"The Walking Dead: After" Mid-Season Premiere Recap

Season 4 kicks off at the prison, but this time, the prison is in shambles as herd of walkers infest the once-secured prison yards. Michonne seems to be the only one that hasn’t fled completely but instead, is observing the chaos. She notices two walkers in particular, members of Team Governor, and traps them into the spikes and makes them into her walker pets. Sadly, she stumbles upon Hershel’s head and puts (him?) out of his misery once and for all. She then heads onward into the woods within the hordes of walkers, shaken about what had become of Hershel.

Meanwhile, Rick and Carl are walking down a desolate neighborhood road. Carl is walking feet ahead of Rick, as Rick stumbles behind him and yelling at Carl to wait up. Rick is beaten up and bruised badly. The two end up coming across a small bar-b-que shack. Rick reminds Carl he stays guard while Rick clears the building of walkers. Carl isn’t having it so they both go in together. They come across a walker and Rick tells Carl to save his ammo as Rick lunges an axe at the walker’s head...unfortunately, the walker doesn’t completely fall so Carl shoots it in the head. Rick is mad at Carl for pulling the trigger but Carl mouths back that Rick didn’t kill it with the axe. They collect a little bit of food and continue on.

Michonne has her walker pets and they come across a path of footprints to follow.

Rick and Carl come across a house that they to use to settle in for the night but as usual, they make sure to clear it. Rick is barking at Carl to stay put. But Carl has other plans and knocks on the walls, yelling for the assholes to come out. Rick tells him to watch his mouth. Once again, Carls talks back. They head into the kitchen and gather food and water. Carl explores the second story of the house and comes across a boy’s room with an Xbox and flat-screen. Realizing there is no power to enjoy some Call of Duty, Carl grabs some of the electric cords and goes downstairs to tie a knot at the front door.

It’s night time and Rick decides to take extra precaution and pushes the couch towards the front door, which greatly annoys Carl. Carl assures Rick that the knot is very secure and decides to take it a step further by telling Rick that Shane taught him how to tie a knot.

“It’s a knot that Shane taught me...do you remember him?” 

^^^Probably every viewer’s reaction^^^

Rick tells him he remembers him everyday and if there’s anything snarky and smart Carl has left to say. The two settle in for the night but not before bickering some more over eating the food. Rick then goes to the bathroom and it coveres in bumps, bruises and scratches. He is beated up mentally and physically.

Michonne is in the kitchen preparing food and then cleaning her blade as she’s talking to her lover and his friend, who are sitting at a table talking about art. Michonne’s little baby walks up to her. Michonne picks her baby boy up and cooes him. The two men are talking about why it’s worth living life in a post-apocalyptic world. Michonne continues to look at them and smile, holding her baby. “What is the answer here...why?” Michonne’s lover ask. Michonne asks them who will open the wine when the two men’s arms are cut off. Atlanta is dark and decayed...Michonne screams and is horrified.....

Michonne wakes up from an abandoned vehicle she sleeps in, panting and sweating from the a nightmare.

Carl wakes up and still sees his dad is passed out on the couch. Carl gets something to eat and goes back to see his dad still not woken up. Carl furiously shakes at Rick and screams at him to wake up. All the sudden, walkers knock and rattle the front door. Carl sneaks around the house and observes the two walkers at the front door. Carl leads them away from the house and down the street. He takes them to a side road, not realizing there’s a walker that’s sneaking up behind him.

Carl stumbled back as the walkers close in around him. He shoots  the first two walkers as they topple on top of him but the third one tries to climb over the walker pile to get to Carl. Carl takes a couple shots. He struggles to get out of the corpse pile and loses his breakfast. But he still feels victorious, chiming in “I win”. Carl continues to explore the desolate road and ends up going back to the safe house.

Back in the woods, Michonne is walking along side her pets and in the middle of the zombie horde. Right next to her is a walker that looks exactly like her.

Meanwhile, Carl walks back to the house, with Rick still passed out on the couch. Carl decides to be the big bad boy he is and tell Rick how he REALLY feels about him even though he is practically unconcious;

“I saved you. I didn’t forget when you were playing farmer...I don’t need you anymore. I don’t need you to protect me anymore, you probably couldn’t protect me anyways...you couldn’t protect Judith...Hershel...or Glenn...or Maggie...or Daryl....or mom....you just wanted to plant vegetables and wanted to hide. He knew where we were and you didn’t care!....They are all gone because of you! They counted on you! You were their leader! But now? You’re nothing...I’d be fine if you died!” 

