October 22, 2017
The Walking Dead: How the 100th Episode Honored its Past

"This was an opportunity to really thank the fans and give them something unique," director Greg Nicotero tells THR about the callbacks in the season eight premiere.
[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season eight premiere, "Mercy," of AMC's The Walking Dead.]
If the first episode of the new Walking Dead season felt somehow familiar, don't worry. You're not experiencing a glitch in the Matrix. The déja vu sensation of revisiting days gone by (or "Days Gone Bye," as it were) was very much intentional on the part of the show's creative team.
The eighth season premiere of the AMC zombie drama, called "Mercy," doubles as the 100th episode of The Walking Dead. It's a huge milestone by any show's standards, especially profound not just for the fans who have stuck with the Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) gang through thick and thin from the very beginning, but also the cast and crew who have been strapped in since the first season.
In that regard, look no further than executive producer Greg Nicotero, the legendary special effects wizard responsible for designing the show's iconic zombies, as well as one of the series' most frequent directors — indeed, the man behind the lens on "Mercy."
"It really gave us an opportunity to show the audience how far we've come, to pay tribute to the cast, every single cast member who has been on the show from the beginning and every crew member who has worked on the show, to go back to where it all started," Nicotero tells The Hollywood Reporter about how the first episode of season eight was designed to honor its own past. "There are these iconic moments that drew the audience in and held their attention when we premiered on Halloween so many years ago [in 2010]. This was an opportunity to really thank the fans and give them something unique and special."

Some examples of how the 100th episode of Walking Dead knowingly winked at its own history include:
• Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) taking a long and lonely walk through the apocalypse, on a quiet mission to secure fuel from a gas station. The scene mirrors the very first scene of the entire series, in which Rick makes a very similar walk through a gas station, ultimately winding up shooting a small zombified child. In "Mercy," Rick once again shoots a young walker, but this time, it's not a personal trauma; it's second nature at this point.



• Later in the episode, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) find themselves trapped in a harrowing situation: stuck inside of a trailer on the Sanctuary grounds, surrounded by walkers. The aerial view of Negan and Gabriel's predicament echoes the same exact view of Rick stuck inside of a tank in the middle of Atlanta, the climax of the very first episode of the entire series.
• It's not a direct shot-for-shot callback, but Morgan Jones (Lennie James) boasts a prominent role in the season eight premiere, just as he did in the very first episode of the entire series. Back then, Morgan stopped short of pulling the trigger on his zombified wife, unable to do what needed to be done. His indecision eventually led to his own son's death. Here in the premiere, there's no indecision at all as Morgan returns to his killer ways in war against the Saviors, and risks life and limb to make sure the Alexandrians' explosive plan goes off without a hitch. It's yet another way of showing just how far this show has come since its earliest days, by way of one of the very earliest characters.
• The season premiere features numerous glimpses of the future; whether it's an inevitable future or an imagined one remains unclear. The first image of an aged, big-bearded Rick Grimes waking up in bed calls back to the image of a weary, bed-ridden Rick Grimes waking up in an abandoned hospital, in the thick of the zombie apocalypse.
• Not a throwback to the first episode of the series, but a very fun callback nonetheless: Rick's vision of the future comes with throbbing music in the background, Weird Al's "Another One Rides the Bus," a parody of "Another One Bites the Dust." The Queen song has great history within the Walking Dead community, if not the actual show. In 2014, The Hillywood Show released a widely viewed parody dance video set to the tune of "Another One Bites the Dust." No matter the reasons why the show ultimately featured "Another One Rides the Bus," it acts as a great homage to the creative fans who have become an integral part of the show's success.



Beyond the easter eggs littered throughout episode 100, Nicotero promises fans will continue to see The Walking Dead acknowledging its own history in the episodes ahead: "As the season unfolds, you'll see that this isn't the only time we're doing this. There will be other moments and opportunities where we will show you how far we've come."

The Walking Dead: How the 100th Episode Honored its Past


The Walking Dead: How the 100th Episode Honored its Past


The Walking Dead: How the 100th Episode Honored its Past


The Walking Dead: How the 100th Episode Honored its Past
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.