The Walking Dead Sixth Season Premiere "First Time Again" Episode Discussion (SPOILERS)
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched tonight's season premiere episode of The Walking Dead, don't read any further!
Tonight's 90-minute sixth season premiere of The Walking Dead titled "First Time Again" had the best opening scene in the franchise history and clearly has set the tone for what's to come. Even in the show's sixth season, the show has not missed a single beat and the writers are continuing to raise the bar.
What did you think of tonight's season six premiere? Talk the Walk. Walker 2
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched tonight's season premiere episode of The Walking Dead, don't read any further!
Tonight's 90-minute sixth season premiere of The Walking Dead titled "First Time Again" had the best opening scene in the franchise history and clearly has set the tone for what's to come. Even in the show's sixth season, the show has not missed a single beat and the writers are continuing to raise the bar.
The theme of tonight's episode and I suspect for the first half of season six is redemption. The return of Lennie James's Morgan, will inevitably provide much contrast to Andrew Lincoln's Rick. Morgan is a man of conviction but one who has not yet lost his humanity. He has shown that even within the post-apocalypse one can remain or in his case regain his insanity even after suffering such extreme loses such as his wife and son. Rick is the complete anti-thesis of Morgan's character at this point and time on the show. He has sacrificed much of his humanity and the ethics and morals attached with being human. Morgan isn't convinced though and tries to get Rick to remember who he was and although Rick claims to have changed, there are glimmers of the old Rick that he keeps hidden deep within himself. The fact that he doesn't outright kill Carter after learning that he was trying to stage a mutiny proves that Sheriff Grimes isn't gone forever. Conversely, there is a lot about Morgan that we still don't know including, how did he regain his sanity? Who is the mysterious person who taught him his ninja moves? Is he to be trusted? I love that Morgan is so observant of the people at Alexandria and those in Rick's group. His discussion with Carol and having realized that she isn't as innocent as she seems was interesting. He is able to see through people that he has never even met before unlike Rick who has historically been so bad at reading people. I wonder how this dynamic will play out for the remainder of the season.
Another facet of redemption that played out in the episode was played out by Glenn and Nicholas. After the events of the season finale, Glenn let Nicholas live and the latter spent most of the episode trying to redeem himself. When Tara wakes up and discovers that Noah died because of Nicholas, she, like the rest of us, wondered how could Glenn be so forgiving, and it was Maggie who reminded us why we love Glenn so much, "he saves people." It was such a great exchange between these two ladies, considering that her and Tara were on opposing sides the day Hershel was killed by the governor. This makes me worry for Glenn's character. Historically, characters like Glenn, are not long for this world.
Redemption goes hand and hand with rebirth. Several characters have experienced a sense of rebirth in this new season. After the events of the last season, Sasha and Gabriel now want to live but only the former is trusted. I don't blame Rick and co. for not wanting anything to do with Gabriel, especially since he was the reason so much suspicion was cast on our survivors last season. Daryl also seems to have experienced a slight rebirth in challenging Rick's decision to no longer recruit new people to Alexandria, which is in stark contrast to where he was last season, without a role in the town and completely loyal to Rick. Conversely, two characters seem to be experiencing a reversal of sorts. Abraham seems to be going through whatever Sasha went through last season and Deanna is clearly in a state of shock and mourning for her deceased son and husband. It's interesting how she is taking the blame for what's befallen Alexandria, telling Gabriel, "you were wrong." With those words, she seemingly gave up control to Rick, which is just in time, considering the massive zombie hordes who are just miles away from the safe-zone.
Our survivors and the Alexandrians band together in their first mission to protect the safe-zone from impending doom. They stumble upon a quarry filled with thousands of trapped zombies who were trapped by two crashed trucks. When one truck falls in, the zombies escape, Carter gets his face eaten, and the gang has to lure the horde away from their newfound home. Rick's plan seems to go off without a hitch, until a horn goes off, sending the hordes back toward the safe-zone. To the dismay of Rick, Michone, and Morgan, the sound seems to be coming from Alexandra.
I love how this episode was told in a nonlinear perspective. The black and white scenes of the past jumping back and forth to the color scenes of the present further emphasized the emotions of the characters. I love that The Walking Dead always tries to reinvent itself, even in its sixth season. I know it will only continue to get better from here. Can't wait for more season six! The question still remains: Who set off that horn?
Another facet of redemption that played out in the episode was played out by Glenn and Nicholas. After the events of the season finale, Glenn let Nicholas live and the latter spent most of the episode trying to redeem himself. When Tara wakes up and discovers that Noah died because of Nicholas, she, like the rest of us, wondered how could Glenn be so forgiving, and it was Maggie who reminded us why we love Glenn so much, "he saves people." It was such a great exchange between these two ladies, considering that her and Tara were on opposing sides the day Hershel was killed by the governor. This makes me worry for Glenn's character. Historically, characters like Glenn, are not long for this world.
Redemption goes hand and hand with rebirth. Several characters have experienced a sense of rebirth in this new season. After the events of the last season, Sasha and Gabriel now want to live but only the former is trusted. I don't blame Rick and co. for not wanting anything to do with Gabriel, especially since he was the reason so much suspicion was cast on our survivors last season. Daryl also seems to have experienced a slight rebirth in challenging Rick's decision to no longer recruit new people to Alexandria, which is in stark contrast to where he was last season, without a role in the town and completely loyal to Rick. Conversely, two characters seem to be experiencing a reversal of sorts. Abraham seems to be going through whatever Sasha went through last season and Deanna is clearly in a state of shock and mourning for her deceased son and husband. It's interesting how she is taking the blame for what's befallen Alexandria, telling Gabriel, "you were wrong." With those words, she seemingly gave up control to Rick, which is just in time, considering the massive zombie hordes who are just miles away from the safe-zone.
Our survivors and the Alexandrians band together in their first mission to protect the safe-zone from impending doom. They stumble upon a quarry filled with thousands of trapped zombies who were trapped by two crashed trucks. When one truck falls in, the zombies escape, Carter gets his face eaten, and the gang has to lure the horde away from their newfound home. Rick's plan seems to go off without a hitch, until a horn goes off, sending the hordes back toward the safe-zone. To the dismay of Rick, Michone, and Morgan, the sound seems to be coming from Alexandra.
I love how this episode was told in a nonlinear perspective. The black and white scenes of the past jumping back and forth to the color scenes of the present further emphasized the emotions of the characters. I love that The Walking Dead always tries to reinvent itself, even in its sixth season. I know it will only continue to get better from here. Can't wait for more season six! The question still remains: Who set off that horn?
What did you think of tonight's season six premiere? Talk the Walk. Walker 2
