The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 1 "First Time Again"

This is an insane world.

We start with the final shot from last season where Rick shoots Pete.  The image changes from color to black and white.  We hear Rick speaking over a black screen.  "We have to come for them before they come for us." He is standing by a quarry giving instructions to the people of Alexandria about what they are going to do with the zombie filled quarry.  All of a sudden a big rig crumbles into the quarry and they have no time to practice.  They have to do this now.  Carter says they are not ready. Rick tells him it is happening now and starts giving assignments to people.  Glenn volunteers for a task and Nicolas volunteers to go with him.  At first Glenn says no but then agrees to let him come only if Nicolas does everything Glenn instructs him to do.  Zombies start to push through some trucks and everyone moves to their assigned posts.  This includes sending up flares.  Daryl starts killing zombies as they head towards him.  There must be thousands of zombies in the quarry.

Black and White Scenes: Flashback
Deanna sitting on the floor covered in Reg's blood. Gabriel walks toward her and she tells him he was wrong. He nods in agreement. Abraham carries Reg's body to the graveyard. He pours some booze on the ground in commemoration. Jessie in her home holding her youngest son while he teenage son storms out.  Tara is awake and talking to Rosita.  Glenn and Nicholas come in; both are injured. Glenn is happy to see Tara is okay.  Maggie walks in and checks on Glenn.  Glenn lies about what happened.  He says walkers attacked him and Nicolas instead of Nicolas attacking Glenn.  Eugene walks in and sees that Tara is okay.  Tara says she is glad nothing happened to his hair.  She makes a joke that Eugene is freaking her out and that they should send for Noah to protect her.  Everyone looks up at her and it is very obvious from their expressions that Noah is dead. Carl climbs up to the gazebo where Enid sits. She places her hand on his.  Someone is watching them but I couldn't tell who.  The map that Abraham left for Rick which Morgan used to find them sits on a table. Rick picks it up with his blood covered hand. Morgan tells Rick, "You were right.  It wasn't over." Rick tells him, "I don't take chances anymore." Abraham places a ring on top of the bottle of booze. He gives the peace sign to Sasha who signals back and walks off.

Daryl and Rick discuss finding Morgan and the trucks filled with zombies with Ws on their foreheads. Rick says he is going to tell Deanna they don't need to look for more people to join them in Alexandria. Daryl looks unhappy. Rick asks if Daryl feels differently about the situation and he does. Rick says, "People out there got to take care of themselves.  Just like us."

Rick opens a door to an room where they are holding Morgan (I believe this is the same room where Rick was held after he waved his gun around Alexandria).  We find Morgan inside practicing moves with his stick.  Rick asks him where he learned those moves.  A friend.  After everything. Morgan is fine with being locked up.  They have to get to know each other again.

Eugene stands at the gate when something named Heath asks to be let in.  He and his crew have been on a run for a couple of weeks. Heath threatens to beat him up if he won't let them in so Eugene relents. Two more people in a car come in with Heath. The two new people are Scott and Annie. They ask how many are in Eugene's group.  He says 13 but then corrects himself and says 12. Heath asks if anything happened while they were gone. Eugene tells them they had a meeting and that Heath should speak to Deanna directly. Eugene tells Heath it's nice to meet someone like him who fully respects the hair game.

Rick tells Morgan how Reg planned and put up the wall. How the people of Alexandria just lived.  They didn't need to survive. Rick sees Gabriel walking by and follows him.  He find Gabriel digging two graves. Rick says they will not bury a killer inside the walls. Deanna tells them Rick is right. They will not bury Pete there.  "Let the trees have him." Rick and Morgan pick up Reg's body and put it in the trunk of a car. Rick explains to Morgan that he shot Pete because Pete killed Reg.  He didn't have a choice. Morgan says they have a cell. Rick says the cell is not for killers. Morgan replies, "I'm a killer, Rick.  I am and you are too."

