The Walking Dead: 7 Reasons Why 'After' Was The Perfect Premiere

4. Realism

In a show about zombies, there's only so much realism that we can expect. Dead people walking around? Alright. Corpses with the jaw strength to rip chunks out of the living? Sure. Everybody has great teeth two years into the zombie apocalypse? Why not? We suspend our disbelief because it's entertaining to see walking corpses and chunks being torn from limbs and people with good dental hygiene. Still, without the occasional dose of realism, it becomes hard to overlook the inconsistencies of zombie lore. After all, it wouldn't take much for The Walking Dead to shift into a facsimile of a fantasy saga or a purely action-driven thriller. Fortunately, "After" strikes just the right balance between unreality and reality. While there are just as many hungry zombies roaming the Georgia countryside as ever, the characters show very real weaknesses that would be expected from victims of the prison assault. Of course, katana-wielding Michonne stretches the imagination a bit, but Rick and Carl more than make up for the fantastical elements of her storyline with the fundamental struggles of theirs. The reality of their situation is that Carl is a teenager lacking the reach and physical strength to handle himself in a hand-to-hand fight against a Walker. Rick has been badly beaten, concussed, strangled, and shot in the leg. From the sound of his breathing, there are even a few broken ribs poking into his lungs. What he generally has on Carl in strength and reach is lost to his injuries, and he would fare no better than his son with a knife or an axe. They only have what ammunition was in their weapons when they fled the prison. The Grimes men are short on food, sleep, and stamina; it's only with a remarkable amount of luck €“ and waste of ammunition, in Carl's case €“ that they manage to survive the episode. Michonne makes the zombie apocalypse look awesome; Rick and Carl make it look real.