Skybound
Welcome to Skybound Insiders, the free VIP group for lovers of comics and entertainment!

Forgot Password?
Or
Fb Connect
Welcome to Skybound Insiders, the free VIP group for lovers of comics and entertainment!

Login
Creating an account means you're okay with Skybound's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy
 
Skybound
Welcome to Skybound Insiders, the free VIP group for lovers of comics and entertainment!

Or
Cancel
Fb Connect
Creating an account means you're okay with Skybound's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy
 
Skybound
Almost complete! You will now receive a confirmation email for your registration, please click the link in that email to finish the registration process and claim your comic rewards.
Skybound Entertainment
  • About
  • Comics
  • Games
  • TV / Movies
  • Podcasts
  • Shop
The Walking Dead
Invincible
Skybound Insiders
Nothing Found
View All Search Results
Get Ready for Invincible Presents: Atom Eve on Steam!Purchase Now
Skybound Entertainment
Skybound Insiders
Nothing Found
View All Search Results

Ranking All Six Episodes of The Walking Dead Season One

January 8, 2019
Johnny O'DellbyJohnny O'Dell
in TV
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
168
SHARES
FacebookTwitterRedditQREmail

We’re starting a new series where we re-watch old Walking Dead episodes and rank them within their season based on their IMDB rating along with some of our own biases if the ratings are close. Naturally, we’re starting with Season One, which only had six episodes. Arguably, they were all strong episodes that built a lasting foundation that’s still thriving nine years later.


6. “Tell It To The Frogs” (Season 1 Episode 3)

Compared to the rest of the season, “Tell it To The Frogs” was a relatively calm episode. Mostly taking place at the campsite outside of Atlanta, this episode set aside the action and helped flesh out our characters. We witnessed Rick’s reunion with his family (and awkward dynamic between him, Lori and Shane), along with the extremely problematic dynamic between Carol and Ed. Of course, it wasn’t without its drama. Shane got to beat Ed for hitting Carol and our heroes rushed back to Atlanta to find Merle missing from the roof. More on all of that in a second.


5. “Wildfire” (Season 1 Episode 5)

“Wildfire” was largely an aftermath episode. Amy and Ed were dead, Jim was dying, Daryl was pissed about Merle, and Morales’ family decided to bail. After the walker horde destroyed everything our group was forced to flee their camp and head to the CDC building, which brings us to…


4. “TS-19” (Season 1 Episode 6)

“TS-19,” or “Test Subject-19” is incomparable to any other Walking Dead episode in the series. Some might just remember it as the CDC explosion episode, but there was a lot of drama that happened before the big bang. For example, we finally peeled back Shane’s layers and discovered through a flashback that he actually tried to save Rick in the hospital instead of leaving him for dead and stealing his wife. In the present storyline, we saw his frustration over Rick’s return manifest in a violent act against Lori. You know, layers.

The episode, which contained nothing from the comics, also gave us an unusual amount of insight into the walker disease thanks to Dr. Edwin Jenner. He shows off a digital X-Ray of his wife’s brain deteriorating and re-animating after death…he even revealed the French were close to a cure! Nine years later, the closest the show has gotten to discussing a cure came when Eugene lied about knowing scientists in D.C.

In fact, Creator Robert Kirkman later told The Hollywood Reporter he regretted revealing that much about the virus so early on. “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have done the CDC episode,” Kirkman said. “It possibly gave away too much information and was such a big change very early on in the series.” Still, the episode nearly concluded with a dramatic mass suicide until Rick convinced Jenner to let him out and Dale saved himself and Andrea from the blaze. Whew!


3. “Vatos” (Season 1 Episode 4)

Remember the Vatos gang? They were the first non-walker antagonists of the show who infamously kidnapped Glenn and holed up in a retirement home. With Jim acting crazy at camp and Merle on the run in Atlanta Rick and the gang eventually got Glenn back through an exchange. A walker herd would later descend on the survivor camp and take the lives of Amy and Ed (no one misses you, Ed). The episode made our Top 3 because of the high stakes, new characters, and first major loss of the series.


2. “Guts” (Season 1 Episode 2)

After The Walking Dead pilot set up the zombie apocalypse, “Guts” dug into the, well, guts of the show. Rick escaped the tank but then got trapped on a rooftop with new characters Glenn, Merle, T-Dog, Morales, Andrea, and Jacqui. The situation was made worse when Merle called T-Dog the n-word and nearly killed him in the ensuing brawl. Rick handcuffed him to a pipe and helped get everyone escape by covering themselves in walker guts. Merle ended up getting abandoned on the roof as everyone drove out of Atlanta towards a survival camp Glenn makes contact with. The episode was full of moral dilemmas, survival tactics, and teamwork under duress that makes it worthy of the ranking.


