TWD Pilot Had Horror Potential the Show Never Managed to Live Up To
Even 12 years later, the very first episode of The Walking Dead remains a fan favorite. There are very good reasons for it.
The Walking Dead ended earlier this month after 12 years on the air. Many fans have taken to various fan threads to discuss their favorite episodes.
But even among the 177 episodes of the post-apocalyptic series, many fans still single out the pilot titled Days Gone Bye.
"For better or worse, this might be the best episode of the entire series. One of the best first episodes ever," one of the fans wrote on Reddit, and they are not alone in this opinion.
The first episode was so powerful and had such potential that it now seems like a true masterpiece compared to the later episodes.
Days Gone Bye gave viewers a pure horror experience of a new kind. The episode completely changed the way viewers saw zombies and the zombocalypse. In fact, many fans say they were not interested in zombie movies before the ABC series.
The pilot introduced one of the most iconic characters on the small screen, Rick Grimes, and while the show went on to introduce and follow the storylines of many other characters, Rick has always remained the focus of the show.
A frankly brilliant writing decision was to reveal the new post-apocalyptic world from the point of view of the character who had just come out of the coma.
Several scenes that Rick witnesses in episode 1 are blood-curdling. The walk through the hospital corridors, the bodies lined up in sheets in the parking lot, Morgan's heartbreaking story, a legless walker that Rick kills out of compassion, all became timeless classics and gave viewers emotions that the show was never able to offer later.
Such a decline can be explained by several factors.
First, Season 1 was the only season in which Frank Darabont, famous for his horror adaptations, served as showrunner. Darabont also served as a writer for Season 1.
Days Gone Bye was the only episode Darabont directed and became his true cinematic masterpiece. Unfortunately, the showrunner was fired during season 2.
Another reason for the drop in quality would be that AMC cut the budget after Season 1. All in all, it seems that The Walking Dead has gained millions of fans over its 11 season run, but the series never managed to live up to the horror potential of its pilot.