On December 1, 2013, the midseason finale of the fourth season of AMC's The Walking Dead aired, featuring explosions and zombie hordes and a doozy of a cliffhanger. Basically, it was kind of a big night for fans. Then, on December 2, 2013, the rest of the world found out. The episode made headlines and taglines and memes across media platforms everywhere, and even those who knew nothing about the show knew that something exciting had happened. The show has become a massive phenomenon, and zombie lore and gore have become remarkably mainstream, even among those who have never seen a single episode. Now, with The Walking Dead returning from its midseason hiatus on February 9, this is a great time for new viewers to get into the zombie action. Granted, there isn't much time left before the end of the break, and despite the fact that the show is practically designed to be viewed in one huge marathon, 43 episodes are a lot to watch in not a lot of time. This is a heavily serialised program, and beginning the Walker experience with the midseason premiere might be a little bit confusing for newcomers. After all, there is more to the show than just exploding brains and improvised weaponry. So, here are the 11 very best episodes to jump into The Walking Dead. Note: There are mild SPOILERS for all of the episodes that have aired so far, but no major plot twists are revealed.