15 Greatest Episodes Of The Walking Dead
12. Days Gone By (Season 1, Episode 1)
Even after all this time, The Walking Dead's very first episode remains one of the show's best. Directed by filmmaker Frank Darabont, Days Gone By is the show at its most patient, chilling and mysterious.
But the true joy of the episode is not that it simply sets up what's to come, but that it manages to give Rick (and the audience) just enough to go on before he goes on his way. The world has ended; the dead has risen; you have to destroy the brain to kill the walker.
Along the way, Rick tries desperately to understand what he's woken up to, wondering where his family is and begging for answers. Morgan (Lennie James) makes for a brilliant supporting character and, thanks to James' performance, is more than mere exposition, but a complex and broken man trying to protect his son.
Rick is the best part of the episode, though. Lincoln, perhaps a risky casting decision on the surface, completely falls into the character and allows the audience to understand the horror of the new world. Everything he feels, the audience feels, and it makes for a harsh, disturbing journey, and the perfect example of how all good shows should start.