The Walking Dead 'After' Review: Rick and Carl fight for survival while Michonne fights her inner demons

After the chaos of The Walking Dead's Season 4 midseason finale, "Too Far Gone," the show finally returned from its winter hiatus on Sunday with "After." The focus of the episode was on Rick and Carl as they searched for a place to survive, and on Michonne as she dealt with the events of the previous episode.

The episode did a great job of exploring the tension between father and son, as it took the usual conflicts between teenagers and their parents and magnified them in the scope of the zombie apocalypse. Carl, at least at first, thinks that he does not need his father to survive anymore because Rick could not even protect himself or the rest of the prison from the Governor's attack. He thinks he's an adult now who can handle everything on his own.

But sure enough, he realizes that it's not as easy as it sounds when he tries to lure some walkers away and explore a house, only to find himself in tough spots each time. Toward the end of the episode, he's ready to let Rick (who he thinks is a walker) kill him just to end it. His usual cockiness and bravado has been shaken.

Chandler Riggs did an excellent job throughout this episode conveying Carl's anger and disappointment in his father. Whether you like Carl or not as a character, Riggs played him wonderfully for the entire hour as he changed from angry to cocky to frightened to hopeful.

As for Rick, he was in rough shape after he was shot and then got his backside handed to him by the Governor in a fight. It sounded like his lung had collapsed, but by the end of the episode he seemed to be healing somewhat. It will be interesting to see the long-term effects of the attack on Rick, both physically and emotionally.

Michonne also dealt with the destruction of the prison in her own way, and her own way involved slaying a horde of zombies in a fit of rage as she defaulted back to her original personality of the silent slaughterer. After a fever dream about her ex-boyfriend and child, Michonne snapped until she came to the realization that she could keep moving forward, a decision that eventually led her to Rick and Carl.

The theme of this episode seemed to be about regaining hope in the wake of tragedy. Rick and Carl fight to get back on track, while Michonne fights to find a reason to keep fighting. The reunion at the end of the episode showed that maybe all is not lost just yet for these people.

Some fans might have been disappointed in the lack of action in this episode, and "After" definitely was not the most exciting installment in this season. But after such a big and violent midseason finale, it made sense for the show to quiet things down to show what's happened as the dust settles. Plenty more blood will flow by the end of Season 4, no doubt.

Notes and Quotes

-       Was Carl's speech to his dad a dose of truth, too harsh or both?

-       Zombie apocalypse or no zombie apocalypse, 112 ounces is a LOT of pudding to eat in one sitting.

-       See, Carl? You did need that one bullet you wasted on Joe.

-       What do you think Michonne meant when she said she knows the answer now?

-       What's next for Rick, Carl and Michonne?

What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments below.