Rick and his gang are back to fight off the walkers. In the last season of The Walking Dead, they conquered Alexandria and after Deanna lost her husband to one unruly Alexandrian, she finally let Rick take over the walled community. It is indeed a new home for Rick’s vagabond group but living with people clueless with what’s happening outside their fences proves to be very difficult. In the film’s sixth season’s pilot episode called “First Time Again”, Rick would have to confront such challenge and make plans to make the community extra safer.
Attack on walkers.
The episode opens with the Alexandrians, of course led by Rick, going to some
sort of walkers’ camp. There are multitudes of monsters (the biggest number
seen in the show ever!) in the valley which is bordered by mountain walls and
big trucks. With their numbers growing, they have already begun to trample down
the trucks. Immediately, Rick beckons to put their plan into action which is to
lure the walkers farther away from their home.
The aftermaths. In
black-and-white flashbacks, events right after the fifth season finale were
also told. After Reg’s death, Deanna entirely gave Rick the authority to lead
the community. Morgan was first quarantined but Rick eventually let him go and live with him in his house. Sadly, the body of Pete (the citizen who
accidentally killed Reg) had to be buried somewhere outside Alexandria. Rick and
Morgan, followed by Pete’s son Ron, took the corpse into the woods and there
they discovered the huge walkers’ camp. Other Alexandrians like Heath who were
out scouting for new members last season were also introduced. With everyone
present, Rick lays out his plans.
Change of hearts.
Subtle changes have happened to both Rick’s group and the Alexandrians. While Carol,
Maggie, Rosita and Tara seem to settle into a peaceful less adventurous life
inside the walls, Abraham and Sasha gets more connected with the violence and
bloodshed. For Alexandrian Nicholas who once tried to kill Glenn, he has
fortunately understood and accepted reality and he has a moment of tacit
reconciliation with his old enemy. Most citizens have also followed Rick but
overly passionate Carter got bitten and killed during the attack. Perhaps, the
greatest friction so far is between Rick and Daryl. The arrow expert disagrees with
the sheriff’s order to stop the scouting as Daryl feels they have to have more
people within the community. Where this silent tension leads to is yet to be known.
The siren. Just when
their plans are about to succeed, a loud blare suddenly explodes. Worse, the
sound seems to come from Alexandria and the walkers are drawn to it, marching
back to the safe zone and threatening it again. Just who sounded the siren is
still a mystery.
This episode is less thrilling than the other pilots from the past
seasons. It capitalizes more on developing the characters and showing the shift
of dynamics instead of banking on action and suspense. There is not much gore
here but more uplifting moments, particularly for Sasha, Nicholas and Morgan. It
is really exciting where their new relationships lead to, especially that new
threats, possibly from the Wolves, are just at their doors.
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