Escape the Dead: Craig Mabbitt’s ‘Walking Dead’ Recap – Season 4, Episode 1

In addition to being Escape the Fate's lead singer, Craig Mabbitt is a diehard viewer of 'The Walking Dead.' For Season 4 of the hit AMC show, Mabbitt has signed on to write an exclusive recap of each episode for Loudwire. Check out his rundown of Episode 1 below:

Hey guys! Craig Mabbitt here from Escape the Fate and I’ve been lucky enough to give you a weekly recap of 'The Walking Dead' for our friends here at Loudwire. I am a huge fan of the show and although I’m currently out on the road with Five Finger Death Punch, I am keeping up with Daryl, Rick and Carl!

First and foremost, the wonderful feeling of nostalgia of finally having my favorite show back was a little overwhelming but I soon settled in and just in time for the ridiculous amounts of zombie slaying that began.

Daryl, who continues to be a bad-ass and even gets personified as a dude with a heart of gold, led a bunch of people from the camp on a run to a supermarket that had been barricaded off and filled with Zombies. After cutting a hole in the fence a luring them out with loud music three days prior, Daryl led everyone inside to stock up on supplies.

One of the toughest things about any show that you love is accepting the new characters that have been thrown into the mix and this episode was full of new characters and already developed storylines. One such new character who had been found alone by Rick in the woods (we were told this but never shown), tagged along for the run. Everything was going smoothly until the unnamed character pulled a bottle of wine off of one of the supermarket shelves before slamming it down back on the shelf, causing it to collapse on top of him.

This is when all hell started to break loose. Daryl and the group tried lifting the shelving off of him, all the while, zombies who were walking aimlessly on the roof were instigated by the sound and starting falling through the increasingly compromised roof of the mart on which a helicopter had already crashed. The Walking Dead is not hesitant to use gore as some zombies who fell through the roof had their heads explode upon impact with the ground. It was ridiculously awesome.

After a battle with the zombies and freeing the trapped newcomer, another new addition to the camp got caught by a zombie and in true Walking Dead fashion, had his face eaten off. The team escaped in that f---ing teal Hyundai that is still in perfect condition and returned to camp.

All the while the team was off on a run, Rick was off searching the “Spears” or traps for which he had laid for food. Rick came across a woman who had obviously been surviving in the woods for a long time. Her disheveled and cowardice demeanor relayed that she had been struggling to survive with her husband, Eddie, whom she talked about highly. After a long set of dialogue and nothingness, Rick reaches the woman’s camp to find out that her husband is actually a zombie she has been keeping alive (Governor syndrome anyone?). She lunges at Rick with a knife to try to kill him to feed him to her husband. Upon failing she turns the knife on herself so she too can be a zombie with her dead husband.

The beginning of the episode allows viewers to get a glimpse of what everyone has been up to in the indeterminate amount of time that has passed since last season. Carl is still the absolute worst character who has turned from annoying kid to psychopath to comic book aficionado. I don’t trust him and you shouldn’t either. Carol has become a caretaker for the kids. Michonne is still a bad ass with a katana and is still searching for the Governor to avenge Andrea’s death.

Everyone is banging everyone else as new relationships have popped up all over the place. The prison has become a thriving community where crops are being grown, Rick is learning how to farm, animals are becoming domesticated, and the group is larger than ever.

The episode ends with one of the other newcomers becoming increasingly ill and dying in the prison's showers. Having now become a zombie, the episode ends with a close up of his eyes that foreshadows for things to come.

Can’t wait until next week! Fingers crossed that Carl gets eaten.

Our thanks to Craig Mabbitt for his recap of Episode 1 of Season 4 of 'The Walking Dead.' Please note that Craig's opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Loudwire (we kinda dig Carl!). You can enter to win a deluxe box set copy of Season 3 in the contest below. Also, be sure to check out Escape the Fate on their current tour with Five Finger Death Punch and their upcoming European trek. See their tour dates here.