'The Walking Dead' Recap: '30 Days Without An Accident'

BY DENISE PURVIS

It looks like things have gotten much better for our favorite zombie killing cast of "The Walking Dead" after they pair up with the remainder of the Woodburians and make their own sustainable little prison haven. From the opening sequence, you can’t tell if Rick has given up carrying a gun because he thinks killing the zombies is futile or if he has fully embraced that mental break that he was going through all of last season.

Also, he keeps checking out this Bloody-Eyed Fence Zombie. Foreshadowing?

Can it be that Carol and Daryl are finally the new power couple? Have they finally united? Pookie? Glenn and Maggie seem to be going strong. Everyone else seems to be pairing off too. I know that nothing makes me more amorous than being covered in zombie blood and goo.

The good news is that the Hyundai is still going strong. They seem a lot better prepared for what’s going on and everyone seems to be getting along much better. Michonne is back, but she doesn’t seem to be staying with everyone else for long periods of time. She is hunting -- who I assume -- is the Governor.

They have a council -- Hershel, Daryl, Glenn, Carol and Sasha. Apparently they all think Rick has some sort of death wish because he doesn’t wander about with a gun. Ehhh, y’all, it’s okay. Rick is super crazy and much prefers to wield a knife.

He goes out into the woods and runs into some creep that looks like a zombie, but evidently she’s articulate and probably isn’t a zombie after all. She looks a little freaky, and I don’t trust her. Plus, the pallor of her skin makes her look like Beetlejuice.

Carl adopts his dad’s demeanor with the little kids when they try to name the zombies much in the same way that Rick didn’t want Carl to name their farm animals. Speaking of, what is wrong with Violet the pig? Gah, Carl, just go on to story time and act like a kid.

Unfortunately, I don’t know all of the new people’s names, so I apologize for any vague references. Beth’s new boyfriend (Zach) likes to play a game where he guesses Daryl’s employment before the zombie invasion. Today’s bad guess is that Daryl was formerly a homicide detective -- you know, since he’s so surly and mullets are the general uniform for all detectives.

As Sasha, Daryl, Michonne, Tyrese, Glenn, Beth’s boyfriend (Zach) and new, possibly incompetent guy (Bob) go on a run, Bob struggles and knocks over a wine rack while trying to overcome his alcohol addiction. Unfortunately, there is a group of walkers stranded on the roof from a helicopter crash. The roof is caving in, so the walkers come crashing down on top the group.

Beth’s boyfriend (Zach) doesn’t make it a whole episode because he gets bitten by one of the fallen walkers. The helicopter caves in the roof and everyone else barely makes it out alive. Daryl saves alcoholic Bob.

Meanwhile, creepy Beetlejuice lady lures Rick out in the woods so she can feed him to her zombie husband. She ultimately ends up stabbing herself so that she can become a zombie. If I was Rick, I would be pissed because he’s like two miles out with this creepy Beetlejuice lady who is rambling and bleeding all over the place.

I guess Rick is having some sort of inner struggle about all of the people that he’s killed, so he doesn’t have the heart to kill Beetlejuice or her half-bodied husband. He wanted to ask them three questions: (1) How many walkers have you killed? (2) How many people have you killed? (3) Why? Not putting Beetlejuice out of her misery is a decision that will probably bite him in the ass later, pun completely intended.

Carl sneaks into story time anyway, but finds out that Carol is teaching the kids how to defend themselves instead of reading books like everyone thought. Carol freaks out when she sees Carl because she knows that he’s going to run back and tell his dad.

Daryl has to be the bearer of bad news to Beth that her boyfriend, Zack -- as I found out 38 minutes into the show -- has been killed. That brings the casualty count of non-zombies up to two for this episode so far.

Patrick, a new kid in the midst, tells Carol during story time that he doesn’t feel well. Right before the show wraps up, we see Patrick stumble to the showers where he collapses. Shortly after falling, Patrick’s eyes open back up, revealing him as a zombie -- but with the slightly different look more similar to the Bloody-Eye Fence Zombie. Earlier in the episode, we see one of the pigs in Rick’s livestock die. I am not sure if the two are related or if it has something to do with the water. They did zoom in on the shower head for a long time.

Smaller bites:

  • Total non-zombie death for this episode: three--Zach, Beetlejuice, and Patrick.
  • Maggie thought she was pregnant, but later finds out that she isn’t.
  • I wonder how long before they find out what infected Patrick and Violet.
  • How many people in the group is Patrick going to bite?
  • Where has the Governor been hiding out?
  • How much time has passed since the season 3 finale? It can’t be too long because Judith is still an infant.
  • I’m digging Beth’s “Days Since Accident” sign.

The next episode of "The Walking Dead," "Infected," airs next Sunday, 9 p.m. ET on AMC.