It’s been a long two month wait since the Season 4 midseason finale, but The Walking Dead has finally returned! Violet recaps Season 4 Episode 9 of The Walking Dead, titled After, where we get to see what has become of Michonne, Rick, and Carl following the showdown with the Governor! After the recap, Violet shares her thoughts on the episode.
Episode Recap of The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 9: After
- In the aftermath of the battle, Michonne returns to the prison, makes two new walker pets, then finds Hershel’s head and stabs it with her sword.
- Rick and Carl search a restaurant for supplies and find a walker inside. When Rick’s ax gets stuck in the walker’s head, Carl shoots it against Rick’s wishes. Rick and Carl find a house to stay in, and Carl continues to be rebellious.
- In a combination nightmare/flashback sequence, we get a glimpse into what Michonne’s life was like before and after the zombie apocalypse, including seeing her son and who her original two walker pets were.
- The next day, Carl is unable to get Rick to wake up. Two walkers are at the front door trying to get in, so Carl goes outside and tries to lure them away. A third walker sneaks up on him, and he is barely able to shoot all three as they fall in a pile on him.
- Michonne walks through the woods with her two pets and a herd of walkers. She notices that one looks a lot like her.
- Carl returns to the house and vents his anger to an unconscious Rick, and says he’d be fine if Rick died. Carl goes into another house and finds supplies, including an oversized can of pudding. Upstairs, Carl has a close call with a walker after he runs out of bullets. He loses his shoe, but is able to trap the walker in the bedroom, then celebrates his victory by eating the can of pudding.
- Michonne uses her sword to kill all the walkers in her herd, including her two pets. She goes back to the road and follows the trail of footprints she saw earlier.
- That night, Carl thinks Rick has died and is turning into a walker, but he breaks down and is unable to shoot him. It turns out Rick is still alive.
- Michonne finds the walker that Rick and Carl killed at the restaurant. Meanwhile, Rick and Carl have a heart to heart conversation, wherein Rick calls Carl a man.
- Michonne cries tears of joy when she sees Rick and Carl through the window. She knocks on the door, and after Rick looks through the peephole, he tells Carl, “It’s for you.”
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 4 Episode 9 of The Walking Dead: After
Soooo I felt like not much happened in this episode, especially in comparison to the excitement of the midseason finale. Pretty much all that happened was that Carl was acting bratty, but eventually figured out he wasn’t quite the hotshot he thought he was, then Michonne found Rick and Carl. The end.
Okay, I guess there was a little more to it than that. I suppose this was kind of a “coming-of-age” episode for Carl, as he explores and expresses how he feels about the situation he’s in, thinking he’s all independent, but eventually realizing he needs his dad after all. Basically, Carl was being a typical know-it-all teenager, which was annoying, and also got him into a lot of trouble in regards to walkers. He’s lucky he was able to escape with his life, but he chalked it up to his own prowess.
Michonne’s flashback/nightmare sequence was interesting, and different from anything the show has done before, the way everything took place in one room, but subtle changes kept occurring that indicated an advancing timeline. It was nice to get at least an idea of what happened in her past, but I’m wondering if we’re ever going to get a clearer picture, or if this was it. Other than that, Michonne had a pretty awesome scene taking down that entire herd of walkers with her sword, and I’m glad she was able to find her way to Rick and Carl, rather than just wandering around by herself, lost in a herd of walkers.
Is it going to be just Rick, Carl, and Michonne for awhile, or will they meet back up with one or more of the other groups soon? Will there be a budding romance between Michonne and Rick? Speaking of the other groups, it looks like we’ll get to see everyone else in the next episode: Daryl and Beth; Tyreese and the kids; Maggie, Sasha and Bob; and Glenn and whoever else was on the bus who’s still around (though in the preview it looks like he wakes up alone after some sort of accident). Will all of them meet up the way all of the characters in this episode met up?
Hopefully this half of the season will pick up with the next episode, because as of now I feel like it’s gotten off to a very slow start.
Scenes from The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 10: Inmates
Here are scenes from next week’s episode of The Walking Dead, titled Inmates:
What did you think of Season 4 Episode 9 of The Walking Dead, titled After? Let us know in the comments below!
This epidode was one of my favorite of the season for one reason, Michonne. I think she has the potential to be one of the most interesting characters if they would show more of her backstory. I had no idea she had a child, or that her life was so clean cut based on her rugged nature now. I think the showrunners could do two, three episode miniseries based on Daryl and Michonne in between seasons and it would be just as good as the main show.
I sure wish I had a huge can of pudding. All the ones I find in stores are tiny. I never see canned pudding at all, actually.
Anyway, this episode kind of bugged me because Carl was such a little brat. He’s at that age now where he starts screeching whenever he tries to yell, and it just grates on my nerves. He needs to spend more time putting junk into his mouth and less spewing it at those he loves.