The first episode of the fourth season, entitled “30 days without an accident,” will satisfy returning and new audiences equally, with a dual story that leaves viewers salivating for more, while introducing new characters and new relationships.

The show picks up sometime after the finale of the third season, and for all intents and purposes the survivors seem to be thriving and coming together as a community.

No longer acting as leader of the group we see Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) playing the role of farmer, possibly in an attempt to set an example for his son Carl (Chandler Riggs) as the population of the prison has grown in the gap between seasons with more and more survivors. Daryl (Norman Reedus) has apparently been instrumental in the rescue of numerous members of the group as we seem him being greeted warmly and thanked by many new faces in the group.

Deeper connections are hinted at throughout the episode as we see new relationships flowering and there are hints of growing families as well.

The story splits a quarter of the way through, one part focusing on Rick and the other focusing on Daryl and a scavenging group. While Rick’s section of the storyline wasn’t as action packed or entertaining as Daryl’s, it showed large amounts of character development and hinted at the changes in Rick’s demeanor following the season three finale and the aftermath of the Governor (season three’s primary antagonist).

Daryl’s section of the episode was much more action packed, but led to frustration as new characters proved more ignorant and absentminded as opposed to interesting and well rounded. The actions of one new character in particular had me shaking my head and hoping he would die fairly quickly. I won’t go into detail about the incident, but you’ll know it when you see it.

The ending of the episode, without giving anything away of course, has me counting down the days until next Sunday and the new episode, titled “Infected.” If the premiere is any measure of what this season has in store, it should be another amazing season in the already groundbreaking series.

Will Rick be able to keep on the path he’s set out on and set a good example for his son? Will Daryl continue to be the savior of survivors and save the day? How will the final moments of the first episode affect the growing relationships and families forming among the survivors? Definitely an episode worth watching for returning fans, and worth watching for new ones as well.