Walking Dead Recap S4E9: After

After a long hiatus Walking Dead is finally back!  Hershel and the Governor are still dead, the prison is too vulnerable to stay and its been over run by walkers. Michonne stalks the grounds and beheads any walkers that near her, leading a few to the spikes. She makes a new pair of pets to repel the other zombies, and finds Hershel's zombie head, and puts it to final rest before setting out.

Carl takes a pace almost too fast for a battered Rick to keep up with him. They make it to a biker bar. Rick tells him to keep watch, but Carl doesn't want to stay outside, he'd rather do it himself. Ooooh, that boy is being lippy, but Rick does look like hell. They find one walker, and Rick hesitates to shoot him for fear of breaking the bottles behind him. Rick hits him with an axe and Carl wastes a bullet on him. They gather some much needed food.

Michonne finds some boot tracks in the mud, but rather than following them she goes off into the woods. You were so close to Rick and Carl!

Carl continues to leave Rick behind. They find a house and check to see if its clear. Carl continues to be a petulant prick. I am not enjoying his teenaged angst. The house looks to be clear. Rick heads to the kitchen for weapons, Carl takes a peak at the upstairs. Night falls. Carl uses a cord to tie the door shut, while Rick goes to barricade the door. Carl tells him that the knot will hold, that Shane taught him that, remember him. Wow, way to throw that into his face. What a little jerk. Then he refuses any of the food Rick found. Rick may not be perfect, but really, he doesn't deserve for Carl to treat him that way.

Wait we get a Michonne flashback! And Aldis Hodge guest stars as Mike, Michonne's lover! She's slicing and dicing in the kitchen, as Terry is talking about some art, she did not love the art she saw, and Mike agreed. Terry doesn't like the whole Kitanna. She had a son, and although good with a son, the men worried about life outside of the camp, or remaining inside of the camp, the guy's clothes are getting progressively more bloody and so are they, what the heck. Nope, its a bad dream instead, as she sees them armless and awakens in a car.

Carl finally takes some food. He opens the cereal, pours himself a bowl and does some reading. Rick still hasn't woken up, so he tries to wake him, but even shaking and yelling doesn't work. Something is rattling at the front door. Carl slips out the back and finds two walkers trying to get in. He lures them away from the house, walking backwards the whole time, and nearly into the arms of a third. Carl of course falls over, he easily shoots the first, and it falls on him, followed by the second. The third takes most of his bullets before it lays to rest on top of the pile. If you had only stayed in the house like you were suppose to Carl!

Michonne walks in a herd of zombies, but they don't seem to notice her.

Carl returns home, and gives his report to an unresponsive Rick. He's expecting gratitude, upset that Rick had that little jaunt as farmer. He tells Rick that he doesn't need him anymore, that he doesn't need him to protect him, that he failed to protect everyone, that everyone is gone and it is all his fault because he was there leader and he did nothing. Carl sheds some tears and dumps out Rick's supplies, thinking that he would be fine if Rick were dead.

Carl leaves with an empty sack at his back. He find a house, but although he may talk big, he's not big enough to break down the door. Eventually he manages to get inside. This house has a kitchen still full of food. He checks the upstairs, and the final room has a walker inside. He shoots him, but its off his target, and narrowly gets away. He makes it into a bedroom, but cannot get the window open enough to get out. The Walker grabs him, and he loses a shoe in Sam's room. He writes a note on the door warning other and climbs out onto the roof with a giant can of fudge and eats it in safety.

Michonne is bothered by one of the zombies in the herd, and releases her pets so she can go on a zombie killing rampage. She kills her pets as well, but it doesn't look like it made her feel any better. Michonne finds her way back to the boot tracks in the mud and follows them.

Carl sleeps back at his old house with Rick. Rick starts moving, and he's not sure f he's Rick or zombie. He raises his gun as Rick reaches for him, tears streaming down his face. He can't kill his father, he was wrong. He tells him to just do it, when Rick says his name, tells him to hold on. Rick isn't quite dead, and Carl is finally scared.

Michonne finds the bar where Carl and Rick killed the walker. She sees a note that says please do what I couldn't, and it brings her down. She speaks to Mike. She tells him that he was wrong because she's still here. and their could could too. She finally knows the answers, she knows why.

Rick tells him that he made a risk he shouldn't have, but its good that he found food. Carl admits that he found more, Rick asks what it was, 112oz of pudding. Rick knows that life will never be the same way that it was, but he's trying. Rick finally admits that Carl is a man, and he's sorry, but Carl tells him that he doesn't need to be.

Michonne approaches the house slowly, and sees Carl and Rick inside, and she cannot contain her joyful tears. She knocks at the door, and they cautiously see who's there. Rick is overjoyed to see who's arrived. Rick tells Carl that its for him.