Walking Dead (Season One)

The **First Season** of *AMC's Walking Dead* began streaming in October 2014 and concluded in December 2014, running for ten episodes; This season was dubbed ***Everything Changes***. It started filming in January 2014 and concluded filming in August 2014 with Frank Darabont serving as showrunner.

The season is based on numerous different comic book stories set in The Walking Dead Universe by Robert Kirkman.

The first season premiered on October 1st, 2014 on Netflix, with episodes 1-4 being released, episodes 5-7 were released on November 1st, 2014 and finally the last 3 episodes debuted on December 2nd, 2014. The season received critical acclaim for its realistic and gritty portrayal of the post-apocalyptic world as well as the performances put on by the cast. Three more seasons were ordered on November 5th, 2014 due to the success of the series.

## Plot and Episodes

### *Days Gone Bye* (October 1st, 2014)

Police Officer; Rick Grimes, and his best friend; Shane Walsh, are called to a shootout when a nearby school is threatened. They manage to take out all the shooters and Rick checks that the kids are all okay. While evacuating them, a final shooter emerges and Rick blocks a child from being shot while Shane kills him. Rick enters a coma while Shane watches over his family, his wife; Lori, and son; Carl. He comforts them while dealing with the feelings he has for Lori. Several weeks later, Shane and Lori watch the news before nearly kissing, they are stopped when a breaking news report reveals that the rabies virus strain from Mexico has now spread into the States at uncontrollable rate causing people to get sick and then turn violent.

P.E. teacher, Negan Smith finds a female student being harassed outside, he beats up the boy before realising it is a student, he is suspended from his job which devastates him because he was paying for his wife's cancer treatment. He attempts to get many more jobs before realising that despite the fact he did the right thing, his reputation is tarnished as the boys mother is the mayor of the town. She eventually forces Negan and the girl to make a public apology before he is handed a job as her assistant, the day he is meant to start, he arrives at the work place to find she is being eaten alive by another person, the person turns on him before he can kill him. He questions what is going on before returning home.

### *Brave New World* (October 1st, 2014)

Boarding school student Reece Chambler attends a school for troubled children. He gets off a call with his father, David, who refuses to let him drop out - Reece shouts at him saying he wish he had never adopted him. Reece meets with his girlfriend Cara who feels ill, she worries it is the rabies strain which had appeared in Mexico that week, he assures her it wouldn't be and that shed be fine. He tells her she shouldn't be worried about that and that everything will be fine.

In the present day, Negan recovers from what has just happened, he attempts to make his way home through the chaos, avoiding everyone possible incase they are infected. He runs into his neighbours Dwight and Sherry who are going home to find Sherry's sister Tina, the three travel home together in hopes of finding their family members. Eventually, they make it home and find Tina's door open, inside, several people attack her, the group fight them off and when a final woman almost kills Negan, Lucille appears and bashes her brain out with Negan's baseball bat. They embrace before the group attempts to figure out what's going on.

Meanwhile, Shane and Lori watch in horror before Shane states they need to go to the hospital and make sure Rick is okay. Lori agrees but states Carl can't come, he says for her to stay but she asks he stay home and protect Carl as Rick is her husband, she should go. Lori travels through the streets and avoids several ferals before being attacked, she is almost bitten before a young man saves her, he introduces himself as Glenn before he agrees to help her to the hospital. Eventually, she arrives and begs to be let in, the military refuse but she and Glenn sneak in. She finds Rick still in a coma before a nurse finds them, she tells them they must go as the infected levels are rising rapidly and that the government is setting up safe-zones in the big cities. She promises to watch over Rick and that he will be here when she comes back. Lori agrees when Glenn convinces her it is best for Carl's sake, she and Glenn leave as the ferals begin to fight the military blockade. At home, Shane defends the house from a group of ferals when the power goes out, he and Carl escape in the car and run into Lori and Glenn, they decide to leave for Atlanta and not look back.

