Greg Nicotero

After the devastating events at the end of the mid-season finale, which saw the conflict between Rick’s group and the The Governor’s men end in a bloody conclusion, “After” attempts to deal with the fallout from that attack by focusing only on three of the many characters scattered to the wind. In what is a stark contrast to the beginning of season 4, we open with a beautiful ariel shot of the aftermath at the prison. What was once considered a self-sustaining safe haven, now burns to the ground with hordes of walkers invading its premises. No longer are Rick and Carl planting vegetables, nor is Carol teaching the children how to use weapons during reading time. The prison is once and for all destroyed, and as the walkers swarm the grounds, feasting on the insides of a dead horse, the camera pans by the body a dead Governor – putting to rest any rumours that he may still be alive. Following the comic book’s route fairly faithfully, the episode found Rick defeated in every way possible – Rick’s declining health makes him more of a liability than an asset, to the point where he spends half the episode in a state of deep and usually prolonged unconsciousness. When he’s unable to take a Walker down with an ax to the head, Carl is left with no choice but to waste a bullet and shoot the Walker down himself; an act that will come back to haunt him later on.