Tonight's season six premiere of AMC'south The Walking Dead was supersized in more than simply its 90-infinitesimal runtime; information technology featured the biggest number of Walker extras always used at one time in the show's production history. The opening scene revealed only why so many flesh-and-blood Walkers were needed. Simply earlier we become into the details of tonight'southward opener, let me just make sure you're caught upwardly on Season 5; you can use our handy-not bad video epitomize to practise just that. And by the terminate of this recap, if you'd like a different opinion, exist certain to check out Chris Cabin'southward review. Now, on with the show!

While the two near striking things about "Offset Time Again" may have been the sheer scale of the Walker herd and the utilize of black-and-white versus color to help ease the transition between timelines, we must not overlook that very get-go scene in which we briefly journey back to the moment that Rick Grimes executed "Porch-Dick" Pete on Deanna's orders. Non merely does this revisitation serve to punctuate the severity behind the decision Rick and Deanna made, but as Rick's cut and blood-soaked face recedes into a greyness-scaled visage of a skull, it reminds us that Death (with a capital D) lurks everywhere. The question that remains is just how far Rick is willing to become as a death-dealer in order to protect the people he cares nigh. Season half-dozen should go a long fashion toward answering that.


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Image via AMC

Now, permit's go to that other opening scene that showed the massive herd of Walkers all gathered in a quarry on the outskirts of town. We haven't seen anything on this sort of scale before so it'due south a great way to open up a new season; it's also a groovy moment to view on the large screens of Madison Square Garden, another matter this season's premiere accomplished. When presented with a Walker problem of this size, ane might wonder just how Rick & Company volition handle the very serious threat of this grouping escaping their purgatory and wiping out Alexandria, despite its walls. Well that'due south exactly what this episode aimed to answer, though whether their programme was a good one or not is upward to you to decide. (Me, personally, I would have rounded up some demolition dynamite and blown the herd heaven-high, or doused the lot of them in some sort of combustible liquid - not precious gas though - and permit em burn; then, you could always apply structure equipment to bury the balance.)

The other divisive outcome in this episode that fans are going to exist chatting most Mon morning is the utilize of black and white versus color. Call it pretentious, call it French New Wave Walker, I didn't mind it for the very simple and practical reason that it made the episode'south internal continuity very easy to keep runway of. If yous want to reach a piffling further along the lines of artistic expression, yous can likewise make a case for the black-and-white scenes beingness a nod toGeorge Romero's original 1968 motion-picture show Night of the Living Dead , or even the pages ofRobert Kirkman'scomic. (Or maybe it was easier/cheaper to render all those Walkers in the quarry in monochrome.) If y'all were able to get past these elements, chances are y'all enjoyed the episode, so permit'southward break it down.


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Image via AMC

We're going to tackle the black-and-white scenes, ie flashbacks, first. The Alexandrians are notwithstanding reeling from the loss of Reg Monroe and the execution of Pete. Though Reg deserves a proper burial and farewell, Deanna and Rick won't bury a killer within their walls, so it falls to Rick and Morgan to dispose of him elsewhere. This decision doesn't particularly sit well with Pete'southward son Ron, who follows the duo in order to annotation the location of his dad'south grave, but neither does it agree with Morgan. The wandering Morgan, who is more than capable of handling himself but has a new establish appreciation for how precious all life is, acts as a guiding moral hand to Rick'due south eager and bloodthirsty one. So while Rick suggests they just leave Pete's body to the elements, Morgan forces the issue and starts digging a grave. This is nearly the moment that Rick hears the thousands of Walkers milling effectually in the quarry.

Honestly, this is one of my favorite settings in the serial. Information technology seems that near of the Walkers in the area leading to Alexandria have fallen into this massive pit; the dissonance of those thrashing and shambling effectually in information technology have drawn more than and more Walkers over time. This is the show'due south writers explanation for how Alexandria managed to stay relatively untouched past Walker herds since only a handful were able to squeeze out of the quarry at whatsoever given time. As you might have guessed, this makeshift prison organization is about to fail and the Walkers will be complimentary to sweep over Alexandria like a rotten tidal wave. Patently, it's up to veteran survivalist Rick Grimes to come up up with a plan.