Ron follows Rick and Morgan into the woods. Rick stops Morgan and says they should just leave the body there. Morgan responds, "That's not who you are. I know." Rick tells him he doesn't know him. Morgan starts digging with a shovel. Zombies can be heard nearby. Rick hears them and tells Morgan to stop and listen. They walk towards the sound and discover a quarry filled with zombies. Ron is being chased by zombies through the wood. He runs to the edge of the quarry and a couple of zombies fall over the edge. Rick and Morgan kill the rest. Rick and Morgan look down at the quarry. Ron tells them he wanted to know where his dad was buried. Rick says this is how Alexandria escaped with so few zombies.  Most of the walkers ended up in the quarry barricaded by a couple of big rigs. A small opening allows a zombie to get through every once in a while. Rick tells Ron he shouldn't be out there. He doesn't know how to protect himself. Rick will show him how. So he is going back with them. They make their way back through the woods. Rick stops and picks up a shovel and starts digging a grave for Pete. Morgan joins him.

Group meeting at Alexandria.  Heath explains that when it all started there was a camp down at the bottom of the quarry with maybe a dozen people.  Those people blocked off the quarry with the trucks. When he found them they were all zombies. No one has been back there since. Michonne points out that the zombie sounds attracts more zombies. That has been going on for the last few years which is why there are now thousands of zombies in the quarry. Rick explains they have to deal with the situation now because the truck is about to give and all of those zombies will head towards them.  Carol says the situation is terrifying. I  love that she is still playing quiet homemaker. Carter disagrees. He wants to strengthen the weak spots along the wall instead of doing Rick's plan. Rick says the zombie sounds keeps attracting more walkers every day. Deanna declares they will do Rick's plan. Rick explains the plan. Daryl will lead the zombies away. Sasha volunteers to go in a car alongside him. Abraham says he will go with Sasha. Rick explains the rest of the plan. Rosita, Spencer, and Holly will stay behind to be on watch. Maggie doesn't want Glenn to volunteer for this outing but he says it is important to do this for Deanna. People are scared and they need her to come back from everything that's happened. Maggie relents and Glenn volunteers. Father Gabriel tries to volunteer but Rick shuts him down.

Carter speaks up again and says there has to be another way. Does Rick really expect them to fall in line with his plan after he waved his gun at people and shot Pete in the face? Deanna cuts him off. Heath and others begin to volunteer. Nicholas looks like he wants to volunteer but Glenn shakes his head no. Nicolas says they have to do this; he needs to help. Rick asks if he can handle it and Nicolas says they need people. Rick says they will do this and it will keep them safe. Carter tells Rick to go over the plan again. Daryl says that Rick just went through it. Carter wants to go through every part of the plan again.

Rick points at a map showing how they are going to lead the zombies away from the quarry and Alexandria.  They will follow the wall and keep them on their path by blocking the road with cars. Carter is still skeptical about the plan. What happens when a few slip away? Eugene says they will use extra sheets of metal to fortify the wall so the zombies will bounce off of it like billiard balls. Carter replies, "That's an army out there. What happens when this doesn't hold?"  It will lead the zombies back to them.  Rick says they need Carter to help them make the wall hold. Morgan points out that he already did the impossible when he built the walls.

Everyone is working outside digging holes and filling bags with dirt.  Daryl comes up to Rick and tells him, "What you said before about us needing to take care of ourselves.  Going out and finding more people, that is taking care of ourselves.Your call though." Carol gives Rick a glass of water and continues to play her role. He asks her to stay back and get a feel for how the people are feeling. Her response, "We'll get there.  She's in charge but you're in charge now."

Maggie tells Tara that Nicolas got Noah killed and then lured Glenn into the woods and tried to kill him. Maggie says that Glenn gave her permission to tell everyone. That could get Nicolas exiled, but Nicolas wouldn't survive long. "Glenn saves people.  Even people like that." At first Maggie couldn't accept Glenn's decision but then she thought about Tara.  On the worst day of her life Tara was on the other side of the fence and now Tara is one of the most important people in her life. Tara says she will follow Maggie's lead. They hug.  Glenn looks over at them and smiles.

