It’s October again, which can mean a variety of different things, depending on who you ask; some people may celebrate Halloween, while others will simply enjoy the semestral break. For TV enthusiasts, however, October means the return of AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead”, a series that shows the lives of survivors in a zombie-infested world. Back with a brand new season, series regulars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, and the rest of last season’s cast team up with fresh new faces such as Larry Gilliard, Jr. in their battle against the living dead. This time around, Scott Gimple replaces Glenn Mazzara as the series’ showrunner, and while only the premiere episode aired so far, it looks like another season filled with plenty of character drama and zombie-slaying gore to go around.
The premiere, titled ’30 Days Without an Accident’, shows the survivors’ lives after the climactic battle that took place in last season’s finale, and how they adjust to their new home – the abandoned prison. Main character Rick Grimes (Lincoln) is slowly but surely adjusting to this new way of living, but is challenged when he meets a strange survivor in the woods. Meanwhile, Daryl (Reedus) leads a team on a run for supplies. Interjected between these stories are small scenes that show how the survivors’ camp is running, especially how Rick’s son, Carl (Chandler Riggs), interacts with the rest of the children at the prison. While the episode starts out slow, this is mostly to re-establish the characters and the setting, especially due to the long break between seasons. There is plenty of action towards the end of the episode, and fans will not be disappointed by the grisly carnage that takes place.
The zombie sequences are as thrilling as ever, with inventive new ways to showcase the battle against the living dead. The episode did not have much depth to it, however, with characters not really developing; this is expected being that they have 16 episodes to develop this season. Despite a lack of depth or complexity, the episode manages to do well, highlighting both old and new relationships between survivors, and even introducing new characters to the fold. Included in these are former army medic, Bob (Gilliard), and young survivor, Patrick (Vincent Martella), who will undoubtedly play larger roles later on.
The main cast of the show has not changed, with several of last season’s actors reprising their roles. Newer actors like Gilliard have not yet had the time to truly showcase their talent, so time will tell whether they become suitable additions to the series or not.
A but dragging as it was, the premiere of the new season of “The Walking Dead” manages to set the pieces for the rest of the season while still delivering on plenty of old-fashioned violence and gore. Whether the remaining episodes can manage to successfully capitalize on the premiere is yet to be seen. For now, fans should just be happy to see their favorite zombie hunters in action once again.
