Article originally published as THE WALKING DEAD Review "First Time Again" on Seat42F.
The
long wait is finally over, and THE WALKING DEAD has returned to AMC! In
last night’s sixth season premiere, “First Time Again,” Rick (Andrew
Lincoln) leads the people of Alexandria, including his own group, in
corralling a giant herd of walkers. In flashback, the aftermath of last
year’s finale is explored interspersed with the current crisis. There
are tons of zombies, more than the show has ever shown before, there is
death, and of course, things go horribly wrong.
The question of whether or not Rick will
be accepted in Alexandria is laid to rest at the end of season five
when Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh) lets Rick kill Pete. But just because
Rick’s authority is now established, seemingly second only to Deanna’s,
and barely so, doesn’t mean the townspeople will go along with it. In
fact, if anything, “First Time Again” finds many of them rebelling much
more openly than anything we’ve seen so far.
The rabble-rousers are led by Carter
(Ethan Embry, Once Upon a Time), but he is just the face that gives
voice to others’ concerns. As noted in the first year, Alexandria has
not faced what others in the post-apocalyptic world have faced. Without
being cognizant of the dangers, they are resistant to Rick’s ideas of
violence and putting oneself out there. Carter would prefer to continue
to hide behind his walls, not realizing how lucky he’s been and that
it’s not sustainable.
“First Time Again” does explain the luck
Alexandria has seen so far. A large group of walkers are trapped, and
their noise has drawn others in the area to them. The walls of the
settlement aren’t being beaten down because there’s a convenient trap
keeping the menace off of their lawn. However, the trap is full, and
those captured will soon escape. Meaning, Alexandria’s luck is about to
run out, unless they listen to Rick, who has a plan to resolve the
crisis.
All of this sets up an interesting
problem for Rick. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone in order to save the
town, but if he lets the people stay soft, they will endanger everyone.
Rick tries to make Carter strong by letting him face walkers, but Morgan
(Lennie James, now a main character), who has become a pacifist, steps
in to protect Carter, ruining the lesson. By the time Carter does screw
up, it’s an almost-disaster, with Rick having to silence him before he
draws the herd off-course.
Morgan’s position, one in which he
protects people, is a valid one, but it’s also dangerous, given what
happens with Carter. I do think it’s good to have someone like Morgan
around to balance out Rick and remind Rick what they’re fighting to
protect, as Rick gets too brutal at times. Yet, as fans of THE WALKING
DEAD know, there isn’t always room for compassion in this new, harsh
reality, and protecting a group is far removed from protecting only
oneself. I don’t think Morgan will make the same mistake again soon, but
neither will Rick simply execute anyone anymore, as he avoids doing in
the storeroom, as that is going too far.
It will be up to Rick as to which
tactics, other than execution, to use, as Deanna doesn’t seem to be
making too many decisions these days. Numb after losing her husband, she
listens to the lawman more than she ever has, and gives him a large
amount of leeway in what he does. This is what Rick wants, and I’m sure
he’s capable of handling it, but it does swiftly change the dynamic of
Alexandria, and gives rise to Carter and others’ negative feelings.
Thankfully, not everyone is rebelling.
Nicholas (Michael Traynor) learns his lesson after Glenn (Steven Yeun)
spares him and wants to help out, probably now a loyal friend. Heath
(Corey Hawkins, Straight Outta Compton) just returns home and meets our
group in “First Time Again,” but having been outside the walls, he
immediately sees the wisdom in what Rick stands for. Tobin (Jason
Douglas) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) have already gotten on board, and so
has Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge), even if she can’t be close to Rick
as he’d like because of her teenage son, Ron (Austin Abrams), who
understandably hates the former cop for killing his dad. So it’s not all
bad.
Besides showing the herd, THE WALKING
DEAD has black and white flashbacks to between seasons five and six,
which is stylistic, but also interesting because it gives us chances for
that character development that the show does so well. We see how Sasha
(Sonequa Martin-Green) is no longer suicidal, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and
Tara (Alanna Masterson) reluctantly accept Glenn’s decision to forgive
Nicholas, and how Darly (Norman Reedus) disagrees with some of Rick’s
decisions. This is all interesting stuff, and while not super important
to the main plot, are the details that make the program so good.
The most intriguing scene to me is when
Morgan calls Carol (Melissa McBride) out on who she truly is. I don’t
think the Alexandrians have noticed that Carol’s timid housewife is a
front, but Morgan does. Carol is kind of Rick’s secret weapon, hiding in
plain side and providing intelligence on the ground. If Morgan sees
through her, though, others will as well, and I wonder how Carol’s
neighbors will feel about her deception.
Then, at the end of the installment, a
horn blares and screws up everything. Suddenly, this giant herd of
zombies is heading right for the formerly safe little settlement, and
there’s no way their laws will hold up to a hoard this big. It promises
the intensity the producers seemed to sell for the premiere, but I’m
glad they waited to deliver it because it gives us time to get to know
the people here more before they have to change forever, as Rick
predicted.
“First Time Again” is an excellent mix
of a lot of things. There is danger and compelling human drama and
foreshadowing and moral complexity. It gives us everything one could
want from THE WALKING DEAD except for those who long for big zombie
attacks, but I’m sure that they’ll get more than enough of that next
week.
THE WALKING DEAD airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
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