Carol offers Morgan something to drink. He asks her how long she has been with Rick and if she also was a police officer. She asks him why he would think she was a police officer and he says that he noticed how she is always watching and seems ready to handle things. Nothing gets by Morgan.

Rick tells Deanna he is sorry about Reg.  He says it was the right call to do his plan. She asks what else do they need? He tells her everyone needs to be armed and trained. He hears zombies approaching and tells Carter and some of the Alexandrians to hill the zombies using their shovels.  When the Alexandrians fail to do so he lets his people do the killing. Morgan says to Rick, "You said you don't take chances anymore."

Eugene is in the gun room.  He over hears Carter talking to Spencer and a few other people.  Carter says, "We have to stop him." Him being Rick. It doesn't matter that Rick killed a wife-beater. What Gabriel said about Rick's group was right. They are dangerous.  He is done talking.  "It's simple. We kill him before he kills us."  Eugene drops something then falls and attracts their attention. Carter holds a gun in his hand and keeps saying "He heard." He points the gun at Eugene just as Rick walks in. Carter tells Rick he is taking this place back from Rick.  Rick asks if that is what they were talking about and Spencer says that is what Carter was talking about. Rick tells Carter the smart thing to do would have been to set up some lookouts.  Then he grabs the gun from Carter and puts it against his head.  "Do you really think you were going to take this community from us? From Glenn? From Michonne? From Daryl? From me? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?" Carter says it was just him.  Just kill him. Daryl says, "Rick".  Rick says he is good and gives the to Daryl.  He tells Carter he should try to work with them and survive.

Morgan sits on Rick's porch cleaning his stick.  Rick gives him a key to the house and tells him to stay with them.  Morgan doesn't need to stay in the cell anymore.  He knows Morgan even if this is the first time.  He asks Morgan if he wants to hold Judith.  He says okay. Baby Judith bringing people together. Morgan tells Rick he is still the same man.  He didn't kill Carter, he told Morgan it wasn't over back in the episode "Clear." Rick confesses he wanted to kill Carter so he wouldn't have to worry about him.  Carter should never have survived the apocalypse.  Then he realized he didn't have to kill him. Carter doesn't get it. "Somebody like that, they're going to die no matter what."

Rick finds Jessie in the armory.  He went to get flares. He tells her he thought it would be best if he let things be for a while.  Ron told her what happened.  She tells him he can't talk to her son like that or touch him. She says, " If it's coming from you he can't hear it." He tells her they need to know how to protect themselves. She shows him her gun.  When she found out they could carry weapons she asked Rosita to show her how to use it. Jessie is then going to teach her own sons. She is going to fight. 


Rick is explaining the plan to everyone out on the road. Abraham asks Sasha if she volunteered because she wants to die?  She says no. They are at a shop where zombies inside are banging on the windows. Glenn tells Nicolas "What you've done.  You're going to sit with it awhile. Cause I don't want you out here tomorrow.  You're not ready.  You will be. Some time soon I'll make sure of it. And then you start to make it right." Nicolas thanks him.

Rick at the quarry talking to everyone: "I know this sounds insane but this is an insane world.  We have to come for them before they come for us."

Color Scenes: Present

Everyone is running to get to their assigned posts.  Daryl is leading the zombies out and Abraham and Sasha are following him in a car. People shoot flares every once in a while. Glenn has to get to his assigne location before everyone else. We see Daryl slowly riding his bike down the road.

Abraham and Sasha drive in the car.  He asks her is she is okay and she says yes. She tells him, "Doing something as big as this, that's living." They arrive to a spot marked with red balloons.

Rick uses a walkie to ask Glenn if he has arrived at his destination. Glenn says he has and that they will meet them at the yellow. Rick, Morgan, and Michonne stand at a part of the wall that has a car and an RV acting as a barricade.  Yellow balloons are attached to the top of the RV. Rick tells them it will hold (meaning the wall.) Morgan asks Michonne if she stole his last peanut butter protein bar when they last met. Her response, "That's how it always is. You always think there's one more peanut butter left."