### *28 Days Later* (October 1st, 2014)

28 days after the events of "Brave New World" Rick awakens from his coma. He questions what is going on before travelling through the deserted hospital. He makes his way home finding it abandoned and bloody, he worries before finding a note from Lori stating that they have fled to Atlanta. He gets changed before heading to the police station to collect some equipment for survival. He runs into a man named Morgan and his son Duanne, they explain what has happened which upsets Rick. Rick takes it all before setting off to leave for Atlanta, Duanne explains they are waiting on his mom coming back, Morgan agrees solemnly. Morgan explains to Rick that his wife is dead and he can't tell Duanne, after Rick leaves that night. Morgan sees his wife in the streets, roaming with the dead. He eventually heads out to put her down but he can't and instead returns home.

Reece and Cara look at the food in the pantry, they worry as there is hundreds of kids in the school which has now been boarded up, but only enough food for another two weeks. Reece's best friend Lewis attempts to take a leading position but the kids don't look up to him and instead look to Reece which angers Lewis. When a bunch of kids attempt to flee with food and medicine, Lewis, Reece and Quinn pursue them through the woods and catch up to them. Reece asks them to come back but Lewis tells them they're not welcome. Quinn questions this before being shoved down by Lewis for questioning him, Reece stops him from hurting Quinn. The four kids attempt to flee again before Lewis turns and opens fire at them, he kills two of them, mortally wounds another and the final girl escapes, without the supplies. Reece reaches the boy, Alec, who begs Reece to help him, he tells him he is a good leader and he wouldn't have left if he was in charge. Reece tells him, it'll be fine but Lewis executes him. Reece looks at Alec shocked by his best friend. Quinn and Reece watch Lewis as he returns to the school.

### *Miles Behind Us* (October 1st, 2014)

Lori and Shane go out hunting near the camp which is located just outside Atlanta. Carl waves them goodbye before going to play with a girl called Amy. The two reach a certain point far enough out before they stop and have sex. Afterwards, the two discuss how things are between them, she says she feels guilty about Rick but he assures her that Rick would have wanted her to be happy. Back at the camp, Amy's sister Andrea prepares to leave for a supply run into the city with Glenn, as well as three men named Merle, Morales and Theo as well as a woman named Jacquie. Carol, another woman from the camp, wishes them luck before returning to her tent when her husband Ed demands it. Carl plays with Amy and Sophia before Ed demands Sophia return as well, this makes everyone feel uneasy as they know Ed beats up Carol and Sophia but no one does anything about it. Dale waves off the group before speaking to Lori and Shane about the Ed problem. Shane recounts that they should have left on the road too and they should have just taken Carol and Sophia. He recalls the day they all got stuck in gridlock outside the city before seeing it get bombed by fighter jets. Shane, Dale and Andrea all head closer to find out what's happening when they see an explosion knocking back several cars and debris. A woman shouts for help as her husband is trapped in their car which has been pinned down by a tree, the three of them help move the tree and drag him to safety. Carol thanks them as does Sophia, Ed just looks at them before telling Carol he would have been fine, suddenly the car explodes, he walks away.

Rick travels along the road and finds a horse at a nearby ranch, he takes the horse and passes the cars where the commotion was shown earlier, he finds Lori's car but no sign of them, he finds a map, with where the safe zone was shown to be, circled. He decides to take it and head into Atlanta. Upon arriving in the city, he finds it deserted before stumbling into a horde, the horse is killed before Rick is forced to hide out in a tank. Suddenly, an undead gunner attempts to kill him but he manages to survive, he sits back defeated as the dead surround him. Suddenly, he hears a voice over the radio.

### *Guts* (November 1st, 2014)

As the supply group head into Atlanta, they have no luck, they eventually find a department store which has some food they pack it away while Merle finds a hunting rifle and heads up to the roof. Glenn finds a tank before heading inside it and grabbing a few radios, before he can explore it further, Andrea shouts him as a horde approaches. They head inside the department store and on to the roof where they see Rick.