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Epitome via AMC

It'south in the devising and delegation of this plan that nosotros run into some new faces and acquire of some new tensions springing up among the Alexandrians and Rick's group. Heath (Corey Hawkins) is a newcomer to the show just a respected member of Alexandria who's been on an assignment outside of the urban center walls for a few weeks. Heath bonds apace with Eugene over their long hair (in Eugene'due south heed, anyway), and also comes to respect Rick and his people, particularly Glenn. Carter (Ethan Embry), on the other mitt, plays what some might telephone call the voice of reason, and what others might phone call a whiny bowwow. He wants more of a defensive plan while Rick plain wants to go on the offense. Since Rick has Deanna'south support, the boondocks goes with Rick'south program.

Substantially the plan is this: Much similarTommy Lee Jones redirected the dangerous and powerful flow of lava in the 1997 film Volcano using precisely demolished skyscrapers and well-placed construction barriers, Rick plans to lure the quarry full of Walkers down a series of roads lined with cars on either side and with reinforced barriers at turning points. What could possibly go wrong?

That'due south where Carter comes in, since he not only questions every footstep of Rick'southward plan, he somewhen offers to assistance shore up the weak points. As the flashback scenes prove, Rick takes drastic measures to convince the Alexandrians that they're not set up to combat the threat exterior their walls; Carter nearly gets killed right off the bat during construction of the path, somewhen forcing Rick's crew to step in and save the day in one case again. Point fabricated.


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Epitome via AMC

Meanwhile, in town, the folks who are planning to risk their lives on the Walker Walk make sure to get their houses in order with those who are staying behind. Glenn convinces Maggie to stay back and keep an centre on Deanna, to try to go her confidence back. Nicholas, who previously tried to get Glenn killed on numerous occasions, does his best to win Glenn's trust again. Maggie breaks the bad news to Tara nearly Noah's death and confides in her about Nicholas' expose; I never knew these ii were so close but equally of this episode, they might also be sisters. Daryl disagrees with Rick, saying that they should keep to detect more people outside the walls, while Carol however pretends to be Suzy Homemaker to everyone but Rick (even if Morgan is onto her). And while Rick is awkwardly making sure that the recently widowed Jessie can take intendance of herself, Carter and his pals are up to no proficient.

Eugene, ever the stealthy one, overhears Carter threatening to impale Rick earlier he kills the rest of them. Unfortunately for Eugene, he drops a jar of food and speedily finds himself at the barrel of Carter's drawn gun. Unfortunately for Carter, Rick and the others before long intercede; let's just say that Carter learns in short order that he's non cut out for this kind of violence. Luckily, Rick's bloodlust is quenched for the moment and he stays his paw, allowing anybody to prep for the Walking of the Walkers.

While the black-and-white sequences take been revealing the planning stages for the episode's big stunt as well as the character dynamics betwixt the survivors, the colour scenes were all about "The Program." I will give a tip of the hat to the editing and writing teams for this week's episode because there was a nice relationship between moments of foreshadowing and scenes of exposition. Information technology'due south not the easiest manner to deliver a plot line, but it was certainly an entertaining i.


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Paradigm via EW

Though this is the team's first coordinated effort to redirect a herd of this size, you've got to ask yourself if it's the smartest possible plan. Essentially, Daryl volition lead the Walkers downwardly the predetermined path cheers to the throaty roar of his unmufflered motorcycle, accompanied past the odd pairing of Sasha and Abraham in a station wagon. The equally untried team of Glenn, Heath, and Nicholas are then tasked with eliminating a noisy bunch of Walkers penned upwards in a nearby business (since they'll distract the rest of the herd), while Rick, Michonne, and Morgan keep the Walkers moving forward via flares and gunfire. When the occasional Walker wanders off the path and starts cartoon stragglers with it, clean-upwards crews on either side step in to eliminate the wanderers and ensure the plan continues forth smoothly.

