Spoilers for the season six premiere of The Walking Dead, which aired last night, follow
There were plenty of heart racing moments and clever dialogue on the season premiere of The Walking Dead last night. It was the most ambitious episode of the show to date, with a massive zombie hoard escaping from a quarry just slightly earlier than our heroes were expecting. Rick’s plans were laid and followed, and there were inevitable, horrible setbacks and some triumphs. We saw the weakness of the Alexandria residents, who were virtually helpless dealing with zombies, and we also saw the horrible truth of why they were largely undisturbed by the undead: around 20,000 zombies were gathered in a deep pit, drawn there by the noise and trapped by tractor trailers which were about to give way. When the group had to execute Rick’s orders without a dry run they seemed to be pulling it off until a loud horn started drawing the undead toward Alexandria.

For a quick recap I’m going to quote Refinery 29 as they do a nice job summing up the episode without getting caught in the details:

Rick tells Deanna that everyone needs to be armed inside the walls and trained to kill. He proposes a plan to lead [the zombie hoard] away from Alexandria by herding them with noises. He’s all, “I don’t take chances anymore,” in that Grimesy voice of his. Except, trying to lead thousands of walkers feels like a major chance to me — and to the other characters. “I know this sounds insane,” Rick says to the terrified group, “but this is an insane world. We have to come for them, or they come for us. It’s that simple.”

Fair enough. And, it may be the only thing that’s simple anymore. Morgan, who’s reunited with Rick after they amicably went their separate ways in season 1, questions the double standard by which Rick conducts the community. Rick and Deanna demand that Pete be buried outside the community’s walls; they don’t honor killers, here. And then Morgan’s all, “I’m a killer, Rick. I am and you are, too.” It’s a fair point. But every hour in this new world is a judgement call — and Rick’s the one calling the shots.

You know who’s really not into Rick being in charge? Carter. Oh, man. He hates Rick in charge! He tries to convince a few members of the community to kill Rick and let things go back to the way they were. (As if!) But, Rick finds out and, though he grants him mercy, Carter is ultimately bitten — and executed.

As you could have probably guessed, Rick’s plan worked until the final few minutes of the episode. A horn sound starts coming from Alexandria, and the herd starts to change direction directly towards the community. We’re left with Rick and Michonne scrambling back toward Alexandria, having realized their plan has failed. But, what was that horn sound? And will this be the end of their haven? Given the fate of literally every other “safe” spot they’ve found, probably.

[From Refinery 29]

As Refinery 29 mentions, Morgan serves as a kind of moral foil to Rick, who struggles with retaining his humanity while he works to protect the community. Morgan is so wise he also saw through Carol’s preppy neighbor act, asking her if she was a cop since she is always observing everyone. As I’ve said before, I think Lennie James is a superb actor and I hope he sticks around for the entire season.

Favorite moments: Morgan asking Michonne if she’d stolen a peanut butter protein bar from him during their first encounter. She denied it, but producers Greg Nicotero and Scott Gimple revealed on Talking Dead that Michonne had indeed stolen the bar. Why did she lie?! Also, Eugene complimenting new character Heath (Corey Hawkins, Straight Outta Compton) on his hair game. Heath just looked nonplussed, as if he was struggling to get a read on Eugene’s bizarre personality. When Tara woke from her coma, she said to Eugene “Thank God nothing happened to your hair.” (Incidentally Tara told Eugene last season to cut his hair, but he claimed it was his “source of power.”) When you see Nicotero it becomes somewhat clear why hair is a theme on WD.

Lingering questions: Who is honking the horn leading the zombies straight to Alexandria? Is it a distress signal? Are the wolves trying to decimate the community? Is someone from the inside honking it in an attempt to sabotage Rick and the group? (Richard Rys at Vulture wonders whether teenager Ron, whose father Rick executed, may be to blame.)

Over at E! they’re questioning why we didn’t see Carl this episode, but we did see Carl holding hands with that girl he likes on the roof. (Carl loves roofs.)

As for who is honking the horn, I’m behind the theory that it’s a signal from someone in Alexandria – someone stupid enough to think this is a great idea. What about that douchebag Father Gabriel?

You can watch this episode of The Walking Dead for free without a login on AMC.

photos courtesy of AMC