1. “Days Gone Bye” (Season 1 Episode 1)

The Walking Dead pilot is the best episode of the season and arguably the best of the entire series. We’re talking about an episode that opened a television series with a man shooting a little zombie girl in the face. An episode that included flashbacks, violence, world-building, high stakes, and a TANK. It proved that, despite what network execs may have said, a zombie show COULD work. “Days Gone Bye” has a running time of 67 minutes but it feels like a feature-length movie. It’s the wick that sparked a new fanbase and kicked off a worldwide phenomenon.


Which Season One episodes were YOUR favorite? Let us know in the comments and come back next week for our Season Two Rankings!

CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AND COVERS FROM TRANSFORMERS #4
Announcements

CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AND COVERS FROM TRANSFORMERS #4

by Joe McCabe
November 30, 2023

POPULAR

  • FIRST LOOK AT DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON’S TRANSFORMERS #3

    FIRST LOOK AT DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON’S TRANSFORMERS #3

    244 shares
    Share 98 Tweet 61
  • CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AND COVERS FROM TRANSFORMERS #4

    50 shares
    Share 20 Tweet 13
  • FIRST LOOK AT G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #301!

    494 shares
    Share 198 Tweet 124
  • Check Out the Covers for Duke #1 from Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly

    61 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • PREVIEW THE ART OF INVINCIBLE SEASON ONE COMPANION HARDCOVER!

    33 shares
    Share 13 Tweet 8

SkyboundShop

Recommended from the SKYBOUND shop


Tags: FeaturedSeason 1TWD

Home | The Walking Dead | Ranking All Six Episodes of The Walking Dead Season One

Previous

This Week’s Comics: Birthright, Murder Falcon, Oblivion Song & Outer Darkness

Next

Angela Kang Drops Hints About Alpa and Beta In The Walking Dead

Related Posts

Preview: Risk Certain Death in Kroma by Lorenzo De Felic i #1
Comics

Preview: Risk Certain Death in Kroma by Lorenzo De Felic i #1

by DWelch
1 year ago
0

LOS ANGELES 09/29/2022 — Skybound today revealed an exciting variant cover lineup for Kroma by Lorenzo De Felici #1, the debut issue of the new prestige comic book series being...

The Walking Dead Deluxe Reveals Stacked Lineup of Variant Covers for Landmark 50th Issue
Comics

The Walking Dead Deluxe Reveals Stacked Lineup of Variant Covers for Landmark 50th Issue

by DWelch
1 year ago
0

LOS ANGELES 10/04/2022 – Today Skybound revealed seven all-new The Walking Dead Deluxe variant covers from a lineup of superstar artists in celebration of the series’ milestone 50th issue, presented...

The Walking Dead Season 10c Trailer

The Walking Dead Season 10c Trailer

3 years ago
Colman Domingo Discusses Quarantine Baking: Friday Night In With The Morgans Clip

Colman Domingo Discusses Quarantine Baking: Friday Night In With The Morgans Clip

4 years ago
“The Walking Dead: The Alien” Getting a Hardcover This July

“The Walking Dead: The Alien” Getting a Hardcover This July

4 years ago
The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 14 Opening Minutes

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 14 Opening Minutes

4 years ago

Related Posts

Preview: Risk Certain Death in Kroma by Lorenzo De Felic i #1

Preview: Risk Certain Death in Kroma by Lorenzo De Felic i #1

by DWelch
1 year ago
0

LOS ANGELES 09/29/2022 — Skybound today revealed an exciting variant cover lineup for Kroma by Lorenzo De Felici #1, the...

The Walking Dead Deluxe Reveals Stacked Lineup of Variant Covers for Landmark 50th Issue

The Walking Dead Deluxe Reveals Stacked Lineup of Variant Covers for Landmark 50th Issue

by DWelch
1 year ago
0

LOS ANGELES 10/04/2022 – Today Skybound revealed seven all-new The Walking Dead Deluxe variant covers from a lineup of superstar...

The Walking Dead Season 10c Trailer

The Walking Dead Season 10c Trailer

by Johnny O'Dell
3 years ago
0

Negan returns in the easter egg-filled trailer for The Walking Dead 10c, which begins its six-episode run on February 28th,...