Carl then continues exploring the neighborhood and comes across another two-story house. He picks up a lawn light and tries to kick open the door but fails. He finally breaks into the house and first heads to the kitchen to get food. He then discovers a treasure: chocolate pudding-in-a-can. Carl, with his deadly grass light, explores the second story of the house. He opens the doors and checks to make sure they are clear. Before he can open another door, a walker pops out. Carl smashes the walker's hands in the door but the walker is too strong. Carl attempts to shoot the walker multiple times but is unsuccessful. The walker grabs onto Carl's legs. Carl tries shutting the door and walking into the other room to escape from the window but it proves unsuccessful. The walker goes after him, nearly biting his leg. Carl escapes, leaving his shoe behind and shuts the door behind him. Carl sees some chalk and writes "Walker inside. He got my shoe but he didn't get me." Carl chuckles and enjoys sitting on the rooftop with his chocolate pudding. 

Back in the woods, Michonne comes across a walker that looks like her and it shakes her to the core. She can't stand seeing her "dead reflection" another moment and slashes the walker. Michonne then goes on a walker slaying spree, even slashing her walker pets. Michonne cries out after, coming to the realization of what she could've become. 

Once Michonne collects herself and moves on, she continues to follow the footprints. 

It's nighttime and Carl can't sleep. He looks over and sees his dad is not awakened. Rick then starts breathing and reaches his arm out to Carl. Carl, fearing the worst, takes the gun, leans back and points it at Rick. Rick stumbles down on the couch, continue to reach out to Rick. Rick grabs onto Carl's leg and Carl breaks down, letting the gun down. "I can't do it!" he cries. Carl sobs, waiting for Rick to bite him...only Rick moans out his name...when Carl realizes that his dad is still alive. Carl continues to sob and caresses Rick's head. "I'm scared...." he whispers to his dad. 

The next day, Michonne comes across the Bar-b-que shack Rick and Carl were at a day earlier. Michonne sits down near the entrance and calls out to "Mike". She begins sobbing. "I missed you even when I was with you, back at the camp," she said. "It wasn't you who did it. You were wrong because I'm still here. You could be too and he could be....I know the answer...I know why...." After Michonne collects herself, she leaves the restaurant and follows Rick and Carl's trail. 

Rick and Carl sit on the couch. Rick warns Carl that it's too dangerous going out alone but he's glad Carl found more food. Carl confesses to eating the 112oz can of pudding. Rick tells Carl that he knows he can't make things the way they were before and commends Carl for being a man. "I'm sorry," Rick tells Carl. "You don't need to be," Carl replies. 

Michonne walks on the trail and finds the can of chocolate pudding. She continues on, and looks through the window to see Rick and Carl, alive and well, sitting on the couch. Michonne tears up with happiness and relief, seeing her friends alive and with food. She knocks on the door. Rick looks through the peephole, chuckles and tells Carl that he has a guest. 

Picture Credit: The Walking Dead Wiki 

Jane's Notes: OH where to begin?? I knew Carl was growing up but who knew that the downfall of the prison would make him so snarky and resentful towards Rick? Looks like all the animosity he kept to himself finally exploded once Rick and Carl were in a safe zone. So I have not much to say about Carl except Rick has to sit him down and give him the “no more kids’ stuff” talk like he did back on the farm. Maybe Rick’s words of wisdom gave Carl a slice of humble pie to go with that pudding. 

BUT I want to talk about Michonne because if you looked up the word “fearless” in the dictionary, her picture would be on it. While everyone else has fled from the prison and separated, Michonne lingers behind. I am very glad that this season, the direction focused on Michonne’s vulnerabilities, her demons and how she was confronted with her own worst nightmare with that walker that looked just like her. Now I haven’t read the comic so comic-readers, bear with me if this is wrong. When Michonne first held Judith, Michonne broke down. When Andrea asked about the original walker pets, Michonne showed pain and anger, not wanting to talk about it but assured Andrea “they deserved it” (the whole no-arms, no-jaws thing). Michonne seems to forgive Miek, knowing “he wasn’t himself”.  From the pieces I could put together, Mike and his friend turned and possibly went after Michonne’s baby. 

