The Walking Dead opened with the scene of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) banishing Carol (Melissa McBride) from the group last season, which left her wandering aimlessly back towards the prison community that the Governor had destroyed.

‘The Walking Dead’ Recap

In the present, Carol and Daryl (Norman Reedus) follow the vehicle that’s carrying Beth (Emily Kinney). Carol is of a mind to run the vehicle off the road, but Daryl insists it would be better to follow them until they know where their home base is and who they are. Once they stop to sleep for the evening at a shelter for abused children, the onetime close pals attempt to have an open conversation. Carol, who admits she doesn’t feel like it’s possible to save people anymore, wants to know if Daryl’s gotten over her past actions. He’s trying – just as Carol is trying to find room for compassion.

The following morning, Daryl was busy burning the bodies of the abused children who’d turned into walkers in the shelter. After thanking Daryl for taking care of the unpleasant task, Carol follows him on foot off to the streets of Atlanta. Once the two make it to the top of a high-rise office building, Carol tries to explain to Daryl exactly what happened with Lizzie and Mika, that walkers didn’t do them in. But, Daryl doesn’t feel the need to hear whatever Carol has to say, as he wants the past to stay there.

Eventually, they spot a van that looks like the one Beth was taken in. Daryl and Carol poise themselves to go through the sky bridge to check it out, but were soon met by Noah (Tyler James Williams), who ordered Daryl to hand over his crossbow. Noah then cuts a tent filled with walkers and makes a hasty getaway. Carol pulls out her gun and aims it as his leg, but Daryl stops her, fearing that she was going to try to kill him. She wasn’t.

Despite the setback with Noah, Daryl and Carol make it to the abandoned van, which they come to realize belongs to Grady Memorial. Walkers started to swarm around them, forcing them to lock themselves within the van and hope for the best. The walkers eventually push the van with them inside off a bridge. Fortunately, they survive the trip and manage to make it back to the high-rise, where they have another heart-to-heart. This time, it’s about how they’ve changed from the early days of the zombie apocalypse.

Interrupting their chat was a walker with a bow from Daryl’s crossbow in his neck. Gun shots were fired and Noah ended up underneath a book case, pleading for rescue before the walkers got to him. Both Carol and Daryl look intent on leaving him there, but Daryl ultimately decided to shoot the walker endangering Noah.

After Daryl shows him mercy, Noah advises them to head out of the area because the gunshots would have attracted the hospital workers. Since he showed some knowledge about the hospital, Daryl asks if he knows Beth. Noah explains that Beth is in the hospital and had helped him escape, though was unable to escape herself. When the new trio was about to take off together, Carol gets struck by a Grady station wagon, which means she’s headed for the hospital.

As the episode came to a a close, Daryl and Noah decide to wait until Carol is fixed up at the hospital and then go in to save both her and Beth.