Glenn calls Rick over the walkie that he is in position.  They have arrived at some building that is filled with zombies. They need it to be quiet so the plan is to take out the zombies a few at a time. Glenn puts Nicolas at the door.  His job is to let one or two out at a time while Glenn and Heath kill the zombies. That is how they will control the situation. Heath doesn't like the plan. Nicolas tells Heath that Glenn knows what he is doing. "Me and Aiden didn't." Heath responds that this was supposed to be a dress rehearsal. "And I was supposed to be delivering pizzas." is Glenn's awesome response. The whole reason they are there is to kill those zombies so it is quiet when Daryl leads the herd that way.  They need the herd to follow Daryl and not wander off because they heard a noise. Nicolas opens the door and they find a metal gate is down so the zombies can't get out that way.

We see Daryl approach the part of the wall where Rick is waiting.  Rick, Michonne, and Morgan shoot flares into the air.

Daryl slowly rounds the section of the wall where Rick and his group continue to shoot flares.  Zombies bang up against the wall.  The wall shakes but holds up.

Neither Heath nor Nicolas likes Glenn's new plan to kill the zombies in the building. Glenn tells Nicolas he will not be participating.  Only Heath and Glenn will kill the dozen or so zombies inside.

Glenn asks Heath if he is ready.  Then he fires a shot at the window and zombies start pouring out of the building. He and Heath begins hooting the zombies. As more zombies come out they struggle to keep control. Heath gets attacked and Nicolas steps in and kills the zombie. Glenn allows Nicolas to kill the last zombie.

Abraham notices some zombies straying from the path.  He gets out to deal with them before Sasha can stop him.  He kills a few and then makes noise so they will follow him back to the road. When he gets back in the car he laughs when he sees he is covered in blood. He tells Sasha she missed seeing Reg and Pete die. Pete's head "blew up like Pompeii" right next to him. He laughs. Sasha just stares at him. She asks him what he is doing. He says, "I'm living darling, just like you." He laughs.

Glenn meets up with Rick's group in the woods.  Carter says that Rick was right the plan is working.  They shake hands. Rick fans everyone out to keep the zombies on the right path. Rick, Michonne, Morgan and Carter run towards the front.  Carter gets grabbed by a zombie that bites his cheek.  He screams and the zombies start to break away and head towards Carter.

Rick kills the zombie that attacked Carter and tries to stop Carter from screaming.  He tells him to be quiet several times.  When he keeps screaming Rick stabs Carter in the back of the head.  Morgan and Michonne look on. The zombies head back to the road. Rick tells Morgan to go back and tell people what is going on.  Morgan tells Michonne I know it's how it is. I do"

The zombies walk down the road following Daryl.  Out of nowhere a car horn blares. Half of the zombies leave the road and head towards the sound of the horn.  Rick says the sound is coming from Alexandria. The herd his headed home. The shot pulls wide and we see hundreds if not thousands of zombies making their way to Alexandria.

Final Thoughts
- I love that Carol is still playing her role of innocent homemaker.
- I loved that Morgan noticed that Carol is always watching and ready for action.  I think only someone who has been out there since the apocalypse began would notice that.  No one in Alexandria suspects that Carol is a bad ass in sheep's clothing.
- I missed Carl in this episode.
- How well do Rick and Morgan really know each other? They knew the early apocalypse version of each other.  In "Clear" Rick struggled to bring Morgan back to sanity.  Now Morgan is all Zen and Rick is fed up and ready to kill. Will this be an ongoing theme for this season? How well do you really know another person?
- I think has had enough at this point, ever since Carl was almost raped in season4. He is willing to do whatever it takes to survive.
- Who is honking the horn?  Is it the wolves? Another group? Someone from Alexandria (perhaps Father Gabriel)?
- I'm sad that Ethan Embry's Carter was only in one episode. I like him as an actor and from the season 6 previews I assumed he would be in many episodes this season.