Quick note, this picture sums up my thoughts on Headless Hershel 

Follow me on Twitter @mobspringfield 

"The Walking Dead: Clear" EP Recap

Michonne is driving Rick and Carl on a road to check for areas with more guns and ammo. They see a man on the side of the road who yells at them to pull over but Michonne coldly drives by him. Carl looks back but not a word is said. They then stumble upon a 2 crashed cars and a third one turned over on the side of the road. Michonne drives around between the cars to get through but gets the car stuck in mud. A walker is pinned down to the rolled car but is still thirsty for the three humans. As Michonne tries to accelerate the vehicle, walkers slam against the vehicle. Rick tells the two to cover their ears as he rolls down the window slightly and shoots at one. Rick and crew take care of business and slay the walkers and then look for equipment in the three cars. While Rick and Carl try to get the vehicle out of the mud, Carl asks Rick why they brought along Michonne in the first place. “We have common interests and problems, maybe we can work them out together…I didn’t want to leave her at the prison with you,” he explained. The man from before runs down and yells at them for help. Rick and Carl get in the car and take off, leaving the man behind….

Rick, Michonne, and Carl stumble upon an abandoned town. They go through a jail at Rick’s Police Department, hoping to find a full gun safe but have no success. Michonne asks if there are other police stations. Rick said there wasn’t any and it wasn’t a big town but they still can look around at bars, shops and other places Rick know people had permits. Rick asks Michonne if she has a problem with it. “No Rick, I don’t have a problem,” she replies as she hands him a round.  They walk past a wall that has graffiti written on it that says “away with you” and they discover burnt, charred bodies inside. They follow arrows set on the sidewalk. They come across an area where there’s spikes sticking out, rat cages set up, and signs set up barricaded by cars. “It looks like someone’s already made it theirs,” Michonne remarks. Rick said to just get in and get out. They go under ropes and strings. Rick points out a gun store. A walker sneaks up behind them but they wait until a trap is set up. A mysterious man shoots at it from on top of a building. He demands that Rick and crew drop their weapons and counts down to ten. At “seven”, Rick pulls out his gun as Carl and Michonne take cover. The shooter hides and Michonne is on top of the building, unsuccessfully finding him. The shooter sneaks from the first level and shoots at Rick. He’s approaching a barrel Rick is hiding under but Carl shoots the mystery shooter. Rick told Carl that he wanted him to run for the car but Carl said he had to stay. The man is wearing body armor so he’s alive but the impact knocked him out. Michonne asks if they should care about the man’s well being. Rick unhooks the man’s helmet to discover it’s Morgan, the man who saved his life right after Rick woke up from his coma and discovered the apocalypse had occurred…..

Rick and the two try to enter the building Morgan is in but it’s set up by spikes and booby traps. Michonne said they thought they were going to go in and get out but Rick said that Morgan saved his life so they couldn’t leave him…or Morgan’s son….behind in the streets. Meanwhile, Carl is on guard over Morgan’s body, pointing a gun at him. Rick sees a Welcome mat is set up as a trap. As they try to lift Morgan up the steps, they come across a sheet that says “not shitting you” and barely miss a string. They step over it. They discover a bloody axe is attached to it. Rick tells Carl to watch the wire. They go in his room full of weapons and grenades from the police department and more. They lay Morgan down on a bed. Carl and Michonne began stocking up on ammo and guns. Rick takes notice of the strange writings on the board, especially as the word “CLEAR” showed up more than once. As Rick tries to take the guns, he notices the walkie talkie that he gave Morgan. He also notices two words written in front of him “DUANE TURNED”. Rick tells the two to not take the weapons and go. They are going to wait for him to wake up to see if he’s okay.

Michonne argues that they nearly killed him and didn’t leave him to the walkers so he had a good day and that they needed the guns more. “The axe, the spikes, the walls, Rick?” Michonne remarked. “I think he’s dangerous…he wasn’t like this then.” Rick is firm on his stand of waiting for Morgan to wake up. Rick then ties up Morgan’s wrists together. Carl notices a layout of the town on the board…and notices that “Rick’s house” is burnt out as well as few houses on the block. Rick asked Carl if that’s why he wanted to join…Carl said he just wanted to come. Carl wants to go on a run around the corner to pick up a crib for Judith. Michonne says she will help. Rick agrees to it and says to yell if there’s trouble. Carl and Michonne go walking through the town. Carl mentions to Michonne he doesn’t need his help. Yet a walker shows up and Michonne takes care of it. She notices Carl tries to sneak around the corner. Michonne catches up and asks him what he’s up to. Michonne mentions he passed the baby store. Carl said he wants to get Judith something else first. Michonne follows Carl.

