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Ranking every episode from The Walking Dead season 1

By Adam Carlson

(L-R) Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn), Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies), Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), T-Dog (Robert 'IronE' Singleton), Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs), Andrea (Laurie Holden), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Sophia (Madison Lintz), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride), Jacqui (Jeryl Prescott) and Dr. Edwin Jenner (Noah Emmerich)
(L-R) Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn), Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies), Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), T-Dog (Robert 'IronE' Singleton), Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs), Andrea (Laurie Holden), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Sophia (Madison Lintz), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride), Jacqui (Jeryl Prescott) and Dr. Edwin Jenner (Noah Emmerich) /
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The Walking Dead 104. Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun and IronE Singleton. Photo: AMC
The Walking Dead 104. Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun and IronE Singleton. Photo: AMC /

4. “Vatos”

  • Episode number: 104
  • Original airdate: Nov. 21, 2010
  • Major debuts: The Vatos (Guillermo, Felipe, Miguel, Jorge, and Mr. Gilbert)

Things are not great at the camp outside Atlanta. Jim’s constant need to furiously dig graves is scaring everyone while others keep watch for the undead and work to fish for and maintain the camp for the time being.

Meanwhile, the group in Atlanta is working to find Merle and bring him back to camp. A furious Daryl is still frustrated that his brother was left handcuffed on a roof, but an effort to retrieve Rick’s bag of weapons leads to meeting a new group of survivors.

Highlights from the episode:

  • Dynamic character introductions. Although the Vatos aren’t long-term characters on the show, they are proof early on in the show that there can be complicated survivors to add interest to an already intense program.
  • Establishing relationships and characters. The situation at the camp outside Atlanta brought out a lot of personalities among survivors who could have been considered death fodder. Taking the time to make viewers engaged in these characters endears them to the show.

Lowlight from the episode:

  • Learning to say goodbye. Outside of the criminals from the pilot episode of the series, this is the first time a huge group of survivors is massacred by the undead. Waiting until the fourth episode of the series to introduce the heartache of losses is a bit of a wait.
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