"30 Days Without An Accident" is the first episode of the fourth season of The Walking Dead Remake. It is the thirty-sixth episode of the series overall. It premiered on October 13, 2013.
Plot Edit[]
Nathan and the group are as close to an ideal life as possible at the prison. Will they be able to hold on to humanity in the face of a new evil?
SynopsisEdit[]
Joey walks outside to the scene of a sunny, calm day. He splashes water on his face, and the shot pans out to a vegetable garden towards which he is headed. Lining the gates of the garden lie a dozen walkers that have accumulated overnight, among which include a bloody-eyed walker. While listening to music and digging in the garden, Joey finds an M1911 handgun, fully loaded, which he examines for a moment and then tosses into his wheelbarrow.
Sophia walks towards Joey, complaining that her boyfriend had not awakened her. Joey says he had not done so due to the knowledge that Sophia was up late chatting with Elle, and the two share a chuckle. Sophia speaks of a pig that she calls Violet, laying in the corner of a pen, mentioning it looks ill; Joey tells Sophia she should not name the pigs as they are food, yet answers that he does not know the reason of the pig's illness.
In the outdoor confines of the prison, Caroline and Haley cook breakfast for the residents. Hunter shows up, while numerous survivors thank him for his hunting. Right behind him comes Nathan and Jeff. Caroline says that others are speaking of a supply run, and notes that the walkers aren't spreading out across the fence like before.
Lois wakes up and talks with Sarah, telling her she should not accompany her on the supply run later in the day - there is no need. Sarah protests, saying everything will go smoothly, and Lois agrees, yet persists that she should remain at the prison. Ultimately, Sarah agrees to this and Lois takes her place.
A group of survivors, including Andrea, Nadine and another woodbury survivor, Bruno Bernardes, are clearing walkers that have built up along the gate perimeter. Claire approaches Bruno (whom she calls "handsome"), telling him of her discomfort with killing walkers along the gate due to the face-to-face contact. Bruno questions why she volunteers to help at the gates, to which she responds that she wanted to get to know him better. Bruno tells her he's going on the supply run. Claire gives him a good luck kiss, and tells him to be careful.
Sam and Tyler, a new child in the prison come upon Sofie, Luke and the other children, naming walkers as they stand at the prison fence. Sam angrily tells them that they shouldn't name walkers, and asks Sofie if she had even seen someone become one. Sofie angrily responds that she has, and walks off with the other children.
Meanwhile, Raymond is telling Nathan about planting more crops, Nathan saying he doesn't make decisions anymore, when Emily arrives from a scouting run. She hands Sam comics she found and talks briefly with Nathan and Joey about her "unsuccessful" run. She volunteers to check the traps for any animals before the walkers get them, but Nathan decides to go himself, accompanied by Hayden. As he leaves, Raymond tells Nathan that their council (himself, Joey, Emily, Caroline, Haley, and Hunter) prefer that they take his gun along when he goes outside the gates for protection.
As the supply group gets ready to leave, Bruno meets up with Claire, and the pair kiss each other goodbye. Cole volunteers to go along to earn his keep; after some hesitation and convincing from the others, Sophia allows him to come.
Nathan and Hayden go outside the perimeter to check the traps, when he encounters Elizabeth. Initially mistaking her for a walker, they are startled when she calls out to them, pleading for help. She asks if they are with a group, and begs them to take her and her son (Blake) with them. Nathan tells her that if they answer three questions to his satisfaction, he will. Elizabeth leads Nathan in the direction to their camp, so he can meet her son and ask his questions.
Sophia, Bruno, Lois, Cole, Hunter, Haley and Jeff reach an abandoned army encampment around a shopping mall. Haley asks them to listen to the music booming in the distance, and notes that she had been part of a group that hooked it up to car batteries to draw the walkers away. The group approaches the front of the store. The group enters the mall, and Jeff (the last to enter), notices a pair of legs on the ground. As he follows the others in, the rest of the walker's body is revealed to be on the roof, along with a crashed helicopter and several dozen walkers.
As Nathan, Hayden and Elizabeth walk through the forest, Elizabeth tells him that she and her son Blake were about to go on vacation when the apocalypse began. They were at the airport, preparing for a flight to Puerto Vallarta when the walkers attacked. She claims that the two of them were the only survivors, and credits her son with saving her life on many occasions. She also mentions having to do certain things to stay alive, and seems hesitant to elaborate. Hayden presses her, and she says they had to eat animal carcasses and rotten fruit. Additionally, they had to "leave people behind."
In the store, Cole approaches a wine/beer aisle and tries to resist taking a bottle. He eventually gives in, but after thinking about it, decides to put it back. This causes the entire shelf to tip over, falling on top of him and pinning his legs. The walkers on the roof hear the noise, and begin walking toward it. The decaying roof sheathing can't support their weight, and several fall through.
Meanwhile, Nathan, Hayden and Elizabeth continue walking and make small talk. Beth interrupts to ask Nathan and Hayden if they and their group had to "do the things Blake and I had to do." When they don't answer, she follows up with another question: "Do you think you get to come back from them?" Nathan says he hopes so. Beth then says that she hopes she and Blake answer the three questions satisfactorily.
Back at the mall, walkers continue to fall through the ceiling. With Cole still trapped beneath the shelf, the others are able to fight them off. Bruno and Jeff succeed in freeing Cole, but Bruno is bitten soon after. As everyone else escapes, the wrecked helicopter falls through the roof, killing Bruno and the remaining walkers in the process.