Colman Domingo Discusses Quarantine Baking: Friday Night In With The Morgans Clip

Colman Domingo Discusses Quarantine Baking: Friday Night In With The Morgans Clip

by Johnny O'Dell
4 years ago
0

Fear The Walking Dead star Colman Domingo discusses what quarantine creations he has been baking in this clip from Friday...

“The Walking Dead: The Alien” Getting a Hardcover This July

“The Walking Dead: The Alien” Getting a Hardcover This July

by Johnny O'Dell
4 years ago
1

The Walking Dead: The Alien, a special one-shot issue by Brian K. Vaughan, will be be released in hardcover form...

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 14 Opening Minutes

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 14 Opening Minutes

by Johnny O'Dell
4 years ago
1

Negan and Carol seem to be forming an unlikely alliance in these opening minutes from The Walking Dead Season 10...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest

CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AND COVERS FROM TRANSFORMERS #4

CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AND COVERS FROM TRANSFORMERS #4

November 30, 2023
FIRST LOOK AT CREEPSHOW VOL. 2 #5!

FIRST LOOK AT CREEPSHOW VOL. 2 #5!

November 30, 2023
PREVIEW THE ART OF INVINCIBLE SEASON ONE COMPANION HARDCOVER!

PREVIEW THE ART OF INVINCIBLE SEASON ONE COMPANION HARDCOVER!

November 28, 2023
FIRST LOOK AT UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: DRACULA #3

FIRST LOOK AT UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: DRACULA #3

November 27, 2023
Check Out the Covers for Duke #1 from Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly

Check Out the Covers for Duke #1 from Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly

November 22, 2023
Follow @skybound Tweet to @skybound Tweets by Skybound
  • afterschool
  • assassin-nation
  • baldurs-gate
  • battle-pope
  • battle-pope
  • big-con
  • birthright
  • brit
  • callisto-protocol
  • clementine
  • clone
  • creepshow
  • crude
  • cuphead
  • dark-ride
  • dead-body-road
  • deaths-gambit
  • die-die-die
  • disco
  • the-electric-state
  • escape-academy
  • everyday-herd
  • excellence
  • extra-fabulous
  • extremity
  • fear-the-walking-dead
  • fire-power
  • gasolina
  • ghosted
  • glitch-busters
  • grimm-forest
  • grimm-masquerade
  • guardians-call
  • guarding-the-globe
  • hardcore
  • heart-attack
  • homestead
  • icewind-dale
  • hate-this-place
  • invincible
  • invincible-universe
  • kroma
  • last-man
  • the-labrynth
  • the-long-dark
  • manifest-destiny
  • murder-falcon
  • mr-lovenstein
  • neverwinter-nights
  • notmycar
  • oblivion-song
  • the-obsoletes
  • outcast
  • outer-darkness
  • outpost-zero
  • pitchstorm
  • planescape-torment
  • rainbow-billy
  • redneck
  • the-walking-dead-saints-and-sinners
  • science-dog
  • scurry
  • sea-serpent-heir
  • six-sidekicks
  • skull-girls
  • skybound-x
  • slime-rancher
  • the-walking-dead-something-to-fear
  • sorcerer-city
  • stealth
  • stillwater
  • stray
  • superfight
  • tech-jacket
  • the-walking-dead
  • the-walking-dead-last-mile
  • telltales-the-walking-dead
  • thief-of-thieves
  • tidal-blades
  • trial-by-trolley
  • vice
  • wrestle-quest

Don't miss a Skybound update!

Join Skybound email for updates on new releases, exclusive content and to receive special offers

By submitting this form, you agree to receive email marketing messages from Skybound. View Privacy Policy

READ

About
Comics
Games
TV / Movies
Podcasts
Insiders

SHOP

Games
Clothing
Accessories
Comics & Books
Toys & Collectibles

LEARN

Robert Kirkman
Contact
Privacy Policy
Your Privacy Choices
Terms & Conditions
Accessibility Statement
Careers

© 2023 Skybound, LLC and/or its affiliates. The Skybound mark and any related logos are trademarks of Skybound, LLC

  • Login
  • About
  • Comics
  • Games
  • TV & MOVIES
  • Shop
  • Podcasts
  • Insiders

Forgotten Password?
Don't have an account yet?
Sign Up
Copyright © 2018 All Site Content and © 2018 SKYBOUND, unless otherwise noted here. All Right Reserved.

Fill the forms bellow to register

Cancel
Already have an account?
Log In
All fields are required.

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In