‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘First Time Again’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

For the most part, zombie themed horror stories, tend to stick to pretty familiar territory. Such as say, a story that immerses us in the end of the world as the living dead begin to take over and control everything. Or we are plunged into the world shortly after the dead have taken over, so we can explore the plight of those that survived and their struggles as they work to navigate a bold new world where the meaning of death has changed. Which are a pair of formulas that not only crowd please, but are the foundational concepts behind some of the most famous zombie movies out there, and if it worked for them… why not stick with it? 
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Which is why the AMC series The Walking Dead remains of note. For it is a series that often worked to break free of those formulas, by adding a fresh spin on what we already know, or by outright changing the rules and forgetting about formula to provide us with something fresh and original, and never was this more evident than in the season six premiere of the show. For ‘First Time Again’ is a story that… defies convention and truly gives us a unique and refreshing story. One that saw the good people of Alexandria mere weeks after the incidents that happened in ‘Conquer’, working to solve a nasty and scary new problem. Specifically, a massive herd that has to be diverted to keep Alexandria safe and the work to move them away, is where unconventional comes into play.

Sure, we’ve seen people in these stories toy with the dead and use distractions to move them away so they can escape and survive. But to see this community work together to herd them like rotten cattle? That was new, and the danger was very real during this sequence, and it was simply tense and powerful and quite frankly… scary. Because there is just something utterly terrifying about seeing thousands upon thousands of zombies just lumbering about at the promise of a singular meal and kudos to the show for giving us something new with the living dead and for still finding ways to inject gore and raw horror into the matter. Since Carter’s death was the stuff of nightmares, thanks to Ethan Embry’s powerhouse performance after his character was bitten in a horrific manner by a surprise gross walker, and the wonder and originality of this story didn’t end there.

Because in between the tense stuff, was exposition and follow-up regarding the wake of that intense season five finale. One that showed Rick struggling to be the new de factor leader of Alexandria. Simply because he had to still work to come back from the dark place, he thrived in during the course of season five. But having Morgan around, since he was always good for Rick and vice versa, seemed to finally help Rick find his way and it brought out his kindness, and of course, Rick was able to lead, put together that wild plan and even quell Carter’s attempts to rally an insurrection to remove Deanna and Rick from making any major decisions, and this really was quite innovative. For flashbacks usually serve a different purpose in storytelling, one that doesn’t involve a linear and coherent narrative. But it works here, and there were still more surprises waiting for us in this story.

For its ending, wherein all we do is hear a massive horn blasting in the distance, is both intoxicating for the imagination and horrifying at the same time. Because in that moment, we didn’t know what was going on, we just knew it was coming from Alexandria and that it likely meant trouble. Which in turn kept us hooked and eager and for the next episode, which in its own right was shocking and unconventional. But before we dive into that, we need to celebrate one quality premiere. Because this one shook things up nicely and made it clear… that season six was going to be a vastly different and brave ride. One that in the end, shocked us, angered us, and worried us, and it will be quite the treat to revisit all the big moments this season sends our way one more time and reflect upon them in a more objective manner. Until next time.

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