Rick sits down next to Morgan and tells him he’s sorry for what happened. Morgan is awake, grabs a knife connected to the bed and cuts loose the ties. Rick checks out a rifle Morgan has. Morgan charges towards Rick but Rick hits him with the rifle. “YOU’RE WEARING DEAD PEOPLE’S FACES!” Morgan yells. “Remember me, do you know who I am? You do know me!” Rick yells as he slams Morgan on a wall. Morgan tries to stab Rick in the heart, yelling he turned. Rick sticks the knife into his shoulder, slams Morgan’s head against the knife handle and gets up the point the gun at Morgan: “you crazy son-of-a-bitch, you helped me!” Rick yelled. Morgan submits and cries: “please kill me….”

As walkers crawl outside and get trapped in the spikes, Rick bandages up his wound as Morgan begs Rick to kill him. “Just….kill….me….” he pleads. “You found me and fed me, you told me what’s happening, you saved me!” Rick said. “My name is Rick Grimes, do you know me? I gave you this….turn it on everyday at dawn so you could find me,” Rick explained as he showed the walkie talkie to Morgan. A light bulb lights up in Morgan’s head; “I know you, Rick, I do know you!” Morgan exclaims, “you said you turned yours on at dawn….I woke up to it….on the move every day, every week, me and my boy for weeks. Then we just…heard nothing but static…you were never there! YOU SAID YOU WERE TURN YOUR RADIO ON EVERY DAWN AND YOU WERE NOT THERE!” Morgan yelled. Rick explained how he tried but kept getting pushed further out, how he found his wife, his son and people and how he had to get pushed out deeper into the country. Morgan kicks the radio at him and says to have it back. “Did she….did your wife turn?” Morgan asked. Rick said she died. “So you didn’t have to see that then?...of course not…” Morgan muttered. “Not like me, not like my wife…you remembered what happened to her? You remembered what she was?” Morgan mentioned Rick gave him a gun and that “he tried”. Morgan explains how Rick gave Morgan the gun so he could shoot his wife. Morgan explained how he was checking into a cellar for food and he left Duane upstairs. He walks up from the cellar to see Duane pointing a gun at his walker mother. Duane couldn’t do it so his mother got him. “I’ve seen red, red, ALL I SEE IS RED!” Morgan yelled. Morgan said he was selfish by not shooting his wife. Morgan asks Rick if Carl died. Rick said no. Morgan says he will soon because “the good people died and the meek inherit the earth”.

Carl and Michonne approach a restaurant and Carl takes a peek inside, seeing walker patrons sitting at the tables and bars. Carl tries to open the door but Michonne isn’t having it. “Think I was going to let you in there?” she asks. “You don’t know me, you don’t know my dad, you came here for ‘common interests’” Carl shoots back. “We have the same enemy and problem and that’s it! This is important and I’m going to do this and you can’t stop me!” Carl continues on. Michonne tells him she can’t stop him but he can’t stop her from helping him. Michonne opens the door and rolls in skateboards with rat cages in them. The walkers all swarm around the cages. Carl and Michonne sneak around to the side of the restaurant over to the back while the walkers are distracted. They don’t notice that there’s a bartender walker near them. Carl climbs on top of the bar to retrieve a photo. The walker grabs Carl’s leg. Michonne stabs him. The walkers still are distracted by the rats. Michonne and Carl try to sneak back but a rat has been on the loose. The walkers storm after the side and walker chefs come out form the kitchen. Michonne and Carl run to the other side of the restaurant and escape. Carl is frustrated that he dropped the picture and wants to go back in. But Michonne tells him to wait outside the double doors of the restaurant. Michonne sneaks around back in the restaurant for a few moments and comes back, giving Carl a picture frame of Rick, Lori and Carl at the restaurant. “I just thought Judith should know what her mom looked like…thank you….” Carl exclaimed. Michonne mentioned she wanted to go back in anyways to retrieve a gorgeous, multi-colored cat sculpture. Michonne and Carl walk back to Rick, satisfied with their loot.

