‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘What Lies Ahead’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One thing that we can all agree upon, is that we hate making mistakes in life. In large part because this is a world that demands perfection, and the thought of being anything but that, is unsettling to say the least… since it would signal that we cannot hang in the everyday world. But what’s funny about our particular worry, is that it often relates to matters that honestly don’t mean all that much in the end. Because most of the mistakes we concern ourselves with are so trivial, that even if we make them, they are quickly forgotten to the sands of time, and we should in fact… consider ourselves quite lucky that our goofs are so insignificant in nature. For there are people out there that quite frankly, have to make some tough calls and mistakes in their line of work, could in fact cost someone their life and having to live with that… would be life changing for certain. 

But as is often the case, fiction is there to teach us what moments like that actually look like in life, and how people respond to them and oddly enough, that particular conundrum and concern, served as the focal theme of the season two premiere of The Walking Dead. For ‘What Lies Ahead’ features quite the mistake for Rick Grimes to deal with, one that is born out of the horrors of a world that he still doesn’t quite understand. For when we catch up with him here, he’s on the road with his family and new friends and filled with hope. After all, they all survived the harrowing events at the Centers for Disease Control and that particular win seemingly gives Rick a bit of a sense of invincibility, to the point where he is a bit aloof in his travels and plans to get to Fort Benning and well… that level of confidence and recklessness leads to all kinds of trouble.

For Rick didn’t anticipate the possibility that the living dead would find them in the midst of a vacant highway and by not having proper respect for their hunting skills and for incorrectly assuming that Sophia would be as strong as his baby boy, disaster struck. In that Sophia was separated from the group to the point where she seemingly vanished without a trace and well, that’s where the story’s exploration into how a first responder and leader in this instance, handles a grave mistake got underway, and it brought forth some powerful moments. The kind that saw Rick’s standing the group take a big hit since so many saw his goof in a negative and unfortunate light and that definitely gave Rick great pause since thus far, he’d made all the right calls and all the right moves, and that kind of pressure actually allowed for us to finally see just how good a man he truly is.

Because rather than let the wrong call bring him down, he rose to the occasion and put together search teams and a broad searching grid to find Sophia, and while that didn’t exactly offer up the results that Carol and everyone was hoping for, it really did help to inform us that Rick will do whatever it takes to right a wrong, especially one that he created. Which led to some beautiful moments for certain, the kind that saw Rick keep his worries to himself to project a sense of much needed calm to a group that was still rattled from the events of the CDC and while this one ends in a harrowing manner, with Carl taking a bullet, Rick’s actions here surprisingly give what is a bleak story… some measure of positivity. 

But make no mistake about it, this is a horror story through and through. For the unknown surrounds the group in this tale, and the dead are everywhere and still a threat, and it is those more horrific elements that make this premiere quite brilliant in nature. Since it does help to remind the audience that this is the end of the world, and danger is indeed at every turn and safety is nothing more than a luxury and well… that definitely sets the stage for a powerful year of storytelling. One that would amplify the danger in stories to come and it will be quite incredible to revisit those harrowing and hopeless moments one more time, as we continue our journey through a season that set the stage for so much more. Until next time.

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