It has been almost four months since the shocking mid-season break left the survivors in “The Walking Dead” at a standstill. The group was divided about what to do with the way Hershel was dealing with the walkers – some wishing to respect his choice and live peacefully in his land, and others, more notably Shane, choosing to take matters in the own hands and kill every walker in sight. It eventually leads the group to open up the barn and shoot the entirety of Hershel’s “sick” family. In the end, the most notable discovery was finding Sophia as a walker and Rick’s gut-wrenching decision to shoot her.

As more than eight million people turned up to shatter cable television records, the season picked up with even more divergence among the group. Hershel demands that all of Rick’s group leave the farm. Within Rick’s group, Shane is growing farther apart, claiming that Rick was aiding Hershel and endangering the group. Their relationship is reaching a tangible breaking point as they cannot seem to agree on anything, much less the future of the group.

Dale continues his paternal control over Andrea, asking her to stay away from Shane, as he knows “what kind of man he is.” After the confrontation he and Shane had earlier in the season, Dale is straight up telling Lori he wants him to leave the group.

After Hershel goes missing, Dale and Glenn go looking for him at a local bar. The scene actually allows for some deeper character development for the doctor. They expose his flaws and one grows to understand why he held the walkers for so long.

In what seems like a cheap shot, Lori gets into a car accident after running over a walker and freaking out on the wheel. As the episode ended she was left crashed on the road without anybody knowing what has happened to her.

Another subplot is thrown in as Hershel’s daughter mysteriously faints and is left in some sort of coma for no discernible reason. The people at the farm say she is in shock but it seems strange considering her close encounter with a walker earlier in the episode.

The hour-long episode closes as two men enter the bar where Hershel, Glenn and Rick are in. They claim they have been traveling on the road for a long time and wish to find some place to stay permanently. Rick explains to them that they cannot stay in Hershel’s farm, but the tension rises as their demands become harsher. Eventually one of the men pulls a gun on Rick, but Rick is quicker and shoots both of them in cold blood. The lack of remorse in his part may show a change in character, maybe akin to something Shane was experiencing as he shot Otis.

Overall, this proved to be a satisfying return for the series. They are clearly leaving much of the zombie slaying aside for some deeper character development. It is a good sign, seeing how in the end, many of the people in the group are still strangers to each other. The new plot developments carve a clear path for the remainder of the season which is sure to end with another major revelation as we prepare for season three.