So Carter had to go and screw the whole matter up by getting his face eaten. For whatever reason, Carter seemed to believe that he was on par with Rick in survivability so he goes off on his own to keep Walkers in line ... and promptly gets his cheek bitten into. Since his blood-curdling screams are alluring more and more Walkers, and Rick's attempts to silence him aren't working, Rick is forced to terminate Carter's suffering with a knife to the base of his skull. Or was he? Do we think Rick let Carter become off on his ain on purpose? Earlier in the episode, Rick confessed to Morgan that he wanted to impale Carter back in boondocks because people like him weren't made for this new earth, and eventually he'd exercise something stupid that put himself and the others in danger. So was this moment just proving Rick's predictions correct, or did Rick engineer this self-fulfilling prophecy? It's something to go on in heed equally the season goes on.


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Image via EW

Up until the terminal few minutes of this episode, information technology looked like this cartoonish plan might actually work ... and and so some loud airhorn starts to audio from the management of Alexandria. The best laid plans of Rick and Glenn soon go awry equally the Walkers are all pulled off their well-designed path and caput straight toward Alexandria. All that attempt has seemingly gone to waste as now the squad has to race dorsum to become alee of the herd and ready some sort of defense, but as the next episode's preview reveals, the town is already under assail. Is it the Walker herd ... or some other threat?

The execution in this episode was exemplary, fifty-fifty if the writing came beyond as a bit of a head-scratcher from time to time. Embry's grapheme was a great add-on if only to provide a counterpoint to Rick Grimes, all the same temporarily, and remind us that second guesses and a weak constitution have no place in this new, savage globe. So again, through no fault of his own, Rick'south programme failed spectacularly where Carter's may very well have bought them some more time. That's not the point though. The betoken is that Rick is a man of activeness, and then fifty-fifty when his actions are questionable or downright wrong in retrospect, at least they were deportment taken, non merely talked about. Season vi certainly seems like it's setting up to exist the ultimate test for Rick Grimes; while this is a bully start, the challenges are but going to get more harrowing as the season goes on.

Rating: ★★★★ Very good

Miscellanea:

Abraham: "Damn directly! We'll practice it live!"


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Image via AMC

Great effect:  Walker sliding between two trucks equally his pare sloughs off.

Tara (to Eugene): "Thank God! Nil happened to your pilus."

Rick: "I ask, you answer; it's common courtesy."

Morgan: "Sometimes y'all're safer when in that location'southward no way out."

Heath: "Anything big happen while nosotros were gone?"

Eugene: "Information technology's good to see someone like me. I fully respect the pilus game."

Morgan: "Michonne, dorsum when you were in that identify, where I lived … did you take ane of my protein bars?" Michonne: "No." Morgan: "See I coulda sworn there was one more peanut butter left." Michonne: "That's how it is, isn't information technology? Y'all ever think there'due south 1 more peanut butter left."

That massive line of Walkers shambling along the streets and mindlessly corking into walls is exactly what San Diego Comic-Con feels similar.

Maggie: "Glenn saves people, people similar that."

Morgan: "You a cop, likewise?" Ballad: "What makes you say that?" Morgan: "You're always watching, you always seem set up." Ballad: "For what?" Morgan: "To handle things." Ballad: "Well, ain't you sweet."

Rick's takedown of Carter and his resulting speech was pulled about line by line from the comics; very well done.

Abraham: "I still remember I got someone's brains in my ear."

What is going on with Abraham? Do nosotros think he has a death wish at this point?

"What was that screaming?" Rick: "It was Carter. He got chip, right in the confront. I stopped him."

RIP Carter. Nosotros hardly knew yous.

Rick: "I know this sounds insane. This is an insane globe. We have to come for them earlier they come up for united states, it's that elementary."


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Image via AMC

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