Since its premiere in 2010, AMC’s The Walking Dead has captured the attention of countless viewers and enhanced the popularity of zombie mythology within our culture. Sunday night marked the premiere of its fourth season, with new showrunner Scott M. Gimple calling the shots.

While season three displayed a number of storytelling problems and an excess of filler episodes, this week’s premiere is a promising entryway into the next chapter of this series.

Now that the long and drawn out conflict with The Governor (David Morrissey) is over, protagonist Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his crew appear to be rather peaceful at the start of this episode. Having expanded their community within the prison greatly in the last few months, they appear to have things pretty under control. 

With fan favorite Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) now in charge, and the Obi-Wan like mentor Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson) at his side, there seems to be an element of hope within this apocalyptic universe after all. 

Yet in conjunction with the show’s premise, the premiere episode of season four, “30 Days Without an Accident,” plays on viewers’ emotions as it shatters that hope as soon as it is introduced. Between Rick’s encounter with a tormented woman trying to keep her husband alive and a supply run that results in a teenager’s death, this premiere does an excellent job of setting the eerie and jaw-dropping tone for the rest of the season. 

Since the departure of series developer and original show runner Frank Darabont in season two, the show has had plenty of ups and downs. His vision was the driving force behind bringing Robert Kirkman’s best selling comic book series to life, and it’s what made season one so brilliant.

While former Executive Producer Glen Mazzara did a formidable job of filling Darabont’s shoes, the lack of creative consistency nonetheless presented significant flaws. Despite Morrissey’s dynamic performance in season three, the anticlimactic resolution to the Rick/Governor feud made for a disappointing finale. 

Yet with Gimple now taking up Darabont and Mazzara’s mantle, the freshness and innovation of his ideas are exactly what the show needed. Having been on the production team since season two, and written some of the better episodes, he was the ideal choice to be the next showrunner. Given that he did a tremendous job in the past of chronicling the deaths of major characters such as Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) and Merle (Michael Rooker), I couldn’t be more pleased with his current position. 

Coinciding with Gimple’s script, Greg Nicotero’s exquisite directing is what made it possible for this episode to include a swarm of walkers falling from the ceiling. The way in which he delivers the perfect amount of both intense action and quiet scenes of character development is what enhances the quality of this premiere.

One moment in particular serves as an indicator of what this season holds in store for viewers. When Hershel’s daughter Beth (Emily Kinney) learns of her boyfriend’s death, she displays hardly any emotion and simply goes to change the sign on her wall so that it said “0 Days Without an Accident”. It’s as though the group has become so accustomed to losing people it’s no longer fazed when someone goes. 

There’s also a scene where Carol (Melissa McBride) teaches a group of children how to use knives, in case they’re ever up against a walker. Given that the episode ends with a young boy turning into a walker as he’s next to a cell-block full of people, we can only guess as to what horrors await the prison’s occupants over the course of this season. 

With a fan base in the millions, The Walking Dead continues to entrance viewers weekly with its clever manipulation and ability to surprise. It’s why I tune in to every episode and why I have a stack of the graphic novels on my bookshelf. Now with a new set of stories to tell and a promising start, I’m eager to see where the rest of this season will go.