Guided by Glenn, who instructs him via radio, Rick grabs a gun and grenade and flees for his life. Glenn then leads Rick to a department store, where they meet up with other survivors: Andrea, Morales, Jacqui, T-Dog (Theo), and Merle. After the volatile and racist Merle attacks T-Dog, Rick handcuffs Merle to the store rooftop. Rick then hatches an escape plan, which involves Rick and Glenn smearing themselves with Walker guts as camouflage. Having navigated through the crowd of Walkers, Rick drives off in a cube van to evacuate the survivors. Glenn helps to lure the undead with the sound of a car alarm in a hot-wired Dodge Challenger. Back on the rooftop, T-Dog accidentally drops the handcuff key down a ventilation pipe, then chains the access door shut so the stranded and furious Merle will be relatively safe from hungry Walkers.

### *Bonds* (November 1st, 2014)

Driving back to camp, Morales warns Rick about Merle's brother, Daryl, who will be angry that his brother was abandoned. Andrea tearfully reunites with Amy, her younger sister, as does Morales with his family. Rick then emerges from the van and is shocked to discover Lori, Shane and Carl living at the camp. The next morning, Rick and the others find a Walker feasting on a freshly-hunted deer in the woods. Jim theorizes the undead are running out of food in the city. Daryl returns from an overnight hunt. After being informed of his brother's whereabouts, Daryl attacks Rick and Shane, who subdue him. Daryl vows to retrieve his older brother, horrified at the idea that they left Merle bound and unable to fend for himself. Rick volunteers to go with him, as do Glenn and T-Dog. Rick contends that they really need the guns that he dropped when the geeks attacked. Lori is against it, but Rick tells her he has to get the walkie-talkie back. An altercation breaks out between Ed Peletier and Carol. After Ed slaps Carol, Shane intervenes and beats the man mercilessly. In Atlanta, Rick and company head to the department store where Merle was left. Reaching the door they had barricaded, they see the chains have been broken. They then find the rooftop deserted, save for a severed hand lying, bloodied, beside a hacksaw. Daryl screams, as the screen cuts to black.

Reece and Lewis are still arguing over what to do about the food situation, while Reece is set on leaving to find food, Lewis refuses and says it can't happen as its too risky. Reece asks who put him in charge anyway before Lewis states he's making the hard decisions. Quinn interrupts and states that it wasn't him who made the hard choice with Annie, it was Reece. Several weeks prior, a young girl named Annie finds her classmates being attacked by the dead, she flees but her best friend Sarah catches up to her and attacks her, Cara appears and saves Annie but Annie recieves a bad bump on her head which causes brain damage. The students all attempt to treat Annie over the following few days as all the teachers flee one-by-one. Eventually, Annie dies and they decide to bury her in the morning. As the students go to bed, Cara and Reece sleep together before she confides her fears in him, he swears to her, nothing will happen as he won't let it happen. The next morning; they head to where they left Annie's body and find she has turned despite not being bitten, Annie's brother and sister break down as no one knows what to do, Lewis attempts to step forward to shoot her but he can't, Reece takes the gun from him and puts Annie down. Lewis thanks him but Reece storms off.

### *The Vatos* (November 1st, 2014)

Negan and Dwight hunt for food, Negan confides in Dwight he is very worried for Lucille's health as she is running out of treatment. Dwight states that Sherry is worried for Tina too as they are running out of insulin. The two agree to travel to the nearby hospital in hopes of finding treatment for them.

The Atlanta crew follows Merle's trail of blood down to the streets. They decide to retrieve Rick's guns before continuing the search. Glenn goes for the guns while the others stand guard. Their plan is derailed when Daryl is jumped by two men. Glenn is then taken hostage, and brought to an inner city fortress. Although his captors at first seem hostile, it turns out to that they are simply locals who are trying to protect elderly survivors in a nursing home. Glenn is set free, and Rick passes on some guns to the nursing home staff. Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl then discover their vehicle is missing. "Merle," Rick says. "He's going to be taking some vengeance back to camp," Daryl predicts.

