Girls of Geek TV Rewind: "The Walking Dead" - Season 1

Written by:  John Edward Betancourt 

In just a few days, AMC will bring the most popular show on cable television back to the small screen, and if you're a horror fan like so many of us here at Girls of Geek, it is going to be an excruciating wait for the Season Premiere of The Walking Dead.

So as we continue our countdown to the show, it would probably be helpful to refresh everyone's memory as to how we have arrived to this point in the story, which means that Girls of Geek is proud to bring to you, a complete recap of the show so far, starting today with the First Season.

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Episode One: "Days Gone Bye"
Following a violent shoot out, Police Officer Rick Grimes finds himself injured and hospitalized.  Due to the severity of his injuries, Rick slips into a coma, but when he at last awakens he finds himself alone and confused in a world where everyone seems to have disappeared.   

It turns out that the world has fallen into a cataclysmic event, the dead have returned to life and they hunger for the living.   Desperate to find his family, Rick finds the company of a pair of survivors who let him know that it is likely Rick's wife Lori and his son Carl made their way to Atlanta, forcing Rick to out into this hostile new world and toward Atlanta, never knowing that his wife and son are alive and well and that the city itself is now swarming with living death.  

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Episode Two:  "Guts"
Trapped in walker infested Atlanta, Rick finds a ray of hope when he is directed to safety by another set of survivors.  This group however is unique, as since they have returned to the city to gather supplies for the remainder of their small community just outside of the city. But the walkers surround them and more  are comng, and they must find a way home fast.

It forces Rick to put together a wild plan that will allow him to walk amongst the creatures in the hopes of getting everyone out of the city, and back to safety.   While this bold and ambitious plan will rescue most of the group, one will be left behind, handcuffed and alone in a city of the dead.

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Episode Three:  Tell It to the Frogs
The group returns to the camp where Rick meets new friends and is at last reunited with his family and the best friend who saved them, Shane.   Unfortunately, Rick is unaware of the relationship between Lori and Shane that ends the moment he reappears.   A sense of safety returns for the group of survivors, but Rick is haunted by leaving behind Merle Dixon, brother of Daryl.   

He decides that the best plan of action is to not leave a man behind.  Not to mention that back in Atlanta, a bag of much needed weapons and ammunition await the group.  Despite Lori's misgivings, Rick heads back to the city with a few of the others, but the search for Merle is only beginning, for upon return to the building where they left him, there is only a severed hand that once belonged to Merle.  

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Episode Four:  "Vatos"
The search is on for both Merle Dixon and the lost bag of weapons and ammo.  But these simple tasks quickly become complicated when the trail goes cold for Merle and a rival group of survivors make a run at the guns, forcing an altercation that leaves two men out of place.   

Glenn is now held captive by these mysterious survivors while one of their members is now in the care of Rick's team.  Ready to rescue Glenn with extreme force, Rick discovers these men are merely trying to protect the abandoned residents of a retirement home, and Rick opts to help their defense by giving them a few of the guns before heading back.   But upon their return to camp, they find only terror, for the walking dead have found their sanctuary, and lives have been lost.  

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Episode Five:  "Wildfire"
The group does its best to pick up the pieces after the devastating attack by the living dead.  Andrea mourns the loss of her baby sister as Rick and Shane begin to discuss abandoning camp, knowing full well that this location is no longer safe.  Shane and Rick begin the debate as to whether they should head for Fort Benning or the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.  


After much debate, the C.D.C. wins out in the hope that they may find answers, safety or a cure.
They abandon camp and begin their journey but along the way they lose another, Jim.  Jim was bitten in the attack and as the hours progress his health continues to deteriorate, death will soon follow, and then resurrection.  Per his wishes, the group leaves him on the side of the road where he can die and return in peace before at last reaching their destination.  But they only find a sealed and apparently abandoned facility and the walkers are closing in.  Rick however sees a glimmer of hope when a security camera comes to life, and he quickly begs for help.  His plea is answered as the doors to the Centers for Disease Control, slide open.     

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Episode Six:  "TS-19"
Breathing room at last for Rick Grimes, his family and newfound friends as Doctor Edwin Jenner provides them with shelter beneath Atlanta.  The good doctor does his best to educate the group on what so far has happened to the world and what they know about the horrible plague ravaging the planet.  

But the truth is, Jenner knows little if anything at all, and his information only reinforces the fact that there seems to be no hope for the future.   To make matters worse, Jenner has neglected to inform their group that their newfound safe haven is actually a death trap.  With the generator's fuel exhausted, the facility is about to destroy itself in a massive explosion to destroy the many viruses and bacteria stored there.  Jenner points out their deaths will be painless and Andrea accepts this fate, having lost her will to live without her family.  Rick and the majority of the group however, convince Jenner they deserve a fighting chance.  But before they leave, the doctor takes a moment to whisper something shocking into Rick's ear, but there is no time to ponder, there is only time for action.   

As Rick heads topside to escape, Dale manages to convince Andrea to live, and they re join the group mere moments before the Centers for Disease Control is destroyed, leaving the group on the road and in search of a safe heaven once again.  

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