The Walking Dead Review: “30 Days Without An Accident” (Season 4, Episode 1)

After an applause-worthy (yet inconsistent) third season, it’s understandable for fans of The Walking Dead to be nervous about another showrunner taking the reigns from someone who had an absolutely solid run. Fortunately, Scott Gimple, The Walking Dead‘s new showrunner, pretty much makes us forget about all the behind-the-scenes switching — and who would have thought that all we needed was a full-sized zombie mistletoe complete with gorgeous Christmas-red entrails to let us know that we’re in for a good season?

“30 Days Without An Accident” starts out with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) plugging in a pair of headphones. Though it may seem like a random throwaway scene, I found it to be a very cool indicator of how comfortable Rick (and the entire group, really) have become around the zombie hordes. Of course, there’s a huge fence surrounding the prison-home, so that helps. But still, thinking of how everyone used to be so wary and cautious of even a single zombie makes it interesting to see how seemingly unafraid everyone is. It’s probably safe to say that the 30 incident-free days contributed to this comfort. Don’t worry though, as it’s not long before the streak comes to an end and we’re right back in the thick of all things zombie-horror.

So how was the streak ended? By a badass, all-out zombie assault – and by “badass, all-out assault,” I actually mean zombies raining from the ceiling (I really don’t know why or how the ceiling is so soft — helicopter fuel?) in a grand spectacle. We see zombies splattering like rotten fruit as they slam against the floor, only to continue advancing. It’s a visceral, horror-filled action sequence that’s a blast to watch, in large part due to the zombies’ strange entrance.

After more than a handful of awesome kills, the inevitable accident happens — Beth’s (Emily Kinney) new flame, Zach (Kyle Gallner), gets brutally chomped. Speaking of Zach, I have to say, I enjoyed seeing these new additions to the main core. Zach in particular was a pleasant character that showed off the ever-improving social skills of Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Daryl (Norman Reedus), and it’s a shame to see him gone so soon.