Back at camp, Andrea and Amy present fellow survivors with fish caught in a nearby lake. Dale interrupts the excitement to express concern over Jim, who is feverishly digging holes without explanation. Shane subdues Jim, who cannot remember exactly why he was digging: "I had a reason, don't remember," he says. "Something I dreamt last night." Andrea, meanwhile, roots through Dale's RV. She's looking for something to wrap up Amy's birthday present: a mermaid necklace she took from the department store. Later, the group feasts on fish around the campfire and the mood takes on a lighter note. When Amy steps away to go to the bathroom in the RV, she is bitten on the arm by an unseen roamer—one of many about to attack the camp. Rick and his cohorts arrive and drive the Walkers back. They are too late, though, to save Amy or Ed. Jim has also been bitten during the attack.

### *Wildfire* (December 2nd, 2014)

The survivors burn the Walkers, though Glenn insists they should bury their dead. Andrea cradles Amy nearby, unwilling to let anyone near the body. Dale commiserates, explaining that since his wife's death, "you girls were the first people that I cared anything for." Andrea tells Dale she feels guilty for missing so many of Amy's birthdays. "I'm sorry for not ever being there," Andrea weeps, kneeling next to a now re-animated Amy. She tells Amy that she's here now and loves her. Then she puts her down with a shot to the head. When Jim's injury is revealed, and the sickness associated with infection worsens, Rick suggests the group go to the CDC for help. Shane thinks the Army base in Fort Benning is safer, but it is 125 miles away. While sweeping the forest for any remaining roamers, Shane tries to convince Rick to change his mind. "I've gotta do what's best for my family," Rick says. "If it was your family you'd feel differently." Enraged, Shane aims his gun at an unknowing Rick, but doesn't pull the trigger. Rick didn't see Shane's actions after their argument, but Dale had been watching the entire spectacle. "Jesus," he mutters. Later, Shane announces his support of Rick's plan. Morales says that his family will not be joining the group, and they head off in a different direction. En route to the CDC, the RV breaks down. Jim, in agony, asks Rick to leave him behind. "I want to be with my family," he says of his late wife and children. The group reluctantly leaves him beneath a tree.

In a CDC laboratory, disheveled scientist Dr. Edwin Jenner performs experiments on a tissue sample designated "TS-19". He then accidentally spills corrosive fluid, initiating a decontamination sequence that destroys the samples. Meanwhile, Rick's caravan approaches the CDC. Jenner watches the group's approach via a security monitor.

Meanwhile, Negan and Dwight arrive at the Hospital, they fight through hordes of walkers and eventually encounter a boy who Negan recognises as the mayors son. Negan and Dwight get all the medicine they can carry, before hearing a girl call for help outside. Negan recognises her voice and when he looks outside, he confirms it is the girl he saved from his old school; Rosie, and her older sister; Laura, he tells Dwight they have to help her. When they reach her she says that Jaime is after her again, this angers Negan and he asks where he is.

### *TS-19* (December 2nd, 2014)

Jenner agrees to allow the survivors into the building, provided they submit to blood tests. The group then feasts on food and wine, and luxuriates in hot showers. Afterward, Andrea laments the fall of civilization as Dale attempts to comfort her. Later, Shane drunkenly confronts Lori, professing his love and insisting he didn't lie about Rick being dead. Drunk and out of control, Shane tries to force himself on Lori, who scratches his face and neck to stop him. Horrified by his own behavior, Shane flees, leaving Lori shaken and afraid.

The next morning, Jenner shows the group brain scans of Test Subject 19, his wife, who allowed her infection to be recorded. He admits he does not know what the disease is or how to treat it. Also, he has lost contact with any other facilities. Worse yet, the CDC's generators are running out of fuel. When they are empty, the building will self-destruct as per a decontamination protocol. Though at first he tries to convince them to stay, Jenner agrees to let Rick and the others flee when the self-destruct is activated. Jacqui, terrified of ending up like Amy or Jim, opts to stay behind. After a fiery explosion, Rick and his fellow survivors caravan away from the smoldering rubble, destination unknown.

