The Walking Dead season 6 premiere wasted no time before letting you know that this episode would be different than any we’ve seen before.

Right at the top, Rick and the gang are dealing with a massive swarm of zombies stuck in a quarry — they’re due to break free of their holdings any day now. Mr. Gimes has decided they need to free the walkers now and re-route their exit path, or else they’ll be heading straight toward Alexandria.

A premise like that was bound to offer a compelling season 6 premiere, and The Walking Dead delivered.

The episode told two stories simultaneously: One, in color, depicted Rick’s walker re-route plan being put into action. The second, in black-and-white, showed the aftermath of the season 5 finale.

The re-routing plans aside, there were lots of compelling arcs in this episode. It makes you wonder how showrunners pick their battles these days — they have so many characters to choose from! How do you decide which to feature in a premiere?

A storm brewing

One of those compelling arcs may hint at an upcoming battle between Rick and his longtime companion Daryl. In light of The Wolves recently lurking around Alexandria (Remember them? They etch the letter “W” into the foreheads of their victims), Rick believes that no one should come in or out of their safe zone. Put another way, he wants to lock it down.

This doesn’t sit well with Daryl, a roadie who loves heading out to find new people for Alexandria. Rick argues they need to only take care of themselves, but Daryl later counters that adding more people to their neighborhood is taking care of themselves.

We’re sure we haven’t seen the last of this debate.

The many highlights

Tonight’s 90-minute episode was layered with great moments from virtually all of the important characters.

Training

Speaking of hints about what lies ahead in season 6, Rick wants everyone at Alexandria to receive weapon training. While his potential love interest Jessie is set on taking Weaponry 101, Deanna is hesitant towards the idea of everyone learning the ropes.

We think Deanna will end up coming around because she trusts Rick. Will she regret not training everyone sooner once all of the walkers show up at Alexandria’s gates?

Awkward Town

As Rick, Michonne, and Morgan wait for walkers to arrive at a turn in the road, Morgan expresses concern over a missing peanut butter-flavored protein bar and blames Michonne.

She denies any wrong doing. “You always think there’s one more peanut butter left,” Michonne says to no one in particular — a metaphor, I’m sure, for life in an apocalypse.

Are the dynamics between these three going to be built around beautifully awkward chemistry? Rick invited Morgan to move in with him and Michonne, so we hope to see more “drama” like this in the future.

Strong hair game

We’re introduced to a new character from the comics named Heath (played by Corey Hawkins) after he returns from a supply run. He was out on the road when all of the hijinks at the end of season 5 went down. Eugene lets him in at the gate and suggests he talk to Deanna to learn about what happened while he was away.

Eugene also compliments Heath’s hair. “I fully respect the hair game,” he tells Heath, followed by a side shot of the hair the new character is rocking. Eugene, we’ve missed you!

Moment of the episode

– Father Gabriel: “I’d like to help as well–”

– Rick: “No. Who else?”

Remember: Gabriel (accidentally?) let walkers into Alexandria in the season 5 finale, and he’s also guilty of warning Deanna that Rick is no good. At this point Rick may never let Gabriel do anything again.

We wish Sasha followed through with killing Gabriel last season, but we’re glad Rick and the Priest had this brilliant little moment tonight.

Cookie-cutter Carol

Carol is continuing to play the “inexperienced grandma” character, at one point assisting Rick in convincing Alexandria’s residents that there’s no other option but to re-direct the walkers. Later, she tells Rick that someone’s been teaching her how to use weapons ;) ;) ;)

Interestingly, Morgan catches on to her undercover set up — he’s noticed she’s always in surveillance mode. “You always seem ready… to handle things,” he tells her. We think Morgan could be let in on her secret given his relationship with Rick, no?

RIP

Carter was bit by a zombie towards the end of the episode, forcing Rick to kill him because he’s screaming his freshly-bitten face off. There’s a start contrast between Rick and Morgan’s reactions to Carter’s sudden death — Rick doesn’t feel anything when he has to kill out of necessity. Morgan and Michonne, on the other hand, pause for an extra beat.

Who pulled the alarm?

The walker re-routing plan is going splendidly until someone pulls some sort of horn back at Alexandria. A good chunk of the walkers start heading directly towards the noise, giving us one hell of a cliffhanger. We hope those walls at Alexandria are in good condition!

Now the question is: Who caused the disruption? And was it done on purpose? We didn’t notice anyone in particular who would’ve wanted the alarm pulled. Our best guess would’ve been Carter since he expressed so much disinterest in this plan initially, but he died before it happened. Who’s your best guess?

Rick suggested in the middle of the episode that Alexandria has had it easy because most of the walkers who would’ve come across the safe zone have ended up trapped in the quarry instead.

Now? Alexandria is about to receive its biggest test yet.

What did you think of ‘The Walking Dead’ season 6 premiere?

We loved this episode and how much was going on. Here’s to a great season of fighting walkers… and each other!