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

3. Tension

'After' was one of the slower-paced episodes of The Walking Dead, and the knowledge that it was the first episode after a long hiatus pretty much ensured to viewers that everybody who wasn't wearing a red shirt was going to be surviving to the end of the hour. For instance, we knew that Rick wasn't going to die in his sleep. We knew that Carl wasn't likely to get a chunk of his leg chomped off in his first solo venture. We knew that neither of the Grimes men were going to be bitten by Zombie Extra #47 in a random restaurant. We knew that things were going to be more or less alright by the end. But that didn't stop half of us from jumping in our seats when they started to go wrong. The quiet of 'After' ultimately lent a disconcerting stillness to every scene in which somebody wasn't being viciously attacked or stalked or yelled at by a moody teenager, as though we were being eased into a hidden danger zone that was just filled with new and creative ways to give us nightmares. The overall feeling was that something bad had to happen soon, and the show reminded viewers that €“ no matter how prepared we are for the jolt €“ it's still going to make us jump every time.