### *Sacrifice* (December 2nd, 2014)

Reece, Quinn and Lewis return to the school. Reece explains to Cara what Lewis did and she states that it is time for them to leave. Reece agrees and tells Quinn to spread the word but keep it quiet from Lewis. Over the next few days, Reece assembles a group of eight kids who are willing to leave while a horde appears outside. They eventually realise that if they cover themselves in guts, they can sneak through the horde. They begin to pack when Lewis finds them, he refuses to let them leave but Reece and him start to fight, Reece eventually slashes Lewis' arm with an old sword that the principle kept. Lewis tells him to go and never return, Reece asks if he'll gun him down like he did to the other kids who were trying to escape him. Lewis tells Reece hell have to chance his luck, Reece prepares to swing the sword down on Lewis but Cara stops him. Lewis flees to a different part of the school while the group head out into the horde. As they make their way through, one of the boys Nate panics and starts to shake, he bumps into a walker and is devoured. This causes his two friends Dom and Paul to panic and start killing walkers getting themselves surrounded. Cara demands to Reece they help but he and Quinn stop her and guide the remaining two, Jess and Brad, with them away from the school, upsetting Cara. As they near the back of the horde, Quinn turns and smiles to Reece before being shot in the shoulder, and devoured. This panics them as Jess begins to run, before being caught and devoured as well. Reece turns and sees Lewis with some other kids shooting at them. He, Cara and Brad drop to the floor so they can't be seen but Brad separates from them and isn't seen again. Reece turns to look for him but can't see him, suddenly, a shot rings out and Reece instinctively pulls a walker down on top of him and Cara as it is hit with the bullet, he stabs the walker and puts it down while he and Cara run away from the school and the horde.

Negan and Dwight go with Laura and Rosie to where they saw Jaime and his friends, they sneak into the building and knock out most of Jaime's friends. Eventually, Negan finds Jaime and tells him his mom isn't there to bale him out anymore, Jaime holds Negan at gunpoint, Negan begins to back down and states he just wants Jaime to leave Rosie alone, especially now. Jaime tells Negan thats not gonna happen and the world is now kill or be killed. Negan begs and states that he has a sick wife to get home to, Jaime laughs and repeats what he just said. He fires but Rosie jumps in the way, allowing Dwight and Laura the time to subdue him. Negan holds Rosie as she dies in his arms, Laura joins him and cries. He tells her they'll pay. They gather the group of ten boys in the living room where Negan states they need an understanding. He tells them that half their stuff now belongs to them, and that he's gonna kill one of them so they know he's not kidding. A girl named Mel begs him not to saying they understand. He says it doesn't work like that, Dwight tries to tell Negan not to as they don't have time for this. Negan tells Dwight to shut up as Laura cheers him on. He can't decide and thus uses Eeeine-Meeine-Minie-Mo to decide and kills Mel in front of the young boys to frighten them. This disturbs Dwight and even Laura a bit, he then leaves taking their stuff.

The group arrive back at the house and Sherry and Tina greet Dwight. Negan heads into his house to give Lucille her top up, despite Sherry trying to speak to him. As he enters, he hears growling; Lucille, now dead and zombified, approaches him. He breaks down crying, Sherry tells him it just happened about half an hour ago, she ran out of treatment and passed. Negan realises that had he not put on the big show to frighten those kids, he would have made it back in time. Dwight and the others leave him to put her down but he can't do it. He says goodbye before turning up the oxygen and turning the stove on to burn it down. Outside, he meets the others and they depart, ready to leave their home and start their new life.

## Cast and Characters

* Episode One
* Episode Two
* Episode Three
* Episode Four
* Episode Five
* Episode Six
* Episode Seven
* Episode Eight
* Episode Nine
* Episode Ten