As Nathan, Hayden and Elizabeth finally approach the campsite, she says, "It is just ahead." She crouches over a small, suspicious-looking bundle, then suddenly attacks Nathan with her knife. Hayden manages to save him, and Beth frantically explains that she intended to feed them to Blake, who has turned. She then stabs herself in the abdomen, and collapses. As she lay dying, Beth tells Nathan and Hayden that she could not stand living without Blake, so she took her own life to be with him. In a state of delirium, she pleads with them not to kill her after she turns. Her plan is to reanimate, and be with her son in a zombified state. As Elizabeth nears death, she asks Nathan and Hayden what the three questions were. They tell her, "How many walkers have you killed? How many people have you killed? Why?" She says that Blake killed all the walkers for her until he died, and lists only herself as a human she has killed. To the last question, she responds "You don't get to come back." Blake's body is not shown, nor are the contents of the bundle. But as Hayden walks away, the bundle is shown to be grunting and moving about. It is about the size of a human head.
Alison is reading a story to the kids in the prison library. Sam is seen sneaking in, and appears to be eavesdropping. He notices one of the adults leaving, after which Alison stops reading and begins teaching the children how to use knives. She asks him not to tell the others but, to her surprise, Sam decides to participate.
After returning to the prison yard, Nathan and Hayden look over at the fences and focus on a bloody-eyed walker. He then goes to the pig pen, and realizes that Violet has died.
The supply group returns, and Sophia tells Paige that she intends to deliver the bad news to Claire.
Sophia tells Claire what happened to Bruno. She is surprisingly nonchalant, and resets the tally she was keeping of days without an accident. She tells Sophia that she doesn't cry anymore, and is glad she got to know Bruno. She asks Sophia if she's okay, and she says she is tired of losing people. Claire walks up and hugs her.
Later on, Sophia and Elle look at a map, apparently making plans to search for the Governor.
Raymond tries to comfort Nathan regarding what happened to Elizabeth. Nathan says that he could easily become was she was. Raymond disagrees, and says that people get to come back from what they do. However, Nathan isn't convinced.
Later that night, Cole lies in his bunk, reflecting on the day's events as Andrea stumbles toward the bathroom. She is obviously sick, and coughing violently. Without undressing, she walk into the showers and turns the water on. A few seconds later, she collapses on the floor with blood running from her mouth. She reanimates shortly after, with blood flowing from her eyes like the walkers Nathan and Hayden had seen previously.
Other CastEdit[]
DeathsEdit[]
- Bruno Bernardes
- Blake (Alive, Confirmed Fate)
- Elizabeth (Alive)
- Violet
- Nadine (Alive)
TriviaEdit[]
- First appearance of Bob Stookey.
- First appearance of Caleb Subramanian.
- First appearance of Ryan Samuels.
- First appearance of Lizzie Samuels.
- First appearance of Mika Samuels.
- First appearance of Zach.
- First appearance of David.
- First appearance of Luke.
- First appearance of Molly.
- First appearance of Clara.
- First appearance of Henry.
- First appearance of Chloe.
- First appearance of Greg.
- First appearance of Flame.
- First appearance of Nick. (Zombified)
- First (and last) appearance of Patrick. (Alive)
- First (and last) appearance of Eryn.
- First (and last) appearance of Violet.
- First (and last) appearance of Eddie. (Zombified)
- As of this episode, Melissa McBride (Carol) and Scott Wilson (Hershel) have been added to the opening credits.
- David Morrissey (The Governor) is removed from the opening credits until his reappearance in "Internment".
- This is the first episode featuring Emily Kinney (Beth), Chad Coleman (Tyreese), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (Bob) as series regulars. They are all listed under "Also Starring".
- As revealed on Talking Dead for this episode, six weeks prior to filming this episode, plants, fruits, and vegetables were planted to turn the prison into a farmyard. However, it was nearly ruined when a herd of deer got in.
- For the scene in which Hershel is on a knee tending to the garden, the metal bottom of his new prosthetic leg can be seen poking out out of his pants. This scene required Scott Wilson, who has both legs in real life, to bury his leg up to his knee in dirt.
- The title of the episode, "30 Days Without An Accident", refers to the chart that Beth has. The group had gone 30 days without an accident, and Beth removes the 3 in 30 to make 0 Days without an accident due to Zach's death.
- The song Rick listens in this episode is called "Precious Memories" by The Stanley Brothers.
- In the first scene, Rick digs up a pistol that is revealed to have been left behind by one of the Woodbury soldiers from the prison assault in Season 3.
- The scene where Rick tells Hershel about Clara is a foreshadowing of "Too Far Gone" as Hershel mentions that some people are too far gone to come back, as Clara killed herself.
- This episode marks Scott Wilson and Emily Kinney's 25th episode on The Walking Dead.
- A reference to the Video Game made by Telltale was added in the episode as an easter egg. When Michonne is looking for a place for her to hunt down the Governor, the camera focused on Macon, a major location in the first season of the Video Game. Upon asked about this, Kirkman said that it was indeed an easter egg for the Video Game, and he also said that there are possibilities for the Video Game characters to be brought into the TV Series, and that particular easter egg was a message for the fans that the writers are aware of how big the The Walking Dead universe is.[1]
- Significant events happening between the last episode ("Welcome to the Tombs") and this one will eventually be revealed in the flashback parts of the season's last episode, "A".
Comic ParallelsEdit[]
- Rick and Hershel talking about the garden is adapted from Issue 42.
- The group scavenging mission at the Big Spot is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 39, where they go to a Wallmart instead.
Goofs/ErrorsEdit[]
- During the scene where Karen and a group of survivors are killing walkers that have built up along the gate perimeter, Karen kills a walker through the fence (around 5:05), but she actually misses the head of the walker she's killing. The CGI effects are still applied as if she pierced the walker through the top of its head despite the fact that she missed it.
- Zach holds his shotgun differently between shots while talking with Daryl and Michonne at the Big Spot.