen Morgan in a multitude of mental states, he still seems rather zen-like – until he asks Michonne (Danai Gurira) if she took his last peanut butter protein bar… In addition to Morgan, we were also introduced to Heath (Corey Hawkins). Unless you’re a fan of the comic books, you could be forgiven for mistaking him as Zombie fodder, but Heath is actually kind of a big deal. It will be interesting to see where the show take his character.
The Walking Dead can often be accused of being rather slow as it develops characters, but this season has leapt straight into the action, building for what should be a fairly immense episode 2. With Greg Nicotero at the helm of First Time Again, the episode is visually very good. The black and white flashback scenes are quiet, dialogue driven periods of calm. Contrastingly, the present day scenes are filmed with an abundance of yellows, oranges and reds are full of action, using dramatic music to full effect. The episode ends with an epic overhead shot of thousands of Zombies on the roads surrounding Alexandria, one that seriously feels the audience with an overwhelming sense of dread. This kind of shot could be used to death in The Walking Dead but fortunately, it is only ever used to maximum effect.
Overall, First Time Again was a good start to season 6. It certainly is not the best Walking Dead opening episode but it ranks fairly high. Hopefully the writers will continue on the path they’ve started; a few new characters and some subtle but funny injections of humour combined with the usual gory Zombie action will keep the show in high ratings. A solid 7/10 start to season 6.
Zombie Kill of the Week
As a skinny, fully decayed Zombie tries to squeeze through the minute gap in between the two lorries at the quarry, a slither of hanging skin gets caught and rip the flesh clean off his chest and shoulders. As he stumbles forward, one of Daryl’s crossbow arrows flies right through the side of head causing an almighty splatter. What a beautiful start to the season!
Sade Green
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=C_zu6XuI_g4
Originally published October 18, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