Rick tells Morgan he’s not going to kill him. “I think you’re supposed to come back with us!” Rick said. Morgan joked that he tried to shoot Rick and stab him so he was generous on his offer. Rick said that them not killing each other was a sign. Rick mentioned the prison and that Morgan can go back with them. Morgan asks Rick if that’s where Lori died. Rick said yes. Morgan tells Rick to just go. “Look, the fences keep the walkers out and you can heal…” Rick says to Morgan. “You’ve taken a lot of guns Rick,” Morgan remarked. “Why do you need the guns? Because if you got something good, then someone wants to take it!” Rick mentions that they can win and Morgan can help. “You guys can get killed by teeth or bullets and that can happen to you but that’s not something I’m going to see again!” Rick tries to convince Morgan that they can still work together and that Morgan can come back from his struggles. “This can’t be it…it can’t be…you gotta be able to come back from this,” Rick tells Morgan. But Morgan refuses: “I have to clear…” he remarks. “That’s why I didn’t die today. That’s the sign…I have to. I have to clear.” Rick finally acknowledges Morgan’s stance and gathers his equipment collected.

At the edge of town, Rick is gathering his bags as Morgan straps on a walker’s body to a rolling bed. Michonne and Carl walk back carrying a crib. They start walking away as they see Morgan strap more walker bodies together. “He’s okay?” Michonne asks. “No, he’s not,” Rick replies. Carl calls out to Morgan. “I had to shoot you. You know I had to, right? I’m sorry,” Carl says. “Hey son!” Morgan calls out. “Don’t ever be sorry…” and goes back to collecting walker bodies. The three walk away solemnly and pack their bags in the trunk of the car. “Everything okay with her?” Rick asks Carl about Michonne. “She might be one of us,” Carl says. “Everything went okay.” Rick seems satisfied to hear this. Michonne walks up to Rick and talks to him. “You see something?” she asks. “I know you see things, people….I used to talk to my dead boyfriend..it happens.” She explains. Rick asks Michonne to drive so he can see things. The three drive away from Rick’s old town. They pass the building with charred bodies and notice that Morgan is there, dumping the fresh walker bodies there. They pass through the accident scene, the accident scene. They notice trails of blood and the hitchhiker’s torn and bloodied body….and his backpack. They stop, pull back and retrieve it and drive on back to the prison.

Janes Notes: For an episode with not a whole lot of walker slaying involved or Daryl Dixon, I think this is one of the best episodes of the season, hands down. First things first: the hitchhiker.

I actually talked about this to MM briefly and she mentioned it was very foul they left the poor guy behind. It was interesting because my first reaction was “decoy” of the Governor, since Merle warned the group to keep a lookout for scouts. I've been browsing some of the comments left about the episode and seems like viewers are divided on it with their own theories. The scouts could’ve been hiding the woods and using the hitchhiker as bait. Or the hitchhiker was a lone survivor desperate for a helping hand. Whether the hitchhiker was a decoy or not, we’ll never know but this has shown Rick’s character development. Anytime he’d tried to take people in since it is his duty as an officer, it would be a “dis-as-tuh!” (copyright Big Ang). Since this was such an important trip for Rick to go back to his hometown with Carl with him, he didn’t want to take the chance. Not after how vulnerable the prison had become. 

Let's talk about Morgan. I don't know about you guys but this episode felt very nostalgic, to say the least. I really didn't predict that Morgan would be back, I figured by season 1, him and his son either turned or they sought refuge somewhere else. NEVER did I predict he'd turn the town into a holding fort the way he did. The actor who plays him is a damn fine actor too! I really like how Rick respected his decision in letting him go in the end. It was almost symbolic. Rick still has fight in him because he now has two kids to live for, as well as others relying on him....but Morgan has nothing left. He doesn't want anymore pain, heartache or attachment but he figures his duty is to clear the rest of the world the walkers so no there is no more hurt. 

As for Michonne....GOD, I love this woman! Seriously, she had become one of my "she-roes". She just doesn't give a sh*t who she pisses off and is a straight shooter or straight stabber. She doesn't rely on anyone but herself but she will also help someone if needed. She does have heart and I think we're seeing more and more of it as the season goes on. I think she and Rick will connect but I don't think it will be in a romantic way; I think it will be more in a way like Daryl and Carol. 

What did you guys think of this episode? 

Picture Credit: AMC 
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