‘The Walking Dead’: Watch The Opening Minutes of Rick’s Final Season

The opening minutes of The Walking Dead‘s ninth season have been released by AMC, ultimately making their way online.

In the early moments of Episode 9×01, titled, “A New Beginning,” Rick Grimes makes his way out of his house to see Michonne and Judith enjoying the safety of Alexandria together. For the first time since Rick and his group arrived in Alexandria, the characters are not facing any immediate threats from other humans.

Meanwhile, at the Sanctuary, the remaining Saviors are doing their best to make the location work as a farm. It’s difficult, however, seeing as it was a factory. Their old ways of stringing up the dead as warning are literally shot down by Daryl, the apparent leader of the group.

Outside of the communities, Tara is surveying one of the routes between the communities, while Aaron and Jesus are putting down walkers somewhere else. A theme for the season arises when Jerry and Daryl cross a broken down bridge, which will later have to be rebuilt to keep th communities connected.

The show quickly moves to Washington D.C. with Rick and others riding in on horseback, awakening the dead down the street from the nation’s capitol. Rick, brandishing his new weapon, clubs the walkers with Michonne at his six before the group continues on their mission. It’s an ensemble of cast and characters, as members of the Hilltop, Alexandria, and Kingdom communities ride into town together.

Returning The Walking Dead to a vibe which is often praised as some of its best content, the days which earned praise from fans and critics alike across the board, was an intentional move made my new showrunner Angela Kang. The series maintains a fresh story and develops many brand new characters but the tone feels nostalgic for those millions of fans who have stuck around since 2010.

“For the people who know the comic, there is this time jump,” Kang said. “So it kind of takes the show and the books, into sort of this interesting almost like western/agrarian vibe. That was something I really wanted to capture for the show.”

Riding into Washington D.C., however, offered moments reflective of Rick’s initial journey into Atlanta, Georgia.

“I also was such a fan of the pilot and so I wanted to kind of try to, aspire to, recapture some of that feeling of the silences and those beautiful wide landscapes, and just the loneliness that can be in the world,” Kang said. “Except now, we’re in a part where we really see that the characters have found this group and they’re very tight with each other. So, you get to feel that the warmth between them while there’s also conflict.

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on Oct. 7, 2018. For more updates and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!